Virtual Space, on the rooftop.
As Hawkeye's corpse turned into white light and dissipated, the System's settlement interface popped up accompanied by stirring sound effects.
[Congratulations! Achieved Epic Achievement: Gold Rank Twenty Consecutive Wins!] [Base Points Reward: 2000 Points.] [Win Streak Multiplier: 500%.] [Cross-Tier Challenge Bonus (Silver beats Gold): 200%.] [Perfect Kill (No Damage): Extra 5000 Points!] [Total Points Obtained this match: 19,000 Points!]
[Current Total Points: 23,500 Points.] [100% Win Rate Detected, Hidden Score Extremely High...] [Nova List Ranking (Jiangnan City): 98th!]
Looking at that bright red two-digit ranking, even though Lin Zhiran was mentally prepared, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.
Top 100!
One had to know that the Nova List covered millions of high school martial artists in the entire Jiangnan City. Those at the top of the list were all favored children of heaven piled up with resources by major families since childhood, or veterans who had been honing their skills in the Ladder for a long time.
And he, using only a new account and two nights, was like a dark horse, forcefully piercing through the list and entering the Top 100!
This was not just fame, but tangible wealth.
In the Ladder System, 1 Point could be exchanged for 10 Alliance Dollars in the official mall.
23,500 Points, that was... 235,000 Alliance Dollars!
For him before this, this was absolutely an astronomical figure. His parents' combined income from working hard in the factory for a year was only sixty or seventy thousand. And he, in just two nights, had earned four years' worth of his family's income!
"Is this the speed at which martial artists make money..."
Lin Zhiran took a deep breath, forcing down the excitement in his heart.
Without hesitation, he opened the exchange interface directly.
"Exchange 150,000 Alliance Dollars to bank card." "Exchange for one 'Primary Genetic Optimization Serum' (Value: 8000 Points)."
Although he really wanted to withdraw all the money to treat his sister's illness, he knew very well that sharpening the axe won't delay the woodcutting. His sister's illness required a special medicine costing 500,000 to cure completely; this 100-plus thousand could only alleviate it.
The urgent priority now was to improve his own strength. Only when he became stronger could he earn the remaining hundreds of thousands, or even millions.
This "Primary Genetic Optimization Serum" was a foundation-building divine medicine specially supplied by the military. It could gently improve constitution and raise the upper limit of Vitality. It was exactly the key for him to break through the 1.0 Vitality barrier now!
"Ding! 150,000 Yuan received in bank card." "Item 'Primary Genetic Optimization Serum' has been shipped, expected to arrive tomorrow morning."
Looking at the receipt notification on his phone, Lin Zhiran clenched his fist.
With this money and potion, for the period before the College Entrance Exam, he finally didn't have to worry about resources anymore and could sprint forward without distractions!
...
The next morning, Jiangnan City Third High School.
When Lin Zhiran walked into the classroom, he found that the atmosphere today was ten times more fanatical than yesterday.
The whole classroom seemed to have turned into a boiling pressure cooker. In almost every corner, beside every desk, people were discussing the same name—"Cold Light."
"Crazy! Totally crazy! Did you guys see the updated Nova List this morning? God Cold Light rushed into the Top 100!" "Holy crap, for real? Aren't the Top 100 spots hogged by the top students of the Thunder Dojo and the major high schools?" "It's absolutely true! 98th place! And the most terrifying thing is that his win rate is 100%! Rushing into the Top 100 with only a few dozen matches, this efficiency is simply cheat-level!" "It's too scary... That final 'Meteor Throw' last night directly ascended him to godhood! I heard that all major guilds in the city have gone crazy now, digging everywhere, wanting to find out who this Cold Light actually is." "Too mysterious. Until now, no one knows if he's male or female, or which school he's from."
Lin Zhiran walked through these excited classmates with a calm face and sat in his own corner.
This feeling of everyone is drunk but I alone am awake was actually... quite satisfying.
"Hey, Lin Zhiran."
A boy in the front row suddenly turned his head and leaned over mysteriously. "Did you watch the live stream last night? That Cold Light also uses a spear, and he uses the Basic Spear Technique too! Do you think it could be an expert from our school?"
Lin Zhiran took out his textbook, pretended to think for a moment, and nodded. "Possibly. After all, there are quite a few people who use spears."
"Tch, asking you is useless." The boy curled his lips and turned back. "Anyway, it's definitely not you. Although you beat Zhao Tai yesterday, that was because Zhao Tai underestimated the enemy. God Cold Light is an existence that can instantly kill even a Gold Rank sniper; that's not even in the same dimension."
Lin Zhiran shrugged, noncommittal.
