Li Xiao walked over to Song Jin under the watchful gaze of the surrounding students. With perfect synchronization, they raised their hands, bumped fists with easy familiarity, and walked away laughing and talking.

The students: “…”

So he was only smiling for Li Xiao.

They should have known Song Jin wouldn’t suddenly become so approachable.

All that excitement for nothing.

With a massive number of first-year students, the examination regulations stipulated that each student could compete in a maximum of ten matches. Suffering three consecutive losses meant an early elimination, with final scores calculated based on the determinations of the on-site proctors and the AI adjudication system.

Suspended high above each arena was a massive virtual screen, scrolling continuously to display the rankings of the top one thousand students, shifting almost every fraction of a second.

After a mere three matches, the names of Li Xiao and Song Jin bolted directly into the top one hundred, becoming the focal point of the entire academy’s faculty and student body.

This also meant that their subsequent opponents would consist entirely of the powerhouses from the top one hundred of the year.

For the fourth match, Li Xiao was matched against the Director of the Student Union’s Armaments Department.

Gao Jia, the Student Union President, had just concluded a match of his own. Noticing the massive crowd gathered around Li Xiao’s arena, he walked over out of curiosity.

The whistle blew, and the Armaments Director initiated an immediate offensive, aiming to secure a swift victory through speed to preserve his physical parameters for the subsequent matches.

The further the matches progressed, the more formidable the opponents became.

Li Xiao retreated step-by-step toward the boundary of the arena, intentionally slipping toward the left. The moment his opponent was deceived by the feint and struck left, Li Xiao slipped past from the right, appearing cleanly behind him.

The tactical situation inverted in an instant.

Driven into a corner, the Director spun violently and threw out a kick, aiming to force his opponent back to establish enough distance to return to a safe zone.

Yet Li Xiao neither dodged nor deflected, executing a strike straight toward the other’s ankle a fraction of a second faster.

The Director stumbled back two paces from the kinetic feedback, stepping directly outside the boundary line.

The whistle blew, and the proctoring cadet announced loudly, “This match goes to Li Xiao!”

The surrounding ring of students waiting in queue was profoundly shocked.

The Armaments Director’s capabilities could easily place him within the top thirty of the rank, yet he hadn’t retained a single shred of advantage against Li Xiao.

Some students noticed that the President, Gao Jia, was also spectating this match and asked him for a critique.

Gao Jia focused intently on the slow-motion replay above. “Li Xiao utilized pure technique in this match; he wasn’t even fighting seriously.”

The students: “…”

Winning this easily without even being serious.

Just how much of his true strength is he still concealing?!

Li Xiao caught the prompt for his next match. After exchanging a nod with the proctoring cadet, he turned to leave, running directly into Gao Jia, who offered a greeting.

“An exceptional display. I hope to have the opportunity to exchange a few pointers with you this morning,” Gao Jia said with a smile.

Li Xiao returned the smile. “Then I’ll strive not to be eliminated from the pool too early.”

After exchanging a few detached, polite phrases, the two departed in separate directions.

In another arena.

The alpha student who had insulted Jiang Hao on Monday had just concluded four matches. Upon arriving at the fifth match and seeing his opponent was Jiang Hao, he flashed a highly smug grin.

“Securing a free win just like this, it feels almost embarrassing.”

Jiang Hao asked in bewilderment, “How is it a free win? I don’t intend to surrender.”

The alpha scanned him up and down, his words laced with thorns. “In case I injure you, it wouldn’t look good if you ran off crying that I bullied you.”

Jiang Hao replied with absolute earnestness, “I won’t. I’m wearing protective gear, so feel free to strike with all your might. I won’t hold back either.”

The alpha: “…”

Can this kid not comprehend sarcasm?

Communicating with someone completely off the same frequency is utterly exhausting.

The whistle blew, and the alpha and Jiang Hao lunged toward each other simultaneously.

The alpha drove a fist toward Jiang Hao’s abdomen, aiming to execute a spinning sweep to send him straight out of bounds while he was occupied with dodging. If he applied enough force, he could fracture at least two ribs.

He had relied on this exact combination to win his previous four matches; it worked flawlessly every time.

The extended fist was intercepted mid-flight. Jiang Hao’s reaction parameters fell perfectly within the alpha’s predictions, allowing him to decisively pivot using the kinetic feedback, only to be struck squarely in the face by a fist a fraction of a second faster.

“Ugh!”

