College Entrance Examination Admissions Guide

When Shen Qian, drenched from head to toe, opened his eyes and looked at the emerald-green plant glowing faintly in his palm, he could only marvel that System Daddy was still fucking awesome.

Seven Flavors Fruit grew alongside water and was naturally adept at camouflage, making it extremely difficult to locate. Most of the Seven Flavors Fruit used medicinally nowadays was artificially cultivated; the cost of gathering wild ones simply did not justify the yield.

Perhaps the System-produced Stamina Potion was more effective partly thanks to the wild Seven Flavors Fruit.

Having used the System's active auto-grinding mode for the first time, Shen Qian thought for a moment before bringing up that dialog box again.

"I want one million."

Shen Qian typed in a simple wish.

Target task conditions not met. Auto-grinding failed.

The System's notification popped up quickly.

Shen Qian then entered five hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, one hundred thousand... The result was the same every time.

Clicking his tongue in regret, Shen Qian continued typing.

"I want ten girlfriends..."

After thinking it over, Shen Qian deleted that sentence and changed it to, "I want ten rich girlfriends."

The System gave no response for a long time. Just as Shen Qian began to suspect it had frozen, its notification finally appeared.

Host, please look in a mirror.

Shen Qian flew into a rage on the spot, loudly cursing the System for being a mechanical blind idiot. How could it possibly understand human standards of beauty?

After a long while, Shen Qian calmed down and typed again. "Increase Mental Power."

Target task conditions not met. Auto-grinding failed.

(Note: Host may try again after advancing to Beginner Martial Artist.)

Shen Qian was somewhat surprised.

The auto-grinding failure was within his expectations, but what did that note afterward mean?

Teacher Liu had previously mentioned that although the internet was well developed, high-level martial artists rarely appeared online, and much martial arts knowledge was simply blank territory on the web.

Perhaps there were legal restrictions as well.

But according to the scattered information Shen Qian had found, Mental Power belonged exclusively to the Mountain Sea Realm. Obsidian Spirit Stones could only passively nurture Mental Power, yet according to the System, it seemed one could actively improve it starting from the Beginner Martial Artist stage?

Shen Qian promptly cast aside his wild thoughts. No matter what, his most urgent task was to advance to Beginner Martial Artist as soon as possible.

The alarm clock did not wake Shen Qian. It was only because Wang Xiaojuan noticed his bedroom door was still tightly shut before heading out to buy groceries and grew suspicious that she discovered her son still sealed to the bed.

However, Shen Qian's heavy dark circles clearly startled Wang Xiaojuan. Her expression immediately changed, and she began rummaging beneath the bed and through the trash can for something.

Shen Qian regained some clarity and asked curiously, "Mom, what are you doing?"

Having failed to find any "evidence," Wang Xiaojuan's expression improved somewhat. She said irritably, "You have class today, don't you? Why are you still not up?"

"It's fine. I'll take a taxi. It'll be quick." Shen Qian got dressed at a leisurely pace, yawning as he spoke.

Last night, he had gone all out brewing medicine until four in the morning before finally sleeping. If the group chat had not announced that no one was allowed to be absent today, Shen Qian had even planned to take another day off.

"A taxi?" Wang Xiaojuan eyed him suspiciously. "It costs fifty or sixty from here to school. Where did you get the money?"

Only then did Shen Qian fully wake up, but he quickly replied without changing expression, "Dad gave it to me."

"Your dad?"

Wang Xiaojuan, who had always controlled the family finances, turned livid and immediately headed for the master bedroom.

Shen Liang, who had only recently fallen asleep after working the night shift, was dragged from bed with a bewildered look on his face. Hearing Wang Xiaojuan's questioning from the master bedroom, Shen Qian hurriedly threw on his clothes and slipped out the door before he could be summoned as a witness.

At Jingcheng No.7 High School, Shen Qian walked into the Class 109 classroom at the perfect moment, while pondering another matter.

