June 12 was the final day scheduled for the nationwide release of the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam results.
In other words—
The results were guaranteed to be announced today.
Inside the Ning'an City Education Bureau, located in the provincial capital of Jiangnan Province, the atmosphere was tense yet expectant.
The Director and several senior teachers were gathered around their computers, waiting for the rankings to be published.
In fact, inside the spacious office, cakes and champagne had already been prepared in advance.
They were simply waiting for the official announcement—
So they could celebrate immediately afterward.
"Lei Zhou from Ning'an First High School performed exceptionally well this year. He scored over 9,200 points—he's very likely to be the provincial top scorer."
"That's highly probable, although nothing is absolutely certain. I've heard that several other cities produced some remarkable talents this year."
"You're right. In the end, it still depends on fate."
The teachers chatted casually while waiting.
Lei Zhou, a student of Ning'an First High School, possessed an A-Rank ability and had already reached the Upper Tier of the First-Level Ability User realm.
He was widely recognized as the most likely candidate to claim the provincial top spot.
"The results are out!"
At that exact moment, the teacher stationed at the main computer suddenly exclaimed in excitement.
He immediately opened the ranking document—
But froze the next second.
"What's wrong?"
Noticing his strange reaction, the Director frowned and stepped forward.
Then—
He saw the name at the very top of the list.
And his pupils contracted sharply.
First Place — Jiangnan Province
Xu Jingming — Jiangcheng No. 2 High School
Total Score: 11,124 Points
"What?!"
"The provincial top scorer… is from Jiangcheng?!"
The Director's eyes widened in shock.
This exact scene was simultaneously unfolding across education bureaus in other prefecture-level cities throughout Jiangnan Province.
However—
While the officials were still reeling from shock—
The journalists of Jiangnan Province had already begun mobilizing.
---
A Provincial Sensation
Jiangnan Province was the most populous province in the Great Xia Nation.
It consisted of 24 prefecture-level cities and more than 30 county-level cities.
Among them—
Ning'an City, the provincial capital, along with several nearby metropolitan cities, was widely regarded as the most prosperous region.
It had the highest concentration of Ability Users.
And naturally—
The greatest likelihood of producing geniuses.
In contrast—
Jiangcheng, located in the northernmost region of Jiangnan Province, had long been considered remote and resource-poor.
A place lacking elite training resources.
In previous years, provincial top scorers had always emerged from Ning'an City or neighboring prosperous cities.
Yet this year—
Everything changed.
The provincial top scorer had emerged from Jiangcheng, a city many people barely recognized.
What did this mean?
It meant traffic.
Attention.
A viral sensation.
The journalists immediately launched into action, gathering every piece of information they could about Xu Jingming.
And when they reviewed his profile—
They were stunned.
E-Rank ability.
Awakened One.
Each line of information sent waves of disbelief through them.
Yet at the same time—
Their eyes lit up.
This was the perfect headline topic.
Within minutes, dozens of long-form news articles were rapidly published online:
"The Ultimate Dark Horse — Jiangnan Province's Top Scholar Emerges from Jiangcheng!"
"Shocking!! Provincial Top Scholar Still Only an Awakened One!"
"Who Says E-Rank Abilities Can't Create Geniuses?!"
The headlines were deliberately sensational.
And as soon as they were released—
They exploded across the internet.
---
Internet Uproar
Netizens across Jiangnan Province flooded into the comment sections.
"Aren't provincial top scorers always First-Level Ability Users? How can an Awakened One take first place?"
"An E-Rank Awakener becoming provincial champion? If that's real, I'll eat my own crap right here!"
"To the guy above—wait right there. I'm going to find his exam footage now!"
Skepticism dominated the discussion.
After all—
For years, provincial champions had always been Upper-Tier First-Level Ability Users, typically with A-Rank or B-Rank abilities.
Now suddenly—
An E-Rank Awakener had taken the top spot.
Naturally, few believed it.
Some extreme individuals even began spreading conspiracy theories.
They claimed the exam had been manipulated.
That Xu Jingming was secretly backed by a powerful family.
That he had been artificially pushed into the top position.
Cheating in the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam—
Was an extremely serious accusation.
Public sentiment began heating up rapidly.
Many netizens flooded the official Jiangcheng government account, demanding clarification.
Just as the controversy threatened to spiral out of control—
The Jiangcheng official media account calmly released the full video recording of Xu Jingming's exam performance.
---
The Truth Revealed
The moment the footage went live—
Those who had prepared to launch waves of insults fell silent.
Xu Jingming truly was an Awakened One.
But what stunned them even more—
Was his strength.
"Bloody hell! He pierced the skull of a First-Rank Unicorn Rhinoceros with a single thrust!"
"That strength… that's stronger than many First-Level Ability Users!"
"At first I thought it was an Enhancement-type ability—but that's lightning!"
"You're telling me that's E-Rank?! What kind of nonsense reporting is that?!"
Xu Jingming's full exam recording lasted twelve hours, capturing every moment of his performance.
Once the video spread—
The voices of doubt vanished almost instantly.
In their place—
A wave of astonishment surged across the internet.
People marveled at:
His precise spearmanship.
His overwhelming lightning ability.
And his relentless combat endurance.
---
Jiangcheng's Moment of Glory
The discussion surrounding Xu Jingming soon erupted across Jiangcheng itself.
In previous years—
Jiangcheng's best-performing students had barely entered the Top 100 within Jiangnan Province.
It was practically embarrassing to even mention.
Because of this—
Local residents had rarely paid attention to exam rankings.
But this year—
Everything changed.
Jiangcheng had produced the Provincial Top Scholar.
Social media filled with celebratory posts.
Some individuals who had once met Xu Jingming even claimed to be his acquaintances.
Others jokingly declared themselves his childhood friends.
Meanwhile—
Local media reporters flooded toward Jiangcheng No. 2 High School.
They were eager to interview the headmaster.
Fortunately, the headmaster had anticipated this scenario from the moment Xu Jingming's preliminary score exceeded 10,000 points.
Dressed sharply in a formal suit—
Standing before a sea of microphones—
He remained calm and composed, speaking with practiced confidence.
Xu Jingming's homeroom teacher and several subject instructors were also interviewed.
His usually strict homeroom teacher smiled almost non-stop throughout the session.
Every word he spoke was filled with praise.
---
Official Recognition
Beyond the school, senior officials from the Jiangcheng Municipal Education Bureau and the City Government also appeared in interviews.
Standing before reporters, Director Zhang Wenshan spoke solemnly:
"Xu Jingming is the pride of Jiangcheng.
His achievements are the result of his own dedication and relentless effort.
At the same time, they reflect the strong educational support provided by our institutions."
After delivering several formal remarks—
He made an official announcement:
"On behalf of the Jiangcheng Education Bureau, we will award Xu Jingming:
1 million yuan in cash,
and a high-grade Ability Cultivation Technique."
The announcement immediately caused another stir.
Soon after—
The Jiangcheng Municipal Government released its own statement.
They would also award Xu Jingming:
1 million yuan in cash,
and a luxury villa within the city limits.
Rewarding provincial top scorers was a long-standing tradition across the nation.
Although Jiangcheng was far less wealthy than Ning'an City—
It could still afford such recognition.
After all—
The publicity Xu Jingming had brought to Jiangcheng—
Was worth far more than the cost of these rewards.