The alpha was left in utter disbelief. A momentary lapse in focus caused him to miss the opportunity to evade Jiang Hao’s subsequent strike.

Jiang Hao seized the other’s wrist, delivering a fluid combination that kicked the alpha cleanly out of the arena.

Adjusting the shifted bandages around his hands, he addressed the alpha, “Don’t say I bullied you. I applied very light force.”

The alpha clutched his agonizing abdomen as he pushed himself up, watching helplessly as Jiang Hao patted himself off and walked away.

His terminal chimed with a notification. The alpha looked down to see his rank drop from 98th to 115th.

“Jiang Hao is incredibly strong too,” the surrounding students waiting in queue discussed in hushed tones. “All four individuals close to Li Xiao have broken into the top one hundred!”

The alpha snapped his head up, seeing that Jiang Hao had indeed surged to 86th.

At the exact same moment, another arena erupted into a massive wave of exclamations.

The whistle blew, and the proctoring cadet announced, “This match goes to Qin Le!”

Qin Le nodded in acknowledgment to the proctoring cadet, stepping out of the arena past Zheng Lin, whose face had been struck swollen, and glanced at the massive display above.

His name had jumped from 75th to 62nd.

Clutching his face as he rose, Zheng Lin protested to the proctoring cadet, “Qin Le committed a foul! He launched a malicious attack! I demand a rematch!”

Qin Le paused his footsteps, waiting for the proctoring cadet’s adjudication.

The proctoring cadet truly did not dare to offend the Zheng family, his finger hovering indecisively over the red-card warning button.

The spectating students watched the slow-motion replay above; although they understood there was no issue, none of them dared to step forward to voice it.

Qin Le, after all, hailed from the top tiers of the political elite himself and understood the intricate systems of influence better than anyone. Not wanting to make things difficult for the proctoring cadet, he actively spoke up, “I accept. Let’s execute a rematch.”

The proctoring cadet was somewhat surprised. “Are you certain?”

Competing in ten matches in a single morning was a significant physical challenge for any student. Fighting an additional match required factoring in physical consumption parameters, alongside absorbing the risk of a loss.

Qin Le returned to the arena. “Please arrange it as quickly as possible. I don’t wish to impact the students waiting in queue behind me.”

The sheer magnanimity of these words instantly drove the screaming Zheng Lin straight into the dirt. The spectating students immediately developed an immense wave of goodwill toward this exchange student from Shengya.

Song Jin concluded his sixth match and stopped by to check on Qin Le.

The moment the students spotted Song Jin, they instinctively looked up at the massive display, their eyes widening in shock.

Song Jin had actually climbed to 28th!

This beautiful young master truly possessed genuine capability!

The whistle blew. Before the students could even register the details, Zheng Lin was sent flying out of bounds by Qin Le through an identical combination of strikes. However, because Zheng Lin failed to mount any timely resistance this time, the strike didn’t connect directly with his face.

The proctoring cadet blinked in a daze before hastily blowing the whistle, “This match goes to Qin Le. The result is valid.”

Song Jin cast a sideways glance at Zheng Lin, who was scrambling up in a wretched state. “Insisting on being humiliated twice before willing to behave yourself.”

With that, under Zheng Lin’s thoroughly resentful glare, Song Jin and Qin Le departed together.

The atmospheric pressure within the arena plummeted instantly. The students silently turned their faces away, releasing a collective sigh of relief only after Zheng Lin had departed.

Both sides were young masters of elite backgrounds, yet it felt as though Danse had lagged a massive step behind Shengya.

On the military academy’s internal network, numerous students uploaded clips from the examination grounds. Students from other year levels who couldn’t join the chaos could only steal glances at the internal network streams during lectures to satisfy their cravings.

【Real-time battle reports from the frontline! Li Xiao and Song Jin break into the top twenty in their seventh match! Gao Jia temporarily holds first! Zheng Lin and Qi Ge enter the top fifty!】

【Frontline battle report update! Li Xiao and Song Jin storm into the top ten during their eighth match! They possess a high probability of contesting for first against Gao Jia!】

【Frontline battle report again! Li Xiao and Song Jin are absolutely unstoppable, breaking into the top five in their ninth match! Ahhhh, family, who understands this?! I don’t want Gao Jia to lose, but I don’t want the Li-Song couple to lose either, what do I do?!】

The engagement metrics of the posts soared, swiftly trending to the top.

