Spatial Aperture

"Fight!"

Ning Yue let out a furious roar, gathering all the qi and blood in his body into a tremendous fist radiance. The gray radiance looked especially heavy, like a mountain, like an ocean wave.

He punched out, and the gray fist radiance collided head-on with Yang Yifei's three-meter great spear.

Bang!

An earth-shattering boom exploded through the air. The force of their collision rivaled an exploding artillery shell from his previous life.

"Aahhh!"

In midair, Yang Yifei felt a tremendous force surge from the spearhead straight into his chest. Even his D-Grade Alloy Great Spear could barely withstand the force of their collision.

Then an overwhelming force struck him. He could scarcely believe it; the force was beyond what he could withstand.

"You sneaky bastard, are you a Third-Rank Martial Artist in disguise?"

He took a deep breath and mustered every ounce of strength he had, even the strength he'd used to suckle, to keep himself from being sent flying-or at least from being swatted away like a shuttlecock.

But even though he gave it everything he had and his face turned beet red, he still couldn't escape being sent flying.

Whoosh.

A parabolic arc dragged Yang Yifei along and flung him into the distance.

"Holy shit, that was a little weak."

The moment Ning Yue made contact with Yang Yifei's great spear, the force he felt was weaker than he had expected, and he hurriedly withdrew half his strength.

Then he watched that "Wolffy parabola" disappear into the air.

All that's missing is "I'll be back."

Ning Yue looked in the direction Yang Yifei had disappeared.

"I think the swimming pool is over there."

Then he noticed a figure on the raised platform vanish immediately afterward and reappear in the blink of an eye.

Looking closely, he saw that it was Lin Qinghua, Huaqing City's grade director.

He held the unconscious Yang Yifei in one hand and the bent three-meter alloy great spear in the other.

All of Yang Yifei's dashing charm and distinguished bearing had vanished.

Both his arms were broken, bone protruding as blood streamed down the exposed points. A huge dent marred his chest, and his injuries were clearly severe.

Not only that, but he was drenched and covered in mud, with none of his former bearing left.

"Huaqing City concedes this match. Our student is seriously injured, and we need to take him for treatment, so we'll be leaving first."

After saying this with a dark expression, Lin Qinghua tossed the bent great spear to a student and hurried away.

As for meeting again? No, it would be best if we never met again.

Lin Qinghua was even more anxious than he appeared.

Their defeat in the challenge match was only a small part of the reason.

He had discovered a surge of unstable spiritual qi erupting from the severely injured, unconscious Yang Yifei. The eruption of spiritual energy was a sign that he was about to awaken a spirit body.

That was the main reason he had hurried to end the challenge match.

He would rather lose the challenge than delay Yang Yifei's spirit body awakening.

The challenge match was not the college entrance examination, after all, and was not particularly important.

If Yang Yifei's severe injuries caused his spirit body awakening to fail, that would be Huaqing City's greatest loss.

If that really happened, Yang Lin, the president of Huaqing City's Martial Arts Association, a peak Sixth-Rank Martial Artist, and Yang Yifei's father, would certainly not let him off.

After Lin Qinghua left, the remaining Huaqing High School students followed.

Before leaving, Yang Zihan gestured at her martial artist's wristwatch to Ning Yue, indicating that they should keep in touch.

She wasn't worried about her brother Yang Yifei's severe injuries. As someone with a spirit body herself, she could tell what state her brother was in.

That stinking brother of mine actually awakened a spirit body too.

Hmph!!!

The road to suppressing my brother is getting longer and longer.

Come on, Yang Zihan, you can do it.

Director Li and the others watched them leave without stopping them. It wasn't as though they had failed to notice Yang Yifei's spirit body awakening.

The human race had gained another heaven's chosen. They felt only joy, with little jealousy.

"Ning Yue, you did very well."

Once the group from Huaqing City had departed, Director Li and the others came onto the arena. The more they looked at Ning Yue, the more pleased they were.

The homeroom teacher of Class One, third year, was especially envious and jealous.

If only Ning Yue were a student in our Class One.

"Fighting for the school was only right," Ning Yue replied modestly.

He didn't think defeating a few First-Rank Realm students was anything worth praising. He only felt that their combat strength still wasn't great enough to let him fight to his heart's content.

"Good. Neither arrogant nor impatient; a tiger in your heart, yet you stop to sniff the roses. There will be a place for you among the powerhouses of the future," Director Li said with a smile.

He had originally thought Ning Yue was merely a somewhat talented student who would rise overnight and fall just as quickly.

Director Li had seen no shortage of such meteor-like talents in his life, himself included.

But looking at him now,

Ning Yue was neither arrogant nor impatient, with a steady, measured temperament. He was confident and had lofty goals.

Most importantly, judging by his recent performance, his aptitude was extraordinary, and he had everything he needed to become a powerhouse.

"Ning Yue, you defeated Huaqing City's challenge team. What reward would you like?"

Ning Yue didn't answer right away, pondering the question.

Do I have to decide my own reward?

Is this a test, or is there no reward at all?

I might as well open my lion's jaws wide for once.

"I'll leave everything to your decision, Director. If possible, just reward me with a hundred million and let me achieve a small goal."

Why ask for material rewards? As long as I have money, what can't I buy?

Of course, that was true for Ning Yue. He didn't lack high-grade things like cultivation techniques and martial skills; instead, he lacked some basic equipment.

For anyone else, cultivation techniques, martial skills, and pills would be the best rewards.

"A small goal? Haha... Ning Yue, that small goal of yours is rather big. I've been a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist for decades, and even I don't have a hundred million in cash."

Director Li laughed.

"Forget it. I'd better decide for you."

A few things abruptly appeared in his hand: three bottles of pills, four jade boxes, and two golden cards, nine things in all.

Ning Yue was astonished. Did Director Li have spatial equipment, a spatial ring, or a storage pouch?

He openly looked Director Li over several times. There was no ring on his fingers, nor was there a cloth pouch tied at his waist.

"You're curious where I took these things out from, aren't you?"

Director Li saw Ning Yue's confusion at a glance, which was also because Ning Yue hadn't concealed it.

As a First-Rank Realm martial artist, trying to hide it from a Fifth-Grade Realm big shot would have been completely pointless.

It would only make him seem insincere.

"Yes." Ning Yue nodded.

"You'll understand when you reach the Fifth-Grade Realm. The Fifth-Grade Realm is also called the Aperture Refining Realm. There are more than just ordinary apertures; there are many strange apertures too. Of course, those are exclusive to heaven's chosen."

Director Li Changsheng paused, his face full of pride.

That's right, I'm a heaven's chosen.

"Go on and choose. The Fifth-Grade Realm is too far away for you. Work hard to reach the Second-Rank Realm first, and strive for a good result in the college entrance examination-for yourself, for your parents, for the school, and even more so for the human race."

Ning Yue nodded with a wry smile.

Director, that's a bit much. I can't bear that weight.

He had experience cultivating the Bitter Bamboo Scripture, and Director Li's reminder automatically brought some information about cultivation in the Fifth Grade Acupoint Refining Realm to mind.

In the Aperture Refining Realm, besides the thirty-six Heavenly Dipper apertures and seventy-two Earthly Fiend apertures corresponding to the martial arts formation diagram,

there were also various special apertures. One of them was the Spatial Aperture. Once opened, it would generate a space inside the body that could store nonliving objects.