Registration

April 8th.

Monday.

Magic Capital!

The air was stifling and windless. In the height of summer, the weather was like blazing fire, as though it would swallow everything whole.

Yet no matter how oppressive the heat was, it could not dampen the vigor of youth.

Magic Capital Affiliated High School, Martial Arts Training Class.

"Mosquito, have you paid the registration fee yet?"

Class had yet to begin. Two or three boys in martial arts uniforms were gathered in a corner at the back, chatting together.

Today was the day registration for the martial arts exam began.

"Not yet. Let's go together later. By the way, are you guys planning to go to Capital Martial Academy or Magic Martial Academy?"

Cheng Wen, sitting atop a desk, shook his head before asking casually.

"Capital Martial Academy, I guess. My family wants me to apply there. Sometimes I really don't get it—if they both work at the Investigation Bureau in Magic Martial Academy, why won't they let me attend Magic Martial Academy? It's closer to home and more convenient to look after me."

The student standing beside him scratched his head, his face full of confusion.

"Yeah. One of my cousins was talked into it for ages too. They said something about how a real man needed to be independent and shouldn't always think about relying on his elders. In the end, he went to Capital Martial Academy. It always feels like they're hiding something from us."

This student shared the same doubts. Their elders seemed unwilling to let them remain in Magic Capital.

"That's not right!"

Cheng Wen blurted out instinctively. Seeing the two turn their gazes toward him, he hurriedly said, "My family is pretty supportive of me staying in Magic Capital."

"Then I don't understand it. Every parent is different, I suppose. Maybe they really do want to temper our abilities."

Lai Yu muttered a couple of words, then said, "Hm? So you're planning to go to Magic Martial Academy? I heard Su Yi is going there too."

"Of course. With Su Yi as my example, I'll definitely improve faster than you guys." Cheng Wen said smugly.

The two of them both revealed envious looks.

Su Yi was kind and often helped his classmates resolve their doubts, whether in their studies or cultivation.

At first, quite a few people had been unconvinced.

They were all the same age, so why should you be the one standing over my head?

But they could not match him in bone tempering, nor could they match him in academics. Gradually, no one bothered comparing themselves to him anymore.

Just as they were chatting animatedly, a voice came from outside the corridor.

"Mm, alright. I'll read it!"

In the corridor, Su Yi reached out and caught a pink envelope, speaking with sincerity and gentleness.

This was not the first time he had received a love letter. He was already well experienced in handling them.

"Th-th-thank you, Senior!"

Faced with Su Yi's radiant, sunny smile, the junior girl was clearly a little shy. Seeing him accept the envelope, she hurriedly ran away.

"Woooah~~!"

The three in the classroom erupted into cheers after seeing the junior girl leave.

After all, they were in the Martial Arts Training Class, where they usually cultivated in pursuit of becoming martial artists.

What was more, the College Entrance Exam was drawing near. Where would they find the time to date?

Su Yi did not pay much attention to the three's teasing. Boys their age all liked to make a racket; not even daily cultivation could wear away their overflowing energy.

"Su Yi, what do you think? I've never seen that junior before. She looked so delicate and frail."

Cheng Wen was the first unable to restrain his gossiping heart, waggling his brows as he spoke.

"Yeah, yeah. Are you planning to accept her, Su Yi?"

The other two also began egging him on.

"Better not. The College Entrance Exam is almost here. I don't have the mind for that right now."

As he spoke, Su Yi walked to his seat in the middle of the third row.

"With this time, you might as well cultivate more."

"With your strength, wouldn't the two academies be fighting to take you? Hehe, it's not like you don't know our strength."

Cheng Wen said confidently, "Only this Lazy Yu guy is truly lazy. He's been stuck at 179 cal and won't budge."

Of the three of them, he and Li Xian had already successfully completed Second Bone Tempering. Only Lai Yu remained stuck at the bottleneck.

"Bullshit! Is this because I'm lazy? It's a bottleneck! A bottleneck, understand?"

