104: Chapter 104 Hidden Rewards for Scholars

Li Wen rubbed his slightly sleepy eyes and pushed open his room door. A rich, enticing aroma of food immediately wafted into his nostrils.

"Xiao Wen, you're just in time! Come and try the steamed shrimp dumplings Dad made." Father Li, wearing an apron, poked his head out of the kitchen, beaming.

"Mom made your favorite yam and pork rib porridge. Come sit down, eat it while it's hot." Mother Li had already placed several exquisite bowls and dishes on the table.

Ever since Li Wen had given his parents hundreds of thousands from the A-grade signing bonus—a sum enough to change an ordinary person's fate—the couple had followed his arrangements and resigned from the jobs they had toiled at for half their lives.

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Unable to stay idle, the two now dedicated themselves wholeheartedly to managing their son's diet and daily life, transforming this belated ease into a table laden with heartfelt dishes—from nutritional balance to taste and texture, every detail was meticulously crafted.

Around the small dining table, the family of three sat together.

Outside the window, the rising morning sun cast warmth through the sheer curtains.

"Today is the Martial Arts Assessment, isn't it? Are you nervous?" Mother Li Wang Juan, ever the mother, couldn't help but ask with concern, as she picked up a soup dumpling for Li Wen.

"Does he look nervous to you?" Father Li laughed, his tone full of pride. "Our Xiao Wen is now a master who can kill Intermediate Super Martial Artists Yao Beasts. What's a small exam to him?"

Li Wen smiled as he swallowed the soup dumpling, the warm broth melting in his mouth: "Dad, Mom, don't worry. The cultural exam yesterday went well, and for the Martial Dao today—I've got it covered."

The conversation naturally revolved around the exam, trivial yet warm.

The care in his parents' eyes was genuine, their pride profound, occasionally mixed with a subtle, almost imperceptible bewilderment and worry about their son's trajectory toward becoming a great figure.

Li Wen listened patiently, answered calmly, and savored the precious tranquility of this ordinary morning light.

After finishing this breakfast filled with care, he did not leave immediately.

Back in his room, his fingers traced a row of book spines before finally pulling out a thick volume of "Principles of Star Energy Mechanical Engineering."

Since he had mastered all the high school cultural content, he began reading some elective books.

Like countless mornings before, he sat down quietly and began his unwavering cultural studies in the morning light.

Outside the window, the city gradually woke up, and the sound of traffic began to rise.

Inside the room, there was only the rustling sound of turning pages.

An hour later.

[You studied diligently for one hour, scholar experience +6]

[Profession: Scholar Lv8 (4164→4170/12800)]

Information flowed into his Sea of Consciousness like a trickle.

Even after experiencing the rapid surge of gaining tens of thousands of experience points in the Provincial First Mock Exam's cultural test, Li Wen still maintained this almost rigid, clumsy accumulation.

This was not the blind pursuit of efficiency, but rather stemmed from a vague yet persistent clue deep within his past life's memories.

He had once accidentally glimpsed a forum post title: "First Scholar to complete 10,000 hours of study achievement receives a mysterious gift."

What exactly was the reward? He hadn't clicked on the post; in his previous life, he hadn't cared.

But in this life, as the sole "player," no one in this world could compete with him for this first-place honor.

This sense of unparalleled control gave him enough patience to watch his experience points slowly climb at a rate of 6 or 8 points at a time.

The unknown mysterious reward at the end of the ten-thousand-hour achievement was itself a Treasure Trove worth anticipating.

He wanted to see what kind of flower this accumulation of time would blossom into.

Closing the book, Li Wen took a deep breath and stood up. The timing was just right.

"Dad, Mom, I'm going to the exam." He called out towards the kitchen from the entrance.

"Alright! Go, son!" Mother Li's voice was filled with endless anticipation.

"Do your best! Tell us what you want to eat tonight in advance!" Father Li also poked his head out and shouted loudly.

"Got it," Li Wen responded with a smile, then pushed the door open and left.

Downstairs, the sleek, cool-toned silver-gray levitating limousine was already quietly parked by the roadside.

The driver, dressed in a Kindling Hall uniform and with a respectful expression, opened the rear door for him.

The vehicle glided silently, rejoining the city's pulse.

Destination: Qingshi No. 3 Middle School.

The school gate was in sight, but unlike yesterday's quiet entry, today's Third Middle School was like a boiling hotbed.

A tremendous roar of sound was clearly audible even through the car window.

In the open space outside the school's sports field, a massive matrix of temporarily erected virtual pods was neatly arranged.

