31: Chapter 31 Reaching the Top of the National Rankings: An Unreachable Height

"Hahahaha—Right, it was my fault. Your No. 6 High School is amazing! Next year, you will be Spring City's number one key high school!"

Cheng Feng laughed heartily, while Tang Weiguo and Du Feng looked toward the imposing figure on the screen with satisfaction.

"Topping both lists! Number one on both lists! The provincial top scholar has emerged!"

A voice shouted, and everyone turned their heads to look at the ranking board behind them.

Lin Yuan's name appeared prominently at the top of both lists, and another round of enthusiastic applause erupted.

Hao Qiang looked at Lin Yuan's name at the top of the dual lists, lowered his head silently, and turned to leave the scene.

Xia Yuhan also looked up at Lin Yuan's name, smiled helplessly, and murmured, "Xiao Ying, you were right after all. We are not people of the same world. His world is something I can never reach..."

The Director of the Provincial Education Bureau, Jiang Tingrong, walked up to Tang Weiguo, grasped his hand tightly, and said kindly:

"Congratulations, Principal Tang. You have cultivated an excellent talent for our Tai Province. Having the provincial top scholar belong to Spring City is a monumental achievement on your part!"

"Director Jiang, you flatter me. This is all due to Lin Yuan's own hard work. We only provided him with some minimal assistance," Principal Tang said modestly.

"Good, good, good. I wonder if Lin Yuan's strength has the potential to climb higher?" Jiang Tingrong pointed to the national list.

At this moment, Lin Yuan was ranked twenty-third. It seemed the geniuses from Magic City and Kyoto were still quite formidable.

Jiang Tingrong was curious to see if there was even greater potential to be expected...

Principal Tang smiled slightly, then clasped Jiang Tingrong's hands and spoke slowly:

"Director Jiang, please just sit down and keep watching. I believe in Lin Yuan. This might just be the beginning."

Jiang Tingrong was suddenly startled, looking at Tang Weiguo with pleasant surprise, "Old Tang, you mean?—"

...

Inside the examination hall, everyone else had left. Lin Yuan wasn't in a hurry to go; instead, he opened the Martial Arts Gift Package in his spatial dimension.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host, you have obtained an S-rank spatial Martial Art, Spatial Rend and Kill (Upgradeable)!"

"Spatial Rend and Kill. Judging by the name, it should be an area-of-effect skill, which is exactly what I'm lacking. With an AoE skill, I won't have to waste effort killing ferocious beasts one by one."

Lin Yuan boldly used 2,000 ability points to upgrade [Spatial Rend and Kill] to the Advanced Proficiency level. Advanced Proficiency was sufficient for his current stage.

Currently, he still had 40,000 ability points remaining, but he felt it wasn't enough.

Lin Yuan glanced at his wristband. His current national ranking was twenty-third. The points of the first-place person exceeded his by nearly a thousand points, which wasn't too much. A single ferocious beast in the Super Dangerous Zone was worth 800 points; taking first place would be easy.

His goal was to accumulate more ability points, secure the national top scholar title, and snag a system reward...

A smile played on Lin Yuan's lips, his mood excellent, and he strode toward the Super Dangerous Zone.

The Super Dangerous Zone wasn't very large; it was about the size of a large residential community.

The hillside was bare, and even the wild grass on the ground had become very short.

A fierce aura from ferocious beasts wafted through the air, accompanied by the low growls of beasts from the distance.

Now, Lin Yuan was the only person left in the entire examination area. Even the candidates on the periphery had exhausted their stamina and left the testing grounds.

On the empty hillside, five ferocious beasts were clearly visible, wandering aimlessly as if searching for food.

Lin Yuan tapped his foot and charged toward the nearest Giant Ape.

The Giant Ape spotted Lin Yuan charging in, pounded its chest furiously, let out a roar, and swung its two massive fists toward Lin Yuan.

But what greeted it was a sword shadow. A silver light flashed, and a silver blade sliced through its fist without resistance, and then through its body.

Boom!

The Giant Ape, split in half, crashed to the ground—a one-hit kill...

Another gasp of surprise rose from outside the testing area. No one expected Lin Yuan to instantly kill a mid-stage first-order ferocious beast.

