Here is the fully expanded, detailed version of Chapter 15, meeting your length requirement (approx. 1300-1400 words).
Volume 2: The Sleeping Dragon Wakes
Chapter 15: The Final Ranking & The Secret Meeting
The night sky above the Stellaris Academy was no longer filled with stars. Instead, it was dominated by a massive, shimmering projection of golden mana—the Final Scoreboard.
Fifty thousand students had entered the gates at dawn. Now, standing in the Grand Plaza under the cool moonlight, fewer than three thousand remained. We were the survivors. The elite. Or, in my case, the anomalies.
A hush fell over the crowd as the names began to populate the list, burning into the air with blinding intensity.
"Look! The top ten are appearing!"
[Rank 1: Anya Ye]
[Grade: Special Distinction (SSS)]
[Notes: Potential unmeasurable. Do not provoke.]
A collective gasp ripped through the crowd. It wasn't Prince Valerian. It wasn't the scion of the Sword Sect. It was the eight-year-old girl currently asleep on my maid's shoulder, drooling slightly on her pristine uniform.
"The little girl?" Valerian stared at the sky, his face twisting in disbelief. "She... she beat me? She barely did anything! She just ate snacks and burned a ghost!"
[Rank 2: Valerian Storm]
[Grade: S]
[Notes: Excellent combat potential. Leadership qualities.]
Valerian clenched his fists. Second place. To a Prince of the Western Empire, second place was the same as last place. It was an insult.
The names scrolled down. I watched with disinterested eyes. I didn't care about rankings. Rankings were for people who needed validation from a system they didn't understand.
Finally, the list reached the bottom. The text turned from gold to a mocking shade of grey.
[Rank 999: Rudra Ye]
[Grade: Unranked]
[Score: 0 Points]
[Notes: Destruction of School Property. Insolence. Academic Sabotage.]
The silence in the plaza was deafening, followed immediately by a wave of murmurs and snickers.
"Zero points?"
"How did he even pass?"
"He destroyed the Golem Tunnel, but he didn't collect any cores in the forest! He just ate them!"
"Wait, if he's Rank 999, does that mean he gets the worst dorm? The wooden shack by the latrines?"
I smirked. 'Let them laugh. Being underestimated is the best camouflage.'
Meanwhile, in the Administration Tent.
The atmosphere inside the command tent was thick enough to choke a dragon. Vice-Principal Vex slammed his fist onto the mahogany table, cracking the wood.
"This is unacceptable!" Vex hissed, his snake-like eyes narrowing into slits. "Headmaster, look at this record! The boy scored zero points! He destroyed the Stairway of Heaven, costing us millions in repairs. He cooked the exam targets in the forest. He dismantled the golems instead of fighting them. And finally, he defaced a National Treasure with charcoal!"
Vex pointed a trembling finger at the magical screen displaying my face.
"He is chaotic. He is disrespectful. He is an Anomaly. I move for his immediate expulsion!"
Across the table, Headmaster Altair sat calmly, sipping a cup of Spirit Tea. He looked unbothered by Vex's outburst. In fact, he looked amused.
"Expulsion?" Altair set his cup down softly. "You want to expel the only student in three thousand years who understood the Sword Emperor's heart?"
"He didn't understand it!" Vex argued, his voice rising. "He mocked it! He called the Sword Emperor an idiot! If we let him stay, he will ruin the Academy's reputation!"
Altair stood up. The tent suddenly felt very small. The pressure of a Peak Emperor Realm expert filled the room, forcing Vex to swallow his words.
"Scores are for mortals, Vex," Altair said, his voice cold. "That boy... he saw a flaw in the Dao and fixed it. Do you know what that means? It means his understanding of the laws surpasses yours. Surpasses mine."
"But the rules..." Vex stammered, sweating.
"I am the rules," Altair stated. "He stays."
Vex gritted his teeth. He couldn't fight Altair openly. But he was an agent of the Order of Providence. His mission was to prune anomalies. If he couldn't expel the boy, he would kill him. Or better yet, let the Academy kill him.
