Do You Dare to Come?!

As soon as Qin Rushuang finished speaking, her fiery red figure turned and left like a gust of wind, without the slightest reluctance. In an instant, she vanished through the doors of the training hall, leaving a room full of students with their emotions in turmoil.

The silence lasted only an instant!

"Whoosh-!"

The entire training hall erupted!

"'Skin Tempering Art'! This is a real Martial Dao cultivation technique! I finally have one!" Someone held the thin booklet in trembling hands, as though it were a priceless treasure.

"This is great! Starting today, I can cultivate Martial Dao too!"

"Hahaha! I'm going back to cultivate right away! A month to reach the beginner stage of skin tempering? I'll do it in ten days! No! Seven days is enough!"

The flame of "hope" burned in countless eyes. They could hardly wait to find a place to sit cross-legged and start drawing on their qi and blood. The chance to change their destinies was right before them!

Yet amid the fervor, a rather sharp voice rang out at an inopportune moment:

"Don't get happy too soon! What good is a cultivation technique on its own? Without resources to help you, you want to reach the beginner stage of skin tempering in a month? Dream on!"

The speaker was a thin young man with shrewd eyes.

His words were like a bucket of ice water dumped over their heads. Many students whose blood had been boiling moments ago instantly calmed down, their expressions of wild joy frozen on their faces.

"He... he's right," someone murmured. "Tempering the body and skin takes qi and blood to sustain it. Relying on hard practice alone is far too slow. I hear those big family scions use medicinal baths brewed from precious herbs to help them progress so quickly..."

"Medicinal baths? How expensive must those be? How could we afford them?"

"We're done for... Without resources, there's no way we can reach Entry in a month. Are we really going to be eliminated?"

The hope that had just risen seemed about to be snuffed out by cruel reality. Many faces showed misery and despair, and oppressive sighs once again filled the training hall.

Just then, a meaningful smile curled the shrewd young man's lips, and he raised his voice:

"Cultivation techniques are hard to come by, and resources... are even harder! But, well, hehe, I happen to have some connections, and I got my hands on a batch of 'Body Tempering Powder' to help with skin tempering. Its effects can't compare to those secret medicinal baths passed down in the great families, but it can still boost your cultivation speed by more than thirty percent! Anyone interested?"

In an instant, every gaze focused on him!

"Body Tempering Powder? Is it real?"

"Come on, tell us! How much for a packet?" an impatient student demanded at once.

The shrewd young man held up five fingers and waved them smugly. "No more, no less: five hundred Federation credits a packet! It only lasts three days!"

"Five hundred?!"

"Hiss-!"

Gasps rose one after another! For students like them, most of whom came from ordinary families, five hundred Federation credits was nearly a month's living expenses! They would spend that much in three days?

"That's too expensive!" someone couldn't help crying out.

"Expensive?" The shrewd young man sneered. "Martial Dao resources cost a fortune to begin with! And this is my special price for friends! Miss this chance, and it won't be this cheap next time! If you can't bear to make even this small investment to become a martial artist, what future can you talk about?"

His words were rough, but the reasoning was sound. Everyone fell silent, their expressions shifting. Indeed, compared with the benefits of becoming a martial artist, that amount of money didn't seem like much after all...

"I'll buy some!" A determined-looking student gritted his teeth and stepped forward. "Give me three packets!"

"I want two packets too!"

Once someone took the lead, several others immediately followed. Though it pained them to spend the money, they had no other choice if they wanted to seize this chance to change their destinies.

The shrewd young man's smile grew brighter as he began attending to his "business."

Dongfang Yueming watched it all with a cold eye. Resources? He might need them too, but certainly not now! His attention had long since sunk into the depths of his own consciousness.

[Character: Dongfang Yueming]

[Realm: Mortal (gains 1 point daily)]

[Cultivation technique: None]

[Martial skills: None]

[Points: 1000]

The panel was simple and clear, and the "1000" points gleamed with a reassuring light!

"Skin Tempering Art"... Dongfang Yueming's heart burned. I have to go back right away and memorize the entire technique. As soon as its name appears on the system panel, I can-add points!

Resources? Medicinal baths? Before his heaven-defying point-adding cheat, they were all passing clouds!

At that thought, he didn't want to stay another moment. He picked up the Skin Tempering Art and turned to leave the noisy training hall.

Just as he stood up, a slender girl in a nearby seat also rose. Her bearing was distinctly different from the others'. She wore a well-tailored pale blue student uniform, and her skin was fair, her features fresh and graceful. A natural touch of nobility accompanied the glances of her bright eyes.

