Chapter 122: The Surprising Arrival

The hall had barely settled from the tension of the trials when a voice echoed from the entrance, "Wait... I haven't taken the test yet." All heads turned as Li Yang slowly made his way into the hall, looking somewhat frazzled. "Apologies, I'm late," he said, his voice filled with genuine regret.

Feng Xuan quickly stepped forward, a smirk dancing on his lips. "Brother, why are you so late? The first phase of the trials has already ended!"

Edward, with an amused glint in his eyes, joined in, "Where were you hiding, lazy boy? It's been a while."

Li Yang glanced at Edward, a look of respect evident. "Master, I was so engrossed in my training that I lost track of time." He then turned to Feng Xuan, "How did you all do? Did you qualify?"

Feng Xuan responded with a grin, "Of course, I qualified. Sadly, you're too late."

Li Yang's gaze shifted to Fred, the chief instructor. "Sir, may I still participate in the trials?"

Fred's face was stern, his voice unwavering, "No. You are late. We can't make everyone wait while you complete the three trials. It's a waste of time. Come back in six months."

Edward, ever the mediator, tried to interject, "Come on, Fred, can't we make an exception? A little wait won't hurt."

Fred responded with finality, "We cannot bend the academy's rules. Enough."

Edward's face turned a shade redder, clearly frustrated by the uncompromising stance.

Seizing the moment, Li Yang proposed, "What if I don't waste everyone's time?" He glanced at the leaderboard and timings. "Can you spare just 3 minutes for all three trials?"

Fred raised an eyebrow, "Three minutes for each test?"

Li Yang corrected, "No, three minutes in total for all three tests."

Murmurs and whispers erupted. The top ranker, Maelon, sneered, "Overconfident much?"

Fred was about to respond when Mr. Henry, the academy's principal, interjected, "Let him try. Three minutes isn't a long wait. If he doesn't finish in time, he fails."

Feng Xuan, bewildered, asked, "Brother, are you sure about this?"

Li Yang simply patted Feng Xuan's shoulder and walked towards the strength trial's entrance. With Mr. Henry's approval hanging in the air, Fred relented, "Remember, overconfidence can be one's downfall."

Everyone's attention was riveted to the large screen that showcased the trials. But no sooner had Li Yang entered, a voice echoed, "Trial completed." The screen barely had time to display his performance before announcing his success. And when the updated rankings appeared, Maelon was pushed to the second spot, with Li Yang claiming the top rank with a jaw-dropping time of just 10 seconds.

Before the audience could recover, the announcements for Li Yang's success in the speed and element trials followed suit. Each completed in 10 seconds.

Facing Fred, Li Yang remarked, "Apologies, it seems I overestimated the three minutes." He paused, allowing the weight of his achievement to settle. "Am I qualified now?"

Fred, momentarily at a loss for words, finally said, "Li Yang advances as the top qualifier. Unfortunately, Rin falls outside the top 10 and will not challenge the current top 100 students."

The hall was a cacophony of cheers, shock, and disbelief. Li Yang had not just arrived; he had dominated.