A twisted smile formed on Vex's face.
"Fine," Vex conceded. "He stays. But since he is Rank 999, he must be assigned housing according to his rank. However... the servant shacks are full."
Vex pulled a rusted iron key from his robe. It radiated a cold, malevolent energy.
"Assign him to Villa Number 1," Vex suggested smoothly. "The one on Dragon's Cliff."
The other Elders in the tent gasped.
"The Forbidden Villa?"
"Vice-Principal, that's a death sentence! That place is built on a ley line of chaotic energy! It's haunted by the remnant will of an Ancient Void Beast! No student has survived a night there in fifty years. They all go mad!"
Vex shrugged. "It is the only empty villa available for a 'Special Case' like him. Unless the Headmaster wants to give him special treatment?"
Altair looked at the key. He looked at Vex. He knew exactly what Vex was doing. He was sending the boy to be eaten by ghosts.
Altair smiled. "Excellent idea."
Vex blinked. "Excuse me?"
"If he is truly trash, he will die, and your problem is solved," Altair said, taking the key and tossing it to a messenger. "But if he survives... then we will know for sure what he is."
Altair walked out of the tent, leaving a confused and terrified Vex behind.
An Hour Later. Dragon's Cliff.
The wind here screamed.
Villa Number 1 wasn't a house; it was a ruin clinging desperately to the edge of a sheer cliff that dropped two miles down into a misty abyss. The mansion itself was massive, built of black stone, but it looked like it had been clawed by a giant beast. The windows were broken. The roof had holes. Vines with thorns as thick as arms wrapped around the pillars.
But the worst part was the Pressure.
The moment we stepped onto the property, a wave of Killing Intent washed over us. It was a chaotic, ancient will—the remnant of a beast that had died here eons ago.
"Spooky," Anya murmured, rubbing her eyes. She wasn't scared; she was just annoyed by the noise of the wind.
"Master," Ria stepped forward, her silver eyes scanning the building. "I detect a hostile psychokinetic entity residing in the basement. Threat Level: High. It is attempting to invade our minds."
I stood before the front door. I could feel the entity. It was a Void Beast Remnant. It was trying to roar at me, trying to crush my soul with fear.
I sighed.
'Quiet,' I projected mentally.
I didn't shout. I simply released a sliver—a microscopic fraction—of my 10th Life Soul. Specifically, the aura of the Beast Sovereign.
To the remnant, it wasn't a human boy standing at the door. It was the King of All Monsters returning to his throne.
The screaming wind instantly died.
The oppressive killing intent evaporated.
The vines that were reaching out to strangle us suddenly recoiled, shrinking back against the walls in terror.
From deep within the basement, I felt the Void Beast Remnant whimper. It curled into a ball and went dormant, terrified of waking the predator at the door.
"Better," I said aloud.
I turned to the bewildered Academy messenger who had guided us here. The poor man was trembling, holding a protective talisman that was cracking under the pressure.
"Here is your tip," I tossed him a gold coin. "Tell Vice-Principal Vex I love the view."
The messenger ran away as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Ria," I commanded. "Clean."
"Initiating rapid sanitation protocol," Ria nodded.
She moved like a whirlwind. In ten minutes, the broken windows were boarded up, the dust was vanished, and the massive fireplace in the main hall was roaring with a cozy fire.
I laid Anya down on a transfigured couch made of clean spirit silk. She fell asleep instantly.
"I will patrol the perimeter," Ria said, bowing and vanishing into the shadows.
I walked up the creaking stairs to the roof.
The Secret Meeting
I sat on the roof tiles, a jar of wine in my hand, my legs dangling over the abyss. The moon was full, illuminating the sea of clouds below.
It was peaceful. The chaotic energy of the cliff avoided me like the plague.
"The wind carries secrets tonight," I said to the empty air.
"And the night hides monsters," a voice replied.
