Breaking the record! He is creating the history of Great Xia!
Li Yuanjing took a deep breath.
He needed to verify this.
He beckoned with his hand.
Shortly after, a subordinate walked over.
Li Yuanjing leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Go and check the historical records of the national college entrance examinations across the Great Xia. What is the best score in the second round under the purgatory difficulty?"
Hearing this, the subordinate nodded excitedly, "Understood! I'm on it right now!"
Clearly, he also realized that the record Lin逸 had just created might have completely shattered the historical extremes!
Zero point one seconds was simply too exaggerated!
However, Li Yuanjing stopped him and continued, "Then have the invigilation team thoroughly inspect Lin逸's dungeon instance to see if there were any technical issues, or if such a record appeared because of a bug."
"By the way, check his status bar, equipment bar, and other aspects to ensure he didn't cheat."
The subordinate nodded repeatedly at these instructions.
If both of these were confirmed, it would prove that the score this examinee obtained was entirely legitimate and completely free of cheating!
With his orders given, the subordinate hurriedly went to investigate.
And in the span of just over a dozen seconds,
the leaderboard in the upper right corner of the large screen shifted once again.
Aside from Lin逸, many new names had climbed onto the board.
[Current Test Round: Round Two]
[Current Round Point Rankings:]
[NO.1, Examinee Lin逸, Round One Clearance Time: 0.1 seconds, Points Awarded: 1000!]
[NO.2, Examinee Lan Ruoyi, Round Two Clearance Time: 9.42 seconds, Points Awarded: 939.3!]
[NO.3, Examinee Qi Xiaying, Round Two Clearance Time: 12.88 seconds, Points Awarded: 816.1!]
[NO.4, Examinee Li Zerui, Round Two Clearance Time: 13.03 seconds, Points Awarded: 805.4!]
[NO.5, Examinee Ding Chuting, Round Two Clearance Time: 13.67 seconds, Points Awarded: 799.9!]
……
The maximum points obtainable in the second round were the same as the first—a full 1,000 points.
Yet this time, it was immediately apparent that numerous fresh faces had emerged on the rankings.
Single-target burst and area-of-effect burst were two distinct zones of advantage.
Professionals capable of balancing both, like Qi Xiaying and Li Zerui, were rarer than phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.
Consequently, the leaderboard underwent a complete shuffle.
Moreover, it was worth noting that Lan Ruoyi's tactical approach had succeeded brilliantly, making her a dark horse of sudden prominence.
The Gravity Mage's ability to store spells like rock spheres granted her an immense advantage in this round.
She instantaneously surpassed Li Zerui and Qi Xiaying.
Yet, all these dazzlingly brilliant geniuses instantly paled into insignificance before the overarching titan that was Lin逸.
How could fireflies dare to contend with the brilliance of the full moon?
Before long, a response arrived regarding the tasks Li Yuanjing had assigned to his subordinate.
"Deputy Director Li! I just had everyone in our technical department re-verify examinee Lin逸's status buffs, carried items, equipment, and every other possible avenue for cheating—there are no anomalies!"
"Furthermore, the dungeon status and data show no irregularities whatsoever!"
"He legitimately and honorably earned this score!!"
The subordinate delivering the report was visibly brimming with high excitement.
His voice involuntarily rose a notch,
allowing everyone in the examination command center sitting close to Li Yuanjing to hear every word.
In an instant, expressions of profound astonishment spread across their faces.
"Incredible!"
"We all originally assumed this year's provincial top scorer would inevitably come down to a contest between Li Zerui and Qi Xiaying, but who could have foreseen a dark horse like Lin逸 bursting out of nowhere!"
"And he still secured a perfect score in this round!"
The examination command center was typically a place of solemnity and absolute silence.
With two heavyweights like Li Yuanjing and Qi Guoguang remaining silent and refraining from conversation,
others had even less reason to speak casually.
Yet at this moment, none of that mattered anymore.
