Chapter 91: The April Exams
Guanshan District No. 1 High School.
The April mock exam was the last large-scale unified exam for the entire city before the college entrance examination. However, Li Yuan continued his usual routine, arriving at school for training at three in the morning and taking a shower before heading downstairs at seven. Li Yuan was very disciplined with his training routine.
"Not coming back for the April mock exams?" Li Yuan muttered to himself as he passed the 4001 martial arts room. His gaze lingered, and his steps slowed involuntarily. The electronic lock was new and dust-free, indicating that it was regularly cleaned. Although Gu Qianghan had mentioned half a month ago that Lin Lan Yue wouldn't be back, as the mock exams approached, Li Yuan found himself hoping otherwise.
"Just my wishful thinking," Li Yuan laughed to himself, shaking off the thought. Traveling from Blue Star to Soaring Star required passing through a star bridge, making the journey difficult. Given Lin Lanyue's family background and her participation in a mysterious 'special training,' it was unlikely she would return just for the April mock exams, which, while important, were not the actual college entrance exams.
"Li Yuan." A voice called out suddenly. A burly teenager greeted him from a distance.
"Dong Haifeng?" Li Yuan smiled back. It was the student he had saved during the last practical test.
Dong Haifeng, who had just walked out of the martial arts room, was beaming. After returning from Jiangbei Martial University, Dong Haifeng's attitude towards Li Yuan had undergone a complete transformation. He greeted Li Yuan warmly and even with a hint of respect each time they met.
"Gu Qiang isn't here?" Li Yuan asked as he approached.
The door to the 4003 martial arts room was also closed, and the trash outside was the same as the previous night.
"He doesn't come to the martial arts room in the morning," Dong Haifeng laughed. "He often arrives late for morning self-study too."
Li Yuan was momentarily stunned, realizing he had never seen Gu Qianghan at six in the morning over the past six months. He usually saw him in the afternoon.
"No wonder his progress is slow. He hasn't even seen the four o'clock night of Jiangcheng. How can he train fast?" Li Yuan joked. "Let's go to the cafeteria together."
Dong Haifeng was puzzled. The four o'clock night of Jiangcheng? He hadn't seen it either!
"Gu Qiang is progressing slowly? That's a big shot for you," Dong Haifeng muttered to himself.
In the cafeteria:
"Brother Yuan, you don't seem anxious at all," Yan Zhou said, eating a steamed bun as he watched Li Yuan and Dong Haifeng walk in leisurely.
"What's there to be anxious about?" Li Yuan smiled, sitting down with his classmates and starting to eat.
Zhou Qi had already bought breakfast for Li Yuan: fried sauce noodles, beef noodles, a nutritious breakfast, along with two soda buns and two portions of shaomai.
In fact, except for the nutritious breakfast, consuming too many carbohydrate-rich foods was not very helpful for martial arts training and could even be harmful. But Li Yuan didn't mind. With his current physical fitness, he could digest these foods quickly.
"Slurp!" Li Yuan took a big bite of the fried sauce noodles, feeling quite satisfied. The school's fried sauce noodles and hot dry noodles weren't particularly remarkable, but after eating them for so long, Li Yuan would feel uncomfortable if he missed a meal. These were the foods he had grown up eating.
"Yan Zhou, you're the one who's anxious, right?" Zhou Qi laughed while eating. "Last time you were in the 21st exam room, and now you're in the 22nd. You're about to fall to the same level as Brother Yuan."
"Old Zhou, do you think you're so great? The eternal second exam room," Yan Zhou retorted immediately.
In the last January mock exam, Yan Zhou didn't perform well in his cultural subjects, so his exam room was further back this time. This kind of ranking fluctuation was normal, which is why Zhou Qi teased him.
"What's wrong with the second exam room?" Zhou Qi raised his head proudly. "It's the second out of forty exam rooms!"
"I'm proud!"
Everyone laughed. Zhou Qi was telling the truth. In their class of over a hundred students, very few could make it into the top two exam rooms.
