ASER - Chapter 41
Chapter 41: Exploded
This was just like running a dungeon in a game. The damage output was inconsistent; if the angle of attack wasn't right, the damage dealt would be unstable. But over time, once the stats reached a certain level and the advantage widened, the rankings would stabilize.
Among the 500 people, no one actually knew their exact rank. Most had their eyes closed, diligently absorbing Spiritual Energy. Zhou Jiang and the others, after watching for a while, found their eyes getting tired and went off to the side to play cards.
As long as nothing went wrong, it was fine. Staring for 4 hours straight would really make one go blind.
At the school gate, the paparazzi were much more dedicated than Zhou Jiang and his group, constantly staring at the rankings.
In the crowd, people from the old Chen family residence in Jinling were also watching. After all, their family, one way or another, had a Third Miss participating.
Although they had never met the Third Miss.
"There it is, there it is, uh…" The people from the Chen family's old residence were initially excited, but then they saw A'Diao's name hanging at the very bottom of the five hundred.
Ah, only 480th.
That was truly at the very end. She definitely wouldn't be admitted to Jinling Academy.
That made sense. The Third Miss had been frail since childhood, and it was said she was fated to have a short life. Even if she survived, her good fortune would have been mostly depleted. How could she have any aptitude left?
But she was, after all, a young mistress. They couldn't show a disdainful attitude in front of so many people. Instead, they spotted someone familiar.
"Lao Wang? You're here to watch too?"
Driver Lao Wang was originally outside, munching on bread and waiting for A'Diao to finish her test. Bored, he was also watching the screen. After seeing her rank, although he felt a bit regretful, he didn't sentence her to death like those from the Jinling old residence. Hearing the question, he said he was there to pick her up and drop her off.
"It seems the Master still values the Third Miss. What a pity. If she doesn't pass the exam, I'm afraid she won't have a high school to attend. I wonder where the Master will arrange for her to go? Back to Qishan High School? After all, she's born of a concubine, so that's all that can be done."
Driver Lao Wang saw the schadenfreude on the other person's face. He knew this person's child studied well and, because their family was local to Jinling, seemed to have been internally admitted to a good Jinling high school.
In other words, the master's child couldn't even get into high school, while her child… how could she not be proud?
There was nothing wrong with that; it was her child's achievement. But Lao Wang just couldn't stand her smug attitude.
Eating the master's food, no matter what one thought privately, one should at least maintain professional ethics on the surface.
What does being born of a concubine or not have to do with you?
But the other person was, after all, from the Jinling old residence, with some connections and standing. Lao Wang could only lower his head and silently turn on the recording function on the phone in his sleeve.
The other person was still chattering on, feigning pity for A'Diao on the surface, but actually slandering and belittling her.
After a while, Driver Lao Wang suddenly became excited, "Huh, she moved up!"
This servant from the Jinling old residence was startled and looked nervously. After seeing it, she suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "From 480th to 479th, not bad. That's really happy news, but she still won't pass, right…"
Lao Wang: "…"
Third Miss, oh Third Miss, I'm about to be angered to death by this person. You have to work harder!
But Lao Wang saw the old servant anxiously fumbling with her phone to call and inform the steward in Lingcheng. The steward sighed and then relayed this news to Chen Ran.
Chen Ran's face darkened. "This bad? So, even if her studies are good, and her previous assessment scores were also good, giving her the qualification to enter Jinling Academy, she just doesn't meet the standard in the most important aspect of Spiritual Energy absorption aptitude?"
The steward said cautiously, "Based on our past understanding of Jinling Academy, the second day's elimination will remove at least 200 people. This means one needs to rank at least in the top 300 to be stable. However, considering her previous results, maybe top 400 would also work?"
Chen Ran shook his head, not so optimistic.
"Today's test results account for the majority; yesterday's was just an appetizer. If the aptitude doesn't meet the hard standard, no matter how well she did before, Jinling Academy won't admit her. Ordinary high schools are one thing, but the top academies in each state and province have fixed rules; the imperial court has issued decrees."
He was a Cishi, after all; of course, he knew the inside story.
Hearing this, the steward immediately felt that their Third Miss was indeed in a precarious situation.
She was clearly 51st, which was not easy at all; it was already very outstanding.
Fortunately, the news hadn't reached the other family members yet, otherwise, it would be really difficult to manage the situation.
