Chapter 59: 2 Great Geniuses Break the Record, but the Leaders Only Care About the Flower Vase Beauty?

Zhao Qingtian was the acknowledged top genius of the Beast Taming Department, while Zhou Kai was the undisputed champion of the Martial Arts Department.

Both were top contenders for the title of Champion Scholar in this practical assessment, making them each other’s greatest rivals.

How could they possibly team up?

Even Li Yueyao looked over in astonishment, her brow furrowed in confusion.

As everyone watched,

Zhao Qingtian and Zhou Kai walked up to the scoring table.

Zhao Qingtian took the initiative and said, "Sir, the two of us formed a temporary team. Please tally our points together and split the score evenly."

With that, he tossed a Spatial Storage Pouch onto the table.

When the teacher tallying the scores saw what was inside, his hands couldn’t help but tremble!

Inside, besides a massive number of materials from First-Grade Late Stage and Peak First-Grade Demon Beasts,

there were even the heads of two Second-Grade Early Stage Demon Beasts, both radiating a powerful aura!

The scoring teacher drew in a sharp breath. With trembling hands, it took him well over a minute to tally all the spoils.

He looked up, staring at the two young men before him as if they were monsters, and announced:

"Team Zhao Qingtian and Zhou Kai! Total kills: eight First-Grade Late Stage and three Peak First-Grade Demon Beasts! And... one each of the Second-Grade Early Stage Demon Beasts, the Black Armored Earth Dragon and the Three-Eyed Demon Ape!"

"Team total... 240 points!"

"As per their agreement to split evenly! Individual scores... 120 points!!"

...

When this string of numbers boomed over the plaza like a thunderclap,

the entire area fell silent.

All the students were dumbfounded.

Li Yueyao, who had just been feeling smug about her score of 81 points, found her expression frozen on her face.

A moment later, the entire crowd erupted!

"Holy shit! 120 points?! Did I hear that right?!"

"They broke the record! The all-time high score for Jiang City High School’s practical assessment has been completely shattered!!"

"That’s insane! The two of them teamed up and actually managed to kill two Second-Grade Early Stage Demon Beasts? Are they even fucking human?"

Hearing the surrounding gasps of shock and admiration, Zhao Qingtian’s heart swelled with an indescribable sense of pride and satisfaction.

’This is the kind of treatment I, Zhao Qingtian, deserve to enjoy!’

’The center of everyone’s attention!’

There was a reason he had teamed up with Zhou Kai.

Just before entering the Secret Realm, his family had passed him a message through a special channel: the head of the Provincial Education Bureau would be paying out of his own pocket to give the first-place winner of this assessment an incredibly valuable reward!

Although Zhao Qingtian was confident, he didn’t dare say he could definitely take first place.

After all, Zhou Kai’s strength was on par with his.

As it happened, they ran into each other in the Secret Realm, so he took the initiative and suggested they team up.

They would work together, rack up the highest possible score, secure a tie for first place, and split the bureau head’s reward.

Plus, the school also offered a handsome reward for breaking the assessment record!

It was a win-win!

However, just as Zhao Qingtian was basking in the crowd’s attention and preparing to accept their cheers,

Zhou Kai, standing beside him, suddenly pulled something out of his pocket, his face expressionless.

It was the stinger of a Thorny-tailed Bee, a First-Grade Early Stage Demon Beast.

Zhou Kai placed the stinger on the scoring table and said flatly, "Sir, there’s this too. Please add it on."

The scoring teacher was stunned for a moment and subconsciously asked, "Did your team kill this together?"

Zhou Kai shook his head, his tone still placid. "No. I killed this myself before we teamed up. I forgot to mention it, my apologies."

"???" The triumphant smile on Zhao Qingtian’s face instantly froze.

The scoring teacher’s expression turned extremely awkward. He nodded and silently added 1 point after Zhou Kai’s name on the scoreboard.

Zhou Kai, 121 points.

Zhao Qingtian, 120 points.

What had been a tie for first place was now Zhou Kai’s sole victory.

...

The thunderous, tsunami-like cheers in the plaza came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone stared at Zhou Kai with strange expressions.

’What a move...’

’It wasn’t against the rules, but... what a fucking scummy thing to do, right?’

Zhao Qingtian’s face instantly turned black as thunder.

He whipped his head around, glaring daggers at Zhou Kai, and practically squeezed the words through his teeth, "You motherfucker... playing dirty, are you?!"

Zhou Kai just gave him a cool glance. "I just forgot. If you think it’s unfair, I can forfeit the point."

"You!"

Zhao Qingtian was so enraged he nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

’Forfeit it?’

’You announce it in front of all the teachers and students, and now you say you’ll forfeit it?’

’Who the hell are you trying to humiliate?’

Zhou Kai ignored him, and he also ignored the strange looks from everyone around.

’Integrity? Reputation?’

’In his mind, those were things only the weak cared about.’

’The path of the Martial Dao is a brutal competition where you either advance or fall behind.’

’Seizing every resource to become stronger, by any means necessary—that is the only truth!’

’As long as I take first place today and get both the bureau head’s and the school’s rewards, my power will reach a new level!’

’Once I become truly powerful, who will dare to question my integrity behind my back?’

’Power is the foundation of everything!’

’Take that Gu Yuexi, for example. So what if she got special privileges through sheer luck?’

’Ultimately, she lacks the power to back it up. In the end, won’t she just become a precious lab rat for the Federation, raised in captivity and stripped of all freedom and future?’

’How utterly laughable.’

On the main platform, the leaders had mixed opinions about Zhou Kai’s actions and were discussing it among themselves.

But Zhang Chengye and Lin Zhennan were in no mood to concern themselves with such a trivial matter.

Seeing that the assessment was about to end and Gu Yuexi was still nowhere in sight, the two of them could no longer remain seated.

They exchanged a look and, in a flash of movement, floated down from the platform dozens of meters high, heading straight for the Secret Realm Exit.

When Li Yueyao, Zhao Qingtian, and Zhou Kai saw the two bigwigs personally descend, they all subconsciously straightened up, their hearts filled with anticipation.

They all assumed the two important leaders had come down specifically to praise them!

After all, their three scores had left everyone else in the dust, completely locking down the top three spots.

However, what happened next made their hearts sink.

Zhang Chengye and Lin Zhennan walked straight up to the three of them, and Zhang Chengye asked in an extremely anxious tone:

"You three, let me ask you, did any of you see Gu Yuexi in the Secret Realm?"

...

The pride on Li Yueyao’s face instantly froze.

Zhao Qingtian’s face darkened.

Even Zhou Kai, who was normally as calm as still water, furrowed his brow, a deep sense of displeasure welling up inside him.

’On what grounds?’

’They had fought tooth and nail, shattered Jiang City’s all-time record, and achieved such magnificent results.’

’And yet, in the eyes of these important leaders, they still couldn’t compare to some Flower Vase Beauty who just got lucky?’

’Just because she contracted a mosquito with heaven-defying Spiritual Wisdom?’

’Aside from having some high research value, what good was that mosquito? Could it even fight?’

’And Gu Yuexi herself was just a First-Grade Late Stage Martial Artist!’

’Why did she deserve so much attention?!’