For Li Yuanjing's mood was exceptionally buoyant!
And the subsequent report delivered by his subordinate made him beam with even greater delight.
"Deputy Director Li, we just checked the relevant records in the Great Xia archives. During the national college entrance examinations held in the historical year of 2876, an examinee from Shanghai achieved a score of 0.48 seconds in the purgatory-difficulty second round."
"That record remained unbroken for a full century."
"Today, it has been shattered!"
"And it is worth mentioning that the examinee who previously set that record was named Zheng Yingxiong!"
Upon hearing this name,
every single person in the conference room drew in a sharp breath of cold air.
Li Yuanjing exclaimed in shock, "You mean Zheng Yingxiong, the twenty-first War God of Great Xia?!"
The subordinate nodded affirmatively!
Li Yuanjing found it difficult to remain seated; he could already feel himself growing far too excited!
He struggled to calm his surging emotions.
With burning eyes fixed firmly on the big screen, he slowly stated, "We still don't know how he will perform in the subsequent rounds, or whether he might be surpassed by those who follow."
"But at least for this very moment, he has carved out a piece of Great Xia history!"
"His record is utterly unprecedented!"
Li Yuanjing was currently filled with towering ambition!
Though he and Lin逸 shared no blood ties nor prior acquaintance,
the sentiment of nurturing and fostering younger generations was something that could be developed over time!
Most importantly, this was an examinee who had emerged from their very own Dongjiang!
When he later went to the imperial capital for debriefings and meetings, he would walk with his head held high!
"To be frank, I feel that his full score is somewhat unfair to him!"
These words came from Qi Guoguang.
Li Yuanjing raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Qi Guoguang seated to his right.
Then, he paused in slight surprise.
Because the expression currently worn by the latter was composed of seventy percent astonishment, twenty percent appreciation, and a final ten percent of jealousy!
Indeed!
He was actually witnessing subtle traces of envy and jealousy on the face of a Seven-Turn Saint Magus whose tier was even higher than his own!
"Why does Elder Qi make such an exclamation?" Li Yuanjing inquired.
Qi Guoguang raised a finger and pointed toward the points leaderboard in the upper right corner.
"Have you not noticed that even with a perfect score, his points do not hold a massive gap over the second-place runner?"
Li Yuanjing glanced briefly at the rankings.
In an instant, he grasped Qi Guoguang's meaning.
Lin逸's score had cleared out everything before the decimal point.
While the runner-up was rapidly approaching two digits before the decimal point.
What was the ratio of that difference?
Nearly a thousandfold difference!
And what about the actual numerical score gap?
A mere sixty-odd points!
No wonder Qi Guoguang remarked that this scoring system was somewhat unjust to Lin逸.
Li Yuanjing smiled bitterly. "It is indeed somewhat unfair, but the rules are uniform nationwide. Although I participated in drafting the scoring amendment, who among us back then could have ever imagined that a monstrous score like this kid's would one day appear?"
Qi Guoguang chuckled. "No matter, the strong remain strong."
"I believe that based on what he has demonstrated so far, this year's Dongjiang provincial top spot is undoubtedly his."
Qi Guoguang delivered this definitive judgment directly.
This caused Li Yuanjing to look at him with entirely new levels of respect!
Wait a minute, my dear elder brother.
Your doting fondness for your precious granddaughter is known throughout the entire province!
Coupled with the fact that Qi Guoguang was notoriously protective of his own people,
it was exceedingly rare to hear him openly admit that another unfamiliar individual had surpassed his own granddaughter and aimed straight for the provincial championship!
Yet Qi Guoguang's very next sentence plunged everyone in the conference room into deep contemplation!
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Thank you, dear readers and masters!
This arc is the protagonist's first chapter of fame, and I intended to write it with meticulous detail, but I saw in the review section that some brothers felt it was getting a bit dragged out.
I am notoriously receptive to advice, so I will pick up the pace, and the next two rounds will be written much faster!
(End of Chapter)