Chapter 187: Bitter and Long-lasting Passion

Chapter 187: Bitter and Long-lasting Passion

On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, the final exams for the first semester of senior high school at Rain Alley No. 1 High School concluded, and the individual results were as follows:

First Place: Lu Ran from Class 3(4) – 118.5 points, a Sacred Sheep Follower.

Second Place: Wu Shanshan from Class 3(7) – 89.7 points, an Arsha Follower.

Third Place: Tian Tian from Class 3(4) – 84.1 points, a Sword Lotus Follower.

"Hmm?" Lu Ran held the phone Chang Ying handed him and looked at the second-place result, "Wu, the class president, is quite something, huh?"

"Huh?" Chang Ying looked at Lu Ran with a bit of surprise.

You scored 118 points!

Instead of being concerned about your own score, you're checking out Wu Shanshan's?

As Lu Ran looked at the phone's screen, the discussions around him didn't stop.

"Wait, isn't this a 100-point exam? Are there bonus questions?"

"118 points, damn! This guy's a beast!"

"He's not pretending anymore! Usually, he gets around 80 or 90 points, and we thought he was giving it his all, but when it comes to the 100-point exam for points, he just goes all out!"

"Wu, the class president, is pretty impressive too, huh? Almost 90 points?"

"I heard that after the Night of Many Ghosts, several squads didn't return to the shelter. I guess it's those at the top of the list."

"What's the big deal about not returning to the shelter? My brother Ran directly charged out of Fifth Elementary School and went on patrol!"

"Huh???"

"Night of Many Ghosts? Lu Ran? On patrol?"

"Why the commotion? It was just the Night of Many Ghosts for the Straw Demon Clan."

"Hey~ Mr. Clear-headed, how many points did you get?"

"I didn't go on patrol!"

"Why didn't you go? Don't you like it?"

"You..."

Hearing the noisy voices, Lu Ran tugged at Chang Ying's sleeve.

Chang Ying understood and held back her words, following Lu Ran away.

Lu Ran had excellent hearing, and as he sneaked towards the school gate, he still heard the betting going on behind him:

"Place your bets! Let's bet on Lu Ran's bonus question. Is it worth 20 or 30 points? Come on, place your bets."

"The bonus question should be worth 30 points. Lu Ran's regular score is 88.5 points."

"What a joke! Can my brother Ran's score be lower than Wu Shanshan's? I bet it's worth 20 points! All in, 10 packs of spicy strips!"

"You mean Lu Ran got 98.5 points?"

"What's so special about 98.5 points? Even then, my brother Ran would ask where the 1.5 points were deducted!"

"Deducted from my score, because I have 1.5 points in language now."

Lu Ran's expression was odd, and the voice that kept saying "my brother Ran" sounded very familiar.

It must be that little fatty, Qian Hao.

Good kid, you're the one who took the exam, and you let him take all the credit?

Chang Ying whispered, "I really want to see what you did that night."

That morning, after returning to Fifth Elementary School, Lu Ran didn't share much with his teammates.

Lu Ran, holding a pair of swords wrapped in cloth, slightly covering his face, said, "I didn't do much.

I just killed some demons and saved some people."

Chang Ying: "."

She suddenly remembered something and lowered her voice, "Oh, and your weapon has been promoted to a Divine Armament too!"

In that case, 118.5 points might be a bit low, right?

"A Divine Armament probably doesn't count for points," Lu Ran quickly moved to the south side of the playground and hid behind a tree, "It's not related to the exam content anyway."

Chang Ying leaned against a tree trunk, looking at Lu Ran sitting below, and found it amusing.

The mighty River Realm expert was crouching behind a tree, creating a rather peculiar sight.

As Chang Ying watched, she suddenly laughed, "In a while, when you're sparring, your opponent will be in trouble~

Haha! They'll be slaughtered by the Divine Armament!

Poor Ma Tianchuan, poor Wu Shanshan..."

Lu Ran: "I plan to bring the Jie Ye Sword, and you can hold the Radiance Blade for me later."

"Why?" Chang Ying crouched down and looked at Lu Ran curiously.

"Why use a butcher's knife to kill a chicken?"

"Poor Ma Tianchuan, poor Wu Shanshan," Chang Ying whispered, "In my brother Ran's eyes, they're all just chickens."

Lu Ran: ???

At 8:00 a.m., a male teacher stepped onto the podium, "Attention everyone, assemble!"

Today's podium was significantly longer and wider than usual.

As expected, the upcoming sparring competition would take place here.

Lu Ran emerged from behind the tree and joined his squad members in finding their positions.

After a while, the playground became quiet.

Both inside and outside the school, everyone was looking towards the podium.

The crowd of onlookers outside the school was much larger than the number of students inside.

During this Spring Festival holiday and the end of the old semester, many students transferred to other schools.

On the 15th day of the twelfth lunar month, there were still 200 students in the senior class, but now only 130 to 140 students remained on the playground.

"First of all, congratulations on passing the final exams of the last semester!"

The male teacher paced back and forth on the stage, looking at the slightly sparse student formation below.

"I can confidently say that the overall quality of this year's students is significantly higher than previous years!"