And that wasn't all.

The sports field was already packed with people, divided into clear sections by grade: first-year and second-year students occupied the outer areas with the best views. They were specially permitted to watch the live broadcast of the second Provincial Mock Exam's Martial Arts Assessment, which normally belonged to the third-year students.

At this moment, they were all excitedly whispering to each other, the atmosphere as lively as a festival; in the innermost circle were today's protagonists—the third-year students' formation, about to enter the examination arena.

Their area was permeated with a distinctly solemn atmosphere; most students sat upright, either making final adjustments or staring blankly at the virtual pods, an invisible tension hanging over them like low pressure.

The path to the third-year formation required passing through the sea of first- and second-year students on the periphery.

As Li Wen's figure approached, he was spotted by sharp-eyed younger students.

"It's Senior Li Wen!!!"

"Wow! It really is him!"

"Go, Senior Li Wen!!!"

"The pride of Third Middle School! We're counting on you, Senior!"

"The fierce one who slayed Yao Beasts! He's brought honor to our second year too!"

More and more people recognized him, their young voices filled with undisguised enthusiasm, admiration, and a sense of belonging.

Many bolder students even stood up excitedly, waving their arms vigorously and shouting his name loudly, cheering him on.

The roar of voices instantly converged, overpowering the background noise.

Li Wen felt that surging, youthful enthusiasm.

He tilted his head slightly, his gaze sweeping over those excited yet somewhat naive faces, a gentle smile gracing his lips as he nodded in response.

"Wow! He responded!"

"Senior Li Wen saw me!"

"Ahhh, go for it! You must get first place!"

This smile and nod interaction was like throwing new kindling into a bonfire of youth, instantly igniting an even more fervent wave of cheers. The shouts were deafening, reaching straight to the sky.

This scene became the first striking sight in the bustling Qingshi No. 3 Middle School today.

Li Wen walked towards the third-year area amidst thunderous cheers.

As far as his eyes could see, the Flying Star Class's seats were already mostly occupied.

Seeing Li Wen arrive with such a high-profile entrance ceremony, the elites in his class had varied expressions.

Xue Jun nudged Deng Yuefei next to him, winked, and mouthed the word 'impressive'.

A few girls had purely eager gazes; while Huang Hao, once the top student in their grade, looked envious and raised his hand to greet him with a simple smile.

Facing the greetings from the Flying Star Class members, Li Wen smiled and responded to each one.

His gaze swept across the entire venue. He checked the time; only ten or twenty minutes remained until the official start of the second Provincial Mock Exam's Martial Arts Combat Assessment.

He walked to the front-row seat reserved for him in the Flying Star Class, sat down quietly, and closed his eyes to rest, as if the thunderous cheers had never existed.

The intense nervousness and anticipation of the surrounding third-year examinees enveloped him like tangible air, yet failed to ripple his expression in the slightest.

Only a clear objective echoed within him:

Aim for the top three in the province and secure S-grade contract resources! The real battle was about to erupt in the virtual space.

Not long after, the broadcast sounded, notifying all third-year students to proceed to the gymnasium for the first item of the Provincial Second Mock Exam Martial Arts Assessment: Physical Body Rank Test.

The gymnasium was already prepared, with several Advanced testing instruments lined up.

The test proceeded in class order.

Time passed minute by minute. For most students, improvement over a month was slow and difficult.

As name after name was called, the Physical Body Ranks displayed on the screen mostly hovered between Rank 6 and Rank 8. Occasionally, someone breaking through to Rank 9 or even touching the threshold of Rank 10 would elicit a small gasp of astonishment.

Finally, "Li Wen!" The testing teacher's voice rang out clearly, and the entire gymnasium instantly fell silent. All eyes simultaneously focused on the figure walking towards the testing platform.

Li Wen calmly stepped onto the instrument.

The light screen scanned, and data flashed rapidly.

Physical Body Rank: 8.7.

The moment this number appeared on the screen, an uncontrollable gasp filled the gymnasium.

Although mentally prepared, seeing this value, which had surged by another 0.7 Ranks since the last Provincial First Mock Exam, still made everyone feel suffocated by the pressure.

This rate of improvement was no longer just leading; it was a generational leap.

However, the shock had only just begun.

Next was the strength testing segment.

Li Wen stood before the massive dynamometer. There was no fancy wind-up, no exaggerated roar. He simply took a deep breath, unified his waist and stance, and unleashed his right fist like a cannonball.

"Bang—!!!"

