You Didn't Tell Me, Counselor?

The ninth month had come, and the White Dew brought a chill to the autumn night!

When he got up early, the weather was already a little cool. By eight, the sun had climbed high and the temperature had gradually warmed, hinting at midsummer.

Zhao Rui wore the newly issued camouflage uniform and followed his class to the school's main athletic field.

Today was the first day of military training. All the freshmen would gather on the main field and wait for the school leaders to hold a mobilization ceremony.

Once the ceremony was over, they would be divided into units and undergo two weeks of military training.

Zhao Rui's academy had a lot of female students to begin with. Now that they were all crowded together, their twittering filled the air from every direction.

Of course, aside from the noise, the sight was pleasing to the eye.

Some wore light makeup, others heavy, all with exquisite looks. Some had even altered their training uniforms slightly to make them more fitted and snug.

They were afraid the standard-issue uniforms would hide their distinctive charms.

The boys stood at the back, murmuring about which girls had good figures and which ones were pretty.

In no time at all, they had picked out the top ten "beauties" in their class—and even their year—among their small circle.

The vast athletic field was filled with the hormones of youth, rising and swirling through the air. It was as if a flower called youth were slowly unfurling.

"Look, it's the Martial Arts Academy!"

"Wow, so many handsome guys!"

Zhao Rui was chatting with his classmates when shouts of surprise suddenly rang out from the girls in his class. He turned toward the sound and saw a formation entering the field from the right.

The formation was mostly made up of boys. Their backs were straight as dragons, their bodies upright as pines. Though their steps and postures varied, they strode with the force of dragons and tigers, their inner brilliance contained.

At a glance, they were clearly unlike ordinary students, who tended to be slack and feeble.

The girls weren't as visibly imposing as the boys, but their steps were light and their figures graceful. Compared to ordinary women, they naturally possessed a few extra traces of effortless elegance.

One person like this walking down the street might not stand out, but a whole group moving together was entirely different from ordinary students.

"I'm so jealous. I heard they get single rooms, one dorm room per person, and they even have their own bathrooms."

"Yeah. Too bad my martial arts talent is terrible. I trained for three years before I could draw qi into my body. The teacher said there's no point in training someone like me. Sigh, I just can't accept it!"

"You're doing better than me. At least you can draw qi into your body. I can't feel any qi at all. I'm so jealous!"

"See that girl walking at the front? She's the top student in the year at our school. She's so arrogant, looks down on everyone."

When the group arrived, the noise on the field rose several notches at once.

Zhao Rui focused his gaze, his brows lifting slightly. In the eyes of the other students, these were martial arts geniuses to envy.

But in Zhao Rui's eyes, they were all walking stepping stones to advancement!

The path of martial arts was long and arduous. Fellow cultivators, I'll be counting on you!

The discussion didn't last long. Not long after the martial arts students entered, the school leaders strode up to the podium with swaggering confidence.

The following hour was filled with tedious, rambling, utterly worthless speeches from the higher-ups. Almost none of the students or faculty below paid any real attention.

How did these officials get such thick skin?

In his previous life, Zhao Rui had hated the management at the sports center, all bluster and big talk, never doing anything useful.

He hadn't expected the people in charge in this life to be the same kind of "color."

After droning on for ages, the principal finally announced, with great satisfaction, that the new semester had begun and military training was underway.

Soldiers stationed at the local military district then jogged onto the field in formation.

At the military district instructor's command, they took their assigned places according to the companies arranged in advance.

The soldiers who came over to Zhao Rui's group had dark skin and resolute faces. Beneath their thick brows, their eyes shone brightly.

"Formations, forward march!"

At the instructor's command, the freshmen began dispersing in an orderly fashion from the gathering point, heading to their training areas.

"Quiet!"

As they marched, the instructor glared and barked at the freshmen who still hadn't realized the situation they were in.

Before long, Zhao Rui's accounting department reached the basketball court on the athletic field.

It was all concrete here. The ground was hard, and there were no trees to offer shade.

The delicate, soft-spoken girls immediately began to complain.

"Silence! From now on, everyone, attention!"

The instructor's eyes narrowed and his tone grew even sterner. He circled around all the students, kicking anyone who misbehaved without distinguishing between men and women.

Only then did the freshmen realize the instructor was serious.

They immediately fell silent, not daring to chatter or move.

