Martial Arts Stream or Liberal Arts? Eighteenth Birthday

After two classes, it was already evening.

The setting sun dyed the Martial Arts Pavilion's glass windows gold as students drifted toward the cafeteria in groups of twos and threes.

Third High School's cafeteria was huge, and the air was thick with the mingled scents of all kinds of food. Lin Ye moved with the crowd, squeezed his way to the serving windows, and dutifully joined the long line. At that moment, quite a few students in white martial arts uniforms passed in front of him and headed straight for another set of serving windows.

Third High School's cafeteria was meticulously arranged, with two kinds of serving windows: paid and free. The free ones, like the window in front of Lin Ye, did not offer a wide variety of dishes, but provided enough to fill one's stomach. They simply could not sustain the expenditure of martial arts training. The paid meals were nutritionally rich and could better raise one's Blood Qi, making them an important aid in striving for Martial Arts University.

After all, if the food one ate was not nutritious enough, how could one train in martial arts?

The crowd surged, and soon it was Lin Ye's turn. He directed the cafeteria cook to serve several half-meat dishes and vegetable dishes he liked, then carried his tray to the place where everyone usually sat. Several classmates he normally got along with were already seated there. They gathered around the table, eating and chatting.

No one knew who started it, but the subject turned to the upcoming application choices.

"So... are you planning to apply for liberal arts or the Martial Arts Stream?"

The one who asked was Zhang Hao, who had spoken to Lin Ye earlier. He was a skinny boy with glasses, excellent liberal arts grades, but a Blood Qi Value that could barely reach 100.

The atmosphere immediately fell silent.

"I... I'll probably choose liberal arts."

Zhang Hao, seated opposite Lin Ye, was the first to speak. His voice was low. "My parents both have desk jobs, and my Blood Qi is near the bottom of the class too. They said interstellar trade is badly short of management talent right now. Even liberal arts graduates can get jobs at Starport..."

"Me too."

Wang Tao at the side gave a bitter smile. "You need a Blood Qi Value of at least 200 in the Martial Arts Stream to have even a sliver of hope. I only got 142 in the last test. I'm still far from 200. No chance."

"But the liberal arts cutoff is high too."

Li Ming sighed. "And even if we get into a liberal arts university, seeing those martial artists standing so high above everyone else afterward... it'll still leave a bitter taste."

"What else can we do? Not enough talent, average family circumstances—we can only honestly live as ordinary people." Wang Tao spoke gloomily. "At least it's safe, and we won't have to risk our lives in the Earth Cave."

"Besides, even if we barely get into Martial Arts University, the university's resources will still be tilted toward geniuses. Ordinary people like us would just rank at the bottom if we went in, wasting money and time for nothing."

It was a realistic and cruel analysis. They were all children from ordinary families, with no resources to buy expensive Beast Meat or Gene Enhancers, nor extraordinary talent that would make schools or other powers look upon them differently.

To them, Martial Dao was more like a dream beyond reach.

The topic seemed about to end amid sighs. Everyone's gaze instinctively turned toward Lin Ye, who had not said a word from beginning to end, as if they wanted to hear his opinion. But Lin Ye did not answer. He merely shoveled rice into his mouth from his tray, chewing slowly, yet somehow quickly enough for him to recall the ambition he had felt when he had first crossed into this world—the determination to stand at the pinnacle of Martial Dao.

But now, all that remained was the unwillingness in his chest, and a heart so weighed down by reality that it could barely breathe.

Apply for liberal arts?

Then follow the usual path, get into an ordinary university, find an ordinary job, and become an ordinary person in a world where Martial Dao reigned supreme—someone who could be swallowed by the tide at any moment?

He raised his head and met his classmates' eyes. His lips parted, but in the end, nothing came out. He only shook his head and forced a faint, meaningless smile.

No one said anything in response.

Perhaps they understood. Perhaps they did not. The atmosphere sank into silence, and everyone lowered their heads, quickly eating their food.

The night had deepened, and the moon hung high above the treetops.

When evening self-study ended and he left the teaching building, the chilly air refreshed him. The grand narratives of the daytime cultural classes, the exhaustion from the afternoon martial arts lesson, and the weariness of reviewing subjects and homework that evening all seemed to be swept away by the night breeze.

Lin Ye subconsciously glanced toward the Martial Arts Pavilion. His steps toward the school gate paused slightly. The pavilion's iconic massive dome still had several windows glowing brightly, outlining faint, shifting figures inside.

"Half past nine..." Lin Ye was somewhat surprised. The school stipulated that evening self-study in the Martial Arts Pavilion ended at nine, after which students could go home and rest. Anyone still training hard inside at this hour was either an outstanding student with exceptional talent receiving special instruction from teachers, or a "struggler" like him—perhaps one even more desperate.

He stood there for several seconds before withdrawing his gaze. His expression unchanged, he headed for the school gate once more.

Other people's paths, other people's lights, had nothing to do with him.

At the very least, that person could still enjoy the hope of Martial Dao, couldn't they?

Silently merging into the sparse stream of students leaving school, he arrived at the bus stop near the school and waited for the bus.

Before long.

