23: Chapter 23 Go chase your mother! Who can catch that?!

On the outskirts of the Mist Forest.

Beside a relatively safe cave.

Li Hao lay sprawled on the ground, his chest heaving violently.

He was covered in blood, and his combat suit had several large holes torn in it.

The exposed skin was covered in blue and purple bruises.

Beside him lay a massive Wind Demon Wolf King.

Its neck had been snapped clean off.

It died a miserable death.

To kill this Level 2 intermediate-tier BOSS,

Li Hao had used up two of his last-resort life-saving pills.

His two lackeys were so exhausted they were foaming at the mouth, unable to even move a finger.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Li Hao wiped the blood and grime from his face.

Although his mouth twitched in pain, he still forced a savage grin.

"Damn it... finally killed it..."

"A Level 2 intermediate-tier BOSS, one thousand points... plus what I had before, it must be at least fifteen or sixteen hundred..."

He was quite satisfied with his performance this time.

You have to know, in previous New Star Trials, getting one thousand points was basically the level of the top five in the city.

Although that freak Lin Fan had charged ahead very aggressively earlier,

Li Hao firmly believed that it was just luck, or that he had simply been grinding small mobs.

And how long ago was that data?

In this godforsaken place, once your spiritual power is exhausted, you are nothing but a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

Lin Fan was carrying a deadweight healer; he would definitely run out of steam in the later stages.

And he, Li Hao, had an A-grade Fire Talent; his endurance was top-notch!

"Hey... Er Gou, go check the leaderboard."

Li Hao nudged his lackey beside him with his toe,

"See how much I've closed the gap with that piece of trash."

"If the gap has shrunk to just the points of one Level 2 BOSS, I'll crawl up right now and hunt him down!"

The lackey called Er Gou lifted his wrist with great effort.

His fingers trembling, he tapped a few times on his holographic bracelet.

This simple action changed everything.

Er Gou's eyes instantly widened into saucers.

His whole body jerked as if he had been electrocuted.

He jolted up from the ground, then slammed back down heavily.

"Holy... shit!"

Er Gou let out a high-pitched, distorted scream.

Li Hao frowned and cursed impatiently.

"Are you wailing for a funeral? This is what someone who has never seen the world looks like! Did I break into the top ten? Calm down!"

"No... it's not that, Brother Hao..."

Er Gou tremblingly held the bracelet up in front of Li Hao, his expression uglier than someone crying.

"Look... see for yourself..."

Li Hao propped up his upper body and glanced at it nonchalantly.

[1st Place: Lin Fan Team — Points: 6390 (Chengnan No. 3 High School)]

The air instantly froze.

Li Hao maintained his half-propped posture.

His entire body stiffened into a stone statue.

He blinked.

Thinking he was seeing things due to excessive blood loss,

he rubbed his eyes hard and looked again.

6390.

Those four bright red, piercing numbers hung at the top of the leaderboard.

They were even continuously jumping.

6395... 6400...

Still rising!

Li Hao stared at that number for a full ten seconds.

Suddenly.

He laughed.

"Hehe..."

"Hehehehe..."

The laughter grew louder and louder.

Finally turning into hysterical, wild laughter.

The lackeys beside him were terrified and hurriedly crawled over to hold him down.

"Brother Hao! Brother Hao, what's wrong! Don't scare me!"

"Has Brother Hao gone crazy? Should we knock him out and take him away?"

Li Hao shoved the lackey away and lay flat on his back, facing the sky.

Looking at the sky obscured by leaves above, a look of world-weary resignation hung on his face.

"Chase?"

"Chase your mother!"

"6400 points... I risked my life to get just over 1500..."

"That's not even a third of his... what's the point of playing this!"

Li Hao pulled a flattened cigarette from his pocket.

His hand shook so much he couldn't light it.

Finally, he just threw the cigarette away.

"Sleep! Everyone, go to sleep!"

"Whoever mentions the name Lin Fan to me again, I'll fight them!"

This kind of desperate gap made it impossible for anyone to even feel jealous.

That's not a human.

That's a monster!

