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Song Chen stared at the bowl of rice before him, steam still rising from the white grains.

He had expected his parents to find out, but he had not expected his homeroom teacher to call home directly.

His Vitality Value of 0.6 must have been far too conspicuous. His homeroom teacher had probably been too worried to leave it alone and had given them advance notice.

"I know it's dangerous."

At that, Li Xiuying's voice suddenly rose. "You know it's dangerous, and you still want to go?"

"Do you know how many Exotic Beasts there are outside the city? Do you know how many people died during last year's field training?"

"Auntie Wang next door's child was two years older than you, with a Vitality Value of 1.1. He went and never came back. His mother still cries every day. How can you expect me to..."

She could not continue. Raising a hand, she wiped away her tears with the back of it.

Song Chen raised his head and looked at his mother.

Li Xiuying was forty-three this year, yet she looked like she was already in her fifties.

The corners of her eyes were covered in wrinkles, gray streaked her temples, and years of housework had left her hands rough and cracked.

She had once been a First Rank martial artist as well. After giving birth to Song Chen, she had damaged her foundation, and her Vitality Value had plummeted all the way to 0.3. She was weaker than even an ordinary person and had aged with alarming speed.

Song Zhengye, meanwhile, was still stuck at the threshold of becoming a martial artist, his Vitality Value remaining around 0.9 year after year.

But after that arm had been crippled, he could no longer take assignments outside the city and could only scrape out a living doing odd jobs within it.

This was the Poor District.

The name did not come from poverty.

It was because most of the people living here were "cripples" with Vitality Values below 1.0.

Some had never awakened at all, while others had fallen after being injured following their awakening. Song Chen's parents belonged to the latter.

In this era where martial arts reigned supreme, Vitality Value was everything.

Below 1.0, one could not even be considered a martial artist, much less qualify to leave the city.

They could only be trapped inside the city, doing the lowest jobs, earning the meagerest wages, and living in the most dilapidated houses.

Song Chen had grown up here, and one look had lasted eighteen years.

His voice was very soft. "Mom, I know it's dangerous."

Li Xiuying raised her head, tears still clinging to her cheeks.

"But I have to go."

Li Xiuying panicked. "Why?"

"The Martial Arts College Entrance Exam is only a month away. Study hard, train hard, and maybe you'll get into a Martial Arts University..."

"Mom."

Song Chen interrupted her.

"There's only one month left until the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam."

"My Vitality Value only rises by 0.1 a year. Even if I push myself, after another month it'll only reach 0.7. With results like that, what university could I possibly get into?"

Li Xiuying opened her mouth, but could not utter a single rebuttal.

The Martial Arts College Entrance Exam was a nationwide unified examination, divided into three sections: Vitality Value, academics, and practical combat.

Of those, Vitality Value was a hard benchmark. A single point of difference was the distance between heaven and earth; there was no room for fakery.

Ordinary universities required at least 1.0, key universities required 1.5, and elite institutions demanded more than 2.0.

With a Vitality Value of 0.6, he could not even touch the threshold of an ordinary university.

"But you can earn extra points through practical combat!"

Li Xiuying seemed to have seized her last life-saving straw. "Your homeroom teacher said it himself. You're the best in the class at practical combat. Even official martial artists can't beat you. You might score highly in the practical assessment..."

Song Chen shook his head. "Extra points are useless."

"Vitality Value is a mandatory threshold. If I don't meet it, I'll never get into a Martial Arts University."

Li Xiuying fell completely silent.

Song Zhengye took another sip of liquor, then finally raised his head to look at his son.

"So you want to take a gamble outside the city?"

"Yes."

Song Chen answered.

"The field training lasts ten days, and the team is led by an official Second Rank martial artist hired by the school."

"As long as we don't go deep into the abandoned city and only hunt First Rank Exotic Beasts along the outskirts, safety is still guaranteed."

"When the training ends, the school will issue rewards, and the Exotic Beast Crystal Cores from the beasts we kill belong to us. All of that can be exchanged for Blood Vitality Potions."

Blood Vitality Potions were the true priority.

The cheapest First Rank Blood Vitality Potion started at eighty thousand on the market. It could permanently raise one's Vitality Value by 0.1 to 0.3, though the exact effect varied from person to person.

Eighty thousand yuan.

His father earned two thousand a month doing odd jobs, while his mother earned fifteen hundred a month making handicrafts.

Even if the entire family neither ate nor drank, it would take them more than two years to save that much. They simply could not afford it.

Song Chen looked seriously at his parents. "I know it's dangerous, but I really have no other way."

He was telling the truth. It was only that this "no other way" was completely different from what his parents understood.

His parents thought he merely wanted to get into university and fight for a future.

He could not explain the existence of the Slaughter System, so he could only keep it hidden.

Song Chen had lived in this world for eighteen years. His parents were family who had treated him with genuine love, and his feelings for them ran deep.

He did not want them to worry, much less to fear.

"You..."

Li Xiuying still wanted to persuade him, but Song Zhengye interrupted her.

"Let him go."

Li Xiuying froze. "Old Song!"

"I said, let him go."

Song Zhengye drained the liquor from his cup in one gulp, set it down, and looked at Song Chen. "Do you know what it's like outside the city?"

"A little."

"Do you know how to avoid Exotic Beasts?"

"I've watched instructional videos."

"Do you know how to distinguish the ranks of Exotic Beasts?"

"For First Rank, look at their size and speed. For Second Rank, look at spiritual energy fluctuations. If it's Third Rank or above, run the moment you see it."

Song Zhengye nodded and did not ask any further questions.

He picked up the empty cup and held it up to the light, studying its bottom as his gaze drifted into the distance.

"The last time I left the city was fifteen years ago. I encountered a Peak First Rank Mutated Cat."

"My Vitality Value was 1.8 then. I thought I was quite the fighter, but when it slapped down with one paw, I nearly died there."

"This arm was crippled in that incident."

Li Xiuying's eyes reddened beside him. "Old Song, why are you telling the child this..."

"So he can see the cruelty outside the city for what it is."

Song Zhengye looked at Song Chen, his gaze calm to the point of being terrifying.

"If you want to go, I won't stop you."

"You're eighteen. You're a man now, and you should make your own decisions. But remember one thing."

He reached out and tapped Song Chen's chest.

"Come back alive."