Chapter 535 - 232: Nationwide Rankings Announced, Who in the World Won’t Know You

Lin Tao felt a little uncomfortable under their gazes and finally said, "I don’t know his exact score either."

"But I imagine..."

"It shouldn’t be too bad."

...

「Meanwhile.」

Dongjiang City First High School, the principal’s office.

Wang Zhengguo stood before a massive floor-to-ceiling mirror, meticulously adjusting his brand-new suit. He even smoothed out the slightest wrinkle on his tie.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.

A knock came at the door.

"Come in."

The office door was pushed open, and Chen Meng’s tall figure walked in.

"Principal, you were looking for me?"

Wang Zhengguo turned away from the mirror, a smile he couldn’t contain on his face. "Have you forgotten what day it is?"

Chen Meng froze for a second before it dawned on him. "Of course not," he replied. "It’s the day of the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam."

"Just now, Mr. Su from the city’s Education Bureau called me personally. He said this year’s results announcement is different from previous years and told me to head over immediately to witness it with him!"

"We’ll find out the details when we get there. You’re coming with me!"

Chen Meng nodded without asking any further questions.

Lin Ye’s face naturally came to his mind.

He thought about the timing. In previous years, the major media outlets would have already started their wall-to-wall coverage of the top scorers from every province and city by now.

But this year, for some unknown reason, everything was delayed by several hours, and there still wasn’t a single peep.

’I hope that kid did well.’

As Chen Meng thought this, he walked over and picked up the car keys from Wang Zhengguo’s desk.

"Principal, I’ll go get the car."

Since it was the day of the city-wide exam, the city police and garrisoned troops were controlling traffic all along the route.

Fortunately, Wang Zhengguo had special permission from Mr. Su, so their journey was completely unimpeded.

Driving on the wide, nearly deserted streets, they reached the entrance of the city Education Bureau’s office building in just over ten minutes.

After parking the car, the two of them hurried upstairs.

Before they even reached Sun Changkong’s office, they saw that the hallway was already swarming with a huge crowd of people—all principals from Dongjiang City’s major high schools and the top brass of the education system.

Sun Changkong spotted Wang Zhengguo on the edge of the crowd at once, and a brilliant smile instantly broke out across his face.

Ever since Lin Ye burst onto the scene and stunned everyone with his skills during the last city-wide mock exam, Sun Changkong, as the head of the Dongjiang Education Bureau, had received plenty of commendations and verbal praise from the provincial leaders.

As a result, even the sight of Wang Zhengguo’s old face now seemed particularly pleasant to him.

He was incredibly glad that Lin Ye, this hidden dragon, had emerged from their very own Dongjiang City.

He was even more glad that this old fellow, Wang Zhengguo, had a keen eye for talent and had actually managed to discover this prodigy!

"All right, everyone’s here."

Sun Changkong scanned the crowd and cleared his throat.

"Everyone, I’ve gathered you all here on an urgent basis because I have some monumental good news to announce!"

He took a deep breath, his voice thick with an excitement he couldn’t hide.

"I’ve just received the highest directive from the Imperial Capital Headquarters. This year’s exam results are expected to be officially released in about half an hour!"

"The final showdown over at Imperial Capital Exam Site 001 has also concluded!"

"The higher-ups have decided to make a grand spectacle of it this year! Not only will all the students who made the list receive extra, generous rewards, but more importantly..."

"The Imperial Capital, Shanghu, Yanjing, Guangfu... and more than a dozen other tier-one and super tier-one megacities will simultaneously raise their Heavenly Canopies to broadcast the exam’s final rankings live to all citizens!"

"We want every citizen of Great Xia to see just how bright and glorious our future is! We will use this to counter the pessimistic rumors circulating among the people about the ’Great Calamity’ and to boost public morale!"

His words hit the crowd like a bombshell!

The news sent shockwaves through Wang Zhengguo and Chen Meng in particular.

The Heavenly Canopy!

That was the ultimate city-wide broadcast system, deployed only when a city faced a major crisis, such as a rift invasion, or when a highest-level emergency announcement needed to be issued!

It used a massive holographic projection array to simulate a screen of light that covered the entire city’s sky, all for the purpose of disseminating information!

In previous years, the exam results were, at most, grandly announced on major social media platforms and by official news outlets.

They never expected the higher-ups to make such a big deal of it this time, going so far as to use a strategic-level facility like the Heavenly Canopy!

This was clearly a move to show the entire nation just how powerful this year’s crop of geniuses truly were!

Unbelievably strong!

Sun Changkong observed the crowd’s shocked expressions and nodded in satisfaction. His gaze finally came to rest on Wang Zhengguo.

"Although our Dongjiang is just a third-tier city and doesn’t qualify for a real Heavenly Canopy system..."

"But! Our Dongjiang produced Lin Ye, a student who could go to Imperial Capital Exam Site 001 and compete on the same stage as the nation’s most brilliant geniuses!"

"Therefore, I have no intention of being left in the dust!"

Sun Changkong waved his hand forcefully, his spirits soaring.

"Let’s go! To the technology department! We may not have a Heavenly Canopy, but with the latest drone swarm matrix, we can simulate the same effect!"

"In half an hour, I want every citizen of Dongjiang City to raise their heads and see the name of our city, Dongjiang, appear on the national rankings with their very own eyes!"

...

「Great Xia, Yanjing.」

The afternoon sun was pleasant, but at a certain moment, it dimmed without any warning.

The entire sky seemed as if an invisible giant hand had turned down its brightness, its color shifting from azure blue to a deep indigo.