The holographic projection displayed exam questions cascading down like a waterfall. Data streams flickered in Feng Lin's eyes as his fingers danced like butterflies, tapping across the screen in a fluid, uninterrupted rhythm, relaxed and effortless.
Everyone else was busy with the exam, and no one noticed this bizarre scene.
Soon, the two-hour exam ended. Feng Lin quietly closed his test paper.
This time, his performance far exceeded his previous attempts. He knew exactly how many questions he had answered correctly, and even he was a bit startled by it.
Keeping a low profile and reaping the rewards quietly was the way to go.
Feng Lin didn't deliberately boast.
But as soon as the written exam was over, a group of top students sitting at the front of the classroom erupted into commotion.
"Wow! Zhao Kai, you actually answered 250 questions! That's incredible! That's more than two questions per minute on average!"
"No wonder you're a genius with vitality over 2. Your intelligence is highly developed, your thinking is lightning-fast—you're practically superhuman. Even such difficult knowledge, you got it all right. Amazing!"
"A genius is a genius, not something we can compare to!"
...
As the exam results came out, shocked voices rose around.
A tall male student, about 1.9 meters, was surrounded by a crowd. He pretended to be modest, but the corners of his mouth couldn't help curling into a smug smile.
That guy was still too green.
Feng Lin shook his head.
This was Zhao Kai, the top student in the class. It was said he had awakened two powerful genes—the Flame Gene and the Metal Gene—and had enhanced them many times. His vitality was reportedly over 2, making him a well-known genius in the class.
The reason he had reached such a level was his family's wealth. He ate the meat of interstellar beasts and drank high-grade gene potions, relying entirely on the accumulation of resources.
If true geniuses had his conditions, they would have long become legitimate interstellar cultivators.
But having a good background was also a skill in itself.
Feng Lin wasn't like those losers who would be resentful, envious, or jealous.
Although his current strength couldn't match Zhao Kai's, with the incredible ability of the Gene Equation, Feng Lin believed his future was far beyond what Zhao Kai could achieve.
If you already have a spaceship, why envy a bicycle?
"Now, announcing the results!" The female homeroom teacher began reading from the list. She glanced at it, and her face stiffened.
After a long pause, she hesitantly said, "First place: Feng Lin? 588 points!..."
"What?" Everyone was dumbfounded.
With such difficult questions, someone could actually score 588?
That meant he had answered at least 588 questions in two hours, and that was assuming all were correct.
That was more than double, nearly triple, the number of questions Zhao Kai, the class's top student, had answered!
How was that possible?
Stunned gazes fixed on Feng Lin as if they had seen a ghost.
"Is the optical brain glitching? Showing the wrong exam score?"
"That must be it! He's a bottom-tier student. How could he possibly score this high? Not just in our class, but in the entire school, aside from those legendary geniuses recorded in the school's history, no one has ever scored over 500 in a two-hour written exam."
"Exactly! Even Zhao Kai couldn't score that high. How could this guy? We need to see his test paper!"
...
The other students nodded in agreement, all believing this was the only reasonable explanation.
What, a bottom-tier student relying on his own ability to get the highest score in class history?
Are you kidding?
The female homeroom teacher thought the same. She pulled up Feng Lin's test paper from the optical brain and began reviewing it in front of everyone.
Everyone crowded around, scrutinizing each question one by one, not letting a single mistake slip by.
Feng Lin's expression darkened, but then he shrugged it off with a smile.
True gold fears no fire.
If these people wanted to look, let them. He just hoped their fragile hearts wouldn't shatter into pieces.
In truth, he knew he had answered more than 588 questions—exactly 698. But with such a fast answering speed, it was impossible to get every question right. He had gotten 110 wrong.
Feng Lin shook his head, dissatisfied with his performance.
"This one's right!"
"This one's right too!"
"All correct? How is this possible?"
...
Everyone in the class, including the teacher, widened their eyes with each question they checked, growing as big as cow's eyes.
As they looked at Feng Lin's test paper, they found that not only was the number of answered questions astonishing, but the accuracy rate was terrifyingly high—over 80%.
The entire class wore expressions of disbelief.
If it weren't for the interstellar era, with technology so advanced that monitoring devices could track atoms, completely eliminating cheating, they would have suspected Feng Lin of cheating!
This Feng Lin had always been at the bottom of the class. How could he score over 500 on the written exam?
This was even rarer than encountering a life-sustaining planet in the universe—one in a hundred thousand? One in ten million? One in a billion?...
But the facts were right in front of them, and they had no choice but to believe.