If he was worried about not waking up in the future, could he use the auto-grinding System to set himself an alarm?

For example, "Take me to school at eight."

Then he could close his eyes, open them, and already be at school... Perfect.

Shen Qian declined another call from Shen Liang, then raised a hand to stop Wang Yangming before he could speak. "Don't ask. If you ask, it was insomnia. I don't even keep tissues in my bedroom."

Wang Yangming swallowed back the question, "What were you doing last night?" and changed his wording. "Why did you take two days off? Teacher Liu didn't say why. Oh, right, did you know Ding Yi has withdrawn from school?"

Shen Qian froze. So soon?

Then he recalled Ding Yi's unusual behavior that day. So she really had come to say goodbye to him.

What a shame. He had not gotten to kiss her.

"Don't leave after school. I'm getting someone to block you." Shen Qian ignored the topic and said instead.

"What?" Wang Yangming looked utterly confused.

"Oh, it just slipped out... I have something to tell you." Shen Qian patted Wang Yangming on the shoulder and returned to his seat.

There were four classes in total that morning. By the second semester of senior year, there was not much new left to learn. Whether it was first-period math or second-period Basic Martial Arts Class, they were endlessly reviewing previous material.

Basic Martial Arts Class was held in a large classroom. During paired sparring, a minor incident occurred—Shen Qian failed to hold back his strength and sent his deskmate Zhou Xu flying with one kick. The entire room fell silent at once.

However, Shen Qian quickly explained that the floor was too slippery and Zhou Xu had been distracted, which was why he had fallen.

Sure enough, during the subsequent sparring, Shen Qian became ordinary and unremarkable again. Everyone soon forgot the little incident, and even Zhou Xu began to wonder whether he had accidentally stepped on something.

Conceal his brilliance and bide his time; charge toward becoming a martial artist.

That was the strategy Shen Qian had set for himself.

The System's origins were unknown. If anyone discovered his secret, he might end up sliced open for research.

Only two weeks had passed since he obtained the System, yet Shen Qian's rate of improvement rivaled the past five years.

Better to be a happily cautious saint.

After two classes came the thirty-minute break, yet not a single student left the classroom. Liu Simin had announced yesterday that there would be something important to discuss today.

Before long, Liu Simin entered the classroom carrying two cardboard boxes.

Both boxes were packed full of materials and were quite heavy, but Liu Simin was a Level Five Beginner Martial Artist. Her Physical Strength was at least over 200 kg, so carrying two boxes was effortless for her.

"Is everyone here?" Liu Simin set down the boxes, swept her gaze around the classroom, and said, "I'm sure everyone has heard that Ding Yi, due to Northern Martial University's requirements, has already withdrawn from school early and gone to North Capital. Apparently, the Martial Arts Department has a competition of exceptionally high standards this year..."

Class 109 erupted into discussion. Naturally, the focus was not on the so-called mysterious competition, but on the universal envy that Ding Yi could directly attend one of China's top martial arts institutions without taking the college entrance examination.

"All right, quiet!" Liu Simin tapped the desk. "With Ding Yi gone, Lin Xiaoqian will temporarily serve as class president. Next, I'll distribute this year's College Entrance Examination Admissions Guide, jointly issued by the Ministry of Education and the Martial Arts Department. It does not matter much for students only taking the liberal arts examination, but those applying for martial arts programs should pay close attention, because physical fitness is only one of the requirements..."

"There are other exams too?" Shen Qian was somewhat surprised.

A month ago, he had not given martial arts programs much thought and had not paid particular attention to the details of the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam. After all, if one could not even meet the most basic physical fitness standards, no one would waste the registration fee.

"Based on previous years' experience, there's usually a political background review score and a practical combat score. Oh, right, liberal arts scores are required too, though the standards usually aren't high," Zhou Xu casually explained from beside him.

By then, the newly appointed class president Lin Xiaoqian had begun distributing the materials. Before long, Shen Qian received a copy of the College Entrance Examination Admissions Guide as well.