In the stands.
The elderly Dean Xu looked towards Li Bao'er with a kind and benevolent smile.
His eyes were filled with satisfaction and joy at a junior surpassing their elders.
"Later, when we present awards to the top three, I will personally give the award to this little girl!"
"Yes, Dean Xu!"
Dean Xu intertwined his fingers on his stomach. "Seven minutes and one second, ah, it's been many years since a new student finished under ten minutes!"
"Dean, it's because the difficulty of the entrance assessment has increased year by year!" a middle-aged man next to him flattered.
Dean Xu rotated his two thumbs. "Doesn't that just show how incredible this little girl is? Who recruited this little girl?"
Everyone else looked towards Zhuge Heng.
The Dean patted Zhuge Heng's shoulder, quite pleased. "You always manage to give me a surprise, kid!"
Zhuge Heng grinned, "Old Xu, this is just the beginning!"
The Dean turned slightly and asked, "What's this little girl's background?"
Zhuge Heng laughed, "There are only a few people in Dragon Nation who are good with knives. Her surname is Li, I don't believe you can't guess!"
The Dean paused for a moment, then said in extreme surprise, "Is she that person's granddaughter?"
"Exactly!"
The Dean's fingers trembled with excitement, a wide smile on his face. "I knew it, a little girl this strong couldn't come from an ordinary family. How many new students haven't finished the test yet?"
Someone next to him replied, "Dean, there are still over ninety!"
The Dean straightened his clothes. "Then it's already a foregone conclusion that this little girl is the first in this year's class. Let's go, get ready, I have to personally present the award to this little girl!"
As he spoke, the Dean stood up.
But as soon as he stood up.
The previously noisy teachers and students of Sky Shield Academy below fell silent.
All the teachers and students looked towards the large screen displaying the results.
They saw the ranking table flicker.
Li Bao'er's first place slowly shifted to second.
A name slowly appeared above Li Bao'er's name.
Student: Fang Xin (Ninth Division), Score: Three minutes and twelve seconds!
The entire school of over a thousand, nearly two thousand, teachers and students fell silent.
The whole place was quiet, not a sound, you could hear a pin drop, as if everyone in the hall had been placed under a stasis spell.
A few seconds later.
The entire school erupted.
"Holy crap! Three minutes and twelve seconds? Did I overdo it? Am I seeing things? Is it real?"
"No way, big brother! You actually cleared it in over three minutes?"
"It's one thing to clear it in three minutes and twelve seconds, but you did it without taking any damage?"
"I thought seven minutes and one second was already unbeatable! Whose subordinate is this!"
"What's a monster room? Is this what a monster room is!"
"I can't live like this! More than 1,200 new students from other divisions couldn't last three minutes, and this guy speed-ran the checkpoint in three minutes and twelve seconds!"
"Sky Shield Academy's previous record was three minutes and thirty-nine seconds! This is a new record!!!"
"The difference between first and second is three minutes and twelve seconds, the difference between second and third is over thirty-five minutes! The difference between first and me is like the difference between a human and a dog!"
"Don't joke, I heard the Ninth Division has a B-grade fire-attribute Level 8 Warrior guard dog. You're not even as good as the Ninth Division's dog!"
"I can't live like this! I strongly suggest removing Ninth Division members from the list, it's too damaging to the confidence of us from other divisions!"
"Bro, don't joke, with this score, even we in the Ninth Division are pretty dejected!"
In the crowd, the injured Qin Junhao was dumbfounded after seeing Fang Xin's name. Many new students from the Seventh Division knew Fang Xin because of Qin Junhao, and now seeing Fang Xin's score, they were all amazed and looked down on Qin Junhao even more!
Jiang Xiaocha looked up at the scoreboard, and after seeing Fang Xin's name, she adjusted her glasses and gave a sweet smile.
A classmate next to her asked, "Xiao Cha, what are you smiling about?"
"Nothing!"
The Dean, who had been about to leave, looked up, his eyes wide.
