mchenry-crisis.org Chapter 53 Top Scholar
Chapter 53 Top Scholar
Song Chen stood in the cage, staring at the strange beast opposite him.
It was a fire-breathing beast.
It lay prone on the other side of the cage, its body dark red, its limbs thick, and a row of burning thorns standing upright on its back.
It resembles a lion, but has no hair and is covered in a cracked lava shell from which bright yellow firelight shines.
His eyes were like two concentrated flames, with deep red vertical lines in the pupils, staring coldly at Song Chen.
With each breath, scorching waves of air burst forth from its nostrils, distorting the surrounding air.
Another Tier 3.
Song Chen activated his True Sight at full power. A pale golden light flowed within his eyes, and the physical data of the fire beast was dissected one by one in his vision.
He took a deep breath, and the heat rushed into his lungs, making him cough.
The fiery beast moved first. Instead of pouncing, it opened its mouth and a pillar of fire shot out from deep within its throat, heading straight for Song Chen's face.
The flames were bright yellow with white edges, and extremely hot, scorching the air even before they reached you.
Song Chen dodged to the side, the pillar of fire grazing his shoulder before slamming into the alloy cage wall behind him.
The energy barrier buzzed as it was struck by the flames, and the temperature of the entire cage instantly soared by more than ten degrees.
He felt the frostbite on his left arm melting rapidly, and icy water mixed with blood dripped down his elbow, making him grimace in pain.
The beast gave him no chance to catch his breath.
The first pillar of fire had barely passed when the second one arrived.
This time it's a sweeping attack, from right to left, like a knife made of flame, about to cut the entire cage in two.
Song Chen unfurled his wings of gale, his figure rising from the ground, flames sweeping past his feet.
He landed to the side and behind the beast, and swung his sword the instant he landed.
Purple lightning crackled around the Thunderclap Blade as it slashed towards the beast's hind leg joint.
The fire beast reacted much faster than he expected, its thick tail sweeping across with a whooshing sound.
Song Chen didn't have time to sheathe his sword, so he could only parry with it horizontally. His tail slammed into the blade, and the immense force sent him staggering back three steps. The wound on his hand reopened, and blood splattered onto the hilt of the sword.
The beast turned around, its four claws digging into the ground, creating sparks, and then it opened its mouth to unleash another pillar of fire.
This time the distance was even closer, and the flames were almost instantly in front of them.
Song Chen had no time to dodge, so he raised his left hand and unleashed the full power of the Sky-Splitting Thunder.
Purple lightning and bright yellow flames collided in the center of the cage. With a loud bang, the shockwave exploded, sending him flying and crashing into the cage wall.
His back slammed into the energy barrier, a surge of electricity coursed through his body, and he groaned as he slid off the cage wall.
The fiery beast pounced, no longer using ranged fire, but charging straight at him, opening its massive jaws to reveal its lava-like fangs, and biting down on his head.
Song Chen lay on the ground, with nowhere to hide.
He didn't dodge. The Thunderclap Blade was held horizontally in front of him, its tip pointing upwards, directly at the beast's jaw.
The moment the beast's mouth snapped down, the blade pierced its upper jaw, and purple lightning exploded inside its mouth.
"boom!"
The beast's head was blasted backward by the lightning, and its screams made the cage vibrate.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Song Chen rolled out from under it, stood up, and slashed at its side with his knife. The carapace was thinnest there, and the blade cut in three inches. Hot blood spurted out, splashing onto his arm and causing several blisters.
The beast, in pain, turned around and slapped him in the chest with its claw.
The armor blocked most of the force, but the cracked ribs still made his vision go black from the pain.
The fire beast opened its mouth again, unleashing another pillar of fire.
This time, Song Chen didn't dodge. He charged towards the flames, raised his left hand, and unleashed the full power of the Sky-Splitting Thunder.
Lightning cleaved the pillar of fire, blasting a gap in front of him.
He went through the gap and plunged his knife into the beast's open mouth.
