The Path of the Strong: Letting One's Edge Shine!

Monday. Six days remained until the Quota Competition.

East City Martial School would hold a student assembly that afternoon. Everyone was required to return to school.

After finishing his morning training, Lu Jue placed a note containing only the words "Rest assured about everything" in the most conspicuous spot on the table.

Then he took his luggage and left.

The rental was far from the martial school. To avoid wasting time traveling back and forth, he had always chosen to board at school and went home once every two weeks.

The early bus to the Commoner District was as packed as ever, filled with the smells of sweat and cheap breakfast.

But this time, Lu Jue's experience was entirely different.

He stood steadily in the swaying carriage. Without deliberately gripping anything, his stance rooted itself into the ground, and his body rose and fell naturally with the vehicle's motions, not the least bit disheveled.

The scenery outside the window flashed past.

The rundown slums were gradually left behind. The closer they came to East City Martial School, the cleaner the streets became.

Two hours later, the bus finally came to a stop at East City Martial School Station.

Lu Jue got off with the crowd and looked up.

A dark metal wall five meters high stretched away in both directions as far as the eye could see. The enormous alloy gates stood open, and above them were four vigorous, dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing characters—East City Martial School.

At that moment, the school gates were already buzzing with voices.

Children of wealthy families dressed in high-grade Training Clothes stepped out of luxury cars, laughing and chatting. Some were accompanied by family servants, while others gathered in small groups to discuss their recent experiences.

There were even more commoner students like Lu Jue, getting off buses after discussing tuition fees with their families and returning to school.

Most of them were silent. Worry over the steep tuition fees filled their eyes as they hurried into the crowd, walking toward the massive gates that seemed capable of deciding the course of their lives.

Lu Jue took a deep breath. His gaze swept across those polished, glamorous figures, but there was none of his former envy in his eyes—only the stillness of deep water, and flames waiting to erupt.

After a moment, he stepped forward with the crowd and entered East City Martial School.

Sixth Grade martial arts education had long since moved beyond the traditional model of cramming cultural subjects.

All mandatory theoretical knowledge, as well as the Three Great Basic Cultivation Methods, had already been taught during the first four years.

The nearly two years that remained depended entirely on personal hard work and the piling up of resources.

For commoner students like Lu Jue, the martial school's public training grounds and the occasional chance to receive guidance from an instructor were their only support.

As for the wealthy students, they had private training grounds belonging to their Lineages, renowned masters hired at great expense, and all kinds of costly resources to temper their foundations. They were ahead by far more than a single step.

The top hundred students had even followed the school's elite instructors into the Wasteland outside the city, where they had caught their first glimpse of true Calamity Beasts. Perhaps blood had already stained their hands.

Lu Jue did not head straight for the classroom. Instead, he detoured to the multipurpose hall, where three long lines of students were waiting to use the Blood Qi Meter.

Two days ago, the fee to use the school's Blood Qi Meter had been fifty per session. Now, the price had already soared to one hundred yuan.

Lu Jue touched the crumpled bills in his pocket, his heart aching.

But if he wanted to accurately determine his current Qi and Blood Value, he had no choice but to spend the money.

The hall was rather noisy. Exclamations rang out now and then amid the hum of the machines.

"4600! Tu Biao, you're pretty good! Since when did you become this strong?"

"Holy crap! 7800!! Which class is this expert from? With this kind of strength, he's got one foot in a first-rate martial academy already, right?"

The entire testing process was public, without any screening.

For the strong, this was naturally the best stage to bask in envy and hold their heads high.

For the weak, though, it was no different from a public execution—a true "social anxiety hall."

Lu Jue silently joined the end of the line. Seeing that three people were still ahead of him, he felt somewhat anxious.

Just then, someone in the neighboring line turned their head and recognized him.

"Lu Jue!"

Lu Jue turned and saw that it was his classmate, Zhang Ji.

"Mm? What is it?"

Zhang Ji moved closer and lowered his voice. "Did you manage to scrape together your tuition?"

Lu Jue shook his head, his tone calm. "No. Why?"

Upon hearing that definite answer, an indescribable emotion flashed through Zhang Ji's eyes. It was not sympathy. Instead, there was faintly a sense of relief?

It was as if someone around his own level falling behind could highlight his own sense of superiority.

"So what are you going to do?"

Zhang Ji's voice unconsciously rose a little, drawing several sidelong glances from those around them.

"I remember we tested together last month too. You were around 4000, right? A hundred lower than me! With that, you're not still thinking of competing for those twenty Exemption Quotas, are you?"

There was a trace of barely perceptible superiority in his words.

Under immense pressure, that subtle urge in human nature to compare oneself with others began to stir. It seemed that by denying someone else's hope, one's own slim hope could feel a little more real.

Lu Jue frowned slightly and was about to speak when the administrator ahead shouted impatiently, "Next! Hurry up!"

It happened to be Zhang Ji's turn.

Zhang Ji immediately abandoned Lu Jue. He took a deep breath, then walked up to the Blood Qi Meter with a mixture of nervousness and showiness, pressing his palm against the icy sensing plate.

Bzz—

The machine gave a faint hum. Its indicator lights flashed rapidly a few times before the number on the screen finally settled.

4216!

"Wow, Zhang Ji, not bad! That's quite an increase!" Someone familiar in the line started egging him on.

A flush of pride instantly rose to Zhang Ji's face. He withdrew his hand, deliberately raised his chin, and shot Lu Jue a glance. Then he stepped aside in satisfaction, not leaving immediately, as though he wanted to wait and see Lu Jue's test result.

Soon, it was Lu Jue's turn.

Under the scattered gazes around him and Zhang Ji's undisguised stare, Lu Jue stepped forward calmly.

He slowly pressed his palm onto the sensing plate.

The machine began to hum.

Zhang Ji beside him was already prepared to see a number no higher than 4100. He had even thought up several "comforting" remarks.

However—

Bzzzzz!!!

The sound emitted by the Blood Qi Meter seemed longer and louder than before!

The number on the screen began to jump wildly!

100 3000 5000

The number climbed at a speed far beyond that of ordinary people!

At last, before the glaring red light froze in place, an incomparably clear number charged fiercely into everyone's sight:

9191!!!

"What!?"

The previously bustling hall suddenly fell silent.

Disbelief appeared on the faces of everyone who saw that number.

"H-How much!? 9191?"

"I remember that last week, Young Master Tang, who ranked eighty-first in the grade, had a Qi and Blood Value of 9070."

"Holy crap! Which class is this top student from? Why does he look so unfamiliar!"

Exclamations spread outward like a tide.

Zhang Ji, who had just been carrying himself with some superiority, now had his mouth wide enough to fit an egg inside.

He stared fixedly at that bright red number, then abruptly looked up at the expressionless Lu Jue. His mind was completely blank.

A Qi and Blood Value increase of nearly five thousand in a single month!?

How was that possible!

Could the machine be broken?

Lu Jue ignored the commotion behind him that was nearly about to blow the roof off. Nor did he look at Zhang Ji's utterly lost expression.

To him, however much strength one possessed was however much strength one had to display!

In this world where martial arts reigned supreme and resources grew scarcer by the day, humility and concealment were meaningless. They would only make one miss opportunities!

There had never been any such thing as cautiously hiding away to develop in martial cultivation. That was merely the helpless fantasy of the weak!

The true path of the strong was to let one's edge shine! To crush all doubts beneath absolute strength!

He turned and walked directly toward the classrooms under the mingled gazes of shock, awe, and jealousy.