Thinking he was seeing things, he rubbed his eyes, held onto the table with both hands, leaned forward, and stared at the results again.
Three minutes and twelve seconds!
Accurate!
The Dean's finger trembled as he pointed at the big screen, "Three? Three minutes and twelve seconds?"
Other Sky Shield Academy leaders in the same row were also overcome with surprise.
"A new record! A new record, Dean!"
The Dean was emotional, he sat down, patted his pounding heart, pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead, his mouth so wide with excitement it almost reached the back of his head.
His gaze shifted to the calm Bai Mao Zai, Zhuge Heng. "Eh? Zhuge? Did you expect this?"
"More or less!"
"Did you find this new student too?"
"Exactly!" Zhuge Heng grinned, showing his white teeth.
The Dean slapped Zhuge Heng's shoulder hard. "You kid, I'll give you a first-class merit! No, I have to tell Old Master Ye this good news!"
While making the call, the Dean asked, "Zhuge, what's the background of this Fang Xin?"
Zhuge Heng slowly stood up with his hands in his pockets, then pulled out a hand to pat Dean Xu's shoulder, leaning in to whisper to Dean Xu, "Old Xu, some things are better not known too early. You'll definitely find out later!"
Dean Xu paused, and the call connected.
A strong, elderly voice came from the other end of the phone.
"Hello?"
Dean Xu quickly picked up the phone, "Old Ye, it's me, Xu Boshan, reporting good news! The first place in Sky Shield Academy's entrance assessment this year, three minutes and twelve seconds, a new record!"
"What's his name?"
"His name is Fang Xin!"
Hearty laughter came from the other end of the phone, "Good, good, haha, I know. Is Zhuge next to you? Hand him the phone!"
Dean Xu stood up, "Zhuge, Old Ye wants to talk to you!"
Zhuge Heng, who was about to leave, turned back at the mention.
This Bai Mao Zai, usually arrogant and overbearing, became unprecedentedly polite and respectful after taking the call. "Old Master Ye, what are your instructions?"
After a few affirmations, Zhuge Heng hung up the phone and handed it to Dean Xu.
Dean Xu wanted to ask something else, but Zhuge Heng waved his hand and disappeared from the spot.
"Dean, how do we present the awards now?"
"I'll present awards to all top three!"
Xu Boshan replied, muttering to himself. Old Master Ye's tone just now seemed to indicate he already knew about this new student named Fang Xin. Combining that with what Zhuge Heng just said, Xu Boshan was puzzled. He turned his head to look in Fang Xin's direction, wondering about the boy's background.
Fang Xin walked out of the testing area, rubbing his shoulders.
"Xin Ge!!!"
Shi Tailang shouted until his throat was hoarse, directly picking up Fang Xin and spinning him around.
"Xin Ge is awesome!!!" Shi Tailang was almost screaming.
Fang Xin took the unfinished food from Zhang Yaozu's hand.
Zhang Yaozu dazedly handed the bread and porridge to Fang Xin, "It's... it's still warm!"
"Xin Ge, you're amazing, over three minutes, you broke the record, do you know that?"
Shi Tailang said excitedly.
Zhang Yaozu grumbled, "Fatty, you just said Xin Ge couldn't even finish within five minutes!"
Shi Tailang clicked his tongue, "I only knew Xin Ge was strong, but I didn't expect Xin Ge to be this strong!"
Fang Xin quickly said, "Just luck, just luck, I'm not strong, I'm really not strong, the test was just too easy!"
Shi Tailang spread his hands, "Listen to him, is he even speaking human words anymore! Can't beat him in a fight, can't beat him in showing off, how are we supposed to live!"
Fang Xin was about to speak when Zhuge Heng appeared beside him.
One hand rested on Fang Xin's shoulder.
The next second, Fang Xin was surprised to find that Shi Tailang and the others next to him started speaking vaguely, as if separated by an air wall, and these people seemed unable to see Zhuge Heng.
"I forgot to tell you something!"