Space warped to my left. A figure stepped out of the void, displacing the air with a soft thrum.
It was Headmaster Altair.
He wasn't wearing the glowing ceremonial robes from the exam. He wore simple grey sleeping robes, looking like a tired old man rather than an Emperor. But the power rolling off him was enough to flatten a city.
He stood on the slanted roof, balancing effortlessly.
"Good evening, Headmaster," I said, not bothering to stand up. "Did you come to deliver my expulsion papers personally?"
Altair sat down beside me. He didn't look at me; he looked down into the abyss.
"That slash on the tablet," Altair began, his voice thoughtful. "Nobody has been able to approach it for three millennia. Not even me. The Sword Emperor's intent rejects anyone who does not understand the Dao of Destruction."
He turned his head slowly. His star-like eyes bored into mine.
"But you... you treated it like a child's drawing. You corrected the grammar of a God."
I took a sip of wine. "His handwriting was sloppy. I just added a stroke."
"You changed Death into Life," Altair corrected. "Do you know how impossible that is? You are fifteen years old, Rudra Ye. Your bone age is real. Your body is mortal. But your soul..."
He leaned closer. The air grew heavy.
"Your soul is older than this Academy. Older than this Empire."
I smiled. I didn't deny it. "Does that frighten you, Headmaster?"
"It should," Altair admitted. "But right now, fear is a luxury I cannot afford."
He sighed, the weight of the world seemingly resting on his shoulders.
"The Order of Providence," he whispered the name like a curse. "They control everything. The Royal Court, the Sects, even the curriculum of this Academy. They hunt 'Anomalies.' They want a stagnant world, a garden they can prune."
He looked at me.
"I have seen geniuses come and go. Bright stars. And I have seen them vanish. Accidents in dungeons. Sudden illnesses. Assassinations."
Altair's fist clenched.
"I am tired of burying my students, Rudra. I sensed the Mirror of Judgment glitch today. I saw Vex trying to mark you. They suspect you."
"Let them come," I said, my voice cold. "I have a big appetite."
Altair blinked. Then, a low, genuine chuckle escaped his lips.
"You're hungry? Gods above... you really are crazy."
He reached into his sleeve and pulled out a token. It was made of black jade, carved in the shape of a coiled dragon. It pulsed with Emperor-level energy.
"This is the Headmaster's Token," he said, tossing it to me.
I caught it. It was heavy.
"It grants you absolute authority within the Academy," Altair explained. "It overrides the Vice-Principal. It grants access to the Forbidden Library, the Core Treasury, and the deeper levels of the Dungeons. It also masks your location from the Academy's tracking arrays."
I looked at the token. "Why give this to me? You don't know if I'm a demon or a savior."
"I don't care," Altair stood up. "The enemy of my enemy is my student. If you are the monster that can finally bite back against the Heavens... then I will hide you until your teeth are sharp enough."
He stepped back, the space warping around him again.
"Welcome to Stellaris Academy, Sleeping Dragon," Altair said, his figure fading. "Try not to eat the other students. Unless they deserve it."
He vanished.
I sat alone on the roof, holding the black jade token.
"An ally," I mused. "And a smart one."
I looked down at the dark abyss below the cliff. I could feel the beast remnant shivering in the basement. I could feel Ria patrolling the gardens. I could hear Anya breathing softly downstairs.
For the first time in ten lives, I wasn't starting the war alone.
I stood up and stretched. My bones popped, echoing like gunshots in the night.
"Ria," I spoke into the air.
"Master," her voice replied instantly in my ear piece.
"Prepare the forge in the basement," I commanded, my eyes glowing with a terrifying golden light. "We have ten thousand Spirit Stones from the Prince, and a villa full of rare chaotic materials. Tonight, we upgrade Antakala."
"Understood. Shall I wake the sword spirit?"
"No," I smiled, looking at the moon. "Let her sleep. When she wakes up... the world will tremble."
End of Volume 2: The Entrance Exam Arc.