"Dad, Mom, Xiao Fei won the championship in our Graduation Grand Exam!"
As soon as she got home, Li Tianyu shouted loudly. She looked even happier than if she had won the championship herself.
"Xiao Fei won the championship?"
Li Lei and Zhang Yuqing were both surprised.
Then Zhang Yuqing smiled warmly. "That's wonderful."
Li Lei also wore a gratified smile. "Not bad. It seems that studying under Mr. Hao has really helped you improve."
Only then did the two of them ask how Li Tianyu had performed. When they learned that she had made it into the top eight and received the title of Excellent Graduate, they both smiled with satisfaction.
"You don't know this, but Chen Lixin came to provoke us today. Xiao Fei made a bet with him."
Li Tianyu told them about Chen Lixin as well.
"After Xiao Fei won the championship, he went to demand the prize money from Chen Lixin. You should've seen Chen Lixin's face at the time—hahahaha, it felt so good!"
Li Tianyu burst out laughing.
After hearing this, Zhang Yuqing looked at Li Lei with some worry.
Li Lei understood her concern. He gently patted her hand and said, "It's fine."
Li Fei had been watching Li Lei's expression the whole time. Only after hearing him say this did he relax.
He turned to Li Tianyu. "Sis, if you get into the Martial Academy, you'll run into Chen Lixin again. You still need to be careful then."
Li Tianyu did not care. "I wasn't afraid of him at the technical secondary school. I'll be even less afraid of him at university."
Li Fei looked at Li Lei. "Uncle Li, there should be some children of the Xingcheng Overseeing Bureau at the Martial Academy too, right?"
Li Lei nodded. "Yes. Once Tianyu gets into university, I'll remind her to be careful."
Then he said to Li Fei, "You did very well today. Although my Li Family can't compare with the Chen Family, the people of the Overseeing Bureau aren't people just anyone can bully."
"Mm."
Li Fei nodded firmly, a smile spreading across his face.
"All right, let's eat. The food's almost gone cold."
Zhang Yuqing spoke gently and ushered them toward the living room.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, Li Fei ran to the Military Academy and knocked on the door of Hao Yi's office.
"Come in."
Hao Yi's voice came from inside.
"Teacher."
Li Fei entered the office and walked up to Hao Yi.
Hao Yi was drinking tea. He looked up at him. "How did you do in the Graduation Grand Exam?"
"I won the championship."
Li Fei tried to keep his tone calm.
Hao Yi, who had been drinking tea, clearly paused. Several seconds later, he nodded calmly. "Mm, not bad. You didn't embarrass me."
"It's all thanks to your teaching, Teacher."
Li Fei spoke at just the right moment.
Hao Yi's stern expression softened. "Let's go. We're heading to the Medicinal Bath Room."
"Teacher, I've already cultivated the Heaven Heavenly Star Overlord Body to the Small Success realm."
Li Fei said this.
"Hm?"
The surprise on Hao Yi's face could no longer be concealed.
He suddenly reached out and grabbed Li Fei's arm. The instant he seized it, he clearly felt the muscle there swell with strength and elasticity, as if it would bounce his fingers away.
"Not bad!"
A rare smile appeared on Hao Yi's face.
His sudden attack had come without warning. The fact that Li Fei had reacted in time proved that his Heaven Heavenly Star Overlord Body had indeed reached Small Success.
To reach Small Success in less than ten days of cultivation—such talent made the undisguised admiration in his gaze toward Li Fei even stronger.
"Since you've already reached Small Success, it's time for me to let you come into contact with an Implant."
Hao Yi said this.
Li Fei's heart filled with joy. He could finally come into contact with the Martial Path Secrets of this world!
Hao Yi then gave him a slip and told him to pay the fee first.
The amount written on the slip was 360 yuan, more expensive than a semester's tuition! This was the cost of purchasing an Implant.
Liu Xing had already become a Grade-B student and was qualified to come into contact with an Implant, but he had never received one because he still had not saved enough money to buy it.
Fortunately, I won extra prize money from Chen Lixin. Otherwise, I'd have to ask Uncle Li for money again.
