Second Wish Setting

"Entering the venue."

"Xiao Yu, it's time to enter. Go on in, don't feel pressured!" Father Xiao Dingguo said repeatedly, while Mother Xu Jingyi added from the side, "Go on, Mom will be here waiting for your return."

"Dad, Mom, you two should head back. I'm not a child anymore."

After saying goodbye to his parents, Xiao Yu entered the venue. Upon spotting that familiar figure ahead, he quickened his pace.

As he drew near, Xiao Yu pretended to be waving to someone behind him and bumped into the person.

The impact sent the boy stumbling two meters away. Although he did not fall, he staggered.

Looking at Luo Feng's face now, one could see a ruggedness beneath the youthful features. While not exceptionally handsome, he possessed a distinct masculine air—no wonder the No. 3 High School campus beauty Xu Xin was so fond of him.

This cliché encounter was precisely the first step in Xiao Yu's plan to get to know Luo Feng.

"Classmate, I'm so sorry. I was just saying goodbye to my family and didn't watch where I was going. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but classmate, you should be more careful in the future." Luo Feng rubbed his back; the impact had actually been quite painful.

Xiao Yu had intentionally put some force into that bump to leave a deeper impression.

"I'm really sorry, classmate! Let me introduce myself, I'm Xiao Yu. Let's exchange contact info, just in case you feel any discomfort later so you can find me!"

Xiao Yu proactively extended his right hand.

"Sure! I'm Luo Feng. Let's add each other."

Luo Feng, who trained frequently at the martial arts hall, often got bruised during sparring, so he didn't pay much mind to the bump. Seeing that the person before him was well-dressed, adding a contact seemed harmless enough.

After exchanging information, the two went their separate ways to their respective exam rooms.

Inside the exam classroom, students placed their exam passes and ID cards on the top right corner of their desks for proctors to check as the papers were distributed.

"2056 Jiangnan City Gaokao Science Stream Exam Paper A"—the line at the very top of the paper was clear.

The Gaokao consisted of three exams: the science exam, the arts exam, and the final mathematics exam. Each subject was worth 250 points, for a total of 750 points.

The science stream covered physics, chemistry, and biology.

The arts stream covered Chinese, history, politics, and geography.

The mathematics exam, naturally, was just mathematics.

As the foundation of natural sciences, it was only natural that the status of mathematics was elevated.

In the blink of an eye, it was June 9th, the day of the mathematics exam.

Inside the exam hall, Luo Feng stared at the second calculation problem, continuously checking his work on his scratch paper. Over and over again, he failed to reach a solution. His heart rate accelerated until it finally exceeded his limit, and he fainted.

Unlike Luo Feng, thanks to his usual efforts, Xiao Yu found today's math exam to be like a fish in water.

"Ding ding ding..." The sharp ringing echoed throughout the Yian District No. 1 High School campus. Parents who had been waiting anxiously outside the exam hall, sitting on the lawns or by the roadside, immediately stood up. They peered through the campus gates, looking inside.

The bustling crowd of examinees poured out of the exam halls.

The 2056 Jiangnan City Gaokao had officially concluded.

On the day the Gaokao ended, Third Uncle Xiao Guoxuan helped Xiao Yu sign up for the Probationary Warrior Assessment.

The assessment required advance registration, and the Limit Martial Arts School held one on the first of every month.

For the past two days, Xiao Yu had been busy training at home, adapting to his increased strength and the combat experience he had received. Occasionally, his father, Xiao Dingguo, would suppress his own strength to spar with him.

"Xiao Yu, not bad! That kick was truly tricky!" Xiao Dingguo exclaimed after narrowly dodging the strike.

His son before him had never truly seen real combat, yet his combat experience was incredibly rich. Every strike aimed for his vital points, and his footwork had reached the Perfect level.

"I don't know how you practiced your footwork to reach the Perfect level."

Xiao Yu could only brush it off with a silly grin while his hands kept moving.

The two had been sparring for three hours; it was more like his father was acting as his training partner.

During a break, Xiao Yu thought of Luo Feng. He assumed he was still in the hospital and sent him a message.

"Hello Luo Feng, I heard you fainted during the math exam. How are you doing now?"

A few minutes later, he received a reply from Luo Feng and was overjoyed—he had made contact.

Luo Feng's message read: "Thanks, I'm much better now. I've already been discharged."

After chatting for a while longer, Xiao Yu returned to his training.

After adapting to his physical strength, Xiao Yu set his latest wish.

"System, set the wish to: reach Apprentice Level 2 physical fitness."

Apprentice Level 2 was equivalent to the Intermediate Warrior Level, with a punch force of 2000kg and a speed of 40m/s, or 2.5 seconds per 100 meters.

Setting successful!

Host: Xiao Yu

Host's First Wish: Become Apprentice Level 2.

Wish Progress: 121.2/1000 Wish Points.

Although Xiao Yu also desired to possess spiritual talent like Luo Feng, he understood that such a wish, which would fundamentally transform his body and soul, was beyond his current financial means. Even borrowing money from his father wouldn't be enough.

Moreover, the Wish Fulfillment System could only set one wish at a time. If he set the awakening of spiritual talent as his wish and couldn't achieve it in a short time, it would disrupt his entire plan.

That would be counterproductive.

In the following days, Xiao Yu converted his entire one million deposit into F-class Monster Meat, gaining 500 Wish Points.

To satisfy the conditions for his wish as quickly as possible, he set his sights on his father, Xiao Dingguo, and the idea of borrowing money took root.

"Dad, my physical fitness has already reached the standards of a warrior. Shouldn't you give me some reward to encourage me?"

