Gao Wu: Oh no! Young Master Zhen is a cultivator!

The two returned to the square together.

Zhang Qichuan walked to the microphone, raised his hand to press it down, and waited for the discussions in the square to subside before speaking.

"What happened just now was a misunderstanding. The technicians have checked the holographic cabin's parameter logs, and the equipment is functioning correctly."

After a brief pause, he glanced at Lin Ran and continued, "Lin Ran was probably a little nervous during the assessment and didn't perform to his full potential, which led to some misunderstandings."

Lin Ran looked puzzled: "Is that so?"

"Ahem..." Zhang Qichuan winked at him, "The holographic pod has been checked and confirmed to be fine. Right, Lin Ran?"

"Oh, right!" Lin Ran nodded, "I didn't sleep well last night, so I was a bit groggy and didn't perform well."

The audience erupted in uproar.

"Is it true that the third-place finisher didn't perform well?"

"You don't know this, do you? Lin Ran is at the Innate Realm."

"I've heard that Chu Xining, who came in first place, is also at the Innate Realm."

"Is that outrageous? Two people at the Innate Realm age of eighteen appearing all at once?"

"I heard that Lin Ran has a quick-learning ancient martial arts technique that allows you to reach the Innate Realm as soon as you start."

"So, for the sake of the cultivation technique, Chu Xining... hehehe..."

"Disgusting! They're childhood sweethearts."

The turmoil has come to an end.

As students walked out of the venue, reporters who had been waiting at the edge of the square swarmed around them like sharks smelling blood.

Zhao Meng was stopped by a female reporter with a ponytail: "Excuse me, candidate, judging from your bright smile, you must have done well on the exam, right?"

"Ahem..." Zhao Meng pulled down the zipper of his school uniform and cleared his throat: "Absolutely, eighteenth in the city."

"Truly an outstanding individual." The female reporter pushed the recorder forward a few inches: "What do you think of this year's new format for the martial arts exam?"

"That's good." Zhao Meng nodded, looking like he deeply agreed: "Only through competition can the true abilities of the candidates be revealed."

The female reporter pressed further, "I wonder who the top scorer in the city is this year?"

"Have you heard of Chu Xining?" Zhao Meng looked regretful. "It's a pity that my brother Ran didn't perform well, otherwise he would definitely have been number one."

The female reporter's eyes lit up: "Chu Xining, isn't that the Miss Chu who broke off her engagement with the Sun family before?"

"That's right, she's now my brother Ran's fiancée." Zhao Meng puffed out his chest, as if he were proud of it.

"It seems Miss Chu truly lives up to her reputation as a prodigy." The reporter paused, then continued, "Is the 'Ran Ge' you mentioned Lin Ran, the young master of the Lin family?"

Zhao Meng nodded: "That's right, my brother Ran didn't perform well and only got third place."

"Even with a poor performance, they still managed to get third place. This young master from the Lin family and the young lady from the Chu family are quite a good match."

The female reporter pressed the recorder button and then asked, "I wonder what place the young master of the Sun family got this time?"

"He's only slightly better than me, he got fifteenth place." Zhao Meng waved his hand casually.

The female reporter looked slightly puzzled: "It's rumored that the young master of the Sun family possesses S-level talent, yet he only came in fifteenth place?"

"Hahaha...that's all thanks to my brother Ran!" Zhao Meng blurted out.

The female reporter immediately grasped the significance of his words and moved the recording pen forward a few more times.

"You mean, the fact that the Sun family's young master only got fifteenth place is related to the Lin family's young master?"

"Of course..."

Zhao Meng seemed to realize he had misspoke and quickly corrected himself: "Of course not. It's a normal exam; there's no personal grudge involved. I have other things to do, so I'll be going now."

"Classmate? Classmate? Why did you leave...?"

The female reporter chased after him for a few steps, but seeing that she couldn't catch up, she had to give up.

After all, Zhao Meng was a speed-type awakener; with a few steps, his figure disappeared into the crowd.

Less than half an hour after the interview ended, several news items simultaneously became trending topics.