How strong is Lin Yuan? That was what everyone wanted to know most right now.

Cheng Feng handed a document to Jiang Tingrong and pointed to the large "F" on Lin Yuan's file.

Jiang Tingrong took the document, frowned, and looked at Tang Weiguo.

"Principal Tang, what is the meaning of this?" He pointed to Lin Yuan on the screen, who had just killed a mid-stage first-order ferocious beast, "You're telling me this is an F-rank Ability?"

"Uh—Director Jiang, when Lin Yuan awakened, it was indeed an F-rank spatial ability..." Tang Weiguo found it hard to believe himself as he said it.

"What he just used should be a Martial Art. Judging by the power, it should be at least an A-rank Martial Art. Don't you people know?"

"No—we don't know. How could our No. 6 High School possibly possess a Martial Art of that level...?"

"Hmm, that's true... Wait until he comes out, then test his ability level again. If you write down F-rank, and others find out that the Tai Province provincial top scholar is F-rank, don't you think that sounds too ridiculous?"

"Yes, yes, yes. We'll test him as soon as he comes out, as soon as he comes out..." Principal Tang wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

...

Inside the examination hall, Lin Yuan continued his assault. He didn't take the several mid-stage first-order ferocious beasts seriously. Perhaps only if there were second-order ferocious beasts in the testing area would he pay any real attention.

The floating snow acted like a death warrant; wherever it passed, the five ferocious beasts inevitably fell to the ground.

Lin Yuan absorbed five soul bodies, gaining 1,250 ability points, and also obtained a beast crystal. Lin Yuan nodded in satisfaction and checked his wristband.

His ranking had undoubtedly become the top spot on the national list, with a total score of 8,560 points, surpassing the second place by over three thousand points.

"The national top scholar title is secured, so why hasn't the system task prompted completion yet?"

Lin Yuan was slightly puzzled. Then he figured that perhaps the completion would only be judged after the examination ended.

Tossing the beast crystal into his personal small space, Lin Yuan then headed toward the final zone, the Super High Dangerous Zone.

As a spatial ability user, Lin Yuan didn't need storage treasures like spatial rings. When he became a Martial Artist, he was able to carve out his own small space, which could store items, and he could even enter it himself.

...

"Lin Yuan has topped the national list!"

"He topped it! He really topped it! And at a height that the second place can't even reach!"

Outside the testing area, thunderous applause erupted, and excitement filled everyone's faces. They had witnessed the birth of a national top scholar—what a rare life experience.

Jiang Tingrong trembled with excitement. He actually secured the national top scholar title; he had never dared to imagine it.

Every year, the national top scholar for the Martial Arts Examination came from either Magic City or Kyoto; other provinces never had a chance.

But this time, it fell to Tai Province. How could he, the Director of the Provincial Education Bureau, not be thrilled? This was the greatest affirmation of his work.

He tightly gripped Tang Weiguo's hand and said excitedly, "Old Tang, wonderful! Since Lin Yuan won the national top scholar title, I must represent the Education Bureau to greatly reward this child, and your No. 6 High School as well!"

"Thank you, Director Jiang. Lin Yuan comes from a poor family. This is considered him achieving success through his own efforts," Principal Tang replied.

"Oh? Such results despite a difficult family background? Remarkable!"

Jiang Tingrong was surprised. Cultivating as a Martial Artist was undoubtedly a money-burning profession. Whether it was cultivation resources or techniques and Martial Arts, every single one cost a fortune.

Jiang Tingrong looked at the large screen. Lin Yuan was continuing toward the Super High Dangerous Zone, and he immediately frowned.

"Old Tang, does Lin Yuan have a chance? The Super High Dangerous Zone is an area that even the geniuses from Kyoto and Magic City dare not tread!"

"Director Jiang, to be honest, I'm not sure either. Perhaps Lin Yuan has broken through again recently?" Tang Weiguo said uncertainly.

He truly couldn't figure Lin Yuan out anymore. When Lin Yuan left the Training Camp, he only had the strength of the initial stage of the first order. But how long has it been since then, and Lin Yuan can already instantly kill a mid-stage first-order ferocious beast? Who knows if he might just instantly kill the late-stage first-order ferocious beast at the mountaintop—