"Isn't it just that our East River Province martial arts students can't compete with Yunchuan's?
Surely East River Province doesn't have fewer Grandmaster Martial Artists than Yunchuan?" Wang Hui asked.
"Grandmaster Martial Artists are important figures in their respective provinces. How could ordinary people like us know how many there are?
When I talk about martial arts competition among the Three Provinces of Chuanzhong, I mean the Three-Province Martial Tournament between the leading figures of the younger generation in the Three Rivers.
For the past twenty years, Yunchuan Province has taken first place at every Three-Province Martial Tournament. East River and West River have lost year after year. Even if they were unwilling to accept Yunchuan's dominance at first, after all this time, they've naturally come around."
"Holy crap, are all the leading figures of East River's younger generation that useless?"
"It's not that we're useless. On the contrary, anyone who makes it into the Provincial Youth Genius Group is bound to be talented. They're all geniuses. It's just that Yunchuan Province's geniuses are even more talented than ours."
As Meng Jing and Wang Hui talked, the airship suddenly flashed a red light.
The airship's onboard computer began broadcasting an announcement on a forced loop.
"Inspection ahead. All airships passing through must land in an orderly manner and undergo inspection at the checkpoint."
Hearing the sudden announcement, Chen Lie couldn't help getting to his feet.
"What's going on?"
"We've reached the provincial border," Meng Jing explained. "There's a checkpoint here specifically to inspect airships from other provinces."
Wang Hui couldn't help saying, "There aren't any checkpoints for inspecting airships from other provinces along East River Province's borders.
"This little Yunchuan sure has a lot of rules."
Though he said that, Meng Jing agreed with Wang Hui as he slowly piloted the airship down, landing outside the provincial checkpoint.
There weren't many people heading to Yunchuan Province at this time. Meng Jing and Wang Hui got off the airship and joined the queue, while Chen Lie brought up the rear.
Before long, Wang Hui and Meng Jing had both passed inspection. It was Chen Lie's turn.
The inspector asked, "Name?"
"Chen Lie!"
"Show me your Blue Star Citizen ID."
Chen Lie nodded and gave him his Citizen ID number.
The inspector recorded Chen Lie's information, then said, "All right. Go to the giant screen up ahead and study Yunchuan's laws and regulations for ten minutes. Then you can leave."
Chen Lie walked forward. From a distance, he could already see an enormous screen, nearly a thousand inches across.
At that moment, a stunning young woman in a martial arts uniform, her hair tied in a high ponytail, was demonstrating martial arts on the screen.
"Martial arts is a journey against the current; you and I are all travelers.
"Where the heart yearns, the body will follow."
The girl's beautiful face was filled with determination. She looked bold and spirited, and her voice rang clear.
The clip ended in less than a minute, and a line of text appeared on the screen.
"Yunchuan Province's top young martial artist, Ji Lingxuan."
Chen Lie walked over and stood behind Wang Hui and Meng Jing. He heard Wang Hui exclaim in admiration.
"That girl is gorgeous. But why is she on the giant screen at the provincial checkpoint? Even a rich family couldn't arrange that. Could her father be the Provincial Governor?"
As soon as Wang Hui finished speaking, a checkpoint worker passing nearby heard him and immediately came over.
"Kid, what did you just say? Say it again!"
Wang Hui was startled. He turned around in confusion. "What did I say?"
"What did you say? Let me warn you: be careful what you say, or you'll bring trouble on yourself.
"You're young, so I don't want to make a big deal out of it.
"Do you even know who the person on the screen is? She's the top martial artist among Yunchuan Province's younger generation!"
"W-what about it?" Wang Hui stammered.
"Ji Lingxuan is the pillar of faith for the younger generation of martial artists in Yunchuan Province. Her martial arts journey has inspired millions of young people across Yunchuan.
"Even if you multiplied your Blood Qi Value by a hundred, it wouldn't come close to a fraction of Ji Lingxuan's.
"Try saying what you just said again after you cross the border and see if you don't get beaten up!"
"I... I was only joking. It can't be that serious, can it?" Wang Hui looked lost.
"Not serious? Ji Lingxuan came from humble beginnings and fought her way through every obstacle to get where she is today.
"My daughter made it into the Elite Class in large part because Ji Lingxuan's martial arts journey inspired her.
"Do you realize that your words insulted the martial will of the top young martial artist in Yunchuan Province?"
Seeing the situation taking a bad turn, Meng Jing hurried forward to smooth things over.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, sir. We're from another province, from a small place, so we don't understand how much your province reveres martial arts.
"He's just a high school senior. He's always been careless with his words. Please don't hold it against him."
"Being careless with your words is a bad habit. You need to fix it. Otherwise, once you enter society, you'll learn the hard way!"
"Yes, yes. I'll make sure to teach him a lesson when we have time," Meng Jing said with an ingratiating smile.
Seeing that, the worker said no more and turned to leave.
"Damn it, is there something wrong with that guy from Yunchuan? He's not even related to the girl on the screen, but he still had to stick his nose in!"
Once the worker was far enough away, Wang Hui wiped his sweat and grumbled under his breath.
"You didn't hear him say that his daughter got into the Elite Class because Ji Lingxuan inspired her?
