Translator: CinderTL
Ahead lay the end of the Path to Heaven.
The Milky Way converged at the path's terminus, forming the magnificent Star Altar Plaza. Starlight flowed across the ground, as if the plaza were paved with celestial rivers.
At that moment, the remaining two hundred participants on the Path to Heaven sprinted with all their might.
Leading the charge, without a doubt, was Shen Changxi.
Having activated her Second-Tier Innate Ability, her speed was terrifyingly fast.
In the blink of an eye, she was already nearing the finish line.
She was about to cross it.
But just then...
Boom!
A dazzling beam of light suddenly flashed past her side, hurtling toward the finish line with even more terrifying speed!
Whoosh!
It was Jiang Ye!
The two reached the finish line almost simultaneously.
However, if a strong cultivator at the third breakthrough or higher had been observing, they would have noticed that Jiang Ye was half a body length ahead of Shen Changxi!
"He?!"
Shen Changxi crossed the finish line and stared at the crimson figure ahead of her, her delicate face filled with astonishment.
She had already activated her Second-Tier Innate Ability.
How could someone be even faster than her?!
Who is this divine being?
"Huff~" Jiang Ye surged into Star Altar Plaza, then coasted forward before gradually coming to a stop.
"Finally!"
"It's over." Jiang Ye exhaled in relief, glancing back. "Am I the first?"
Just moments ago, he had unleashed his Martial God's Blink ability.
Within a hundred meters, he could teleport in any direction!
Teleportation still required a fraction of a second, but the delay was virtually negligible.
Thanks to this ability, Jiang Ye had narrowly overtaken Shen Changxi at the last moment.
Simultaneously, several other Upper A-tier students crossed the finish line in quick succession.
Liu Wanxiao, Yun Qing'er...
Apart from Jiang Ye and Shen Changxi, the gaps between the top ten finishers were minimal.
Ten seconds later, the Mid-Tier A-Grade Students began flooding into Star Altar Plaza.
Then came the Class A students.
Finally, the B Class students.
Within five minutes, over three hundred students had reached Star Altar Plaza.
The rest were eliminated.
"Almost all the C-grade and D-grade students have been eliminated," Jiang Ye thought, glancing back. "It seems only B-tier and higher students could pass this trial."
This aligned with the 30% pass rate he had heard about earlier.
Penglai University's Entrance Heavenly Refinement was indeed incredibly difficult!
But thankfully, he had made it.
"First place!" Jiang Ye grinned.
"Jiang Ye!"
Zhao Qingli, Xu Haoran, Song Wanbai, and the others rushed forward.
They had all passed the trial.
"Brother Jiang!" Xu Haoran exclaimed, his face filled with shock. "You actually took first place?!"
They had agreed to compete for the provincial first place.
How did you end up taking national first place?!
This is absurd!
Song Wanbai stared at Jiang Ye in disbelief.
A boy from a small mountain town like Ancheng had become so strong that he could compete on equal footing with those with Dao Bone Aptitude and even surpass them?
"Jiang Ye, how... how did you get first place?" Zhao Qingli asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.
Being surpassed by Jiang Ye didn't bother her.
But taking first place among the freshmen? That was too much!
"Just luck, just luck," Jiang Ye said with a smile.
He truly had been fortunate to secure first place this time.
Without Yun Qing'er's help, even activating the Martial God's Blink wouldn't have guaranteed surpassing Shen Changxi.
Thinking of this, he glanced at the delicate figure standing nearby.
Yun Qing'er stood alone in a corner, her face still carrying a hint of timidity.
"Yun Qing'er," Jiang Ye approached her. "Thank you for your help earlier."
Yun Qing'er lowered her head and murmured, "No need to thank me. I only helped you because you're Sister Tong'er's friend."
Jiang Ye was momentarily taken aback, then chuckled. "Still, I appreciate it."
Yun Qing'er looked up at him, a hint of confusion in her eyes, but nodded without further comment.
Jiang Ye didn't press the matter and moved on.
Just then, a white-haired figure approached him.
"Congratulations! First place," Shen Changxi said, her aura cold and ethereal. "You're very impressive."
