No Top 10, Only First!

Hovercars flew silently above the city's rooftops.

Inside the vehicle, the same silence reigned.

Whether it was Zhao Hongzhou and his two companions, or Zhong Xian and the other second-year Martial Arts students, none had yet recovered from the violent scene they'd just witnessed.

Liu Haibing's group of five, in particular, was trembling with fear.

Only now did they realize how "gentle" Li Qingshan had been back at Luoying Station.

Little Fatty Cao Shaoyu looked left and right, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, and took the initiative to sidle up to Li Qingshan.

"Coach, how about we grab a meal first? I found a hidden gem of a restaurant a couple days ago."

The moment food came up, Cao Shaoyu's expression lit up with excitement.

Li Qingshan shook his head with a smile and gently ruffled the little fatty's hair.

"In your three months in Wuyi, all you've learned is how to find food?"

This kid had somehow caught wind of the Rookie Competition news.

Back when Ren Ming was negotiating with Yu Yuanjun, Cao Shaoyu had already taken his hovercar out. Li Qingshan had simply sent him the location directly.

After all, hovercars were fully AI-controlled, so there was no worry about the little fatty driving without a license.

"Coach, I'm not just about eating!" Cao Shaoyu puffed out his chest, quite proud of himself.

"I've already reached the second level of The Stars Are Calling and mastered Force Generation. I've even got a lead on the breathing coordination for the third level."

At those words, everyone else in the car froze, unconsciously turning to look at the little fatty.

They'd thought he was just a spoiled rich kid, but was he actually a genius?

Anyone under fifteen who trained The Stars Are Calling to the third level could go straight to the New Continent.

The goal they struggled and fought for was nothing more than a starting point for those geniuses.

For a moment, everyone's spirits sank.

Li Qingshan had known about the little fatty's talent all along, so he wasn't surprised. He ruffled his hair again and said, "Then work hard and aim to reach the New Continent as soon as possible."

"We agreed to meet in the New Continent. Don't let me get there and not find you."

"Coach, don't brag." Cao Shaoyu pouted, his chubby face twisting. "You're only a first-year in the Martial Arts Class. It'll take you at least two more years to get to the New Continent. By then, I'll definitely be the one waiting for you!"

"Alright, let's say I'm bragging then."

Li Qingshan's lips curled into a smile, but he said nothing more.

Ren Ming had been keeping close by. Seeing their chat wind down, he carefully spoke up.

"Classmate Li, I think we'd better head back to school first. Besides arranging dormitories for you, there's a big meeting this afternoon to announce the specifics of this year's Rookie Competition."

"Huh? We can't even grab a bite?" The little fatty's face fell with disappointment.

"Just one meal. We'll go eat after the Rookie Competition's over."

Li Qingshan patted his head, and Cao Shaoyu could only pout as he reset the destination.

The hovercar silently changed course, heading toward Wu Yi First High School.

Wu Yi First High School, meeting room.

Inside the spacious room, over a hundred figures were scattered sparsely.

Wan Keshan lounged on a sofa, teacup in hand, looking at a short, stout figure at the center of the room.

"Lü Jing, everyone's pretty much here. Time to get down to business, right?"

Lü Jing, a Martial Arts Teacher at First High School, was also the strongest person in Wu Yi City.

"Heh, Old Wan, still as impatient as ever after all this time."

Lü Jing replied with a grin, then swept his gaze across the meeting room, cleared his throat, and spoke.

"Ahem, since everyone's here, I won't beat around the bush. The main purpose of this meeting is to change the rules for our Wuyi Province's Rookie Competition."

As his words fell, the Martial Arts Teachers from across the province either frowned or looked puzzled.

In past Rookie Competitions, participants were randomly matched and fought one-on-one.

They climbed round by round until a champion was decided.

And everyone had three match opportunities to prevent a strong contender from being eliminated by an even stronger one too early, ensuring maximum fairness.

Now Lü Jing suddenly wanted to change the rules, and they couldn't think of what needed changing.

For a moment, low murmurs filled the venue as many teachers speculated on Lü Jing's intentions.

"Old Lü, changing the rules isn't out of the question, but you've got to at least explain why!"

A crisp voice rang out. The speaker was a middle-aged woman with a pleasant face.

As soon as they saw who it was, the Martial Arts Teachers fell silent.

Because that was the anchor of Wuyuan City—Yuan Hongyan.

Yuan Hongyan had only started teaching in Wuyuan City ten years ago.

Before she came, the Wuyuan City Martial Arts Class was just as ordinary as any other city's.

Every year during the Rookie Competition, they could only scramble for the half of the slots left over by Wu Yi City.

There was no helping it—Wu Yi City was the provincial capital, naturally drawing the province's talent and resources, so it had an inherent advantage.

But after Yuan Hongyan arrived, everything changed.

First, her students began to shine in the Rookie Competition. In later years, she even trained several prodigies who broke into the Old Continent's top 100 and advanced to the New Continent.

By now, the reputation of Wuyuan City's Martial Arts Class could rival that of the ten high schools in the provincial capital.

Many promising seedlings even voluntarily gave up Wu Yi City to enroll in Wuyuan City's Martial Arts Class.

"Ahem, it's not that our old rules were bad—they were just too ordinary."

Lü Jing cleared his throat, pulling everyone's attention back.

"The purpose of the Rookie Competition is to scout out promising first- and second-year students early and give them some resource support."

"But... resources aren't all they lack!"

"In the best years, our province could send three or four students to the New Continent; in the worst, none at all."

"But even if they make it to the New Continent, they just fade into the crowd."

"Uh... almost forgot, Yu Man is the exception!"

Lü Jing stumbled for a moment and shot an apologetic glance at Wan Keshan.

The other Martial Arts Teachers also turned their gazes to Wan Keshan, envy plain on their faces.

Yu Man had gone to the New Continent with the top score in the Old Continent, ranked high in the "Final Battle," and got into Ziying Academy.

Basked in the envious stares, Wan Keshan showed no pride at all. Instead, his face darkened.

Yu Man's case was like a thorn in his heart.

With Yu Man's talent, she could have gotten into Ziying Academy on her own—it wasn't because of his teaching.

On the contrary, Wan Keshan had always felt that his own guidance had led Yu Man astray, costing her the chance to train on a Martial Star.

"Get to the point, don't drag up useless nonsense!" Wan Keshan snapped.

The other Martial Arts Teachers were baffled by his sudden anger.

Lü Jing, however, knew the reason. He could only offer an apologetic smile and continued:

"Yu Man's case is just an exception."

"What I'm trying to say is this: our students don't just lack resources—they lack a martial heart!"

"Our goal shouldn't be just to send students to the New Continent, but to make sure that once they're there, they can still push forward with courage."

"Tianfu Province changed their Rookie Competition format five years ago. I plan to follow their lead."

"Tianfu Province?!"

Every Martial Arts Teacher in the room widened their eyes in shock.

Now that the "Old Continent's number one," Mou Yu, came from Tianfu Province, they naturally knew plenty about that province's affairs.

Tianfu Province's Rookie Competition used a free-for-all battle format.

Hundreds of participants were thrown onto the combat platform at once, fighting in a chaotic melee until only one person remained standing.

There was no scoring system, no top 10.

The last one standing was the victor—the number one.