Chapter 20

Yu Hongyuan, on the other hand, came from the grassroots through and through. He only knew that Physique Points were important; it had never even occurred to him to consider Spirit Points.

Of course, Fang Chuyun had no idea that Li Yang's Spirit Points had already reached 200. As far as she knew, 90 Spirit Points was already enough to defy the heavens.

The academic exams came in June.

All three cleared the score threshold without trouble. When it came time to choose a school, Li Yang picked Zhongdu Military Academy without the slightest hesitation.

Fang Chuyun also had the right to choose her school, and she picked Zhongdu Military Academy too.

Yu Hongyuan burned incense and prayed to Buddha at home, begging heaven and earth for help. In the end, thanks to his mother Yu Zhiying's money power, he was successfully "reassigned" to Zhongdu Military Academy.

At the Donghua Province General Bureau of Education.

The director pushed up his glasses and looked at the students who had passed this year's practical exam. Helplessly, he said, "Nineteen of our province's top twenty picked Zhongdu Military Academy this year!"

After the practical exam ended, the video of Zhong Qian waiting outside Group 8's classroom had spread like wildfire.

"Which military academy are you applying to?"

"Zhongdu."

And so, Donghua Province's top scorer applied to Zhongdu Military Academy, the provincial runner-up followed her there, and the third-place scorer was a member of the Lin Family, which had always been rooted in Zhongdu Military Academy...

A whole bunch of the top twenty followed them in choosing Zhongdu. Jiang Yuqing was the only one who picked Star-Slaying Military Academy.

Jiang Yuqing came from a family in the pill business, and the Jiang Family's base was in Star Slaying. He had to go to Star-Slaying Military Academy.

But never in his dreams had Jiang Yuqing imagined that he would be the only one among the top twenty scorers to apply to Star-Slaying Military Academy. As a direct result, he wouldn't have a single familiar classmate when he enrolled.

The 301st class's school choices were bizarre enough to go down in history.

Of course, even if all twenty had chosen the same military academy, it wouldn't have mattered. After all, more than a hundred people in Donghua Province had passed the practical exam, and there were dozens of other major provinces across Huaxia. Most students accepted reassignment.

Chapter 20

The two months of summer vacation passed in the blink of an eye.

Li Yang had grown attached to her little apartment at the school, and the teachers living nearby had all treated her well. Teacher Xu in apartment 501 was especially good to her. She was an excellent cook and would invite Li Yang over for a meal from time to time.

At first, Li Yang declined, but eventually she couldn't resist Teacher Xu's hospitality. She went over every few days, though she felt rather embarrassed about eating there.

Li Yang had been an orphan in both her lives, and this was the first time an elder had taken care of her like this. Her heart felt warm.

After her city and provincial scholarships came through, Li Yang bought Teacher Xu a brand-new model of oven. Teacher Xu was so happy she couldn't stop smiling.

With the new term about to start, they had to set out early for Central Capital.

Over the past two months, Li Yang had learned more about this world.

For example, the province was very safe, and there were all kinds of transportation between cities. Getting around was much the same as it had been in Li Yang's previous life.

But crossing provincial borders was another matter.

There were too many uncleared isolation zones between provinces, and even unknown entrances to the Astral Realm. One wrong step could lead to serious trouble.

Ordinary people in this world generally never left their provinces. Only Star Wielders dared to cross provincial borders.

Fang Chuyun gave Li Yang a map, and Li Yang was quite surprised when she looked at it.

"It really is Central Capital."

"Yes. Most places are named after their geography."

This map was completely different from the one in Li Yang's previous life. It looked more like a "star chart," with each province scattered like a star across the vast map, and Central Capital at the very center.

Donghua Province lay somewhat east of Central Capital, hence its name. Most of the other major provinces were also named for their positions.

There were Xihua Province, Beihua Province, Nanhua Province... The character "hua" in these provincial names came from splitting apart the character "华." Farther out were places like the Ten Eastern Provinces and the Ten Western Provinces.

Besides "Hua," the character "Xia" had also been split into "yi," "zi," and "zhi" (zhi).

Some of the more remote major provinces were named after surnames, presumably those of the family powers that had first established them.

It was roughly seven or eight hundred kilometers from Donghua Province to Central Capital. If she took a high-speed train as she would have in her previous life, Li Yang could actually get there in three or four hours. A plane would be even faster, and even driving would only take eight or nine hours.

But that wouldn't work in this world. If they wanted to go to Central Capital, it would take at least two days.

