Chapter Twelve: Beyond Genius

Jiang Yu’s expression remained indifferent; he felt not the slightest joy at the professor’s clarification. Whether or not the truth was revealed, he knew his own strength would not change. The doubts of others were merely the opinions of those with limited vision. There were billions of people in the world—he could not possibly explain himself to every single one who questioned him.

“I have lived for five thousand years, and studied for five thousand years. The ancient cultivators are beings who transcend this world, who stand above the heavens themselves. Their immense power is something that the world cannot contain. No matter what I learn, as soon as my divine sense sweeps over it, it is etched into my memory like a blade. Over these five millennia, the knowledge I have accumulated is vast beyond measure.”

At this thought, Jiang Yu paused in surprise.

“When did I become so sentimental? Could it be the influence of this young body I now inhabit?”

He shook his head with a smile, dismissing the notion.

In the office, people gathered around Jiang Yu as if stars encircling the moon. Countless olive branches reached out to him.

He Bing’s gaze was complicated; she pressed her rosy lips together, standing off to the side, lost in thought.

“Jiang Yu, what has happened to you? As your homeroom teacher, I never saw you exert any effort in your studies.”

Yet, it was undeniable that Jiang Yu had achieved first place in this gilded trial exam.

“Unfortunately, you usually show no drive or ambition. You act as you please, never considering others’ opinions. This has left you with countless negative impressions, and now that you’ve suddenly become so outstanding, how could people not be envious?”

“If you were Xia Qinghan, achieving such results, would anyone doubt you?”

He Bing was both shocked and delighted—shocked that Jiang Yu had scored full marks, delighted that he had done so without cheating.

Jiang Yu waved his hand. “Everyone, my mind is made up. I will not attend any university. If there’s nothing else, I’ll return to my class.”

…

Scoring full marks was nothing remarkable to Jiang Yu.

He returned to the classroom, silently taking his seat.

“Jiang Yu, I’d like to ask: what method did you use to maintain your proud record of last place every year?”

Sun Wanyue, hands behind her back, paced over to Jiang Yu. There was a hint of mockery on her delicate face.

Jiang Yu looked up at Sun Wanyue and replied calmly, “No matter what, I was once one of your admirers. Even if you don’t care for me, you could simply reject me. There’s no need to repeatedly embarrass me in public. Besides, you have no idea who you’re speaking to.”

Sun Wanyue was taken aback. Before, Jiang Yu would always shrink away from her ridicule, hiding his face on his desk, never daring to retort.

Today, he spoke to her in this manner? Was it humiliation that drove him to anger?

Sun Wanyue laughed. “What, am I supposed to be speaking to the King of Heaven? Jiang Yu, did you know that a useless man like you pursuing me has become a joke among my friends and family? They all tease me about it, and you’ve left a stain on my life.”

“What I’m doing to you now is just interest. I want you to understand deeply that you, Jiang Yu, are not worthy of me, Sun Wanyue.”

“Oh, and if you ever manage to get me in bed, I’m always waiting.”

Several people covered their mouths, snickering.

“Jiang Yu, of all people, why did you provoke the sharp-tongued Sun Wanyue?”

“Wanyue, honestly, he’s not as bad as you say. At least he’s always first—just at the bottom.”

Jiang Shaoqi shook his head. At first, he’d use his own excellence to step on Jiang Yu.

Now, having realized Jiang Yu was nothing but mud that couldn’t be shaped, he’d lost interest in trampling him. Just as one might stomp on an ant out of whim, but would never bother to do so every time they saw one.

In some sense, Jiang Shaoqi’s attitude was much like Jiang Yu’s.

Faced with their sneers, Jiang Yu wasn’t without temper; he simply couldn’t be bothered to argue with a bunch of frogs in a well. These people had never mattered to him, and quarreling with them was a waste of his time.

If someone crossed his bottom line, he didn’t care about their gender or status—even a swaddled infant wouldn’t escape his retribution.

Jiang Shaoqi felt the same; stepping in mud brought no satisfaction, only dirtied shoes.

As for Jiang Ziyue, she was long accustomed to outsiders’ harshness toward Jiang Yu.

Why wasn’t he more outstanding? If he became strong enough to make everyone fear him, none of this would happen.

