Enrollment! The Prodigy Class!

Inside the old family home, Chen Ping's clouded eyes flickered as he looked at the cold red warning on the light screen. In the end, he merely let out a soft chuckle.

Communications with the Starry Sky Frontline had always been unreliable, and signal interference was an everyday occurrence.

The old man paid it no mind and carefully shut down the military terminal that carried his family's glory and his concern for them.

He turned and walked to the window, gazing at the clear blue sky. A proud smile spread across his face once more, and even his wrinkles seemed filled with light.

There was no hurry. Once the signal improved in a few days, he would tell his son and daughter-in-law far away about this supreme glory, enough to set every worry to rest.

Meanwhile, thousands of miles away.

Tiannan City, the capital of the Jiangnan Region, was a true concrete jungle.

Jiangnan No. 1 High School stood at the edge of this jungle, like a guardian beast.

Its grounds were vast, and its buildings were grand and imposing. Every brick and stone seemed to speak of Martial Dao and glory.

On the first day of school, this was the liveliest place in the entire Jiangnan Region.

In the enormous air harbor plaza in front of the school gates, private hovercars came and went in endless streams along the designated flight lanes. Some were luxurious, some fierce-looking, and others bristled with futuristic technology.

A distinctive atmosphere of privilege, wealth, and pride filled the air.

Everyone who stepped out of a hovercar was a dragon or phoenix among men. Most were fifteen or sixteen, each brimming with Qi and Blood, their gazes sharp as blades and their every movement marked by undisguised arrogance.

Behind them often followed family members of extraordinary bearing or guards with fierce auras.

These were the true favored children of heaven from the thirty-six cities of the Jiangnan Region.

Yet amid this sea of noise and pride, the appearance of one figure suddenly gave the atmosphere a more solemn edge.

In the most conspicuous spot by the school gates stood Wei Tianlong, director of the Admissions Office, his hands clasped behind his back.

He wore a crisp, dark uniform, his face stern as his gaze swept toward the distant sky from time to time, seemingly waiting for something.

Was this eminent figure, who held a position of high esteem at Jiangnan No. 1 High School and whom ordinary students rarely saw even once a year, personally standing here to welcome new students?

Like a boulder thrown into a lake, the sight instantly stirred up a thousand waves.

"Th-that's Director Wei? Am I seeing things? Wei Tianlong from the Admissions Office!"

"What's he doing here? On opening day in previous years, never mind him—even his deputy directors might not show up!"

"He must be waiting for some incredibly important person! Could it be a direct descendant of a Grandmaster? Or a monster specially recruited from the Capital Star?"

The chatter rose and fell. Countless gazes, mingled with curiosity, awe, and envy, drifted toward Wei Tianlong as people speculated about just who this exalted person he was waiting for might be.

Just then, a pitch-black hovercar bearing only the East Sea City government emblem on its side landed smoothly on the air harbor's official landing pad.

Against the many ostentatious, imposing vehicles around it, it looked almost excessively understated.

The car doors slid upward like wings.

A beaming Li Guangming was the first to get out. He had made a point of changing into a brand-new formal suit today, and his hair was combed to a glossy shine. He looked pleased with himself from head to toe.

Right behind him, a small, thin child stepped into everyone's view.

The child looked no more than eight or nine. His face was calm, his gaze deep, and his ordinary casual clothes made him stand out among the imposing prodigies around him.

The next second.

A sight unfolded that nearly made everyone's eyes pop out.

The moment Wei Tianlong, who had stood as steadily as a statue, saw the child, the sternness on his face melted away. In its place appeared a radiant smile of utter eagerness, with a hint of something almost ingratiating.

He moved.

He practically charged!

Under hundreds of astonished gazes, Wei Tianlong strode forward, almost breaking into a jog to greet them!

"Principal Li, thank you for making the journey!"

He first cupped his hands toward the dumbfounded Li Guangming, then fixed his gaze entirely on Chen Fan.

He bowed slightly, an extremely solemn gesture, and spoke word by word in a tone that sounded almost fanatical to outsiders:

"Student Chen Fan, welcome to Jiangnan No. 1 High School!"

"On behalf of the school, I welcome you!"

Boom!

