“The class goddess just finished handing in a quest. She’s already Level 53. I heard she recently obtained 3 pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment too,” Zhai Hao said off-handedly as he glanced at Liu Wei’s group. He wanted to see the reactions on their faces.

Nie Yan took a deep breath as a faint smile surfaced on his face. He had suffered a lot of hardships due to Xie Yao’s secretiveness! Every time they chatted about Conviction, she would always brush past the subject. Only now did he finally receive confirmation.

Liu Wei, Ge Baiyu, and their group dropped their jaws in shock. Xie Yao was Level 53? What a truly shocking revelation! A player at that level was most likely in the top 20 of the level leaderboards. On top of this, she also had three pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment. This was simply too frightening! Any piece of Sub Legendary-grade equipment would sell for at least several thousand gold in the marketplace, while those with good properties would sell in the excess of 10,000 gold. However, the key point was that this sort of equipment often couldn’t be bought. Generally only top ranked players could acquire Sub Legendary-grade equipment, and they wouldn’t put them up for sale, usually using it for themselves or giving it to a friend.

Three pieces of Sub Legendary-grade equipment, this was something unimaginable to Liu Wei.

At this moment, Liu Wei started to become fidgety. He had previously forgotten to ask Nie Yan and Zhai Hao what levels they were. He would be incredibly embarrassed if they were higher level than him.

Xie Yao, who was chatting with Tang Yue at the front of the classroom, repeatedly glanced over in Nie Yan’s direction. She felt anxious not knowing what Nie Yan and Jiang Yingyu were talking about. Seeing their cheerful appearance, a tinge of jealousy surfaced in her heart. The person she normally couldn’t stand the most was Jiang Yingyu. The two of them were often at loggerheads. Jiang Yingyu’s figure even made her a little jealous. The girls were like oil and water. When she saw Jiang Yingyu getting close to her man, it was only natural she became restless.

“It’s fine, just go over there,” Tang Yue said with a teasing smile. She naturally understood her friend’s thoughts of worry.

Xie Yao’s face instantly blushed red like a ripe tomato.

Seeing Nie Yan shift the conversation topic to Xie Yao of all people, a flash of disappointment crossed Jiang Yingyu’s face, only to be immediately replaced by a most brilliant smile. “Since you seem busy, forget it. I also play Conviction. I’m called Sparkling Song. If there’s an opportunity, I’d like to play together with you some time. Nie Yan, what’s your in-game name?”

Suddenly all the attention was focused on Nie Yan. Everybody wanted to know his in-game persona.

Nie Yan hesitated for half-a-day. He really didn’t wish to reveal his identity as Nirvana Flame to these people. It would surely attract too much attention.

“If you’re looking for someone to help you level, you can come to me. My ID is Yao Yao, the same yao (杳) that means dark and mysterious.” Xie Yao walked over and held Nie Yan’s hand.

Everyone widened their eyes in surprise. Xie Yao was a goddess in the hearts of numerous students. In spite of the rumours about Xie Yao and Nie Yan being a couple, they refused to believe there was actually anything going on between them. Given what they knew about Xie Yao’s personality, she absolutely wouldn’t be the one actively pursuing the relationship. Even if Nie Yan was trying to woo her, he could very well be left stranded on a sandy beach the very next day.

But reality proved otherwise. This was only their wishful thinking, nothing more.

Everyone witnessed Xie Yao taking the initiative to grab Nie Yan’s hand. This was a huge mental blow, each and every one of them were shocked speechless. Countless hearts shattered like glass. Of the 10 male students present in the group, 9 of them had feelings for Xie Yao. They felt their hopes and dreams shatter into a million pieces. Who knew how many young men would drink themselves silly tonight in an attempt to wash away their heartache.

Xie Yao’s actions just now were undoubtedly a declaration to Jiang Yingyu. But it also served to help Nie Yan out of his pickle.

Xie Yao’s faint fragrance wafted into Nie Yan’s nose like a fresh spring breeze. He felt her soft and tender touch in his right hand. Despite being seperated by clothes, he could still feel her well-developed figure which wasn’t as fiery as Jiang Yingyu’s but more well proportioned.

Nie Yan swept his gaze over the male students around him. When he saw the expressions of jealousy in their eyes, a sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

After enduring so many hardships, Nie Yan’s mind had matured a lot. But he still found it hard to remain calm in this situation. This was because the person beside him was Xie Yao, the love of his life both past and present!

Nie Yan saw Zhai Hao secretly giving him a thumbs up. He couldn’t help but break out into a smile.

“Umm, the next time I need to level I’ll definitely look for you Xie Yao.” Jiang Yingyu bit her lips, feeling a bit unresigned. “I’ll be leaving first. I still have a rehearsal to attend. If you have the time, the two of you should come and watch my performance.”

“Of course! We’ll definitely come watch if we have the time!” Xie Yao replied. At this moment she was also in a bit of a daze. She never imagined she would do something so brash either. But when she saw Jiang Yingyu with Nie Yan, an intense sense of crisis arose in her and she forgot everything else. She felt Nie Yan’s arm lightly brushing against her bosom as a sense of annoyance and helplessness washed over her. He used this opportunity to take advantage of her! She gnashed her teeth in anger, but she couldn’t let go right now.