Sun Wanyue shook her head, regarding Jiang Yu’s proud demeanor with a smile. “Jiang Yu, what gives you the confidence to be so arrogant? Do you know why I look down on you? Because you never strive for anything. No matter how excellent others are, it has nothing to do with you. You have no ambition. No woman would ever fancy a man like you.”

Suddenly, Jiang Yu laughed. “I’ve said it before: your so-called achievements mean nothing to me. Do you think that getting a good score in this trial exam makes you superior?”

“Even Xia Qinghan, the top student, is no different from a random person on the street in my eyes.”

His words silenced the class.

Someone nudged Jiang Yu. “Are you out of your mind, kid?”

“Forget it, stop being stubborn. No one has any respect for you anyway. Let them say what they want if it makes them happy.”

Jiang Yu smiled faintly, unwilling to explain further.

Soon, homeroom teacher He Bing walked into the classroom.

“Sun Wanyue, return to your seat. I have something to announce.”

Sun Wanyue stuck out her tongue playfully. “Alright, honored He Bing.”

He Bing shook her head. She knew about Jiang Yu writing a love letter to Sun Wanyue and being publicly humiliated. But as a teacher, she couldn’t comment, and had to turn a blind eye.

The class quieted, waiting for He Bing to speak.

Jiang Shaoqi grinned. “Teacher He, what is it you want to say?”

He Bing took a deep breath, organizing her words. “What I want to talk about is the exam results—there have been some unexpected developments.”

Results?

Everyone looked at He Bing in confusion. Hadn’t the results already been announced?

He Bing continued, “The first place for the three-five exam was not actually Xia Qinghan!”

Her words set off a commotion.

“No way, how is that possible?”

“Could there be a mistake? Xia Qinghan deserves first place, how could it not be her?”

He Bing gave a bitter smile; she had anticipated this reaction.

She tapped the blackboard, signaling everyone to quiet down.

“Because the first-place score was a perfect mark, ranking far above Xia Qinghan. The school suspected cheating, and so temporarily listed Xia Qinghan as first.”

Perfect marks?

Hearing this, Jiang Ziyue’s beautiful eyes widened in disbelief, her heart racing with shock and excitement.

As the third-place student in this exam, Jiang Ziyue knew well the difficulty of the three-five questions.

Jiang Shaoqi’s smile froze.

Every face was stunned.

In the history of the three-five trial at First High, had there ever been a perfect score?

“Teacher, who was it?” Sun Wanyue asked, curious.

He Bing instinctively looked at Jiang Yu. The others followed her gaze, settling on Jiang Yu.

At that moment, Jiang Shaoqi felt a sudden tightness in his chest.

He Bing smiled bitterly and said, “The first-place student this time is Jiang Yu!”

The class fell into a brief silence…

“How can that be?” Jiang Shaoqi, the first to react, leapt from his seat, exclaiming in astonishment.

Sun Wanyue stopped smiling, staring blankly at Jiang Yu. “Teacher He, you mean Jiang Yu was last place, right?”

He Bing shook her head. “First place, with a perfect score.”

The classroom was silent enough to hear everyone’s rapid breaths.

Jiang Yu stood up, looking at Sun Wanyue, meeting her gaze calmly. “I told you before: the achievements you pride yourselves on are meaningless to me. Sadly, none of you believed me, and there’s nothing I can do about that.”

He shrugged helplessly.

Jiang Ziyue’s cherry lips parted, enough to fit an egg.

It was madness!

“No way, it must be a mistake!” Sun Wanyue shouted in frustration.

He Bing shook her head. “No, Jiang Yu’s test paper was graded crosswise.”

Sun Wanyue rushed to Jiang Yu, grabbing his arm and yelling, “Jiang Yu, tell Teacher He you cheated! I won’t accept this. Why must it be you?”

Jiang Yu looked at her, the smile at his lips enough to make her grind her teeth. “I like seeing you annoyed at me, yet unable to do anything about it.”

Sun Wanyue turned to He Bing, her voice sharp. “Teacher He, he must have cheated, right?”

He Bing sighed. “Just now, I called Jiang Yu out to verify whether he cheated. I gave him a new test, and he only lost one point—almost perfect.”

“Jiang Yu did not cheat. He is the true first-place student this time, scoring twenty-one points higher than last year’s provincial top scorer!”