“I’m betting a dime that Gao Jia holds the top spot securely!”

“The fact that Gao Jia can maintain first until now has a massive correlation with the matching algorithms. Everything is still highly uncertain!”

“I’m betting on the little couple! The Second Prince has completely reconfigured my cognitive understanding of royalty!”

“+1, in my existing impressions, royalty were all just decorative showpieces.”

“The three lieutenants beside Li Xiao have all entered the top ten!”

“To the user above, the ‘lieutenants’ you speak of happen to include the Student Union President of Shengya Military Academy (laugh-cry).”

Just as the comment section was locked in an intense debate, a student fired off a brand-new update.

【High-energy warning ahead! Li Xiao’s final opponent is Gao Jia! Matchmaking system, you truly understand how to stir up trouble!!!】

A massive flood of users howled in the comments section, begging for video clips and live streams.

Within the testing grounds, many students had already concluded their examinations, flocking toward the final remaining arenas to spectate the clash of titans while secretly learning advanced techniques.

Arena 1221 was surrounded by several thick rings of crowds. Everyone focused intently on the two figures trading strikes at extreme velocities. No one could afford to speak; the arena resonated solely with the impacts of combat and the harsh screeches of soles frictioning against the floor.

Gao Jia failed to successfully breach Li Xiao’s defensive parameters during a rapid offensive chain, thinking to himself that it was exactly as expected.

Given Li Xiao’s reaction velocity, attacks of this caliber meant absolutely nothing, and the other party hadn’t even initiated a counter-offensive.

He attempted to elevate his speed parameters while seeking defensive vulnerabilities in Li Xiao’s stance.

Li Xiao dodged rapidly, maintaining strict control over his positioning to ensure he remained at the dead center of the arena.

Unlike Qi Ge and the others, Gao Jia’s capabilities were clearly far superior. Utilizing the previous tactic of retreating to the boundary line might cause an accidental loss if he wasn’t careful.

The confrontation remained deadlocked for over ten minutes. While maintaining his peak offensive velocity, Gao Jia’s physical reserves depleted rapidly, sweat pouring down him like rain.

“It’s been this long and he still hasn’t breached the defense…” someone whispered softly.

The hearts of the other students leaped into their throats.

Although Gao Jia was maintaining an intense offensive, the tactical flow was entirely dominated by Li Xiao, driving Gao Jia into an increasingly passive state the longer he fought.

Someone gasped, “Gao Jia can actually elevate his speed further?!”

“Li Xiao is launching an attack!” another student couldn’t resist shouting.

The proctoring cadet spectated from the side. Under the parameters of Gao Jia’s elevated speed, Li Xiao’s choice to counter-attack at this exact moment was clearly not an optimal opening. Could it be that his physical reserves were failing, prompting a swift resolution?

The opposite testing arena suddenly erupted into a deafening wave of cheers. The arena echoed with an instructor’s resonant voice, “This match goes to Song Jin!”

Song Jin accepted a clean towel passed to him by Qian Can, wiping his sweat as he walked toward Li Xiao’s direction. “It hasn’t concluded yet?”

“Not yet, it sounds incredibly intense!” Qian Can craned his neck to steal a glance, leaping up onto a training iron rack in two bounds. “Boss, get up here quickly!”

Qin Le noted, “Gao Jia possesses genuine capability.”

Song Jin flipped nimbly onto the iron rack, watching the duel between Gao Jia and Li Xiao within the arena as he murmured darkly, “Only a single match short.”

Qin Le and Qian Can: “…”

Song Jin’s statement lacked context, yet they understood it perfectly.

If there were to be an additional match, given Li Xiao and Song Jin’s ranking positions, they would inevitably have to meet at the absolute peak.

Because Li Xiao’s opponent wasn’t himself, the Boss was feeling jealous.

Within the arena, Li Xiao blocked Gao Jia’s strikes twice in quick succession, striking directly at a vital vulnerability.

Gao Jia scrambled to mount a defense, but in the next instant, Li Xiao’s hand-blade came to a dead halt against his neck, sending a wave of shock through his system.

Less than thirty seconds had elapsed since Li Xiao initiated his counter-offensive.

With capabilities of this caliber, he could have completely defeated him from the absolute beginning.

Sensing Gao Jia’s internal realization, Li Xiao spoke calmly, “From the moment you executed your final speed elevation, your breathing rhythm turned chaotic, which is why I could locate your vulnerability so easily.”

