Chapter 90

"Wow!"

The crowd fell silent for half a second, then burst into a roar of astonishment.

"Helian Lie is this year's top student in Fog City! His Spirit Root development is 88%, and his total score is 629.2! It's a rare good score in recent years!"

"After many years, our Chixiao No. 2 High School has finally reclaimed the title of 'Top Student in Fog City'!"

"Wow, look, the second place is Zheng Dongming from Fengshan No. 2 High School, whose Spirit Root development is two percentage points higher than Helian Lie's, but his score is too low, only half a point behind Helian Lie, what a close call!"

"The third place is Si Jiaxue from our Chixiao No. 2 High School, and her total score is only half a point behind Zheng Dongming!"

"Two of the top three students are from Chixiao No. 2 High School, so this time Chixiao No. 2 High School is undoubtedly the best high school in Fog City!"

"I succeeded!"

Helian Lie shouted excitedly, his silver fist smashing the air, creating a ripple in the air.

Not far away, Principal Zhao Shude, Dean Hei Mianshen, and the school board members all breathed a sigh of relief, their faces beaming with joy.

Helian Ba was even more elated, his mouth wide open in a grin.

"Old Zhao, this year Chixiao No. 2 High School has a great harvest, completely overshadowing Fengshan No. 2 High School!"

"That's right, with such outstanding performance this year, many talented students will choose Chixiao No. 2 High School next year. With better students, the school's performance will improve, breaking out of the previous difficulties and entering a virtuous cycle, becoming stronger and stronger!"

"Old Zhao, this is all your achievement. When the news reaches Chixiao Sect, even the Sect Master will be very happy!"

"Not at all, this year's success is due to the support of the board members and the hard work of the teachers, and the students' own efforts. What does it have to do with me? Hahaha!"

Principal Zhao Shude laughed brightly. For over a month, he had been troubled by Li Yao's issue, feeling like a thorn in his heart, very uncomfortable.

At this moment, all his worries vanished, and he felt as light as a feather, the sky vast and the sea wide, extremely comfortable, as if he wouldn't trade his state for even a great immortal!

"Ding ding ding!"

Someone sent a spirit crane message, and it was Elder Zhou Yin, who was in charge of education at Chixiao Sect.

Elder Zhou Yin also smiled brightly in the light screen, like a spring day with flowers in full bloom.

"Principal Zhao, this year Chixiao No. 2 High School performed very well, with two students in the top three. Even the Sect Master came to me for advice, hahaha. I told him it was all your achievement. How about letting you, Principal Zhao, speak at the sect meeting?"

Principal Zhao Shude was almost overcome with excitement, his face red: "It's all thanks to Elder Zhou, all thanks to Elder Zhou!"

Elder Zhou Yin waved his hand:

"Credit is credit, effort is effort. In any case, this time we won a great victory, and everyone who contributed should be recognized! Ha, look, even the stock price of Chixiao Sect is fluctuating. It seems the news has spread, and the stock price is soaring! I have to go discuss the follow-up publicity plan with the Sect Master to fully capitalize on this good news! You should also prepare some press statements. There will definitely be a press conference and a few days of celebration. You and Helian Lie are the main characters, so don't be careless!"

"Yes! Elder Zhou, rest assured, I will definitely make Chixiao No. 2 High School famous!"

Principal Zhao Shude's face glowed, as red as a ripe persimmon.

Soon, a shrill whistling sound came from the sky, and a dozen flying shuttles sped over.

"That's the reporters, reporters from major news media!" Some sharp-eyed parents recognized them.

Sure enough, before the flying shuttles even landed, several eager reporters leaped out, pushing their way through the crowd, shouting:

"Student Helian Lie? Which one is Helian Lie?"

"Student Helian Lie, you are this year's top student in Fog City. Can you talk about your feelings now?"

"Student Helian Lie, how do you usually arrange your cultivation plan? Do you have any cultivation insights to share with other students?"

"Principal Zhao, Principal Zhao Shude! For over a decade, since the emergence of a genius like 'Demon Blade Peng Hai,' your Chixiao No. 2 High School has been very quiet, always being overshadowed by Fengshan No. 2 High School in Fog City, a federal cultivation center. Why did you suddenly burst out this year, producing two geniuses? Please share your experience, Principal Zhao!"

"Don't rush, don't rush, friends from the media. We will answer all your questions. Please be patient. We will hold a press conference later. Any questions can be asked then, I promise to answer everything!"

Principal Zhao Shude's face was full of spring, his smile wide.

Helian Ba also squeezed next to his son, patting Helian Lie's shoulder, unable to hide his joy: "Good boy, you didn't let your old man down, you did well!"

"Are you Helian Lie? We are reporters from Fog City Morning News. Can you share some of your experience with us privately?"

Several reporters recognized Helian Lie and pushed their way over.

After the initial excitement, Helian Lie became very calm, scanning the light screen and shaking his head:

"Wait, only 80% of the students' scores in Fog City have been calculated so far. There are still some regions' scores that haven't been calculated. This is not the final ranking."