The entire plaza fell dead silent!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The crowd that had been buzzing with discussion only moments ago now seemed to have been seized by the throat by an invisible hand. A pin could have been heard dropping.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, their jaws nearly hitting the ground as they looked in disbelief at the small figure whom Director Wei treated so solemnly, even humbly.

Wh-who was this child?

He had no prominent family crest, no powerful guards accompanying him, and even his vehicle was so ordinary.

What right did he have to make the highly esteemed Wei Tianlong act so out of character?!

"Am... am I seeing things? Director Wei... is bowing to a little brat?"

"Who's this kid? Which family's young master is he? No, that can't be right. I know the direct descendants of all the major Martial Dao families in the Jiangnan Region, and he's not one of them!"

"Could... could he be that mysterious monster from the rumors? The one who single-handedly suppressed all the geniuses of the thirty-six cities and was admitted by the school as a special exception?"

After a brief, deathly silence, the crowd exploded like a lit powder keg!

Countless gazes filled with shock, confusion, doubt, and deep envy locked onto Chen Fan like searchlights, as if they meant to see through him inside and out.

Faced with this tidal wave of chatter and stares, Chen Fan's expression did not change in the slightest.

He simply glanced calmly at the seemingly fanatical middle-aged man before him and gave a slight nod.

That composure beyond his years only made Wei Tianlong admire him more.

Oblivious to the uproar and commotion around him, Wei Tianlong had eyes only for Chen Fan, the priceless treasure who could change the future of Jiangnan No. 1 High School.

Li Guangming looked at the student he had escorted all this way, a mixture of emotions welling up in his heart.

Solemnly, he reached out with both hands, gently took Chen Fan by the wrist, and placed it in Wei Tianlong's broad hand.

"Director Wei, Xiaofan is... still young. From now on, I'm entrusting him to you."

Li Guangming's eyes reddened, and his voice caught almost imperceptibly.

Wei Tianlong clasped the offered wrist firmly and nodded hard. His tone was more solemn than ever. "Rest assured, Principal Li. Student Chen Fan will receive the highest level of treatment at Jiangnan No. 1 High School!"

Only then did Li Guangming breathe a sigh of relief. He took one last, long look at Chen Fan, wanting to say something, but in the end, all that came out was the simplest of reminders: "Take care of yourself and eat on time."

Chen Fan looked up at the old man who had worried himself sick over him. A hint of warmth appeared in his calm eyes, and he nodded gently.

Having received his response, Li Guangming lingered no longer. He turned resolutely and boarded the hovercar, looking back every few steps. The vehicle carried East Sea City's supreme glory and an old man's endless concern.

The black hovercar rose silently into the sky, soon joining the busy aerial traffic and disappearing from sight.

Wei Tianlong looked away, turned to the side, and personally led Chen Fan onward.

As they walked, he lowered his voice and spoke to Chen Fan in a tone filled with boundless anticipation and excitement:

"Student Chen Fan, the principal has already arranged everything for you."

"We won't follow the ordinary process for new students. We'll go straight to..."

Wei Tianlong paused briefly before uttering the words that could drive any student at Jiangnan No. 1 High School wild.

"The Prodigy Class!"

"The Prodigy Class brings together the very best monsters from the thirty-six Base Cities of our Jiangnan Region who passed the independent admissions assessment. Including you, there are only twenty-five this year."

"Every one of them is proud and arrogant to the extreme. They... may have some opinions about you." Wei Tianlong chose his words carefully. "But you needn't pay them any mind. The school will give you the highest level of support. All you need to do is use your talent to crush every scrap of their pride!"

Chen Fan listened quietly without speaking.

He had never thought about such things. He only wanted to cultivate in peace and quiet.

The two crossed the grand main avenue of the campus, ignoring the countless astonished and curious gazes along the way, and finally arrived at a teaching building deep within the campus, set apart behind a towering alloy wall.

Security was tight here. There were even two instructors with fierce auras stationed at the entrance, wearing exoskeleton armor.

Wei Tianlong stepped forward and went through multiple levels of authorization, including Iris and Gene Sequence verification. Only then did the half-meter-thick Alloy Gate slowly slide inward with the dull rumble of machinery.

