CHAPTER 18: CHAPTER 17: THE DRAGON LIES HIDDEN IN THE ABYSS

"Puchi!"

In the virtual city.

Jiang Ye punched through the head of the last shadow.

Huff!

Everyone sighed in relief.

The three shadows were finally defeated!

At this moment, in Jiang Ye’s team, apart from him, the other four were severely injured, and Jiang Ye himself was also not lightly wounded.

"Huff huff~"

In the shadows not far away, more shadows were converging and forming.

This time, there were five shadows!

"The third round."

Tao Xiaogang and the others saw this scene, and a trace of helplessness flashed in their eyes.

They... were no longer able to keep fighting!

Jiang Ye charged forward alone, trying to kill one more shadow before his strength completely gave out.

However... he underestimated the difficulty of the third round.

Half a minute later.

Jiang Ye and his four teammates exited the virtual city simultaneously, and the system settlement page appeared in front of them.

[This group has completed the Virtual Starry Sky assessment, settling the scores...]

[Best Finisher: Tao Xiaogang]

[Best Tank: Tao Xiaogang]

[...]

Tao Xiaogang being the best in two consecutive categories even surprised himself.

[Best Damage: Jiang Ye]

[Best Vision: Jiang Ye]

[Best Martial Arts Will: Jiang Ye]

...

[Killed four Shadow Race members, took 21 minutes, average team casualty rate 85%.]

[Group MVP: Jiang Ye, 70 points]

[Tao Xiaogang: 50 points]

[Xia Qing: 45 points]

...

Seeing this, Jiang Ye let out a sigh of relief; he almost thought he would become someone who wins by doing nothing.

Tao Xiaogang sheepishly said, "Brother Jiang, sorry, I stole a few of your kills."

It was just a coincidence.

Every time a Shadow Race member was near death, it ran to him. He couldn’t just watch the shadow take his teammates down with it, could he?

So Tao Xiaogang unknowingly picked up three kills.

Only the last Shadow Race member was killed by Jiang Ye himself.

"It’s fine." Jiang Ye shook his head, not minding.

After the system settlement, they all exited the virtual space and returned to the metal hall.

Jiang Ye looked at his virtual assessment score.

[Jiang Ye: 330 points]

"330 points? Just 20 points shy of the Martial Arts University’s standard." Jiang Ye smiled.

He also noticed the scores of Li Zhichao and Xu Sisi.

[Li Zhichao: 355 points]

[Xu Sisi: 315 points]

"355 points?" Jiang Ye was surprised to see Li Zhichao’s total score.

He remembered the other party’s three-item total was 295 points, which means in this assessment, he only scored 60 points, lower than Jiang Ye!

"Could it be he didn’t reach the third round?" Jiang Ye thought to himself.

The Virtual Starry Sky assessment is similar to a challenge mode.

The more rounds completed, the higher the score.

In the four Martial Arts total scores, this assessment holds the largest weight, accounting for nearly half.

The higher the score, the more you can get from the Virtual Starry Sky assessment.

Like Zhao Qingli, who could get a high score of 700, with 300 points from this assessment alone.

And for Li Zhichao to score less means he didn’t make it past the third round.

"So, in the fourth assessment score, I should be first in class."

"Unfortunately, still second in total score."

"But it’s okay, at least I can get a $10,000 scholarship."

Jiang Ye was already content.

In just one semester, moving up from rank 25 to this rank, only he knew the effort it took.

...

Elsewhere, Li Zhichao was also looking at the rankings.

"355 points." Li Zhichao stared at his score, his expression unsatisfied.

In the last assessment, with his strength, he shouldn’t have had such a low score.

But the roar of the Shadow Race affected him greatly.

Then, Li Zhichao suddenly noticed a name.

"Jiang Ye, 330 points?"

"His virtual assessment score is higher than mine?"

Li Zhichao looked towards where Jiang Ye was.

He remembered that at the start of the semester, Jiang Ye’s score was only 206 points.

In just one semester, he increased by over a hundred points?

This rate of improvement had surpassed his!

Li Zhichao seemed to realize something, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

...

"Darn it, still third place!"

Xu Sisi stared at her rank, clenching her white fists tightly.

"Jiang Ye scored 15 points higher than me, certainly reaching the third batch, and his average casualty rate is lower than mine."

The average casualty rate refers to the average frequency of injuries per minute for the whole team.

If a teammate dies, this rate skyrockets.

Her group, although no one died, nearly all were severely injured, with an average casualty rate of 90%.

After a long while, Xu Sisi slowly exhaled, helplessly glancing at Jiang Ye not far away.

"This guy seems to be from a poor family like me."

"Well, it’s better to lose to him than to those annoying rich kids."

Xu Sisi sighed.

Then she clenched her fist again: "But, only 15 points difference, next semester, I’ll definitely surpass you again!"

...

At the front of the hall, Zhang Jianwu said in a stern voice, "Students who have completed the four Martial Arts assessments can go home. Next year, you’ll be seniors. This summer, work hard and don’t hold the class back!"

With that, everyone in Class Nine began to leave one by one.

Zhang Jianwu glanced in Jiang Ye’s direction, a glimmer flashing in his eyes.

"He scored 70 in the virtual assessment?"

"It seems this kid’s Martial Arts Will is quite impressive."

He had previously witnessed Jiang Ye’s combat abilities.

Based on his assessment of Jiang Ye’s strength, this assessment should normally yield only 50 points, not exceeding 60 points at most.

points? That was well beyond his expectations!

But the virtual assessment doesn’t only look at combat ability; it also assesses Martial Arts Will.

The Shadow Race can interfere with the mind, plunging people into chaos.

Only those with a strong Martial Arts Will can reduce this impact.

Jiang Ye’s ability to score this high must be due to his Martial Arts Will.

Beside Zhang Jianwu, Wang Ziang smiled and said, "Director, were you just looking at that student named Li Zhichao?"

"355 points exceed the baseline score for an average martial university. A general class student reaching this level in the sophomore year is indeed commendable."

Wang Ziang evaluated.

Zhang Jianwu didn’t reply.

After everyone from Class Nine had left, Zhang Jianwu finally spoke slowly, "Class Nine might produce someone noteworthy."

Wang Ziang was confused.

If anyone else said this, he might scoff.

But since Zhang Jianwu said it, he couldn’t help but take it seriously.

He couldn’t help but ask, "This Li Zhichao... is he really that outstanding?"

Zhang Jianwu shook his head and said, "The dragon hides in the depths, lurking in the city, sometimes it’s the inconspicuous one that surpasses all."

"The dragon hides?"

Wang Ziang was even more surprised. It was rare for the director to use ’dragon’ to describe a person.

"Could it be Li Zhichao has some special attribute I overlooked?" Wang Ziang pondered.

"Fool!" Zhang Jianwu scolded, "You thought I was talking about him?"

He shook his head and left.

Wang Ziang’s eyes widened.

Not Li Zhichao?

Then could it be...

He checked for the student ranked second in Class Nine.

[Jiang Ye: 330 points]

"330 points?"

Wang Ziang murmured, "Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Even if he only had an arm left, he shouldn’t score so low!

"I understand."

Suddenly, Wang Ziang was enlightened, his eyes clear, thinking, "The director’s hint was subtle; he spoke as if referring to the general class, but meant the special class."

"Could the hidden dragon be me?"