Hongye Community, seventeenth floor, Wang Ming's home.
In the small living room, the air seemed to have frozen. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the small light screen floating in the air.
[Qiming Star Overall Ranking: 67321]
Like a giant stone thrown into a calm lake, this string of numbers caused a momentary silence before unleashing monstrous waves.
"Sixty-seven thousand, three hundred and twenty-first place!"
Wang Ming's voice rose with extreme excitement, even cracking slightly.
He grabbed Qin Dahai's arm and shook it forcefully. His face, usually covered in grease and exhaustion, was now flushed red, his eyes shining with an unprecedented light.
"Brother! Did you see that?! Over sixty-seven thousand! We... We got in! We got into a top-seven high school!"
Qin Dahai's body trembled slightly. He stared intently at the ranking, his usually calm eyes now surging with a tidal wave of emotion.
Beside them, his aunt Li Juan didn't understand the specific meaning of the Martial Dao scores, but seeing the ecstatic looks on her husband's and older brother's faces, she grew excited too. Her eyes reddened, and she clamped her hands tightly over her mouth.
In their minds, a life force index of 1.23 belonged to an absolute top-tier genius who should have ranked near the very top.
But a rank of "over sixty thousand" didn't sound that high.
However, they didn't know the true meaning behind this ranking.
In the current, magnificent era of the human Star River, the Empire's territory spanned countless galaxies, and the number of human deaths across the Empire was measured in the trillions every second.
To cope with the never-ending "Great Expedition," the Empire poured all its resources into promoting universal genetic optimization and elite Martial Dao education.
The result was an explosive surge of geniuses.
This was especially true on a standardized Educational Planet like Qiming Star. Among the tens of millions of candidates each year, youths who had been nurtured with the best resources since birth and possessed extraordinary talent were as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river—simply countless.
A life force index of 1.0 was merely the entry ticket to this game of geniuses.
Reaching 1.2 only meant you had a fighting chance in the game.
Although Qin Feng had the [Celestial Dao Rewards the Diligent] panel, he had only truly started exerting himself for a short month.
With one month of arduous cultivation, he had caught up to what others had accumulated over three years, or even longer.
To be able to squeeze into the top seventy thousand with a score of 1.23 was, in itself, an almost impossible miracle.
This ranking, neither high nor low, was the most realistic and reasonable reward for his month of frenzied effort.
"Li Juan! Li Juan!"
Wang Ming turned and shouted toward the kitchen, "Don't just stand there! Hurry! Go to the market! Get me the best Exotic Beast Meat, the biggest Chiyu Chicken! Today! We're having a celebration feast! To celebrate our Xiaofeng getting into a top Martial Arts High School!"
He turned, wrapped an arm around his nephew beside him, and vigorously ruffled his hair.
"Xiaohao! And you, Xiaojie! Did you see that? This is your Brother Feng! Do you see how hard he works? From now on, you have to learn from your Brother Feng! Understand? As long as you're willing to work hard, even kids from ordinary families like ours can make a name for themselves!"
"We know, Dad!"
The two half-grown boys puffed out their chests and answered loudly, their eyes filled with adoration as they looked at Qin Feng.
Qin Dahai said nothing.
He simply walked over, extended his calloused, one arm, and pulled his son into a tight, tight embrace.
This man, silent as a mountain, was releasing over a decade of pent-up pride and relief in the most direct, clumsy way he knew.
Qin Feng could feel his father's body trembling slightly.
...
The joyous family atmosphere continued until noon.
A celebration feast even more lavish than the last one covered the small dining table.
The drinks had been poured and the food enjoyed.
Just then, the personal terminal on Qin Dahai's wrist suddenly vibrated.
A glance at the caller ID showed it was [Director Wu].
He answered the call.
The plump face of Wu Daqiang, director of the Alien Race corpse processing plant, appeared on the light screen.
"Old Qin! How'd it go? The rankings were released today. Are Xiaofeng's results out?"
Wu Daqiang's voice was filled with genuine concern.
"They're out."
A smile Qin Dahai couldn't suppress spread across his face.
"Quick, tell me! Don't keep me in suspense!"
Qin Dahai didn't say much, simply sharing Qin Feng's report card with him.
On the other end of the screen, Wu Daqiang's expression shifted from surprise to gravity, and finally to an understanding admiration as he looked at the report card.
"A life force index of 1.23, ranked at sixty-seven thousand... Whew, the competition is as fierce as ever this year!"
As the director of the processing plant, Wu Daqiang operated on a higher level, and his perspective was far beyond what Wang Ming could compare to.
He knew very well that on Qiming Star today, trying to break into the top ten thousand with just a one-month sprint was pure fantasy.
"Old Qin, don't look at this rank in the sixty-thousands and think it's low. This result is incredible! Truly incredible!"
Wu Daqiang said with a serious expression, "Which of the kids nowadays isn't propped up by all sorts of resources from a young age? For Xiaofeng to catch up to this rank in the final month shows that his talent and Will are both top-tier! This can no longer be explained by ordinary hard work. This is a true genius!"
His tone shifted, becoming even more solemn.
"Old Qin, listen to me. When you're filling out the applications, for the first choice, put down 'Qiming First Martial High School'!"
"The First Martial High School is the head of the seven top schools. It has the longest history, the strongest faculty, and has produced the most powerhouses who have gone on to the Star Sea. They have an unwritten 'potential-first' principle in their admission rules. Compared to those students who've been maxed out on resources since childhood and have higher ranks, they sometimes prefer an 'uncarved jade' like Xiaofeng—someone with a late-stage burst and bottomless potential. A 1.23 index, plus the terrifying track record of surpassing tens of millions of people in one month, will definitely impress their admissions office!"
"Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Thank you, Director Wu."
Qin Dahai nodded solemnly.
"What's there to thank me for! You're my brother!"
Wu Daqiang waved his hand. "Alright, I won't disturb your celebration any longer. If you have any problems with the application, call me anytime! I have some connections on my end, I can help you dig up some inside information."
After ending the call, Qin Dahai relayed Director Wu's analysis and advice to the family.
As the family was discussing it, Qin Feng's personal terminal chimed as well.
It was a message in the Class 3-5 group chat, sent by the class monitor.
[@All, Announcement: All students are to return to school tomorrow at 9:00 AM and gather in our original classroom. Mr. Li Weiguo will be distributing the 'High School Entrance Exam Application Guide' and providing unified guidance. Please be sure to arrive on time.]
The moment the message appeared, the silent class group instantly came to life.
[Zhou Heyuan: Got it! See you tomorrow!]
[Wang Xiaoyan: The day is finally here! So nervous!]
[Li Kai: I just checked my results. Not sure if I can apply to a decent regular Martial Arts High School.]
[Chen Chong: I'm ranked nine million, one hundred and sixty thousand. I guess I can only go to a bottom-tier Martial Arts High School, sigh.]
In the group, some were happy, others were sad.
Zhou Heyuan was the most active in the group. He posted his life force index of 0.96 and his good ranking of nearly one million, which immediately drew a flood of amazement and flattery.
It was worth noting that although Zhou Heyuan had been in the same examination hall as Qin Feng and had witnessed his terrifying results, the kid deliberately pretended not to know about it in the group chat.
He didn't say a single word of praise for Qin Feng, instead showing off his own results the entire time.