Chapter 542 - 233: Shaking the Nation! The Jubilant Hometown
Chapter 542: Chapter 233: Shaking the Nation! The Jubilant Hometown
Standing in the crowd, Chen Meng clenched his fists so tightly his knuckles turned white. His eyes were red-rimmed.
An unprecedented wave of pride and honor swelled in his chest.
He had watched this student grow from an unknown boy, step by step, to a height that even he now had to look up to.
He once told Lin Ye, "The path you walk is one no one has trodden before. I hope that one day, you will stand on a peak no one else can reach!"
Now.
He had truly done it!
At the same time, all of Dongjiang City erupted!
Countless citizens poured out of their homes, shops, and factories, gathering in the streets. They gazed up at the figure in the sky and broke into thunderous cheers.
"Awesome! He’s from our Dongjiang! The national champion!"
"Lin Ye! That kid has really done us proud!"
"This is a first in history! Forget the national champion, has Dongjiang ever even had a provincial champion before?"
"If my son is half as successful as him someday, I’ll be smiling in my sleep!"
"I own a barbecue joint! From now on, if Lin Ye or his family comes, it’s free for life! All you can eat!"
"I own an internet cafe! Free for life for him, too! He can use any computer in the place!"
"He’s brought us so much honor! If that kid ever buys anything from my shop, he gets it at cost!"
For a time, the entirety of Dongjiang was immersed in a jubilant celebration, basking in his reflected glory.
...
「Hanlin River Garden.」
The mother and daughter pair, Lin Wei and Li Wan, also stared blankly at the face in the sky—a face that was both familiar and yet utterly foreign.
This was the first time they had ever seen Lin Ye in battle.
That calmness, that power, that effortless composure of someone in complete control.
It made them realize, with a clarity like never before...
...that their own child/brother had actually become this powerful.
Stronger than everyone else!
The strongest in the entire nation!
Gazing at the figure on the sky screen, Li Wan could no longer contain her emotions, and tears streamed down her face.
Lin Wei hugged her mother tightly, her own voice choked with emotion.
"Mom... did you see that...?"
"Xiaoye... he’s really the champion!"
"Our family... our family has a champion!"
...
「In an office at a certain government agency in Dongjiang City.」
"Mr. Lin! Congratulations! Congratulations!"
"The national champion! My god! Your son is the national champion!"
The office completely erupted. Everyone crowded around, their faces alight with fervent excitement and adoration. Compliments flooded toward Lin Tao as if they were free.
Lin Tao stood surrounded by the crowd, his ears ringing, but he couldn’t hear a thing.
His mind was in a state of complete blankness, as if it had crashed.
’The national champion?’
’Ten thousand points, a perfect score?’
These words were like thunderclaps, echoing in his mind and leaving him completely dazed.
An indescribable sense of pride, like a bursting dam, instantly overwhelmed all his reason.
’That kid... he really became the national champion!’
...
「Meanwhile, in the Imperial Capital.」
Even though it was daytime, clusters of brilliant fireworks shot into the sky from an aerial terrace, blooming in magnificent splendor against the backdrop of the sky screen.
Lin Ye watched the version of himself on the screen, bathed in a boundless golden light, and slowly exhaled.
’National champion.’
’This once-distant goal has now, I suppose, been achieved.’
’But this is only the beginning.’
After witnessing the hideous monsters in the Celestial Abyss Rift and personally feeling the terrifying pressure from a powerhouse like Yin Liulan of the Celestial Human Realm, he understood profoundly that becoming the exam champion was just the start.
Even Dongfang Zhen had already broken through to the Divine Realm; he couldn’t afford to stagnate either.
Just as Lin Ye’s thoughts began to drift, a cold, mechanical notification tone rang out unprompted in his mind.
[DING!]
[Host has been detected to have completed the Race Advancement Mission!]
[Calculating mission rewards...]
[Congratulations, Host! You have received the following rewards: EXP +1,000,000! Skill Points +10!]
[Your race template is advancing...]
[Advancement successful! Your race template has been upgraded to—Sub-dragon Warrior!]
[DING!]
[Congratulations, Host! You have unlocked a new system function—Mechanic Advancement!]