As he spoke, Lai Yu had already rolled up his sleeves. If Cheng Wen dared to keep running his mouth, he'd show him why flowers were so red.

This guy had been mocking them nonstop ever since he broke through to Second Bone Tempering half a month ago.

Half a month!

Those half a month had been truly miserable. Li Xian had broken through a few days ago too, yet he hadn't said a thing.

Su Yi had even broken through to Third Bone Tempering.

Unlike this guy! What a mistake it had been to make friends.

"Ha ha." Seeing Lai Yu's expression, Cheng Wen couldn't help himself again. After two laughs, he was about to continue mocking him. After all, Lai Yu couldn't beat him right now.

"Uh, with your—"

They had been lousy friends for years; who didn't know the others inside out? The moment they saw Cheng Wen's expression, they knew exactly what he was planning.

Before Cheng Wen could finish, Lai Yu circled behind him and locked him in a chokehold, making Cheng Wen repeatedly arch backward.

"Y-you, let... go, Lazy Fish. If you don't let go, I'm getting mad."

Cheng Wen was having trouble breathing from the chokehold and hurriedly called out.

"In your dreams, you bastard! That's for mocking me!"

Lai Yu paid no attention to Cheng Wen's words or his flailing arms. Today, he was definitely going to vent properly.

I can't beat you head-on, but now that I've got you in a hold, there's no way I'm letting go so easily.

"That's for scamming away my allowance!!"

"That's for calling me Lazy Fish!!!"

"That's for..."

The more he spoke, the angrier he became. He truly wanted nothing more than to humanely destroy this guy.

The two had known each other since childhood and had over ten years of friendship, yet this guy was always trying to fleece him.

Su Yi and Li Xian watched the show from the side, clearly used to it.

After fooling around for a while, Lai Yu finally released Cheng Wen.

Cheng Wen rubbed his neck with his right hand and glared at Lai Yu, thinking, This guy really fights dirty.

Lai Yu glared right back, unwilling to yield an inch.

"Alright, stop messing around. What are your Blood Qi levels now? Have you measured them?"

Having watched the show for quite a while, Su Yi was starting to find it unbearable and hurriedly called a stop.

"I only broke through to Second Bone Tempering a few days ago. When I measured the day before yesterday, I was at 181 Cal." Li Xian answered with a smile.

"183 Cal."

Lai Yu replied somewhat dejectedly, "I'm still the same as before. Breaking through to Second Bone Tempering is so hard. I've been stuck for ages."

"It's fine. Take it slow. You can't rush a bottleneck." Su Yi sincerely comforted him.

"Sigh... I really envy you, Su Yi. It's like you don't have bottlenecks at all. You achieved Third Bone Tempering in less than a year."

That really was something to envy. In the entire Martial Arts Class, with more than fifty students, he was the only one at Third Bone Tempering. Including Lai Yu and Li Xian, there were only three at Second Bone Tempering.

Among the rest, there were only seven who had reached First Bone Tempering.

"Envy +1."

"Envy +2."

"Envy +100!"

After they had chatted for quite some time, classmates began arriving in the classroom.

"I've trained martial arts so hard, yet I've only reached First Bone Tempering. I, Liu Kai, hereby express my real-name envy."

Liu Kai entered the classroom together with several classmates.

"Yeah, envy +999!"

"Envy +10086!"

"..."

Su Yi smiled politely. "I just got lucky."

Luck?

Many people liked to attribute their success to luck. It was not only humility, but also a consolation for those who had failed.

See? It wasn't that I didn't work hard enough. My luck was just a little worse, that's all.

And they could not even really be called failures. Even the weakest students admitted into the Martial Arts Class had 125 Cal of Blood Qi.

That was already something countless ordinary people could only dream of.

Everything needed comparison. Different levels came with different perspectives and goals.

Amid the idle chatter, nearly all the students had arrived.

Magic Capital Affiliated High School was the best high school under Magic Martial Academy, and Su Yi was in its most elite Martial Arts Class.