The martial arts exam concludes, and Miss Chu wins first place in the city!

"S-Rank Prodigies Failing to Make the Top Ten: Is it Moral Decline or a Distortion of Human Nature?"

Secret! Young Master Sun's poor performance in the martial arts exam may be related to Young Master Lin!

Lin Shao: I didn't perform well this time, only managing to get into the top three in the city.

A month later, the three of them once again dominated the local news headlines in Xinhai.

Unlike last time, this time the trending topic is not due to a romantic entanglement.

Just like last time, Sun Jinghuan once again became the laughing stock of the entire city.

Can an S-level prodigy who fails to make it into the top ten still be called a prodigy?

People in the comments section have already started giving Sun Jinghuan all sorts of nicknames.

What are these "Sun Paopao" and "the weakest S-class in history"? What are these "S-class pretty pillows"? They're all awful.

Meanwhile, in an apartment building unknown to anyone, a technician responsible for debugging the holographic capsule was found dead in his home.

The police report stated that the death was an accidental sudden death, and the body was cremated that afternoon.

Everything was completely silent, without causing the slightest ripple.

Just because you took money you shouldn't have, you ended up losing your life. What a waste!

The Sun family's old house.

A painting of a tiger descending a mountain on the wall gleamed with a dull luster under the lamplight.

An elderly man with white hair and beard sat in the main seat, his five fingers gripping the mahogany armrest.

Sun Boyuan and Sun Jinghuan stood in front of the desk, one with his head down and the other with his neck stiff.

"More trouble than they're worth," the old man said coldly. "They rigged the martial arts exam and almost got caught red-handed. They really brought shame to the Sun family!"

"It's all Lin Ran's fault!" Sun Jinghuan clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. "He's been targeting me all along! I'll make him die!"

The old man raised his eyelids, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes: "Three days from now, the top ten in the martial arts exam will go to Kyoto to participate in the national tournament. I will make my move."

"I want to kill him with my own hands!" Sun Jinghuan's voice trembled, filled with suppressed hatred.

"Foolish!" The old man slammed his hand on the armrest. "At a time like this, why bother with a petty argument? What's the point of arguing with a dying man?"

Sun Jinghuan gritted his teeth, his eyes fierce: "I can't swallow this."

Sun Boyuan, who was standing next to Sun Jinghuan, raised his hand and placed it on Sun Jinghuan's shoulder: "After Lin Ran dies, won't the Chu family be at your mercy? As for Chu Xining, you can do whatever you want with her then."

Sun Jinghuan fell silent, his chest heaving violently: "Fine! I'll definitely teach that little bitch a lesson then!"

His eyes gleamed with excitement, as if he could already see Chu Xining begging for mercy at his feet.

Imagine how awesome it must feel to step on a Grandmaster of Innate Realm!

The old man stood up from his chair, walked to the window, and said with his back to the father and son, "Let him dream a few more days!"

Lin Family Restaurant.

Song Yishu stood up with a glass of juice, beaming, "Let's all congratulate Xiaoran and Haozhe on successfully completing their martial arts exams."

Everyone raised their glasses in response, and the glasses clinked together, making a crisp sound.

"Cheers."

"Xiao Ran got third place in the city this time, which is worth celebrating." After sitting down, Song Yishu put another piece of braised pork rib on Lin Ran's plate.

Lin Hongbo leaned back in his chair, unable to suppress the smile on his lips: "It's definitely worth celebrating."

"Keep up the good work and strive for even better results in the arena." Lin Zhiwan raised her glass to Lin Ran, the amber-colored white wine swirling gently in the glass.

Lin Ran swallowed the food in his mouth and said casually, "Hands-on, pinch them."

"Be humble and don't underestimate the heroes of the world," Lin Zhixia couldn't help but say.

Lin Ran gently shook his head: "You're overthinking it. I'm taking this arena battle very seriously!"

After all, he really cared about the prize for first place in the tournament.

"I don't see why you care about this?" Lin Zhiyao pouted.