Gao Jia noted, “Even if you hadn’t depleted my physical reserves and engaged in a direct frontal clash, you wouldn’t necessarily have lost.”

“Too exhausting, there was no necessity,” Li Xiao stated casually.

Gao Jia: “…”

Gao Jia let out a helpless laugh, extending a hand while catching his breath, “I yield.”

Li Xiao shook his hand.

With one party incapacitated, the examination concluded.

The proctoring cadet blew the whistle, “This match goes to Li Xiao!”

“Wow—!”

Numerous students cheered at the spectacular display.

Li Xiao verified that his terminal had received the examination feedback data. From the corner of his eye, he caught Song Jin gesturing to him from the iron rack. Cutting through the crowd, he walked over to the base of the structure in a few paces.

“I missed your examination.”

“Nothing worth looking at.” Song Jin passed the towel over. “I assumed I’d get to encounter you in the final match; how disappointing.”

Li Xiao accepted it casually to wipe his sweat. “You want to fight me that badly?”

Song Jin countered, “Haven’t we still failed to determine a victor between us?”

Li Xiao reached up to touch his slightly damp hair. “I conceded to you a long time ago.”

Song Jin blinked. “? When?”

Li Xiao replied, “Guess.”

Song Jin: “…”

This routine again.

“The rankings have shifted.”

Hearing Jiang Hao’s reminder, Li Xiao and Song Jin looked up at the massive display.

“What’s the situation? A tie?!”

A massive wave of clamor erupted across the arena.

Li Xiao and Song Jin tied for first place with a comprehensive score of 990. Gao Jia secured third with 985, Qin Le and Jiang Hao tied for fourth with 980, and Qian Can took sixth with 970.

Song Jin commented in a thoroughly lukewarm tone, “As expected, an additional match should have been implemented.”

Li Xiao: “…”

The moment the scores were published, a massive wave of discussion flooded the internal network. Some individuals who had witnessed the Shengya matches understood to varying degrees that Li Xiao and Song Jin possessed excellent capabilities, but none had expected them to be formidable to this threshold, actually outperforming the Student Union President, Gao Jia!

“Half of the top six consists of Shengya exchange students, they are truly too strong! Previously, Gao Jia held an absolute gap at first place.”

“Shengya truly lives up to its status as a military superpower; I profoundly feel their terrifying nature!”

“We aren’t lacking either! Li Xiao is our Second Prince! Can the princes of Shengya match up to ours?!”

“They only excel at hand-to-hand combat; their mech operations and theoretical examinations are bound to fail.”

“Li Xiao defeated Lin Zhou in mechs, and Song Jin decapitated Meng Tao. If that’s considered failing, what exactly constitutes excelling?”

The collective focus of the student body shifted gradually toward the afternoon’s mech examination.

The first-year mech examination was relatively straightforward, requiring students to execute corresponding maneuvers based on prompt scenarios generated by the system; there was no actual combat sector.

Song Jin listened to the regulations, his interest entirely absent. The lower the difficulty threshold, the harder it was to establish a ranking variance.

Sure enough, following a foundational mech operations evaluation, the rankings remained virtually unaltered.

The theoretical examination was scheduled for the following morning.

_

By dusk, Zheng Lin and his group returned to the dormitory after dinner. Hearing everyone along the paths discussing Li Xiao and Song Jin made them highly uncomfortable.

“What’s the point of securing first in practical combat? If their theory fails, it’s still completely useless.”

“Maintaining a position within the top fifty isn’t a significant issue for us.”

Zheng Lin sat down silently, his teeth grinding in sheer rage as he recalled today’s evaluation. Although he had adjusted his psychological expectations beforehand, seeing a rank variance of over thirty spots was still exceptionally difficult to accept.

Fortunately, Li Xiao’s theoretical parameters are a massive shortcut.

In Dorm 610.

Li Xiao emerged from his shower, watching 09 fly over clutching an energy stone.

09 reported, “Yan Qing disclosed the matter regarding the blood to the second-year Dean of Instruction, Xiang Hong, and even consumed half a vial of blood right in front of him.”

As it spoke, it projected a holographic screen displaying the surveillance loop inside Yan Qing’s dormitory living room.

On screen, Yan Qing’s face was completely contorted in disgust as he forced the blood down his throat. “Utterly repulsive.”

Xiang Hong carried an anxious expression, pouring a glass of water to hand to him. “You are being far too reckless.”

