Chapter 20: A Smile Won't Disappear, It Will Only Shift

"Good morning, Izumo."

On the morning of another day, as they walked towards the Ninja School, Steel Son (Gong Zi Tie) greeted Izumo Shingen, who was walking nearby.

"Good morning," Izumo Shingen responded.

Steel Son placed his arm around Izumo's neck in a playful manner and, after a brief moment, released him with a smile.

"You seem down, what's going on?"

Izumo sighed and said, "Didn't you remember? Today is the day the results come out."

"Ah, right. Did something go wrong with your exam?" Steel Son recalled that Mu Yue had mentioned yesterday that the results would be released today.

"Yeah. I think my score is going to be really low." Izumo looked up at the sky at a forty-five-degree angle, his expression filled with some sadness.

"It's okay. I didn't do well either. I think my score will be about the same as yours." Steel Son patted Izumo's shoulder, trying to comfort him.

The two of them walked towards the Ninja School together. Just as they were getting close, they ran into Red Bean.

"Izumo, Steel Son, good morning!" Red Bean greeted the two cheerfully.

"Good morning, Red Bean," they both replied.

"You guys look like you're in a bad mood. Did you have a nightmare last night?" Red Bean asked, curious.

"No, it's because today is the day the results come out," Steel Son sighed.

"We didn't do well in the exams. I'm pretty sure the scores will be low."

"Hehe, is that so? I think I did really well. Maybe I'll get a high score!" Red Bean said with a proud smile.

"Then I'll be able to ask Teacher Mu Yue for a reward," Red Bean said confidently. Though she hadn't seen the results yet, she was already sure she'd done well.

Considering Steel Son and Izumo's academic performance were generally good, Red Bean thought her own results must be even better than theirs. She was practically certain she'd score high.

"I really envy you, Red Bean. You came second in practicals, and you did well in theory too." Izumo expressed his admiration.

Hearing this praise from Izumo, Red Bean couldn't help but swell with pride. She walked as if she was the leader of the group, an air of superiority surrounding her.

As they entered the school, the group ran into Shisui and the rest of their class.

"Shisui, how did you do on the exam?" Red Bean asked, curious.

"Pretty average," Shisui answered calmly.

Red Bean's expectations rose. If Shisui had done only okay, then maybe she was going to take first place!

"First place is still unlikely, but maybe I'll be in the top five?" Red Bean hadn't gotten too carried away. She was usually a middle-of-the-road student when it came to exams.

When they reached the bulletin board, it was surrounded by a crowd of students, all talking about the results.

"The scores from this class are crazy high. A lot of them are in the seventies and eighties."

"There's even a perfect score, and it looks like they were first in practicals. That's terrifying."

"That's the class Teacher Mu Yue is teaching…"

"Make way, make way!" Red Bean, too eager to know her results, didn't pay attention to the conversations around her. She led Steel Son and Izumo through the crowd and found the second class' results list.

"80 points! Yes!" Red Bean immediately spotted her name and the score next to it and cheered excitedly.

But soon, she noticed something that made her pause. Her rank seemed a little off.

"Steel Son, Izumo, did you find your scores?" Red Bean quickly asked.

"Yeah, I found mine. I got 92 points," Steel Son said, nodding.

"How much?" Red Bean couldn't believe her ears.

"92 points," Steel Son repeated.

"No way!" Red Bean gave Steel Son a heavy smack on the shoulder, her big brown-gray eyes wide with disbelief.

He had said he didn't do well, but 92 points?

"Is that not good enough for you?" Red Bean couldn't help but ask.

"It was just luck. I thought I had done poorly, but it turned out okay," Steel Son said with a sheepish smile.

"What about you, Izumo? How many points did you get?" Steel Son asked.

"97," Izumo answered with a smile.

"How much... did you say?" Steel Son felt like he had misheard. Wasn't that close to perfect?

"97," Izumo repeated.

This time, Steel Son heard it clearly. His smile slowly faded, while Izumo's grew wider.

"I even tried to comfort you this morning, and you ended up with almost perfect marks!" Steel Son put his arm around Izumo's neck and pulled him out of the crowd.

Red Bean watched this familiar scene unfold and quickly joined the fray, sneaking in a punch on Steel Son's arm when she had the chance.

These two were too infuriating. Not only had they scored well, but they had also led her to believe that they hadn't.

[After a month of hard study, student Shisui Uchiha achieved perfect scores on the academic assessment and earned the reward: Chakra +300, Ninjustu Proficiency Scroll.]

[Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll: Raises any mastered ninjutsu to the proficiency level.]

[After a month of hard study, student Obito Uchiha achieved a good score on the academic assessment and earned the reward: Chakra +150.]

[After a month of hard study, student Might Guy achieved a good score on the academic assessment and earned the reward: Chakra +150.]

As Mu Yue had predicted, the exam results indeed came with rewards. The rewards were far more generous than his usual lesson rewards. After speaking for three days straight, Mu Yue couldn't even get six hundred Chakra from his lessons, whereas one B-grade evaluation would only give him twenty Chakra.

The rewards for these students were more substantial because both Obito and Guy had poor theoretical scores, and their practical performances didn't win first place. Otherwise, the rewards would have been even higher.

Mu Yue suddenly felt an urge to ask the school to hold more exams. Normally, there were only two exams per semester at the Ninja School.

If there were ten exams per semester, he would soar with rewards.

However, this thought was fleeting as Mu Yue realized that if there were too many exams, he wouldn't be able to earn as much. His regular in-class tests never generated rewards either.

Also, Mu Yue doubted that the school would accept his proposal. Holding ten exams per semester would be exhausting for both the students and the teachers.

After some thought, Mu Yue used the Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll. With three terms in a year and two exams each term, he figured he could earn at least six proficiency scrolls a year.

Since he could always get more in the future, Mu Yue decided it was better to improve his strength now and be prepared for any unexpected situations.

Mu Yue applied the Ninjutsu Proficiency Scroll to his Water Breakthrough technique. Instantly, his mind was flooded with various memories and techniques to improve his mastery of the jutsu.

Though Mu Yue had a number of ninjutsu in his arsenal, he believed Water Breakthrough was still the most powerful one he had.

In the afternoon, in the teacher's office, Mu Yue became the center of attention.

"Teacher Mu Yue, how did you teach them? Their theoretical scores are off the charts, much higher than any other class," Kimura Shinjin couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, Mu Yue-sensei, do you have some secret technique? My two students barely passed this time, and next time, they might not even make it." Ikeya Yu, another teacher, added.

Mu Yue had genuinely shocked them, especially with Guy and Obito. Not only did they take the top two spots in practicals, but they also managed to pass in theory.

Before Mu Yue could respond, another teacher walked in and told him:

"Mu Yue-sensei, the principal is looking for you."

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