One Punch to Explode Scum, System Activates On the Spot!

"Lin Feng, you motherfucker, you still dare to show your face here?"

Wang Jianguo, the director of the Academic Affairs Office, slammed his hand onto the desk, causing his teacup to rattle loudly.

Lin Feng stood at the doorway, his hands clenched into tight fists.

He stared at that greasy, smug face, his stomach churning with suppressed rage.

"Where is my subsidy?"

"What subsidy? There isn't one!"

Wang Jianguo propped his legs up on the desk and glanced at him sideways. "There are plenty of people who get into undergraduate Martial Dao programs. Why should I give it to you?"

Why?

Lin Feng's mind buzzed.

Three days ago, he had checked his acceptance notice for Martial Dao University.

Out of three hundred thousand candidates in the province, there were only a little over a thousand undergraduate spots.

He was one of them.

That night, his younger sister, Lin Xiaoyu, had hugged the acceptance letter and cried all night long.

It wasn't out of sadness, but pure excitement.

The hard days for the siblings were finally coming to an end.

Ever since their parents died in a car accident, he had been supporting the household by working odd jobs at a martial arts gym.

Sixteen-year-old Xiaoyu was still in high school, and the tuition, living expenses, and rent cut into their lives like a knife every single month.

But an undergraduate Martial Dao degree was different.

Once he graduated, his future would be limitless; a monthly salary of ten thousand was merely the starting point.

To cultivate martial arts talent, the state had even established a two-hundred-thousand-credit subsidy for impoverished students—a massive sum that would be enough to sustain him until graduation and change his destiny.

"I have already submitted the application materials," Lin Feng said, forcing down his anger. "The system shows that it was approved."

"Approved?" Wang Jianguo sneered and pulled a document out of his drawer. "Take a look. The spots for this year were decided long ago."

Lin Feng took the document, his eyes scanning the names listed.

Li Haoran—the son of the city's Martial Arts Association president.

Zhang Mingxuan—the nephew of the Education Bureau director.

Next to every single name, the words "financial hardship" were marked.

But Lin Feng knew Li Haoran.

That kid drove a luxury car to school, and the Psionic Watch on his wrist was worth five hundred thousand.

"These people..." Looking at the list on the paper, Lin Feng's hands began to tremble with rage.

"What? You have an opinion?" Wang Jianguo leaned back in his chair and lit a cigarette. "Kid, society isn't as simple as you think. You think getting into an undergraduate Martial Dao program makes you something special? Without money, you won't even be able to register."

In the swirling smoke, that face looked particularly twisted.

Lin Feng's mind flashed back to his sister's face from last night, filled with hope and longing.

He knew better than anyone that this undergraduate spot was the only way out for their family and the only hope for his sister.

"That spot belongs to me," Lin Feng said, enunciating every word, his voice filled with unquestionable resolve.

"Yours?" Wang Jianguo flicked his cigarette ash. "So what? What are you going to do about it?"

"I'll tell you the truth: your application form was never even submitted. So what if you met the requirements? With one word from me, I can hold that form back!"

With that, he pointed the finger holding his cigarette at Lin Feng's nose.

The air remained silent for several seconds.

Then, Lin Feng moved.

He took a step to the desk, grabbed Wang Jianguo by the collar with his right hand, and slammed his left fist directly into that face.

"Ah!!!"

If you can't endure it anymore, there's no need to endure!

Lin Feng's strength wasn't particularly high—only at the level of a Martial Disciple—but against a director who relied on connections, it was more than enough.

Wang Jianguo screamed as he fell to the floor, blood gushing from his nose.

"Are you insane?"

Lin Feng didn't speak; he flipped the desk over, sending files, the teacup, and the ashtray crashing to the ground.

He leaned down, grabbed Wang Jianguo by the collar again, and delivered another heavy punch.

"My sister is only eighteen!"

Bang!

"On the day Mom and Dad were buried, she didn't even dare to cry out loud!"

BANG!

"You parasite, pocketing state funds for your own gain—what right do you have to lecture me about society?!"

BANG!

One punch, then another!

Was the hope that had just been ignited in his home about to be extinguished by this fat pig before him?

Lin Feng would never allow it!

As the final punch landed, Wang Jianguo rolled his eyes back and passed out completely.

Lin Feng loosened his grip, his chest heaving violently.

His knuckles throbbed with pain, stained with blood that he couldn't distinguish as his own or the other's.

Rapid footsteps echoed from outside the door.

