19: Chapter 19: Can you eat the top scholar's prize? The crunchy kind?

Meanwhile, Jiang You was completely unaware of this.

As the days of the College Entrance Examination drew near, the atmosphere in Jiangcheng became increasingly tense.

In the last few days, a strange sight had appeared at Jiangcheng No. 1 High School.

In Class 2, Grade 3—the most competitive classroom in the school, where the air was thick with anxiety and the scent of hair gel—a humanoid koala was forever slumped over on the throne in the back row by the window.

Jiang You had the principal's special approval for legal sleeping rights.

When other students were pulling their hair out memorizing the "Encyclopedia of Monster Weaknesses," he was sleeping.

When other students were sweating buckets on the playground practicing the "Fifth Set of Radio Calisthenics," he was rolling over.

On the podium, the homeroom teacher, Baldy Wang, was tapping the blackboard, spittle flying, trying to give one last shot of adrenaline to this group of leeks about to head onto the battlefield.

"Students! Wake up! Everyone, wake up!"

"Look at society today! Look out the window!"

"This is a world where all pursuits are inferior, only the Martial Dao is high! You think you're tired? Let me tell you, the kids in the small class at the affiliated kindergarten next door are drinking nutritional supplements every morning! They've been competing at the starting line since they started wearing diapers!"

Baldy Wang became more and more agitated as he spoke, pointing at the bustling city skyline outside the window: "Look at those children of prominent families! Even if their blood qi isn't as high as yours, they have money to pop pills! They have high-tech auxiliary armor! They're sweating in their private gravity rooms at four in the morning!"

"What do we commoners rely on? We only have our lives! We have to rely on this last chance for fair competition—the College Entrance Examination!"

The whole class listened, their blood boiling, eyes filled with tears, wishing they could rush out and run five kilometers right now.

Only from the back row came an extremely inappropriate, rhythmic snoring sound.

"Hoo... ru..."

The vein on Baldy Wang's forehead throbbed.

He really wanted to throw a piece of chalk at him, but remembering the principal's words and the gravity room that Jiang You had broken, he forced himself to hold back.

"Ahem! Let's continue."

Baldy Wang took a deep breath and began to explain the cruel reality of the College Entrance Examination: "Everyone knows that we humans not only have to face internal class solidification, but outside the city, there are endless monster wastelands, as well as S-rank spatial rifts and ancient ruins that open from time to time!"

"If you don't want to be cannon fodder on the battlefield in the future, you must get into a good university!"

"This College Entrance Examination is divided into two parts!"

Baldy Wang held up two fingers: "First, the theoretical exam, accounting for 30%. Second, the blood qi value and actual combat test, accounting for 70%! Only if you meet the standards in both will you be eligible for undergraduate admission!"

At this point, Baldy Wang smiled mysteriously and dropped a bombshell: "Of course, there is a shortcut. If anyone can awaken a Supernatural Ability on the spot before or during the exam, regardless of their blood qi, they will be admitted by the four top universities! However, Supernatural Ability users are one in ten thousand, so don't bother thinking about it, you bunch of blockheads."

Hearing the words "Supernatural Ability," the students below let out a sigh of envy.

Jiang You was still sleeping, even changing his position to bury his face in his arms.

Seeing that the atmosphere had been hyped up enough, Baldy Wang finally unleashed his ultimate move: "Finally, I want to announce the latest document released by the authorities this year—regarding the rewards for the [Provincial College Entrance Examination Top Scholar]! In previous years, it was a prize of 500,000, but this year is different! To incentivize geniuses, this year's top scholar prize is—"

Baldy Wang paused, his voice rising by an octave: "A drop of blood essence from a Tier 5 monster, the Titan Giant Ape! And... a fist-sized [space source crystal]!"

The moment he finished speaking, the whole class was in an uproar.

"Holy crap? The Titan Giant Ape? That's an overlord-level monster! A single drop of blood can completely reshape one's physical body!"

"The space source crystal is even more of a priceless treasure! It's said to be used for forging storage equipment, or even to comprehend the power of space!"

However, the most excited ones were not these students. It was Jiang You... or rather, his body, which was sleeping in the back row.

[Internal Chat Group (Instantly exploded)]

[stomach (Startled awake from near-death)]: "What? Titan Giant Ape blood essence? That monkey known for its strength? High protein! High energy! A single drop of that stuff is worth ten thousand tons of braised pork! I want to eat it! I must eat it! If I eat it, my digestive ability can double! I'll even be able to digest iron!"

[Kidneys (Let out a greedy scream)]: "Sp... space source crystal? That's the real good stuff! As long as we eat that source crystal, we won't need to use our hands to move goods in the future; we can just open a moving company!"

[Brain (Operating at high speed)]: "Detected strong demand from the stomach and Kidneys. Calculating acquisition probability... As long as we take the top scholar spot, we can get it for free. Conclusion: Must take it. Whoever dares to snatch it, kill them."

In reality, Baldy Wang was still passionate on the podium: "As long as you work hard..."

Suddenly. "Bang!!!" A loud noise startled the whole class.

In the back row, Jiang You, who had been sleeping for the whole class, suddenly slammed the table and stood up.

He still had his eyes closed, but he stood straight, his whole body exuding a terrifying aura... like a wolf that had been starving for three days and nights seeing meat.

Baldy Wang was so scared he dropped his chalk: "Ji... Jiang You? Is something wrong?"

Jiang You suddenly raised his head, and although his eyes were still closed, a mysterious liquid suspected to be drool trickled from the corner of his mouth, his voice hoarse and filled with longing: "Teacher."

"You just said... that prize, is it ripe? I mean, that space source crystal, is it chewable?"

The whole class: "???" Baldy Wang: "..."

Is that the point? Isn't the point that it's a priceless treasure? What the hell is asking if it's chewable?

Baldy Wang wiped away cold sweat: "That... that's an S-rank hardness crystal, of course it's not chewable. But Jiang You, since you're awake, does that mean you're going to work hard for this goal?"

Jiang You, with his eyes closed, seemed as mysterious as a peerless expert. He nodded heavily, his words so firm that Baldy Wang was moved: "Rest assured, Teacher. For this meal... oh no, for the honor of the school. This top scholar spot, I'm going to eat it up."

After finishing, the energy in Jiang You's body relaxed, and that terrifying aura instantly disappeared.

He yawned again and slowly opened his clear and stupid eyes: "Uh... Teacher, where were we? Is class over? I need to go to the cafeteria to grab food."

Baldy Wang: "..." Give me back my emotion!

Late at night. Most residents of Jiangcheng had fallen asleep. But for Jiang You's body, tonight was a warm-up match for "preparing for the College Entrance Examination."

[Internal Chat Group]

[Brain]: "There are five days left until the College Entrance Examination. To ensure nothing goes wrong, we need to be in peak condition. Tonight's target: the underground vault of the Black Tiger Gang in the west of the city. I heard their boss spent a lot of money to buy a piece of extraterrestrial meteorite iron as a treasure to protect the gang. That thing has extremely high hardness and comes with its own magnetic field energy."

[stomach]: "Meteorite iron? Good! I love eating tough dishes! It's perfect for grinding my teeth!"

[Legs]: "Black trench coat ready! Mask ready! Let's go!"

Whoosh—the "Faceless Thief," who made the underground forces of Jiangcheng tremble with fear, set out once again.