First Steps into Xinhang Martial University, the Woman with "Li" in Her Name

Beneath a black metal-carved archway a full hundred meters tall stood nine pillars holding up the heavens, their surfaces coiled with relief carvings of horned dragons. On the second pillar from the left, the four words "Xinhang Martial University" seemed to flow with fresh blood. Legend had it that the first president of Jiangzhe Martial University had slain a Demon Emperor, condensed blood from its eyes, and poured it into the inscription.

The nine pillars pointed toward the nine Martial Universities, and Xinhang Martial University ranked second!

No one guarded the gate, yet no one dared force their way in. That was the invisible deterrence of Xinhang Martial University.

Daring to cause trouble here was simply courting death!

"Brother Wen, your dormitory area probably isn't with ours. It's over in the Xinhang section. I'm in the old dorms..."

Although Chen Dai wanted to live with Chu Wen, he knew their statuses were different.

"It's fine. Go take care of your business."

Chen Dai had taken leave to handle Li Xin's funeral. Under normal circumstances, he should have been attending his martial arts class right now.

"Alright, Brother Wen. See you tonight."

With a wave, Chu Wen dragged his luggage alone and followed the directions on his optical brain toward the residential area to register.

Just passing through the entrance archway took a full ten minutes. He arrived at a circular plaza, where thirty thousand square meters of obsidian flooring had been precisely cut into a chessboard grid. At the very center stood a colossal pentagonal-star-shaped library, radiating the weight of ages.

Chu Wen had looked into the information on its collection. It contained material not even recorded in the optical brain of Chaos Martial Arts Hall.

It was said that there were even collections of miscellaneous tales inside, recording strange anecdotes among martial artists and vague rumors.

Students passing back and forth curiously sized up Chu Wen. It was not the season for new student enrollment.

"Classmate, where are you from? You look unfamiliar."

A young man with a combat saber hanging from his waist stepped forward. "My name is Liu Changshou. You don't recognize me?"

"My reputation should be pretty big, shouldn't it? Even if you don't recognize my face, you've at least heard my name, right?"

Chu Wen shook his head. "Don't know you."

He turned and left, continuing down the broad road. Yet Liu Changshou refused to give up. "How could you not know me?!"

"You... stop right there!"

"Hey!"

The students passing nearby all wore pitying expressions. Being latched onto by that salesman was genuinely maddening...

Liu Changshou was a gold-medal supplement salesman known as "Chewing Gum." Everyone had to give him a pleasant face.

Rumor had it that a fourth-year student once refused to buy his supplements and was pestered for months. Even when the student went to the restroom, Liu Changshou would squat beside him... Unable to bear it any longer, the student challenged him to a duel on the arena. Liu Changshou immediately dropped to his knees with a thud, hugged the senior's leg, and surrendered...

After that, no one was unaware of the mighty reputation of "Liu Changshou."

Shamelessness was a skill too.

Naturally, Chu Wen's speed was not something Liu Changshou could match. Of course, he was not about to dash through campus like a madman.

Still, Chu Wen was somewhat surprised. This student could actually keep up with his pace, and his expression did not look especially strained.

"You... slow down."

Liu Changshou finally caught up. Just as he reached out to grab Chu Wen's suitcase, he discovered—

He had missed?

He tried six times in a row.

No matter what he did, he could not touch the other man!

Liu Changshou's face was calm as a windless lake, but inwardly, he had already identified this person as some fourth-year old monster.

Perhaps even an old monster who had repeated several years, lingering in school to mooch resources and refusing to enter society!

Even his Great Mastery movement technique could not touch the man in front of him!

Then the other man's movement technique had clearly reached the Perfection level!

Liu Changshou had spent tremendous effort obtaining this movement technique combat art. He had then studied it for ages before reaching Great Mastery, allowing him to become a "Chewing Gum" around the school.

Chu Wen passed through the Seven-Star Tower District, a cluster of buildings formed by seven pagodas connected in the formation of the Big Dipper. He noticed that every energy panel on those pagodas was made of King Beast-grade material or higher!

Worthy of Xinhang Martial University. How many King Beasts' bones and corpses would it take to build this complex?

The buildings alone were worth an astronomical sum!

No wonder Chaos Martial Arts Hall had sent him to study at Xinhang Martial University for two years.

At first, he had not thought he needed two years. Now, it seemed two years might not even be enough.

At the very least, it would only be worthwhile if he could turn part of the Martial University's accumulated heritage into his own strength.

After passing through building clusters in one teaching area after another, he finally reached the living area for Martial University students.

Every kind of entertainment facility was available, as though he had arrived downtown. The amenities here were even more advanced than those in the city.

Considering that Martial University students already had spending power and might be even more willing to spend money, this was normal enough.

After crossing the bustling entertainment district and passing through a long corridor paved with broken blades, the surroundings before him abruptly fell quiet.

This was the dormitory area—and the high-end dormitory area at that!

Behind him, Liu Changshou opened his mouth, then stopped at the entrance to the high-end dormitory area.

He did not dare barge into that place.

"Damn it, he's actually some rich young master... No wonder he's so aloof and doesn't know me..."

But after a second thought, Liu Changshou gritted his teeth and sent a message through his optical brain.

Not long after, a woman slowly sauntered out.

"What's this? Changshou, interested in coming to chat with your big sister today? Last time, it seemed like you were the one who fled in defeat first, didn't you~?"

"Sister Zhang... I just couldn't hold up. You have to let me recover for a few days."

The woman called Sister Zhang was named Zhang Liping. The surname Zhang was nothing special, but the origins of that "Li" were immense!

When Zhang Liping looked at Liu Changshou's face and then let her gaze travel downward, Liu Changshou hurriedly leaped away, sweating profusely. "Sister Zhang, I have information for you. I don't know whether you ran into him earlier, but there's a terrifying guy on the road."

"Even my movement technique couldn't keep up with him. He just entered the high-end dormitory area."

Seeing Liu Changshou still dodging her, Zhang Liping lost interest. She never forced anyone against their will. Looking utterly bored, she spoke with a trace of surprise in her voice.

"Even you couldn't keep up? Then he'd have to be a high-level warrior with a Great Mastery or Perfection-level movement technique..."

What she liked most was Liu Changshou's movement technique. The way he moved was truly graceful.

"I'll count this as a merit for you. But I might not dare enter the high-end dormitory area either." Curiosity filled Zhang Liping's face. "Go point him out to me. I'd like to see just who he is."

Zhang Liping licked her lips and walked down the road with Liu Changshou. Some of the men in the high-end dormitory area looked at Liu Changshou with pity in their eyes.

Still, this was a matter of mutual consent, so there was nothing to say.

The Li Family was a War God family. Even a woman like Zhang Liping, who had little talent, could enter any of the nine Martial Universities with just a word.

Martial arts burned money. It was understandable for men from ordinary backgrounds to want to earn some resources...

By sheer coincidence, after Chu Wen had shaken off Liu Changshou, he had not sped up again. Instead, he stopped before a stone monument and stared thoughtfully at the saber marks upon it, remaining there for a full quarter of an hour.

Not far away, Liu Changshou spotted Chu Wen dragging his suitcase at a glance.

"Sister Zhang, that's him!"

Chu Wen came back to himself and turned his head slightly. He saw the Liu Changshou who had pestered him earlier, with a woman standing beside him. Her figure was astonishing, and her face bore none of the delicacy of makeup. Instead, it held a heroic air, while the muscles beneath her fine clothes faintly rippled.

"It's you?" Zhang Liping seemed to recall something and suddenly lost her composure.

Chu Wen had never seen anyone like her before. Smiling with confusion, he asked, "You know me?"