Reversing the Heavenly Dipper

"I'm telling you, did you message that Sea King Campus Belle again?"

Liu Wang returned to his seat and saw Shi Yan holding a phone. Fury immediately surged from his heart.

Shi Yan's family circumstances were already poor, yet he still kept fawning over that Sea King Campus Belle. He had been told countless times, but never listened.

Especially after the campus belle awakened an A-class special ability, the two of them had become even more impossible. They were people from two entirely different worlds.

And he was still fawning over her now? He was truly stubborn beyond redemption!

"No. I deleted her." Shi Yan smiled faintly and put away his phone.

"Good that you deleted her. Wait... you really deleted her?"

Liu Wang was somewhat stunned, staring at Shi Yan in disbelief.

But when he noticed Shi Yan looking toward the College Entrance Examination countdown on the blackboard, his expression suddenly changed slightly.

Shi Yan might be unable to get over it!

Today was the final day to register for the Martial Arts Examination.

After today, people would begin to be divided into ranks and classes.

Shi Yan had not registered for the Martial Arts Examination.

After all, with that tiny flame of his, at most he could burn some paper offerings for his ex-girlfriend.

Yet becoming a powerful martial artist was the dream of countless people. Shi Yan had lost this path entirely, so he must have been feeling miserable beyond words.

Especially when he thought about how he could no longer be with the campus belle, the sky had probably fallen on his head.

"Shi Yan, think about happy things. The Liberal Arts Exam can still lead to success. With your grades, getting into a university shouldn't be hard. If that doesn't work, a vocational college is fine. And if even that fails, someone will still want you at a technical secondary school."

Liu Wang tried to comfort him. The closer it got to the Martial Arts Examination, the more tangled and tense people became. He was truly afraid Shi Yan would develop some serious problem.

Though that comfort did not sound particularly pleasant.

"Liu Wang, do I look unhappy to you?"

Shi Yan was speechless.

He made it sound as if Shi Yan were about to go looking for death.

"You do."

Liu Wang firmly believed that, and was about to find more pleasant words to comfort Shi Yan.

But Shi Yan ignored him, stood up, and headed for the restroom.

"Don't worry. I'm perfectly fine."

The moment he entered the restroom, he dialed a number.

"Uncle, I want to register for the Martial Arts Examination."

The other end was silent for a while before a voice carrying a trace of delight came through. "Alright. Uncle supports you."

After chatting for a few more sentences, they soon hung up.

When Shi Yan walked out of the restroom, he received a notification that 20,000 had been deposited into his account.

Registering for the Martial Arts Examination required 20,000 Huaxia currency.

His predecessor's uncle was a welder, so he could still afford this amount.

In a world ravaged by demonic beasts, defensive fortifications were extremely important. Every welder was a hot commodity.

His predecessor's parents had been devoured by demonic beasts several years ago. It was his uncle, Gu Guoping, who had taken care of him ever since.

With his pockets currently empty, he could only ask the person closest to him for money.

When he returned to the classroom, the students had already gone back to their seats. They sat upright, each one obedient as could be.

Because class was about to begin, and the one coming in was their homeroom teacher, Qin Feng.

"That was close. I thought you were going to skip Monkey Qin's class."

The chubby Liu Wang let out a slight breath of relief. Fortunately, Shi Yan had returned in time.

Shi Yan smiled indifferently and neither confirmed nor denied it.

After he sat down, a middle-aged man only 1.68 meters tall soon entered the classroom.

This was Qin Feng. His back was slightly hunched, and he was rather lean, but he looked brimming with vitality.

Spirit Monkey Qin Feng possessed a shapeshifting ability. He could transform into a Six-armed Spirit Ape and had already reached the Fifth Tier.

He was one of the school's only two Special Grade Teachers. He had once been a major general in the Monster Suppression Bureau, but had returned after being injured and taken a position at his alma mater.

Even so, his strength had been recovering over the years, and his combat power remained high. Coupled with his ruthless methods, the students both feared and respected him.

"I'll briefly go over a few points."

Qin Feng's voice was rather thin, but it was as hard as steel rebar.

"There are only three days left until the College Entrance Examination. Don't be too nervous. Face it with a calm heart, whether it's the academic examination or the Martial Arts Examination."

"I'll focus on the Martial Arts Examination here. Based on the usual examination practices of previous years, this time should still involve killing demonic beasts."

"Killing demonic beasts means extreme danger. Even with rescue forces present, accidents may still happen. After all, every year, students die during the Martial Arts Examination."

"Think it over carefully. If you feel you can't make it, you can still withdraw from the Martial Arts Examination today."

He spoke at length, and everyone in the class listened attentively.

