Battle Record: 0

Dragging his luggage along the walkway lined with statues on both sides, Feng Qi arrived at the school gate.

Lin Ran and Mu Qing had wanted to see him off after breakfast, but he had refused.

After all, this was not a final farewell, only a brief parting. He felt there was no need for them to make a special trip to the gate to see him off.

By then, all the vehicles picking up and dropping off students had arrived.

Each school bus had the name of its respective school displayed on the windshield, and the drivers stood beside their vehicles, waiting for their students to board.

Feng Qi immediately spotted the scruffy uncle with an unshaven face, messy hair, and a cigarette dangling from his mouth, then walked straight toward him.

When the driver saw Feng Qi approaching, he stubbed out his cigarette and opened the door.

"Get in. Since it's just you, we can leave right away."

Feng Qi nodded, stuffed his luggage into the storage compartment, and climbed aboard.

The driver then got in and took the driver's seat.

After pressing the ignition button, the vehicle started. The doors and luggage compartment closed, and the bus slowly drove out of Star City Academy.

On the way back, the driver eagerly asked a gossipy question.

"Kid, how many?"

"How many what?" Feng Qi asked in bewilderment.

"How many have you gotten your hands on?"

Understanding what the driver meant, Feng Qi could not help looking helpless.

"Uncle, I went there for a study visit, not to breed."

"So your battle record is zero, then?"

"That's really embarrassing for our Star City Middle School. Everyone qualified for a study visit is one of our elite students. I remember the one who went last time had a battle record of two, and the one before that had three. You're the most embarrassing one yet."

Feng Qi: ...

"Still, you just had bad luck drawing Star City Academy. I heard from the guy who runs the Winter Academy route that all the elite students he sent there started with at least three. Winter Academy is pretty open-minded about that sort of thing."

Feng Qi: ...

Seeing that Feng Qi did not respond, the driver continued in his familiar, chatty manner.

"The visit is over now. Have you decided which academy to apply to next? If not, I recommend Winter Academy."

"The teaching environment there is like the law of the jungle, survival of the fittest. As long as you're good enough, you can have several girlfriends. Of course, girls can have several boyfriends too, as long as your body can handle it..."

Halfway through, the driver suddenly fell silent before asking gloomily.

"Could it be that you've got some kind of deficiency in that department, which is why your battle record is zero?"

A vein throbbed on Feng Qi's forehead.

You're the one with a deficiency. Your whole family has deficiencies!

When the driver saw that Feng Qi still would not engage, he changed the subject and began talking about the gossip he had recently heard.

From a teacher at a neighboring school secretly keeping a mistress, to that teacher's wife bringing her family to block the school gates, to Old Wang next door cheating just as the husband came home, leaving him naked and hanging outside a window where someone took pictures...

The driver's topics covered all sorts of fresh gossip, both inside and outside the school.

Initially expressionless, Feng Qi was gradually won over by the driver's enthusiasm. He began joining in, and the more they talked, the more animated he became.

Even while chatting, the driver did not abandon his usual fine habits.

Every so often, he would roll down the window and curse furiously at someone outside, or lay on the horn while overtaking several cars in a row, turning the drive into a real-life version of Fast and Furious.

If Feng Qi had not been in such good physical condition, he felt certain he would have thrown up long ago.

When the vehicle entered Star City Middle School, he still felt unsatisfied.

If they had not arrived, he would have wanted to hear the driver finish the story about how a certain teacher's wife outwitted her husband's mistress.

Many teachers were already waiting at the school gate.

When Feng Qi got off the bus, Wang Jinsheng stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and smiled.

"How was it? The learning environment at Star City Academy is pretty good, right?"

"I suspect you rigged the drawing back then, because now they've poached me."

Wang Jinsheng was stunned by those words. Then he suddenly understood what Feng Qi meant, and his expression changed at once.

"You got a guaranteed admission spot?"

"It wasn't that hard. After all, I'm your student." A smile appeared on Feng Qi's face.

"You brat, hurry up and tell me how you did it." Wang Jinsheng could not help smiling as well.

Feng Qi was his proudest student, and he had always held great expectations for Feng Qi's future. Hearing that Feng Qi had secured guaranteed admission to Star City Academy, he was sincerely delighted.

"Didn't Master Bai tell you?" Feng Qi asked curiously.

"Master Bai? You mean Teacher Bai?"

"Yeah. He said he used to teach you, and that you were the best student he had ever taught."

An awkward expression appeared on Wang Jinsheng's face.

"I haven't been in contact with Teacher Bai for a long time. Back then, I insisted on becoming a teacher instead of taking his advice and joining the Tiger Soul Research Institute. We had a lot of unpleasant disagreements because of it. But I think he's probably calmed down by now. Once your class graduates, I plan to find some time to visit him."

Feng Qi understood, then smiled.

"Old Wang, have you thought about the advice I gave you before?"

"I think you were right. Once you all graduate, I'll go pursue my dream too." Wang Jinsheng smiled before continuing.

"We can talk about that later. Go put your luggage in the dorm first, then head to the classroom and see your classmates. Tell them about your experience visiting and studying at Star City Academy."

Feng Qi nodded and dragged his luggage toward the dormitory building.

Following the familiar marble path, Feng Qi arrived at the dormitory. After putting down his luggage, he headed straight back to the classroom.

There were only five days left until the graduation exams, and his classmates were making the most of their self-study time.

"Ahem!"

Hearing the sound, the students all turned to look at Feng Qi, smiles immediately appearing on their faces.

"Well, if it isn't our little genius."

"I heard from Mo Fei that you were planning to bring back a kid after two weeks. Where's the kid? I'm waiting for him to call me uncle, hahahaha."

"Hurry up and tell me what Star City Academy is really like. I'm planning to apply there."

Seeing his enthusiastic classmates, Feng Qi smiled.

The familiar feeling made him feel very comfortable.

Under Wang Jinsheng's guidance, they had been united and supportive of one another, growing together over the past six years.

Perhaps they were merely passing travelers in one another's lives, but this bond was precious beyond measure and would remain a beautiful memory.

After returning to his seat, Feng Qi began introducing Star City Academy to his classmates amid their questions.

He told them about the delicious buffet, the peaceful and elegant campus environment, the luxurious private dormitories, and so on.

As they listened, longing appeared on many of their faces.

Of course, some were dismissive of it. His close friend Mo Fei, for instance, said indifferently, "I'm not interested in cultivation. To me, flesh is weak and frail; mechanical ascension is the way forward. Technology is the future. We humans just haven't found the correct instruction manual for technological development yet. I believe that on the road to fighting Domain Creatures in the future, technology will be the future."