The Gears of Fate

"You mean, my guaranteed admission spot is gone just like that?"

The day after finishing his villainous role, Luo Chuan returned to school and received bad news from his homeroom teacher, Zhang Hua.

"Luo Chuan, don't panic."

Zhang Hua quickly raised his hand and pressed it down to calm Luo Chuan down.

"Here's the thing: Imperial University shares a pool of spots for both guaranteed admission and special admission students, and each school gets a fixed number of spots. Generally speaking, special admission students have higher priority than guaranteed admission students. The current situation is that special admission students were admitted, which pushed your priority down, and you didn't get a guaranteed admission spot."

"Ultimately, it's because Wang Yuan awakened an S-level talent and was specially admitted to Imperial University, thus taking my spot, right?"

"You can interpret it that way if you want."

Zhang Hua nodded with a wry smile.

He turned around, picked up a list from the table, and handed it to Luo Chuan.

"This is the list of students admitted through special admission without examination that I obtained from the head of the grade."

As Zhang Hua pointed to the names on the list, he explained, "Imperial University gave our school five spots. Originally, you were ranked third, but this ranking will be updated after the Awakening Ceremony, taking into account the students' talent levels. After the update, your ranking will be seventh."

Luo Chuan glanced at the latest rankings.

Wang Yuan, who awakened an S-level talent, was the only specially admitted student and firmly secured first place.

Of the remaining second to fifth place students, three were originally recommended students, and one was originally the sixth place student, but because he awakened an A-level talent, he squeezed out another student's recommendation spot.

In other words, after this awakening ceremony, besides Luo Chuan, another student who was recommended for admission was not selected.

"But you don't need to worry too much."

Zhang Huaqian smiled and said, "In previous years, there have been similar cases of students who were not selected through the guaranteed admission program. Considering that the guaranteed admission quotas for students are being taken up, we usually give extra points to students who were not selected in the college entrance examination. So you can take the college entrance examination normally. As long as you apply to Beijing University, you can get an extra 30 points when calculating your total score."

"Is there no room for maneuver?"

"I'm sorry, I've tried my best to help you, but that's just how the rules are, and I can't change them."

Zhang Hua looked at Luo Chuan with a look full of apology.

"Okay, thank you, teacher. I'll be going now."

Luo Chuan nodded and turned to leave the office.

Seeing that Luo Chuan was not in a good mood, Zhang Hua quickly offered some words of comfort at the end:

"Luo Chuan, don't be discouraged. Your academic performance has always been excellent. As for your martial arts performance, although your awakened talent is only at the C level, with more practice, you might be able to get a good result and impress the Imperial University."

"I understand."

Luo Chuan turned around and smiled back.

The smile on his face vanished instantly as he turned his head, and his expression became extremely indifferent.

What Imperial University thinks of him is one thing.

How he considers Imperial University is another matter entirely.

Having portrayed Professor Rhodes' life for several years, Luo Chuan's state of mind is very different from before.

Imperial University is indeed the best university in the country, but that doesn't mean it's the only option.

"Then let's take the college entrance exam."

Strive to get first place in both the written and martial arts exams.

Luo Chuan made up his mind.

Back in class, with the college entrance exam approaching, the vast majority of students were studying diligently, making their final push before the exam.

This world reveres martial prowess, but in reality, ordinary people make up the majority.

They did not awaken their fighting talent to become extraordinary martial artists, and in the end, they could only become one of the masses, struggling to make a living.

The only one in the entire class who didn't have to study was the tall, short-haired young man sitting in the far corner.

He is Wang Yuan, the school bully.

At this moment, Wang Yuan was sitting with his legs crossed on the desk, acting like a big shot.

That's what they say, but in reality, Luo Chuan didn't have any grudges against the other party, and they basically didn't interact with each other on a regular basis.

Luo Chuan ignored Wang Yuan and returned to his seat to prepare for the college entrance examination.

