Jiangnan Pavilion

"Passed."

Yang Hui smiled, "I'll take them to handle the paperwork; it's almost 1:00 PM. You can begin your trials."

Suddenly, the dozen or so people in the vast hall were either chatting with one another or whispering, making the place quite lively.

Emerging from the Nine-Story Tower, the once overcast sky had begun to pour with heavy rain, and the three of them—Guan Ning, Luo Feng, and Yang Hui—stepped out under umbrellas.

"Although there are only 180-some students here, it secretly involves the five great powers of the world, as well as various families from the HR Alliance. The waters here run very deep..." Yang Hui said in a low voice.

Seeing that both had passed the test, Yang Hui kept reminding Guan Ning and Luo Feng on the way not to let their guard down; whether it was the government, special organizations, or other factions, they all valued strength above all else.

"Don't pay too much attention to those temptations. You only have one goal now—"

"To sprint for a higher ranking on the training camp leaderboard!"

"Including you two, there are 184 students in total, and every single one is a top-tier genius. What you must do is trample others under your feet and stand higher yourselves!" Yang Hui solemnly exhorted.

The two nodded.

"What codenames do you intend to choose?" Yang Hui asked. "Today is March 29th, and you will officially join the training camp on April 1st, 2057... Therefore, the first four digits of your codename must be '5704'. As for the last two, since you are the only two joining in April, you may choose any two numbers."

Luo Feng chose "03".

"Very well, Luo Feng, your student codename is 570403." Yang Hui nodded and looked at Guan Ning, asking, "Guan Ning, what about you?"

"17."

Guan Ning thought for a moment; other than his parents' death anniversary, there were no particularly special dates, but those were clearly unsuitable as a codename, so he decided to use his age.

"17?" Yang Hui glanced at Guan Ning, clearly understanding the reason. "Then Guan Ning, your student codename is 570417. The rest of the paperwork will be done in a moment."

On the Black Dragon sculpture leaderboard of the world's number one training camp, two new names appeared that very day—

NO.183 Luo Feng (570403)

NO.184 Guan Ning (570417)

The changes on the Black Dragon leaderboard spread almost instantly to the five great powers and every base city across the globe. Various government military special departments, as well as the nine core families and dozens of important families of the HR Alliance, quickly received this information. Moreover, that very day, every one of these institutions and organizations obtained a detailed dossier on Guan Ning and Luo Feng!

From their birth, through elementary, middle, and high school...

Their relatives, friends, and everything else appeared in minute detail before the eyes of various big shots and power brokers.

Guan Ning and Luo Feng, who had attracted the attention of the major powers, walked under their umbrellas beside Yang Hui. After crossing a wooden arched bridge, they arrived at a complex of buildings. Yang Hui pointed not far away: "Luo Feng, Guan Ning, that courtyard over there is the Jiangnan Pavilion. There are already two students residing in the Jiangnan Pavilion."

As Luo Feng listened to Yang Hui introduce the strength of the students in the Jiangnan Pavilion, he wore an expression of disbelief upon hearing about the strength of Shi Jiang, who ranked in the top five.

Guan Ning watched Luo Feng's surprised expression and found it quite amusing. He secretly took a few photos with his communication watch; surely, when the future Galaxy Overlord saw these later, that expression... it would be completely unimaginable.

"Jiangnan Pavilion?" Guan Ning seemed to recall something and muttered belatedly: "Doesn't that mean she's there too? How unlucky!"

Yang Hui seemed to have heard Guan Ning's inner thoughts and said with a smile, "Guan Ning, Zhao Ruo in the Jiangnan Pavilion is from Suzhou City. Do you know her?"

"I know her," Guan Ning said listlessly.

"Know her" was an understatement; they were as familiar as could be.

Zhao Ruo was the daughter of Qian Yun, the chief instructor of the Limit Dojo in Suzhou City. The two had played together since childhood and could be considered childhood sweethearts—though in this case, "childhood sweethearts" referred to a sister-brother dynamic.

She was the same age as Uncle Zhong's son, Zhong Xuan. At eighteen, she was admitted to the Jiangnan First Military Academy, and due to her outstanding martial arts talent, she obtained an entry ticket to the Elite Training Camp through the military two years ago and was now in the Jiangnan Pavilion.

Normally, meeting a familiar face in such a strange place should have been a tearful reunion, but in Guan Ning's eyes, Zhao Ruo was synonymous with a nightmare.

Zhao Ruo had a boisterous and fiery personality, but because Guan Ning had lived two lives, he was calm and resolute. Every time they met, Zhao Ruo would try every possible way to tease him. If she saw Guan Ning lose his composure, she would be delighted; if it didn't work, she would persist tirelessly until he finally broke.

At the thought of his upcoming life, Guan Ning felt a massive headache coming on.

Hearing Guan Ning's tone, Yang Hui knew there was a story there. Seeing Guan Ning's expression, he didn't disturb him and continued introducing things to Luo Feng.

Luo Feng also noticed Guan Ning's odd behavior, but given that they weren't very familiar with each other yet, he didn't pry.

Lost in his memories, the three of them arrived at the Jiangnan Pavilion.

The courtyard of the Jiangnan Pavilion was several dozen meters in diameter, with white walls and black tiles. There were even dragon carvings on the wall tops.

When the three walked into the courtyard, the pavilion was very quiet. Yang Hui called out directly: "Shi Jiang, Zhao Ruo!"

Suddenly, a short-haired girl in a loose bathrobe stood on the balcony of the second floor of the pavilion to the left, while from the pavilion directly in front, a figure jumped down—it was a young man holding an umbrella and wearing a black training suit.

