Chapter Seventy-Seven: Locked in Conflict

“What?” Everyone present was stunned. No one had expected Wang Zhenhan to utter such words.

“You are the pride of Jiangzhou No. 1 High School!”

This seemingly simple statement was a rare honor, one that almost no one could attain. In the current cohort, the only person who had ever received this distinction was An Ran. What had this Chen Feng done to deserve such recognition?

Yet the truth was plain to see—the principal himself had declared it, which meant that Chen Feng must have achieved something extraordinary.

Wang Zhenhan continued in a measured tone, “Chen Feng was named Most Valuable Player in the city’s basketball tournament. At the same time, he displayed remarkable courage by apprehending a gang of vicious criminals and delivering them to the authorities!”

Hearing this, many in the crowd began to understand, and the way they looked at Chen Feng subtly shifted. Who would have thought that this fellow had such a side to him? Still, even so, that alone was not enough to make Chen Feng the pride of Jiangzhou No. 1 High School.

For a student, what mattered most was still academic achievement.

“What’s even more incredible,” Wang Zhenhan paused, then went on, “is that Chen Feng’s grades have improved by leaps and bounds in a very short time. In the recent midterm exams, Chen Feng scored 743 points, tying for first place with An Ran!”

“What?”

The audience was shaken to their core.

Tied for first place with An Ran?

Was this some kind of joke? An Ran always led the exams by a wide margin, far ahead of the second-place finisher. Sure, the students at Jiangzhou No. 1 performed well in general, but when it came to An Ran, a true prodigy, no one believed they could catch up. Yet this Chen Feng had managed to tie with her for first place—it seemed unbelievable.

An Ran’s eyes widened in disbelief, her face full of shock as she looked at Chen Feng standing on the podium. In her heart, a strange feeling welled up.

The one who should be standing up there, accepting applause and praise, should be me.

Yet now, it was Chen Feng basking in the admiration.

An Ran watched Chen Feng with a complex expression. He, too, glanced her way. Their eyes met in a silent clash.

“To think I only tied with An Ran for first. That’s a failure,” Chen Feng thought, standing calmly on the podium, accepting all the gazes and praise. He looked at An Ran for several seconds, then opened his Extraction System. He watched in excitement as his achievement points skyrocketed like a rocket.

Three hundred seventy-five, three hundred eighty-five, four hundred, four hundred twenty-two, four hundred eighty-five, five hundred...

The points kept rolling in. Whatever the principal was saying faded into the background for Chen Feng, who focused solely on his Extraction System. By the time the principal finished his praise, Chen Feng’s achievement points had reached 638.

And they were still climbing, albeit more slowly than before. By his estimation, after everything was over, his achievement points would reach seven hundred.

“Fantastic! I can finally extract the full version of the Super Soldier Serum from Captain America!” Chen Feng’s heart leapt with excitement.

Whatever the principal said next went unheard. All he could think about was how much stronger he would become once he extracted the serum.

Chen Feng had considered building his own influence, but he understood well that he lacked the background and resources to do so easily. Take Xiao Yu, for example—no one truly knew how wealthy she was, but even the so-called richest person in Jiangzhou might not have as much money as her. Yet Lu Rui’s influence in Jiangzhou was immense; things Xiao Yu couldn’t resolve, Lu Rui could fix with a word. That was real background.

But these were ordinary matters. What Chen Feng sensed now was that this world was far more complicated than it appeared. First, there was An Ran’s inner energy; then, there was Xiao Yu’s ability, which was inexplicably unavailable for extraction. In other words, this world held many secrets beyond his reach.

Moreover, Captain America, a figure of such caliber, was only a second-tier hero in his system. Chen Feng couldn’t imagine what a third- or even fourth-tier hero would be like.

Invincible?

A sense of urgency surged in Chen Feng. He wanted to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Building power wouldn’t happen overnight, but he couldn’t afford to be underestimated. He had to strengthen himself.

The principal’s speech finally ended. Chen Feng came back to his senses and delivered a few remarks, encouraging everyone to study hard—not to slack off just because they thought they were hopeless. As long as one worked hard, success would follow.

Leaving the podium, Chen Feng didn’t return to class but made his way to his homeroom teacher Sun Minghai’s office.

“Hello, teacher!” Chen Feng greeted respectfully.

Sun Minghai looked at him with a broad smile. “Chen Feng! You did very well on this exam. I never imagined you’d score as high as 743 points, tying for first with An Ran!”

“It’s nothing—it’s just my ability.” Chen Feng replied without modesty, as it was indeed his true capability.

Sun Minghai did not disagree; after all, Chen Feng spoke with results. As a teacher, having an outstanding student reflected well on him.

“By the way, I’ve already spoken to the principal about you taking the college entrance exam early. You’ve just been registered; you can take it ahead of schedule!” Sun Minghai beamed. “Work hard, Chen Feng!”

“I will. Thank you, teacher.” Chen Feng nodded.

“There are ten or so days before the college entrance exam. Use this time to practice your handwriting. Frankly, if you hadn’t lost points for poor penmanship, you would have surpassed An Ran in this exam!” Sun Minghai said sincerely.

“I will,” Chen Feng nodded, already mulling over the idea of extracting calligraphy skills from someone. If necessary, he’d just extract An Ran’s—once his handwriting improved, the college entrance exam would be a breeze.

After a moment’s thought, he said, “In that case, teacher, I won’t be coming to school before the exam. I’ll stay home and practice my writing.”

Sun Minghai looked at him searchingly, then asked, “Chen Feng, how confident are you about the college entrance exam?”

“I can’t make promises,” Chen Feng shrugged, unconcerned, “but being the top scorer won’t be a problem.”

“You’re not afraid of biting your tongue with such bold words?” Sun Minghai couldn’t help but laugh.

“It’s just my ability.” Chen Feng looked at him seriously. “Well, teacher, if there’s nothing else, I’ll return to class.”

“Go ahead,” Sun Minghai replied with a nod.

Chen Feng turned and left the office. As he stepped out, he was surprised to see An Ran coming in. Seeing her, his lips curled into a slight smile. “What a coincidence, An Ran.”

“Yes, quite a coincidence,” An Ran answered with a calm face, though a flicker of unease flashed in her eyes.

Without another word, Chen Feng walked past her and out of the office.

An Ran quietly exhaled, composed herself, and stepped inside. She went straight to her homeroom teacher, Li Linzhu. “Teacher, I wanted to ask about the college entrance exam.”

“Ah, An Ran, you’re here!” Li Linzhu said, a bit awkwardly. After a cough, he continued, “Everything’s taken care of. You’re registered for the early exam.”

“Thank you, teacher,” An Ran replied with a nod.

Li Linzhu added, “But you should be careful. Chen Feng may be your strongest rival.”

“Oh?” An Ran was momentarily stunned, her hand tightening slightly. She forced a composed expression. “Are his grades real?”

“They are,” Li Linzhu nodded earnestly. “In fact, An Ran, Chen Feng might even be a bit better than you. He got every question right, only losing seven points on the essay and handwriting, whereas you missed one question.”

An Ran’s pupils contracted slightly, but she nodded. “I understand. If Chen Feng wants to surpass me, it won’t be so easy.”

With that, she turned and left the office. The two teachers exchanged glances, speechless for a moment.

Clearly, a rivalry between An Ran and Chen Feng had begun.