60: Chapter 60 Triumphant Return, Unprecedented Commendation

When Wang Pingan exited the StarNet connection, the area outside the connection pod was already drowned in cheers.

The pod door opened slowly.

The white mist dissipated.

Wang Pingan stepped out of the connection pod. As soon as he lifted his eyes, he saw the playground of Tianhai No. 1 High School packed with people.

It wasn't just one class.

Not just one grade.

It was the entire school's faculty and students.

The surrounding playground, the rooftops of the teaching buildings, the exterior of the auditorium, and even the flight viewing platforms were crowded with people.

Everyone's gaze fell upon him.

The next moment, cheers erupted thunderously.

"Wang Pingan!"

"Champion!"

"Number one in the Seventeen Stars!"

"The number one person of Tianhai No. 1 High School!"

The sound rolled in waves, so loud that even the protective array above the playground rippled with light.

Wang Pingan stopped in front of the pod door. His expression remained calm, but the cheers in his ears were so intense that even he couldn't pretend not to hear them.

He had won.

Only now did this fact truly descend from the battlefield back into reality.

Zhou Mingyuan was the first to walk forward.

This Tier 3 Deity, who was usually always carrying himself with the airs of a principal, had reddened eyes, but his face was beaming with pure delight.

He came before Wang Pingan, raised his hand to pat Wang Pingan's shoulder, felt it wasn't quite appropriate, and finally gave a heavy pat anyway.

"Good lad, you've really brought honor to our Tianhai No. 1 High School!"

Wang Pingan saluted.

"Principal."

Zhou Mingyuan immediately waved his hand.

"Don't give me any of that formal nonsense today; you are the hero of Tianhai No. 1 High School."

As soon as these words left his mouth, another burst of cheers erupted from the playground.

Old Li stood to the side, looking at Wang Pingan. His lips moved several times, but in the end, he only cursed.

"You brat, you nearly scared me to death."

Wang Pingan looked at him.

"Teacher, I won."

Old Li's eyes turned even redder.

"Nonsense, the whole star domain saw it."

He had originally prepared many words.

He wanted to say that he fought well.

He wanted to say that he upheld the face of Tianhai Star.

He wanted to say that he had shut the mouths of everyone who doubted him.

But when he actually saw Wang Pingan walk out, he couldn't say any of it.

Being able to defeat Xiao Xuan was already weightier than any words.

Zhao Yang squeezed out of the crowd, running so fast he nearly tripped.

He rushed to Wang Pingan, wanting to give him a hug, but then remembered Wang Pingan's current status and stopped abruptly.

"Pingan, you were too fierce! My dad was going crazy in the family communication channel just now. He said he's going to hang a sign on the door of our grocery store: 'Designated logistics supplier for the Seventeen Stars champion!'"

The surrounding students laughed out loud upon hearing this.

The tense atmosphere was also dispersed quite a bit by this remark.

Wang Pingan glanced at him.

"Pay the balance on time."

Zhao Yang immediately straightened his back.

"Look at you, do you think I'm afraid you won't pay me now? I'm afraid that in the future, when others are begging to supply you, I won't even get a spot in line."

Wang Qingyan also walked over.

She wasn't as exaggerated as Zhao Yang, but she looked at Wang Pingan with eyes much brighter than usual.

"Congratulations."

Wang Pingan nodded.

"The logistics were very stable this time."

Hearing this, Wang Qingyan felt a warmth in her chest.

She had prepared a large amount of spiritual herbs and potions for this assessment. Although she hadn't stood directly on the final battlefield, she had personally seen those potions being swallowed one by one by the citizens, supporting Wang Pingan's legion until the end.

In the glory of the champion, she also had her share.

She straightened her back, and her voice sounded more confident than usual.

"It can be even more stable in the future."

Zhao Yang immediately chimed in.

"Right, in the future, I'll be responsible for provisions and iron ore, she'll be responsible for spiritual herbs and pills, and you'll be responsible for crushing everyone else. With our clear division of labor, we'll be invincible."

Others around them laughed again.

But this time, no one thought Zhao Yang was bragging.

Wang Pingan had just crushed Xiao Xuan.

He had crushed the recognized strongest newcomer of the Seventeen Stars.

No one would dare to easily ridicule anything he said in the future.

Wang Jincheng stood at the back of the crowd, hesitating to step forward.

He watched Wang Pingan being surrounded by the whole school. The bitterness in his heart had faded a lot, replaced by an indescribable complexity.

Once upon a time, he had also thought that he was the one who should be standing in that position.

A direct descendant of the main Wang family line, Lightning Spirit Root, A-minus evaluation.

These things should have been dazzling.