Guan Ning glanced at the familiar figure on the balcony and immediately looked away; after all, they were far too familiar.

Guan Ning carefully observed the young man in the black training suit.

He was 1.7 meters tall with a lean build, his eyes restrained, and the occasional flash of sharp light in them made one's hair stand on end.

He truly lives up to being the top-five Shi Jiang! Guan Ning marveled inwardly.

There's just no comparing to him! He then looked at the figure on the balcony and shook his head speechlessly.

"Newcomers?" Zhao Ruo said excitedly. Her gaze swept downward, and she happened to catch Guan Ning's look of disdain. She shrieked like a cat with its fur on end: "Little Ning, what kind of look is that?"

With a flash of movement, she jumped down from the balcony and appeared before Guan Ning, staring at him with unfriendly eyes.

"Bad luck!"

Caught red-handed, he could only accept his misfortune. As soon as the words left his mouth, Guan Ning's face changed drastically, forgetting that the person in question was right in front of him.

Sure enough, although Guan Ning's voice was barely audible, Zhao Ruo was no ordinary person and heard it clearly. Her eyes blazed with fire as she glared at him, "What did you say? Three days without a beating and you're already climbing onto the roof to tear off the tiles? Hmm?"

Seeing Zhao Ruo on the verge of exploding, Guan Ning sought help from the others, but Shi Jiang and Yang Hui, knowing Zhao Ruo's temper, both looked away. Even Luo Feng realized the situation was dire and let his gaze drift into the distance.

Seeing this, Guan Ning gave an awkward laugh and instantly thought of a strategy, saying, "Sister Ruo, I thought I would see you yesterday. I didn't expect you to show up only now; you really have a high opinion of yourself. Aunt Qian even told me you would give me a grand welcome, but I guess that was just empty talk. I'll be sure to tell Aunt Qian about this."

Zhao Ruo, who had quite a reputation in the Ginkgo Residential District, was actually terrified of Aunt Qian. Guan Ning could never understand why she was so afraid of the gentle Aunt Qian.

However, that didn't stop him from using her name to intimidate others!

Sure enough, the moment Guan Ning mentioned her mother, Zhao Ruo, who had been furious, felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head, instantly extinguishing her rage.

Left with no choice, Zhao Ruo could only stare straight at Guan Ning.

Guan Ning didn't dare to act rashly, fearing he might trigger the volcano that was Zhao Ruo once again.

Shi Jiang and Yang Hui knew all too well about Zhao Ruo's explosive temper, and they looked at each other in surprise, never expecting that someone could actually keep her in check.

As for Luo Feng, he had been staring at Shi Jiang from the very beginning, as if he were trying to find a flower on his face.

For a moment, silence fell over the scene.

"Ahem." It was Yang Hui who broke the stillness, coughing lightly and smiling as he said, "Luo Feng, Guan Ning, from today on, you will be living in the Jiangnan Pavilion."

"Shi Jiang, Zhao Ruo, you are their seniors, so you must look after them." When Yang Hui said this, he glanced at Zhao Ruo a few extra times.

"Don't worry, leave it to me." Zhao Ruo patted her chest, "With me as their senior sister, I won't let them suffer any losses."

"By the way, there is only one vacant villa in the Jiangnan Pavilion right now. Luo Feng, Guan Ning, you two will have to stay together for now. It will take about two or three days to build another villa, and then you can move apart. Do you think that's acceptable?"

"Teacher Yang, there's no need for the trouble. Guan Ning can stay with me, and I will take good care of him."

Before Guan Ning and Luo Feng could even speak, Zhao Ruo's voice rang out. Looking at her gritted teeth, anyone could tell exactly what kind of "care" she was talking about.

"Zhao Ruo, stop messing around!" Yang Hui was left between laughter and tears by her words.

"That's fine."

"No problem."

Guan Ning and Luo Feng exchanged a glance and nodded in agreement.

"Alright, then I'll be going."

Yang Hui smiled and then took his leave.

"Luo Feng, sit, sit." Zhao Ruo was extremely enthusiastic. At this moment, she, Guan Ning, Luo Feng, and Shi Jiang were all in the living room of Zhao Ruo's residence.

However, Zhao Ruo only focused on hosting Luo Feng, completely ignoring Guan Ning on the side.

Looking at the enthusiastic Zhao Ruo, Luo Feng hadn't yet adapted to the situation. Regarding her invitation, he looked at Guan Ning with a questioning gaze.

Seeing this, Guan Ning knew that although Zhao Ruo's anger had been suppressed, it hadn't completely vanished. He waved his hand, signaling Luo Feng not to worry about him.

"Hmph!"

Zhao Ruo noticed the interaction between Luo Feng and Guan Ning. She gave a light huff toward Guan Ning and then said gently to Luo Feng, "Luo Feng, sit down, don't mind him, let him stand for a while. Senior Brother Shi Jiang, what do you think?"

Seeing Zhao Ruo's threatening gaze, Shi Jiang nodded and gave Guan Ning a look that said he couldn't help him.

Through the pointers Zhao Ruo and Shi Jiang gave Luo Feng, Guan Ning also learned a few things about the training camp, and the entire camp became much clearer in his mind.

The villa had four floors in total: three above ground and one basement. Luo Feng lived on the second floor, and Guan Ning lived on the third.

In the quiet and elegant study on the third floor of the Jiangnan Pavilion, Guan Ning held a white porcelain cup. Steam rose from it, and the fragrance of tea filled the air. He sipped slowly while looking at the laptop screen on his desk.