Translator: CinderTL
The Virtual Cosmos Assessment had concluded, but Jiang Ye didn't immediately exit the virtual space. He remained, staring at his hands.
"Entry?" Jiang Ye's face was filled with astonishment.
In that fleeting moment, he had seemed to experience a sudden enlightenment, his fist technique breaking through to a completely new realm.
A breakthrough in the midst of battle!
But such breakthroughs were typically reserved for geniuses. How could it be so easy?
Reality wasn't a novel.
Moreover, Jiang Ye had previously sensed that his fist technique had reached a bottleneck, requiring a long period of refinement and the rare opportunity for enlightenment.
Now, he had seemingly surpassed it in the blink of an eye?
While the system calculated the results, Jiang Ye clenched his fists, focusing on the strange sensation that had surged through him earlier.
Whoosh!
A wisp of energy flowed through his meridians, circulating throughout his body.
With the aid of his breathing technique, Jiang Ye swiftly entered a meditative state.
His fist strikes erupted!
Boom! Boom!
The fist wind tore through the air, unleashing two thunderous roars, deep and deafening.
It sounded as if real thunder had struck!
"Eight Trigrams Thunderclap Fist—thunder clears the path, vanquishing demons and spirits!" Jiang Ye continued to unleash his strikes.
One after another, faint thunderclaps erupted, their sound waves reverberating endlessly.
The ability to produce tangible thunderclaps signified mastery of this Advanced Art Technique.
To generate consecutive thunderclaps—two or more in a row—marked Entry into the technique.
Striking with a single punch to produce multiple thunderclaps wasn't just a difference in sound; it represented a compounding of power.
Moreover, the more consecutive thunderclaps, the greater the power, increasing geometrically!
"I've truly achieved Entry!"
Jiang Ye slowly withdrew his stance, his eyes shining with brilliance.
Originally, he had planned it might take over half a month to reach Entry.
But now, a single virtual battle had propelled him to this breakthrough.
"Could it be because of the 50% increase in comprehension?" Jiang Ye mused.
Earlier, when Jiang Ting washed his feet, unlocking the 'Holy Maiden as Servant' achievement, his comprehension had permanently increased by 50%.
This massive boost in comprehension not only accelerated his cultivation progress but also created opportunities for breakthroughs during combat.
"Is this what it feels like to be a genius?" Jiang Ye marveled.
It was too comfortable.
Legend had it that those with innate talent surpassing the dao bone level—the peerless geniuses—could break through cultivation realms even while eating or drinking.
While Jiang Ye's experience wasn't quite so exaggerated, he had certainly gotten a taste of it.
Yet, recalling the recent battle, Jiang Ye still felt lingering unease.
"The Shadow Clan are truly formidable opponents."
Jiang Ye thought back to the two-meter-tall Shadow Clan Infant.
At two meters tall, it was still considered within the Infant Form stage.
Only upon reaching three meters in height would it transition to the Juvenile Form.
Of course, greater height didn't necessarily equate to greater strength.
After reaching a certain stage, the Shadow Clan's size would gradually shrink again. Adult Shadow Clan members typically resembled humans in stature.
However, during the Infant Form stage, height undoubtedly correlated with strength.
Even a two-meter-tall Shadow Clan Infant had proven incredibly challenging for Jiang Ye.
Despite having achieved Entry-level mastery in his fist technique, he stood no chance against such a creature if he were to face it again now.
"The Shadow Clan members appearing in the real world are almost always in their Juvenile Form," Jiang Ye thought, his expression grave. "If a Shadow Calamity were to occur, it would be a disaster for Ancheng."
Previously, he had only heard tales of the Shadow Clan's terror, never truly understanding their true nature.
Now that his strength had grown, Jiang Ye felt even more wary of the Shadow Clan.
Just then, the system finished calculating the results.
Best Damage: Jiang Ye
Best Vision: Jiang Ye
Best Martial Dao Will: Jiang Ye
Killed 14 Shadow Clan members in 29 minutes. Average team casualty rate: 79%.