Even Tang Yue never imagined Xie Yao would do something so hot-headed.

Jiang Yingyu gazed at Nie Yan.

Nie Yan was about to say goodbye. However, he felt a painful pinch on his arm. He turned to see Xie Yao’s innocent smile paired with a frosty gaze. He instantly swallowed his words back. The sweet and gentle Xie Yao could become quite terrifying when she wanted to be.

Seeing Nie Yan was not going to say anything, Jiang Yingyu turned around and quietly left.

The two girls were rivals in love. The other people were only spectators. It was none of their business.

Liu Rui, who was sitting at the other side of the room, had witnessed the whole course of events. His balled fists were violently trembling as he tried to contain his anger with great effort.

“The academic test results are out. Let’s go take a look.” Xie Yao tugged at Nie Yan, then said to the others, “We’ll be going. See you later, everyone.”

Nie Yan hurriedly bid everyone farewell before being dragged away by Xie Yao.

“Ah, what a lucky guy. I wish I could be like him,” Liu Wei said with a sigh, then turned to the several students beside him. “After seeing our results, let’s go out for a drink. We’re going to rock ‘till we drop!”

“Rock ‘till we drop!”

Liu Wei’s words immediately received the approval of the group. For the first time Zhai Hao’s circle of friends viewed Liu Wei in a positive light. This was because they were comrades in heartbreak, degenerates in arms!

Xie Yao dragged Nie Yan to a quiet corner.

“Nie Yan, you and I need to have a serious discussion!” Xie Yao angrily exclaimed.

Nie Yan immediately showed an attentive expression.

“If I ever catch you flirting with Jiang Yingyu again, you better watch out I don’t...” Xie Yao raised her fist and made a menacing gesture.

Seeing Xie Yao’s appearance, Nie Yan couldn’t help but burst out into laughter. He could never imagine her doing something like this in the previous timeline. He felt incredibly blessed at this moment.

Nie Yan and Xie Yao sat down in their respective seats, side by side. The students started searching for their results on the Top Military Academy’s website. Over 30,000 students from all over the country were on the list. Xie Yao ranked in the top 700 in the academic portion of the exam. She had passed with flying colours!

Seeing Xie Yao’s results, Nie Yan felt relieved. Even though he knew Xie Yao was definitely capable of entering the Top Military Academy, he was worried his interference in this life would negatively impact her academics in one way or another.

Nie Yan’s results were a bit special. He was one of 300 students vying to become an Ace in the Top Military Academy.

After checking her own results, Xie Yao immediately moved her seat beside Nie Yan. “Nie Yan, did you check your results yet?”

“No, not yet,” Nie Yan replied. He entered his student number into the website and was redirected to his results. He scored 503 points which was roughly what he predicted.

Seeing this score, Xie Yao felt her heart drop. The lowest cutoff score for becoming an Ace was 600 points in previous years.

At this moment, Nie Yan checked his rankings to see how he compared to the others. He was rank three in the academic portion, rank one in the fitness portion, and rank one overall.

Seeing the rankings, Xie Yao was shocked. Why did Nie Yan rank so high after only scoring 503 points? She found this hard to believe. She checked the note at the bottom of the rankings. The passing mark for this year was merely 301 points! Nie Yan had surpassed it by a full 202 points!

There was also a small explanation for why the cut-off score was so low this year. The Ace exams this time around emphasized practical knowledge and were several times more difficult than previous years.

At this moment, Zhai Hao and the others walked over.

“So, Nie Yan. Did you pass?”

Almost everyone in the class was waiting for Nie Yan’s reply. When they saw the rankings on his computer screen, along with the explanation, they all sucked in a breath of cold air.

“Holy shit! He passed by over 200 points!”

“Fuck! How the hell are we supposed to compare! You’re making all the other guys look bad!”

Following shortly after were deep sighs. Nie Yan’s results immediately spread like wildfire throughout the entire school. The students from other classes were also deeply interested in how well he performed. So the students in Class 3 quickly shared the news to their friends and peers.

Once everyone in the school learned of Nie Yan’s results, they were struck speechless.

What frightening results! This was monstrous! It was practically inhuman!

Nie Yan never expected this outcome either. Since the Ace exam was so difficult, he never had any real hope of passing. After all, talented people were as numerous as the hair on nine oxens. Even if he had the advantage of living a second life, having studied many more years than others, talented people existed everywhere. To rank in the top 3 was truly something special.

He recalled hearing something about this year’s Ace exams being especially difficult in the previous timeline. However, it was only in passing, and he didn’t bother with it since he was so far removed from anything related to the Top Military Academy back then.

Xie Yao was also happy for Nie Yan. His future would surely be bright. At the same time she also worried. Nie Yan was so outstanding. Once he expanded his horizons and experienced more of the world, would she still have a place in his heart?