A muffled, extreme thud, as if the entire base of the dynamometer had vibrated.

The huge metal punching bag trembled violently, emitting a groan of unbearable strain.

But on the screen connected to the punching bag, the area representing the strength value did not show any specific numbers. Instead, there was a string of dazzling question marks:

Strength: ??????

Dead silence!

Absolute dead silence enveloped the gymnasium!

Everyone's eyes widened, staring incredulously at the string of question marks, as if it were some incomprehensible anomaly.

"This—how is this possible?"

"The dynamometer—is it broken?"

"My god, all question marks? What does this mean?"

After a few seconds, the crowd erupted like a boiling pot.

"Is he even human?!" a student exclaimed, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"I remember—this dynamometer can measure up to Rank 20 strength, right?" another student recalled the equipment specifications with a trembling voice.

At this moment, a Martial Arts Teacher responsible for equipment maintenance quickly stepped forward to inspect the instrument. After confirming that the data cables were correctly connected, his face also showed extreme shock. He spoke with a somewhat dry voice, confirming the previous person's statement: "That's right, the upper limit of this dynamometer can withstand the full force of a Rank 20 Advanced Martial Artist—as long as it's not a Super Martial Artist's full attack, it should theoretically be able to measure a value."

Upon hearing this, the entire venue was utterly stunned.

A Physical Body of less than Rank 9, yet a punch reached the limit that required the full strength of an Advanced Martial Artist to test?

Even—it might have already reached a level of strength that the dynamometer couldn't display, seemingly touching the threshold of a Super Martial Artist?!

This had completely exceeded their cognitive limits regarding the correlation between physical strength and Rank.

Genius? Prodigy? These words seemed pale and powerless at this moment.

Such a high-profile performance was naturally not Li Wen deliberately showing off.

His eyes were calm, his heart unruffled.

The total score for the Provincial Second Mock Exam was still composed of three parts: Physical Body Rank (30%), Martial Arts Skill (50%), and Cultural Score (20%).

He knew very well that he started late. Although his Physical Body Rank was decent at Qingshi No. 3 Middle School, it was definitely at the bottom when compared to the top Geniuses across the province.

Not to mention far away, just Jiang Lingyun from No. 1 Middle School, his Physical Body had long surpassed Rank 10.

And those Prodigies who consistently dominated the provincial top ten, which one of them hadn't tempered their muscles and bones with top-tier resources since childhood, accumulating day by day?

Their Physical Body Ranks were probably generally at the Advanced Martial Artist level.

In this 30% Physical Body Rank score, if he wanted to avoid being too far behind, or even gain a slight advantage, he had to maximize his performance in the strength test.

He had to extract every point he could, leaving no room for error.

This concerned the S-grade contract, Universal Treasures, and his future; there was no room for holding back.

By the time all students completed the Physical Body Test, it was almost nine o'clock.

Without giving everyone too much time to process the shock, the broadcast sounded again, guiding students to the temporary virtual pod matrix on the sports field.

Li Wen, familiar with the routine, found his numbered virtual pod and lay inside.

The hatch closed, and the familiar sensation of weightlessness came, the scene instantly switching.

When he opened his eyes again, he was in that familiar and magnificent square.

The figures of five to six thousand third-year students from the entire Qingshi County appeared densely, a clamor of voices filling the air.

His gaze habitually swept towards the rostrum.

Seated there were leaders from various education departments, as well as representatives of The Four Great Factions.

The Four Great Factions representatives were still the four familiar faces from the Provincial First Mock Exam, including Director Sun Zhenshan of the Kindling Hall. In addition, there were some new faces; judging by their badges and demeanor, they were likely observers from various Martial Arts Universities within Jiangnan Province.

Their gazes sharply scanned the students in the square, clearly looking for promising talents.

Just as Li Wen was observing the stage, Director Sun Zhenshan's gaze happened to sweep over.

Seeing Li Wen, Director Sun's face showed a smile of approval and encouragement, and he nodded slightly.

Li Wen returned a calm smile, this recognition from a high-ranking Kindling Hall official further solidifying his conviction.

Not long after, light flickered in the square, and all students were teleported, creating a magnificent sea of people.

The leader on the rostrum cleared his throat and began to speak through the amplification System.

It was still the usual official rhetoric of encouragement, emphasis on fairness, and anticipation for the future.

Soon, the time arrived for the Martial Arts Skill assessment.

"Buzz"

Above the entire square, a massive light screen suddenly lit up. A line of incredibly conspicuous characters, covering half the sky, condensed from countless points of light: