by <unknown>
So after the results of the college entrance examination was out, there wasn't an ounce of tension visible on examinees’ faces here. 30-40% of the students were gathered together as they talked and laughed.
"I scored 345 points, I am ranked 75562 in the city. Haha, it's enough. This score should be enough for me to enter the 'Mysterious Fire Cooking School'!"
"Mine is also not bad; I scored 341 points, but I have not decided which school I want to attend. My father explicitly said that I am not allowed to learn to operate mining equipment or learn any crafts related to mining. It has always been my dream to be a beautician!"
While the countless examinees of slum district were talking and laughing, deafening roars suddenly came from the sky one after another as several dozen rainbows flashed over from the sky above the Mining Clan High School, leaving a trail of colorful flames behind as they slowly dispersed.
"Wow, so many luxurious flying shuttles!"
"Look at that. That flying shuttle seems to have the insignia of the city's board of education!"
"Our Limestone District is just notorious for being a slum district. Why are there so many luxurious flying shuttle approaching here? They seem to be flying towards Limestone High School!"
Soon, all the students received the news. The "Limestone High School" belonging to the Limestone District had an examinee called "Ge Qiang" who, as if possessed by a god, had unexpectedly paved his way into the top thousand in the Floating Spear City's college entrance examination rankings.
The entire campus suddenly burst into exclamations.
"Amazing! I never would have expected that an examinee from our slum district would be able to get into the top thousand of Floating Spear City!"
"I know this Ge Qiang. His mother died very early on and his father was a miner, but he was seriously injured in an accident. As a result, his entire body was paralyzed. The whole family relied on the meager subsidy to survive, so Ge Qiang worked extremely hard. He wanted to get a good score in order to cure his father and reverse the fate of his family!"
"Yes, several times I woke up at 4-5 AM in the morning and saw Ge Qiang carrying a heavy stone running down the street. All the neighbors called him an out and out training maniac!"
"Are so many reporters as well as the officials from the board of education going to interview Ge Qiang? This kid is a perfect example of a fish leaping across the dragon gate — he has reached the sky in a single leap!"
All the examinees of the Mining Clan High School were feeling envious of Ge Qiang's result. Such a good result was enough for him to choose a good university, and perhaps some companies under a cultivation sect might spend money to train him. It could be said that from now on, his fate had completely changed.
However, who asked him to train like a madman?
No sweets without sweat. For such a result, he had paid for it with his sweat and no one was going to get jealous over that.
While the examinees were chatting with each other, an extremely strange scene appeared in the sky. Those luxurious flying shuttles, which happened to be rushing towards the Limestone High School and were about to disappear in the horizon, suddenly made a U-turn, and much to everyone's surprise, they were all directly flying toward the Mining Clan High School!
Many more luxurious flying shuttles were closing in on the Mining Clan High School from every corner of the city. The space around the Mining Clan High School was completely packed!
"What... what's going on?"
All the examinees and their parents were mind-boggled. They all stood still like wooden chickens in their place; they didn't even dare to breathe loudly.
There were so many luxurious flying shuttles, with the cheapest among them being worth a few million bucks. Why were such flying shuttles, without any previous arrangement, acting in consort and gathering at the Mining Clan High School?
This was the last ranked high school in Floating Spear City with the worst of the worst teaching quality!
A while later ——
"Where is the college entrance examination champion?"
A large group of luxuriously dressed cultivators with spiritual light looming around their bodies jumped out of the luxurious flying shuttles. They could not wait to land on the campus.
They were the managers of various sects in the Floating Spear City responsible for soliciting talent.
"Where is the college entrance examination champion?"
Behind the group, a bunch of officials from the board of education followed one after another.
"Where is the college entrance examination champion?"
A large group of journalists followed after them as they boisterously squeezed into the crowd.
The examinees and the parents of the Mining Clan High School started at each other before looking at the numerous well-dressed high society figures with a strange look in their eyes.
As though they were looking at a bunch of idiots and madmen.
—— If they were not idiots and madmen, why would they come looking for some college entrance examination champion in this ghastly place, the Mining Clan High School?
"You still don't know? Your Fellow Sstudent Li Yao is this year’s college entrance examination champion! Quickly, ask Student Li Yao to come out and give an interview! Li Yao, Student Li Yao!"
An impatient reporter started his mini crystal processor and adjusted the hologram to show the Floating Spear City's College Entrance Examination Ranking.
Reading the small characters on the first row of the list, all the examinees and the parents at Mining Clan High School were feeling confused and disoriented as stars danced before their eyes.
After a silence of an entire ten seconds, the huge campus was like a dormant volcano that suddenly recovered from its stupor. In an instant, the entire campus burst into deafening cries and exclamations.
"Are you serious? Our Mining Clan High School's examinee actually became the Floating Spear City's champion of the college entrance examination?"
"My god, is my eyesight correct? I am not seeing wrong, right?"
"Incredible, it is truly incredible. This is simply, this is simply——"
The reporter was getting anxious. He waved his hand and shouted, "Respected students and the parents, everyone should first take it easy. Can you please first ask Student Li Yao to come out and speak a few words? He is the anticipated college entrance examination champion, you can not be able to hide him any longer!"
"Right, Li Yao, where did Student Li Yao go?" All the examinees put their head together, asking each other. Because Li Yao was a transfer student who just joined the Mining Clan High School a month back and usually didn't come to school to revise, the majority of the examinees didn't know him. After asking everyone nearby, an examinee finally said with hesitation, "I just passed the boiler room a while ago. I think I saw Student Li Yao there. He seemed to be... repairing the boiler."
"What!"
All the reporters screamed as if they were all rooster whose neck had been stepped upon.
Chapter 92: From out the Boiler Room Came the Champion! |
Li Yao was indeed repairing the boiler.
In the entire Star Glory Federation, he was one of the examinees who had completed their college entrance examination early; it only took him three hours to complete all the examination questions. And immediately after, he had left the examination chamber without any delay.
There were still two hours before the college entrance examination was over. In the meantime, Li Yao chose to wander around. With his hands behind his back, he leisurely strolled around the campus. Unknowingly, he had arrived at an abandoned bath house behind the school.
When the Limestone District was in its most prosperous period, the Mining Clan High School once had more than 10,000 students. And in the residential area behind the school, a large bathhouse was built to provide students convenience in their free time. During holidays, it was even open to the community.
However, the Limestone Distric
t gradually declined with the depletion of the lodes as the number of Mining Clan High School students became fewer and fewer over time. Hence, as the number of people who came to take a bath was low, heating a large pool of water for a handful of people was simply too uneconomical. It was unknown when it began, but the bathhouse has been closed since.
After being unattended for several decades, the boiler room which was responsible for providing heat to the bathhouse was laden with rust and covered in spider webs and dust.
Through the broken window, Li Yao casually swept a glance inside the boiler room. His eyes suddenly lit up as his line of sight transfixed upon a pitch black boiler.
In the boiler room, he discovered a towering boiler which had been manufactured nine or so decades ago — the "Fire Bear" Boiler. This type of boiler was one of the first civilian magical equipment that utilized 3-dimensional array architect. The core of the boiler was enclosed in two layers flame array glyphs, consisting of an upper and a lower layer. These two layer acted as a cooling system that made it possible to remove any potential excess heat energy in a steady stream, thereby allowing the temperature to remain extremely stable. Its structure was a classic.
Previously, Li Yao had seen the schematics of this type of boiler only in a book; he never had the chance to lay his eyes upon it.
As a magical equipment fanatic, naturally, he would not miss such a great opportunity.
The door to the boiler room simply wasn't locked. Its hinges had all become rusty. Li Yao exerted his strength to push open the door.
"Crash!"
With a loud crash, the door was forcibly opened, causing the dust in the boiler room to swirl around in the air as bats and small birds flew out.
Some of the bird poop had even landed on Li Yao's head.
Li Yao simply didn't pay any attention to all of these things. His pair of eyes shone like a rat who had discovered a sack of rice. Ignoring everything else, he swooped over and hugged the "Fire Bear" Boiler as he began to research the boiler with rapt attention.
For the entirety of three or so hours, he was completely immersed in the wonderful world of magical equipment.
Although the Fire Bear Boiler was a magical equipment from almost a century ago, its double-layer array structure was astonishingly mysterious. A total of 36 fire array glyphs were connected through over a hundred very fine crystal wires. It could even be said that just moving a single wire could affect the entire structure. Completely immersed within it, every design left an unforgettable memory in Li Yao's mind.
Unconsciously, Li Yao had bent down and crawled his way into the boiler. His face, his hands, and his entire body was covered in oil. His entire body was dirty and dusty; the only thing left untainted were his two rows of neat and tidy white teeth. He could not get any more unkempt than his current state.
His eyes, on the other hand, were getting brighter and brighter. His ten fingers as gentle as a goose feather lightly whisked the crystal wire, as if he were a world-renowned zitherist lightly playing the zither and creating a beautiful tune.
Vaguely, he seemed to grasp the essence of the 3-dimensional array structure. In his eyes, the components of the huge boiler gradually turned translucent; within the depths of his mind, the large boiler was continuously being disassembled before being reassembled into its working state.
"So it was like this — this is completely ingenious! The dissipating fire-type spiritual energy is collected again in order to lower the amount of wasted spiritual energy. This design is truly a work of art!" Li Yao clucked his tongue in marvel.
"Student Li Yao? Student Li Yao? Li Yao!"
Principal Mao ran with a red flush that extended from his face to his neck. Standing at the entrance of the boiler room, he leaned on his knees as he gasped for breath for a good while. He shouted for several times, but it was all in vain as he didn't receive a single response. He was truly unable to catch Li Yao's attention. He took a look around before picking up a wooden torch and lightly poked Li Yao’s ass with it.
"Student Li Yao!"
"Wait! Principal Mao, whatever it is, it can wait. I will soon figure it out… so it was like this, so it was like this… this is too formidable! Why didn't I think of this sooner!? Originally, these three crystal wires were working in conjunction!"