Perhaps she had noticed Dongfang Yueming's somewhat eager movements, or perhaps his earlier silence, so out of place among the others, had caught her attention. She turned to him, her clear voice carrying a trace of curiosity. "Classmate, aren't you... going to buy some Body Tempering Powder? Cultivation will be very difficult without resources to help you."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it sounded especially clear amid the noisy haggling around them.

Dongfang Yueming paused and turned to her. He shook his head frankly, a wry smile on his lips. "Thanks for your concern, but I don't have any money." He shrugged, his tone calm. "I'm an orphan. I barely scraped together the tuition with my relief payments, and now I don't have a penny to my name."

The graceful girl was slightly taken aback, seemingly not expecting him to be so straightforward. Her pretty eyes sized Dongfang Yueming up for a moment. She said nothing more, merely nodding gently before walking out on her own, her steps light as a white lotus in motion.

Dongfang Yueming paid it no mind either. They were only strangers who had met by chance. He took a deep breath, suppressing his longing for power, and was just about to follow her out.

"Bang!"

A tremendous force slammed into his shoulder!

Caught off guard, Dongfang Yueming staggered and nearly fell!

He quickly steadied himself and looked up. An exceptionally tall male student stood before him, his knotted muscles making him look like a small mountain. He looked down at Dongfang Yueming with a hostile gaze, his face bearing an undisguised challenge.

"Kid, don't you watch where you're going?"

A sudden, nameless anger shot from Dongfang Yueming's heart straight to his head!

He had seen it clearly just now. This guy had deliberately run into him!

"You-" Dongfang Yueming's gaze sharpened abruptly, his anger flaring.

Yet the tall student, built like an iron tower, merely glanced at him with contempt, an undisguised sneer on his lips, as though he were looking at an insignificant ant.

"Hiss—that's... the Gao Family's 'Savage Bull,' Gao Hu?"

"My god, how did he end up provoking him?!"

"I heard the Gao Family is a famous Martial Dao family in the city. Gao Hu has been tempering his body since he was little. He's probably... reached the minor accomplishment stage of skin tempering long ago!"

The surrounding crowd recognized the tall student at once. Their voices immediately dropped, and they looked at Dongfang Yueming with pity, and even a touch of schadenfreude.

Clearly, Gao Hu was no pushover. His background was formidable, and his strength far surpassed that of rookies like them, who had only just obtained a cultivation technique.

Gao Hu sneered inwardly. Why? What right did this poor brat have to make Lin Qingyao-the Lin Family's eldest miss, who was like a fairy from heaven-speak to him of her own accord?

He had seen it perfectly clearly! With Lin Qingyao's aloof nature, she had actually asked this piece of trash a few extra questions? It was an insult to him, Gao Hu! He had long regarded Lin Qingyao as his exclusive possession. How could he allow anyone else to lay a finger on her, even if it was only a single word!

"What?" Gao Hu lifted his chin slightly, looking down his nose at Dongfang Yueming, his tone full of provocation. "Kid, judging by that look, you seem to have a problem?"

Dongfang Yueming's fists clenched abruptly, his knuckles cracking softly from the force. Blood rushed faster through his veins as an unprecedented sense of humiliation welled up in his heart!

"Don't be rash, brother!"

"Endure it for a moment, and the wind will die and the waves will calm! We can't afford to offend the Gao Family!"

"He's obviously doing it on purpose. Don't fall for it!"

The whispers nearby buzzed into Dongfang Yueming's ears like gnats, reminding him of the disparity between them.

Hearing the discussion, Gao Hu looked even smugger, as though he already had the situation under control. He reached out with a hand as big as a palm-leaf fan and patted Dongfang Yueming's shoulder with considerable force, the gesture full of insult. "Kid, know your place! From now on at the Martial Dao Academy, keep your tail tucked between your legs! Otherwise, I'll make you suffer!"

Endure?

Dongfang Yueming's heart clenched!

Since transmigrating, he'd had enough of mediocrity, enough of helplessness! Now that he had finally been given a chance to change his destiny, was he supposed to bow his head on the very first day, to wag his tail and beg for mercy like a dog?!

No! Never!

The rage in his chest seemed ready to take solid form, but he knew that if he fought now, he had no chance of winning and would only bring humiliation upon himself.

But that didn't mean he had to swallow this insult!

Dongfang Yueming abruptly raised his head. Not a trace of retreat remained in his eyes; instead, they burned with fighting spirit as he stared straight into Gao Hu's disdainful gaze. Word by word, his voice not loud but clear enough to reach everyone's ears, he said:

"One month from now!"

"In the Martial Dao Academy's arena!"

"Do you dare to come?!"