The unmanned bus stop glowed with dim blue indicator lights. A streamlined, low-noise silver bus silently slid into the docking position. Its doors opened smoothly, and Lin Ye boarded after swiping his card, along with quite a few other students. There were not many passengers inside. Everyone kept quiet of their own accord, with only a gentle synthesized female voice announcing the route and the name of the next stop.

He found a window seat and lightly rested his forehead against the cool glass.

Outside the window, the city's nightscape flowed slowly backward. Streetlamps cast pale light over the roads. Not far away, enormous holographic advertisements played promotions for the latest home robots. People in all sorts of clothing hurried along the distant streets. Many of their strides were noticeably brisk and powerful, a trait brought by long-term martial arts training. Yet there were also young faces like his, dressed in ordinary clothes, carrying traces of fatigue.

He had seen faces like that in his previous life too.

The bus traveled steadily through bustling commercial districts and quiet residential areas. The scenery outside gradually became familiar... and somewhat worn.

This was the old district. Most of the buildings followed the standard designs rebuilt after the disaster more than a decade ago. Though they too were covered in solar panels and basic network nodes, compared to the futuristic skyscrapers clustered in the city center, this place looked plain, even a little outdated.

Half an hour later, Lin Ye reached his stop.

After getting off, he entered a neatly planned residential area where the buildings stood somewhat densely packed. The sensor lights in the corridor lit up to his footsteps. The light was not especially bright. He opened the door with his fingerprint, and familiar warmth washed over him, carrying faint fragrances and the scent of detergent.

"Xiao Ye, you're back?"

His mother's voice came from the living room, accompanied by the faint dialogue of a family drama playing on the television.

"Yeah, Mom."

Lin Ye answered as he bent down in the entryway to change his shoes.

His mother poked her head out from the living room. She was a middle-aged woman with a gentle face and fine lines already at the corners of her eyes. She still held a half-knitted sweater in her hands, a small job she had taken from the community mutual-aid group to help support the family.

"Are you hungry? Want Mom to heat up a late-night snack? Today is your eighteenth birthday, you know. Mom specially made you a little cake."

Warmth stirred faintly in Lin Ye's heart, but habit made him refuse. He did not want his mother to tire herself any further.

"No, Mom. I'm not hungry."

"I'll eat the cake tomorrow. Eating sweets at night isn't good for digestion."

He paused, then added, "...Thank you, Mom."

A trace of disappointment flashed through his mother's eyes, so subtle it was hard to notice, but she quickly hid it with a smile. "That's fine too. Get some rest early, and don't study too late. Your birthday... we couldn't even celebrate it properly." There was apology in her voice. In this era, for an ordinary worker's family, a "proper birthday celebration" might only mean a slightly better home-cooked meal.

"It's okay, Mom."

Lin Ye shook his head and walked toward his small room.

The room was simple: a bed, a desk, a wardrobe, and in the corner, an old compact home Virtual Learning Pod that looked somewhat bulky, its casing marked with a few scratches. It was a learning device his parents had gritted their teeth and spent a "huge sum" to buy for him several years ago. It could connect to the internet, conduct some basic virtual experiments and practice exercises, and provide a more immersive reading environment than a flat screen. But compared to the Combat Simulation Pods used exclusively by Martial Arts Students, which could conduct basic neural reflex training, its functions were far too rudimentary.

Lin Ye activated the Virtual Learning Pod, put on the helmet, and reclined inside.

The virtual interface immediately unfolded. He brought up that day's homework, mainly reviewing and organizing material from his cultural classes. Time slipped quietly away amid holographic images and interactive exercises.

At eleven, an alert rang from the virtual interface. Only then did Lin Ye close it, remove his helmet, and climb out of the Study Pod.

He picked up some clothes and entered the bathroom, taking a comfortable hot shower. The warm water washed over his body and carried away some of his exhaustion, but the confusion over the future and the faint unwillingness buried deep in his eyes could not be washed away no matter what.

He lay down on the bed, turned off the lights, and went to sleep.

The room sank into darkness. Only the faint glow of the distant city outside filtered through the gap in the curtains, casting hazy patches of light and shadow across the ceiling.

He stared at those blurred shadows and sank into deep thought.

He was eighteen now. An adult.

In the old era, this might have meant new freedom and possibilities.

But in this age, where class gaps had been widened even further by Martial Dao, it meant that the High School Entrance Exam that would decide his fate was one step closer.

And so was the moment he would have to face the reality of his own "mediocrity."

Lin Ye pondered all the possibilities that the future might bring. Amid exhaustion and chaotic thoughts, his consciousness gradually blurred and sank...

Just as he fell asleep, a cold, mechanical voice devoid of all emotional fluctuation exploded without warning in the deepest part of his mind:

[Life signs meet requirements... Soul fluctuation verification passed... Initial binding conditions satisfied.]

[Key node detected: "Codex of Life" adulthood mark.]

[Supreme Martial Inheritance Unit · Ultimate Training Sequence... activating.]

[Soul wavelength locking... lock complete.]

[Binding complete... Host: Lin Ye. Welcome to the true path of Martial Dao.]