Chapter 97: A Sweep of Perfection

At the front desk, the remaining veteran finance professors stepped forward one by one to announce their official grades:

"Julian Vance answered every single one of my complex theoretical problems with absolute, pristine perfection. I am awarding him a full score of 100 points."

"My module as well—a flawless 100 points!"

"Full marks!"

All three veteran professors awarded Julian a pristine, unblemished score of 100 points across their respective modules!

Combined with Deputy Director Abraham’s score, that brought Julian’s cumulative total straight to 400 points—with only the academic director’s custom module left to grade!

At this point, the student body had become entirely numb to the concept of perfect scores. Those custom questions were notoriously engineered to be doctoral-level nightmares, yet Julian had casually breezed through them as if they were elementary school arithmetic.

If Julian somehow missed the passing mark now, it would only mean he had deliberately chosen not to humiliate the faculty any further.

Meanwhile, Leo Vance’s face drained of all remaining color, turning as pale as a sheet of paper.

The only person who hadn’t yet revealed his grading score was the Head of Academic Affairs, Professor Lock.

Director Lock gripped Julian’s final test paper so tightly in his sweaty palm that the crisp paper crinkled heavily.

Initially, his malicious strategy had been simple: if he arbitrarily docked a few dozen points from Julian’s score on his custom questions, Julian’s cumulative total would inevitably drop below the mandatory 480-point threshold, forcing him to lose the bet.

Yet, every single veteran professor had completely betrayed his expectations by ruthlessly awarding Julian a string of full 100s!

Weren’t these veteran professors supposed to be the strictest, most merciless graders in the entire university system?! Why on earth were they handing out full marks to an undergraduate student like it was candy on Halloween?!

Now, everyone in the hall was staring directly at him. If he dared to blatantly award Julian a failing grade like a seventy-something out of a hundred, the entire faculty and student body would instantly recognize it as a desperate, corrupt manipulation to rig the bet.

But... what if I do give him a passing score?

That meant he would instantly lose his high-stakes bet, be forced to resign from his prestigious position as Head of Academic Affairs, and pack his bags to leave Capital University in utter disgrace forever!

He had spent over a decade scheming, sucking up to superiors, and clawing his way up the academic ladder to secure the powerful title of Head of Academic Affairs. He absolutely refused to throw away his entire career and lifetime of status just like this!

Seeing Director Lock hesitating and clutching the paper, Principal Smith stepped forward, his voice turning ice-cold: "Director Lock, please hand over that examination paper so I can grade it personally."

The Head of Academic Affairs froze, his breath catching in his throat. "Principal Smith... why on earth do you need to personally grade a single student’s test paper? I am fully capable of handling it right here."

Principal Smith offered a thin, humorless smile. "I happen to have plenty of spare time right now."

"Director Lock, you’ve been aggressively stalling and refusing to announce the score. Could there be something shady and dishonest going on behind your reluctance?"

When Principal Smith locked his eyes onto Director Lock, his gaze felt sharp enough to slice right through the director’s guilty conscience and expose his dark, scheming thoughts to the entire room.

Cornered with zero avenues of escape, Director Lock had no choice but to slowly extend his trembling hand and pass the exam papers over to the principal.

Principal Smith lowered his eyes to inspect the pages.

His eyes immediately landed on Julian’s subjective analysis essay responses.

The moment he scanned the first paragraph, the principal’s eyes widened in sheer intellectual ecstasy.

"Brilliant... absolutely brilliant! This is a textbook-defining, revolutionary approach to corporate financial restructuring!" Principal Smith couldn’t suppress his loud, enthusiastic praise.

No wonder those veteran professors had practically bowed down to Julian’s intellect. The boy’s financial acumen was leagues ahead of the university’s current curriculum!

Raising his head, Principal Smith announced clearly across the packed amphitheater: "I have reviewed Director Lock’s custom module thoroughly, and Julian Vance’s theoretical derivations are impeccably sound. I am awarding him a full score of 100 points as well!"

Thud.

Hearing the principal’s final verdict, Director Lock felt every single ounce of strength instantly drain from his legs.

His knees buckled beneath him, and his face turned the color of death.

It’s over...

He had officially lost the bet.

The surrounding students gasped, their jaws dropping so wide they could comfortably swallow an entire duck egg.

Just how terrifyingly monstrous was Julian Vance’s true academic capability?!

"So... Julian didn’t get first place through cheating after all?"

"That goes without saying! Every single question was drafted completely on the spot right here in front of us, including by the academic director himself who made the bet! With hundreds of witnesses watching Julian take the exam in real-time, there was literally zero opportunity or possibility for him to cheat!"

"This completely shatters everything... Julian’s grades proves he didn’t just suddenly get smart over the summer. Has he secretly been playing the ultimate game of playing the pig to eat the tiger—deliberately pretending to be an academic failure all these years while hiding true, monstrous genius?!"

"Definitely! I am endlessly fascinated by the thought processes of absolute supreme geniuses. They are clearly academic gods among men, yet they somehow let everyone else misunderstand them as hopeless underachievers!"

The students shook their heads collectively, marveling at the incredible plot twist.

At the podium, Principal Smith’s commanding voice cut through the murmurs, sealing Director Lock’s fate:

"Combined with the scores awarded by the departmental professors, Julian Vance’s cumulative total score for this impromptu examination is a perfect, unblemished 500 points!"

"Therefore, Director Lock... you have officially lost your wager with Julian."

Principal Smith’s gaze snapped down coldly onto the ruined Head of Academic Affairs. "According to the terms of the public bet, since you lost, you are required to immediately resign from your position as Head of Academic Affairs and permanently depart from Capital University. You may pack your belongings and leave the campus starting right now."