Chapter Forty-One: Standing Proud Among Heroes [Please Recommend!]

The mock exams in the second semester of senior year were always scheduled densely. Zhang Wenhao had thought that another round would take place in the next week or two, but to his surprise, the news came on Monday: the second mock exam of the semester would be held on Wednesday and Thursday of that very week.

Zhang Wenhao was filled with anticipation for this exam. If he achieved a better result, he would have the chance to earn a system points reward, bringing his accumulated points to a thousand! So, in the days leading up to the test, he reviewed all the knowledge he had previously mastered, consolidating it once more. In his heart, he had already made a plan: this time, he was determined to take first place in the entire grade and earn as many points as possible.

Apart from the upcoming first lucky draw, Zhang Wenhao was also looking forward to a particular skill: Body Strengthening Technique!

For Zhang Wenhao, Body Strengthening Technique was extremely practical. It could fundamentally improve and enhance a person’s physical constitution, mainly boosting the attributes of strength and resilience.

His current strength index stood at 5, resilience at 4. Although his practical combat skills had increased his fighting prowess, his raw strength and resilience remained unchanged. These two factors limited his ultimate combat effectiveness. While he could fight, his blows lacked true force. If he faced a formidable opponent, his attacks might not inflict substantial damage, and his low resilience meant that a single hit could be potentially fatal.

To solve this, he had to start with his own constitution, making Body Strengthening Technique the most suitable skill for him.

This skill was tiered, ranging from level 1 to 10, and required 800 points to exchange. Upon successful exchange, his physical strength and constitution would both rise to 10 points—a doubling of his capabilities! With continued practice, the skill could self-upgrade, and if maxed out, his personal power might become truly indomitable.

Yet he currently had only 390 usable points—not even half of what he needed!

Therefore, Zhang Wenhao went all out in this exam, holding nothing back. He was determined to take first place in the grade.

The teachers at No. 1 High School were renowned for being the fastest at grading in the city. The test had just ended on Thursday, and by Friday afternoon, the scores for every subject, total scores, and the full ranking had already been published.

The bell had just rung for the last class of the afternoon when their homeroom teacher, Song Yanni, appeared at the classroom door. As the substitute teacher left, Song Yanni, face alight with joy, walked up to the podium. The students, preparing to leave, sat back down obediently when they saw her enter.

“Class,” Song Yanni said, her delight barely contained as she raised a finger excitedly, “before you enjoy your weekend, I have some good news to share!”

The students were all curious, wondering what news she had.

Clearing her throat with a smile, Song Yanni announced, “The results of the mock exam are out, and the top scorer in the entire grade is from our class!”

At those words, all eyes turned to Zhang Wenhao. In this so-called underachievers’ class, no one but Zhang Wenhao stood a chance at ranking first.

“It seems everyone’s in agreement!” Song Yanni laughed. “Congratulations to Zhang Wenhao—total score, 736 points, first in the entire grade, 13 points ahead of the runner-up!”

Class 21 was in shock. The total score was only 750, yet Zhang Wenhao had scored 736—an almost unimaginable result!

It wasn’t until Song Yanni led the applause that the stunned students snapped out of it, breaking into enthusiastic applause. To them, Zhang Wenhao was capable of anything. His recent achievements had instilled in every member of Class 21 a sense of shared honor and pride—whether it was his stirring speech or his outstanding mock exam results, he had made everyone in the class proud from the heart.

Zhang Wenhao himself was overjoyed. This was his very first time attaining first place, from elementary school until now, and he was even 13 points ahead of the second place. Such a commanding lead filled him with a sense of pride and supremacy.

Song Yanni couldn’t help but smile. “The grade director originally asked all homeroom teachers to distribute the report cards before dismissal today and have parents sign them over the weekend. But to ensure you all have a happy weekend, today I’m only giving out one report card—Zhang Wenhao’s.”

She pulled a slip of paper from her folder and beckoned Zhang Wenhao to the podium.

Amid applause, Zhang Wenhao stepped up. Song Yanni addressed the class: “This report card isn’t just an honor for Zhang Wenhao, but for all of us. They say Class 21 is an underachievers’ class, yet the top student in the whole grade is from our class! Everyone else must work twice as hard—let’s show everyone that we are not the class they think we are!”

The report card was a huge morale boost for the class. Even Li Nan, usually the most carefree, felt moved, thinking to himself that if he didn’t keep working, the gap between him and Zhang Wenhao would only widen. As close friends and brothers, he was determined to catch up.

Zhang Wenhao looked at his report card: Chinese 139, Math 150, English 147, General Studies 300. These scores were the stuff of legends! He had lost 11 points in Chinese, likely in the essay. If he could improve his writing, there was still room to grow!

Song Yanni was equally moved. To her, Zhang Wenhao was an unbelievable genius. Twice now he’d scored full marks in Math and General Studies, and his English had leapt from 96 to 147 in less than a month, after only a handful of tutoring sessions!

This only strengthened Song Yanni’s belief that Zhang Wenhao had what it took to strive for the city’s top college entrance exam score. With a staggering 736 points, he could even compete for the top spot in the province!

She felt incredibly fortunate. When she was assigned to Class 21, she thought she’d been handed nothing but trouble by the grade department. Yet thanks to Zhang Wenhao, the class had become united, and those notorious troublemakers from other classes were now well-behaved. Zhang Wenhao had given her tremendous hope. After all, how many intern homeroom teachers nationwide could claim to have led a class to produce a city—or even provincial—top scorer?

While Class 21 was still basking in joy, a seismic shock hit Class 3 of the Humanities stream.

Su Ruoran, their perennial source of pride, had lost her top ranking in the mock exam! To Class 3, this was unthinkable. Su Ruoran had held that position for nearly three years—from the first year of high school, she had never once lost first place, whether in major or minor tests. Yet this time, even with an impressive total of 723, ten points higher than her last mock, she still had to settle for second place.

When the students pressed their homeroom teacher, Ma Qianyong, for the top scorer’s name, his expression grew sour and he spat out a single name: “Zhang Wenhao.”

At those words, Su Ruoran, who had been frowning, suddenly relaxed, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.

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Once again, the newcomer rankings are at twelfth place! Could everyone spare a moment and cast a few recommendation votes for the book? I really, truly want to break into the top ten!