"Then…" He knew about the Cui Clan contacting their master. If the Third Miss couldn't get into Jinling Academy, she would lose all other value and would probably be… Although many might see this as a meteoric rise, perhaps even thinking she was lucky, as the Chen family's steward, he knew how dangerous this step was. Nine times out of ten, she would be a sacrificial pawn.
It all depended on how Chen Ran chose.
"Let's wait and see. It's a four-hour test anyway. Besides, being an outsider, she's somewhat at a disadvantage; it's hard for her aptitude to show in the early stages. Maybe she can make it past the standard line later on."
Chen Ran might not be a good father, but he wasn't stupid; he had foresight and patience.
But his phone suddenly rang. His first reaction was to think that Cui Yong was contacting him again.
But it was… Chen Xun?
Chen Xun started by saying, "Father, sister is back, isn't she?"
Chen Ran: "…"
He had never mentioned it. How did his eldest son know? Could it be that the Cui Clan had leaked it?
"She is back. Turns out she didn't die. I only found out recently myself. How did you know?"
Chen Xun didn't say he had confidants, only: "Cui Yun told me."
Chen Ran's expression suddenly darkened. Those four short words revealed a lot of information. If they were truly sincere about an alliance, the Cui Clan wouldn't be so loose-lipped, unless they deliberately said it to let the Song and Wang families know.
Chen Ran was already a deep thinker and considered many aspects. Then he heard Chen Xun add faintly, "Father, I'm currently undergoing a very important assessment. The higher-ups might not take kindly to my father having certain moral flaws, such as using his children for marriage alliances to form cliques for personal gain. This could affect the outcome. But if I pass this assessment, the benefits will be immeasurable."
Chen Ran: "…"
An hour passed. The rankings began to stabilize somewhat, but certain individuals remained very unstable.
A'Diao, for instance, was unshakeably jumping between 470th and 480th place.
She jumped around so much that even Zhou Jiang eventually noticed.
What was wrong with this person? Her absorption frequency went up one moment and down the next.
Generally, Spiritual Energy absorption aptitude followed a fixed curve: from the body's initial maladjustment to later adaptation, reaching a peak value, and then, due to declining energy and stamina, its efficiency would start to decrease, forming a parabolic trajectory.
Only an hour had passed now; it should have been a strong upward period. But she was like an old tractor driving on a bumpy mountain path, chugging up and down.
Sometimes, abnormalities indicated something unusual. But being too abnormal, violating the normal patterns passed down since the first generation, this kind of abnormality would only be seen as an untrustworthy anomaly.
Originally, among the twenty or thirty files submitted, even if A'Diao wasn't the most favored, she was considered the one with the highest cost-performance ratio. This was because Zhou Jiang, observing A'Diao's performance, thought she likely came from a humble background. Geniuses from humble backgrounds had the highest cost-performance, and their potential for development was also high.
Unfortunately, he was disappointed and lost interest in A'Diao.
Spies from the Cui Clan were also in the crowd, relaying the news back to the Cui family. Cui Yong was fine; always cunning and calculating, he showed no reaction. However, Cui Yun's biological parents were indignant about it.
Although her previous exam results were decent, she was only 51st. In Danzhou, she could be considered an elite top student, but in the eyes of the Cui Clan, it wasn't much.
For the sake of the family's grand plan, they could reluctantly accept it; anyway, she could be replaced later.
But someone like this now, how could she be worthy of our son!
Cui Yun's mother couldn't bear it anymore and pestered her husband to plead with Cui Yong. The husband reluctantly went to plead, but Cui Yong merely glanced at him and said indifferently, "It's better this way. If she truly had some remarkable aptitude, do you think Chen Ran would risk throwing her into my Cui Clan's hands?"
"But…"
"Get out."
When Cui Yun's mother saw her husband come out meekly, she knew he had failed and became even more furious. "Don't think I don't know he's doing this because Cui Run died, using our Yun'er to pave the way for Cui Liang! Only the two legitimate sons of his main branch are precious, and our third branch is like dirt? If he really wants to marry into the Chen family, why not push Cui Liang out? Instead, he lets Cui Liang get close to those noble young ladies from Kyoto. Our Yun'er could clearly take that path too! He just wants to use Yun'er to attract the attention of the Song and Wang families and Chen Ran, while simultaneously using their hands to get rid of Yun'er. He's afraid Yun'er might marry a woman of high birth and increase the power of our third branch, especially since he's no longer the Commander! Back then, if Cui Run hadn't been jealous of Yun'er's talent, which was no less than his own, and hadn't insisted on pushing him out, he wouldn't have ended up in a place like Shenzhou! What 'expanding family influence'? It was clearly…"
Her mouth was covered by Third Master Cui, but her eyes were venomous.
