However, among those present, besides Xu Sheng, there were indeed two people who believed Lin Ran's words.
They were Bai Ziye and Lu Qianqian, who had just finished their whispered exchange.
Seeing that everyone was unconvinced, Bai Ziye's lips twitched. He sighed silently, turned to Lu Qianqian, and whispered,
"Qianqian, did you really see Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan climb down from the referee's seat just now?"
Lu Qianqian nodded resolutely,
"Absolutely true!"
"And when they came down, those five department heads were chatting and laughing with them, escorting them all the way down the stairs..."
"It looks like these two people's scores are definitely heaven-defying."
Bai Ziye glanced at Lu Yuan, who was smug and beaming, and rubbed his aching forehead helplessly.
Alright! This guy thought he was going to slap Lin Ran's face.
Little did he know, if he continued to be so arrogant, his own face would definitely be slapped later!
Before things worsened, he should try to help him pull back from the brink…
Bai Ziye thought to himself.
But before Bai Ziye could even figure out how to hint at Lu Yuan, Lu Yuan spoke first,
"Since Brother Lin has the talent for a perfect score, I must congratulate Brother Lin in advance for winning first place in this freshman competition!"
"Oh my god! Did you all hear that? That's a full thousand points! A thousand points!"
"What does that mean? It's more than a hundred points higher than me, the first one to clear the instance!"
"Hahahaha!"
With that, Lu Yuan burst into laughter.
He was joined by Qin Tian, Wan Meng, Lin Zhaofan, Li Xuan, and Lei Zhan.
Bai Ziye's lips twitched, and the mouth that had opened shut immediately.
Alas, the foolish are truly beyond saving.
Didn't he notice that the atmosphere was a bit off?
He was clearly being fed misinformation, yet he wasn't cautious at all, but rather threw himself into discomfort.
Arrogant and short-sighted, puffed up by minor achievements…
He and Lu Qianqian should distance themselves from these people as soon as possible.
Bai Ziye rolled his eyes, and with Lu Qianqian, gave Lin Ran a friendly smile, a greeting of sorts, and then left.
Lan Ruoqiu, who had been silent, noticed this detail and also gave Lin Ran and Luo Qingyan a calm smile, clasped his fists, and walked away.
Lin Ran waved at Lan Ruoqiu and Bai Ziye, then stretched with satisfaction.
It seemed that among the scions of prominent families, there were still thoughtful individuals like Xu Sheng, Lan Ruoqiu, and Bai Ziye, not all of them were like Lu Yuan, Qin Tian, and Wan Meng.
However, Lin Ran certainly wouldn't bother explaining to these fools in front of him. He put an arm around Luo Qingyan and left the scene.
Just then, Lü Qiufeng's voice suddenly resounded through the arena again,
"Very good! After more than an hour of fierce battles, everyone has finally completed the freshman competition's instance trial!"
"Now, we will officially announce the results!"
"The rankings will be released from lowest to highest. Everyone can check the leaderboard to find their scores and rankings!"
"Everything you did in the instance will affect your score. And the scores are automatically generated by the system, completely fair and just, so there's no need to worry."
With that, Lü Qiufeng made a grand gesture, and the fifty projection orbs in the air merged into one, forming a massive projection orb.
Then, the leaderboard that the freshmen had been eagerly anticipating finally appeared!
[Freshman Competition "Soul Armor Tower" Instance Trial Ranking Board]
[First Place: Lin Ran; Specific Score: 1000]
[Second Place: Luo Qingyan; Specific Score: 976]
[Third Place: Lu Yuan; Specific Score: 897]
[...]
The moment they saw the leaderboard, Lu Yuan's triumphant laughter froze.
???
Lin Ran… he… he actually got 1000 points?!
This must be a mistake somewhere!
In that case, all the sarcasm and ridicule he had directed at Lin Ran in front of so many people earlier would be tantamount to slapping himself in the face?
And he had even offered his face up to be slapped!
Lu Yuan's hand trembled as he touched his face, feeling a burning pain.
He was doomed!
In this case, wouldn't he be labeled a complete idiot as long as he stayed at Yan University?
How could he accept this?
As for Qin Tian, Wan Meng, and the others, they all froze in place, their mouths slightly agape…
What a clown!
Truly a clown!
Lin Ran actually got 1000 points?!
If there were a crack in the ground nearby, they would be scrambling to get into it.
In the past moment, all of them could feel the amused smiles cast by the students who had witnessed the scene.
Once this was confirmed, how could they continue to stay at Yan University?
They had truly become utter fools…
With the release of this leaderboard,
Let alone them, many freshmen of this year were also shocked.
My heavens, that was a perfect score of 1000 points!
This had never happened at Yan University since its establishment!
And today, it was achieved by this person named Lin Ran?!
Was the "Hero of the Black Dragon Abyss" truly living up to his name?
Many who had suspected the battle at the Black Dragon Abyss was a fabricated demigod plan by Yan University fell silent.
Some extreme conspiracy theorists even became so furious that they began to doubt the authenticity of the leaderboard.
"Did the system bug out when scoring Lin Ran?"
"You know, I kind of feel like it did…"
"Heh, maybe it wasn't a bug, but a dark deal?"
"Anyway, Yan University's demigod plan has already reached this point, what's one more trick, right?"
"Makes sense! Damn it, they don't even know how to fake it properly! They had to go for a perfect score, who would believe it!"
"Exactly, if he had gotten 999, I wouldn't have doubted it so much!"
"So disgusting… still obsessing over making him a god…"
"And why don't they choose me to be god-made? I'm so angry (sour)!"
"…"
Seeing the arena in an uproar below, Lü Qiufeng smiled.
He first coughed twice to attract everyone's attention, then said,
"Cough, cough…"
"Well, although I mentioned earlier that the scores are automatically generated by the system, completely fair and just."
"However, I think some of you might be unwilling to believe it."
"Even when facing the system, you harbor unrealistic doubts."
"But it's okay, our freshman competition has an additional rule…"
"That is, the upcoming freshman arena matches!"
"You can find anyone you believe has an inflated score and challenge them to a one-on-one arena match!"
"As long as the challenge is successful, the rankings of both parties will be swapped!"
"Furthermore, those who successfully win against a higher-ranked opponent will receive additional rewards from the school!"
"After all, Yan University has always encouraged competition…"