One month until the College Entrance Exam.
The curriculum for senior-year students had actually become much lighter. Nearly half their time was now theirs to use as they pleased.
It wasn't to give them a chance to relax, but to leave them time to focus on whatever they needed.
Students who could afford it could even skip class and go to outside martial arts schools for intensive training.
Those from more ordinary families could stay at school and seek last-minute guidance from the appropriate teachers.
The school also stopped strictly supervising students who had already given up, letting them come and go as they pleased.
Chen Yufei, for instance, barely came to school anymore. He spent his time at home playing all sorts of virtual war games.
After all, he was only at the Martial Disciple Fourth Stage. No matter how much extra training he did, he had no chance of getting into a martial arts university. He'd be lucky to get into a comprehensive university.
Still, Lu Chong's good friend made time every day to chat with him, reminisce about high school, and mostly talk about his history of unrequited love.
Chen Yufei had long since given up on his dream girl, Xiang Yueya—or, rather, she had always been nothing more than a figment of his imagination.
Aside from Chen Yufei, Lou Qingqing was the only classmate who contacted him from time to time, asking for advice on cultivation and academic subjects.
Apart from that, Lu Chong hardly interacted with any students anymore. He rarely went to class, spending most of his time cultivating in Principal Wei's apartment.
It was worth mentioning that Xue Cheng from Third High School had made a special trip to see him, handing over the five hundred thousand Huaxia Coins.
But this time, Xue Cheng had learned his lesson. He didn't suggest they compete again at the College Entrance Exam, which left Lu Chong a little disappointed.
As for the military merit Xue Cheng had lost to Lu Chong, he'd used most of it to exchange for medicinal baths and nutrients, enough to last until the College Entrance Exam.
So at last, Lu Chong had saved up five hundred thousand. For now, he could let the money sit in his pocket.
Zhao Longfei hadn't caused him any trouble lately. The student seemed to have vanished without a trace and had even stopped coming to school.
That meant Lu Chong hadn't found a chance to sound him out.
Time passed, and before long, June arrived. The tension among the senior-year students grew.
It wasn't the pressure of studying or training. It was nerves: most students were starting to feel the strain.
On June 4, the official virtual platform finally opened personal accounts for all senior-year students.
These accounts meant a great deal to the students. They were the first virtual platform accounts of their lives, and would stay with them for the rest of it.
In other words, even after the College Entrance Exam, they could use these accounts to post all kinds of updates—photos, videos, livestreams, and more. They'd be as ubiquitous as ID cards.
The point wasn't to make internet celebrities, but to give everyone a chance to speak up and a platform to create personal value.
Name: Lu Chong
Level: Martial Artist Third Stage (88%)
Martial Skills--
Human-Grade Low-Tier: Nine-Shadow Step—Perfection... Heart-Piercing Kick—Perfection
Human-Grade Mid-Tier: Seven-Step Killing Fist—Perfection, Three-Inch Palm—Perfection
Human-tier Top Grade: Tiger Roar Skill—Perfection
Earth-Grade Low-Tier: Wind Blade Leg—Microscopic (90%), Gale Shadowless Step—Microscopic (90%)
Earth-Grade Mid-Tier: Golden Bell Shield—Microscopic (8%)
In the underground cultivation room, Lu Chong woke from his training and checked his stats. He was fairly satisfied.
"I'll need another four or five days to break through. I should just make it in time for the College Entrance Exam's combat assessment."
His cultivation level was still what concerned him most. Although he'd recently spent a great deal of time actively practicing the Qi Absorbing Art, he was still a little short of breaking through to the Fourth Stage.
Wind Blade Leg and Gale Shadowless Step were also just one step away from perfection.
"They should reach perfection by the time of the combat assessment."
"Golden Bell Shield has barely reached Microscopic, and the training is even slower now. But it should be enough for the College Entrance Exam."
Lu Chong was brimming with confidence about the upcoming exam. He had only one goal: to be the provincial top scholar.
It wasn't that he didn't want to compete for the national top scholar title. He simply didn't have the opportunity.
After all, Huaxia was enormous. It was impossible to coordinate all the examinees across its thirty-four domestic and overseas base provinces.
The academic and Martial Arts Foundation assessments might be standardized.
But the biggest part—the combat assessment—couldn't be held in a single Hunting Ground for students from across the country.
Each province's Hunting Ground had different conditions, and the examinees faced different competitive environments. There was no way to make things uniform.
That was why people usually spoke of provincial top scholars for the College Entrance Exam, not a national top scholar.
Want to reign supreme across the whole country? There'd be plenty of opportunities once you got to university.
In literature, there was no absolute best; in martial arts, there was no second place.
Once he was in university, he'd have a proper platform to compete for supremacy, and could even set his sights on all of Blue Star.
Lu Chong stopped letting his thoughts wander and opened the official virtual platform with some curiosity. It was called Huaxia Heroes.
He'd watched tutorials and combat videos from experts on the platform before.
Now, he finally had a verified personal account of his own, with a label identifying him as an examinee in this year's cohort.
"Eh? I already have over two hundred followers?"
Lu Chong was a little surprised. Was his social circle really that wide?
He tapped the list. The first thing he saw was a flashy profile picture: Chen Yufei, with "Fight Hard for the College Entrance Exam" wrapped around his forehead.
Lu Chong ignored the show-off and kept looking.
Principal Wei, Principal Fang, Colonel Huang, his Head Teacher, the seven instructors from military camp training, more than a dozen class monitors, and over a hundred soldiers.
Then there was Lou Qingqing, along with more than thirty classmates from Class 5.
Another familiar face was Xue Cheng from Third High School, whom he'd clashed with a few times.
Aside from them, Lu Chong spotted several unexpected names.
"Li Chengjun, Xiang Yueya, Huang Junyan—and even Zhao Longfei?"
Lu Chong was slightly taken aback. Why were they following him?
But he didn't care. They could follow him if they wanted. And if they sent him any tips, he certainly wouldn't refuse.
Transactions on the platform were up to each person. No one owed anyone anything.
There were another twenty or thirty people he didn't recognize at all. He had no idea why they were following him.
A few did look familiar, though. He thought he'd seen them at school assemblies. They were probably officials from the Guanyun City Department of Education or something.
Quite a few people had also left him private messages, mostly wishing him luck on the College Entrance Exam and success in reaching the top.
Lu Chong noticed that Xiang Yueya was among them—the so-called campus belle, with whom he'd never had a face-to-face conversation.
He set both his following and follower lists to private. He didn't bother replying to the messages one by one, thinking, "This many people still isn't enough."
"Forget the whole country—even the Hedong Province base has a population of over thirty million. That's a huge pool of potential followers."
"If I can win over a bunch of people before the College Entrance Exam, I can earn more too."
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