“I’ll hold the front—you guys flank from all sides!”

“I’ll take the wings!”

“I’ll strike from behind—supporting you with sneak attacks!”

The Gifted Class freshmen divided tasks clearly, coordinating to crush Lin Zichen with numbers.

Facing the wave closing in from every direction, Lin Zichen had no patience for their child’s play. His figure blurred as he launched his display of dominance.

Exploding with the speed of Ordinary Tier 7, he sprinted right into the face of every Gifted Class freshman rushing him.

Male or female—it was one punch apiece.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang…

A storm of punches filled the air.

One moment, the Gifted Class surrounded Lin Zichen.

The next, they were flying one after another.

Every one of them crashed to the ground, curling up in pain, unable to rise.

Whoosh!

Amid the clash, a slicing rush cut through the crowd.

It was Ma Xiwei!

Taking advantage of Lin Zichen’s focus elsewhere, she burst free of the crowd, face swollen like a pig’s head and shot toward the arena, aiming straight at Shen Qinghan.

Since Lin Zichen had swollen her face, she would repay him in kind—by swelling Shen Qinghan’s face!

Let Lin Zichen watch his beautiful fiancée turn pig‑faced—see how he liked it!

“Traitor—die!”

When she was still twenty meters from the arena, she kicked off the ground with explosive force, soaring high into the air, tracing a perfect arc toward the platform.

But just as she was about to land—

Lin Zichen leapt, rocketing behind her and slammed a fierce kick into her upturned rear.

With a bang, Ma Xiwei felt her backside split open.

The next instant, the impact sent her hurtling back into the crowd, crashing heavily and writhing in pain, unable to rise.

From the second‑floor corridor, Ma Zhenhe immediately dove down into the crowd to check on his daughter.

Fortunately, the injury wasn’t serious—only a swollen backside.

* * *

Under Li Moyu’s lead, the Gifted Class launched a second wave.

This assault was fiercer than the first.

But still—they couldn’t withstand Lin Zichen’s fists and kicks. Within moments, they were knocked sprawling again.

The audience was stunned.

They had expected, at the start of the trial, all the Ordinary Class freshmen uniting to besiege the Gifted Class, trying desperately to seize even one spot in the top ten.

Instead, it was the reverse.

Because Lin Zichen was too strong, all the Gifted Class had to unite against him alone—just to stop him from monopolizing the top ten.

And the most shocking part: even the entire Gifted Class, all out together, couldn’t beat Lin Zichen!

An entire Gifted Class!

With Kyoto’s top scorer Li Moyu, Kyoto’s fourth Ma Xiwei and other provincial champions—absolute prodigies.

Yet this star‑studded lineup couldn’t handle Lin Zichen.

He knocked them aside one by one, two at a time with his kicks, leaving them utterly powerless.

The scene was utterly unprecedented!

* * *

Barely half a minute later, apart from the “traitor” Shen Qinghan, every Gifted Class freshman lay beaten on the ground, writhing and powerless to fight.

Among them, Li Moyu fared worst—his face swollen like a pig’s head, even worse than Ma Xiwei’s before.

At that moment, the stopwatch on the big screen neared one minute.

[57s]

[58s]

[59s]

[60s]

When it hit [60s], the big screen once again scanned the arena for facial recognition.

Soon, Shen Qinghan’s student photo appeared, congratulating her on taking second place in the trial.

With second place secured, Lin Zichen bounded onto the arena, looked down at the Ordinary Class freshmen and called, “Who wants to be third? The rank is yours—the credits are mine!”

“Me, me, me!”

“Brother Chen, let me be third!”

“Zichen, pick me!”

In an instant, the Ordinary Class freshmen scrambled to volunteer, eager to taste the feeling of standing in the spotlight.

Scanning the crowd, Lin Zichen finally picked Li Chuxin, who had been shouting nonstop.

“Chuxin—come up!”

“Coming!”

Li Chuxin nearly burst with excitement as she pushed free of the crowd and leapt onto the arena.

As she climbed on, Lin Zichen led Shen Qinghan down.

At once, the big screen began its usual countdown.

From [1s] to [60s], no one dared interfere. They all watched as Li Chuxin secured third place.

After taking the 80 credits for third, Lin Zichen wasted no time. He quickly pulled up another random Ordinary Class freshman to take fourth, pocketing the 70 credits.

* * *

Meanwhile, on the second‑floor corridor.

Seeing his Evolution Academy prodigies leave empty‑handed, Ma Zhenhe turned to Yuan Dongzhi and said, “Vice Principal Yuan, Lin Zichen’s behavior isn’t proper. He’s already taken Freshman King—how can he act as enforcer and install puppets to monopolize the top ten?”

“How is that improper?”

Liu Chuanwu immediately retorted bluntly, “Come on, Dean Ma—tell me, when has the Opening Trial ever had a rule against acting as an enforcer to sweep the top ten?”

Ma Zhenhe said, “There’s no explicit rule, true. But that doesn’t mean his behavior is reasonable. He’s exploiting a loophole in the rules—it should be stopped.”

In past years, Freshman Kings always fought bitterly within the Gifted Class to emerge, their stamina nearly spent.

This year, Lin Zichen was the exception.

His power stood alone, far above all others. With only his own strength, he crushed the entire Gifted Class.

He didn’t even break a sweat—it was domination from another dimension.

Afterward, he still had stamina to spare, letting him act as enforcer to monopolize the top ten.

“Dean Ma has a point. It is a loophole.”

The Dean of the Mechanical Academy added, “But it can only be patched next year, not mid‑trial. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to Lin Zichen.”

Other school leaders chimed in, “Exactly, the trial is already underway. The rules can’t be changed now—only next year.”

Though they disliked Liu Chuanwu and the Celestial Pavilion, these leaders were at least fair‑minded.

Of course, the main reason was—they were all benefiting.

Every time Lin Zichen helped an Ordinary Class freshman into the top ten, every Ordinary Class student gained one credit.

These were free resources. Why refuse them?

Hearing this, Ma Zhenhe knew he had touched others’ interests. He wisely held his tongue—but his face was grim.

Yuan Dongzhi glanced at him and said coolly, “Dean Ma, your emotions have been unstable lately. Hold off on further fusion of the Fire Hawk gene, lest it affect your daily life.”

Ma Zhenhe forced his expression calm, “I understand, Vice Principal.”