...

Meanwhile.

Jianghai City Trial Command Center.

In the spacious hall, hundreds of screens flickered with light.

But at this moment, everyone's gaze was focused on the largest main screen in the center.

It was displaying the national real-time total point leaderboard.

The name in first place was shining with golden light, frighteningly large.

[NO.1 Jianghai City Chengnan No. 3 High School — Lin Fan Team: 6420 points]

Dead silence.

Absolute dead silence.

You could hear a pin drop.

Even those leaders from the Education Bureau, who usually looked down on everyone,

now had their mouths wide open.

Unable to make a sound.

This silence lasted for a full ten seconds.

Suddenly.

"Awoo!!!"

A shrill and high-pitched howl broke the silence.

The principal of Chengnan No. 3 High School, Principal Zhang Dapao, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly catapulted from his chair.

His two-hundred-jin weight was as light as a swallow at this moment.

He jumped straight onto the desk in front of him.

With both hands raised high, his face flushed red, and the veins on his neck bulging.

"Holy crap!!!"

"6420 points! National No. 1! National No. 1!!!"

"Am I dreaming! Quick! Old Wang! Stab me! Kill me!"

The homeroom teacher, Old Wang, beside him was already scared silly.

The thermos he was holding fell to the ground with a "clatter" and shattered into pieces.

He stared blankly at the screen, his lips trembling.

"Pr... Principal... it's real..."

"It really is national No. 1..."

Principal Zhang Dapao couldn't hear a word; he was spinning around on the desk in excitement.

He looked exactly like a severe patient who had just escaped from a mental hospital.

"The ancestral grave is emitting green smoke!"

"No! This isn't just green smoke! The ancestral grave is spitting fire!"

"What great virtue did I, Principal Zhang Dapao, accumulate in my past life? Did I lick the jade feet of Guanyin Bodhisattva?!"

"Heaven actually sent me such a precious treasure!"

The other school principals around him had pale, defeated faces.

Looking at the crazy Principal Zhang Dapao, their eyes were full of bloodshot envy.

The principal of Tianxing No. 1 High School spoke sourly.

"Old Zhang, watch your image. Although you're temporarily first, you might not be able to hold it..."

Before he could finish speaking,

Principal Zhang Dapao whipped his head around and spat a glob of phlegm right at the feet of the No. 1 High School principal.

"Pah! You old thing, you're just jealous!"

"Temporarily first? Open your dog eyes and look! That genius from the capital in second place only has 4800 points!"

"A dominant lead! This is what you call dominance, understand?!"

Principal Zhang Dapao grew more excited as he spoke and pulled out his phone.

"Hello! Logistics Department? Listen up!"

"Immediately! Right now! Go get those two bottles of 150-year-old Moutai I have stored in my office!"

"And! Notify the whole school! Next week... no! Start the holiday tomorrow! Celebrate for three days!"

"Lin Fan is my daddy... ah, ptooey! He's my godson!"

"If anyone dares to say a bad word about him, I'll tear down the school and build a pigsty!"

Principal Zhang Dapao's state right now was ten times more insane than Fan Jin passing the imperial examination.

He looked at the figure in the forest on the screen, killing everything in sight.

He wished he could dive into the screen right now and hug Lin Fan's thigh and kiss it twice.

This is a political achievement!

This is a shining promotion and pay raise!

As long as Lin Fan maintains this score,

next year, let alone the Jianghai City key high school, even the provincial key high school, Chengnan No. 3 High School will have the qualifications to compete!

"Old Wang!"

Principal Zhang Dapao suddenly jumped off the desk and grabbed Old Wang, who hadn't recovered yet.

He hugged him so hard he almost strangled Old Wang.

"From today on, you are the Grade Director!"

"Salary doubled! Bonus doubled!"

"You remember this, from now on, Lin Fan can walk sideways in the school, no problem!"

"If he wants to tear down a building, you give him the hammer! Do you hear me?!"

Old Wang was being strangled so hard his eyes rolled back, and he could only nod desperately.

This isn't F-grade, this is super SSSSS-grade!