Prospective Admission Institutions: Jurisdiction Bureau, Tiandu University, National Awakened Higher Vocational College.
“I actually made it to third place!” Chi Xue exclaimed, leaping up in sheer delight upon seeing her score.
Never had she imagined she could achieve such a high score. Although her final ranking would undoubtedly be lower, merely receiving a prospective admission offer from Tiandu University already signified the perfect fulfillment of her goal.
“What about me, what about me!” Bu Chenghua and Lin Sheng, their faces alight with impatience, began scanning the rankings from top to bottom.
Prospective Admission Institutions: Jurisdiction Bureau, Conquest Bureau, Tiandu University, National Awakened Higher Vocational College.
Prospective Admission Institutions: Conquest Bureau, National Awakened Higher Vocational College.
“My score is a bit higher than I expected,” Bu Chenghua remarked. More than the score itself, he valued the prospective admission institutions listed below. These represented the recognition he had earned from those organizations. Yet, to his surprise, Chi Xue, despite being a B-grade Awakened individual, had not received a prospective offer from the Conquest Bureau.
“Damn it…”
Failing to find the name he sought on the list, Lin Sheng’s face was etched with unconcealable disappointment. He pushed through the crowd in front of him, a picture of dejection, and walked away alone.
“Why isn’t my name here?”
Huang Xiu craned her neck, scanning the list from top to bottom, yet she simply couldn’t find her own name.
In fact, it wasn’t just her; even Li Xiushen and his group were scrutinizing the list with eager anticipation.
“Why isn’t it out yet?” Liu Lu grumbled, grinding her teeth.
“Did she perform too poorly? An S-grade performing too poorly, so they didn’t release it, hahahaha.”
Someone nearby tried to be clever, but only earned a volley of scornful looks.
“I’d sooner believe you scored only one point than believe an S-grade would perform poorly.”
Chubby Boy Yang Qu scoffed directly.
“What if her awakened ability is terrible then!” the person retorted, still somewhat unconvinced.
Just then, a commotion erupted in the distance, a sound so immense it threatened to overturn the very heavens, followed by a continuous string of eloquent national curses.
“f*ck! Damn it!”
They repeated these two phrases endlessly, as if, in that moment, they had lost the faculty of language, reverting to the very essence of humanity—a repeating machine.
Hisses of indrawn breath filled the air, contributing to global warming.
Even Li Xiushen, who had previously maintained an air of calm indifference while watching the spectacle from his chair, suddenly shot to his feet. Disregarding all pretense of dignity, his mouth fell slightly agape, and his eyes widened like brass bells.
“How is this possible… how is this possible!” he mumbled, as if his soul had been snatched away.
“Truly an S-grade!!” Bai Baibai rose to his feet, casting aside his previous composure, and burst into hearty laughter.
Liu Lu pressed her lips together, silently gazing into the distance.
That person slowly turned their head, a mix of disbelief and a strange sense of inevitability on their face, and looked towards the main ranking board. The S-grade title, which had initially been expected for Li Xiushen, had changed hands after only a single round of testing. And this time, until the end of the re-examination, no one would be able to shake this coveted position!
Candidate: 122, Score: 910, Grade: S
S-grade, 910 points!
A score and grade that took everyone completely by surprise. Everyone stared at Huang Xiu and her three companions in disbelief, their eyes scanning them like X-rays, eager to glimpse the true appearance of an S-grade.
For many, it was likely the last time they would ever witness a genius of such caliber in their lifetime.
Locating the S-grade proved easier than they had anticipated. For apart from Lin Sheng, who had already departed, the remaining two—Chi Xue and Bu Chenghua—also gazed at Huang Xiu with expressions of utter disbelief.
Bu Chenghua, also known as Moon’s Surface, practically leaped three feet into the air, so excited he stammered, “Xiu… Sister Xiu, you’re absolutely incredible!”
Even though Chi Xue had some expectations, she was utterly stunned nonetheless. Yet, she said nothing, merely glancing up at Huang Xiu, then silently lowering her head, repeating this cycle.
“Big shot, what’s your name!”
“S-grade big shot, where are you from?”
“Would you mind revealing your awakened ability, big shot?”
The crowd surged towards Huang Xiu, an avalanche of questions assailing her. There were even outrageous individuals who asked: “Big shot, are you single? Are you looking for a boyfriend?”
“A girlfriend works too!” a girl shouted, her face flushed.
These two remarks immediately made Huang Xiu roll her eyes. She had always disliked such overly clever people.
More and more people gathered around. Even the broadcast announcing the start of the next exam group failed to capture their attention.
Huang Xiu swallowed hard, retreating steadily. But with every step she took back, she seemed to appear weaker, and the crowd pressed in even closer.
“Stop, stop, stop!” the girl cried, crossing her arms in front of her chest. “Everyone, stop! Don’t come any closer!”
From her pocket, Huang Xiaoxian popped out. They assumed an opening stance reminiscent of Tai Chi, baring their teeth and glaring at the people in front.
“Don’t come any closer to my master!” they threatened fiercely. “Otherwise, I won’t be polite!”
At that moment, she no longer cared about the rule against using awakened abilities in the waiting room.
Liu Lu, who had appeared out of nowhere, surprisingly stepped forward this time to speak on Huang Xiu’s behalf.
“You’re scaring her, don’t you realize?”
Huang Xiu gazed at her, utterly perplexed, only to receive a harsh retort in return.
“I just don’t want you to be trampled to death by them before I even get a chance to defeat you.”
‘Huang Xiu…’
‘Is this… tsundere? It absolutely must be! But tsundere went out of style ages ago!’
“All candidates, please adhere to examination hall regulations. No shouting, no unauthorized gathering,” a gentle female voice announced over the broadcast, though the words “shouting” and “gathering” carried a distinct weight.
The examiners could no longer ignore the commotion in the waiting room. The onlookers were merely curious; they certainly didn’t want to jeopardize their life-changing opportunity by inciting a disturbance. With disgruntled expressions, they dispersed, leaving only Huang Xiu and Liu Lu standing in the original spot.
“Phew! That scared me to death!” Huang Xiu exhaled, turning to head back to her seat.
*Whoosh!*
Liu Lu suddenly flashed forward, blocking Huang Xiu’s path. She lifted her chin, gazing earnestly at the person before her, and declared, “I was serious about what I just said; I will defeat you!”
Never one to concede defeat when challenged, Huang Xiu lowered her head and glared back with equal intensity.
“I never thought you were joking.”
Even if she couldn’t win, she still had to make her stand, especially now that victory felt so assured!
Having spoken, Huang Xiu turned and walked away, briskly returning to the spot where she had been sitting. However, to Huang Xiu’s surprise, the seat she had occupied earlier was now taken by someone else.
‘Well, that’s normal enough.’
After all, she had been gone for nearly thirty minutes; it was only natural for the seat to be taken after such a long time.
What Huang Xiu didn’t expect, however, was that the boy occupying her seat immediately jumped up when he saw her approaching.
“Big shot, why… why are you here? Oh, wait, this isn’t your seat, is it?” He quickly moved aside, even reaching out to wipe the chair that was entirely free of dust.
“You sit down…” Huang Xiu quickly waved her hand in refusal.
She had no desire to sit in a seat still warm from someone else, as it would cause her a distinct feeling of physical discomfort.