Translator: CinderTL
Pfft!
In the Virtual City, Jiang Ye's fist shattered the final phantom's head.
Whoosh!
Everyone exhaled in relief.
The three phantoms had finally been defeated!
By this point, all four of Jiang Ye's teammates were severely injured, and Jiang Ye himself had sustained considerable wounds.
Huff... huff...
From the shadows nearby, new phantoms began to materialize.
This time, there were five of them!
"The third stage," Tao Xiaogang and the others murmured, their eyes flashing with resignation.
They had no strength left to fight.
Jiang Ye charged forward alone, determined to kill one more phantom before his energy completely drained.
But he had underestimated the difficulty of the third stage.
Half a minute later, Jiang Ye and his four teammates were simultaneously ejected from the Virtual City, a system results screen floating before them.
This team has completed the Virtual Cosmos Assessment. Calculating results...
Best Finisher: Tao Xiaogang
Best Damage Tank: Tao Xiaogang
...
Tao Xiaogang was stunned to see his name listed twice in a row.
Best Damage Dealer: Jiang Ye
Best Vision: Jiang Ye
Best Martial Dao Will: Jiang Ye
Four Shadow Clan members defeated in 21 minutes. Team average casualty rate: 85%.
Team MVP: Jiang Ye, 70 points
Tao Xiaogang: 50 points
Xia Qing: 45 points
Seeing this, Jiang Ye breathed a sigh of relief. He had almost thought he was going to be carried to victory.
Tao Xiaogang, standing beside him, said apologetically, "Brother Jiang, sorry about stealing so many of your kills."
It was a strange coincidence.
Every time a Shadow Clan member was on the verge of death, it would rush toward Tao Xiaogang. He couldn't just stand by and watch the phantom creatures take his teammates down with them, could he?
And so, Tao Xiaogang had inexplicably racked up three kills.
Only the final Shadow Clan member had been personally slain by Jiang Ye.
"It's fine," Jiang Ye said, shaking his head, unconcerned.
After the system finished calculating the scores, the group exited the Virtual Space and returned to the metal hall.
Jiang Ye glanced at his virtual assessment score:
Jiang Ye: 330 points
"330 points? Just 20 points short of the martial dao university's standard cut-off," Jiang Ye murmured, a smile spreading across his face.
He then checked Li Zhichao and Xu Sisi's scores:
Li Zhichao: 355 points
Xu Sisi: 315 points
"355 points?" Jiang Ye exclaimed, surprised by Li Zhichao's total score.
He remembered Li Zhichao's combined score from the other three assessments was 295 points. This meant he had only scored 60 points in this assessment—even lower than Jiang Ye's score!
Could it be he didn't make it past the second stage? Jiang Ye wondered.
The Virtual Cosmos Assessment was structured like a stage-based challenge.
The more stages you cleared, the higher your score.
Among the four parts of the Martial Arts Four-Part Assessment, this assessment carried the greatest weight, accounting for nearly half of the total score.
The higher the score in the Virtual Cosmos Assessment, the greater the rewards.
Zhao Qingli, for example, scored over 700 points, with 300 of those points coming from this assessment alone.
Li Zhichao's lower score indicated that he hadn't made it past the third stage of the assessment.
"So, my score in the fourth assessment should be the highest in the class."
"Too bad my overall score is still second place."
"Still, it's not bad. At least I'll get a 10,000 yuan scholarship."
Jiang Ye was already satisfied.
In just one semester, he had climbed from 25th place to this ranking. Only he knew the effort it had taken.
Meanwhile, Li Zhichao was also studying the rankings.
"355 points." Li Zhichao stared at his score, his eyes filled with dissatisfaction.
Given his strength, he shouldn't have scored so low on the final assessment.
But the Shadow Clan's roars had affected him too much.
Just then, Li Zhichao noticed a name.
"Jiang Ye, 330 points?"