Li Fei had won the championship of the Graduation Grand Exam and received 300 yuan in prize money. Adding the extra 300 yuan Chen Lixin had given him, he carried the enormous sum of 600 yuan on him. He had been brimming with confidence, but now more than half of it would be spent in an instant.
After Li Fei paid the fee and returned with the receipt, Hao Yi led him out of the office building to a black gate.
Guards stood watch at the gate. They looked sharp and capable at a glance, clearly martial artists, and each had a pistol at his waist.
After the Mingxin Reform, the imperial court had introduced Western firearms, established a new army, and gradually issued firearms and ammunition to Overseeing Bureaus across the country. Some legal armed institutions received the same treatment.
The guards assigned by the Military Academy to this compound had also been issued firearms, showing just how seriously this place was regarded.
"This is where the Military Academy stores its Implants."
Hao Yi said this to Li Fei.
He then took Li Fei through an extremely detailed registration process at the guard post.
Several minutes later, after passing through several checkpoints, the two of them entered a warehouse inside the compound.
The temperature inside the warehouse was far lower than outside, and row after row of refrigerated cabinets stood within it.
"There are many ways to store Implants. The higher their grade, the more complicated the storage method. The Implants here are all Lower Three Grades, so their storage is relatively simple. Refrigeration is enough."
Hao Yi said this to Li Fei.
"Lower Three Grades?"
Li Fei noticed those words.
"Do you know where Implants come from?"
"This student doesn't know."
"Implants originally came from the bodily tissues of aberrant beasts."
"Aberrant beasts."
Li Fei froze for a moment, recalling the information about aberrant beasts in his predecessor's memories.
This world also had wild beasts. Some wild beasts' bodies underwent mutations and became aberrant beasts.
Most ordinary people went their entire lives without ever seeing an aberrant beast, so very little information about them circulated among the common folk.
"Aberrant beasts possess all kinds of powerful abilities. Some are impervious to blades and bullets, some possess immense strength, some can swallow clouds and exhale mist, and some can condense ice and spit fire. Some astonishingly talented sages and pioneers tried transferring the abilities of these aberrant beasts into human bodies, thereby making humanity stronger as well."
Hao Yi said this.
"They succeeded in the end, and that was how martial artists came to be."
Li Fei pondered this, powerful martial artists with human forms and beast traits appearing in his mind.
Hao Yi glanced at him, seeming to have guessed what he was thinking. He gave a cold laugh. "Compared with aberrant beasts, human bodies are far too fragile. The Implants taken from aberrant beasts in the beginning were also extremely crude. As a result, nine out of ten martial artists would eventually undergo bodily mutations and become monsters that were half human and half beast. Their humanity would gradually be replaced by bestial nature, until they could no longer be called human."
Li Fei could not help shivering when he heard this.
"Later, as Implant technology matured and various martial cultivation methods gradually became more complete, the path of the martial artist slowly became safer. We use Implants to obtain powerful strength, but fundamentally, we use Implants to continuously strengthen ourselves and achieve evolution."
At this point, Hao Yi looked at Li Fei with a solemn expression.
"You must remember this: an Implant is merely an aid to your cultivation, a tool that makes you stronger. It is no different in essence from the medicines you use or swords, spears, clubs, and staffs. If one day you put the cart before the horse, at best, your body will mutate; at worst, your bestial nature will overwhelm your humanity, turning you into a monster the world cannot tolerate!"
Upon hearing this, Li Fei immediately thought of Hao Yi's pair of blood-red hands.
He nodded solemnly. "Teacher, I'll remember."
"Mm."
Hao Yi turned to look at the refrigerated cabinets in the warehouse.
"Aberrant beasts are divided into nine grades, with Grade One the lowest and Grade Nine the highest. Implants are likewise divided into nine grades. Martial artists who have just entered the path can only use Implants from the Lower Three Grades for cultivation. Anything higher, and their bodies won't be able to withstand it."
After saying this, he waved for the administrator here to come over. "Go bring me that box of Second Grade Upper Class Steel Armor Implant."
Before you continue