Worldwide Class Change: Minimal Effort, Maximum Reward!

The expedition results posted at two in the afternoon.

Lin Yi was in his room when the notification came through on his datapad. He opened it without particular urgency, the way he opened most things, and looked at the updated ranking display that the academy system had generated from the combined academic scores and expedition clearance data.

His phone also buzzed. Then buzzed again. Then continued buzzing with the frequency of someone who had seen the rankings and was experiencing a reaction they needed to share immediately.

He opened the messages.

.....

Wang Hao: Brother Lin

Wang Hao: BROTHER LIN

Wang Hao: Have you seen it

Wang Hao: Please tell me you’ve seen it

Lin Yi: I’m looking at it now.

Wang Hao: Okay so you see what I see right

Wang Hao: You’re first

Wang Hao: Not first in the class

Wang Hao: FIRST IN THE ENTIRE FIRST YEAR

Wang Hao: Not first in the first year

Wang Hao: FIRST IN THE ENTIRE ACADEMY THIS SESSION

Lin Yi: I see it.

Wang Hao: You SEE it and that’s all you have to say??

Wang Hao: Brother Lin you just jumped from 8th in the first year to FIRST IN THE WHOLE ACADEMY

Wang Hao: Do you understand what that means

Wang Hao: There are third year students in this ranking

Wang Hao: Third years who have been here for two full sessions

Wang Hao: And you just walked past all of them

Wang Hao: In one expedition

Lin Yi: The expedition clearance data weighted heavily toward practical output.

Wang Hao: YES BECAUSE YOU CLEARED THE ENTIRE UPPER PLATEAU ALONE IN SIX HOURS

Wang Hao: The tracking system flagged your clearance density as anomalous

Wang Hao: I heard two second-year students in the corridor literally arguing about whether the data was correct

Wang Hao: One of them said there must have been a system error

Wang Hao: The other one said system errors don’t generate consistent forty-second kill interval records

Lin Yi: The data is accurate.

Wang Hao: I know it’s accurate I was there when you told me sixteen levels

Wang Hao: Sixteen levels Brother Lin

Wang Hao: Han Yue is now second in the first year and fifth overall

Wang Hao: He saw the ranking and I walked past him in the corridor and he looked like a man who had decided something

Wang Hao: Not angry. Decided. Like he had a new direction

Wang Hao: Also I moved up to fourth in the class which I’m quietly very pleased about

Lin Yi: You should be. You fought an Ember Construct for eleven minutes.

Wang Hao: I did!! Thank you for acknowledging that!!

Wang Hao: Okay I need to calm down

Wang Hao: Are you coming to dinner

Lin Yi: Later.

Wang Hao: Okay. Don’t be surprised if people stare at you when you walk through the dining hall

Wang Hao: The ranking has been up for twenty minutes and I’ve already seen three different people pull it up on their datapads and react

Wang Hao: Just be aware

Lin Yi: I’ll manage. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Wang Hao: You always do

.....

Lin Yi set his phone down and looked at the full ranking display on his datapad.

The academy-wide ranking incorporated all students across all years, the combined score of academic assessment and practical expedition output producing a single ordered list that updated whenever new data entered the system. It was the document that determined resource priority, mentorship allocation, dungeon circuit access, and the general social architecture of status within the institution.

He was first.

He read down the list:

Heavenly Phoenix Academy — Student Rankings (Updated)

1st: Lin Yi — 1st Year Level A

2nd: Bai Rong — 3rd Year (Previous 1st)

3rd: Xie Yanran — 3rd Year

.

5th: Han Yue — 1st Year Level A

.

.

9th: Mei Lihua — 1st Year Level A

He noted the positions of interest. Bai Rong at second, down from first, was the highest-level student in the academy at level 66, the student whose level ceiling had defined the upper bound of the party leveling problem Lin Yi had identified. Xie Yanran at third, down from second. Han Yue at fifth overall, which placed him second among first years and meant the gap between them in the class ranking was now four places rather than three.

He noted this without satisfaction and without indifference. It was information. It was accurate information. What mattered was what it meant for the forward path, not the backward comparison.

He closed the ranking display and opened his formation theory notes. The practical assessment introduction yesterday afternoon had made clear that collective formation mechanics would be tested in the upcoming dungeon circuit sessions, and his preparation in that area was still below where he wanted it.

He studied for forty minutes before his phone buzzed again. Not Wang Hao this time. An academy notification, general broadcast, flagged urgent.

Academy Notice: All students are reminded that confrontational conduct in residential and common areas is subject to immediate disciplinary review. Any student involved in conduct violations following today’s ranking update will be referred to the academic board without preliminary warning.

He read it. He noted that the academy had anticipated something happening. He filed this information and returned to his notes.

He was annotating the third section of the formation mechanics module when someone knocked on his door.

He opened it.

Four students. Not from his class. Three of them wore the Crimson Vanguard sect insignia on their uniforms. The fourth, slightly in front, did not wear the insignia but carried himself with the affiliation clearly established by his positioning. He was second-year, based on the year marker on his uniform, tall, with the physical build of someone whose class had significant enhancement components and who knew it.

"Lin Yi," he said.

"Yes," Lin Yi said.

"We need to talk."

The student’s expression adjusted. He had apparently prepared for several opening responses and this one hadn’t been among them. He reset.

"The ranking that posted today," he said. "You’re aware of it."

"Yes."

"You jumped to first overall. Over Senior Bai. Over Senior Xie." He said. "Senior Xie has held second place in this academy for over a year. She worked for that position." He paused. "And you walk in as a first-year, one expedition, and take first like it’s nothing."