"Brother Yuan, you won't improve by another hundred points this time, will you?" Zhou Qi suddenly asked Li Yuan, looking somewhat worried. "If you improve by another hundred points, your cultural score will be catching up to mine."
In the January mock exam, Li Yuan's cultural score had increased by about a hundred points, moving him from the 29th exam room to the 24th, close to the middle of the year's rankings.
"Don't worry," Li Yuan laughed. "I'll try to improve by 120 points, just enough to surpass you."
"Damn, you're ruthless!" Zhou Qi laughed and cursed. "Leave some points for us."
However, no one took Li Yuan's words seriously. Another 120-point improvement? Impossible!
"Finished eating."
"Let's go. Let's get to the exam room early and familiarize ourselves with the front and back rows. We need to form a united front."
"Hope I can reach the key score this time." The classmates chatted as they walked to the exam room, mostly relaxed.
Li Tianyou was more silent, walking alone at the back.
As they neared the exam building, the others went upstairs one by one.
"Tianyou, wait a moment." A low voice suddenly called out beside him.
Li Tianyou was startled, realizing that Li Yuan had somehow appeared next to him. "Li Yuan, what's up?"
He stopped walking.
"Tianyou." Li Yuan looked at Li Tianyou's face and smiled. "Have you been losing weight recently?"
Li Tianyou was stunned, subconsciously touching his face.
He did seem thinner.
"Maybe." Li Tianyou forced a smile, not explaining.
Suddenly.
Buzz~ Li Tianyou's smart bracelet vibrated slightly. He looked down and saw a transfer notification, showing a deposit of 50,000 Blue Star Coins.
The sender was Li Yuan.
There was also a V-message from Li Yuan with a name and V-number.
"Li Yuan, what's this?" Li Tianyou was shocked, looking at Li Yuan.
"With less than two months until the college entrance exam, I know you've been training hard, but external aids are essential. Buy some Qi and blood tonics and ensure you have nutritious meals three times a day. This person, Zhong Cheng, is a martial arts worker. Tell him you're my classmate, and he'll give you a discount," Li Yuan smiled. "And to clarify, I'm not giving this to you; I'm lending it."
"But I can't pay it back," Li Tianyou said, unable to help himself.
"I'm not asking you to pay it back now. What's more important, money or health? Really planning to lose weight?" Li Yuan joked. "Once you get into Jiangbei Martial University and graduate, you'll get a good job and be able to pay it back. Remember, you have to repay me within ten years!"
Li Tianyou's eyes turned red instantly.
He understood that this was just Li Yuan's way of making it easier for him to accept.
Who lends money and gives a ten-year repayment period?
"Li Yuan, I..." Li Tianyou's voice choked.
"Tianyou, people are watching. Keep it together," Li Yuan shook his head. "I'm not interested in you, don't let people misunderstand."
Li Tianyou was stunned, then laughed.
"Take it." Li Yuan smiled. "With your grades, you have a good chance of getting into Jiangbei Martial University, but don't get nervous."
"Martial arts training gets harder the more you rush it."
"Stay calm," Li Yuan smiled. "Trust me on this."
"Mm-hmm." Li Tianyou nodded. In his heart, Li Yuan had great authority in martial arts training.
As Teacher Xu Bo had openly said in martial arts class, with Li Yuan's skill level, he could at least be a 'senior martial arts teacher.'
"I'm going up," Li Yuan waved. "See you later."
"50,000 Blue Star Coins." Li Tianyou looked down at his bank account and couldn't help but look up at Li Yuan's back.
He wanted to tell Li Yuan he didn't need it, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Because he did need it.
"Thank you," Li Tianyou silently said in his heart.
Finding his seat, Li Yuan had just sat down when:
"Li Yuan is in our exam room?"
"This is the 24th exam room. He's a martial arts student and has such good cultural scores?"
"Hey, my seat number is in front of Li Yuan's, so I'm better than him."
"You wish! Do you want him to punch your snot out?" Many students whispered.
