Chapter Twenty: Your Brother Is So Awesome!

Shangguan Luohua’s enchanting face was flushed red, her delicate body trembling. After more than two years of being targeted and suppressed by Guan Jingyun, she finally erupted! Once revered as the favored daughter of heaven, when had she ever suffered such humiliation? Though ten years had passed and her pride and temperament had gradually faded, they had never truly disappeared; instead, they had sunk deep into her bones.

She turned around, her beautiful eyes reddened as she gazed at Nangong Yuchen. She had been waiting for this very moment! From the very start of the assessment, with each of Zheng Bowen’s mocking remarks, she’d wanted to send Nangong Yuchen forward, but in the end, she held back. Her anger toward Zheng Bowen was nothing compared to the fury she felt for the woman before her!

Now, sending Nangong Yuchen onto the field was true vengeance. Every year, during the final month’s assessments, she was humiliated by Guan Jingyun and kicked while she was down by Zheng Bowen. Yet she could only grit her teeth in silence, for there had never been a student in the class with such extraordinary physical abilities.

But this year, she had one!

Nangong Yuchen! And Angelica!

From the very beginning, she never intended to let Nangong Yuchen be tested—she was saving him for this moment, to let them both see who truly deserved to be number one! She was never the type to swallow her grievances when bullied.

Nangong Yuchen, still simmering over why Shangguan Luohua hadn’t let him be tested earlier, suddenly heard her command: “Nangong Yuchen, get up there and take the test! Show them who the real number one is!”

He lifted his head and met Shangguan Luohua’s eyes, ablaze with wrath and determination. All his previous resentment vanished in that instant. He nodded, stepped out from the class ranks, and strode straight to the strength testing machine in the northern corner.

“What’s going on?” Confusion swept through the hall, especially among the students on the field, who immediately recognized Nangong Yuchen.

“Isn’t that Rascal Chen?”

“I’ve been looking for him everywhere lately—I didn’t know he was from Class Twelve!”

“What’s this rascal up to now?”

“He hasn’t even been tested yet!”

…

“Mr. Liu! Get over there and turn on the machine!” Shangguan Luohua’s sharp command silenced the hall’s uproar, snapping Liu Wen out of his stupor.

He looked up at Shangguan Luohua, then at the dark-faced Guan Jingyun, hesitating in place and utterly lost.

Just then, Li Xiuyuan spoke up: “Since that’s the case, Mr. Liu, go ahead and turn it on. I, too, would like to see what’s so special about a student in whom Director Shangguan has placed such trust.” As he finished, he shot a deliberate glance at Shangguan Luohua, instantly grasping her intent.

Liu Wen nodded and walked over to activate the machine.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Nangong Yuchen dashed straight to the strength tester. Seeing his decisive confidence, Zheng Bowen felt a sudden jolt of unease, as if something ominous was about to happen.

The moment Nangong Yuchen took his position, he unleashed all his strength into his right fist. Although he had long been irked by Shangguan Luohua’s punishments, at this moment, he wanted nothing more than to redeem his class advisor and rescue his class. At the same time, he yearned to prove himself and secure a spot in the elite student assessments.

He leaned in, bent his arm, and unleashed a furious punch.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“415 kg!”

“411 kg!”

“410 kg!”

A collective gasp swept the testing hall as something unbelievable unfolded before everyone’s eyes.

“Damn! An average of 412 kg? Just 36 kg short of 450 kg—he’s nearly at the first rank already?”

Both students and teachers stared in disbelief. Who could have imagined that among their peers, there was someone so monstrously gifted? Was he really a first-year student? Why hadn’t Shangguan Luohua let him go earlier?

The hall was eerily silent, but Shangguan Luohua didn’t give them time to think. She pressed on: “Mr. Liu, activate the speed tester!”

“Speed? What does she mean? He’s taking the speed test too?”

Aside from the students of Class Three and Liu Wen, everyone else was left in utter confusion and shock.

“Could it be that he’s also strong in speed?” The thought flickered through many minds. After all, Angelica had just demonstrated her own dual talents.

“If he was saved for last, he must be no worse than that girl!”

This time, Liu Wen first powered up the speed tester, then walked over to the neural reflex chamber and turned it on as well.

This action sent another wave of shock through the students, just as they thought they’d guessed the outcome.

Thud, thud, thud!

“15…18…25…30!”

In less than two seconds, Nangong Yuchen’s speed soared past 30 meters per second, making everyone in the hall gasp again. He was so fast—Angelica had barely broken 30 before him, and his red numbers were still climbing!

“31…34…35.5!” After two more seconds, the numbers finally stopped rising.

“35.5 meters per second? Only 4.5 meters short of breaking into the first rank?” This time, students and teachers alike watched in stunned awe. Such results from a first-year, and only halfway through the semester, were simply staggering!