She would never let such a lowly village girl ruin her son's future!
Inside the room, Cui Yong frowned. What was going on? Chen Ran should be able to see by now that his third daughter didn't have much room for advancement and should be maximizing his benefits. Why hadn't he contacted him yet? Could he be waiting for him to make the first move?
Such audacity.
A'Diao still didn't know that, apart from Driver Lao Wang, the whole world had given up on her, and there was also a noblewoman terrified that she would get involved with their family.
Nor did anyone know that the reason A'Diao's Spiritual Energy absorption fluctuated so frequently was because—she was simulating the flow of Spiritual Energy.
Fearing she might suffer from cultivation deviation, she could only try while absorbing Spiritual Energy.
But why hadn't she tried before when privately absorbing Spiritual Energy in places like the hotel?
Because there was no one to COPY.
Now there was, and the targets were excellent. But this process was also very dangerous. She was simulating cautiously, but she had a faint feeling that if she succeeded, it would definitely be much better than her crappy breathing technique.
If not tens of times better, at least ten times better for sure.
Because she could feel the changes in the Spiritual Energy. Soon, she felt she was about to grasp a certain knack. Although she might not be able to simulate it completely, she should be able to find an absorption method slightly better than her breathing technique.
At the beginning of the second hour, among the 500 examinees, only about thirty to forty people's rankings fluctuated every ten minutes. But as time went on, the number of people whose rankings could fluctuate decreased. However, just as the second hour was about to end, the media suddenly became excited.
At this time, Zhou Jiang and the others in the ginkgo forest on campus also became a bit more serious. They knew that according to the knowledge passed down from the first generation, one and a half hours was the normal adaptation time. After adaptation, the level of aptitude would be displayed.
So…
"The gap between Song Ling and Cui Yun is narrowing."
Zhou Jiang had sharp insight and saw the change in the gap between the two from the complex data behind the rankings.
But this change was subtle; ordinary people wouldn't notice it. The most intuitive thing was still the ranking… "going up" and "going down."
In the fluctuations of thirty or so rankings, only those who were consistently rising were the most obvious and more worthy of attention.
A certain veteran paparazzo was munching on bread, controlling a flying camera drone shaped like a small hummingbird, buzzing around filming the data changes. While thinking about the copy to post on the website to grab attention, someone next to him was buzzing more annoyingly than a fly.
"Brothers, old pals! Our Danzhou 500 top student group is all here! See that? This is their aptitude test change for today. The one and a half hour adaptation period I heard about has passed. The battle of dragons and tigers is here! Who is stronger? We'll know by seeing who overtakes whom, and who gets overtaken!"
"Brothers, look! Cui Yun and Song Ling are stable at first and second, but from my observation, Song Ling is exerting force! Yes, she's exerting force, the gap is narrowing! Brothers, I predict she will surpass Cui Yun! Really! I'll bet you a truckload of cucumbers on it!"
"If we don't look at those two fighting for the top spot, Xu Luo over here is also exerting force. He's chasing the top two, but currently, the distance seems to be widening. Speaking of which, Xu Luo seems to be a representative of the humble backgrounds. Brothers, let's cheer for our humble background representative!"
Initially, when Xu Luo was mentioned, Xu Luo's family was not too pleased. But hearing this person cheering for their child amidst his live-stream shouting, their expressions warmed up a lot. However, this sharp-chinned, monkey-cheeked internet celebrity suddenly shouted, "But I've discovered that the gap between Cheng Zhang and Xu Luo is shrinking! Yes, it's shrinking, and very quickly! Look, Xu Luo is about to be overtaken! Overtaken, overtaken! He's really about to be overtaken!"
Xu Luo's old father's temper flared, and he wished he could hit this person with a stick!
"However, Lin Yunmo has been surpassed. By whom? Rao Xueya…"
"Brothers, it seems the previous assessment scores make sense. Haven't you noticed that some of the examinees who were at the top of yesterday's total exam scores are also basically in the leading group of today's aptitude test? There's definitely a connection between the two."