Due to the large number of students and the massive amount of data, all scores were entered into the main database in batches.

So far, the scores of several poor districts had not been included in the calculation.

However, based on past experience, these poor district students rarely caused any waves. After all, they couldn't even afford to eat, let alone have the energy to cultivate. How could they possibly break into the top 1,000 of the Fog City college entrance exam?

Even if they did break into the top 1,000, they couldn't affect the top 100. In the past few decades, there had been no reports of students from poor district high schools breaking into the top 100 of the city.

Therefore, once the top 100 were determined, they were 100% certain not to change!

Soon, the progress bar at the bottom of the light screen jumped to "90%," with 90% of the city's students' scores entered into the database for summary calculation.

"Three more districts' scores have been added, and the top 1,000 ranking hasn't changed. Helian Lie is still first. Can you give an interview now?"

"Wait a bit longer!" Helian Lie stared intently at the light screen, his hand veins bulging.

"93% now! This time, even the scores of individual candidates have been added, and Helian Lie is still first. Can you share your experience, Helian Lie? Don't hold back, the audience is eagerly waiting for you!"

"Wait a bit longer!"

"97% now! Only the scores of the Gray Rock District remain to be added. Gray Rock District is a well-known poor district, with several schools in a terrible state. Last year, not a single student even made it into the top 10,000 of the city. Helian Lie, can you give an interview now?"

Several reporters shouted, almost shoving the amplification crystal rods into Helian Lie's mouth.

"Only the Gray Rock District left?"

Helian Lie took a deep breath, his face glowing with vitality.

He nodded to the reporters, took an amplification crystal rod, and began to speak:

"Hello, everyone, I am Helian Lie, this year's top student in Fog City. This reporter just asked me about my cultivation secrets—of course, I have them! I have three secrets: the first is hard work, the second is hard work, and the third is incredibly hard work! I believe that as long as you work hard enough, any miracle is possible..."

He was about to continue when he noticed that all the reporters, parents, and students were staring at the huge light screen behind him, their eyes wide with shock, as if they had seen a ghost.

Helian Lie's heart felt as if it was being squeezed by an invisible hand. He turned around sharply and saw the light screen, which had been frozen, start to flicker again, with a small change at the bottom of the ranking.

"Wow, big news, explosive news!"

"Impossible, this is absolutely impossible!"

"A student from the Gray Rock District has actually made it into the top 1,000 of Fog City, ranking 998th!"

"Amazing, this student Ge Qiang from Gray Rock High School is truly amazing, managing to outperform so many students from top high schools and make it into the top 1,000. Incredible, truly incredible!"

Several reporters discussed, saying that after interviewing the top student Helian Lie, they would definitely go to Gray Rock High School to interview Ge Qiang.

Helian Lie took another deep breath, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and scanned the progress bar at the bottom of the light screen, finding that 99.9% of the students' scores had been calculated.

Only the scores from the worst-performing school in the city, "Fog City Miners' Children High School," had not been added.

Helian Lie steadied himself, a smile reappearing on his face:

"Everyone has seen, as I said, as long as you work hard enough, any miracle is possible! Right behind me, a true miracle has just happened. A student from the Gray Rock District has actually made it into the top 1,000 of the Fog City college entrance exam. This is no easy feat! You shouldn't be interviewing me; you should interview this student Ge Qiang from Gray Rock High School. Getting the title of top student is not surprising, but Ge Qiang is truly worth..."

Helian Lie's voice trailed off again.

He noticed that everyone in front of him, whether reporters, parents, students, the principal, the dean, the board members, including his father Helian Ba, were all staring in shock, their souls seemingly lost, their faces filled with terror!

Their expressions were completely different from before.

Before, they looked as if they had seen a ghost.

Now, they looked like ghosts, like wandering spirits, like zombies—zombies with talismans stuck to their foreheads, firmly suppressed!

The vast campus suddenly became silent, like an abandoned cemetery.

Thousands of people stood stiffly, like thousands of tombstones overgrown with weeds!

Helian Lie's breathing was extremely rapid, every joint feeling as if it was rusted, making it incredibly difficult to turn his neck.

"Look, you, you look, look quickly..."

A reporter stuttered, his eyes fixed on something behind Helian Lie, unable to move.

Helian Lie's mind was blank, using all his strength to turn his head inch by inch, forcing his gaze to fall on the light screen.

At the top of the light screen, above his name, a new name appeared.

This name, like a ghost, silently emerged from the depths of the massive data, climbing to the top of Helian Lie's head!

"Fog City Miners' Children High School Li Yao, total score 781, Spirit Root development 92%, final score 718.52, top of the city!"

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Today, there is something that makes Old Ox particularly happy.

Because for the past two weeks, the dear editor has helped Old Ox secure some significant recommendations, this week there are no recommendations.

But even so, this "newcomer," this new book, has climbed to the top ten of the member click list and has received over 500 collections.

Old Ox knows that this is all thanks to everyone's support. There's nothing to say, Old Ox will go all out and write with all his might!

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