After delivering his threats, Zuo Xiaoduo looked again at the sign reading "Martial Disciple Class Eight," his heart surging.
In a Martial Disciple class—yes, the equivalent of kindergarten in that dream—I actually cultivated my academic studies all the way to university graduation!
That really is an achievement without precedent or successor!
"Miracles are always created by extraordinary people! And I, Zuo Xiaoduo, am undoubtedly that extraordinary person!"
He stepped outside, feeling only the dazzling sunlight streaming onto his face. All at once, heaven and earth opened wide, radiant and brilliant.
"Laughing up at the sky, I stride out the door—how could a man like me remain a Martial Disciple forever? With this departure, the dragon returns to the ocean, the tiger enters the deep mountains! The seas are vast for fish to leap, the skies high for birds to fly! A sword's keen edge comes from grinding; plum blossoms' fragrance comes from bitter cold! I, Zuo Xiaoduo, have finally made it through!"
Feeling the power of the Martial Warrior Realm surging through his body, Zuo Xiaoduo grew rather giddy.
I really have become a powerhouse!
Roar, roar!
In the brilliant sunshine, Teacher Hu walked briskly toward him, her whole body seemingly bathed in holy light.
Phoenix City Star Martial Academy.
Before the Star Soul Tower.
"Just let your true nature out." Hu Ruoyun's eyes were full of encouragement.
"All right!" Zuo Xiaoduo suddenly understood.
Zuo Xiaoduo walked into the Star Soul Tower in high spirits.
He began the first grope of his Martial Dao career.
"This sovereign has long awaited this!"
As his figure disappeared through the entrance, an impatient voice drifted out from within.
The principal's office.
Li Changjiang stared intently at the monitor showing the Star Soul Tower's illusion.
He, too, very much wanted to see what grade this Hero Zuo, who had repeated his grade for five years, would receive in the assessment.
Beside him, Hu Ruoyun sipped her tea as though nothing were happening.
She was very confident.
Five years of repeating a grade, yet he had remained tenacious and unyielding! Six years without an inch of progress, yet he had kept working hard throughout!
How could someone like that fail to earn a top grade in character and perseverance?
What a joke!
Teacher Hu was simply waiting to celebrate and cheer for her student's success.
The image gradually appeared.
They saw Zuo Xiaoduo enter a strange environment...
It was a small town.
Zuo Xiaoduo felt that the instant he entered, he arrived in a small town. A gentle breeze carrying the scent of spring brushed his face, leaving him with just one feeling: wonderful!
Even his steps felt much lighter.
"Riding high on the spring breeze, my horse's hooves fly; in a single day, I see all... huh?"
Suddenly...
At the intersection, an old man tottered across the road just as a car drove past. Unable to avoid it in time, the old man was clipped by the car and fell away with a startled cry.
Zuo Xiaoduo shouted, "Stop!"
Flying dust obscured the license plate. The car never stopped; instead, it accelerated and vanished into the distance with a whoosh.
Zuo Xiaoduo froze. He saw the old man lying unconscious on the ground beside the road, blood already beginning to seep through his graying hair... his head had slammed hard against the curb.
A pool of blood spread across the ground...
"Someone help him!"
Zuo Xiaoduo could tell at a glance that although the impact from the car had not been severe, the old man had struck his head hard against the curb. His life might be in danger within moments. Without time to think, Zuo Xiaoduo rushed over in great strides, supporting the old man's head with one hand while swiftly checking his injuries with the other, then deftly took out his phone and called emergency services.
After hanging up with emergency services, he immediately began checking the injuries, immobilizing broken bones and keeping the airway clear. Then he reached into the old man's pocket with one hand, took out his phone, expertly cracked its passcode, found the contacts, and dialed "Wife."
Before the monitor.
Seeing the old man get hit, Li Changjiang could not help sighing. "Still the same tired, clichéd plot. Can't they come up with something new...?"
Seeing Zuo Xiaoduo rush over to save him, he could not help praising him. "This young fellow's not bad."
Then, seeing him treat the injuries, save the man, and call emergency services in one seamless sequence, he praised him again. "Steady, unflustered, methodical, and orderly. Not bad, not bad."
Then he saw Zuo Xiaoduo take out the old man's phone, swiftly unlock it despite the passcode, and make a call. He froze at once, muttering, "He knows how to do that, too? That... that looks rather practiced..."
Like a habitual offender.
Principal Li did not say those words aloud.
Teacher Hu covered her face and coughed. "This student... ahem, has rather varied interests..."
The illusion inside the Star Soul Tower continued.
The ambulance arrived.
As the sole eyewitness, as well as the man's lifesaver-and especially since his hand was still supporting the old man's neck and could not let go-Zuo Xiaoduo naturally went along to the hospital.
Yet when the injured man's family arrived, their eyes swept over Zuo Xiaoduo with suspicion.
To the family, the blood all over Zuo Xiaoduo and his exhausted face were far too suspicious, so much so that he did not receive a single word of thanks.
The emergency room doors opened, and the family crowded forward, then escorted the patient to his ward in a throng.
Then...
Since the culprit had fled, the patient's family had to pay the medical bills themselves, and it was no small sum.
And judging by their clothes and appearance, this family was clearly not wealthy...
Things developed exactly as Principal Li and his wife had expected. The family insisted that Zuo Xiaoduo was the culprit responsible for the accident and demanded compensation: medical expenses, lost wages, nursing costs, living expenses...
Sure enough, they had begun extorting him.
As trite and clichéd as ever.
Newly arrived and unfamiliar with the place or its people, Zuo Xiaoduo was surrounded by the entire family. Under their barrage of overlapping accusations, he had no room to argue at all. Truly, even a hundred mouths could not have cleared his name. They labeled him outright: he was the culprit!
The old man, only just awake, actually told a barefaced lie and identified Zuo Xiaoduo as the one who had hit him. Though guilt showed in his eyes, his tone was utterly firm.
Watching Zuo Xiaoduo being extorted, Li Changjiang and Hu Ruoyun both sighed.