Zheng Bowen’s face had turned ashen. From the moment he saw the 412 kg strength result, he knew Class Twelve would no longer be at the bottom. But the speed result felt like a slap to the face from Shangguan Luohua herself. Only moments ago, in front of nearly a thousand students and two directors, he had mocked Shangguan Luohua for three consecutive years of ranking dead last. But now…

Nangong Yuchen shook out his arms and stepped into the neural reflex testing chamber. Liu Wen, already numb, saw Nangong Yuchen give the OK sign and immediately started the lasers, beginning at level ten—since Nangong Yuchen had already far surpassed that last month, there was no need to waste time.

Inside, Nangong Yuchen suddenly darted backward as two red lasers shot past him from either side and from above and below.

“Eighty-five degrees, top left!”

“Zero degrees, dead center back!”

Without hesitation, sensing the attack in advance, Nangong Yuchen bent at the waist and dove forward, dodging with ease.

…

A few minutes later, six lasers were firing at once, each at increasingly tricky angles. After seven rounds, dizziness began to set in, and Nangong Yuchen quickly raised his hand to signal through the glass.

Liu Wen wanted to pretend he hadn’t seen, but with all the leadership present, he didn’t dare. He immediately stopped the lasers.

Nangong Yuchen’s neural reflex score appeared: “17!”

Just three more lasers, and he would break through to the first rank as a neural reflex combatant!

“All three stats developed evenly? And all about to break through to the first rank?”

“That’s still Rascal Chen?”

“Does anyone still want to go after this freak for Cheng Shiyu’s sake?”

…

The students in the hall erupted. Eyes wide, they stared at Nangong Yuchen as if he were a ghost. Zheng Bowen’s face turned pale. He felt the title of top class slipping from his grasp. Guan Jingyun looked even worse, her expression beginning to twist.

Sure enough, in less than half a minute, after the four teachers added Nangong Yuchen’s three elite ratings to the tally, Class Twelve instantly soared to first place. Though the class only had seven elite ratings, the results from Angelica and Nangong Yuchen were simply overwhelming—unless Class Three somehow had nine elite ratings, they could barely hope to match Class Twelve’s total.

Once the scores were recalculated, Guan Jingyun’s face contorted with rage. She had been outmaneuvered by Shangguan Luohua today!

“Deputy Director Guan, Class Advisor Zheng, now tell me—who’s number one?” Shangguan Luohua’s face was icy as she shouted at the pair. Her whole demeanor had transformed, brimming with confidence and authority.

“Number one?” Guan Jingyun tried to bluster, her face twitching. “Shangguan Luohua, you deliberately withheld your student from testing to humiliate your colleagues and superiors, didn’t you?”

“Humiliate?” Shangguan Luohua’s alluring face was full of sarcasm. “Who’s been humiliating whom is clear as day!”

“You dare insult me—”

Li Xiuyuan suddenly cut in, his voice booming: “Enough! No more arguing. Class Twelve takes first place. All other classes drop one rank accordingly. Class Ten comes last—the class advisor’s year-end bonus is forfeit. Zheng Bowen’s bonus is also deducted, and he’ll submit a written apology to Shangguan Luohua.”

“And you too, Jingyun—you’ll write an apology to Shangguan Luohua as well. This outcome is your responsibility, and you’ll face the consequences!” Li Xiuyuan declared sternly.

“Xiuyuan, you expect me to write—” Guan Jingyun could hardly believe her ears. For a deputy director, a leader, to write an apology to a subordinate class advisor? She’d rather die!

“Yes. Write it when you get back,” Li Xiuyuan replied, his tone heavy.

“Impossible!” Guan Jingyun spat, trembling with rage as she stormed out.

Li Xiuyuan’s expression darkened, but remembering his real purpose for being there, he suppressed his anger and glared fiercely at Zheng Bowen.

Though he had seemed oblivious these past two years, he was neither deaf nor blind—how could he not have noticed the coordinated humiliation and suppression of Shangguan Luohua?

He then turned to the lone boy among the crowd, filled with awe. Three stats, all elite, all evenly developed—he had never heard of such a student, let alone seen one. Yet here was such a prodigy in Star Academy! If this freak continued his progress, what heights would he reach? And that girl with exceptional speed and reflexes—if they both broke through to the first rank, they’d be nearly invincible!

“In this era of war, is this the blessing of Star Academy, the blessing of Xia City?” Li Xiuyuan wondered.

Nangong Yuchen finally relaxed, seeing his class advisor’s troubles resolved. He, too, had no idea why his stats had soared so dramatically—but one thing he knew: it wasn’t just the nutrient solution. If he had to guess, it all went back to the night Ke Xin was killed—his blood had surged wildly, and something inside seemed to be growing.

Since then, his physical abilities had skyrocketed, though he’d never been tested until now.

Although the students in the hall tried to stifle their shock after the incident with Guan Jingyun, the sight of Nangong Yuchen still left them reeling. They couldn’t imagine what kind of monster he would become as a triple first-rank mecha warrior in just a month or two.

Meanwhile, in the Class Three ranks, Chu Huiyan whispered to Nangong Kexin, “Kexin, your brother is amazing! Does he have a girlfriend?”