Chapter Ninety-Seven: Three Straight Victories, Perfect Score

"Hm?"
"Someone has won ten straight?"
When Zhu Chengfei, the chief examiner overseeing this year’s entrance examination in Tianshui Province, received the message from one of his staff, he was taken aback.

After glancing carefully at the time and the current progress of the many top-tier candidates already registered, he stroked his beard and nodded.

"First place in Tianshui Province this year, with three rounds won in full. Very good."

He then picked up Chu Cheng’s file and examined it closely. After reading through all of his third-round battles, he fell into thought for a moment before saying, "Classify him as top grade. Make several copies of his file and send one to the recruitment departments of all the leading institutions."

His assistant asked from the side, "Shouldn’t we send it to the ordinary first-tier institutions as well?"

Zhu Chengfei shook his head.

"Ordinary first-tier institutions are not worthy of him."

Inside the battle space, after Chu Cheng achieved ten straight victories in the third round, he was automatically transported to a separate space. A light screen appeared before him, displaying:

"Congratulations, Student Chu Cheng, on completing all challenges across the three rounds. Your record is ten wins and zero losses in the first round, earning 10 points; ten wins and zero losses in the second round, earning 20 points; and ten wins and zero losses in the third round, earning 30 points. Your total score is 60 out of 60. Your performance is outstanding."

"According to the entrance examination rules, you may now choose your application preferences, or leave for the time being. You only need to complete your application to an institution within the next two months."

"Please note: if you fail to complete your application within two months, or if all five of your application choices are rejected, you will be reassigned according to regulations. If you refuse reassignment, you will forfeit your chance to enter a higher institution."

Below this series of prompts, Chu Cheng saw an application button.

He tapped it lightly. The screen changed, and three new buttons appeared: Ordinary Institution, First-Tier Institution, and Top-Tier Stronghold. Beside them was a number five, representing five chances.

Without hesitation, he opened the top-tier strongholds. The screen changed again, and a row of familiar names appeared on the light screen.

As his gaze fell upon those names, basic introductions immediately surfaced.

Hall of Judgment:
Temple of Order:
Throne of War:
The Elden Ring:
Kingdom of Wizards:
Tower of Ten Thousand Dragons:

Hall of Myriad Laws:
The Nether Circle:
Nine Rings of Hell:
Tower of the Abyss:
Throne of Elements:
Tower of the Stars:

Among human civilization, there were only twelve top-tier strongholds in total, and they were also the twelve most powerful forces in human civilization: the twelve standing chairpersons of the Supreme Roundtable Council.

These top-tier strongholds possessed overall strength far beyond other powers, each with its own specialty. From their names alone, some of those specialties could be roughly inferred.

The Temple of Order followed the path of godhood. Upon reaching the transcendent rank, one became a divine being and began cultivating believers on the road to apotheosis.

The Throne of War specialized in training war knights, war lords, war kings, and even true gods related to war.

The Kingdom of Wizards, the Hall of Myriad Laws, and the Nether Circle all specialized in training mages.

The Tower of Ten Thousand Dragons specialized in cultivating various dragonblood sorcerers and dragon-blooded lineages.

The Nine Rings of Hell was connected to the infernal devils. It was said that its founder had once signed a contract with the supreme ruler of the infernal storm, allowing the students of the Nine Rings of Hell to safely borrow the power of infernal devils.

The Tower of the Abyss was tied to demons. It was said that one of its founders had somehow joined the abyssal catastrophe and become one of the three great demon princes of that calamity, allowing the students of the Tower of the Abyss to safely borrow demon power.

The Throne of Elements was related to the four primordial elements.

The Tower of the Stars was said to be connected to the void and the stars.

Chu Cheng reviewed his own power system and found that none of these seemed especially compatible.

His profession and skills were one thing; those could be changed at any time. His talents, which could not be changed, were the true core. Yet among the twelve top-tier strongholds above, none was particularly adept at spatial law.

Still, whether or not there was a match, there were several top-tier institutions he could definitely rule out first.

The Nine Rings of Hell and the Tower of the Abyss held no appeal for him at all when it came to borrowing the power of devils and demons.

The Throne of Elements was likewise unsuitable; his talents had nothing to do with the elements, and he personally disliked it as well.

The Kingdom of Wizards, the Hall of Myriad Laws, and the Nether Circle were not very promising either. Chu Cheng did not believe he had much talent in that area.

After eliminating those, the only options left were the Hall of Judgment, the Temple of Order, the Throne of War, the Elden Ring, the Tower of Ten Thousand Dragons, and the Tower of the Stars.

He continued excluding them one by one.

The Tower of Ten Thousand Dragons centered on true dragon bloodlines. It had several heroic legacies related to dragonkind, all of them formidable. But the essence of a bloodline system lay entirely in dragon blood: the stronger the bloodline, the stronger the cultivator.

If the bloodline was not strong enough, both strength and potential would be locked in place.

To rise within that system, one had to obtain an elite dragonblood line.

Chu Cheng felt that someone like him, without resources, would find it very difficult to make a name for himself in such a system.

The Throne of War specialized in training war knights and war lords, command-oriented systems that were utterly incompatible with him, so it could also be ruled out.

The remaining four did not have a particularly narrow specialization. They were strong in all directions and compatible with every type.

Chu Cheng’s eyes moved back and forth among these four top-tier institutions. Rubbing his brow, he was just about to click on the Hall of Judgment to learn more when he suddenly noticed a notification pop up at the bottom of the light screen.

Curious, he opened it.

A middle-aged man in an ornate robe appeared in projection on the screen and said, "Student Chu Cheng, I am Li Qingguang, director of admissions at the Hall of Myriad Laws. I wonder if you would be interested in joining us. If you are willing, I can make the decision myself: in addition to a scholarship of 100 gold coins, we will also prepare a heroic inheritance imprint for the upper-rank hero, Master of Myriad Laws, and arrange all preliminary requirements for you, including the River of Styx water used for talent redistribution."

"Moreover, I can guarantee that I will arrange for a legendary-rank mentor to take you in as a formal disciple."

"Hmm."

After his brief surprise, Chu Cheng began to think.

He was not puzzled by how the Hall of Myriad Laws had contacted him. In his previous life, even top-tier universities of the highest caliber would fight fiercely over promising talent. With a perfect score and three straight rounds of victory, he would certainly attract the attention of every major stronghold.

Precisely because of that, he was in no hurry. After a little thought, he replied, "Director Li, hello. Later on, perhaps several other institutions will contact me as well. I’d like to hear their terms before making a decision."

Li Qingguang’s expression remained unchanged as he smiled and nodded.

"Of course. You may contact me at any time, and if you have any questions, you can ask me whenever you like."

"All right."

After ending the communication, Chu Cheng tilted his head slightly, smacked his lips, and smiled.

Three rounds won in full, a perfect sixty points. That might not be unique, but it certainly was not something just anyone could pull off. It would inevitably draw these top-tier institutions into competition.

"If several top-tier institutions are fighting over me, which one should I choose?"

Though no second offer had arrived yet, that did not stop Chu Cheng from already thinking ahead.

Although the others had mostly been screened out, if the terms were generous enough, they were still worth considering.

The Nine Rings of Hell and the Tower of the Abyss were exceptions. He truly had no interest in those two.