Virtual Combat Pod, "Final Battle"!

"Fatty Cao went through a lot of trouble to get you the Thunder Pattern Blade."

Wan Keshan sheathed the blade, shoved it into Li Qingshan's arms, and turned to walk through the school gate.

"Follow me."

"Teacher, you still haven't told me the A-rank Martial Art that corresponds to Mizong Step."

Li Qingshan jogged to catch up, itching with curiosity.

Wan Keshan habitually adopted a grave tone.

"Don't reach for what's beyond your grasp. That hurdle from Great Accomplishment to Perfection has tripped up countless geniuses. It's not that easy..."

As he spoke, he turned his head, and upon seeing Li Qingshan's face, his words cut off.

Recalling Li Qingshan's talent, Wan Keshan decided to skip the lecture.

"The A-rank Martial Art Heavenly Net Mizong Step requires the D-rank Movement Technique Mizong Step and the C-rank Heavenly Net Step as prerequisites."

Li Qingshan nodded, committing the names to memory.

Mastering both prerequisite techniques to Perfection was needed to comprehend the A-rank Martial Art.

For others, that might be difficult.

But for him, as long as it was recorded on the Status Panel, he could definitely "grind" it to Perfection.

In the face of the Progress Bar, there was no such thing as a bottleneck.

The two crossed the campus, heading straight for the Martial Arts Hall.

When they reached the front door of the Martial Arts Hall, Wan Keshan changed course and walked toward the external staircase beside it.

"There's a single-person training room free on the second floor. You'll train there from now on."

Li Qingshan followed behind, having no objections.

A private training room would make it more convenient for him to use the Martial Arts Space during the day.

After two flights of stairs, they entered the second-floor corridor, with a row of classroom doors on the left.

The first classroom was the largest, where over a dozen Second Year martial arts students were practicing techniques.

Seeing someone pass by the door, they all instinctively turned to look.

Wan Keshan ignored them and kept walking.

Li Qingshan glanced casually and was surprised to spot a familiar face, so he nodded politely in greeting.

Inside the classroom, Yu Zhuo's face twisted like he'd eaten something sour, unsure how to respond.

Fortunately, Li Qingshan didn't wait for a reply and soon walked past the door.

Inside the classroom, the dozen or so Second Year martial arts students all stopped moving and whispered among themselves.

"Li Qingshan? Why would Teacher Wan bring Li Qingshan to the second floor?"

"Yu Zhuo, Li Qingshan just greeted you. Are you two close? Do you know why he's up here?"

"I'm not close with him at all!"

Yu Zhuo spat out a retort, looked around, and suddenly let out a mocking laugh.

"Besides this classroom, all that's left on the second floor are those ten single-person training rooms. What do you think Teacher Wan brought Li Qingshan here for?"

"You all know damn well, so why pretend? Or are you just unwilling to face reality?"

At that, the room fell silent, and a few faces darkened noticeably.

The school—or rather, all of Luoying City—only had these ten single-person training rooms.

The Martial Arts Class weeded out students every year, with no more than five Third Years annually, each taking one training room.

The rest were allocated to Second Year martial arts students, with the condition being a minimum of Body Tempering fifth level!

Several in their class had already met that requirement, leaving only the last single-person training room.

Yu Zhuo was only at Body Tempering Third Level, with no hope at all, so he didn't care.

But the others were different—each was close to Body Tempering fifth level, seeing each other as rivals.

Lately, they'd been training like mad, terrified of being beaten to the punch.

"What gives! Li Qingshan is just a freshman. What use does he have for a training room?"

"Exactly! Even if they gave him the virtual combat pod, he'd just go in and get beaten up. Total waste!"

"No way, I won't accept this. I'm going to find Teacher Li. We can't let Teacher Wan do whatever he wants."

A few of them rushed out of the classroom in a fluster.

The remaining students watched their backs, shaking their heads, but didn't mock them like Yu Zhuo had.

Anyone who still had any hope for the New Continent couldn't afford not to fight for a single-person training room.

The room itself wasn't the point—it was the virtual combat pod inside.

With a virtual combat pod, they'd have the chance to spar with geniuses from the entire Old Continent.

More importantly, the selection process for New Continent Martial Arts University takes place inside the Virtual Combat Pods!

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"There's actually a Virtual Combat Pod!"

