Late at night, on the rooftop.
Ye Xiao rested for half an hour, then threw a few more punches.
[Ping!]
[You completed one punch. The force of this punch was: 35%!]
[You gained 1 Martial Value!]
[Your realm has advanced!]
[Current realm: Mud Embryo Realm, Level 20!]
After that,
Ye Xiao was completely drained, his whole body weak and limp.
"That's enough for today."
"Training requires a balance between work and rest."
So Ye Xiao returned to the dormitory.
Without disturbing his roommates,
he washed up quickly and went to bed.
The next day.
Early in the morning,
Ye Xiao felt someone shaking his bed until he woke up.
"Hey! Ye Xiao, get up!"
"It's the first day of class. You can't be late!"
After throwing punches all night, Ye Xiao's arms hurt so much he could barely lift them.
This body is still too weak, Ye Xiao thought with a sigh.
He opened his eyes and saw Fatty Wang's big face hovering beside his bed.
The dormitory was already empty.
"They've all gone to class," Fatty Wang said. "I sneaked back to wake you."
"Hurry up and get ready. Come to class with me."
Ye Xiao could picture the other two roommates deliberately dragging Fatty Wang away, then leaving without waking him.
Ye Xiao smiled gratefully and nodded.
"Thanks, Fatty Wang. I'll get up right away."
Once Ye Xiao had finished washing up,
he saw Fatty Wang hand him a small white bottle.
"Fatty Wang, what's this?"
The other man chuckled. "Don't worry, it's cheap. Just some medicine for bruises and sprains."
Then he leaned closer to Ye Xiao and lowered his voice.
"I saw you sneaking up to the rooftop to practice your punches last night."
"Honestly, even though your talent and profession are poor, I really admire your dedication."
Ye Xiao felt a warm glow in his heart.
He took the medicine Fatty Wang had offered.
"Thanks for the Yunnan Baiyao."
Fatty Wang stared at Ye Xiao in bewilderment.
"What Yunnan? What Baiyao? What are you talking about? I've never heard of that stuff."
Ye Xiao smiled and waved a hand.
"It's nothing."
Then,
Ye Xiao applied some of the medicine Fatty Wang had given him.
It seemed to work pretty well.
The muscle strains, soreness, and pain in his body eased considerably.
At the same time,
Ye Xiao could feel the strength within him steadily increasing.
No wonder everyone looked down on Martials.
Their method of training was simply too grueling and exhausting.
How could it compare to the ease of those other prestigious professions?
Besides,
in the end, their greatest reliance was still their own bodies.
Other people had all kinds of skills, elements, divine abilities, and swords, spears, blades, and axes.
Martials were scorned by the world, relegated to the bottom of the professional pecking order!
But Ye Xiao didn't see it that way.
He clenched his fist.
One day, he would prove the worth of every Martial at the bottom!
Jiang City Martial Arts University.
Career Theory Building (Freshman Section).
Ye Xiao and Fatty Wang squeezed into the teaching building alongside the throngs of students.
But just then,
the surrounding gossip reached them.
"Isn't that boy the special-admission student, Ye Xiao?"
"Yeah, that's him! He actually has the nerve to come to class!"
"After what happened yesterday, if it were me, I'd be too ashamed to come back. I'd have dropped out and gone home already!"
"An E-Grade talent, a poor student like that would struggle even to get into a training academy."
"If he wants to go to the front lines as a soldier, he'll probably fail the entrance exam!"
"..."
Ye Xiao said nothing.
Fatty Wang frowned and glanced at them.
"You gossipy women! What kind of nerve does it take to talk about people behind their backs?"
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river!"
"One day, Ye Xiao will surpass every one of you!"
At the entrance to the teaching building,
a confrontation was on the verge of breaking out.
Just then,
Ye Xiao smiled and put a hand on Fatty Wang's shoulder.
He looked toward the people who doubted him.
He said only one thing.
"If anyone has a problem with me, meet me at the practical combat hall and let's have a go."
