17: Top 20 in the country

"280,000 points, your score should be in the top three in the nation."

After exchanging scores with Jiang Tianxia, Lu Yuan marveled at the terror of a Gold Attribute Combat Class.

Especially since Jiang Tianxia also possessed an SSS-Rank Talent!

"It's hard to say, my ultimate goal is to fight for first and secure second," Jiang Tianxia said.

"You are very strong, but Chu Wushe is stronger; he is aiming for the top scholar position in this year's Martial Examination."

Perhaps because exchanging scores had established initial trust, Jiang Tianxia talked more.

Hearing the name Chu Wushe, Lu Yuan nodded.

Chu Wushe, son of the current Alliance Master of the Thunder Alliance, had awakened a four-attribute Combat Class.

It was known that he had Thunder, Earth, and Wind, but his final attribute had not been made public.

"Keep working hard to increase your score. Let me tell you a secret: the rewards for the top three in this year's Martial Examination are very generous!" Jiang Tianxia stopped there.

By the fifth day of the Martial Examination, she had already reached 280,000 points. With this score, she would be a key student in any top university.

The reason Jiang Tianxia was so eager for points was precisely for the Martial Examination rewards!

Every year, the top 100 candidates in the national rankings would receive rewards of varying degrees, such as storage rings, spirit weapons, spirit treasures, and so on.

Among them, the top three were in one tier, followed by the top ten, top twenty, and so on.

The higher the ranking, the better the rewards!

"Going to that place might prevent Lu Yuan from overtaking my score." Jiang Tianxia made up her mind; she had discovered over a hundred Qi Refining Eighth Star Two-Headed Earth Wolves.

Due to the sheer number, she had originally wanted to cooperate with Lu Yuan, but it now seemed better to hunt them alone; it would just take a bit more time.

Top three in the nation?

Lu Yuan was thoughtful. In reality, he didn't care much about his score, but everyone hoped their score would be higher, and even higher!

Controlling the Puppet Corps, Lu Yuan went about his daily routine of searching for fierce beasts.

The fierce beasts in Taian City were far more numerous than imagined; this was a city that had once been home to ten million people.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was extremely eager to hunt fierce beasts. Firstly, it could quickly increase his strength; secondly, the Star Swallowing Legion could devour the corpses of fierce beasts to become stronger!

As he got closer to the center of Taian City, the fierce beasts were at least at the Qi Refining Eighth Star level, with no shortage of Qi Refining Realm Peak existences.

Facing fierce beasts of this level, Lu Yuan found it somewhat tricky.

Of course, only somewhat tricky!

...

The conference room on the top floor of the Tianhua City government building.

The conference room door opened frequently, and several Middle-Aged Men with extraordinary temperaments, aged around forty or fifty, walked in.

Each one emitted an unfathomable aura, causing the principals and school leaders present not to dare to breathe loudly.

"Old Yun, what's going on with Lu Yuan from your Tianhua City?"

"Last night, Lu Yuan was still at 100,000 points, ranked thirtieth in the province. This morning, he rushed to first place in the province and twentieth in the nation!"

The Mayor of Pingwan City, Yu Dexing, said.

Pingwan City was right next to Tianhua City and was one of the thirty-five cities in Hailan Province.

Yu Dexing had come, and the Mayors of the three neighboring cities had also come!

They had a good relationship with the Mayor, and they often chatted when going to the province for meetings.

"Yo, you've all come!" the Mayor said with a smile.

"Lu Yuan is a promising kid. Of course, it also has to do with Tianhua City being a place of outstanding people; it has been a place where heroes emerge since ancient times!"

The Mayor's tone was proud.

Hearing this, the Principal of Yunhai High School, Luo Jingrui, the principal of Tianhua High School, and many others couldn't hold it in.

Before the four Mayors arrived, Lu Yuan was facing a beast tide, and the Mayor was looking nervous, crushing one water cup after another while muttering to himself.

"Be careful, Lu Yuan! Don't just focus on controlling the monsters; check your surroundings for ambushing fierce beasts!"

"Beautiful! That's how you should fight!"

"Well done, Lu Yuan! You've been fighting for so long, you must be tired. Find a safe place to rest and replenish your energy!"

The Mayor had completely projected himself onto Lu Yuan. The key thing was that Lu Yuan couldn't hear him at all...

And the Mayor would laugh one moment and project himself onto Lu Yuan the next, making them think the Mayor had schizophrenia.

On the LCD screen leaderboard, Lu Yuan's ranking was particularly eye-catching!

[Hailan Province First Place: Lu Yuan, 250,000 points (Yunhai High School, Tianhua City)]

[Hailan Province Second Place: Fu Zhiqiu, 200,000 points (Hailan High School, Hailan City)]

[Hailan Province Third Place: Li Feipeng, 160,000 points (Hailan High School, Hailan City)]

...

