Wind-Thunder Martial University's Sincerity

As someone who had once touched the edge of the Mortal Shedding Realm, he knew all too well what a Star Power Body-Tempering Pool meant, and just how valuable a spot in a Grade B Star-Power Body Tempering Pool was.

Wind-Thunder Martial University was being incredibly generous.

The Mortal Shedding Realm was the third realm for martial artists. When a martial artist made the leap from the Blood-Qi Realm to the Mortal Shedding Realm, they needed to sense Star Power in an environment suffused with it and begin absorbing it, allowing it to merge with their Blood Qi.

During this process, the quality of the Star Power Body-Tempering Pool became an important factor, affecting how quickly one could sense and absorb Star Power. It was an extremely important strategic resource. One reason he had wanted Lin Ye to get into one of the top three Regional Martial Universities was to make it easier for him to obtain a spot in this Grade B Star-Power Body Tempering Pool.

And now, Wind-Thunder Martial University had actually promised him a spot in a Grade B Pool. That was no small offer. The university was sparing no expense, and its sincerity was beyond question.

In an instant, countless thoughts flashed through Zheng Huai's mind.

Canglan's rejection, Wind-Thunder's urgency, the generous terms... He realized that, for Lin Ye, joining the seventh-ranked Wind-Thunder Martial University through special admission might be better than barely squeezing into Canglan's regular program. Winning Wind-Thunder's favor and receiving a corresponding share of its resources might make his martial arts career go more smoothly.

"Teacher Zheng?"

When Zhou Ting heard Zheng Huai fall silent, he called out to him.

Coming back to himself, Zheng Huai took a deep breath and broke into the first relaxed, confident smile he'd worn in days.

"Teacher Zhou."

His tone was solemn. "Thank you for how highly Wind-Thunder Martial University thinks of Lin Ye. I personally believe this really is an exceptionally rare opportunity for him. I'll send you Lin Ye's contact information in a moment. You can discuss the details directly with him. Of course, I'll also advise him to give your university's offer serious consideration."

"That's wonderful. Thank you so much, Teacher Zheng!"

Hearing Zheng Huai's assurance, Zhou Ting's voice was clearly filled with delight. The reason he'd contacted Zheng Huai first, instead of going to great lengths to find Lin Ye's family number, was precisely this.

Having someone you knew—especially a teacher—recommend you was far more effective than struggling to persuade Lin Ye yourself.

After hanging up with Zhou Ting, Zheng Huai gazed out the window. The sunlight seemed brighter than before.

He immediately picked up his terminal and pulled up Lin Ye's number. Instead of calling right away, he sent a brief message first: "Lin Ye, if a teacher from Wind-Thunder Martial University contacts you, you can take the call. It should be about a special-admission offer. Their terms are quite generous. Listen carefully, consider it seriously, and choose well."

The message was sent successfully.

After seeing the notification, Zheng Huai set down his Smart Terminal, picked up the cup of tea on his desk, now lukewarm, and took a slow sip.

The smile on his lips lingered.

Lin Ye's home, Jiayuan Residential District.

Afternoon sunlight filtered through the Smart Curtains and cast a soft golden glow across the floor.

Lin Ye's routine remained unchanged: he spent the mornings with his parents, went to the Public Training Room in the afternoon or evening to practice Lost Track Steps, and occasionally played a few rounds of Virtual Fighting Game at night.

That afternoon, he'd just returned from the training room, still carrying a faint trace of sweat. After changing, he sat in his Virtual Pod, browsing the news and feasting on the latest online gossip.

Just then, the Smart Wristwatch on his wrist vibrated inside the Virtual Pod, shaking the virtual interface along with it. An unfamiliar incoming call appeared before his eyes, marked as coming from Wind-Thunder Martial University.

"Wind-Thunder Martial University?"

Lin Ye murmured, puzzled. Why would Wind-Thunder Martial University, ranked at the bottom among the Regional Martial Universities, contact him? Were they trying to persuade him to enroll?

But his score was more than enough for an ordinary Regional Martial University. There was no way he'd consider the bottom-ranked Wind-Thunder Martial University. Even if he couldn't get into one of the top three, he was more inclined to consider East Sea Martial University, the closest to home.

Still, since they'd called, it would be rude not to answer.

With a thought, he accepted the call.

"Hello, may I speak with Lin Ye?"

A hearty, powerful male voice came through, carrying a formality that made it hard not to take him seriously.

"This is Lin Ye. May I ask who's calling?"

Lin Ye replied.

"Hello, Lin Ye. I'm Zhou Ting, a teacher at Wind-Thunder Martial University."

Zhou Ting got straight to the point. "I'm contacting you today on behalf of Wind-Thunder Martial University to formally offer you special admission."

"Special admission for me?"

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow slightly and sat up straighter.

Special admission for him?

That couldn't be common at a Regional Martial University, could it?

"That's right."

Zhou Ting's hearty voice came through. "We've been following your performance in the High School Entrance Exam. You were particularly impressive in the fifth and sixth rounds of the Ranking Tournament. Your fist technique contains the faint beginnings of Momentum, which is very rare at your age. Our university held an internal meeting and decided to offer you special admission, bypassing the regular Martial Arts College Entrance Exam admissions process. If you agree to come to Wind-Thunder, we're prepared to provide you with a series of targeted resources."

"Additional resources?"

At that, Lin Ye understood where their confidence came from.

"That's right. Additional resources."

Noticing that Lin Ye seemed particularly interested, Zhou Ting continued.

"In addition to waiving all basic tuition and fees, we'd offer the following special benefits."

"First, to help make up for your relatively low Blood Qi Value, our university is willing to provide you with one internally refined Foundation-Building Blood-Qi Pill every week during your first academic year, for your cultivation. It's about fifty percent more efficient to absorb than ordinary Blood-Qi Pills on the market. Over the course of the year, that should be enough to raise your Blood Qi to at least the Mid-Stage Blood-Qi Realm, perhaps even higher."

Lin Ye's heart stirred at those words. He was tempted.

Blood-Qi Pills... He knew about those. They were more effective at increasing Blood Qi than Nutrient Agents of the same grade. If an F-Grade Nutrient could raise his Blood Qi by ten points a month, a Blood-Qi Pill could raise it by twenty or thirty—twice as effective. He'd never heard of the High-Purity Blood-Qi Pill Zhou Ting had mentioned, but from the sound of it, it must be quite valuable. Wind-Thunder Martial University was willing to provide one every week. That was a substantial offer.

When Lin Ye didn't respond immediately, Zhou Ting continued listing the benefits. "Second, you'd get free access to D-Grade Martial Arts. Our university's D-Grade Martial Arts collection would be open to you at no cost. You could borrow anything you wanted, with no time limit. And if you wanted to study C-Grade Martial Arts, you'd need only half as many points as everyone else."

"Third, once you enter the Blood-Qi Realm, you can choose any Breathing Technique you like. We have several top-tier techniques to choose from, and they'd all be free, of course."

As he listened, Lin Ye tapped his fingers lightly, growing increasingly tempted.

The Breathing Technique of the Blood-Qi Realm was equivalent to Stake Training in the Body Tempering Realm. Once you entered the Blood-Qi Realm, Stake Training became far less effective and could no longer keep Blood Qi progressing rapidly, so Breathing Techniques had come into use. Their quality affected not only the quality of one's Blood Qi but, supposedly, one's combat strength as well.

Whatever the case, Lin Ye could already feel Wind-Thunder Martial University's sincerity. The terms they were offering him were indeed far better than what an ordinary freshman would receive.