Yan Qing waved his hand, “No water, diluting it will negate the efficacy parameters.”

Xiang Hong pressed, “Have you verified the chemical composition? What if it’s poison?”

Yan Qing replied dismissively, “Something sold to multi-billionaire bosses, how could it possibly be poison? At worst, it causes diarrhea. To bring down that perverted old fool, I don’t care.”

Xiang Hong manifested an expression of deep hesitation. “If he truly crosses the threshold too severely, you can submit a request for a departmental transfer.”

Yan Qing let out a bitter laugh, “He controls the general affairs division, where could I possibly run? Unless I resign entirely.”

Li Xiao sat down while drying his hair. From their dialogue, he had fundamentally pieced together an approximate understanding of the situation.

Did Yan Qing intentionally inform Xiang Hong because there was an issue with this individual, or were they operating within the same faction?

“How do you feel currently?” Xiang Hong asked with a trace of concern.

“Slightly stimulated, it feels as though I could lecture for three consecutive blocks,” Yan Qing beamed. “As expected, a premium price tag correlates directly with its value.”

Li Xiao: “…”

An exceptional performance of a naive, sweet simpleton.

The following morning at eight-thirty, the first-year theoretical examination commenced.

At the exact same moment, within the Danse Royal Palace on the Capital Planet.

Just past two in the afternoon, Li Ji remained preoccupied with the military academy’s first-year phase examinations, yet lacked the face to transmit a text message to his younger brother. As his Special Assistant, Old Liu, brought in a fresh brew of tea, he asked in a thoroughly casual manner, “Is that kid behaving himself at the military academy?”

Old Liu understood instantly, projecting the page of the military academy’s internal network into mid-air, smiling as he noted, “The Second Prince just secured first place today. Even the grandson of General Gao Wanxin couldn’t defeat him.”

Li Ji took a methodical sip of his tea before casting his gaze toward the screen, stating calmly, “This wild kid excels at absolutely nothing else, but he is supreme at brawling, fighting wherever he sets foot.”

Old Liu chuckled as he followed up, “The Second Prince is truly exerting immense effort. Everyone is stating that their perceptions of royalty have completely shifted.”

Li Ji let out a soft huff. “What utility does royalty possess if they only know how to fight?”

An assistant knocked and entered to report, “Your Majesty, General Meng Jian has arrived to present a work briefing.”

Li Ji acknowledged the prompt, signaling to permit entry.

Meng Jian entered the office clutching a thick stack of report materials, handing everything over to Old Liu before addressing Li Ji, “This is the comprehensive intelligence brief concerning the case of military-grade firearms materializing within the Pirate Organization, Liehu.”

“This extensive?” Li Ji scanned the materials placed onto his desk.

Meng Jian noted respectfully, “Since it implicates the leakage of military armaments, the investigation had to be executed with strict precision.”

Li Ji casually flipped through two pages before ceasing his movements, picking up his teacup once more to methodically scrape away the tea froth. “The conclusion? Who channeled the armaments to Liehu?”

Meng Jian stated, “It was Duya.”

Li Ji paused slightly, his voice dropping significantly. “How does a mere pirate organization secure military-grade armaments?”

“Duya is not merely a pirate faction,” Meng Jian’s expression turned grim. “It was established by the remnants of the rebel faction from back then. They have been active within the Nanming Sector for numerous years; several of our military units have collapsed under their hands, with a significant amount of armaments plundered.”

“Plundered of armaments?” Li Ji set his teacup down with a firm thud, let out a sharp chuckle of sheer rage. “What exactly have the individuals under your command been executing?! Unable to handle a minor faction like Duya, even losing the very equipment you rely on to survive. If this leaks out, the military will transform into an absolute laughingstock!”

Meng Jian countered, “I brought this to your attention previously. They still retain their focal point. If Your Majesty wishes to sever the grass at its roots, you must first resolve the foundational issue.”

Li Ji’s gaze turned freezing cold. “The foundational issue?”

Meng Jian naturally harbored no fear toward him, speaking with absolute composure, “Back then, the rebel faction secretly infiltrated the royal family, enticing the late King into fathering the Second Prince, planting the absolute seed of disaster. As long as he exists for a single day, Duya will continuously—”

“Shut up!” Li Ji slammed his desk as he rose, his hand violently sweeping the teacup off the surface. “Do you possess any comprehension of what you are stating?!”