Li Qingshan's eyes gleamed with amazement as his palm carefully brushed over the gray-black casing.

Wan Keshan stood nearby, a faint smirk on his face.

"You can pop in and play around sometimes. Of course, if you enjoy getting beaten up, I wouldn't mind you going in every day."

"Beaten up?" Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and turned to ask, "Are there a lot of experts in there?"

"Not exactly experts." Wan Keshan shook his head and explained, "Across the entire Old Continent's 107 Provinces, each province has fifty or sixty ordinary cities like Luoying. Every provincial capital has 100 Virtual Combat Pods, and ordinary cities have 10."

"That means each province has roughly 700 Virtual Combat Pods, and the whole Old Continent has over 70,000 of them!"

"These pods are reserved for the Martial Arts Classes and are mostly allocated based on strength."

Li Qingshan immediately understood.

Not exactly experts, but anyone who could enter a Virtual Combat Pod was at least in the top 10 of their city's Martial Arts Class rankings.

At his current Body Tempering Second Level, even with a Great Accomplishment martial skill, he'd definitely get wrecked.

"Normally, the school requires Body Tempering fifth level to qualify for this training room, but with your performance yesterday, it's not an issue."

Wan Keshan glanced at Li Qingshan, his expression growing serious.

"You were curious before about how to get into New Continent Martial Arts University. Now I can tell you."

"Every year at the end of June, the top 100 in the Virtual Combat Pod rankings earn the right to go to the New Continent and participate in the 'Final Battle'."

Li Qingshan sucked in a sharp breath. Even with some mental preparation, he was stunned by the outrageous condition.

"Teacher, 70,000 people fighting for 100 spots is bad enough, but there's also some 'Final Battle'?"

"It's not as brutal as you think. The 'Final Battle' isn't elimination—anyone who goes to the New Continent gets into a martial arts university."

"But there's more than one martial arts university on the New Continent, and everyone wants to get into the best one, so naturally they have to compete for admission."

Wan Keshan waved a hand and explained, "'Final Battle' is just a nickname from the Old Continent. For New Continent martial arts students, it's just a normal Entrance Qualification Battle."

"A hundred boats race, a thousand sails pass by, and only then do you earn the right to stand on the same battlefield as New Continent martial arts students." Li Qingshan murmured, then shook his head with a wry smile. "'Final Battle'—the name fits."

"Don't overthink it. Most New Continent martial arts students were also screened from the Old Continent."

Wan Keshan patted his student's shoulder and said firmly, "The Federation has done its best to be fair. Geniuses like you, who 'awaken' later, won't be overlooked."

"Teacher, you're overthinking it. I was just talking."

Li Qingshan's expression was calm, with no trace of resentment.

He hadn't awakened—he'd cheated!

Talent was never fair to begin with, so why talk about fairness?

Wan Keshan didn't dwell on it either. He waved a hand and changed the subject.

"Alright, the 'Final Battle' is too far off. Let's talk about the Rookie Competition at the end of the year first!"

"Teacher, is this the chance you mentioned to learn Thunder Roar Blade?"

Li Qingshan perked up, recalling what Wan Keshan had said before.

A C-rank Martial Skill copyright fee of 5 million Star Coins—he couldn't afford that.

"It's not just Thunder Roar Blade." Wan Keshan's lips curled into a smile as he explained, "The Rookie Competition is specifically for First and Second Year martial arts students. Its purpose is to provide resources for lower-year geniuses and prepare them early for the 'Final Battle'."

"Each year is ranked separately. The top 10 not only get to pick a C-rank Martial Skill but also receive a cash prize of 5 million Star Coins."

"A reward worth 10 million!" Li Qingshan's eyes lit up.

At that moment, he deeply understood the meaning of Cao Ya's advice from last night.

Indeed, as long as you were talented enough, there was no need to sign any messy contracts.

Wan Keshan didn't mind his student's money-grubbing attitude; in fact, he was quite satisfied.

A little greed was good. With a goal came motivation.

"Train hard. With your combat power, you should have no rivals among the First Year students in Wuyi Province."

"Teacher, can the Martial Arts Class skip grades?"

"What do you mean?"

Wan Keshan paused, momentarily unable to react.

Li Qingshan's eyes blazed as he licked his lips.

"I mean, after I finish the First Year Rookie Competition, I'll skip a grade and keep going to compete in the Second Year Rookie Competition."