MVP of this group: Jiang Ye, 120 points
The other four teammates also scored over 60 points for reaching the fourth level.
"Following Brother Jiang is awesome!"
"Brother Jiang, I'll buy you a drink later!"
The four teammates were immensely grateful to Jiang Ye.
The feeling of coasting to victory was undeniably satisfying.
Meanwhile, in the outside lobby...
A giant screen continuously updated the rankings for the third-year students.
Suddenly, an inconspicuous name surged into the bottom of the rankings.
95th Place: Jiang Ye, 460 points
"It's Jiang Ye!"
"Someone from our class made it into the top 100!"
The Class Nine students who had already completed the assessment were stunned.
Xu Sisi, who had already woken up, wore a relieved expression.
"Losing to such a genius isn't so bad," she said, patting her chest when no one could see.
Some rejoiced, while others worried.
Near the hall's entrance, a girl in a red dress watched with shifting eyes.
"Jiang Ye? 95th in the grade?"
"His progress is so fast."
Zeng Xueqing frowned slightly. Her own rank was only 86th.
Though it seemed like a difference of ten places, the actual score gap was less than five points.
She had Nascent Aptitude, while Jiang Ye only had Primitive. Yet his strength was already closing in on hers?
"I need to work harder and improve. I can't let him catch up," Zeng Xueqing thought to herself.
She had once challenged Jiang Ye to a duel. If he surpassed her and then challenged her, she would look like a complete fool.
People could be fools, but they should never actively make themselves one.
In a distant section of the stands, a cold, aloof girl stood tall, her long, snow-white legs gleaming beneath her shirt and shorts as she surveyed the entire hall.
Nearby, a young man with a languid expression leaned against the railing.
The two were Zhao Qingli, the top student in the third year of high school, and Wang Zi'ang, ranked third in the grade.
"Jiang Ye?" Wang Zi'ang murmured, studying the grade rankings. "Class Nine has truly produced a dragon."
To him, Jiang Ye's current score was nothing remarkable. But after checking Jiang Ye's previous scores, he was astonished by the rapid improvement. While it's relatively easy to improve scores below 600, this rate of progress still surprised him.
"What are you muttering about?" Zhao Qingli glanced at him coldly.
The girl had long, slender legs and a face as pale as snow, but what truly stood out was her chest, straining against the buttons of her dress. At least an E-cup! Wang Zi'ang couldn't help but glance briefly before quickly looking away.
He cleared his throat and said, "You might not believe this, but Director Zhang once told me something."
"What was it?" Zhao Qingli frowned.
Wang Zi'ang clasped his hands behind his back and smiled. "A hidden dragon lies in the depths. Sometimes, the unassuming ones rise to the top."
Zhao Qingli scoffed at his words.
"You, the hidden dragon?" she asked, her eyes fixed on Wang Zi'ang with disdain. "You must have misheard. The director probably meant the 'sleeping dragon.'"
Wang Zi'ang's face remained impassive, but his fists clenched tightly behind his back. Hold it together, he thought. I'm third in the grade. If she beats me here, I'll lose all face.
He forced a faint smile and said casually, "The director wasn't referring to me. He meant someone from Class Nine—Jiang Ye."
"Jiang Ye?" Zhao Qingli scanned the list of the top hundred students and indeed found the name.
"For someone from a regular class to break into the top hundred, his family must be quite well-off," she remarked with a nod, showing little interest.
Family wealth?
In all of Ancheng, few could rival her family's resources.
Innate talent?
Students in regular classes possessed only primitive innate talents, making them even less of a match for her.
Her ambitions had long surpassed the confines of the school, focusing instead on the top students at Ancheng No. 1 High School.
And even beyond that, she had her sights set on the entire West Mountain Province.
But just then, Wang Zi'ang shook his head. "I asked Director Zhang about Jiang Ye. He's not rich at all. His family's annual income is less than a hundred thousand."
Zhao Qingli whirled around, her eyes widening in surprise.
(End of the Chapter)
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