The teacup flew past, brushing against Meng Jian’s uniform and leaving two damp stains on the fabric. Meng Jian’s tone turned equally severe, “Numerous years have already elapsed, Your Majesty must accept reality. He was indeed not borne of the late Queen; did that DNA report from back then fail to adequately clarify the issue?”

Li Ji’s fury surged exponentially. “The events from back then haven’t been thoroughly investigated yet, do not bring this matter up again!”

Meng Jian pressed, “Then we simply allow him to act recklessly? Waiting until his wings harden completely for him to launch another coup d’état?”

“Meng Jian!” Li Ji roared in absolute fury. “Mind your diction!”

“Fine,” Meng Jian looked down at the scattered report. “I have already delivered a resolution strategy. If Your Majesty refuses to adopt it, I am powerless. If there are no further issues, can the transfer of departmental oversight be executed this coming Monday?”

The inquiry was framed with extreme disrespect. Rather than an inquiry, it resembled an absolute forcing of terms, with even the timeline decided on Li Ji’s behalf.

Special Assistant Old Liu stood silently to the side, his heart leaping into his throat.

Unable to suppress his fury, Li Ji seized the thick stack of reports and hurled them out, scattering them across the entire floor. “Duya is a rebel faction; if they plunder military armaments, they wouldn’t retain them for their own operations, but channel them to other organizations instead?”

The papers scattered across the floor felt like a direct slap delivered across Meng Jian’s face, causing it to burn with a stinging heat.

“Plundered from Duya‘s hands.” Li Ji let out a laugh of pure rage, his tone carrying a distinct grinding of teeth. “A third-rate pirate organization can handle Duya, yet our military forces cannot?! You are treating me like an absolute fool.”

Meng Jian argued, “Duya shares an established channel with Liehu, making it significantly easier to execute an acquisition.”

“Do you truly believe I can accept an excuse of this caliber?” Li Ji exhaled a long breath, forcing his system to calm down. “Take it back and re-investigate!”

Meng Jian sat in silence for a brief moment. Rising to deliver a formal bow, he stepped across the papers littering the floor and exited the office, his expression terrifyingly dark.

Within the office, Special Assistant Old Liu knelt down to gather the sheets of paper, offering a diplomatic reminder, “Your Majesty, your demeanor toward General Meng Jian might trigger his extreme displeasure.”

Under the current political alignment, fracturing relationships completely with the Meng family was highly detrimental to the royal house.

“Is he displeased by my demeanor?” Li Ji sat down, rubbing his temples. “If I fail to suppress him, the outcome will be equally disastrous.”

Old Liu suggested, “Perhaps we decelerate the situation first?”

Li Ji shook his head. “Deceleration is non-viable. I have already retreated to a threshold where no further retreat exists; it is impossible to yield another step.”

“Your Majesty…” Old Liu manifested a trace of worry. “Perhaps he merely feels that delaying the oversight transfer causes him to lose face before his circle of old comrades; delivering it to him might resolve the friction.”

Li Ji let out a cold laugh. “If the issue were merely that simple, I wouldn’t be burdened with this headache.”

The more frantic Meng Jian became, the more vulnerabilities it indicated. Now that things had reached this stage, it was completely impossible for him to relinquish departmental oversight; he could only stall. If the Meng family was driven to desperation, he would have no choice but to stake everything on a single throw.

But if that happens, Xiao Xiao will…

Thinking up to this point, Li Ji addressed Old Liu, “Still no intelligence from Gao Wanxin’s end?”

Old Liu replied, “Word states that they have successfully embedded an operative inside Duya‘s internal structure.”

Li Ji pressed, “What have they uncovered?”

Old Liu noted, “Nothing concrete yet. Currently, the operative has only established contact with low-level street thugs; they possess absolutely no comprehension regarding the events from back then.”

Li Ji knitted his brows. “This operational efficiency parameters match up perfectly with that old fool Meng.”

_

Back at the First Military Academy.

Inside the testing hall, the moment the students laid eyes on the examination paper, their hearts turned half-frozen.

Professor Yan truly didn’t treat them like outsiders; composing an examination paper of this extreme difficulty threshold, he seemed terrified of lowering this year’s failure metrics.

Zheng Lin scratched his hair in sheer frustration, forcing his way through writing for over an hour before the remaining prompts left him with no choice but to rely on blind guessing and intuition, praying for a stroke of luck.