"You brat! What are you planning now? Didn't I just buy you a car a while ago?" Father Xiao Dingguo laughed, patting his head.

Three months ago, Xiao Yu's predecessor had used his coming-of-age ceremony as an excuse to ask for a luxury car.

"Dad, I don't want a car this time. I want to borrow some money as startup capital for a warrior! You know that for a warrior, starting capital is very important. Whether it's for cultivation techniques or weapons, it all costs a lot of money!"

"Kid, you haven't even passed the Probationary Warrior Assessment yet! You're already thinking about startup capital! Besides, once you become a Probationary Warrior, whether you join the Thunder Martial Hall or the Limit Martial Arts School, you'll receive some startup funds. Our family will also provide at least five million Huaxia Coins based on your talent, and of course, I'll give you some as well."

Xiao Yu, who knew the plot, was naturally aware of this. He also knew that the more one's physical fitness improved within the month after passing the test, the more funding one would receive from the martial arts school.

"Thanks, Dad. After these past two days, you know my strength well. Passing the assessment will be a piece of cake, right? So isn't the part you're going to sponsor me going to be given sooner or later anyway?"

Ever since learning that Xiao Yu's physical fitness had reached the Beginner Warrior Level, Xiao Dingguo had already been preparing his startup funds, and the amount was not small.

To make his father believe he wouldn't waste the money, Xiao Yu said with an incredibly firm gaze, "Dad, don't worry! I definitely won't spend it recklessly. Every cent will be used to improve my strength!"

Although Xiao Dingguo wasn't entirely sure what his son needed money for right now, he knew his son. These past eighteen years, he had been a model child without a single blemish.

Neighbors and teachers alike praised his son's character!

"Fine, I'll give you five million first. We can discuss the rest once you join a martial arts school!"

Five million was not much to the current Xiao Dingguo, and this was only a small portion of what he had prepared.

Having been an Advanced General for eight years, he had been stuck at the peak of that level. Over these eight years, he had genuinely saved a considerable sum of money, so taking out a portion as his son's startup capital was perfectly normal.

Although he didn't know what his son needed the money for right now, he chose to trust him.

The five million stayed in Xiao Yu's hands for less than a week before he converted it into various types of Monster Meat and absorbed it, turning it into Wish Points within the system.

"System, check the wish progress."

Host: Xiao Yu

Host's First Wish: Become Apprentice Level 2.

Wish Progress: 3121.2/1000 Wish Points.

Although the conditions were now met, he suppressed the urge to upgrade immediately and decided to wait until after he passed the Probationary Warrior test.

Soon, the time reached 8:00 PM on June 16th.

The time for the Gaokao results to be released.

Examinees and their parents could check their scores via phone or the internet, and the undergraduate cutoff scores would also be released simultaneously.

Although Xiao Yu, who had already become a warrior, didn't care much about his Gaokao results, he still went online to check.

"Xiao Yu, how are your Gaokao results?" Mother Xiao Xu Jingyi looked over at Xiao Yu, who was holding his laptop, while she cleared the dinner plates.

"The site is a bit laggy, it's still refreshing! I guess there are too many people checking their scores."

Xiao Yu said helplessly.

Father Xiao Dingguo watched from the side. His son was definitely walking the path of a warrior, but who wouldn't want their child to be both scholarly and martial?

Three minutes later, the page finally refreshed.

Xiao Yu quickly entered his name, ID number, and exam pass number, then clicked "Query."

The page flickered slightly, and a table appeared.

Examinee: Xiao Yu

Gender: Male

ID Number: 426123203803213251

Exam Pass Number: 5878643587890799

Arts: 189

Science: 211

Mathematics: 212

Total: 612

Undergraduate Cutoff: 561

"Son, not bad! The cutoff is 561, and you scored 612. Even if you don't join a martial arts school, you could still go to the Jiangnan First Military Academy." Father Xiao Dingguo was overjoyed upon seeing the score. He was naturally very happy that his son had another option.

Warriors generally had four paths.

Or join the military and become a member of the armed forces; the benefit was high security.

Or join a martial arts school. The management systems of martial arts schools were relatively relaxed, belonging to a looser group, and the Limit Martial Arts School was founded by the world's First Strongest, Hong. Most of the martial artists in the Xiao family had joined the Limit Martial Arts School.

Or join a conglomerate, a financial group, a certain family, or some other major power, which was the type of role that served as a hired hand.

Or simply join a Mercenary Group. This was the kind of life-or-death path, the most adventurous, but also the most free.

Each of these four paths had its own pros and cons.

Xiao's father naturally hoped that while his son became a martial artist, he would enter a military academy and join the army after graduation. Someone with both strength and military training would immediately enter the management level upon joining the military, making it an absolutely superior choice in terms of safety.

It was also the path he hoped his son would choose.

However, all of this depended on his son's own choice; after all, it was his son's life.

Although he could offer advice, he did not want to sway him.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but sigh, "My son has grown up!"

After dinner, Xiao Yu returned to his bedroom and sent a message to Luo Feng.

"Luo Feng, the Gaokao results are out, don't forget to check them!"

Luo Feng did not say much, only replying with a bitter smile emoji.

Xiao Yu naturally understood that his scores would not be very good, so he sent another message to comfort him.

"Even if your Gaokao results aren't good this time, you can still take the path of a martial artist. I've also heard some things about you and have some understanding of your strength. I believe you can definitely do it! Keep it up!"

"Many thanks!"

Xiao Yu naturally knew that after the fainting spell during the Gaokao, Luo Feng's strength had improved to a certain extent, and his physical fitness had already reached the standard for the Probationary Warrior Assessment.