Lin Feng turned and walked out of the Academic Affairs Office; the hallway was packed with people.

Their gazes were filled with fear, schadenfreude, and pity, yet not a single person dared to stop him.

Graduates of Martial Arts High School were at least at the level of a Martial Disciple.

To them, ordinary people were nothing more than paper.

Lin Feng stepped out of the school gate, the sunlight stinging his eyes.

His phone vibrated.

It was a message from Xiao Yu: "Brother, how did the subsidy matter go?"

Lin Feng stared at the screen, his fingers typing and deleting, typing and deleting, unable to reply for a long time.

He truly didn't know how to answer his sister.

Two hundred thousand.

Tuition for Martial Dao University was fifty thousand per year, totaling two hundred thousand for four years.

Without the subsidy, he wouldn't even make it through the first year.

Was he really going to have to give up?

No.

Lin Feng opened his phone, and a notice popped up on the screen:

[Emergency Recruitment: Northern Frontier Defense Line guards. Two-year service, 200,000 subsidy, full tuition waiver for undergraduate Martial Dao students. Eligibility: 18 years of age or older...]

The Northern Frontier.

That was the most dangerous place in the entire Dragon Kingdom.

Fifty years ago, when spiritual energy revived, spatial Rifts tore open along the border, and countless Exotic Beasts poured in.

For every ten guards who went in, six came out horizontally, and the remaining four were either missing arms or legs.

Less than ten percent returned in one piece after a two-year service.

But Lin Feng had no choice.

His finger hovered over the screen, hesitating for less than three seconds.

Then, he pressed the registration button.

The moment he submitted, a blue light suddenly flashed before his eyes.

[Host's desperate will to survive detected, system activating...]

[Martial Dao System bound successfully]

[Spirit: 10]

[Realm: Martial Disciple Level 5 (35/50)]

[Cultivation Method: Basic Body Tempering Art (1/10)]

[Martial Skills: None]

[Talent: None]

[Tip: Killing Exotic Beasts grants Martial Path Points, which can be used for free stat allocation]

Lin Feng was stunned.

This was... a golden finger?

Lin Feng blinked, and the panel remained.

He tried to focus his attention, and the data immediately magnified, as clear as if it were etched onto his retinas.

"Holy crap!" Lin Feng muttered under his breath, "This is next-level."

He had just signed his life away, and the system arrived?

No, this isn't a contract of indenture; it's a path to leveling up!

Lin Feng's heart began to race wildly.

With the System, what was there to fear about the Northern Frontier? To others, it was a hell with a nine-in-ten chance of death, but to him, it was a paradise for grinding monsters and leveling up!

Not only would he receive a subsidy, but he could grow stronger at an unprecedented speed!

Strong enough that no one would ever be able to trample him underfoot again!

Lin Feng's gaze became incredibly resolute. A confirmation message popped up on his phone screen: [Please report to the Northern Frontier Seventh Defense Line by tomorrow. Failure to do so will be considered a forfeiture.]

He put his phone away and turned to walk home.

An alarm sounded in the distance; another Rift was fluctuating.

This world had already changed; the weak could only be crushed, while only the strong could survive.

And he, Lin Feng, had to become strong.

Not for anything else, but for the little sister who was still at home waiting for him to return for dinner.

When he returned home, Xiao Yu was cooking in the kitchen.

Hearing the door open, she poked her head out, a smile still on her face: "Brother, did the subsidy get approved?"

Lin Feng looked at her, his throat tightening.

"It was approved," he forced a smile, "but I have to take a trip to the frontier."

The spatula in Xiao Yu's hand clattered to the floor.

"The Northern Frontier? Brother, have you lost your mind? People die there!"

"Don't worry, who do you think your brother is?" Lin Feng walked over and ruffled her hair just like when she was a child. "When I come back, we won't have to worry about money ever again. You just focus on your studies at home and get into a better university than I did."

Xiao Yu's tears burst forth like a broken dam.

She threw herself into Lin Feng's arms, her frail body trembling violently.

"I don't want money, I don't want to go to university, I just want you to stay alive."

After their parents passed away, her brother was her only kin, the entirety of her world.

Lin Feng hugged her tightly, unable to say a single word.

In his mind, that cold System Panel was floating silently.

[Detected that the host is about to head to a high-risk area: Northern Frontier Defense Line]

[Reminder: Each Exotic Beast killed will grant corresponding Martial Path Points]

Lin Feng slowly closed his eyes.

The Northern Frontier—he had to go.