The Tournament Begins, River City's Geniuses Gather!

In the blink of an eye, the day of the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament had arrived.

The day before the Warm-up Tournament began, every registered contestant received a message at the same time.

It contained information such as the tournament's location and time.

As expected, the venue was River City Stadium, just like in previous years.

As for the rules, the message did not mention them.

Chen Yu got up early. After practicing the Thunder Extreme Saber for a while as a warm-up, he set off for River City Stadium.

"Chen Yu!"

A cold voice rang out behind him. Wang Qianjun hurried over with the Black Profound Spear in hand and walked alongside Chen Yu.

"Looks like you still decided to enter the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament. You might not get much of a ranking, but it's still good to broaden your horizons."

Wang Qianjun had been busy cultivating lately, so he had not sparred with Chen Yu.

In his eyes, Chen Yu should still be at the Body Tempering Fifth Layer, or at most the Body Tempering Sixth Stage.

Among the many contestants in the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament, that level of strength was already near the bottom.

Still, simply being able to compete gave him some small measure of fame among River City's many martial arts students.

At the very least, getting into a Martial University would not be difficult.

"You know me. I like fighting strong opponents." Chen Yu grinned and did not offer much explanation.

There was no need.

Once they stepped into the arena, Wang Qianjun would understand.

By the time the two arrived at River City Stadium, dozens of young men and women had already gathered there, divided into several small groups according to their schools.

Chen Yu slowly swept his gaze across them. With the boost from his Keen Perception talent, he could clearly sense their martial arts realms.

"Seventh-Level Body Tempering, Seventh-Level... Eighth Layer..."

"As expected of the Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament. Not a single contestant is below Seventh-Level Body Tempering, and there are even several at the Body Tempering Eighth Layer!"

Among them, Chen Yu even spotted a few familiar faces.

Hao Xi... Zhao Tianyi...

At the side, Wang Qianjun said with a cold expression, "There are quite a few experts in this year's Warm-up Tournament. Be careful if you run into them."

"Although strong fighters will be overseeing the matches, mistakes are inevitable. The Martial Exam is only a month away, so it's best not to get injured."

"Hao Xi from First High School, Ling Langtian from Third High School, Die Xiaoxiao from Fourth High School, Wan Wuxia from Sixth High School, and Zhao Tianyi from Seventh High School. All of them are at the Body Tempering Eighth Layer, and none of them are weaker than me."

"If you encounter them, it's best to surrender right away. There's no need to risk fighting them."

After all, they were classmates, and Wang Qianjun rather appreciated Chen Yu's personality, so he patiently offered a few words of warning.

As for whether Chen Yu listened, that was no longer his concern.

"Thanks for the warning." Chen Yu nodded slightly, not expecting Wang Qianjun to introduce the experts present to him.

The information Wang Qianjun gave matched exactly what he had sensed.

"Chen Yu, you came too?"

At that moment, Zhao Tianyi also noticed Chen Yu among the crowd and immediately came over to greet him.

Wang Qianjun's gaze shifted back and forth between Zhao Tianyi and Chen Yu, seemingly surprised that the two knew each other.

"With so many geniuses gathered here, wouldn't I regret it for life if I didn't come?" Chen Yu smiled, then introduced him.

"This is Wang Qianjun. You've probably heard of him."

Zhao Tianyi immediately said, "Wang Qianjun from Second High School? I've heard much about you!"

The coldness on Wang Qianjun's face faded somewhat. He nodded and said, "Zhao Tianyi, I've heard your name for a long time as well."

"To get this far as a Biohuman, I definitely couldn't have done it in your place. You're better than me!"

Wang Qianjun did not care whether someone was a Natural Human or a Biohuman. He only looked down on the weak.

If Chen Yu had not possessed the courage to challenge strong opponents, Wang Qianjun would have looked down on him too.

But Zhao Tianyi... if he were honest with himself, Wang Qianjun knew that if their circumstances were reversed, he could never have made it this far.

"You flatter me." Zhao Tianyi's smile grew even brighter.

After waiting a few seconds, Chen Yu saw that Zhao Tianyi was still lingering by his side and could not help asking,

"What? Aren't you going to join your classmates?"

Zhao Tianyi was not the only contestant from Seventh High School.

Chen Yu had assumed Zhao Tianyi had only come over to say hello. Who would have thought that this guy would simply refuse to leave?

"Eh, I'm not close with them." Zhao Tianyi shook his head and explained,

"Those guys don't say it outright, but I can tell they don't really think highly of me either."

"It's uncomfortable forcing myself to mingle with them. Staying with you is much more relaxing."

Before Chen Yu could say anything, Wang Qianjun spoke first. "They're just a bunch of weaklings. Why care about their attitude?"

He genuinely could not understand it. In his eyes, weaklings were practically no different from air.

Among those present, the only people he regarded highly were the few experts at the Body Tempering Eighth Layer. Everyone else was practically invisible to him.

"Do as you like." Chen Yu shrugged indifferently.

After estimating the time, he pulled out a large bottle of liquid from his pocket and chugged it. Within seconds, only the empty bottle remained.

"What are you drinking?" Zhao Tianyi's nose twitched curiously.

"An energy drink." Chen Yu smiled, then accurately tossed the bottle into a distant trash can.

As the group chatted, the doors of River City Stadium slowly opened, and a man in a black suit walked out.

Everyone's eyes immediately turned toward him in unison.

"Everyone, please follow me to the competition venue," the Suit-Clad Man said in a deep voice.

No one questioned him. They followed the Suit-Clad Man into River City Stadium and were then led onto the spacious soccer field.

The soccer field was enormous, roughly one hundred meters long and seventy meters wide, more than enough to accommodate everyone.

And there were not merely twenty-five contestants present.

In the spectator stands, men and women dressed in various styles were silently observing them.

"People from the Martial Universities?"

Chen Yu narrowed his eyes and made a guess to himself.

The Martial Exam Warm-Up Tournament was, at its core, an opportunity to secure an early contract with a good Martial University.

Those people in the stands must have been representatives sent by the various Martial Universities.

Zhao Tianyi also lowered his voice. "The two men and one woman in the front row should be from the Three Elite Universities."

At that moment, Zhao Tianyi was not the only one to realize it. Every martial arts student present had thought of the same thing.

In an instant, everyone's eyes burned with passion.

The Three Elite Universities!

Getting into one of the Three Elite Universities meant a secure future and soaring success.

Moreover, only the Three Elite Universities had the qualifications to travel to New Moon, and only they had the qualifications to leave Crimson Radiance Star!

Otherwise, one would remain trapped on Crimson Radiance Star for an entire lifetime.

No matter how astonishingly talented someone was, the environment of Crimson Radiance Star had long since locked away the future of martial arts.

"River City's students this year are of decent quality. Quite a few of them actually have what it takes to get into the Three Elite Universities."

"There just aren't any geniuses who really stand out. They're too ordinary."

Mo Bai yawned and rubbed his eyes.

Before him, the Terminal displayed a curtain of light containing detailed information on the many students.

It included their identities, family backgrounds, schools... and more.

"Don't look so listless. You're representing Upper River Martial University." Dai Guang glanced at Mo Bai's lazy demeanor, unable to keep himself from frowning.

He had always taken pride in his identity as a representative of Imperial Capital Martial University. Seeing Mo Bai attend as a representative of Upper River Martial University, one of the Three Elite Universities, with such a lackadaisical attitude made him somewhat displeased.

At the side, Jiang Xiaoyue glanced at the two of them and slowly said, "There are a few interesting points, actually. For example, there are two Biohumans among them."

"Zhao Tianyi and Chen Yu."