---
"Uh, Little Fa, just listen to Su Mo—hit him with everything you've got.
Don't worry, you won't hurt him. With your strength, Su Mo's already taken out plenty like you in the exam."
Wang Dehua shot Old Man Wang a resentful glance. Sure, it's true, but did you have to say it in front of a student? Don't I, as a teacher, deserve some dignity?
"Just like this?" Wang Defa double-checked before swinging.
Su Mo thumped his chest. "Yeah, Teacher, just go for it right here."
Wang Defa nodded, recalling Su Mo's current power and awakened defense ability. No hesitation—he started charging up his big move.
He knew his strength might not scratch Su Mo, but as a teacher, he had to show his best.
Even back when Su Mo's punch made him cough blood, he'd stubbornly excused himself to the bathroom—same vibe.
Old Man Wang stood off to the side, sipping tea, watching intently. "By the way, Little Mo, you haven't told me what this skill does yet."
"Oh, it's a damage reflection skill."
[Pfft~]
"Stop—hold it…"
Wang spat out his tea, shouting to halt Wang Defa's fist aimed at Su Mo's chest—but he was too late.
[Bang!]
Fist met chest.
[Gulp~]
Wang Defa's eyes bulged, his throat bobbing a few times. He forced something down, his energy wilting on the spot.
"Uh, Teacher Wang, you okay?!"
Wang Defa shakily stood, hand over his mouth, coughing lightly. He tried to speak, throat rolling again, then just waved it off without a word.
"Principal, Teacher, he…"
Wang shot Su Mo a reproachful look—look what you've done! A damage reflection skill? You don't just test that willy-nilly!
And telling your teacher to go all out… Wang's mind flickered—he hadn't told them to use full power, had he?
Wait, no—it was him who'd said it…
Even if you didn't ask for full power, testing a reflection skill's still too much!
"Uh, Little Mo, head back. Your teacher's been under the weather lately. I'll let you know the test results."
Su Mo cast a worried glance at his homeroom teacher but didn't push it, leaving quietly.
Guess after the exam, he'd need to snag some healing meds from his master—Teacher Wang's hit wasn't light.
Seriously, at his age, still so hung up on pride. If he'd just spat that blood out, it'd be a minor injury—don't let it fester into something worse.
Su Mo shook his head and headed home.
The next day, he got a test report from Old Man Wang—not Wang Defa's injury rundown,
but a breakdown of the damage Wang took, his output, and the skill's effect, pieced together from Wang's account.
Su Mo skimmed it—didn't get it—but Wang confirmed the reflection hit 20%, just like the description.
After, Wang still warned him not to lean too hard on it—reflection only worked if he could tank the hit. If his defense failed, the skill flopped.
Su Mo nodded along, but inside? Didn't care. With absolute defense, nothing was breaking through.
The next two days, he stayed home with Su Yu, waiting for the ranking exam.
Normally, today'd be the day, but it got pushed back two days for "reasons."
Mostly Tu Hongwu's disciple announcement still stirring the pot.
Nations kept showering Great Xia with gifts—Silver and Gold dungeons, even King-tier materials, all listed in fancy packages.
Their ask? Simple: a handful of exam slots.
It put Great Xia's brass in a bind, so they rang up Tu Hongwu.
"No big deal—take their stuff. Even if they participate, they have to defeat my disciple first."
Tu's exact words—one line that clued the higher-ups in.
This wasn't about taking the top scorer—it was hyping his pre-picked apprentice.
Knowing that, Great Xia's leaders tactfully accepted Deutschland's three Silver dungeons and one Gold, then stalled two days before locking in 10 slots.
Other countries followed suit—even domestic clans who'd sneered at the exam, never joining, jumped in now.
The original 200 ranking exam slots bloated to a jaw-dropping 500 after four days of cramming.
And it wasn't just Great Xia folks anymore—unprecedented, watched worldwide, with foreigners piling into the exam.
Su Mo? Clueless about it all. Today, the exam was finally kicking off.
He hit the school plaza bright and early. The once-packed square, full of formations, now barely scraped ten people.
Besides Su Mo, the other eight were noble heirs—well, sort of.
By the ranking exam, pretty much everyone was a noble heir.
Except Su Mo!
A glow flared on the plaza, and next thing, he was on a massive stage—one of 99 spread around.
The ranking exam had a twist: full live broadcast[1].
"Hello, viewers worldwide! Welcome to this year's Great Xia Exam Showdown!
We're at the critical final stage—the ranking exam.
Today, we'll crown Great Xia's top scorer and top 100.
But this year's a little different. First, let me introduce these 10 stellar students from Deutschland's Johann High—they're joining our exam for certain reasons. Give them a warm welcome!
Next up, we've got the Pretty Nation team…"
Every viewer glued to their TVs blinked in confusion.
Wasn't this Great Xia's exam?
Why so many foreigners?!
They didn't run the school or national exams before!
Straight into the ranking round—what's this nonsense?
How much cash did you swindle from them?!
Foreigners joining's one thing—do it on the down-low! Why the grand intro, shouting it to the world?
Great Xia's brass were sweating too. We took their money, slots are locked, and to dodge post-exam drama, we've gotta hype them up front.
Sure, the bigger the buildup, the harder the faceplant later—but we gave you the spotlight, didn't we? And you do have a chance to become the Blood Slaughter God's disciple, you just have to defeat his current one.
---
[1] The Chinese and their love for Live Broadcasting lol.