But this battle of Wang Pingan's had overshadowed all that light.

Liu Cheng also stood further away.

He recalled the scene where he was crushed by Wang Pingan's ten citizens in the practical combat class, and his face burned.

Back then, he had thought Wang Pingan was just taking advantage of the formation and equipment.

Looking back now, his defeat back then was perfectly normal.

Even Xiao Xuan had lost.

Who was he, Liu Cheng, to think otherwise?

Several students nearby who had once questioned Wang Pingan all lowered their heads, not daring to speak.

Some had said his Immortal-Martial Dual Cultivation was a waste of money and a death wish.

Some had said his zero-logistics approach wouldn't last three days.

Some had said he would definitely lose against a demigod.

Now, these words had all become slaps, stinging their faces.

Wang Jincheng finally stepped forward.

He came to Wang Pingan and paused for a moment.

"Congratulations."

Wang Pingan looked at him.

"Thank you."

Wang Jincheng didn't say anything more.

He had originally wanted to say that he would keep chasing.

But the words reached his lips and were swallowed back down.

Saying he would chase now felt too light.

He had to make up for what he lacked first before talking about catching up.

Wang Pingan didn't provoke him either.

Being able to stand up and offer congratulations after a crushing defeat showed that Wang Jincheng had at least started to change.

Zhou Mingyuan raised his hand to signal for silence.

The cheers on the playground gradually subsided.

He turned to face the entire school's faculty and students, his voice spreading to every corner through the array.

"Today, Tianhai No. 1 High School has given birth to the first Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment grand champion since the school's founding."

"He is Wang Pingan from Class 1, Grade 12."

The cheers erupted again.

Zhou Mingyuan didn't stop them; he waited until the sound died down slightly before continuing.

"His victory was not a fluke."

"First place in the preliminaries, undefeated in the semi-finals, and defeating the demigod Xiao Xuan in the finals."

"This achievement will be recorded in the school's history, and the Tianhai Star Education Bureau will also establish a separate honorary file for him."

The students listened with their blood rushing to their heads.

School history.

Honorary file.

For a high school student, this was already an honor that the entire school would look up to.

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai also walked down from the education bureau's viewing platform.

He was wearing his formal uniform today, followed by a row of Education Bureau staff.

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai walked up to Wang Pingan, looked at him for a moment, and then spoke in front of the entire school.

"Student Wang Pingan, you have secured the first Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment grand champion title in history for Tianhai Star."

"The Tianhai Star Education Bureau will immediately initiate the highest-level student commendation process."

"Your personal file will be marked as a key protection object of Tianhai Star."

"The Education Bureau will prioritize the guarantee of your subsequent development resources."

As these words fell, there was another uproar on the playground.

A key protection object.

This was no ordinary honor.

This meant that from today on, Wang Pingan was no longer just a talented student, but a future deity seed that Tianhai Star was going to focus on cultivating and protecting.

He used to be just a descendant of a branch of the Wang family.

Now, he had become the person the entire Tianhai Star was betting on.

Zhou Mingyuan took over.

"The school will also add concurrent rewards."

He waved his hand.

The light screen above the playground immediately lit up.

"[Tianhai No. 1 High School Special Commendation.]"

"[Awarding Wang Pingan one personal honorary medal.]"

"[Awarding permanent usage rights to the school's highest-level cultivation room.]"

"[Awarding 30 million Source Power points.]"

"[Awarding three-year service authorization of a high-level Divine Kingdom development consultant team.]"

When this reward was revealed, the students were stirred with excitement.

"Permanent usage rights!"

"And 30 million Source Power points!"

"A consultant team for three years, the school is really going all out this time!"

Zhao Yang's eyes went wide.

"Pingan, you've really struck it rich this time."

Wang Qingyan glanced at Zhao Yang.

"He just got an a-grade martial arts stele, and you're still eyeing the 30 million Source Power points?"

Zhao Yang was righteous and confident.

"What do you know? 30 million is still money, and even a champion has to eat."

Wang Pingan didn't smile, just thanked Zhou Mingyuan and Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai.

"Thank you, Principal. Thank you, Deputy Director Xu."

Deputy Director Xu Zhenhai waved his hand.

"You don't need to thank me; these were all earned by you."

Zhou Mingyuan nodded.

"That's right, the more the school gives, the more it shows how fiercely you won."

On the playground, the cheers lingered for a long time.

And outside of Tianhai No. 1 High School, the entire Tianhai City was also boiling over.

Over the city, streaks of spiritual energy fireworks rose.

Crimson gold, cyan blue, silver white, purple red—vast swaths of light bloomed beneath the clouds, dyeing the daytime sky incomparably brilliant.