Shi Yan was no exception. He also summarized several of Qin Feng's points: the Martial Arts Examination was extremely dangerous; there was still one final day to change one's choice; try to form a team in the examination grounds and do not fight alone; the characteristics of the demonic beasts most commonly encountered in past examination grounds...

As class neared its end, Qin Feng stood waiting at the podium with a form in hand.

No one withdrew from the Martial Arts Examination. Instead, five students who had not registered before chose to take part.

All five had awakened D-class special abilities.

In life, one always had to take a gamble at least once.

Shi Yan was among them.

He had thought Qin Feng would try to dissuade him, but the man maintained his usual calmness and coldness, merely offering a few reminders.

One chose one's own fate. Whatever came afterward, disaster would be one's own, and blessings would also be one's own...

"Huaxia Bank... Balance: 996."

After school, Shi Yan looked at the notification on his phone and fell silent.

Not bad. At least he would not starve to death before the College Entrance Examination.

Just as he was feeling helpless, Liu Wang came over holding several sheets of A4 paper.

"Shi Yan, hurry up and thank me. I got the intelligence."

As he spoke, he stuffed the sheets into Shi Yan's hands.

This was information on the students from Baiyun No. 1 High School participating in the Martial Arts Examination. For privacy reasons, the school had not made it public.

But students naturally had their own channels of communication. It was not difficult to gather a little information.

Everyone would appear in the same examination grounds during the Martial Arts Examination. If they were going to form a team, understanding others was extremely necessary.

Even if they did not form a team, they could still guard against others.

"Cao Dahua, C-class shapeshifting ability. Can transform into a Golden Claw Tiger."

"Ying Yurou, C-class special ability. Can partially harden her body."

"Jiang Bude, B-class silent ability. Can conceal his aura."

"Lu Jiaojiao, charm ability, A-class."

When he saw the final name, Shi Yan frowned slightly.

This was the campus belle his predecessor had fawned over. No wonder she had bewitched so many people out of their wits. It turned out she had the foundation for charm all along.

Liu Wang also noticed his expression and could not help teasing him. "A-class, huh? Regretting it now? Want to go back to fawning over her?"

"Heh. Fawning over her would be worse than fawning over you."

Shi Yan smiled lightly, frightening Liu Wang into letting out a shriek as goosebumps rose all over him.

In truth, Liu Wang had long known about the campus belle's Sea King nature and had warned him many times. It was simply that his predecessor had never listened.

"I'll give you a chance to fawn over me. Once we enter the examination grounds, follow behind me. I guarantee I'll get you into an ability university."

Liu Wang's expression turned serious as he pressed a hand onto Shi Yan's shoulder.

With Shi Yan's Biological Ignite, which could not even burn a single hair, who would be willing to team up with him?

Showing him this information was nothing more than a way to make him pay attention and avoid provoking people he should not provoke.

"Oh? Aren't you afraid I'll hold you back?" Shi Yan was somewhat surprised. Did this fatty really see him as one of his own?

"One more of you won't make a difference."

Liu Wang smiled confidently. Then the exposed skin on his arm abruptly turned into gray keratin.

Skin keratinization was Liu Wang's ability, and it had reached C-class.

He was a genuine human shield, a hot commodity that others sought out for teams.

"Hehe, don't worry. Several experts have already contacted me. Adding you to the group will be no problem at all."

"Fatty, for the sake of this sentiment, if I run into you in the examination grounds, I'll let you ride the wind with me."

He had initially wanted to refuse, but Shi Yan changed his words in the end.

He felt that he should be able to achieve a good result.

With a thought, a data panel only he could see appeared.

[Name: Shi Yan]

[Realm: First-Order Warrior]

[Ability: Southern Bright Blazing Fire (SSS-Class)]

[Vitality: 11 cards]

[Spirit: 11 hertz]

[Martial Arts: Thrusting Punch (Beginner)]

[Martial Virtue Points: 1000 (Can be obtained by doing things that promote martial virtue. Martial Virtue Points can be used to improve basic attributes and Martial Arts proficiency.)]

An ordinary adult's vitality was around one card. Crossing the threshold of ten meant becoming a true martial artist.

At present, the overwhelming majority of students had not reached ten cards.

Shi Yan had not even possessed two cards before. Only after awakening his SSS-Class ability had he improved.

With eleven cards, he might not be able to sweep through the examination grounds, but placing within the top few dozen would still be possible.

As for Spiritual Power, it was extremely difficult to improve. Eleven hertz was already the level of most Second Tier Martial Artists.

With such strength, carrying Liu Wang along would still be possible.

But Liu Wang did not know that. He merely flung his hand and shouted.

"You can carry me? That's simply Reversing the Heavenly Dipper!"