Beyond the door was an enormous, rather empty classroom.

Rather than a classroom, it was more like an indoor martial arts arena filled with futuristic technology.

In the various corners of the arena, more than ten young men and women with powerful auras each occupied a separate spot, keeping distinctly to themselves.

Some rested with their eyes closed, Qi and Blood quietly surging around them like a blazing furnace. Others slowly wiped unusually shaped battle sabers, cold light flowing along their edges. One young woman even had electric arcs crackling and leaping between her fingertips.

The air seemed frozen solid.

An invisible scent of gunpowder called pride hung between them.

When Wei Tianlong and the small, thin nine-year-old child behind him appeared—

Swish!

Almost at the same time, every gaze turned toward them.

Appraisal, scrutiny, disdain, and undisguised doubt.

How had a little brat who hadn't even grown all his hair gotten in?

Was he here through connections?

At the very front, a young man as burly as a bear abruptly opened his eyes. He was Hong Yi, the inheritor of Hong Fist.

The instant he recognized Chen Fan, his pupils contracted sharply!

Immediately afterward, blazing fighting spirit erupted from his eyes like a volcano!

It's him!

The monster who had shattered all his pride with a single punch of his Pinnacle Realm Five Elements Fist during the assessment!

Far from looking down on Chen Fan, Hong Yi regarded him as a towering mountain he had to do everything in his power to cross!

Yet Chen Fan seemed oblivious to those complex gazes, enough to shatter an ordinary martial artist's composure.

His deep eyes calmly swept the room as though he were looking at a group of wooden stakes that had nothing to do with him. Then he walked straight to an overlooked corner and sat down cross-legged.

The next second, under everyone's astonished gazes, he half-closed his eyes. His breathing became long and steady, and he instantly entered a preparatory state for cultivation, forgetting both himself and his surroundings.

It was as though all the disturbances of the outside world had nothing to do with him.

"This kid... is so damn arrogant!"

One prodigy couldn't help cursing under his breath, his face flushing bright red.

When had they, the favored children of heaven, ever been ignored like this?

Seeing Chen Fan safely seated, Wei Tianlong nodded in satisfaction.

He gave Hong Yi, whose fighting spirit was surging, a long look with a hint of warning in his eyes. Only then did he turn and silently leave the classroom.

The heavy Alloy Gate slowly closed.

This arena, where the finest young dragons of the Jiangnan Region had gathered, was now entirely in their hands.

Yet the very next second after the door shut completely—

Bang!!!

A deafening crash rang out, as though a battering ram had struck a city gate!

The half-meter-thick Alloy Gate was violently kicked open from the outside by an incomparably brutal force!

A clear footprint was deeply embedded in the doorframe.

A middle-aged man in a black trench coat and military combat boots strode in, his expression wild and defiant.

An unlit cigar hung from his mouth, and his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's. The terrifying pressure rolling off him, as savage as a prehistoric beast, swept across the entire classroom in an instant!

Hum!

Every prodigy present, including Hong Yi, whose Qi and Blood reached sixty-nine calories, abruptly went pale!

They felt as though an invisible mountain had crashed down upon them. The circulation of Qi and Blood in their bodies instantly grew sluggish, and even their breathing stopped short!

This was... absolute suppression from a higher level of life!

The man looked with satisfaction at the little chicks who had instantly wilted. His lips curved into a cruel smile, and his voice exploded in everyone's ears like rolling thunder.

"From today onward, I, Feng Lie, a third-stage Bone Tempering Realm martial artist, am the instructor of you little brats!"

Bone Tempering Realm!

Every prodigy's heart gave a violent jolt.

That was a terrifying expert who had long surpassed the Qi-Blood Realm, begun tempering his own bones, and stepped toward the realm beyond humanity!

Feng Lie surveyed the little brats he had thoroughly intimidated with satisfaction. Like a tiger patrolling its territory, his gaze passed over one pale, proud face after another.

But when his gaze reached the corner, it abruptly stopped.

There, the nine-year-old child still sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.

His small body was held straight, his breathing steady and long. The terrifying pressure, enough to make Qi-Blood Realm martial artists tremble, seemed to be no more than a gentle breeze on his face.