"Just lucky," Jiang Ye replied with a shake of his head and a smile.
"Doesn't it hurt?" Shen Changxi asked, her pale crimson eyes flickering with surprise as she studied him.
Although Shen Changxi was disappointed to have her first-place position snatched by Jiang Ye, she didn't dwell on it too much. After all, she had given it her all.
What truly astonished her was how Jiang Ye, his body riddled with bloody holes, could still unleash such terrifying speed.
Indeed, Jiang Ye's body was now riddled with countless wounds, appearing critically injured with visible bone. Shen Changxi wondered if she could have maintained such composure in his place.
"Hey, buddy," Liu Wanxiao called out, approaching from nearby. He couldn't help but gasp, "Are you alright? My Pulse Domain might have been a bit rough on you."
"I'm fine," Jiang Ye replied, shaking his head. "It's all part of the competition."
The Pulse Domain hadn't been specifically targeting him anyway.
"Impressive," Liu Wanxiao marveled, shaking his head. "To run that fast while so badly injured... I could never do that!"
"Badly injured?" Jiang Ye glanced down at his wounds, then shook his head.
Is this really that serious?
Meh, it's nothing special.
After all, on the second level of the Martial Dao Heavenly Ladder, he endured ten times worse pain every day.
Buzz~
At that moment, a strange ripple emanated from above Star Altar Plaza.
Immediately afterward, a vast golden stellar sea materialized from the dome of the Star Altar, cascading down upon the crowd below.
"It's Penglai's Gift!"
"It's finally here! Quick, sit down and absorb it!" The crowd erupted in excitement.
Rustle~ Over three hundred freshmen on the plaza swiftly settled into cross-legged meditation.
Jiang Ye followed suit.
"Penglai's Gift?" Jiang Ye sat cross-legged, gazing up at the golden stellar sea above.
Zhao Qingli had previously mentioned that the Penglai Heavenly Tower resembled the Cosmic Divine Path.
He hadn't expected it to have its own version of the Cosmic Blessing—Penglai's Gift!
The Cosmic Blessing had once boosted his life force by a full tenth.
Even if Penglai's Gift offered only half that effect, it would still be an invaluable boon.
Boom!
Soon, the golden stellar sea poured down upon Jiang Ye like a divine baptism.
Penglai's Gift had begun.
Within the Penglai Heavenly Tower, the atmosphere was already buzzing with anticipation.
"First place: Jiang Ye!"
"Is this Jiang Ye really just a Primitive aptitude?"
"The data must be wrong! He's definitely not a Dao Bone Aptitude? It should be at least a mid-to-high-tier Dao Bone Aptitude!" The teachers were utterly astonished.
Among them were esteemed professors like Chen Yuntian, who had witnessed countless prodigies.
Yet Jiang Ye, with his mere low-grade aptitude, had surpassed Liu Wanxiao, Yun Qing'er, Shen Changxi, and the rest? It was unheard of!
"Jiang Ye... first place?" Even Chen Yuntian and Zhu Honglie were dumbfounded.
They had initially assumed Shen Changxi would likely claim the top spot. If any surprises occurred, Liu Wanxiao might snatch victory. Even Yun Qing'er taking first place would have seemed reasonable.
But Jiang Ye? What right did he have to win?
"Did you all see that final burst of speed he unleashed?"
"It did resemble a Dao Bone Grade aptitude ability!"
"The data must be flawed! Impossible! Innate talents are tested at birth and again during the College Entrance Examination. There's no way both tests could be wrong." The teachers buzzed with speculation.
Dao Bone Aptitudes possessed extraordinary abilities.
Jiang Ye's performance had defied all logic.
But if he truly possessed a Dao Bone Aptitude? Everything would make sense.
Yet Jiang Ye was merely a Primitive aptitude.
"What contract tier should we upgrade Jiang Ye to?" Elder Bai suddenly asked.
Elder Bai's words silenced the room.
The teachers exchanged grave glances.
Indeed.
Jiang Ye's victory demanded a contract upgrade.
But... to which tier? That was the question!
(End of the Chapter)
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