The Control Stone

About ten minutes later, Mu Qing's final martial technique information finally appeared on the light screen.

Ziyue and the others crowded around it, curious to see the results.

The earlier Blood Spirit test hadn't taken nearly as long.

Ziyang leaned in for a closer look, then tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The light screen showed only one short line.

Martial Technique: Unknown!

It was the same result as the Blood Spirit test, but this time it had taken several minutes.

"What... should we do?" one of the Federation staff asked.

Ziyue thought it over. "We'll do what we're supposed to. Record the information as it is."

The first stage of the College Entrance Exam mainly tested students' attributes and recorded most of their information in the Federation's system.

A Federation staff member stepped forward to enter the results. Before long, he let out a startled cry.

"What's wrong?" The others hurried over.

"There's already a record for this Mu Qing in the Federation system. It's classified as top secret!" The staff member's face paled with shock.

He'd worked on the College Entrance Exam for years, but had never encountered anything like this.

"Mu Qing again?" Ziyang exclaimed.

Ziyue frowned. She guessed that one of Mu Qing's elders might be a powerful figure in the Federation, someone with immense authority who had worried Mu Qing might miss the exam and had entered his information for him.

Once a student's information was recorded, they could actually skip the first stage and still continue.

"Does anyone in our Federation Branch have a Long Clan No. 1 warship?" Ziyang tried to recall, but couldn't think of anyone.

There were people in the Federation Branch who owned Long Clan warships, but nobody had a Long Clan No. 1.

It was the first model, an original built more than a decade ago—a genuine antique.

Ziyue pondered it, too.

There was only one Federation Branch in Huaxia, and she knew all the powerful figures there. But those with high status almost all owned the latest Long Clan warships.

How could they have guessed that the owner of a Long Clan No. 1 was Ke Fei, from more than a decade ago?

Ziyue and the others couldn't figure out who it was, so they had no choice but to let Mu Qing leave for now.

"Information about Mu Qing must not be leaked. Understood?" Ziyue said in a low voice.

The three Federation staff members straightened and nodded.

Mu Qing let out a breath of relief. He didn't know whether they had discovered the secret of his Dual Blood Spirit. He studied Ziyue and the others' expressions, but couldn't read anything.

He returned to where his class was gathered and rejoined Ling Fei and the others.

Teacher Qin came over and handed each of them a Black Crystal Chip, telling them to insert it into their communication devices.

It was proof of their College Entrance Exam registration and the only way to verify their identities. They would have to show it to continue to the second stage.

Ling Fei and the others inserted their Black Crystal Chips into their communication devices, but Mu Qing hesitated and put his in his pocket.

He didn't insert it into his device right away. He had another communication device—the one his dad had sent him, which he suspected was a Space Ring.

The first stage of the College Entrance Exam finally ended at dusk. The principal had already left, but Lei Kai, who was in charge of the East Campus, stayed behind and hosted a grand banquet with more than a dozen teachers.

The students celebrated at the banquet. The two campus beauties, Ji Jia and Yang Shanshan, chatted and laughed with Mu Qing and the others, making the other students green with envy.

Ling Fei got drunk. Swaying unsteadily, he said, "The school put on such a lavish banquet because, starting with the second stage of the College Entrance Exam, we probably won't be coming back here anymore!"

Mu Qing felt a little sad, too. He'd spent three years at West Lake High School and hadn't expected to leave so soon.

For the second stage of the College Entrance Exam, students from high schools all over Huaxia would gather to compete.

There, only brutal slaughter awaited them. Death was common, but plenty of strong fighters would emerge as well.

Humanity had established the Federation, and its ranks were filled with countless powerful fighters. Yet on Earth, humanity remained evenly matched with the Fierce Beast Race. Giant Cities were invaded by Fierce Beasts all the time, even as human powerhouses seized territory from the beasts.

This wasn't a peaceful age. Beyond the comfort of the Giant Cities lay a world woven from blood and fire.

Mu Qing had barely ever left Hangzhou City. Ever since they were children, their teachers had told them that outside the city lurked huge packs of terrifying Fierce Beasts, and only true powerhouses could survive beyond the walls.