"Getting into the Elite Class at Yunchuan Martial Arts High School is much harder than getting into the Elite Class in East River. It's perfectly normal for them to stand up for the top martial artist of their province's younger generation.
"And Wang Hui, you really need to work on that habit of speaking before you think."
Just then, the giant screen began broadcasting East River Province's laws and regulations.
Ten minutes later, Chen Lie and the others boarded the airship again.
Meng Jing piloted it toward the Divine Sense Master Association in Yunchuan Province.
Wang Hui and Meng Jing were much quieter along the way, and Chen Lie didn't say anything either.
About an hour after departing the Yunchuan border, the airship arrived at its designated destination.
Meng Jing piloted the airship down.
As soon as it landed, Chen Lie got off and checked the time. It was only a little past nine.
Ever since Blue Star invented airships, it had taken just over an hour to travel between two neighboring provinces, even if they were hundreds of kilometers apart.
Looking around, Chen Lie saw that the airship had landed on a huge, empty plaza. Across from it stood a grand, enormous building, with a sign above the entrance.
"Blue Star Divine Sense Master Association, Yunchuan Province Branch"—twelve red characters stood out prominently.
"We're at the Divine Sense Master Association!"
Wang Hui got off the airship and immediately spotted the building across the plaza.
"I'm going to get certified as a Divine Sense Master. Do you want to come?"
Chen Lie turned and asked Wang Hui and Meng Jing.
"Of course. It'll be good to see what it's like," Wang Hui said.
Meng Jing nodded too.
"Then let's go together."
Chen Lie nodded and headed across the plaza toward the Divine Sense Master Association.
The Association's service hall was sparsely populated.
After entering, Chen Lie went to the information desk.
"Hello. I'm here to get certified as a Divine Sense Master."
The woman behind the counter looked up, then quickly lowered her head again.
"Have you even awakened Divine Sense? What makes you think you can get certified as a Divine Sense Master?"
"I've already awakened it," Chen Lie replied.
The woman behind the counter tore off a form and handed it to Chen Lie.
"Fill in your personal information, then go to that counter and pay a deposit of twenty thousand Star Dollars for the Divine Sense test."
"I have to pay a deposit?"
Chen Lie took the form and asked in surprise.
He had looked up the entire Divine Sense Master certification process online before coming. It hadn't said the applicant needed to pay a single Star Dollar.
"Obviously. Without a deposit, who's going to test your Divine Sense for free?" the woman behind the counter said impatiently.
Chen Lie didn't argue. He borrowed a pen from the counter, found a table, and sat down to fill in his personal information.
Once he was done, Chen Lie took the form to the counter beside them and paid twenty thousand Star Dollars. He also received a queue number.
The staff member behind the counter took Chen Lie's form and said, "Take this queue number to the second floor for your Divine Sense test."
Chen Lie nodded, then took the number over to Wang Hui and Meng Jing.
"I'm going upstairs for the Divine Sense test. Are you coming?"
Wang Hui stood up. "Of course. We'll go with you and have a look!"
So Wang Hui and Meng Jing followed Chen Lie to the entrance to the second floor.
As soon as they reached it, two security guards blocked their way.
"Stop. This is a restricted area of the Divine Sense Master Association. Unauthorized personnel aren't allowed in."
Chen Lie showed them his queue number. "I'm going upstairs for the Divine Sense test."
The two guards looked at Chen Lie's number. "You can go in, but those two can't!"
Chen Lie looked back at Wang Hui and Meng Jing. "You two wait for me downstairs."
"All right!"
Wang Hui and Meng Jing nodded and returned to the lounge on the first floor.
Chen Lie went straight up to the second floor.
Not long after he left, two more people entered the Association's service hall.
They were two girls, one older and one younger.
The two girls went to the service counter together.
"Hello. We'd like to take the Divine Sense test for Divine Sense Master certification."
The woman behind the counter looked up, and her expression immediately became respectful.
"Please wait a moment. I'll get your queue numbers ready.
"Could you show me your personal information?"
"My younger sister is the one taking the test. Just give her a form and let her fill it out herself."
"All right."
The woman behind the counter found a pen, tore off a form, and handed it to the younger girl.
The girl filled in her personal information at the counter. It took about two minutes, and then she handed the form to the woman.
The woman went to the counter beside them, got their queue number, and handed it to the two girls.
"Please go to the second floor and use your queue number to take the Divine Sense test."
The two girls nodded and went upstairs together.
At that moment, a young staff member at the next counter asked, "Sister Hua, why are you being so helpful this time? And why didn't you charge them the deposit?"
"Are you blind? The older girl's name is Shen Miaowei.
"She awakened Divine Sense at just sixteen, and passed the Apprentice Divine Sense Master exam at seventeen.
"The Yunchuan Shen Family has already chosen her as their successor and is grooming her for the role.
"Have you heard of the Yunchuan Shen Family? They're the family behind the Lingfeng Group.
"With a background like that, even if you were too blind to recognize her, you should at least have been courteous. If you dared to pocket her twenty thousand Star Dollars, do you think you wouldn't be ordered to pack your things and leave the very next day?"
Before you continue