As soon as he said that,
quite a few people grew interested and wanted to challenge Ye Xiao.
But just then,
a crowd of people arrived from outside.
And in the middle of them
was, without a doubt, the greatest genius among this year's freshmen: Lin Yun!
Awakened profession: [Thunder Law Prodigy, SS-Grade]!
In an instant,
everyone's attention was drawn to him.
"Wow! Lin Yun's here!"
"Lin Yun is so handsome! I heard lots of sophomore girls came just to see him."
"So this is what an SS-Grade professional looks like?"
"A Thunder Law Prodigy! He's destined to become a Transcendentalist who wields the power of the Thunder Method!"
"I hear Lin Yun's already reached the Third Realm for spellcasters!"
Just then,
Lin Yun held his head high and spoke with a smile.
"To be precise, I've already reached the edge of the Fourth Realm!"
"I'll probably break through to the Fourth Realm within a month."
His words sent the crowd into another uproar. Countless people gazed at Lin Yun with admiration and envy.
They marveled at the strength of this super-genius with an SS-Grade profession!
While other people his age were still in the Second and Third Realms,
Lin Yun had already reached the edge of the Fourth!
Just then,
Lin Yun's gaze fell on Ye Xiao.
The crowd parted automatically to let him through.
Lin Yun walked up to Ye Xiao, a sneer at the corner of his mouth.
"Ye Xiao, want to have a go?"
"I'll play along."
His words
sent the people around them into uproarious laughter.
"Lin Yun, what are you talking about? You're joking, right?"
"He's an E-Grade professional, a loser. He hasn't even reached a realm yet!"
"Sure, he awakened as a Martial, but he isn't a martial artist yet!"
"What's the point of fighting him? It'd be like picking on a kindergartner!"
"..."
The crowd mocked Ye Xiao from every direction.
Their sneers and scornful words pierced his ears like needles.
Fatty Wang realized things were getting out of hand.
He hurried over to smooth things over.
"Lin Yun, Ye Xiao was only joking."
Lin Yun sneered and stared at Fatty Wang.
He snapped, "You fatso, this has nothing to do with you. Get lost."
"Unless you're planning to side with Ye Xiao."
"Of course, I'm sure you're smart enough to choose the right side."
"You have five seconds. Get behind me."
With everyone watching,
the pressure on Fatty Wang mounted.
On one side was Lin Yun, the SS-Grade Thunder Law Prodigy!
On the other was Ye Xiao, an E-Grade Martial.
Anyone with a functioning brain would know which side to choose.
Fatty Wang's feet felt as if they were made of lead.
He edged forward, but when he looked at Ye Xiao, he couldn't bring himself to abandon him.
Ye Xiao had seen the whole thing.
He now knew
what kind of person Fatty Wang truly was.
After all, right from the start,
Fatty Wang had been willing to stand up for him.
So now,
Ye Xiao couldn't let Fatty Wang get caught in such a difficult position on his account.
And so,
Ye Xiao spat out coldly,
"Fine! Lin Yun, I accept your challenge!"
"Three days from now, I'll fight you!"
Lin Yun burst out laughing.
"Ye Xiao, now you're acting all high and mighty! What makes you think you're worthy of accepting my challenge?"
"But since you've got the guts, I'll play along."
"Three days is too short. I won't make it look like I'm picking on you."
"I'll give you a month!"
"In a month, you and I will fight!"
"Because I want to see whether you'll get expelled in a month!"
At those words, the people around them remembered yesterday's bet.
Everyone was wondering:
Could Ye Xiao's strength and grades get him through his first monthly career exam?
Everyone knew that Jiang University held a career exam every month.
If a student's results were too poor, he would be expelled.
The rule was meant to push every student to work hard at their studies and cultivation.
You shouldn't think that getting into Jiang University meant you could take it easy.
If Ye Xiao got expelled, that would make things even more entertaining!
It would be far more interesting than Lin Yun defeating Ye Xiao.
Before you continue