The blade pierced through the upper jaw and into the skull, and lightning exploded inside the beast's head.
The beast's body froze.
Flames erupted from the cracks in its carapace, like a volcano about to erupt.
Song Chen drew his sword and retreated, causing the enormous body of the beast to crash to the ground, shaking the cage.
Its limbs twitched a few times, and the flames on its carapace gradually dimmed and finally went out completely.
[A Tier 3 Flame Beast has been defeated, granting 700 Kill Points.]
Hearing the system notification, Song Chen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
On the big screen, the score jumped again.
Challenge successful! Bonus: 32000 points. Current total score: 122330 points!
The examination center was deathly silent.
No one spoke, no one cheered, no one applauded.
Everyone was just staring at the number on the screen, at the name, at the injured, swaying boy.
122330 points.
This is an unprecedented score in practical assessment for Anning City.
Song Chen looked at that number, and then at the scores from second to tenth. He was leading by at least 70,000 to 80,000 points.
The assessment period is now halfway over, so I should be considered settled and don't want to do anything more.
Thinking of this, he finally couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed to the ground.
He was exhausted after killing three Tier 3 monsters in a row, and his body was also seriously injured, suffering from frostbite, burns, knife wounds, blunt force injuries...
He lay on the ground looking at the sky; it was beautiful.
Even during the day, the psionic particles still shone.
When the bell rang to signal the end of the practical assessment, Song Chen walked out of the examination room.
In the evening, the results came out.
Faster than I imagined.
The results were distributed across the province via computer and ranked, taking only a few hours.
Song Zhengye and Li Xiuying sat on the sofa in their new home, staring at their phones.
Li Xiuying was too nervous to look and buried her face in her husband's shoulder.
Song Zhengye looked down at the screen and didn't move for a long time.
"Old Song, how much is it?" Li Xiuying asked anxiously, pushing him repeatedly.
Song Zhengye turned the screen around.
[Nanjiang Province Martial Arts College Entrance Examination - Final Results]
[Examinee: Song Chen]
[Qi and Blood Value: 15.4, equivalent to 200 points (out of 100)]
[Academic Exam: 198 points (after conversion)]
[Practical assessment: 122330 points converted to 590 points.]
Total Score: 988
[Ranking: No. 1 in Nanjiang Province]
Li Xiuying stared at the number, stunned for a long time, her voice trembling: "988 points?"
Song Zhengye didn't speak. He looked down at the screen, at the name, at the three numbers.
He scored 988 points, ranking first in the province and becoming the top scorer in Nanjiang Province.
He recalled that a month ago, Song Chen stood at the door and said he wanted to sign up for the training outside the city.
He remembered what he had said: "Let him go."
That was the best decision he ever made in his life.
Li Xiuying finally burst into tears, not sobbing, but sobbing loudly, as if she wanted to cry out all the grievances, worries, and fears of the past eighteen years.
Song Zhengye put his arm around her, patted her back, and his own eyes reddened.
Inside the room, the phone rang; it was a message from Lin Qingxue.
"Congratulations, top scorer!" followed by a smiley face.
Song Chen, who was currently resting in bed recovering from her injury, quickly replied, "Thank you."
A while later, Lin Qingxue sent another message.
There were no smiley faces this time.
"Song Chen, you know what? I think I can't catch up with you anymore."
Song Chen stared at the screen, unsure of what to say.
"It's not that I'm sad. It's just..." She paused again, as if organizing her thoughts.
"I just feel that you should go to a bigger place, to Beijing, or even further away, where there are stronger opponents and a bigger world. You should go there."
Song Chen remained silent for a long time before asking, "And you?"
"I?"
"With my grades, I'll stay in Nanjiang. It's a good place here."
Song Chen remained silent.
After a long pause, she replied, "I'll bring you a gift when I come back."
Lin Qingxue did not reply.
A long time passed, so long that he thought she wouldn't reply, before the communicator lit up again.
"Okay." It was just one word, but it was followed by a smiley face.