Among the crowd, Zhao Kai's expression shifted unpredictably, looking very unpleasant.
He had always been the top student in the class, with no one ever challenging his position.
Now, a bottom-tier student had surpassed him, and by such a wide margin. This was hard for him to accept.
He wouldn't be stupid enough to say Feng Lin had cheated. Instead, he said in a deep voice to the female homeroom teacher, "Teacher, we need to watch the exam surveillance footage. Otherwise, no one will believe that Feng Lin, a perpetual bottom-tier student, could score 588. Maybe the school's exam optical brain system malfunctioned, or it was hacked by an interstellar hacker!"
Zhao Kai didn't say it outright, but his words carried implications.
A single stone stirred a thousand ripples.
As the class's long-standing top student, his words carried weight.
The other students quickly chimed in.
"That's right! We want to see the exam recording!"
"As a bottom-tier student scoring 588, I can't accept this!"
"This is impossible!"
...
Just because Feng Lin had achieved an unprecedented high score, a storm had erupted in the class.
Doubts were everywhere, and no one believed Feng Lin had earned the top score through his own ability.
Was it really necessary to make such a fuss over getting the highest score?
Feng Lin sighed helplessly. For a moment, he felt like he was the enemy of the entire world, and a hint of annoyance crept into his heart.
He had earned first place with his own ability. Why should he be questioned like this?
Feng Lin frowned slightly, knowing this storm was caused by his massive improvement in the exam.
But in the interstellar era, with a vast population and fierce competition, there was no such thing as keeping a low profile.
As a student, to gain the attention of teachers and the school, you had to openly showcase your talent and abilities. Only then would the school invest heavily in your training and allocate resources, making your cultivation path smoother.
In short, the higher your score, the stronger your ability, and the better your chances of performing well in the college entrance exam. Only then would the school go all out to support you.
Otherwise, why would the school waste its educational and cultivation resources on an ordinary person?
That was why Feng Lin had chosen to give it his all and aim for a high score.
In the interstellar era, weakness was the original sin, and keeping a low profile was the stupidest thing you could do.
"Quiet!" Seeing the rising emotions, the female homeroom teacher couldn't stand it anymore. She shouted sternly, asserting her authority as the class leader.
Clearly, this storm had spread to the entire class. As the homeroom teacher, she had to calm it down quickly.
She scrutinized Feng Lin repeatedly before speaking. "Feng Lin, your improvement this time is too great. It's no wonder your classmates are suspicious. So I need to check again."
Too much improvement, and it's my fault too?
Feng Lin let out a frustrated sigh.
Strength. He needed strength.
Only with absolute strength could he make others submit willingly.
The homeroom teacher had already spoken, and Feng Lin knew arguing was pointless. But deep down, he had never craved power so much before.
The female homeroom teacher didn't care about Feng Lin's reaction. She didn't bother asking for his consent and began reviewing again.
This time, she not only checked the test paper but also pulled up the exam surveillance footage, scanning for any electronic devices on Feng Lin that might indicate cheating.
The optical brains used by students for exams were linked to a video surveillance system. Any homeroom teacher could access the footage with a single tap.
A holographic projection appeared, showing Feng Lin in the footage, answering questions at lightning speed. His fingers slid across the screen like flowing water.
He barely hesitated on any question, quickly providing answers. Physics, math, astronomy, mythology... no subject stumped him. A faint smile played on his lips, showcasing his vast knowledge and absolute confidence.
"His answering speed is incredible. It's like he doesn't even need to think. Even the complex and obscure mythology knowledge seems effortless for him."
"Yeah! Mythology theories are bizarre and often contradictory, making them the hardest to cheat on. And he got them all right."
"If this is real, it's too夸张!"
...
Faces crowded in, carefully watching the surveillance footage.
Such an astonishing performance immediately drew gasps of amazement—not just shock, but outright fright.
"Look, his answering speed is so fast!"
"This isn't answering questions; it's like he's machine-gunning through them!"
"Is he the legendary question-crushing maniac? Someone who buries himself in study, grinding through millions of questions until he reaches a state of self-enlightenment?"
...
It was as if they had discovered a new continent. They realized Feng Lin's answering speed was incredibly fast, and his accuracy was extremely high.
They couldn't help but size him up, as if seeing him for the first time.
The optical brain monitoring the exam had shown no reaction from start to finish. Not only had they found nothing unusual about Feng Lin, but they had also scared themselves.
Could it be that Feng Lin really was the legendary question-crushing maniac, earning the highest score through his own ability?