Li Yao slapped his thigh. Without turning around, he said in excitement, "Principal, can you wait again? I'm absolutely sure that I can fix this boiler — it will be as good as new!"
Principal Mao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He yelled, "Li Yao! It's getting late. You still want to repair this boiler? Quickly come out now. You have to give interviews. You are Floating Spear City's champion of the college entrance examination!"
"Don't yell. The echoes inside the boiler room make my head hurt. Whatever it is, it can wait for me. Let's talk about it after I repair the boiler. Even the college entrance exam's cham... what? I am the college entrance exam's champion!?"
Inside the boiler, Li Yao let out a wolfish howl and jumped in excitement.
"Boom!"
But soon after, the entire boiler room started shaking as the dust accumulated upon the beams of the room fell and covered the whole boiler room.
Li Yao had forgotten that he was still inside the boiler. His head violently collided with the steel plates as a bulge soon appeared on the boiler as well as on his head.
Li Yao did not care about the pain. Holding his head, he crawled out of the boiler and took two deep breaths as he collected himself. He grabbed Principal Mao's shoulder and started shaking him. "Principal, am I really Floating Spear City's champion of the college entrance exam?"
"Hey hey hey, can’t you spare my old bones? Won't you know after checking the net?" Tears of pain trickled down from Principal Mao's eyes.
Li Yao immediately let go and somewhat embarrassingly scratched his head, thereby sprinkling the dust from his messy hair. Starting up the crystal processor, he opened the page dedicated to the college entrance examination. Entering his student ID before clicking to confirm, his score and ranking soon floated up on the display.
"Floating Spear City's Mining Clan High School Li Yao, College Entrance Examination total score - 781, Spiritual Root Development Quotient - 92%, final score - 718.52, citywide first!"
"Awesome!"
Li Yao's excitement had reached its peak. He even did three backflips before jumping three feet high into the air as he violently sent out a punch mid-air!
"I did it!"
"In one month, I, a waste with a Spiritual Root Development Quotient of 7%, has once again become a cultivation genius with a Spiritual Root Development Quotient of 92%. And I had also won the title of ‘Floating Spear City's Champion of the College Entrance Examination’!"
"I didn't disappoint Sun Biao, Peng Hai, Ding Lingdang, Grandpa Wang, and Principal Mao's expectation!"
"The most important thing is that I'm one step closer to my dream. With this score, I can pick any one of the Nine Elite Universities!"
"Student Li Yao, calm down. There are hundreds of reporters waiting outside to get your interview. Don't get excited. Calm down, you have to be calm!" Principal Mao said in a trembling voice.
He was asking Li Yao to remain calm, yet his appearance revealed the opposite of anything but calm; he appeared as though he had been injected with a large dosage of some stimulant. From his neck to his ear, his face was flushed red. His arms, his legs, and even his entire body was trembling; he was excited to the extreme.
The College Entrance Examination Champion, ah! Since the establishment of Floating Spear City's Mining Clan High School, for over a century, let alone the College Entrance Examination Champion, not a single student had appeared within the top thousand. How could Principal Mao remain calm? How could he be calm and collected?
If not for his old and frail body, he too would not be able to contain himself and would somersault a few times like Li Yao!
Upon hearing Principal Mao’s words, Li Yao took a long, deep breath as
he forcefully rubbed his cheeks and muttered to himself, "Calm down, calm down. It's just Floating Spear City's champion of the college entrance exam. I will become a Master Refiner in the future. My name will move the Federation and shake the entire Heaven Origin Sector. How can I lose my bearing just from such a small scene? That’s too embarrassing..."
As he spoke these words, a calm smile emerged on Li Yao's face. His pitch black face was accompanied by shining white teeth, just like a fool.
Noticing that Li Yao was a little complacent, Principal Mao reminded him, "Student Li Yao, I heard some reporters speak and it appears that they seem to be very interested in the relationship between you and the Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School. When you talk to them, you need to be careful of what you say. Try not to offend others. After all, we do not have any deep-rooted hatred. It would not be very good to completely shed all pretenses of cordiality, do you understand?"
"Oh?"
Upon hearing the words “Crimson Nimbus Second Senior High School”, Li Yao was surprised for a moment. The smile on his face disappeared as two strange glints flashed through his eyes. In large strides, he left the boiler room.
Like a bunch of uncontrollable, wild dogs, a large group of reporters vied with each other as they rushed over to the boiler room.
"Student Li Yao! Student Li Yao! Please give us an interview!"
Li Yao immediately collected himself as he quickly drew a draft in his mind. After a second, he proudly raised his head and went ahead to welcome the reporters.
He gave a cough to clear his throat. Just as he wanted to speak, the large group of reporters walked right past him as if they hadn't seen him. Like a river met with a reef, they automatically separated to either of his sides and went around him.
"Student Li Yao, where are you? Please come out to give me an interview!"
A slightly embarrassed Li Yao raised his right hand. "I'm here!"
"Where? We don't see you, Student Li Yao!"
The large group of reporters surrounded Li Yao. A few dozen of them doubtfully gazed at Li Yao as they measured Li Yao from head to toe. Not one of them paid attention to him.