He stole a quiet glance toward Li Xiao’s direction, finding his mood improving considerably upon seeing the other party sleeping in the corner of the final row of the testing hall.

Turning his head to look toward the opposite side’s front row, Song Jin was sleeping as well.

Excellent.

Even if they lost in practical combat, their theoretical parameters would at least outperform them!

On the podium, the invigilator was bored to the threshold of secretly folding paper airplanes. Noting that several seed contestants were completely drained, he shook his head internally. It appeared this year’s scores would turn out exceptionally tragic once more.

As the three-hour mark approached, he rose to remind the two sleeping figures to ensure they submitted their examinations before the system timer concluded.

Li Xiao was awoken, offering a weary word of thanks before casually submitting his paper.

Last night, he and his little lion had analyzed the surveillance loops recorded by 09 until dawn, yet failed to extract a single shred of actionable data.

The bell rang.

A notification indicating a successful submission materialized on the virtual screen. Following a five-second countdown, the scores manifested.

Li Xiao rose, taking Song Jin’s hand as he passed his desk, and the two exited the testing hall together.

Song Jin shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, letting out a massive yawn. “This paper was truly mind-numbing; it bored me straight into a state of drowsiness.”

Li Xiao noted, “Return and sleep.”

Song Jin countered, “You owe me an entire night; we didn’t get a single opportunity to sleep last night.”

Qin Le and the others who followed them out: “…”

No opportunity to sleep?

The corridors were flooded with a dense crowd, every individual locked in intense discussions regarding the examination paper. Just as Li Xiao’s group reached the main lobby, they were blocked by Zheng Lin and his companions.

“What’s the rush? At least wait until the comprehensive rankings manifest before departing,” Zheng Lin spoke with a beaming smile.

Li Xiao asked, “Aren’t the scores generated instantaneously?”

Zheng Lin clarified, “I am referring to the rankings.”

Li Xiao countered, “You invest a significant amount of concern into rankings?”

Zheng Lin shot back, “Could it be that you don’t?”

Li Xiao stated calmly, “I indeed do not invest any concern.”

A lackey nearby let out a sneer, “An individual scoring single digits naturally has no necessity to invest concern.”

The group erupted into a collective chuckle.

“The rankings have manifested!” someone within the crowd shouted loudly.

Layers of virtual screens descended from the upper reaches of the lobby. However, because the student baseline was far too massive, it merely displayed the top one thousand ranks.

“A perfect score?! Someone actually secured a perfect score on an examination paper of this caliber?!”

“Incredibly formidable!”

“Could it be a system bug?!”

Zheng Lin stared at the name occupying the absolute pinnacle of the first page, his pupils dilating in sheer shock.

Li Xiao and Song Jin had actually secured a perfect score of three hundred points!

The lackeys were hit with a brutal, resounding psychological slap, lowering their heads, not daring to catch Li Xiao’s expression.

Weren’t they supposed to be single-digit scorers?!

Securing a perfect score meant one truly possessed the capital to completely disregard rankings!

Third place went to Qin Le with 299 points, fourth to Gao Jia with 298, fifth to Qian Can with 286, while Jiang Hao scraped into tenth place cleanly with a score of 275 points. Past the tenth position, the scores initiated a sharp, cliff-like drop.

Inside the Academic Affairs Office.

Yan Qing and a group of first-year instructors were working overtime.

“The rankings are published!” an instructor clicked into the backend interface to review the metrics, inhaling a sharp breath of cold air. “Two perfect scores, and one at 299! This cohort performed exceptionally well!”

“A rarity. I intentionally elevated the difficulty parameters this time; it appears they have indeed been actively expanding their extracurricular knowledge base,” Yan Qing chuckled with an excellent mood as he brewed tea within the pantry. “Did Gao Jia secure the perfect score?”

The young instructor yelled excitedly, “Gao Jia secured 298! The perfect scores belong to Li Xiao and Song Jin! I knew an early marriage could elevate academic performance metrics!”

Yan Qing paused his movements, unable to believe his ears. “Who did you say?”

The young instructor repeated with pure enthusiasm, “Li Xiao and Song Jin! They took first place!”

Yan Qing: “…”

I instructed you to be obedient.

I didn’t instruct you to be this obedient.

His terminal vibrated. Yan Qing slid it open to find a message from Li Xiao.

Li Xiao: 【Professor Yan, remember to fulfill what you promised.】

Yan Qing: “…”