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Li Feng was deeply unconvinced. Most students who managed to get into Hanjiang University were proud and arrogant, and Li Feng, being a well-known outstanding student throughout the entire university and the vice president of the student union, had the credentials to back up his confidence.

"You probably don't know me. I am the vice president of the Hanjiang University student union and one of the top ten college students in the province last year. Furthermore, I can share a top-secret piece of information with you: because I've had a breakthrough in practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist, a mysterious government department sent people to contact me just a few days ago. In half a month, I will have the opportunity to enter a mysterious unit for advanced training. If I return after successfully completing that training, I will surely become a pivotal figure in the Dragon Kingdom. Do you still think I'm not good enough for your sister?"

Zhang Shuai shook his head and chuckled. Young people, they really love to show off. However, no matter how outstanding you are, you aren't going to succeed in snatching my girlfriend away from me.

"That's right, you aren't good enough for her. You think you're so outstanding? With this habit of yours of bragging, you're nothing but a joke in my eyes! Come back and brag when you've actually become a pivotal figure in the Dragon Kingdom."

Hearing Zhang Shuai's merciless mockery, even the highly restrained Li Feng couldn't suppress his anger any longer. He retorted furiously, "And what kind of big shot are you? What right do you have to look down on me?"

Zhang Shuai replied calmly, "I may not be a big shot, but at least I don't go around spouting nonsense like you."

Having said that, Zhang Shuai had no intention of continuing the conversation with Li Feng; he still had to hurry back to class.

Zhang Shuai pulled Sun Xiaoya along as he walked out. Li Feng, now truly believing that Zhang Shuai was Lin Xiuwen's older brother, didn't dare to block them out of respect for his status.

When Zhang Shuai reached the entrance, a dozen students were gathered in the hallway, completely blocking the way.

Zhang Shuai raised an eyebrow, preparing to knock these students down one by one, when Li Feng emerged from the room and barked at them to stop.

"What are you doing? Don't cause trouble, let them leave!"

Li Feng's words still carried significant weight among the students, so they cleared a path and watched helplessly as Zhang Shuai and Sun Xiaoya departed.

Once they were downstairs and standing at the entrance of the complex building, Sun Xiaoya looked at Zhang Shuai with a grateful expression. "Brother Zhang Shuai, thank you for today."

Zhang Shuai smiled. "Don't mention it, we're friends. It's only right that I help you when you're in trouble. But why was Li Feng looking for you?"

Sun Xiaoya said, "He was pestering me for Lin Xiuwen's whereabouts. I told him I didn't know, but he insisted on blocking my path to ask, and I got annoyed, so we started arguing."

At this point, Sun Xiaoya added with some concern, "I haven't seen Lin Xiuwen for many days either. She doesn't answer my calls or reply to my messages. I had no choice but to ask Vice Principal Jiang—uh, Vice Principal Jiang is Xiuwen's uncle-in-law. He told me that Xiuwen went abroad to participate in some research on artificial intelligence. Honestly, Xiuwen is something else; she didn't even say goodbye before leaving."

Zhang Shuai naturally knew where Lin Xiuwen had gone, but he wasn't about to tell Sun Xiaoya.

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, another month passed.

A new year had begun. Over this month, more people across the Dragon Kingdom had experienced physical mutations and broken through human limits after practicing the Big Dipper Long Fist. There were at least a dozen such cases of extraordinary individuals reported on short-video platforms.

Strangely, these reports of extraordinary people and events, which were initially posted by insiders on Douyin and Kuaitui, would be quietly taken down from the internet shortly after appearing. Furthermore, these individuals who had supposedly broken through human limits would mysteriously vanish. No one knew where they had gone, and even their families and friends would keep their lips sealed, refusing to reveal a single detail about their whereabouts to the outside world.

It was as if an invisible hand was deliberately suppressing news about these individuals.

Zhang Shuai could roughly guess that these people, like Lin Xiuwen, had been secretly taken to the 749 Bureau to cultivate immortality.

During this period, Lin Xiuwen hadn't called or messaged Zhang Shuai even once.

Although Zhang Shuai knew she was likely training at the 749 Bureau and might not be able to contact him, the long absence of news still left a bitter taste in his heart.

Looking at it this way, the 749 Bureau must have strict confidentiality protocols that made it inconvenient for them to communicate with the outside world.

It was understandable, after all; the matter of cultivating immortality was too shocking. If it were to spread, it would cause a massive stir throughout society, so the 749 Bureau's decision to block information and maintain strict secrecy was logical.

Huang Tianli had been in contact with Zhang Shuai throughout this time, keeping him updated on the Qingshui City First Big Dipper Long Fist Exhibition Tournament. Because of the prize money, many people participated, ranging from teenagers to those in their sixties.

The entire city of Qingshui actually unearthed several talents. Among them were a government civil servant who worked at a neighborhood office, a middle school teacher, a police officer, a corporate white-collar worker, and a migrant construction worker.

All five of them practiced the Big Dipper Long Fist quite well, and their explosive power had already surpassed human limits.

The migrant construction worker, in particular, possessed incredible strength. He could carry ten bags of cement at once—five on each shoulder—and walk briskly from the first floor to the sixth. He could even shatter ten stacked red bricks with a single punch.

Given his performance, the first prize of the tournament was awarded to this migrant worker, while the neighborhood office worker and the police officer tied for second, and the teacher and white-collar worker took third.

Huang Tianli had a lingering doubt. He told Zhang Shuai that after the prize money was distributed, the government sent people to contact these five individuals, and shortly thereafter, all of them resigned and disappeared, with no one knowing where they had gone.

Huang Tianli didn't know, but Zhang Shuai was clear in his heart: if nothing went wrong, these five had likely been sent to the 749 Bureau as well.

It wasn't just Qingshui City; at almost the same time, nearly three hundred prefecture-level cities across the country held their own first Big Dipper Long Fist Exhibition Tournaments. Although there was no coverage from television stations or mainstream media, the news was flooding Douyin and Kuaitui.

Ordinary people might just be watching the craze for the novelty of it, but in Zhang Shuai's eyes, the scale of the state's talent selection was unprecedented. If they were selecting talent on this scale and with this intensity, how many extraordinary people would eventually emerge?

Although he couldn't see the results of the winners from every region on Douyin, if he extrapolated based on the level seen in Qingshui City, there should be an average of five people per city. That would mean the 749 Bureau had recruited at least 1,500 people. Add in the students from schools and soldiers from the military, and there might be two or three thousand people in total!

That was enough people to start an entire school for cultivating immortals!

Zhang Shuai felt a sense of doubt. How many people did the 749 Bureau intend to recruit? Were they trying to round up everyone in the country with the aptitude for cultivation?

What exactly was the state planning to do by gathering so many people? Could there be some world-shaking move in the works?

These questions remained buried in Zhang Shuai's heart, and for the time being, he could find no answers.