Mei Xiaqing

On the track, before Bai Yang passed out, he could only hear the voices around him clamoring as his consciousness grew hazier by the second.

"Bro, that was incredible!"

"I've never seen you before. Are you a freshman?"

"That had to be a martial artist's speed, right? And you kept it up for so long. I'm impressed!"

"He's passed out. Get him to the infirmary!"

"Our First Military Academy has another powerhouse!"

A group of students lifted him in a flurry of activity and hurried toward the infirmary.

No one noticed the uniformed man in the distance, much less heard his question.

Behind the middle-aged man, a stern-looking female adjutant glanced down at the tablet in her hands and reported, "War God Lu, his name is Bai Yang. He's nineteen years old and a freshman who enrolled last year. He's the nephew of Bai Pianyong from the Limit Dojo."

Lu Ting furrowed his brow and asked, "The Bai family? Is he from Kyoto Base City too?"

The female adjutant shook her head. "The connection isn't very close. The Jiangnan branch has never been on good terms with the main family. Only Bai Pianyong's son, Bai Sheng, is studying in Kyoto. They say he has a great chance of becoming a War God, so the Bai Family forcibly summoned him back."

Lu Ting pondered for a moment, then instructed her, "Notify the infirmary and have them investigate thoroughly. First, find out whether pushing himself like that today will leave him with any health problems. If so, determine what it'll take to treat them.

"Second, find out whether he took any rare natural treasures or genetic drugs beforehand. I want to know by noon."

The female adjutant snapped her heels together, gave him an exceptionally formal salute, then turned and left.

She had followed War God Lu for many years. He had even changed his itinerary on the spot, which made it clear that he thought highly of Bai Yang.

She didn't need to ask why, nor could she simply send over an order and leave it at that. She had to go and oversee the matter in person.

Lu Ting headed alone toward the principal's office. He had only come back to the school to visit an old friend.

He'd planned to drop by early, while there weren't many people around, and leave as quickly as he could.

He hadn't expected to find such an unexpected surprise. A nineteen-year-old martial artist was nothing special.

But Bai Yang's willpower and flawless movements were exceedingly rare, and worth looking into.

He would stay in Jiangnan Base City for now and see how things developed.

Bai Yang slowly woke up, feeling unbearably hungry. The sharp smell of disinfectant and alcohol filled his nostrils.

"Where am I? The infirmary?"

He looked down at himself and was so startled that he nearly jumped.

He was covered from head to toe in electrodes and monitoring equipment. It looked like they were making a huge fuss over him.

A doctor with a receding hairline stood beside the bed, checking a list in his hand and occasionally glancing at the readings on the nearby machines.

I just stopped acting human and got found out already? Are they going to cut me open?

Bai Yang tensed up warily, quietly gathering his strength. Just then, the doctor noticed that he was awake.

The doctor smiled warmly and asked with concern, "Bai Yang, are you feeling unwell anywhere?"

They even looked up my name!

Bai Yang feigned confusion and asked, "Doctor, what happened to me?"

Seeing his troubled expression, the doctor explained, "There's nothing wrong with you. Your body is very healthy after the genetic optimization. You'd just recently broken through and then kept up strenuous exercise, so your body couldn't adapt right away.

"I gave you some glucose. Once you feel all right, go to the Academic Affairs Office."

Bai Yang's expression shifted. "The Academic Affairs Office? What do I need to go there for?"

"To process your withdrawal." A woman's voice suddenly cut in.

The two of them hurriedly turned around. A sharp-looking female officer had walked in.

Bai Yang glanced at her shoulder insignia. The rank of major!

The female officer held out her hand and shook his firmly before introducing herself. "I'm Mei Xiaqing, War God Lu's adjutant. You can call me Sister Mei from now on."

Bai Yang guessed she was around twenty-seven or twenty-eight. She was tall and quite beautiful, but she carried herself with the unmistakable air of a soldier.

She had plenty of vigor but little softness. Her stiff, by-the-book manner made it hard to feel close to her.

As a student at Jiangnan First Military Academy, Bai Yang automatically held military status, so he couldn't just be transferred at will.

Now, for some inexplicable reason, he was being told to withdraw. It was probably arranged by that so-called War God Lu.

The best thing to do now was play dumb and ask some "normal" questions.

Bai Yang seemed to consider it for a long time, but confusion still showed on his face. "Sister Mei, why do I have to withdraw? Is this War God Lu's arrangement? Who is he?"

Mei Xiaqing nodded. "That's right. It's War God Lu's decision. I'm not authorized to tell you about his identity. Don't worry. He's not making you withdraw for anything bad. He's transferring you to Kyoto First Military Academy."

Kyoto First Military Academy!

Bai Yang and the doctor both froze.

Which school was the best in Huaxia?

In his previous life, people could argue for countless pages on the forums over whether Tsinghua or Peking University was better.

But in this extraordinary post-disaster era, Kyoto First Military Academy had become one of the two top schools.

And among military academies, it stood head and shoulders above the rest, far surpassing Jiangnan First Military Academy.

Now that Bai Yang had his own opportunity, he wouldn't have been all that excited even if he'd been sent straight to War God Camp, let alone to a university.

Still, he understood how much effort and influence a transfer like this required.

Bai Yang put on an expression of excitement mixed with nervousness and stopped asking questions.

He'd have to wait until he met that War God with the surname Lu to understand what was going on.

He got out of bed, pulled off the electrodes, got dressed, and followed Sister Mei to the Academic Affairs Office.

Mei Xiaqing was tall and strikingly made up, with a tight skirt hugging her two long, fair legs.

She carried a thick file folder in one hand and still looked sharp and capable. Every movement, even the way she walked, had a soldier's precision.

They drew countless admiring glances from young men and women along the way. Bai Yang said nothing, following behind her and playing the part of an unobtrusive nobody.

They arrived at a three-story white building. It was the Academic Affairs Office of Jiangnan First Military Academy.

Admissions and withdrawals were handled on the second floor. They went straight up the stairs, and who knew how many pairs of eyes watched them along the way.

Mei Xiaqing showed a staff member in the admissions office some kind of credential, then pushed the file folder across the desk.

The staff member glanced at the two of them in surprise, then immediately got to work.

Bai Yang frowned inwardly. Everything was happening far too efficiently.

It wasn't even noon yet. When had they prepared all this?

Just then, Mei Xiaqing turned to him. "I'm going upstairs to collect a fax. Wait here." Then she went upstairs.

Bai Yang agreed, wanting to figure out how all of this had happened.

He took out his phone and checked the school forum.

Before long, he found a post about how he'd passed out. Other students had taken photos and uploaded them, but there was no sign of Mei Xiaqing.

He was puzzling over it when he suddenly heard a strange shout behind him:

"Bai Yang, what are you doing here? Your grades are bad, and now you're slacking off instead of training?"

That was Supervisor Geng, the bald one!

The moment Bai Yang heard his voice, anger flared inside him.