No Money

Chu Kuang slowly came back to his senses, withdrew the hand he had been about to use to knock on the door, and silently walked toward his own room.

"Brother..."

Just as he reached his door, he heard Chu Yu's voice.

Chu Yu stood watching him from the doorway on the other side, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. "You won't let Father down, right?"

Chu Kuang said nothing, only nodded calmly, then closed his door.

Back in his room, Chu Kuang lay on the bed, replaying his parents' quarrel in his mind. The sight of his father's severed arm stirred a nameless weight in his chest.

His father had originally possessed considerable talent and high ambition, with real hope of breaking through to the Mortal Transformation Realm. Back then, he had lost an arm saving Chu Kuang.

Now, taking out the last hundred thousand Federal Coins from the family savings for him—that was already the utmost he could do.

"The parents of this life have done enough for me."

"I can't keep being a leech. I have to learn to stand on my own."

Thoughts churned in Chu Kuang's mind, the light in his eyes gradually sharpening into focus.

As his cultivation advanced, his consumption of Nutrient Solution would only grow. And if he wanted to perfect other basic techniques, he would likely need treasures like Source Energy Potions.

How to get money—that was the most pressing priority.

"I've only got five hundred Federal Coins left. With those two Nutrient Solutions, that makes seven total. But at my current cultivation speed..."

Chu Kuang had his optical computer calculate. To quickly replenish his vitality to level 5.5, he would need at least ten Nutrient Solutions a day. Only after his vitality was fully restored would consumption slow down.

And once the Iron Armor Technique reached completion in ten days, his daily Nutrient Solution consumption would spike even further.

"If I want to cultivate fast, Nutrient Solutions are indispensable. Looks like I'll have to find a way."

"You want to apply for a scholarship."

Xu Yue looked at the clean-featured youth before him with surprise. It turned out Chu Kuang had come to him first thing this morning to apply for a scholarship.

The school naturally had scholarships, but the resources allocated by the Federation belonged to the school collectively and were only used to nurture the top students.

"With your current grades, I'm afraid you won't qualify for a scholarship slot."

Chu Kuang replied calmly, "Why don't you take a look at my external martial arts cultivation?"

Xu Yue paused, then suddenly slapped a hand onto his shoulder.

Chu Kuang instantly felt a force of ten thousand jin pressing down. He hurriedly activated his technique to resist, his body as steady and immovable as a boulder.

"Rock Solid Body."

"Basic External Martial Arts perfected, and the Iron Armor Technique has reached minor completion."

Xu Yue's eyes lit up. He withdrew his strength and couldn't help but say with delight, "It seems you not only have excellent comprehension, but your talent in external martial arts is quite remarkable too."

"It's just accumulation over time—thick buildup, thin release."

Chu Kuang replied without arrogance or servility.

Xu Yue nodded, his brow slightly furrowed. "Basic External Martial Arts perfected, combined with Iron Armor Technique at minor completion, plus your internal cultivation."

"With enough Nutrient Solution, your vitality should be able to reach level 5.7 soon."

"And once Basic External Martial Arts is perfected, your external cultivation speed will increase dramatically. Your Iron Armor Technique should reach completion within two months."

"But that's just potential. With your vitality at level 5.1, you can barely squeeze into the top twenty of your class. Getting a scholarship will still be difficult."

At this, Xu Yue made a decisive call. "Besides, even if you do get a scholarship, it's paid monthly. That won't give you a qualitative boost. How about I just lend you some money directly?"

With that, Xu Yue tapped on his wristband and transferred a sum of Federal Coins to Chu Kuang.

"Ten thousand Federal Coins."

Seeing the coins arrive in his account, Chu Kuang's eyes lit up with surprise.

Ten thousand Federal Coins could buy a hundred Nutrient Solutions. That was what Chu Kuang's father earned in a whole year of working nonstop.

Xu Yue said seriously, "If you can make it into the Top 100 in Grade at the Year-End Competition two months from now, consider this Federal Coin a grant from me."

Chu Kuang was taken aback. A grant of ten thousand Federal Coins was no small amount. Xu Yue, as an outstanding First-Order Mortal Transformation Realm cultivator, only earned ten thousand Federal Coins a month himself.

Seeing this, Xu Yue patted his shoulder. "If you can get into a Third-Tier Martial University, I'll get a ten-thousand-Federal-Coin performance bonus. A Second-Tier Martial University gets me thirty thousand. A First-Tier Martial University gets me three hundred thousand."

"If you can get into one of the Three Top Universities..."

He trailed off, shook his head, and patted Chu Kuang's shoulder again. "Train hard. If you just get into a Third-Tier Martial University, I won't lose out. If you get into a Second-Tier one, my investment will pay off handsomely."

Chu Kuang's eyes took on a glimmer of longing.

In the Tian Yuan Galaxy, there were thousands of martial arts universities. The strongest among them were the Three Top Universities: Galaxy Martial University, Yan Yuan Martial University, and Tian Yuan Martial University.

Among these three, Galaxy Martial University was the best. Though the Tian Yuan Galaxy branch was only a satellite campus, it had a group of instructors from the Milky Way's home world. Its heritage and foundations were the dream of every pioneering human in the Tian Yuan Galaxy.

Yan Yuan Martial University came second. It was founded by the Yan Yuan Human King, with his own disciples and students personally teaching. Occasionally, even an avatar of the Yan Yuan Human King would descend to lecture. The most outstanding students might even become his personal disciples.

And the Yan Yuan Human King was no ordinary figure—he was a world-shaking powerhouse capable of slaying gods.

About several thousand years ago, human civilization's development of the Dark Domain at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy hit a deadlock, so they decided to send a group of strong experts to develop other galaxies.

Among them was a group that came to the Milky Way Galaxy to expand their living space, and the Yan Yuan Human King was one of them.

The Tian Yuan Galaxy they inhabited was originally the territory of the Sirius Civilization, but a hundred years ago it was conquered in a single battle by the Yan Yuan Human King.

This Human King who stabilized the realm was too powerful to enter the Stellar Level Dark Domain, so he continued leading his troops in a campaign against the Sirius Civilization, leaving only a group of humans here to pioneer the land.

Today, every newborn in the Tian Yuan Galaxy is a descendant of that first wave of pioneers.

It could be said that Yan Yuan Martial University is a school under the Yan Yuan Human King's command; enrolling there means becoming his disciple.

Compared to Galaxy Martial University and Yan Yuan Martial University, Tian Yuan Martial University is slightly inferior, having been established by a group of strong warriors who followed the Yan Yuan Human King in his campaigns.

But even Tian Yuan Martial University, the worst of the three top schools, has instructors who are at least at the third level of the Divine Treasury Realm.

In martial arts, each realm is a world apart; Divine Treasury Realm experts have a Life Level of thirty-one or higher. Such experts can stand among the stars, capable of moving mountains and overturning seas with a gesture.

However, getting into these top-tier schools is no easy task.

Every year, out of over a hundred thousand high school examinees in Tian Heng City, no more than thirty are admitted to the three major universities.

"Three major universities—I'll give it my all," Chu Kuang suddenly spoke, his tone firm.

Xu Yue was taken aback for a moment but didn't dampen his confidence. He simply said, "One step at a time. First, show me a Top 100 in Grade in this Final Exam."

"You still have two months. If your Iron Armor Technique can reach great success, you might barely have a shot at the Top 100 in Grade."

Having said that, Xu Yue asked further, "But in martial combat, relying solely on external techniques isn't enough. You'd better learn an advanced weapon martial art."

"What weapon do you want to learn?"