Since this was military training, it obviously wasn't child's play. Ordinary army drills were more than enough to make these pampered college students suffer.

Especially the delicate girls.

By the end of the morning, two girls on the field had fainted from heatstroke or other discomfort.

No one in Zhao Rui's class fainted, but during the break, they were all aching from head to toe and groaning in misery.

The training was mind-numbingly dull. Zhao Rui wasn't tired, but he certainly wasn't enjoying himself.

After enduring the whole morning, even he couldn't help feeling relieved when they were dismissed.

"Zhao Rui, long time no see!"

He had just taken a drink of water and was about to head to the cafeteria with his roommates when a gentle, watery voice sounded beside him.

Zhao Rui looked up. It was Luo Min, his high school class beauty, walking over.

Two other girls stood beside her, both exceptionally pretty.

"Long time no see. Are you going to get lunch?"

Zhao Rui answered casually.

"Mm. You were assigned to the accounting department?"

Luo Min glanced at the company sign nearby, slightly surprised, and asked.

"Yeah, accounting."

"Oh!"

A trace of disappointment flickered in Luo Min's eyes, but she quickly smiled. "Then I'll let you get on with things. We're going to eat."

"Bye!"

Zhao Rui smiled and waved goodbye.

As soon as the three girls left, Jian Congsheng sprang up from the ground, his face full of excitement. "Those were beauties from the Martial Arts Academy! You know them, second brother?"

"Not well! Boss, don't get any ideas. You'll get beaten up!"

"Ha, as if!"

Jian Congsheng chuckled, but his gaze lingered on the three departing girls.

Having a martial arts student for a girlfriend—what a prestigious thing that would be.

"Come on, let's eat!"

Their third roommate, Le Bin, tugged Jian Congsheng along, and the group headed out of the field. But as soon as they reached the entrance, their pace slowed. A dense crowd was already packed at the gate.

"They could've opened a bigger gate!"

The enormous athletic field had only a few small exits. With so many people trying to get out through narrow openings, how could it not get congested?

"Just take it slow."

As everyone followed the person ahead of them, inching toward the exit, a commotion rose from the crowd outside.

Then they heard someone whisper, "It's the Martial Arts Academy!"

As if his words had worked, the crowd in front of those people soon began to part.

Seeing the situation, the handsome young man at the front of the group, with bright eyes and a high nose, smiled and said, "Martial arts students have to queue too, you know!"

Then he raised his voice. "There are a lot of people, so everyone line up in order! The more chaotic it gets, the slower we'll get out!"

Though he spoke politely, the crowd surprisingly followed his words, and people began streaming out quickly.

"He's so handsome!"

The young man's actions drew the attention of many girls. Their gazes lingered on him and his companions.

With someone keeping order, the congested crowd thinned out in no time, and Zhao Rui made it off the field without trouble.

They had a short break at noon, then continued military training in the afternoon.

The same drills, the same blazing sun.

For the freshmen, the dull, monotonous routine of military training had begun.

They trained hard during the day. Though they didn't have to practice formations at night, they weren't allowed to return to their dorms to rest. Instead, each company held performances and sang military songs.

The accounting department Zhao Rui was in had no shortage of girls, giving them a natural advantage in that regard.

He didn't need to participate much. He could just sit below and enjoy the show.

To be honest, there were quite a few pretty girls in the department. They might not all have the same kind of beauty, but each had her own strengths.

The group wasn't dismissed until nine that night.

Zhao Rui made an excuse and, without even changing his clothes, headed straight for the small grove where he had practiced the day before.

It wasn't ideal to spoil other people's romantic moments, but the place was secluded, with lush trees and a peaceful atmosphere. It was perfect for training.

After jogging across campus for a while, he reached a hidden spot, vaulted over the wall, and took a shortcut outside the school. Then he jumped back over the wall on the other side and went straight to the grove.

After looking around and picking a thick tree, he leaped toward a branch.

A burst of force shot through the air, fast and accurate, heading straight for a vital point in his leg.

Zhao Rui was startled, but his reflexes were quick. He used Cloud Emerging from the Valley, one of the Taihang Thirteen Palms, bracing a hand against the trunk and pulling himself upward. His body shot up several feet, narrowly evading the attack.

"Oh?"

When they saw him dodge, two figures stepped out from behind a tree not far away.

They were both in their thirties or forties. Their inner light was restrained, but they carried a sense of power that could erupt at any moment. They were clearly no ordinary people.

