Chapter 16: Choice of Application

Chapter 16: Choice of Application

Red Leaf Community, seventeenth floor, Wang Ming's home.

In the small living room, the air seemed to freeze, everyone's gaze focusing on that tiny light screen suspended in mid-air.

[Morning Star Total Ranking: 67,321]

This string of numbers, like a colossal boulder cast into a placid lake, stirred up monstrous waves after a brief silence.

"Sixty-seven thousand, three hundred and twenty-first!"

Wang Ming's voice pitched higher with extreme excitement, even cracking slightly.

He grabbed Qin Dahai's arm, shaking it vigorously, his face, usually covered in grease and fatigue, now flushed crimson as unprecedented brilliance erupted from his eyes.

"Brother! Do you see it?! More than sixty-seven thousand! We... we passed! We got into the top seven high schools!"

Qin Dahai's body trembled slightly, his eyes fixed dead on that ranking, those always calm and unruffled pupils now surging with a tempestuous wave of emotion.

Aunt Li Juan on the side, though not understanding the specific meaning of martial arts scores, grew excited as well upon seeing her husband and brother-in-law in such ecstatic frenzies, her eyes reddening as her hands tightly covered her mouth.

In their perception, a vitality index of 1.23 represented an absolute peak genius who should rightfully rank among the very best.

And a number like "more than sixty thousand" did not sound quite so far forward.

However, they did not know the true meaning behind this ranking.

In this grand and magnificent era of the human stellar river, the Empire's territory spanned countless star systems, and the number of humans dying across the Empire every second was counted in trillions.

To counter the never-ending "Great Expedition", the Empire poured in all its resources to implement universal gene optimization and elite martial arts education.

The result was a blow-out explosion of geniuses.

Especially on a standardized educational planet like Morning Star, among tens of millions of candidates each year, youths who had received the most opulent cultivation of resources since birth and possessed extraordinary talent were as numerous as crucian carps crossing a river, too countless to reckon.

Attaining a vitality index of 1.0 was merely obtaining an admission ticket to participate in this game of geniuses.

Attaining an index of 1.2 only meant you possessed the strength to contend in this game.

Although Qin Peak possessed the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] panel, his true exertion of power had spanned a mere month's time.

With one month of bitter cultivation, he had caught up to the accumulation of three years or even longer of others.

To be able to squeeze into the ranks of 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 authentic and reasonable feedback for his frantic output over this past month.

"Li Juan! Li Juan!"

Wang Ming turned his head, shouting loudly toward the kitchen, "Don't just stand there! Quick! Go to the vegetable market! Buy back the best exotic beast meat and the largest red-feathered chicken for me! Today! Today our family is holding a celebration banquet! To celebrate our Xiao Feng getting into a top martial arts high school!"

He turned around, threw an arm around his elder nephew beside him, and rubbed his head forcefully.

"Xiao Hao! And you, Xiao Jie! Do you all see this? This is your Brother Feng! Do you see how hard he worked? In the future, you must all learn from your Brother Feng! Do you hear me? As long as you are willing to work hard, the children of ordinary families like ours can stand out among men just the same!"

"We know, Dad!"

The two half-grown lads straightened their chests, responding loudly, their eyes looking toward Qin Peak filled with adoration.

Qin Dahai did not speak.

He merely walked over, extended that single arm covered in calluses, and pulled his son tightly, tightly into his embrace.

This man, silent as a mountain, used his most direct and clumsy way to vent the pride and gratification that had accumulated for over a decade.

Qin Peak could feel his father's body trembling slightly.

...

The atmosphere of family joy lasted all the way until noon.

A celebration banquet even more sumptuous than the last time filled the small dining table.

The wine had been poured three rounds, and the dishes tasted through five flavors.

Right at this moment, the personal terminal on Qin Dahai's wrist suddenly vibrated. Glancing at the caller ID, it read [Factory Director Wu].

He connected the communication.

The plump face of Wu Daqiang, director of the alien corpse processing plant, appeared on the light screen.

"Old Qin! How is it going? The results are released today, is Xiao Feng's score out yet?"

Wu Daqiang's voice carried obvious concern.

"It's out."

A trace of uncontrollable smile hung on Qin Dahai's face.

"Speak up, speak up! Don't keep me in suspense!"

Qin Dahai did not say much, directly sharing Qin Peak's report card over.

On the other side of the light screen, Wu Daqiang looked at that report card, his expression turning from surprise to gravity, and finally dissolving into an appreciative understanding.

"Vitality index of 1.23, ranking sixty-seven thousand... hiss, this year's competition is still so fierce!"

As the director of the processing plant, Wu Daqiang interacted with higher social strata, and his horizons were far from what Wang Ming could compare to.

He knew very well that in today's Morning Star, wanting to break into the top ten thousand relying on a one-month sprint was pure fantasy.

"Old Qin, don't look at this ranking in the sixty thousands and think it's far back. This score is extraordinary! Truly extraordinary!"

Wu Daqiang said with a serious face, "The kids nowadays, which one isn't piled up with all kinds of resources from childhood? For Xiao Feng to chase down to this ranking in the final month, this shows his talent and willpower are both top-tier! This can no longer be explained by ordinary hard work; this is a true genius!"

He shifted his tone, becoming even more solemn.

"Old Qin, listen to me. When filling out the applications, for the first choice, fill in 'Morning Star First Martial Arts High School'!"

"The First Martial High is the head of the seven high schools, with the longest history of establishment, the most abundant faculty strength, and the greatest number of experts heading into the starry sea. In their admission rules, there is an unwritten principle of 'potential priority'. Compared to those students whose resources were maxed out from childhood and rank near the front, they sometimes prefer 'uncut jade' like Xiao Feng, who explodes in the later stages and has a bottomless well of potential. An index of 1.23, coupled with this terrifying record of overtaking tens of millions of people in a single month, can absolutely move their admissions office!"

"Good, I've noted it down. Thank you, Factory Director Wu."

Qin Dahai nodded solemnly.

"Thank what! You are my brother!"

Wu Daqiang waved his hand, "Alright, I won't disturb your celebration. If there are any problems with the application filling, find me anytime! I still have some connections on my side to help you fish for some inside information."

Hanging up the communication, Qin Dahai relayed Factory Director Wu's analysis and suggestions to the family.

While the family was discussing, Qin Peak's personal terminal rang as well.

It was a message from the class group of Grade 9 Class 5, sent on behalf of the class monitor.

[@All Members, Notice: At nine o'clock tomorrow morning, all students will return to school and assemble in the original classroom. Teacher Li Weiguo will distribute the 'High School Entrance Examination Application Filling Guide' to everyone and conduct unified guidance. Please be sure to arrive at school on time.]

The moment the message appeared, the quiet class group was instantly activated.

[Zhou Heyuan: Received! See you tomorrow!]

[Wang Xiaoyan: Finally waited for this day! Nervous!]

[Li Kai: I just checked my score, don't know if I can apply for a slightly better ordinary martial arts high school.]

[Chen Chong: I am only ranked nine million, one hundred and sixty thousandth, probably can only go to a bottom-tier martial high, sigh.]

Within the group, some families rejoiced while others sorrowed.

Zhou Heyuan was the most active in the group chat. He posted his vitality index of 0.96 and his excellent ranking of nearly one million, instantly drawing a chorus of astonishment and flattery.

It is worth noting that although Zhou Heyuan had been in the same examination hall as Qin Feng and had witnessed Qin Feng's terrifying results, this fellow stubbornly pretended ignorance in the group.

He never uttered a single word of praise for Qin Feng, instead ceaselessly boasting about his own achievements.

(End of this chapter)