This statement surprised many people.
The veteran paparazzo observed this internet celebrity and felt that his insight was quite sharp, because he also knew the secret behind it.
"I've heard some old-timers say that back in the first generation, someone researched a theory stating that people with good cultivation aptitude generally also have more developed brain regions than ordinary people. So, good academics + good physique also means all-around strength. Of course, I'm talking about the general rule; there are individual exceptions…"
Just as he mentioned individual exceptions, he heard shouts from the paparazzi group.
"The Tian Zhongye siblings have surged!"
To be precise, Tian Zhongxiang's surge was expected. She was already ranked tenth yesterday, excellent in all aspects. But because she and Tian Zhongye came from a humble background and only used ordinary breathing techniques, she initially hovered around 200th place. However, compared to the Chen family servant's ridicule of A'Diao being at the bottom with 480th, Tian Zhongye was even worse off, directly at 499th. But while A'Diao was "driving a tractor," this big lunkhead shot up like a rocket, surging upwards with a "whoosh."
His surging speed was even fiercer than Tian Zhongxiang's.
Obviously, Tian Zhongye's aptitude was even better than Tian Zhongxiang's; he was the true exception among them.
And at this moment, the sharp-eyed Zhou Jiang inadvertently glanced over and happened to see A'Diao's hands move; she formed a hand seal.
Simple, yet the vast Spiritual Energy gathered around Cui Yun and Song Ling… a few wisps seemed to be lured towards her.
As the third hour began, the Tian Zhongxiang siblings broke into the top one hundred. Their charging speed began to slow down because everyone in the top one hundred was an elite, and they were all increasing their Spiritual Energy absorption speed. Their rate of increase in absorption was much faster than those behind them.
But the most conspicuous were still the Tian siblings.
The Tian siblings broke through the encirclement and both entered the top one hundred. This caused quite a stir at the school gate, with people asking whose children they were. When they learned they were from a humble background, running an ordinary martial arts school, everyone couldn't help but sigh with mixed emotions.
While relatives and friends dealt with the chattering parents, the siblings' father was currently squatting in a corner smoking, his rugged and bold face showing some bewilderment.
Uh, his kids' aptitude was this good?
He had originally just thought his two children could seize the opportunity to get into a good high school and then a good university.
But they were now surpassing children from wealthy families with assets over ten billion, and even many from families with official ranks.
"So, the powerful and noble can't necessarily completely suppress those from humble backgrounds, right? Aptitude decides everything; it's innate."
Many parents, who felt the pressure of social class due to their ordinary backgrounds and could only pin their hopes on this Spiritual Energy revival bringing a transformation that would let their children soar like dragons, felt a sense of empathy and burgeoning hope. They all looked towards their own children's names.
But soon… their emotions fluctuated.
Because Cheng Zhang had taken down Xu Luo!
When Xu Luo dropped to fourth place, the Xu family was disappointed and embarrassed, and others also felt it was not good.
Indeed, this was an omen.
Within a few minutes, Lin Yunmo, Wang Shen, Tang Zhongxiao, and Rao Qinya all broke into the top ten, and their Spiritual Energy data continuously widened the gap with those behind them. Around the same time, examinees belonging to the powerful and wealthy classes, as well as some who were originally from Jinling Academy, acted like a group and also pulled away from the three hundred people behind them, stably dominating the top 200.
Sprinting forward became very difficult.
It was like a fixed class system, an unbreakable celestial barrier.
"According to this calculation… perhaps apart from the Tian siblings who broke into the top one hundred and Xu Luo who dropped to fourth, there isn't a single person from a humble background in the top two hundred?"
This data was suffocating.
How could this be? Innate aptitude, ah! Could it be that heaven favored these chosen ones so much?
"Because of marrow cleansing—Spiritual Energy marrow cleansing plus special methods to wash away impurities. These two methods ensure there's always a gap between them. In the early stages, they were already taking advantage. The only ones who might counterattack are those geniuses whose true aptitude exceeds the standard line and who have gone through a longer adaptation period. Only they might start to erupt in the final hour and move forward. But by then, the gap has often already been established, and disciples from humble backgrounds with average aptitude are actually in great danger. Of course, those with poor aptitude go without saying."
The internet celebrity said this seriously, without any exaggerated shouting effects, very pertinent and calm.
