The computer lab.
Old Gu, Old Chen, and several school leaders were all present.
They looked even more excited than Su Hao and the others.
No wonder.
This year, Ancheng No. 1 High School had produced far too many outstanding students.
With the school achieving such results, the teachers and school leaders would receive commendations from above.
Next year, the school would also gain more educational resources.
If they could maintain this upward momentum for a few years, Ancheng's education standards might climb into the upper-middle ranks of Tiannan Province.
The school leaders looked at them, their hearts filled with emotion.
A few years later.
When No. 1 High School invited them back as honorary alumni, some of them might already hold higher social status than these school leaders themselves.
The younger generation was formidable.
At that moment,
The computer was already on.
The cameraman gave each person a shot, then moved to the official website interface.
"You can check your scores now."
A school leader Su Hao didn't recognize glanced at his watch and said.
The computers in the Spirit Academy campus lab were much better equipped than those in the regular campus.
Even so,
Su Hao still had to refresh several times before he could enter the query page and input his identity information.
Staring at the loading icon spinning on the screen, Su Hao felt... a little nervous, more or less.
A few days ago, he had calmly calculated.
In the practical exam, he was first, with a perfect score.
But that was based on ranking, and he wasn't far ahead of the second and third place.
In the second-stage exam, he was also first, but many others had perfect scores too.
And the written exam...
He was Ancheng's top scorer, but not the province's top scorer.
He could barely make it into the top ten across all of Tiannan Province.
"So many top students.
"I lost too many points in Chinese, and the six spirit subject papers were too easy—can't widen the gap, can't widen the gap."
He was a bit worried.
What if,
He wasn't the Tiannan Province top scorer?
He didn't worry for long.
The scores came out.
[Name: Su Hao] [Exam ID: XX......XXX] [Bound Spirits: Dream Moth, Firewool Crow, Watercloud Horse] [Written Exam: 97.9 (100)] [Second-Stage Exam: Spiritual Power Test: 50 (50); Spirit Battle Assessment: 50 (50)] [Practical Exam: First Place, 100 (100)] [Total Score: 99.37 (100)] [Note: Spirit Master College Entrance Exam: Stage 1 accounts for 30%, Stage 2 for 20%, Stage 3 for 50%;]
And...
Su Hao saw the end.
First in the province!
Provincial top scorer!
...
Half an hour later, Su Hao walked out of the computer lab, feeling somewhat drained.
He wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He felt exhausted.
Dealing with reporters' questions was far more troublesome than participating in a practical exam.
"Student Su Hao, I heard you wake up at four in the morning every day and have kept it up for a whole year."
"Student Su Hao, I heard you worked four part-time jobs a day to buy resources for raising spirits, without falling behind in your studies..."
"Student Su Hao, I heard..."
The reporters asked.
The school leaders kept praising.
What could he say?
He just nodded, nodded, nodded, nodded.
Being an emotionless nodding tool.
...
The Su family.
The new house in the Spirit Master family residential area in the city center.
Su's dad and mom had just received a call from their son.
College entrance exam, provincial top scorer.
"Mhm, top scorer."
Mom said calmly.
After going through promotions, salary raises, visits from leaders, and so on, they were only... a tiny bit shocked now.
"His dad! Hao'er really got top scorer, provincial top scorer!!"
Mom steadied herself for half a minute, then picked up her phone, deciding to share the news with her close friends.
"Hey, Sister Chen, isn't your Nan Luo taking the Spirit Master exam this year? How did he do?"
"Got into Spirit University? Congratulations, congratulations."
"What? My Hao'er? Ah, his score is pretty good. He said it's 99.37, something like province... province first. Oh, I didn't ask him to score that high, just being safe is enough, but the kid really worked hard."
Mom casually lamented how hard her son had worked.
She hung up and dialed another number.
"Hey, Haohao's mom... Ah, the exam results just came out... The kid said he wants to apply to Jingdao University..."
"Ah, yes, the university with the highest admission cutoff. We don't understand... Score? I heard his score is well above the predicted cutoff..."
"I didn't expect the kid to be this outstanding either. TV stations interviewed him, it'll be on the evening news..."
Dad wasn't as excited as Mom.
He just calmly called the relatives.
Inviting them for a meal.
Reason?
Oh... Su Hao got provincial top scorer.
Su's dad and mom felt so satisfied.
Back in freshman and sophomore year, Su Hao's grades were only average.
Decent.
But among their friends' children, there were some who studied very well, always showing off their kids' grades at gatherings.
Mom always wanted to show off too.
But she held back.
Monthly exams, finals, joint exams—those not focused on Spirit Academy, they didn't understand.
So Mom saved up a big move.
College entrance exam, top scorer!
A royal flush!
After showing off,
Su's dad and mom felt even better than getting promotions and raises.
...
On the No. 1 High School campus.
Su Hao enjoyed his last moments of quiet.
After all,
When he came back later, he'd probably... be a big shot.
He'd never live such a peaceful life again.
"How did Liu Ren, Chen Qi, and the others do?"
Su Hao was still closest to his old classmates from freshman and sophomore year.
Chen Qi, Zhou Yuze, and Ma Ruomei—the three who also chose Spirit Academy—were the most familiar.
They'd hung out a few days ago.
Chen Qi's grades were better, solidly enough for Spirit University, while Zhou Yuze and Ma Ruomei were more uncertain.
They'd have to wait for today's score rankings and each school's predicted cutoffs to know the results.
"They passed."
Liu Ren said, "Chen Qi made the cutoff for a key university. Yuze and Ruomei seem to be planning to apply to Donglin University."
Tiannan Province had five Spirit Universities.
Among them, Tiannan University and Yunhua Spirit University were key universities.
The other three were Donglin University, Tiannan Agricultural University, and Tianxing University... Tianxing University had abundant resources but very high tuition, unaffordable for most students.
Su Hao was relieved to hear they could all get in.
They were classmates, and he hoped everyone could do better and better.
...
Su Hao walked while scrolling through each school's admissions info.
"Jingdao University plans to enroll 1,100 students this year."
That was nationwide. Allocated to Tiannan Province, it was only 65 spots.
Liu Ren and the others, ranked 70-100 in the province, would likely be admitted barring surprises—since there were two other prestigious Spirit Universities.
In a few days, they'd fill out their志愿.
Within a week at most, the admission results would be announced.
Faster than regular universities.
Su Hao and Liu Ren agreed to notify each other once the results were out.
At the school gate, they went their separate ways.
Before leaving, Liu Ren asked, "Old Su, when are you planning to head to school? I heard the earliest is August 15th? We could go together then."
Liu Ren never missed a chance to cling to a strong ally.
Getting into Jingdao University meant his plan to latch onto Su Hao was halfway there.
But then he heard Su Hao say,
"No, I have a recommendation letter. I'm leaving in early July."
Liu Ren: "???"
(End of Volume 1, wrapping up was a bit tricky~)