The First List

"It's out?" Fang Yu spotted the pinned announcement at once: "Publication of the First List of Students Recommended for Transfer to Bachelor's Programs in Year 60 of the New Calendar." His spirits lifted, and he immediately clicked to view it.

The list wasn't long. There were only ten names.

Wuling Martial Arts College enrolled 5,000 students in each class. Every year, a total of 50 places were available for transfer to bachelor's programs, 20 of them through recommendation. The recommendation list was released in two batches.

Ten people in each batch.

"I'm not on it?" Fang Yu scanned the list, his eyes dimming slightly before returning to normal.

"That makes sense."

"The first recommendation list was based on the third-year final assessment results at the end of June." Fang Yu grew thoughtful. "In terms of life level, I only ranked somewhere over a hundred."

"But my martial arts skill score was in the top ten."

"As for age, I'm on the younger side in my class."

"Taking everything into account, I should be in the top fifty," Fang Yu thought. "My chances of being selected were already small, and I haven't awakened a Void Star Aspect. The chances of making the first batch were very, very low."

For the transfer places, the selection process had its criteria.

First came the life levels and martial arts skill scores of all the students. Neither could be faked. Next came their Void Star Aspects, which represented their potential for the future.

Finally, age was also taken into account.

For example, given two martial arts college students with similar results, the younger one naturally had the advantage... For young martial artists in their golden years, even an extra half year of cultivation made a noticeable difference.

So Fang Yu had expected not to make the first recommendation list.

Still.

Human nature was always like that. Even when people knew the outcome, they held on to a sliver of hope until everything was settled... Fang Yu was no exception, but he quickly composed himself.

"Now..."

"If they held another assessment to select the list, my chances of making it would be much higher." Fang Yu was quite calm. Ten days ago, his martial arts skill had broken through to Greater Mastery of Minute Subtlety.

Greater Mastery of Minute Subtlety in martial arts skill wasn't uncommon among martial arts undergraduates. After all, around half of the Void Star Aspects awakened by martial arts undergraduates were Mid-Rank Star Aspects.

Those with Lower Astral Aspects also made up nearly half.

Their powerful Void Star Aspects allowed undergraduates to temper their bodies more efficiently with Star Power. Combined with their greater cultivation resources, their life levels were generally 16 or above by the end of their third year, while students in the top 10 percent could reach level 20 or even higher.

A powerful body nurtured a stronger spirit, making it easier to perceive and examine the body's tendons, bones, and muscle bundles. They also had better martial arts teachers to guide them.

For all these reasons, their martial arts skills naturally improved quickly.

Life level and martial arts skill complemented each other.

But college students were different.

Of the Void Star Aspects awakened by martial arts college students, 99 percent were Lower Astral Aspects... Their aspects were lower-ranked, and they had fewer cultivation resources.

Few third-year martial arts college students even managed to reach life level 14.

On top of that, their teachers were less capable, and college students were generally less willing to work hard. As a result, their martial arts skills were generally poor.

"The gap between an outstanding undergraduate and a low-ranking college student is bigger than the gap between a person and a dog." Fang Yu sighed inwardly. Only by attending a martial arts college could one know just how poor college students could be.

Was it just that college students had inferior Void Star Aspects to undergraduates?

No!

In Fang Yu's view, Void Star Aspects were where the difference between college students and undergraduates was smallest... A student might awaken a Lower Astral Aspect, but as long as he had decent talent for martial arts skills and worked hard enough, he would stand out during his three years of high school and wouldn't end up at a college.

Truly outstanding college students.

They were usually people like Fang Yu... They had decent talent for martial arts skills but had failed to awaken a Void Star Aspect before the college entrance examination.

"When it comes to effort..."

"When it comes to hard work, I don't think I'm any worse than those undergraduates. What I've lacked is an opportunity." Fang Yu pondered. "I haven't awakened a Void Star Aspect? With Greater Mastery of Minute Subtlety, there's a good chance I can make up for it."

Before his breakthrough, Fang Yu's martial arts skill score had already been in the school's top ten... Afterward, Fang Yu believed he had a shot at competing for first place in martial arts skill across all of Wuling Martial Arts College.

After all, the fourth-years had already graduated.

"I didn't make the first recommendation list."

"In a month, on August 15, before the fourth year officially begins, there'll be another assessment." Fang Yu took a deep breath. "It'll determine the second recommendation list."

"If I miss that too, I'll have to wait until September's practical combat selection for the final list... Being a month late means spending one month less in a bachelor's program, and that will affect my cultivation progress."

Over the years.

The high school entrance examination, the college entrance examination, the second-year selection assessment, and now this transfer selection... They had long since taught Fang Yu one thing: a person might have unlimited room for error in life, but only at rock bottom.

Poor-performing college students could live happily too.

But for someone who wanted to reach the pinnacle of martial arts, truly good opportunities were few.

"The good opportunities left to me are growing fewer and fewer."

"All I can do is give it everything I have."

He closed the laptop on his knees.

His grandfather was still reading a magazine in his recliner. Fang Yu soon went down to the basement.

The basement of a typical detached villa had two levels, usually containing things like a game room, a media room, a storage room, and a wine cellar.

But the Fang family's basement had only one level. It was eight meters high and covered 150 square meters. Apart from a row of freezers, it contained weapon racks, wooden training dummies, a punching-force tester, a qi and blood tester, a skill video analyzer, and many other devices.

It was a small indoor martial arts room.

"Dad really put a lot of thought into this," Fang Yu thought.

Fang Ping'an had also sacrificed a great deal of comfort at home to make this indoor martial arts room, so that Fang Yu and his two siblings could cultivate martial arts more conveniently... Most fathers couldn't do that.

After starting college, Fang Yu had spent less and less time at home.

But every time he came to the basement martial arts room, Fang Yu remembered how, when he was in secondary school, his father had insisted on practicing with him and helping him train in saber techniques, even when he was tired from running his business.

After all, hiring a martial artist as a sparring partner cost too much.

"Whew!" He opened a freezer.

Fang Yu took out the box on the top shelf. It was a crystal box with white lettering on a red background, an abstract silhouette of an exotic beast printed on the front, and the Starlight Group's fiery red logo in the upper right corner.

Qi and Blood Mixture.

"Products from a small group really do look a little worse than those from the eight major groups," Fang Yu thought. "But at least they're cheap, only half the price of the same product from the eight major groups."

He opened the box.

Inside, ten nearly transparent glass vials were arranged in neat rows. Each bore a stamped production date, batch number, and anti-counterfeiting code.

"1,000 Star Coins a vial." Fang Yu held one in his hand. Its surface was smooth and fine.

The specially made vial could keep the medicine at full potency throughout its one-year shelf life. Through the vial, Fang Yu could see the fiery red liquid flowing inside.

It shimmered with a crystalline glow.

Top martial artists absorbed Star Power with incredible efficiency, but Junior Martial Artists had a limit to how efficiently they could absorb it, even if they had awakened an Upper Astral Aspect.

To keep improving their life levels quickly, the most cost-effective method was to eat a certain amount of high-energy, nutritious food in addition to absorbing Star Power, along with taking some precious medicines and pills.

Qi and Blood Mixture was the most basic medicine for assisting cultivation.

"Most Junior Martial Artists worry about damaging their bodies, so they usually choose to buy authentic Qi and Blood Mixture from the eight major groups," Fang Yu thought. "They steer clear of mixtures from these small groups and factories."

"They're afraid."

"But I'm not." Fang Yu opened a vial and tipped his head back to drink it with practiced ease.