"The scores of the various squads may be a little lower, as the scoring standards are set, but your individual scores are very high, which is also the Divine Bureau's recognition of your personal abilities!"

"The average score of this year's students is a full 16 points higher than last year's. Give yourselves a round of applause."

The students either felt proud or were happy to cheer, clapping and whistling.

On the podium, the male teacher paused and said, "Among them, the highest team score, which is 7 points higher than the previous session."

"The highest individual score..."

The teacher paused again, his voice heavy with emotion. "Is 31.5 points higher than the previous highest score."

The crowd fell silent.

Of course, everyone had seen the leaderboard and knew who had achieved the highest score at Rain Alley First High.

Ever since last year's deity worship, Lu Ran had consistently scored high.

The students, initially dismissive, thought Lu Ran was just lucky.

But after several exams, they were filled with doubts, questioning how Lu Ran could still achieve such scores.

Later, the students secretly anticipated Lu Ran's downfall, hoping the little sheep would be exposed.

Until finally...

In the hearts of the crowd, there was only admiration and awe for Lu Ran.

The Great Xia Empire had never lacked geniuses!

People were just being "cautious," and it took several months to fully confirm that the little sheep was indeed a true Celestial Elite.

It was less of a "confirmation" and more of an "acceptance."

As a Ninth Rank Deity and a follower of the Immortal Ram, Lu Ran's path was indeed filled with endless doubts.

Looking back now, it was already clear by the sixth month of the lunar calendar last year what kind of existence Lu Ran was.

Who informed them?

The Demon Papier-Mache Figure!

Interestingly, the qualifications and strengths of other followers were usually vouched for by schools, society, or deities.

But when it came to Lu Ran, it was the Papier-Mache Figure that gave him the stamp of approval.

"Class 4-3, Lu Ran," the male teacher said, his eyes burning as he looked at Lu Ran.

Under the gaze of the crowd, Lu Ran showed no reaction, keeping his head down silently.

The teacher's voice echoed through the microphone, spreading throughout the campus: "At midnight, the exam score was 98.5.

After the Night of Many Ghosts began, you received a call from the Yunshan City Theonym Bureau's Moonlit Squad for a patrol mission.

You formed a team of one, guarding the city.

You are the student who received the most Moonwatcher Evaluation Forms from all the students in the school.

You are also the only one who received a Citizen Praise Letter.

20 bonus points cannot fully reflect your contribution to Rain Alley City that night.

But this is the highest score the school can give you within the scope of the final exam."

In an instant, discussions erupted on the playground.

"Wow! He patrolled alone?"

"Lu Ran is a combat sheep of the Immortal Sheep Sect! You should compare him to the Northwind Follower; others can't keep up with him!"

"Hmph, our Rain Alley is too small. If a Divine Thunder Follower came, Lu Ran would be put in his place!"

"Nonsense! My brother Lu is so cool! He's a real fighter, never backing down!"

"Wu Shanshan must be regretting it now, hahaha!"

"She had already embraced the big ram's leg, but her own actions ruined it~"

"You two are laughing too soon. Wu, the class monitor, did exceptionally well on the exam."

Wu Shanshan remained expressionless, saying nothing.

Lu Ran, at the center of the whirlwind, also said nothing, silently mocking in his heart.

This teacher has issues! He always uses me as a target to motivate the entire school.

The problem is, the students did exceptionally well on this final exam!

The male teacher might think that setting such an example and motivating students in this way is effective.

Sure enough, the male teacher continued!

"On the final exam, team and individual scores each account for 50% of the total score. Taking Lu Ran as an example, the calculated total score is 105.6."

"This score is the follower points Lu Ran obtained."

The male teacher looked at the paper in his hand and nodded with admiration: "Adding the 194 follower points Lu Ran had accumulated before, your total follower points are almost at the 300 threshold."

The male teacher's tone shifted: "In fact, you could have graduated already.

The Yunshan City Theonym Bureau, in recognition of your contribution during the Night of Many Ghosts, has awarded you 30 follower points."

"Whoa!"

"Damn! I'm so excited just watching him get these points!"

"Don't get too excited; it's not like you're getting them."

"Silence!" The male teacher's voice was stern. "Another student has been recognized by the Yunshan City Theonym Bureau—Wu Shanshan from Class 7-3!"

"Oh!!!"

"Yay~"

"Cheers! Cheers!!!" A wave of applause erupted on the playground.

And these cheers weren't just coming from Class 7; students from all over the playground were spontaneously applauding.

Such a scene couldn't help but stir up mixed emotions in Lu Ran.

What does this mean? Is my popularity that bad?

When the teacher announced my results, the students were either silent or discussing, but there were no cheers, right?

Hmm... It's probably the male teacher's fault! For half a year, he's been using me as a target.

The name Lu Ran seemed to loom over everyone's heads like a dark cloud.

For more than half a year, the cloud never dispersed, constantly suffocating everyone.

Now, finally, a new face has emerged, and the students who have endured ridicule and provocation are thrilled!

It doesn't matter who this new face is, whether it's Zhang San or Li Si. The students just want to lift their heads above the water and take a breath.

Lu Ran understood all this and couldn't help but nod in agreement.

It seems that...

All beings in the world have long suffered because of Lu Ran.

Hehe~

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end