Competition in the Martial Arts Class was fierce. Every monthly assessment came with rewards of various pills, and nearly half of Su Yi's resources came from those assessment rewards.

His powerful Spiritual Power put him at the very top of his academic classes. Ever since he achieved First Bone Tempering, the reward for first place in the Martial Arts Class had never gone to anyone else.

"Su Yi, you're still as modest as ever. Where does all that luck come from? How come I never break through?"

A crisp voice rang out as Mao Qiutong spoke with a grin.

Mao Qiutong had reached Second Bone Tempering. She was the only girl among those at Second Bone Tempering, and she was also Su Yi's deskmate.

Her parents were both Fifth Grade martial artists, while her grandfather was even a Seventh Grade Grandmaster. Yet even with her talent and countless resources, she was still stuck at Second Bone Tempering.

She admired Su Yi quite a bit. He was sunny and handsome, and both his talent and temperament were good.

"Then add hard work to the mix," Su Yi said, raising his brows and flashing a sunny smile.

"Ding—"

The bell rang. Their burly homeroom instructor strode into the classroom, a box in his hands.

Once the room had quieted down, the instructor got straight to the point. "Martial Arts College Entrance Exam registration begins today. I'll hand out the registration forms now. Fill them out, and put your registration fees in the box on the podium yourselves."

With that, he casually set the box on the podium, pulled out a stack of registration forms, and began distributing them.

In just over ten minutes, the forms had all been filled out and handed in.

Efficient. Simple.

This was the Martial Arts Class—was there anyone who would not register for the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam?

Never.

The status of martial artists was simply too high.

So high that countless ordinary people envied them.

Without becoming a martial artist, one could not rise beyond the city level in business, politics, or the military.

Students from ordinary families would never let this opportunity slip by.

Neither would the second generation of martial artists. Those who would skip it would not have come to the Martial Arts Class in the first place.

After a brief count, the instructor braced both hands on the podium and said in a booming voice, "Tomorrow, the detailed schedule for the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam assessments will be handed out, along with all kinds of precautions. Read them carefully.

"You all have the materials for the Five Gates of Martial Exam as well. Whatever you're lacking, use this time to make up for it."

With that, he picked up the box and strode away.

Of the Five Gates of Martial Exam, there was no need to pay much attention to the political review. Anyone who could enter the Martial Arts Class would never have any issues there.

The Specialty Exam and academic subjects were not much of a problem either. The higher a martial artist's Spiritual Power, the better their memory and comprehension would become.

With Su Yi's exceptionally high Spiritual Power, although he had not spent much time studying, he had always remained first in his class.

Under normal circumstances, the physical test and practical test were the focus for martial artists, but neither posed any problem for Su Yi.

So once the instructor left, Su Yi stood up as well, preparing to head to the office.

His Blood Qi had already been nurtured to its absolute limit. It was time to break through and become a martial artist.

The moment Su Yi stood, he drew everyone's attention. As the face of Class 1, his every move was constantly watched.

Cheng Wen asked in confusion, "Brother Yi, where are you going?"

Su Yi did not hide his intentions. "I'm going to apply to the instructor for a Guardian for my breakthrough to martial artist."

"Holy shit! You're breaking through already?"

Cheng Wen's outburst immediately struck a chord with the rest of the class.

"Holy shit!"

"What?"

"..."

He was actually breaking through already? Their pressure instantly maxed out.

"Brother Yi, are you still looking for a boyfriend?" someone shouted.

With talent that good, even being a guy was not a dealbreaker.

The classmates began to join in the ruckus.

"How can you do this? Su Yi belongs to us girls! Sisters, it's time to defend Su Yi's chastity!"

"Brother Yi, you're mine!"

"Brother Yi, marry me!!"

Su Yi, his face dark with exasperation, looked at his increasingly outrageous classmates. Speechless, he shot a glare at the boy who had shouted first.

Then he turned and left, no longer paying attention to the waves of clamor rising and falling behind him in the classroom.