Chapter 8: Chapter 8: Very Close, But Not Quite There...
In the first-floor lobby of the Third Teaching Building, dozens of machines for recording check-in times were arranged.
Due to it being mealtime, there were still quite a few idle machines in the lobby.
Lin Mo casually selected a machine and opened the student management system on the desktop.
He entered his student ID, and the interface loaded...
Soon, Lin Mo's personal information appeared on the screen.
It not only recorded his daily cultivation room check-ins throughout the seasons but also his scores from various exams during his three years of high school.
The exam scores were categorized into [Literary Exam] and [Immortal Exam], each corresponding to the regular student track and the immortal cultivation track, with a total score of 1000 points each.
Notably, both the regular college entrance exam and the immortal exam required taking both the literary and immortal exams.
However, for those aiming for regular universities, the immortal exam score served as bonus points.
For those aiming for Daoist academies, the literary exam score similarly served as bonus points.
Lin Mo casually opened his scores from the last mock exam:
[Examinee Name]: Lin Mo
[Literary Exam Score]: 902 points (out of 1000)
[Immortal Exam Score]: 198.5 points (out of 1000)
[Literary Exam Ranking]: 3rd in school
[Immortal Exam Ranking]: 668th in school
...
The scores for the literary and immortal exams formed a stark contrast.
Not only was his literary exam ranking high within the school, but it could also easily place in the top 100 in the entire province.
But the immortal exam score...
Lin Mo opened the detailed breakdown of the immortal exam score:
[Cultivation Level Score]: 121.5/500
[Spiritual Root Score]: 35/200
[Spell Casting Score]: 42/300
...
He decided it was better not to look further.
As Zhang Dahai would say with his sharp tongue, this was a typical case of "high scores, low ability."
Of course, based on his current scores, his cultivation level could increase by at least 30 points, and his spiritual root score could rise by at least 5 points.
Although still not high, Lin Mo calculated that his school ranking could improve by nearly 200 places.
If he could reach the 4th level of Qi Refining, he could steadily enter the top 200 of Nanshan High's third-year students.
The notion that one point could separate a thousand ranks wasn't entirely accurate for the immortal exam.
More precisely, the gap between the 3rd and 4th levels of Qi Refining was like a vast chasm. Crossing this single step was enough to improve one's ranking by hundreds of thousands of places.
According to previous years' immortal exams, the total number of examinees in West Sichuan Province was about one million.
However, the number of students who could reach the 4th level of Qi Refining and have a chance to enter a Daoist academy was probably only around ten thousand.
It was no exaggeration to say it was a selection of one in a hundred.
"Just wait, once I improve my spiritual root purity a bit more, I'll level up!" Lin Mo thought to himself.
Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the previously quiet first-floor lobby, followed by a voice trying to whisper but failing to control its volume:
"Look, look! School beauty Chu is here!"
Lin Mo instinctively raised his head and saw a figure in red walking in from outside, attracting everyone's attention.
It was a girl about his age, wearing a red Daoist robe that didn't look the least bit vulgar.
A standard wooden sword hung at her waist, and she walked with a valiant air. Her straight ponytail fell on her shoulders, giving off a fresh and clean impression.
However, the most distinctive feature was the natural heroic spirit in her brow and eyes, which involuntarily drew people's gazes to her.
Lin Mo recognized her identity almost instantly upon seeing the red robe: Chu Wange, the universally acknowledged school beauty of No. 4 High School.
However, her most dazzling identity wasn't being the school beauty, nor her suspected background as a second-generation immortal, but rather being No. 1 in the school's immortal exam.
According to reliable rumors, her immortal exam score in the last mock test was apparently off the charts, and recruitment officers from Daoist academies had already contacted her in advance.
Yet for some reason, she was still at school.
Could it be that she hadn't passed the early admission review?
Lin Mo secretly speculated.
"Ahem, ahem, ahem!"
The "wolves" in the lobby had already started emitting their male pheromones, especially those with empty seats nearby. They coughed as if they had phlegm stuck in their throats, seemingly afraid that Chu Wange wouldn't notice them.
Some were even more brazen, their eyes fixed on her without moving an inch.
Bah! Is that really liking someone? They're just lusting after her body, how despicable!
Lin Mo looked at the surrounding male students with disdain, then raised his head again to glance at Chu Wange's good figure that even the Daoist robe couldn't conceal.
"Hmm, cough cough~!"
He covered his mouth with one hand and coughed twice, his throat suddenly feeling a bit uncomfortable...
Whether it was because of his coughing or not, Chu Wange, who had just walked in, paused briefly and actually walked in his direction.
To Lin Mo's slight surprise, the red-robed figure really sat down in the empty seat next to him.
A faint, elusive fragrance wafted into his nostrils, leaving him puzzled.
...Could it be that his luck was at work?
Before he could think further, Chu Wange, who had just sat down, sensed his gaze and turned her head to look at him with her beautiful phoenix eyes. Her cool voice sounded:
"Is someone sitting here?"
Lin Mo came back to his senses and shook his head, saying, "No, you can use it."
Chu Wange made an "oh" sound and said, "Alright, thank you."
Quite polite... Lin Mo thought to himself, his eyes scanning the surroundings.
Sure enough, their brief exchange had attracted the gazes of countless "wolves," with jealousy almost written on their faces.
Especially the two guys next to him, whose grumbling was clearly audible.
"Tch, the school beauty's taste isn't that great. I'm better-looking than him."
"Yeah, exactly!"
Come on, bros, do you want to see the 95 points of charm on my status panel?
Why don't you squeeze those pimples first!
Lin Mo chuckled, not affected in the slightest. He even provocatively glanced at the two guys next to him, then moved his chair a bit closer to Chu Wange.
"Damn! You dog, how dare you!"
The crowd of "wolves" widened their eyes, their jaws dropping at his move.
It wasn't that no one had ever had designs on Chu Wange before, but those who did usually didn't end up well.
As Nanshan's most promising immortal seedling, the school leadership's protection of her was comprehensive.
It was said that the principal's top-grade cultivation room, with the densest spiritual energy in the school, was open to her without restrictions year-round.
Under these circumstances, little punks had almost no chance of getting close to her.
Even if they did, they would be personally sent to the hospital by her.
Don't underestimate the strength of the school's No. 1 in the immortal exam; even regular class teachers might not be her match.
As it turned out, the "wolves" were overthinking. The scene they had imagined didn't materialize.
Chu Wange seemed to have all her attention on the machine in front of her, not minding Lin Mo's small movements.
Of course, Lin Mo didn't continue to play with fire either. He stopped moving his chair at an appropriate distance, his body coming to a halt less than half an arm's length away from Chu Wange.
This distance was close, but not too close...
He could enjoy the envious gazes of his "brothers" while still being able to walk out of the teaching building alive later.
Hehe!
Lin Mo inwardly grinned smugly. Just as he was about to show Chu Wange his perfect profile angle, wondering if he could score a meal of "soft rice" with some backbone, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of her personal data on the screen—
A "Qi Refining Level 9" marked with special font expanded infinitely in his pupils.
"..."
The smile gradually disappeared from Lin Mo's face.
Hold on, sister, with that level of cultivation, why are you still in school!?