Among the top ten candidates in the province, except for Lu Yuan, all came from Hailan High School in the provincial capital!

Lu Yuan, the provincial first, was currently ranked twentieth in the nation, running like a wild horse off the leash, never stopping!

"Old Yun, your Tianhua City is really impressive this year, producing a candidate who is first in the province and twentieth in the nation!" Yu Dexing looked at Lu Yuan's live broadcast screen.

"Rumor has it that the Provincial Governor is very satisfied with Tianhua City's performance in this year's Martial Examination, especially with Lu Yuan. The secretary said he laughed in his office for three or four minutes!"

Yu Dexing lowered his voice and said.

"That's good." The Mayor knew that Tianhua City was secure, and henceforth, Hailan Province would still have thirty-five cities!

After chatting about Lu Yuan for another half hour, the Mayors who had arrived via the space formation looked at the live broadcast screen of the national number one, Chu Wushe.

In the screen, Chu Wushe was located in the central circle of Taian City, continuously casting Thunder, Wind, and Earth attribute Spirit Skills.

And judging by the power of the Spirit Skills, each one was at least of the Profound Grade!

"Chu Wushe has been there for five full days. He not only hunts fierce beasts during the day but also doesn't idle at night." The Mayor clicked his tongue in wonder.

Hunting fierce beasts at night was too risky, so when the homeroom teachers explained the precautions before the Martial Examination began, the first thing they emphasized was that leaving the shelter at night was forbidden!

Only Chu Wushe was an exception!

"Qi Refining Realm Six-Star, 420,000 points. Is this the son of the Alliance Master of the Thunder Alliance? He is simply a monster!" a Mayor who had followed along said.

Chu Wushe, who had awakened a four-attribute Combat Class, had long since pulled away from the second-place Jiang Tianxia; currently, the two were separated by a full 100,000 points!

"Chu Wushe is a monster, but that has nothing to do with me. Right now, I just hope Lu Yuan can stabilize his twentieth place in the nation, or perhaps climb two or three spots higher, and I'll be satisfied." The Mayor expressed his thoughts.

Chu Wushe came from the Imperial Capital. Monsters gathered in super first-tier big cities like the Imperial Capital and Magic City, often dominating the top twenty of the Martial Examination year after year.

Therefore, the Provincial Governor of Hailan Province was very excited that Lu Yuan's score had reached the national top twenty!

"I say, Old Yun, is your mouth blessed?"

"What do you mean?"

"Lu Yuan is now eighteenth in the nation!" Yu Dexing pointed at the LCD screen.

On the left was the live broadcast screen, and on the right was the national leaderboard.

Lu Yuan was venturing deeper into Taian City and encountered several Qi Refining Eighth Star Thunder-Marked Lions. After wiping out that group of Thunder-Marked Lions, his score skyrocketed to 270,000 points!

"Ahem, well, I don't have high demands; if Lu Yuan can reach seventeenth place, I'll be satisfied." The Mayor stared at the LCD screen.

Two and a half minutes later, Lu Yuan, having killed two Qi Refining Realm Peak fierce beasts, rushed to seventeenth place!

"Second place! If Lu Yuan can reach second place, I'll be satisfied!"

The Mayor's veins popped, and his voice was as loud as a bell.

Everyone present: "???"

"Are you making a wish here? Jumping directly from seventeenth to second place, right!" Yu Dexing was speechless, but even if it were a wish, the Mayor had never thought about Lu Yuan becoming number one in the nation.

There was no helping it; Chu Wushe's performance was too heaven-defying!

"Just imagining it." The Mayor's smile was awkward.

"I have to say, Old Yun, your mouth is quite accurate. We have a kid in our city named Wei Ruiqi; he is currently sixty-eighth in the province. Make a wish for him to reach sixtieth by the end of the Martial Examination."

"The kid with the best score in our city is seventieth, named Duan Yufei. Make a wish for him to rush to sixty-fifth."

Several Mayors surrounded the Mayor, talking all at once.

Seeing this scene, everyone was between laughter and tears; they were starting to engage in metaphysics!

"Get lost, get lost! If I'm going to make a wish, it's for Lu Yuan. Lu Yuan, rush to the national top fifteen for me!" the Mayor said.

Every time Lu Yuan hunted a fierce beast, the Mayor quickly calculated the score, his eyes darting back and forth between Lu Yuan and the candidate ranked above him.

280,000, 290,000 points, 300,000 points...

Lu Yuan's score was still rising rapidly. Although his ranking hadn't risen, compared to the sixteenth-ranked candidate in the nation, his score was rising more than two or three times faster!