The giant light screens on both sides of the main thoroughfares of Tianhai City simultaneously played the footage of Wang Pingan shattering Xiao Xuan's divine core projection.

That punch from Wang Shan was replayed repeatedly.

Every time the divine core shattered, new cheers would erupt on the streets.

"Wang Pingan won!"

"Our Tianhai Star has produced a grand champion!"

"And he beat Xiao Xuan from Liumang Star, that demigod!"

Many ordinary citizens didn't understand the Xianwu Meat Grinder Array, nor did they understand the extreme realm compression foundation.

They only knew one thing.

Tianhai Star had won.

Won against Liumang Star.

Won against all the geniuses of the Seventeen Stars.

That was enough.

In the ancestral grounds of the Wang family, Clan Leader Wang Tianhe watched the live replay, the smile on his face never fading since the grand final ended.

Third Ancestor Wang Xuanyue sat in the high seat, his fingers tapping the armrest lightly, but his gaze was locked on Wang Pingan.

The members of the Wang family council were even more conflicted.

Those who had originally questioned Wang Pingan for burning through too much money were now silent.

100 million Source Power points.

50 million in special military funds.

Subsequent resource tilting.

These investments had once made many elders' hearts ache.

But now, they only felt that they hadn't given enough.

A Seventeen Stars grand champion, a Wang Pingan who defeated a demigod across ranks, was worth far more than these Source Power points.

Wang Mingshou sat in the elder's seat, his face feeling a bit hot.

He had questioned Wang Pingan for being "strong on the outside but weak on the inside" during the resource allocation meeting.

Now, the facts proved that it was his judgment that was "strong on the outside but weak on the inside."

Clan Leader Wang Tianhe spoke, his tone filled with hard-to-conceal delight.

"From today on, the treatment for Wang Pingan's lineage will be raised by one level."

"His parents will also be settled according to the specifications of core family members of the main line."

No one objected.

At this time, whoever objected was going against the future of the Wang family.

On the playground of Tianhai No. 1 High School, the commendation continued.

A golden honorary medal was handed to Wang Pingan by Zhou Mingyuan himself.

The school emblem of Tianhai No. 1 High School was engraved on the medal, and a line of text was written on the back.

"[Seventeen Stars Nova Assessment Grand Champion, Wang Pingan.]"

When Wang Pingan accepted the medal, the entire school's faculty and students applauded again.

The applause did not stop for a long time.

Liu Cheng stood in the crowd, his face flushed, and he also applauded.

He didn't dare not to.

And he was genuinely convinced.

He had felt ashamed when he lost to Wang Pingan before.

Now he suddenly felt that he had actually competed against the champion.

If he said this in the future, he might even be able to brag a little.

As long as he didn't mention he was crushed by ten people.

Zhao Yang leaned over to Wang Qingyan and whispered: "Liu Cheng's expression is quite interesting; he's probably looking for a way to save face for himself."

Wang Qingyan said indifferently: "Don't laugh at him, you weren't scared any less back then."

Zhao Yang immediately shut his mouth.

Zhou Mingyuan looked at the students' reactions off the stage, feeling more and more delighted.

This battle of Wang Pingan's hadn't just won the championship.

He had also boosted the morale of every student at Tianhai No. 1 High School.

So, Tianhai Star students could also stand at the peak of the Seventeen Stars.

So, it wasn't impossible to beat the geniuses of Liumang Star.

So, even a demigod could have their divine core projection shattered by a Divine Being.

This impact would influence many students.

Wang Pingan stood on the stage, his gaze sweeping across the playground.

He saw Zhao Yang's excitement, Wang Qingyan's pride, Wang Jincheng's complexity, and also the relief in the eyes of Old Li and Zhou Mingyuan.

He wasn't carried away by the cheers.

The championship was already in hand.

The a-grade martial arts stele was also already in his divine core space.

Next, what he needed to do was digest the rewards, promote to demigod, and truly push that batch of extreme-realm citizens to Foundation Establishment and Blood Condensation.

But at this moment, he didn't say these things.

Today was a triumph.

Tianhai Star should be allowed to celebrate.

The spiritual energy fireworks were still blooming over Tianhai City.

The entire city was immersed in the huge joy brought by the Seventeen Stars grand champion.

But just as Zhou Mingyuan was about to announce the final part of the commendation ceremony, a long, piercing sound suddenly came from the sky.

The cheers on the playground slowly stopped.

Everyone looked up.

The protective array of Tianhai No. 1 High School automatically opened a gap.

Above the clouds, a gilded divine boat descended slowly.

The divine boat was interwoven with gold and white, with complex Federal law runes carved on both sides of the hull, and a solemn emblem hung from the bow.

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