Since the start of the semester, especially after the Jiangbei Martial University invitation event, Li Yuan's performance had spread among the seniors. With the school's deliberate promotion, Li Yuan's fame had surpassed even Lin Lan Yue's.
"Talking about me?" Li Yuan listened to the voices but didn't care.
He was thinking about Li Tianyou.
"Hope this money helps him." Li Yuan sighed.
Of all the classmates he knew, Li Yuan admired Li Tianyou the most.
Sometimes, Li Yuan even thought that if Li Tianyou could awaken the Divine Palace talent, he would be as outstanding, if not more, than himself.
One must be self-aware.
"Opportunity and luck sometimes outweigh effort," Li Yuan sighed.
He had wanted to help Li Tianyou before but couldn't.
Why only 50,000 Blue Star Coins? Why say it was a loan?
Firstly, Li Yuan knew Li Tianyou's character: very tenacious and dislikes asking for help, so he didn't want him to feel burdened.
Secondly, Li Yuan's intention was to give the money, not expecting repayment.
Thirdly, and most importantly,
"I'm still growing, and training costs are high," Li Yuan sighed. "Hope this helps him get into Jiangbei Martial University."
Getting in would be a turning point in Li Tianyou's life.
Buzz, buzz, buzz~ The bell rang.
The invigilators walked into the classroom, and everyone placed their smart bracelets at the front of the room.
The April mock exam officially began.
...
After a day and a half of cultural exams, Li Yuan could only say he did his best.
"The scores shouldn't be worse than last time," Li Yuan thought. "Usually, the April mock exam is less difficult."
The January mock exam is harder to humble students and prevent overconfidence.
The April mock exam is usually easier to encourage students.
...
The next afternoon was the martial arts spiritual aptitude test.
Li Yuan's test sheet still showed 'not awakened,' as expected.
According to Dean Li, given Li Yuan's evident physical and mental talent, any match with a high-level cultivation method would have shown by now.
"No one else in the class seems to have a match either," Li Yuan glanced around.
In the entire senior year, only Wan Xiao and Zhou Qi had met the requirements for high-level cultivation methods.
"Everyone has a spirit."
"Just without a method."
"The current seven high-level cultivation methods were created by generations of martial artists." Li Yuan silently thought, "In the future, if I become a sky-flying martial artist, maybe I can participate in this great civilization process."
...
The third day was the martial arts physical test.
A month had passed since the Jiangbei Martial University invitation event.
Li Yuan finally stopped hiding his physical fitness, fully revealing his strength.
40-meter sprint test.
"21.8 meters per second."
"Damn!"
"Li Yuan's sprint speed, this!" All the students present were shocked, staring in disbelief.
"Brother Yuan?"
"So awesome!"
"Is Brother Yuan about to become a real martial artist?" Zhou Qi, Yan Zhou, and Li Tianyou were all stunned. That was a martial artist's level.
Even the three invigilators were surprised.
This sprint speed was almost at the 10.0 level standard.
Remember, they were testing an ordinary class.
"What's strange about it?"
"Isn't this the score Li Yuan should have?" Dong Haifeng, Gu Qianghan, and other top ten students weren't surprised.
In their view, someone who had decisively won first place in the elite martial arts students' practical test in Jiangbei Province.
After a month, was it strange for Li Yuan's physical fitness to approach level 10?
In the following physical tests, Li Yuan's results were consistently impressive to students and examiners alike.
...
In large exams like this, scoring and grading were very fast.
That night, in the principal's office of Guanshan District No. 1 High School, Tan Zhenlong was waiting.
"Beep——" The smart assistant sounded, "Master, Director Wang from the Education Bureau is video calling you."
"Director Wang?" Tan Zhenlong was surprised, "Answer, in reception mode."
The lights in the office adjusted, subtly changing the atmosphere. A holographic projection formed, showing a man in his thirties in a shirt.
"Principal Tan, congratulations." The young man smiled.
"Director Wang, congratulations on what?" Tan Zhenlong was puzzled.
"The April mock exam."
"Your school produced two single-subject top scorers in the city." The young man smiled. "Isn't that worth celebrating?"