...

In a bustling office inside the Federation Government Office Building.

Three middle-aged men in black uniforms were staring intently at a computer screen. On it, a video of the fight between Gao Neng and Wang Nanlin was playing.

Finally, the video paused on the moment Leidong was suppressing Gao Neng with his Spiritual Power.

"It really is solidified Spiritual Power!"

"Hiss!"

"Tier Four Mid Stage, with solidified Spiritual Power... How are we supposed to rank this?!"

The three middle-aged men looked at each other, at a loss.

"Based on his Spiritual Power alone, Gao Neng is strong enough to rank in the top one hundred of the Dragon List, maybe even the top fifty. But..." one of the men trailed off, unable to continue.

"Exactly. His Spiritual Power is incredible, but his overall strength is still only Tier Four. Plus, Wang Nanlin was already seriously injured a few days ago. His current comprehensive strength should be below rank 350!"

"Defeating Wang Nanlin and then injuring Leidong from Beihai Military Academy... with a record like that... Ranking Gao Neng below 350 might be inappropriate!"

The three middle-aged men were hesitant.

This was too difficult to judge!

Just then, a woman in her thirties wearing glasses walked over. Her black uniform was stretched taut against her body, revealing an exaggerated figure.

"Team Leader!" The three middle-aged men immediately stood up.

"Have you made a decision about Gao Neng?" the woman asked nonchalantly.

"Not yet..."

"If you can’t decide for now, just place him in any random spot."

"Random?" The three men exchanged glances again. Then, one of them mustered his courage and asked, "Team Leader, what exactly do you mean by ’random’?"

"Not too high, not too low. Just enough to make the list. We won’t bury his talent, but we won’t praise him too highly either." The woman’s brow furrowed slightly, then she lifted her chin. "If he really can take down a high-tier with a single slash, he naturally won’t be satisfied with this position. When he issues his next challenge, we’ll find out his true strength."

"Understood!"

...

On the road from Beihai Military Academy to Eastern Capital Military Academy.

Fang Tangtang was still refreshing the Dragon List rankings on her phone. Finally, the rankings changed, and a broadcast-style announcement appeared.

"Congratulations to Eastern Capital Military Academy freshman Gao Neng for his powerful takedown of Beihai Military Academy’s Student Council President Wang Nanlin and for lightly injuring Leidong, the Vice Dean of Beihai Military Academy’s War Academy... becoming the first Tier Four to enter the top 300 of the Dragon List!"

"Gao Neng, you made the list! Rank 300!" Fang Tangtang read the announcement and refreshed the Dragon List to the very last position. Sure enough, she saw Gao Neng’s name.

Dragon List, Rank 300!

Eastern Capital Military Academy, Gao Neng, Tier Four Mid Stage. Battle Record: Defeated Wang Nanlin of Beihai Military Academy... Also self-proclaimed to have once killed a High-tier Elf with a single slash (unconfirmed by official sources).

"It’s rigged! This is absolutely rigged! How did I only get ranked 300th?!" Gao Neng couldn’t believe it. He immediately snatched Fang Tangtang’s phone. And sure enough, he was ranked 300th.

If this wasn’t rigged, what was?

With a battle record like his, he only made it to rank 300?

’I should be in the top one hundred, at least!’

"What do you mean, rigged? Wang Nanlin was already injured when you fought him. Getting ranked 300th is pretty good. Besides, as long as you’re in the top 300, you’ve been selected. If it was really rigged, why wouldn’t they have just put you at 301?" In her heart, Fang Tangtang was actually envious.

They were both Tier Four!

And they had broken through on the same day.

Gao Neng had already made it into the top 300, but she wasn’t even on the list yet...

’No way!’

’I, Death God Fang Tangtang, cannot lose! I have to go issue a challenge right away!’

"Now that you put it that way, it does make sense. Even if I’m the Gatekeeper of the Dragon List... I’m still an official member!" Thinking this, Gao Neng felt much better.

’So what if I’m ranked 300th?’

’I still made the cut!’

Besides, he had seen the announcement on the Dragon List.

’The only Tier Four on the Dragon List!’

’Who else can say that?’

...

「Eastern Capital Military Academy.」

A notification also popped up on Song Tianyun’s phone.

"Gao Neng has entered the Dragon List at rank 300."

It was a message from Gui Zian.

"That Gao Neng... he actually managed to defeat Wang Nanlin?!" Song Tianyun was utterly astonished. "Our Eastern Capital Military Academy now has two students on the Dragon List! Hahaha..."

As he was laughing, a second message from Gui Zian arrived.

"Wang Youyuan has invited you for tea!"

"..."

...

「In one day.」

The news of Gao Neng entering the top 300 of the Dragon List spread throughout the City of Hope, even reaching the Forgotten Land and the Third Senior High School.

The City of Hope was in an uproar.

The Forgotten South was also in an uproar.

The only Tier Four on the Dragon List! And a Tier Four Mid Stage at that! His battle record even specified that he had not only defeated Beihai Military Academy’s number one student, Wang Nanlin, but also lightly injured Leidong, the Vice Dean of their War Academy.

It was too shocking!

In an instant, the video Xiao Keke had livestreamed at Beihai Military Academy exploded in popularity. The number of views and shares skyrocketed, exceeding fifty million in a single day.

Out of a population of five hundred million.

Over fifty million views and shares... what did that even mean?!

Gao Neng instantly went viral.

Search engine rankings were quickly dominated by a slew of keywords related to Gao Neng.