Mu Qing ate the delicious food at the banquet, devouring it so messily that he made Ji Jia and Yang Shanshan giggle again and again.

Every day on Lake Heart Island, he'd eaten bitter dead branches and weeds. It was rare to get a chance to enjoy such good food, so he ate like there was no tomorrow.

At the same time, he was figuring out how to get his hands on some money.

According to Ke Fei, if the little Black Fish Blood Spirit wanted to grow stronger, it would need plenty of water-type energy—and that had to be bought.

After the banquet, Mu Qing and Ling Fei walked back to the dormitory together.

After changing clothes, Ling Fei went to the Cultivation Room. As the College Entrance Exam drew near, he'd spent every night there. Even now that he'd reached Blood Qi Ninth Stage, he still kept at it.

After all, he'd raised his cultivation with a Vermilion Fruit and hadn't fully stabilized it yet.

Mu Qing stayed in the dormitory and took out the golden communication device Mu Yu had sent him.

He examined it for a while, then poured Origin Force into it. The golden device lit up at once, a flash of light passing over it as Mu Qing connected to an enormous space.

The space was as large as the East Campus training field—vast beyond belief.

Mu Qing was dumbstruck. He'd suspected the golden communication device his dad had sent was a Space Ring, but he hadn't expected it to have such a huge interior.

The space was completely empty. There wasn't a thing inside.

Mu Qing put the Space Ring away. It had all the functions of a communication device, which made it incredibly convenient.

He then attached the Black Crystal Chip Teacher Qin had given him to the Space Ring.

With that done, Mu Qing began cultivating as well.

He circulated the Giant Elephant Transport Technique, and it was as if elephants were roaring inside him.

He entered the Heaven and Earth Fusion State. Energy from the world poured into his body and was continuously refined. As the giant elephant roared, it carried the thick, pure energy through him.

That energy continued to slowly strengthen Mu Qing's body.

Only when his Mental Power was exhausted did he finally fall asleep.

When Mu Qing woke again, it was already the next morning. He washed up quickly and was about to go find Ling Fei and the others when a notification sounded from the Space Ring.

He had a delivery notification. Mu Qing was startled; he couldn't figure out who would send him something.

"Could it be Dad again?" he wondered, suspicion written across his face. Even so, he set off for the school mailroom.

Half an hour later, Mu Qing returned with a black box. The words Gale Express were stamped across it.

Gale Express was a huge delivery company, known for its speed and efficiency.

Mu Qing opened the box and found a letter, two fruits, and a stone inside.

He frowned and opened the letter. It turned out the package was from Ke Fei.

In the letter, Ke Fei told Mu Qing that something unexpected had come up and he couldn't get away. But he'd sent over the treasures from Lake Heart Island that he'd promised Mu Qing.

Ke Fei had left his contact information in the letter, along with a note.

In addition to the precious treasures from Lake Heart Island, Ke Fei had also given Mu Qing a Control Stone!

Beneath the waters of West Lake lived many terrifying Fierce Beasts. They were all incredibly powerful, captured by the principals of past generations.

The Control Stone was the means by which those beasts were controlled. By rights, it should have been passed down from one principal to the next.

But when it reached Ke Fei, the two personalities within him had caused him to seal himself away. Now a third personality had emerged, and the Control Stone had never been passed on to the current principal.

So Ke Fei had simply given it to Mu Qing.

Mu Qing remained stunned for a long time. He stared at the stone in the box. It looked ordinary, but mysterious runes were engraved on it, revealing that it was anything but.

"This is too big a favor," Mu Qing murmured, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

He carefully stowed the Control Stone in the Space Ring.

Ke Fei had written that he'd originally planned to act as Mu Qing's backer. He knew the Wang Family wanted to deal with Mu Qing, and that the family had powerful fighters of its own. Mu Qing would have a hard time standing against them alone.

Ke Fei's original plan had been to help Mu Qing resolve both internal and external threats once and for all.

But now something had delayed Ke Fei, and he feared the Wang Family might secretly kill Mu Qing. So he'd given him the Control Stone.

With the Control Stone, Mu Qing would be protected by the Fierce Beasts beneath West Lake. At least within the school, he'd be safe.