Zhao Rui's gaze sharpened, and he tensed, ready to flee at a moment's notice.

Under the moonlight, the two men glanced at Zhao Rui's training uniform, and the gravity in their eyes immediately vanished.

One of them reprimanded him in a tone that sounded faintly scolding. "Which freshman class are you in? Didn't your counselor tell you not to practice in the ordinary students' area?"

Zhao Rui understood at once and said sheepishly, "Sorry, teacher. It won't happen again!"

"It won't happen again? Which martial arts class are you in?"

The speaker had a round face, a high nose bridge, and a huge mole in the middle of his forehead!

"Teacher, I'm not in a martial arts class. I'm in Accounting Class Two!"

Zhao Rui scratched his head and explained, "So no one told me about this!"

"Accounting?"

The teacher with the mole furrowed his brow, stepped forward, and struck at Zhao Rui with his palm.

Zhao Rui stepped back to block, moving into the Kan and Gen positions to evade the attack.

After exchanging a few moves, the teacher withdrew his palm and said with some displeasure, "Your cultivation isn't bad. Why didn't you apply to the Martial Arts Academy? Is it not your ambition?"

"Teacher, I was only Level Four when I took the Gaokao..."

At that, the two teachers understood the reason. They nodded and said, "Our school doesn't prohibit students outside the Martial Arts Academy from practicing martial arts. But they're still under the Martial Arts Academy's management."

"Here's what you'll do. After military training ends, come find me on the tenth floor of the administration building to register your information..."

"Thank you, teacher!"

Zhao Rui was delighted. He had planned to consult one of the teachers after military training, but now he had already found the right person.

"Mm. Hurry back and rest. Remember, if you want to train, go to the Martial Arts Academy."

"Thank you, teacher."

With that, Zhao Rui turned and bounded away from the grove.

"If I catch you doing this again, I'll deduct ten points from your year-end evaluation!"

"Understood, teacher!"

Their voices drifted through the silent grove, startling birds into flapping their wings and taking flight.

"That kid!"

The mole-faced teacher smiled at the person beside him, and then the two of them left the grove.

"So ordinary students aren't allowed to practice wherever they want!"

After leaving the grove, Zhao Rui didn't wander around. He bought a drink from a small shop that was still open by the roadside and took a couple of satisfying gulps.

The school probably had these rules to protect ordinary students' privacy and safety. After all, those admitted to the Martial Arts Academy at Dongqi University were terrifyingly strong compared to ordinary people.

Since he couldn't practice on campus, he would have to go off-campus.

But it was late. In another hour or so, the lights would go out, and he'd have to come right back if he went out now.

Zhao Rui gave up on the idea and turned back toward the dormitory.

The following days, military training continued as usual!

The drills changed from standing at attention to standing at ease, and then to marching movements.

Different drills, the same dull routine!

On the fifth day, after everyone had learned to march at a run, their instructor gave them some new information.

They would run five kilometers in light gear that morning to a nearby military camp and experience real military life.

At the news, everyone was both eager and worried. They were eager to visit the military camp, but worried about the five-kilometer run, which was a challenge for an ordinary person, even in light gear.

Unfortunately, it was a school order. They had to obey whether they wanted to or not.

So a little after one in the afternoon, Zhao Rui's company and five nearby companies ran out of the campus together.

The long five-kilometer run took a heavy toll on their stamina. They hadn't even gone two kilometers before students were already lining the roadside, hands on their hips and gasping for breath.

The distance barely mattered to Zhao Rui, but he couldn't just focus on running by himself.

The rules said everyone had to arrive together.

Not one person could fall behind.

Looking at the students clutching their sides and stomachs, especially the delicate girls, the instructor couldn't help shaking his head.

Just then, a girl's face suddenly turned pale. She swayed, then toppled to the ground, startling the students around her.

The instructor and counselor hurried over. They gave her a quick examination, but didn't dare move her carelessly.

Seeing this, Zhao Rui hurried forward and said, "Instructor, I know a little traditional Chinese medicine. Let me take a look."

Hearing that, the instructor and counselor both perked up and quickly let Zhao Rui try.

I'll try to get through the military training section as quickly as I can. Sorry, the daily routine is a bit too bland.

I originally wanted to gloss over it, but as I wrote, I realized there was still some material in military training. I just don't have the writing chops, and I can never find the right angle to approach it from.