"Who is Gao Neng?"

"What is the power level of Gao Neng from Eastern Capital Military Academy?"

"How did Gao Neng manage to defeat Beihai Military Academy’s Wang Nanlin!"

"Expert On-Site Analysis: The Battle of Gao Neng VS Wang Nanlin!"

"..."

The entire internet was flooded with Gao Neng’s name.

Major media outlets all reported that Gao Neng of Eastern Capital Military Academy, with the strength of a Tier Four Mid Stage, had defeated Wang Nanlin of Beihai Military Academy in a rage, creating the first miracle on the Dragon List.

In a flash, newspapers, television stations, and online media outlets swarmed toward Eastern Capital Military Academy like a ravenous flood.

...

「The next morning.」

Inside a dorm room at Eastern Capital Military Academy.

Gao Neng was munching on some melon while watching his own handsome figure on TV. At the same time, he replied to the endless stream of messages from Xiao Keke on his phone.

"The video has over sixty million views now!"

"My fan count went up by ten million in one day, can you believe it?!"

"Gao Neng, are you still there?"

"What if I told you I’m right at the gates of Eastern Capital Military Academy right now? Would you believe me?"

"..."

"Gao Neng, you’re famous! Open up! Did you think you could just not open the door because you’re famous now? It’s me, Death God Fang Tangtang! Hurry up and open the door!" Fang Tangtang’s voice rang out from the doorway.

"It’s so hard being a celebrity!" Gao Neng tossed the leftover melon rind into the trash can, then slowly opened the door, but made no move to let Fang Tangtang in.

"Why won’t you let me in? You got a woman in your room?" Fang Tangtang’s eyes widened.

"What do you want?" Gao Neng retorted.

"The entrance is blocked. A ton of reporters showed up, all of them saying they want to see you. And also... congratulations, there are over eighty challengers currently hurling insults at you at the Eastern Capital Military Academy gate!" Fang Tangtang grinned.

"Over eighty?" Gao Neng had figured that as the Gatekeeper for the top 300 on the Dragon List, he would probably get challenged, but he never expected eighty people to show up at once.

’Aren’t they afraid of death?!’

’I’m the guy who can take down a high-tier with one damn slash, and they’re not scared?’

"Gao Neng, how about we make a deal? You go out, find a weaker one, and seriously injure him with one slash. Then, I’ll immediately go and challenge him!" Fang Tangtang continued.

"You paying?"

"Yeah! I’ll give you a million, how about it?"

"Hmph, you think I’m someone who needs a measly million?" Gao Neng scoffed, but an idea suddenly lit up in his mind. A grand money-making scheme instantly formed.

"Then how much do you want?" Fang Tangtang asked, unwilling to give up.

"Come on in first."

"Okay. So tell me, how much money do you want?"

"I don’t want money. But I need you to do something for me," Gao Neng said, shaking his head.

"What is it?"

"Would you say I’m famous now?"

"Of course! Right now, you’re the most famous person in the entire Federation, even more famous than that Esoteric Monk who’s number one on the Dragon List. Just go take a look at the gate and you’ll see," Fang Tangtang said matter-of-factly.

A Tier Four Mid Stage who fought his way into the top 300 of the Dragon List.

It would have been hard for Gao Neng *not* to become famous.

"So, tell me, what should a person do after they get famous?" Gao Neng looked at Fang Tangtang with an enigmatic expression, a playful smile gracing his lips.

"After they get famous... what should they do?" Fang Tangtang looked at Gao Neng’s expression, and her heart skipped a beat for some reason. "You’re not thinking of getting a sugar baby, are you? Is it Xiao Keke? That internet-famous livestreamer... Right? It must be her! Fine, Gao Neng, I’m calling Sister Ning’Er right now!"

"What the hell is going on in that brain of yours? I’m talking about making money! Making money, you get it?" Gao Neng slapped Fang Tangtang’s phone out of her hand and roared.

"Making money? Don’t tell me you want to... shoot a movie?"

"Movie my ass!"

"Not a movie? Then you want to shoot a TV series? TV series are really long... Okay, holy crap... I know! You want to shoot a commercial!"

"A commercial?" Gao Neng pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up. "Movies and TV series take too long, but a commercial... that might actually work!"

"You really want to shoot a commercial?" Fang Tangtang’s eyes went wide.

"Commercials are just a side gig. The real money isn’t in commercials. What I want to go for is... exclusive broadcasting rights!" Gao Neng lifted his chin slightly.

"Exclusive broadcasting rights?! I get it! That’s brilliant! You want to have the media outlets bid for it, right? The highest bidder gets to film on-site?"

"Fang Tangtang is Fang Tangtang, after all. You catch on to this stuff instantly."

"Of course!" Fang Tangtang patted her chest, and then her eyes lit up again. "I’ve figured out how to do it! First, we separate the media by category: television stations, print media, and online media. Have the three categories bid separately! That way we can earn money three times over! And then, we do this..."

The two of them began whispering and scheming together.

Meanwhile, the scene at the gates of Eastern Capital Military Academy had long since exploded into chaos.

Over eighty challengers were standing at the gate, shouting curses, while hundreds of reporters from various media outlets surrounded them, aiming their cameras at the entrance of Eastern Capital Military Academy.

Xiao Keke was also squeezed into the crowd.

"Good morning, everyone! This is Keke, and I’m currently standing at the main gate of Eastern Capital Military Academy! In front of me, you can see over eighty challengers lined up in... three, four, five... Wow, they’re in eight rows altogether!"