Chapter 114: Lu Shengming’s Visit

Chapter 114: Chapter 114: Lu Shengming’s Visit

[Congratulations to our student, Li Heng, for achieving the magnificent score of 4021 Points and taking first place in the city’s Dungeon College Entrance Exam!]

On the Thirteenth Middle School website, this message had been pinned to the top, complete with a red border and decorative patterns.

Li Guobin and his wife were overjoyed to see it, but Li Heng himself found the announcement a bit tacky.

But a deeper feeling was worry. He had only just roughly decided on his future path—his major—but his choice of university still needed more consideration.

He was genuinely worried that a swarm of admissions officers would show up at his house again any minute.

However, this worry didn’t last long before he was interrupted by a call on his phone.

’Hm?’

’My class teacher?!’

Li Heng, seeing the caller was his class teacher, answered the phone, curious.

First came a torrent of congratulations. The teacher praised every aspect of Li Heng, saying he had always been an excellent student who was just a bit low-key. This time, his long period of quiet preparation had resulted in a stunning success that made history for Thirteenth Middle School, earning the admiration of the entire faculty and student body.

Then, the teacher got to the point: Li Heng had brought glory to the school and to Maple City. The school was issuing a considerable sum of Alliance Coins as a reward. The exact amount wasn’t mentioned, but the teacher told Li Heng to come to the school with his parents to collect it when he had time.

Li Heng could tell his teacher was ecstatic—genuinely and truly happy for him. He just smiled humbly and offered his thanks.

He also said he and his parents would come to the school in a day or two, after he had finished submitting his university applications.

After hanging up with his class teacher, Li Heng received subsequent calls from the class president and Lin Tao, both of whom were calling to congratulate him. Li Heng thanked them one by one.

Li Heng had more or less expected these congratulatory calls for his outstanding results, but he never thought that Lin Jiangang would also contact him.

The congratulations were the same, but at the end, Lin Jiangang offered Li Heng some advice. "If you want to pursue the Sword Way and comprehend a deeper level of Sword Intent, you might want to consider Jinjian University or Bamboo Sea University."

Jinjian University, ranked 29th.

Bamboo Sea University, ranked 41st.

After hearing the names of these two universities, Li Heng looked up their rankings. He found they were both outside the top 20, which immediately cut his interest in half.

Besides, Li Heng had no desire to comprehend some deeper Sword Intent, let alone pursue the Sword Way.

After all, entering a Soul Energy University meant facing semi-explored or even unknown mysterious realms!

When facing an enemy he couldn’t beat, Li Heng didn’t want to pin his hopes on some sudden burst of Sword Intent and go head-to-head with them—a fight he might not even win. He wasn’t interested. There was no need to get overconfident.

’A deep Sword Way and Sword Intent would definitely be cool, but it’s not worth betting my life on. That would be a terrible deal.’

Li Heng had a realistic grasp of his own abilities. The system’s Dungeons were the true foundation of his power.

While Li Heng was busy taking one call after another, Li Guobin and his wife had already gone out grocery shopping to prepare a celebratory meal.

But in Li Heng’s view, while grocery shopping might be part of it, the main reason was probably to "show off." After all, he had become the city’s top scorer—the number one in the Dungeon College Entrance Exam!

He was home alone. He had been thinking about grinding the normal Wolf King Mountain to farm some Soul Energy Points or something, but before he could even get back to his room, a series of knocks came from the front door.

When he opened the door, Li Heng’s expression froze for a second before he forced a smile and nodded a greeting. "Hello, Teacher!"

The visitor at the door was none other than the "teacher responsible for tallying scores" that Li Heng had been thinking about just a few days ago.

Although Li Heng had thought this teacher might come, he hadn’t expected it to be at this particular time. It caught him a bit off guard.

Lu Shengming took in the entire change in Li Heng’s expression, and at the same time, he began to size Li Heng up from head to toe.

After a moment, he spoke. "Hello, Student Li Heng. If you recall, I’m the teacher responsible for tallying your score. My surname is Lu."

"Hello, Teacher Lu! Please, come in and have a seat. I’ll go get you a cup of tea!" Li Heng, seeing his visitor, had already guessed the reason for his visit, but he couldn’t just get straight to the point.

Lu Shengming observed Li Heng’s entire demeanor. When he noticed that Li Heng’s physical condition had already surpassed the Soul Pupil Realm, a flicker of even greater admiration appeared in his eyes.

’He hasn’t let his increased strength change his attitude, and he didn’t immediately ask about my reason for being here. He can restrain his curiosity. Not bad.’

’Or perhaps he’s guessed my purpose. But even after learning his rank, to be able to maintain such a calm and ordinary mindset during a moment of celebration... his mental fortitude is truly extraordinary!’

Lu Shengming had seen many young men and women on the Celestial Rankings. Whether they were flamboyant or reserved, they all possessed a certain arrogance. But this Li Heng was different. He estimated it wouldn’t be more than a few months before Li Heng’s name appeared on the Celestial Rankings!

Yet, there wasn’t a hint of arrogance about him. In fact, Lu Shengming could faintly sense a "steady" and "composed" aura emanating from Li Heng.

Lu Shengming’s mind was racing with thoughts. Though he held Li Heng in high regard, his expression remained impassive. He didn’t stand on ceremony, taking a sip of tea before asking directly, "Student Li Heng, do you have a Soul Energy University in mind yet?"

Li Heng shook his head. "I’m still not sure which university I should choose."

Hearing this, Lu Shengming thought to himself: ’So Desert Military Academy and Canghai University failed after all. I knew it. A student like this can’t be recruited with ordinary material offers!’

Knowing that Li Heng hadn’t submitted his application yet, Lu Shengming continued the conversation. "Well then... Student Li Heng, what are your thoughts or aspirations for the future?"

In Lu Shengming’s view, to recruit Li Heng, he had to understand his thoughts, to know what he truly wanted. Otherwise, no matter how generous the offer, it would all be for nothing.

Hearing this question, Li Heng didn’t answer immediately. He lowered his head, putting on a thoughtful expression, and only replied after a short while, "At the very least, I want to get into a top-20 Soul Energy University."

!

"Of course! In fact, the moment you submitted the score card from the Ice Simurgh Bird, the doors to every Soul Energy University in the Alliance—with the exception of the all-female ones—swung open for you!"

"My university, Meteor University, would naturally welcome your application as well. Our school is currently ranked 11th in the Soul Energy Alliance. I can also disclose to you that our preliminary recruitment standards for this year are: top 200 in the city, top 2,000 in the province, or top 20,000 in the entire Alliance. Meeting any one of these criteria is sufficient for special admission consideration."

After saying this, Lu Shengming took a small sip of tea. He was actually a little anxious, worried that once Li Heng’s results were uploaded to the Alliance’s official website, other universities would start fighting over him. On the surface, however, he appeared perfectly calm. He had spent several days negotiating with his university.

He had come fully prepared this time. Lu Shengming’s only worry was that Li Heng would refuse to say anything at all. But as long as Li Heng was willing to share his thoughts, he was confident he could recruit him into Meteor University!

A young man who could submit a score card from an Ice Simurgh while still in the Soul Pupil Realm, turn in second and third-rank medicinal materials, and was on the verge of entering the Celestial Rankings—a student with such courage, talent, and boldness—if recruited, could only bring... countless honors to the university in the future!