"His Virtual Cosmos Assessment score is even higher than mine?"
Li Zhichao glanced in Jiang Ye's direction.
He remembered Jiang Ye's opening score at the start of the semester was only 206 points.
How could he have improved by over a hundred points in just one semester?
His rate of improvement had already surpassed Li Zhichao's!
Li Zhichao seemed to have realized something, a thoughtful expression flickering in his eyes.
"Damn it, still third place!" Xu Sisi glared at her ranking, her pale fist clenched tightly. "Jiang Ye scored 15 points higher than me. He must have made it to the third wave, and his average casualty rate per minute was lower."
The average casualty rate per minute referred to the average frequency of injuries sustained by the entire team per minute. If a teammate died, this rate would skyrocket. Although no one in her group had died, nearly all of them were severely injured, resulting in a casualty rate of 90%.
After a long silence, Xu Sisi slowly exhaled, glancing helplessly at Jiang Ye in the distance. "That guy... he's from a poor family, just like me."
"Well, losing to him is better than losing to those detestable rich kids," she sighed.
But then she clenched her fist again. "Still, it's only a 15-point difference. Next semester, I'll definitely surpass you again!"
At the front of the hall, Zhang Jianwu announced in a deep voice, "Students who have completed the Martial Arts Four-Part Assessment may now leave. Next year, you'll be seniors. Work hard this summer and don't drag down the class!"
As his words faded, the students of Class Nine rose and began to leave.
Zhang Jianwu glanced in Jiang Ye's direction, a flicker of light in his eyes.
"Seventy points on the Virtual Cosmos Assessment?"
"It seems this kid's Martial Dao Will is quite strong."
He had already witnessed Jiang Ye's combat skills firsthand. Based on his assessment, Jiang Ye should have scored around fifty points, sixty at most.
Seventy points? That far exceeded his expectations!
The Virtual Cosmos Assessment didn't just test combat skills; it also measured Martial Dao Will. The Shadow Clan's mental interference could plunge individuals into chaos. Only those with a strong Martial Dao Will could mitigate this influence.
Jiang Ye's high score could only be attributed to his exceptional Martial Dao Will.
Beside Zhang Jianwu, Wang Zi'ang chuckled. "Director, were you looking at that student named Li Zhichao just now?"
"Three hundred and fifty-five points—that's above the minimum score for ordinary martial universities. For a second-year student in a regular class to reach this level is indeed impressive," Wang Zi'ang remarked.
Zhang Jianwu remained silent.
Only after the last member of Class Nine had left did he murmur, "Class Nine... might just produce a remarkable talent."
Wang Zi'ang stared blankly.
If anyone else had said this, he might have scoffed.
Zhang Jianwu's words forced Wang Zi'ang to take the matter seriously.
He couldn't help but ask, "Li Zhichao... he's not that remarkable, is he?"
Zhang Jianwu shook his head. "A dragon lies hidden in the depths, dormant in the masses. Sometimes, the unassuming rise to surpass their predecessors."
"A dragon hidden in the depths?" Wang Zi'ang was even more astonished. The Director rarely used the term "dragon" to describe a person.
Could there be something special about Li Zhichao that I've overlooked? Wang Zi'ang pondered.
"Idiot!" Zhang Jianwu snapped. "Did you think I was talking about him?"
He shook his head, flicked his sleeve, and strode away.
Wang Zi'ang's eyes widened.
Not Li Zhichao? Then could it be...?
He checked the second-highest scorer in Class Nine:
Jiang Ye: 330 points
"330 points?" Wang Zi'ang muttered. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Even if he were reduced to a single hand, he couldn't score so low!
I get it now.
Suddenly, Wang Zi'ang felt enlightened. His eyes cleared as he realized, The Director's words have a hidden meaning. He's pretending to talk about the regular classes, but he's actually referring to the Elite Class.
That hidden dragon... could he be talking about me?
(End of the Chapter)
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