Just then, a loud voice came from the classroom door.
"Lin Zhiran! Come to my office!"
The whole class instantly fell silent.
Homeroom teacher Wang Gang stood at the door, his expression serious.
The surrounding classmates immediately cast sympathetic or gloating glances.
"It's over. He definitely hit Zhao Tai too hard in the combat class yesterday and injured him. The teacher is looking for trouble." "Serves him right. An F-Rank Talent daring to be so arrogant, he kicked an iron plate this time, right?" "Zhao Tai's family is on the School Board. Lin Zhiran is probably going to get disciplined this time."
Zhao Tai sat in the first row. Although the stomach that was kicked yesterday was still faintly aching, a cold smile hung on his face at this moment.
Lin Zhiran's expression remained unchanged. He closed his book, stood up, and walked out of the classroom.
...
Teacher's Office.
Wang Gang sat behind the desk, his single arm pressing firmly on the table. He looked at the teenager standing in front of him, neither humble nor arrogant, with a complex gaze.
"Teacher, you looked for me." Lin Zhiran asked calmly.
"Sit."
Wang Gang pointed to the chair opposite. His tone wasn't as stern as imagined; instead, it carried a trace of... concern.
"You don't need to worry about Zhao Tai's matter. I've already warned him. Getting injured in combat class is normal. I've also pushed back against his family."
Lin Zhiran was slightly stunned, and then a warm feeling surged in his heart. "Thank you, Teacher."
He knew that Wang Gang was just an ordinary teacher. Withstanding pressure from the School Board family wasn't as easy as he said.
"I called you here not for this."
Wang Gang opened the drawer, took out a form and a small bottle of pale blue potion, and pushed them in front of Lin Zhiran.
"This is the early application form for the 'Martial Arts College Entrance Exam.' Although your awakened talent is F-Rank, and logically you should only apply for Liberal Arts or Logistics, but... your performance yesterday changed my mind."
Wang Gang looked into Lin Zhiran's eyes and said seriously, "Your combat sense is the best among all the students I've taught. Talent determines the lower limit, but combat sense determines the upper limit. I don't want you to give up on martial arts just because of an F-Rank assessment."
"This bottle is an 'Intermediate Vitality Potion,' from my private quota. Take it and drink it. Strive to push your Vitality to 0.9 before the exam. This way, even if your talent is a bit lacking, you still have a chance to get into a Tier 2 Martial Arts School."
Lin Zhiran looked at the potion on the table.
Intermediate Vitality Potion, market price five thousand a bottle. For Wang Gang, whose salary wasn't high, this was definitely not a small sum.
In this snobbish High Martial Arts world, because he had an F-Rank Talent, everyone advised him to give up and mocked him as trash. Only this one-armed teacher in front of him not only blocked trouble for him but also paid out of his own pocket to give him a push.
Lin Zhiran's throat felt a bit blocked.
He stood up, didn't hypocritically decline, but solemnly took the potion and form with both hands and bowed deeply to Wang Gang.
"Thank you, Teacher."
"I won't let you down."
Not just a Tier 2 Martial Arts School.
Lin Zhiran said silently in his heart.
Teacher, since you think so highly of me, if I give you a Provincial Top Scorer, that wouldn't be too much, right?
"Alright, don't get so sentimental." Wang Gang waved his hand, a smile appearing on his face. "Go back to class. Remember, be low-key in life, but high-profile in work. Before you have absolute strength, hiding your clumsiness is not a bad thing."
"Yes."
Lin Zhiran turned and left the office.
Walking out of the office building, the sunlight fell on his body, a bit dazzling.
He touched the potion in his pocket and thought of the higher-grade "Genetic Optimization Serum" he ordered last night.
Two prongs working simultaneously.
Plus the development of physical potential brought by the SSS-Rank Talent.
"Vitality 1.0?"
Lin Zhiran looked up at the blue sky, the corner of his mouth curling into a confident arc.
"No."
"What I want to sprint for is... the standard of a Limit Breaker Warrior!"
Just then, the campus broadcast suddenly rang out.
"Notice! Notice! Students in Grade 12 with Vitality reaching 0.9 or above, please assemble in the Grand Auditorium immediately! Leaders from the City Education Bureau and Special Commissioners from the 'Ladder System' are visiting our school to conduct a special selection test!"
Lin Zhiran's footsteps paused slightly.
Special Commissioners from the Ladder System?
Could it be... they came for "Cold Light"?
Because of that ID that just killed its way into the Top 100?
He subconsciously pulled down the brim of his hat and walked slowly towards the Grand Auditorium with the surging crowd.
Since the officials were here, this play was probably going to get more and more exciting.