Seemingly influenced by Professor Rhodes's serious personality, Luo Chuan quickly entered a state of flow.

knock knock knock.

Luo Chuan heard someone tap on the table.

Turning his head, he saw Wang Yuan's large face right in front of him.

"Luo Chuan, didn't you awaken your C-level talent at the same time as me? I'm curious, what talent did you awaken?"

Wang Yuan grinned.

"..."

Luo Chuan glanced at Wang Yuan and knew what the other was thinking.

It's simply because everyone else uses their awakened talents as a topic of conversation, and coupled with their vanity, they want to put Luo Chuan down and show off in front of others.

If it had been a day earlier, he might have actually succeeded in pretending.

As for now...

"Anyway, I'm going to take the college entrance exam, so I'll find out then."

Luo Chuan answered casually.

"..."

Seeing Luo Chuan's nonchalant demeanor, Wang Yuan frowned, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

However, he quickly suppressed his dissatisfaction.

"Okay, although I've been specially recruited by the capital, I also plan to take the college entrance examination and experience the martial arts exam. Maybe we'll even become competitors."

Wang Yuan casually patted Luo Chuan on the shoulder and returned to his seat.

Luo Chuan ignored the other person and continued to concentrate on reading.

[Ding! The gears of fate begin to turn at this moment.]

The system, which had been silent all day, suddenly started to move again.

Luo Chuan was slightly taken aback, then looked at the system pop-up window in front of him without making a sound.

It's time to rewrite the fate of minor characters and announce the arrival of the ultimate villain to the world!

[Goal: To achieve the top score in the entire school's liberal arts stream in the college entrance examination, by any means necessary.]

[Reward: 20 Destiny Points.]

[Goal: To achieve the top score in the entire school's martial arts exam by any means necessary.]

[Reward: 20 Destiny Points.]

[Objective: Encounter Wang Yuan in the martial arts examination; his S-rank talent is monstrous, and defeat him with all your might.]

[Reward: 10 Destiny Points.]

[We will win. —The Mysterious Man Cut in Half]

"..."

People can actually laugh out loud when they're speechless.

Luo Chuan suppressed a laugh and put on a poker face.

He had some doubts before about what Fate Points were and how to obtain them.

Now we finally have the answer.

Fate Points are related to the system's deductive function.

To perform a second act, it seems we must exert all our strength and obtain as many Destiny Points as possible.

……

time flies.

Before we knew it, it was already the college entrance examination week.

The written exam comes first, followed by the military exam.

Liberal arts colleges value liberal arts scores, while military colleges value military scores; neither college requires applicants to take both subjects.

The other subject can be used as a reference for bonus points, so people usually take both subjects at the same time.

In the past, Luo Chuan's liberal arts scores were consistently among the top ten in the school, which was the basis for his inclusion in the list of recommended students, but this was not the source of his confidence in winning first place in the liberal arts exam.

His real confidence stemmed from something he had confirmed in recent days.

[Personality: Serious and unsmiling (Rhodes)]

This so-called personality actually had a real impact on Luo Chuan's mental state.

When Luo Chuan recalls Professor Rhodes, it's as if he puts on a persona and transforms into Professor Rhodes, able to devote himself wholeheartedly to his studies.

Even my thinking has become much more agile.

Luo Chuan's portrayal of Rhodes is that of a true chief professor, whose knowledge and critical thinking skills have even earned the recognition of the Imperial Academy Dean and the Imperial Empress.

So in the exam room, Luo Chuan transformed into Professor Rhodes to take the exam for him.

Just by glancing at the question, the answer automatically comes to mind; it's practically an open-book exam.

While others were still racking their brains, Luo Chuan had already neatly written the standard answer on the test paper, and then checked it several times as if he had a compulsive disorder.

It wouldn't be too easy to let Professor Rhodes, the chief professor, take the college entrance exam.

After the three-day written exam ends.

The martial arts exam has begun.