The smile on Wang Zhengguo's face bloomed like a spring flower.
He slowly turned his head to look at the man beside him—Mr. Fang, the principal of Dongjiang Third Middle School. Just a moment ago, Mr. Fang had been looking smug. Now, he was utterly stunned. Wang Zhengguo's tone was full of meaning as he spoke:
"Oh, Mr. Fang, my apologies. It seems our First Middle School has accidentally produced quite the dark horse this year."
Mr. Fang's smile vanished, freezing on his face. His hand, holding a teacup, hung suspended in midair. The moment was unbearably awkward.
A smile doesn't disappear; it just moves.
Wang Zhengguo was gloating uncontrollably. Even the light tea in his cup seemed to have a richer, more fragrant taste now.
...
The mock exam was over.
The rest of the afternoon was a rare half-day break for the seniors.
In Mr. Chen's office, Lin Ye sat bolt upright.
Mr. Chen looked at the student before him, the one who had given him such a pleasant surprise. A rare, gratified smile broke through his usually stern expression.
"Lin Ye, first of all, I must congratulate you."
"Your performance today made all the teachers, including myself, look at you in a new light. Your hard work has earned you everyone's respect."
He paused, steering the conversation back on track. "Based on the results and potential you've shown, you're more than qualified to transfer to Class Two, where you'll receive guidance from the school's better teachers and access more resources."
"This morning, Mr. Wang personally spoke with me. The school also hopes you'll transfer to Class Two. What are your thoughts?"
Lin Ye immediately shook his head. "Thank you for the principal's consideration," he said, his tone sincere and firm. "But I think Class Seven is just fine. You're a great teacher, Mr. Chen. I don't want to transfer."
Mr. Chen was stunned for a moment, then chuckled. "Loyal. I wasn't wrong about you."
"Alright. If you don't want to transfer to Class Two, then you don't have to."
"However, even though you aren't going to Class Two, you're not considered a student from an ordinary class anymore."
"Mr. Wang plans to raise all your related policies and benefits to the level of the top-tier classes."
Mr. Chen took a freshly printed, still-warm document from his desk drawer and handed it to Lin Ye.
Lin Ye took the document and quickly scanned its contents.
Mr. Chen began to explain.
"First, your basic cultivation resource supply. Starting this week, you can use your student ID to collect three B-grade nutritional fluids and three medicinal packs for body tempering from the school's supply office every week, free of charge."
"At the school's exclusive apothecary, you can also get an exclusive 20% discount with your student ID. There's no need to buy from anywhere else."
"Beyond that, do you have any other requests for the school? Feel free to ask."
"As long as it's a reasonable request the school can grant, I'll do my best to get it for you."
Lin Ye gave it some serious thought before listing his most pressing needs.
"Sir, I'd like a personal Gravity Chamber that I can use freely, without any time restrictions."
"Also, I'd like unrestricted access to a Virtual Pod."
"And finally… the scholarship."
Mr. Chen blinked in surprise. "That's it? Nothing else?"
Lin Ye nodded seriously. These were truly the things he wanted most right now.
Understanding dawned on Mr. Chen, along with a wave of emotion.
For those top students from well-off families, the school scholarship was the thing they cared about the least.
Compared to their monthly allowance and the cultivation resources their families invested in them, that little bit of money was just a drop in the bucket. It was more a symbol of honor.
But for students from poor families, money was the most practical, most needed thing.
Mr. Chen nodded heavily, his tone firm as he promised Lin Ye, "You don't need to worry about the scholarship at all."
"I have a decent relationship with our principal. I'll try my best to apply for the B-Grade Incentive Fund for you. This scholarship is specially established for dark horse students with great potential. It's awarded once every three months, a lump sum of 100,000 Federation Coins."
"If the process goes smoothly, the money will be transferred directly to your personal account by next week at the latest."
100,000 Federation Coins!
A weight lifted from Lin Ye's heart.
This money was enough to solve his family's immediate financial crisis, with even some to spare.
"Thank you, sir!" Lin Ye said with sincere gratitude.
Mr. Chen waved his hand and gathered the materials and documents on his desk.
These were all Lin Ye's personal files that he had prepared in advance.
Mr. Chen stood up. "No need to thank me. It's what a teacher should do."
"If you have no other requests, I'll go to the Dean's Office now to get the approval process started for you."
Just as Mr. Chen was about to step out of the office, Lin Ye suddenly spoke again.
"Mr. Chen, I have one more request."
Mr. Chen paused.
He turned back, waiting for Lin Ye to continue.
"Mr. Chen, I'd like to… spar with you."
"Could you spare some time to guide me when you're free?"
Mr. Chen was taken aback.
He had thought Lin Ye would ask for more cultivation resources or money, but he never expected the kid to ask him to be a sparring partner.
Mr. Chen burst into a hearty laugh.
"You really know how to choose."
"Fine! I agree! From now on, stay behind after school every day, and I'll personally train with you for an hour!"
Then, the smile on Mr. Chen's face faded, and his expression became serious and earnest once more.
"However, I have one last reminder for you."
"On the path of martial arts, there are no shortcuts, and it's a grave mistake to grow complacent or arrogant over a momentary success. Your results today were truly impressive, but that's only compared to your own past performance."
"Never mind all of Dongjiang—just here today, in this exam hall with the Five Schools of the East District, there are still many exceptionally talented geniuses ahead of you."
"This world is too big. There will always be someone better than you!"
Lin Ye nodded heavily and replied in a low voice, "I understand, sir."
Of course he knew that.
His journey was never about some little mock exam.
This mock exam was just the beginning.
There were still two more city-wide mock exams to come.
And the final college entrance exam in six months.
Having tasted blood for the first time, a young tiger naturally craves more.
Finally, as if suddenly remembering something, Mr. Chen spoke up. "Oh, right, one more thing."
"You mentioned wanting access to the Virtual Pod. Normally, it isn't open to students, but your case is special."
"When you go to the supply office to get this week's resources, ask them for a CR wristband, like mine."
Mr. Chen waved the band on his right wrist in front of Lin Ye before continuing.
"The CR wristband has a neural link function. Once it's certified and bound to you, as long as you connect to the school's virtual equipment, you won't have to come to school every time you want to use a Virtual Pod. You can just use it from home."