One Bottle of Mineral Water for Every Hundred Kilometers

[Host: Ji Ruo]

[Unlocked Achievement Category: Martial Dao]

[Number of Unlocked Achievements: 1]

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

Recalling what had happened two months ago, Ji Ruo still felt a little wistful.

Back then, not long after transmigrating, Ji Ruo had gained the original owner's memories. Soon after, he had acquired his own golden finger: an Achievement System.

The original owner had been an orphan. His parents had died fighting Monster Beasts, and Ji Ruo now received government assistance, so he studied exceptionally hard.

His system let Ji Ruo unlock and upgrade corresponding skills by achieving all kinds of accomplishments.

But the system didn't seem very intelligent. There was no beginner's gift pack, nor any explanation of how to unlock achievements. Ji Ruo had to figure everything out on his own.

At first, Ji Ruo had tried all sorts of things. Drawing on years of reading novels, he tested every trope he could think of, but he couldn't achieve a single thing.

For a while, that made Ji Ruo think his system was just for show, completely useless.

That was until a few days ago, when he ran out of food at home and went downstairs to restock.

He hadn't planned to buy rice. Living alone, cooking was a bit of a hassle, and noodles were more convenient and cheaper.

The monthly allowance he received from the government was generous, but as the saying went, literature made you poor and martial arts made you rich. Practicing martial arts required eating all kinds of high-energy foods. Without them, it was impossible to keep training by relying solely on the body's absorption of Spirit Qi.

Martial artists were beings who gathered all power within themselves.

The human body was an immense treasure, and even today, humanity had yet to fully unearth it.

That day, as Ji Ruo passed the staple-food section, he saw the towering pile of rice and, as if bewitched, plunged his hand into it.

It was a habit he'd had since childhood. When he was little, he thought he was practicing Iron Sand Palm. But as he grew older, that feeling had long since faded. The habit, however, remained.

At the time, it had been nothing more than an unconscious gesture. Yet the moment his hand was completely submerged in the pile of rice, the system's friendly notification sounded in his ear.

[Congratulations, little host! You've unlocked the achievement: Iron Palm Rice Insertion!]

[Obtained Martial Technique: Iron Sand Palm (Current Rank: First Glimpse of the Path, Proficiency: 0; proficiency can be increased by achieving accomplishments)]

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

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

It was only then that Ji Ruo had finally understood.

His system was designed for children.

Honestly, he'd never encountered a system this friendly before—what the hell was with calling him "little host"?

Still, the system was powerful.

Having transmigrated two months ago, Ji Ruo knew perfectly well that although Iron Sand Palm was only an ordinary Martial Technique, it was still one of the best techniques available to Martial Apprentices—the level most high school students and some college students had reached.

Under normal circumstances, reaching the Entering the Hall level in Iron Sand Palm would cause a certain degree of deformation in the hands. Training also required soaking them in large quantities of specially formulated medicinal solution.

Without it, forcing the practice would do nothing but ruin your hands.

Of course, most families could afford those resources. But Ji Ruo's family was anything but ordinary. The government's assistance was generous, but it still wasn't enough to cover the specially formulated medicinal solution needed to support training in this technique.

The original owner had managed to reach the level of a sixth-rank Martial Apprentice despite all that. That was already quite impressive.

The Martial Apprentice stage had nine ranks. Sixth rank was the average level among students taking the Martial Exam each year, and the original owner had reached it through sheer effort with limited resources.

So Ji Ruo's system was powerful.

It let him train in Iron Sand Palm to the Entering the Hall level without using any extra resources. Setting everything else aside, it had certainly saved him a lot.

To take Iron Sand Palm from First Glimpse of the Path to Entering the Hall, Ji Ruo had used up only one sack of rice—and even that wasn't entirely consumed, since he'd fried it with his bare hands and eaten it.

What did that amount to?

It was like a car using one bottle of mineral water for every hundred kilometers. The absurd part was that the driver drank most of that bottle.

"Three days left."

Ji Ruo put the sack of rice in the kitchen, poured a third of it into a pot, then plunged both hands in and began to stir-fry.

For every ten turns of his hands, Iron Sand Palm's proficiency increased by one point on average.

As he trained, a faint red glow rose from his hands, and their temperature gradually climbed.

He'd calculated that he could stir-fry this pot of rice about a thousand times before it was done, gaining roughly a hundred points of proficiency.

As a martial artist, Ji Ruo had a big appetite. This pot of rice, enough to completely submerge the boy's hands, would make just enough food for him to eat for a day once it was cooked.

The nutrients it provided would be enough to keep him training until midnight.

Ji Ruo didn't plan to leave the house for the next three days.

Time flew by, and three days later arrived.

Ji Ruo went to school to assemble with the others.

Cloud City No. 1 High School had 863 students taking the college entrance exam this year.

The exam was held simultaneously at every school. Judging by previous years' figures, there would be around a million candidates, with a death rate of nearly three percent. That meant almost thirty thousand students would never leave the examination grounds each year.

"Students, your trip to Ten Thousand Beast Mountain will test the results of all your years of training."

The principal stood atop the tall flag-raising platform, giving a pre-exam speech.

"What I want to remind you is that a martial artist's duty is to protect, not to fight for the sake of it. So think carefully: if you don't believe you can adapt to that life, you can still withdraw now.

"Once you enter the Ten Thousand Beast Mountain Secret Realm, you'll be given an emergency Rescue Device during the Martial Exam, but the rescue team won't be able to reach you right away.

"Then, your life or death will be in your own hands.

"Martial artists need courage that never falters and the conviction that no one can stand against them.

"So I want every one of you to think it over one last time."

Ji Ruo raised an eyebrow.

It was his first time seeing a pre-exam assembly like this.

Was the principal actually urging students to withdraw from the exam?

But when he thought about it, it made sense. It was a Secret Realm, and hundreds of thousands of people were taking the exam at once. The Monster Beasts inside might be low-ranked, but there were sure to be plenty of them.

The danger was no joke.

A moment later, the principal saw that no one had withdrawn. More than eight hundred young faces below him were filled with resolve.

It was their first time facing bloodshed, yet they seemed ready.

"I understand."

The principal said with approval, "I wish every one of you success. May you begin at Ten Thousand Beast Mountain and set foot on the Martial Dao that leads to its ultimate heights. You are the future of humanity!"

With that, the principal swept his hand through the air. "Now, each class, get your students organized and come forward in an orderly fashion to collect your weapons!"

Behind him, the Dean of Students fiddled with a device. As soon as the first class had collected their weapons, it activated.

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

"Then, I wish you all a triumphant return. Now..."

"The exam begins!"

New author, new book—please show your support~