The reason reality is harsh is because it's real. And it wasn't just Jinling Academy; probably all other good high schools had similar outcomes.
The originally lively audience in the live stream chat fell largely silent.
Until a viewer secretly popped up and couldn't help but say, "Uh, someone is overtaking others from behind."
"?"
The internet celebrity was stunned, turned to look at the screen. No, the rankings had already started to stabilize; after all, three hours had passed.
"I'm talking about the back… way at the back, in the four hundreds, someone is overtaking."
"That's right, XXX was overtaken."
The internet celebrity took a serious look and saw that after XXX was overtaken, a certain name paused above theirs for two seconds, then swoosh, overtook the XX in front of them as well!
It wasn't just the live stream audience who were sharp-eyed; a few paparazzi also noticed. After all, on the currently stable leaderboard, they had originally only been paying attention to those few who had already stood out yesterday.
The name A'Diao, which sounded rather rustic and eccentric, had only managed 51st place yesterday—a rank not considered top-tier. Not many people paid attention to her, let alone today when she was hanging at the bottom.
Only the Cui Clan, the Chen family, and Zhou Jiang were secretly paying attention; the others genuinely didn't know who this person was.
Until now. She surged, shooting up from 470th to 460th.
Yes, in a short while, she surpassed several more people.
They say, "Take a gamble, and a bicycle can turn into a motorcycle."
But this was the interstellar era; a tractor directly turned into a rocket.
The veteran paparazzo learned of the change from a subordinate, carefully looked at the leaderboard, and said, "Perhaps her adaptation period just arrived. After all, she was 51st; she should still have some aptitude, just needing a longer adaptation period than others. The people she surpassed were already at the bottom. Her rushing speed should slow down after a while."
"Master, then how high do you think she can rush?"
"Hard to say, probably between 350th and 400th."
The veteran paparazzo was only initially surprised and didn't pay much more attention. For them, the counterattack of the Tian Zhongye siblings, the battle for the top spot between Cui Yun and Song Ling, and even the deadlocked competition between Xu Luo and Cheng Zhang had more sensational appeal.
However, they needed news headlines and naturally chose topics with high traffic. But the live stream chat didn't need that; they already had real-time attention. Although the leading group was certainly more eye-catching, they were still very surprised to suddenly see someone overtaking others at the tail end and began to discuss A'Diao's identity. However, their guesses were similar to the veteran paparazzo's.
So it was the examinee who ranked 51st yesterday. No wonder then; it wasn't really a counterattack.
"If she was 51st yesterday, what rank does she need in today's aptitude test to possibly be selected by Jinling Academy?"
"Who knows? There's still another exam in the afternoon."
While they were discussing, the internet celebrity suddenly said, "I have reliable information that Jinling Academy, in order to compete with academies from other states, will reduce the number of admissions, supply resources to a select few, and cultivate truly powerful elites. So… entering the top 300 in aptitude is the standard line."
So high!
"I wonder if she can sprint to… Holy crap, she's reached 400th!!"
In the time it took to say a few words, a sharp-eyed viewer saw that A'Diao's name had already surged to 400th place.
In just a few minutes, she had shot up from 470th to 400th place!
Everyone was shaken. The veteran reporter who had just been blabbering fell silent. Had his prediction overturned?
At this time, the rest of the crowd finally realized something was amiss. Because before others could even clearly see her name, she was constantly moving, swoosh swoosh swoosh, overtaking those above her.
There's a type of overtaking that happens a single time, but if it's continuous… then it's like "the entire city is adorned with golden armor."
"I knew it, I knew it! The Third Miss is indeed not someone to be trifled with! I wasn't wrong about her!"
Driver Lao Wang was the most excited, winking and making faces at the old residence servant. The latter's face was a bit stiff, but she said hypocritically, "That's really great, the Third Miss's results are improving. I just don't know how high she can rank. If it's only 400th, it still seems very unstable. She needs to be in the top 300 at least, right?"
As an old servant of a family with official rank, she naturally had some discernment, so she said this to save face.
Lao Wang: "With this momentum, she can definitely rush into the top 300."
The old servant wanted to say "not necessarily," but looking at A'Diao's terrifying speed of overtaking on the screen, her throat went dry, and she couldn't speak. Out of duty, she needed to report to the steward in Lingcheng, but after thinking about it, she still didn't report.
Let's wait and see. Maybe this Third Miss will falter again later?
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