A Hundred Kilometers Consumes a Bottle of Mineral Water

[Host: Ji Ruo]

[Unlocked Achievement Category: Martial Dao]

[Unlocked Achievements: 1]

[Martial Skill: Iron Sand Palm · Entering the Hall (225/1000)]

Recalling the experience from two months ago, Ji Ruo still felt a twinge of emotion.

Back then, having just transmigrated not long ago, Ji Ruo had obtained the original owner's memories and soon after acquired his golden finger—an Achievement System.

The original owner was an orphan, his parents having died in a confrontation with a Monster Beast. The current Ji Ruo lived on government welfare, which was why he studied with such fierce diligence.

As for his system, it allowed Ji Ruo to unlock and upgrade corresponding skills by achieving various accomplishments.

But this system didn't seem very intelligent. There was no newbie gift pack, no specific instructions on how to unlock achievements—everything required Ji Ruo to figure it out on his own.

At first, Ji Ruo tried many methods. Drawing on years of reading webnovels, he attempted all sorts of approaches, but he simply couldn't trigger any achievements.

This led Ji Ruo to believe, for a time, that his system was just a decoration, completely useless.

That was until a few days ago, when Ji Ruo's emergency food supply ran out and he went downstairs to restock.

He hadn't originally planned to buy rice. After all, living alone made cooking a bit troublesome—it was easier and cheaper to just eat noodles.

The monthly subsidy the government gave him wasn't small, but as the saying goes, "the poor study civil arts, the rich practice martial arts." Training in martial arts required consuming all kinds of high-energy ingredients; relying solely on the body's natural absorption of spiritual energy wouldn't cut it.

Martial artists were beings who gathered all power into themselves.

The human body was a vast treasure trove, and even today, humanity had yet to fully excavate it.

That day, Ji Ruo passed by the staple food section. Seeing the tall pile of rice, he inexplicably thrust his hand into it.

This was a habit he'd had since childhood. When he was young, he'd thought he was practicing the Iron Sand Palm, but as he grew older, that feeling had long faded. Still, the habit remained.

At the time, it was just a subconscious action. Yet the moment his hand was completely buried in the rice, the system's friendly chime rang in Ji Ruo's ears.

[Congratulations, Host Little Friend, for unlocking the achievement: Iron Palm Rice Insertion!]

[Acquired Martial Skill: Iron Sand Palm (Current Rank: First Glimpse of the Path, Proficiency 0. Proficiency can be increased through achievement completion.)]

[Note: Iron Sand Palm pairs perfectly with fried rice~]

That was the system notification when he first achieved it. Now, Ji Ruo's Iron Sand Palm had already reached Entering the Hall.

It was only then that Ji Ruo finally understood.

So his system was child-oriented.

To be honest, this was the first time he'd seen such a friendly system—what the hell was "Host Little Friend"!?

But the system's functions were powerful.

Having been transmigrated for two months, he knew very well that although the Iron Sand Palm was just an ordinary martial skill, it was still one of the best among the Martial Apprentice level—which corresponded to high school students and even some college students.

Under normal circumstances, if one wanted to cultivate the Iron Sand Palm to the Entering the Hall level, not only would the palms undergo some degree of deformation, but the training process also required soaking the hands in large amounts of specially formulated medicinal liquid.

Otherwise, forcing the training would only ruin both hands, with no gains whatsoever.

Of course, this level of resource consumption was affordable for ordinary families. But Ji Ruo was not from an ordinary family. Although the government welfare wasn't small, using it to train a martial skill that required special medicinal liquid was still a stretch.

That the original owner had managed to reach the sixth level of Martial Apprentice under these circumstances was already quite impressive.

The Martial Apprentice stage had nine levels in total. Level six was the average level for college entrance exam candidates over the years, and this was the result of the original owner's desperate efforts with limited resources.

So, Ji Ruo's system was very strong.

It allowed him to cultivate the Iron Sand Palm to the Entering the Hall level without consuming any extra resources. Putting everything else aside, at least it saved money.

From First Glimpse of the Path to Entering the Hall, Ji Ruo had only used up one bag of rice—and it wasn't even completely consumed, since he had stir-fried that rice with his palms and eaten it.

What did that mean?

It was roughly equivalent to a car consuming a bottle of mineral water per hundred kilometers—the absurd part being that the mineral water was mainly drunk by the driver.

"Three more days."

Ji Ruo placed the bag of rice in the kitchen, poured a third of it into a pot, inserted both hands, and began to stir-fry.

For every ten stirs with both hands, the Iron Sand Palm's proficiency increased by one point.

During this process, Ji Ruo's palms glowed with a faint red light, the temperature gradually rising as he trained.

He had calculated that this pot of rice could only be stir-fried about a thousand times before it was cooked, yielding roughly a hundred proficiency points.

As a martial artist, Ji Ruo had a big appetite. This pot of rice, enough to completely bury a young man's hands, when cooked, was just enough for one day's meals.

The nutrients absorbed were sufficient for him to train until midnight.

For these three days, Ji Ruo planned not to go out.

Time passed, and three days later arrived.

Ji Ruo went to school to assemble.

In all of Cloud City No. 1 High School, 863 students were participating in this year's college entrance exam.

The exam was held jointly by all schools. Based on past years' data, there were roughly one million candidates, with a mortality rate of nearly three percent. That meant every year, nearly thirty thousand students would remain forever in the exam venue.

"Students, this trip to the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm is the moment to test the fruits of your years of cultivation."

The Principal stood high on the flag-raising platform, delivering his pre-exam mobilization.

"I must advise all of you that a martial artist's duty is to protect, not to seek out violence and aggression. So, each of you should consider carefully. If you feel you cannot adapt to such a life, now is the time to withdraw.

Once you enter the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm, even though you will be issued emergency Rescue Devices during the Martial Exam, rescue personnel cannot arrive on the scene immediately.

At that point, life and death will be left to fate.

And a martial artist requires unwavering courage and the resolve that 'with me, there is no enemy.'

Therefore, I hope the students will think it over one last time."

Ji Ruo raised an eyebrow.

This was the first time he had seen such a pre-exam mobilization.

The Principal was actually urging students to drop out.

But thinking about it, it made sense. After all, this was a secret realm. Hundreds of thousands of people would be taking the exam simultaneously. Though the Monster Beasts inside were low-ranked, their numbers would certainly be massive.

The danger level wouldn't be low.

A moment later, seeing no one withdraw, the Principal looked out at the more than eight hundred youthful faces below, all filled with determination.

Though they were facing bloodshed for the first time, they seemed to have already prepared themselves.

"I understand."

The Principal said with relief, "Here, I wish all of you a triumphant start. Beginning from this Ten Thousand Beast Mountain, step onto the path toward the pinnacle of the Martial Dao. You are all the future of humanity!"

With that, the Principal waved his hand grandly: "Now, each class, organize your students and come forward in an orderly manner to receive your weapons!"

Behind him, the Dean of Students was fiddling with a device. After the first class had collected their weapons, the device was fully activated.

A swirling portal of indescribable color appeared on the flag-raising platform.

"Then I once again wish all of you a victorious return. And now—"

"The exam begins!"

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