Chapter 97: When the Rankings Were Turned Upside Down

When the Rankings Were Turned Upside Down

Leon.

Shoulder-length black hair.

Purple eyes.

A handsome face that stood out even among the talented young cultivators gathered for the examination.

Black pants.

A simple white T-shirt.

A black oversized coat.

There was nothing extravagant about his clothes.

Yet somehow, when he stood on the battlefield, everything else seemed to fade into the background.

Watching Leon dominate match after match, Rias felt something she rarely experienced: genuine disbelief.

She had thought Leon was just a promising student—solid, but nowhere near the top-tier geniuses.

But now—it was beyond anything she could have imagined.

Leon had not only gotten perfect scores for nine matches straight—he had defeated the capital’s number one, Steffan, head-on.

Rias’s lips parted slightly.

She replayed the final clash.

Selena’s fist.

The Golden Eyed Smoke Lioness.

The explosion.

And Leon’s calm expression afterward.

Her heart gave an unfamiliar little beat.

Rias frowned faintly.

She didn’t usually react this way.

She had met countless handsome young men.

A handsome face alone had never been enough to catch her attention.

But Leon was different.

There was something about the way he stood there.

Calm.

Confident.

Almost completely unshaken by the pressure around him.

He didn’t seem to care about fame.

He didn’t seem desperate to impress anyone.

And when Selena returned to his side, he looked at her with genuine warmth.

That small detail affected Rias more than she expected.

Her gaze softened.

For a brief moment, she looked less like the powerful president of a major university and more like a woman who had unexpectedly found someone who had caught her heart.

It was the kind of attraction that came before reason could intervene.

A first impression.

A spark.

Rias quickly looked away from the screen, but a faint warmth had already reached her cheeks.

She quietly scolded herself.

What am I thinking?

Then Leon’s face appeared again on the replay.

Her eyes returned to the screen.

She sighed.

...Still, he’s really something.

Her thoughts raced.

Our university secured a ’Star Source Blessed Land’ this year—we have a real shot at breaking into the top ten! If I could recruit a genius like this...

Rias sat on a soft sofa, her voluptuous figure wrapped in the fitted crimson robe.

Her fingers tapped lightly against the armrest.

The image of Leon’s handsome face kept flashing in her mind.

By now, observers from other universities must have their eyes on him too.

Her expression gradually became serious.

No—a talent like this, born in Bellemont Province, cannot be given away!

Rias bit her red lips, opened a screen, and began drafting an early admission contract.

The translucent interface illuminated her crimson eyes.

Several contract grades appeared before her.

B-grade.

A-grade.

And the much more valuable higher-tier options.

Rias stared at them for several seconds.

The decision was more important than it looked.

A contract could determine how much funding, cultivation resources, training opportunities, secret-realm access, and institutional support Leon would receive.

It could also determine whether Bellemont Martial University could secure another major talent before the other universities arrived.

Her fingers paused above the screen.

"This contract is critical. It affects this year’s university ranking."

Rias stared at Leon’s name.

Her beautiful red eyes narrowed slightly.

Then she began considering just how much she was willing to offer.

"Now... what grade of contract should I offer him?"

Across every city’s examination venue, the massive screens blazed like stars in the night sky.

The final battle had ended.

The noise of the arenas had not.

Across the province, millions of spectators were still talking, arguing, replaying the battles, and trying to understand what they had just witnessed.

The placement matches had finally concluded.

As the placement matches concluded, names streaked across the display like shooting stars—automatically arranging themselves into a glorious ranking list.

The enormous screens dimmed for a moment.

Then a golden glow spread across them.

The atmosphere in every venue immediately became tense.

"Look! The ten placement matches are done! They’re revealing this year’s rankings now!" Someone in the crowd shouted excitedly, their voice thick with anticipation.

"Let’s see who made the top ten!"

People leaned forward.

Some stood on their seats.

Others hurriedly opened their personal devices to check the rankings themselves.

The screen flickered—names appearing one by one—until finally, the top ten positions locked into place.

[1st Place: Aurelia City No. 1 High, Martial High (8) Class, Leon. Beast-Girls: Selena (A), Evelyn (S). Placement Score: 100 Points.]

[2nd Place: Spiritan City No. 13 High, Martial High (1) Class, Adrian. Beast-Girl: Elena (SS). Placement Score: 99 Points.]

[3rd Place: Jade City No. 1 High, Martial High (2) Class, Adrian. Beast-Girl: Sana (SS). Placement Score: 98.9 Points.]

[4th Place: Jade City No. 2 High, Martial High (2) Class, Nolan. Beast-Girl: Kithra (S). Placement Score: 98 Points.]

[5th Place: Seacrest City No. 1 High, Martial High (1) Class, Marcus. Beast-Girl: Brinda (S). Placement Score: 97.9 Points.]

...

The list continued downward.

As the names and scores appeared, the crowd buzzed with murmurs and exclamations.

Yet amidst all the excitement, one figure stood out—hollow and defeated.

Steffan stood at the edge of the arena, his blonde hair slightly disheveled from the battle.

His green eyes were fixed on that familiar name.

[8th Place: Steffan. Beast-Girl: Victoria (SS). Placement Score: 97.5 Points.]

For several seconds, he didn’t move.

The result seemed almost unreal.

An SS-rank beast-girl.

A perfect combat combination.

And yet...

Eighth place.

His face was pale, his eyes burning with resentment and disappointment.

An SS-rank beast-girl—and he only got 8th place?

His fingers slowly curled into fists.

"If I hadn’t run into that monster, second place would have been mine!" Steffan clenched his fists, his voice heavy with helpless frustration.

His teeth were tightly clenched.

There was anger inside him, but it wasn’t directed at Victoria.

He knew exactly why they had lost.

What was he supposed to do? Some overpowered freak had come out of nowhere.

He had tried to evade from the very start.

Even with that defensive strategy, they had only lasted eight minutes.

That alone had cost him a tremendous number of points.

Steffan stared at the first-place ranking again.

Leon.

That name now felt heavier than it had only a few hours ago.

"Leon—your beast-girls are only A-rank and S-rank? That can’t be right..." Steffan stared at the screen, lost in thought.