To cross provincial borders, they had to travel in vehicles powered by Starlight, with a city guard escort for the entire journey. Along the way, they also had to carefully avoid uncleared isolation zones and mutant creatures that might appear... And that wasn't all. They also had to watch out for cultists.

Li Yang said, "Cultists?"

Yu Hongyuan didn't know much about this either. His family was rooted in Donghua Province, and he had never left the province in his life. He listened with a curious look on his face.

Fang Chuyun said, "Yes. They call themselves the Descending Star Cult. As you can tell from the name, they advocate welcoming the descent of the Astral Realm and believe in evolution for everyone."

It was because the Astral Realm existed that all kinds of mutant creatures had appeared in this world, and Star Wielders had been born as well.

The government had to protect the majority of people. If the Astral Realm were opened completely, vast numbers of Astral Realm creatures would pour out and bring an immense disaster upon human society.

But the Descending Star Cult believed that the Astral Realm was a holy land. Only by accepting its gifts could everyone evolve and the human species advance another step.

Yu Hongyuan couldn't help saying, "Then what about ordinary people? A lot of people will die if the Astral Realm is opened!"

Fang Chuyun said, "As far as they're concerned, ordinary people who can't wield stars are meant to be weeded out."

Yu Hongyuan's parents were both ordinary people. He flew into a rage as soon as he heard that. "Screw their weeding out! Don't they have parents and family of their own?"

Fang Chuyun shook her head. "Most members of the Descending Star Cult are Star Wielders who defected. Either they have no family or ties, or their whole families have gone mad..."

Yu Hongyuan couldn't understand it. "How could Star Wielders defect?"

In his heart, Star Wielders were sacred and great, the kind of people he had always aspired to become. Hearing this, he felt as though his worldview had been turned upside down.

Li Yang wasn't surprised, though. She said, "Star Wielders are human too. Where there are people, there's good and evil."

Fang Chuyun nodded. "That's right. Especially when they possess such superhuman power, it's even easier for them to become thugs."

Li Yang felt this keenly. She was only a first grade low stage Star Wielder, yet her abilities were already clearly different from those of ordinary people in every respect. If her realm were higher... Once she reached the third grade or above, the difference would probably be even more pronounced.

Once such a huge gap existed, they would gradually drift away from the world of ordinary people. And if they had no family or ties on top of that, it would be easy for them to stop seeing ordinary people as human.

Fang Chuyun had only given Li Yang and Yu Hongyuan a brief explanation. When it was time to set out, Principal Sun gathered all the students who were about to leave the province and solemnly explained the dangers involved.

At this time every year, large numbers of students from every province headed to Central Capital. They included not only top students admitted to the finest institutions, but also students admitted to first-rate military academies in Central Capital or ordinary military academies in other provinces.

Of course, some had applied to military academies within the province. They didn't have to cross provincial borders, so they were much safer.

Huangcheng placed great importance on this year's escort mission. For one thing, three top students had been admitted to Zhongdu Military Academy; for another, it had produced Li Yang, a rare student with a limit physique.

The provincial capital had even sent a third grade initial stage Star Wielder specifically to lead the group, a clear sign of how much importance they attached to Li Yang.

August 28.

Huangcheng's military academy students were ready to set out for Central Capital.

Besides the three top students, Li Yang, Yu Hongyuan, and Fang Chuyun, there were another twenty students.

Huangcheng had arranged three dedicated vehicles and dispatched a ten-person city guard squad, with a third-grade Star Wielder from the provincial capital leading the group.

Nearly every parent had come to see their child off. For many students, this was their first time leaving home, and they were crying with tears and snot streaming down their faces.

Li Yang stood there all alone, looking somewhat out of place.

"Yangyang!" A short, plump woman wearing black-framed glasses hurried over. Smiling, she said, "I just baked these cookies this morning. Take them for a snack on the road!"

It was Teacher Xu, who had come to see Li Yang off with a small lunchbox in hand.

Li Yang was taken aback. As she accepted the delicate little box, a faint sting rose in her nose. "Thank you, Teacher Xu."

Teacher Xu winked at her and said gently, "What are you thanking me for? You bought me such an expensive oven, and I haven't had the chance to make you anything good."

Li Yang said softly, "Then when I come back for the holidays..."

Teacher Xu smiled and said loudly, "All right! When you come back for the holidays, I'll make you something delicious!"

Li Yang smiled too. She answered softly, "...Okay."

When the time came, the vehicles departed on schedule.

The students aboard pressed themselves against the windows, gazing outside again and again.

Getting into a military academy in Central Capital was the dream they had spent ten long years studying for.

But now that the moment had come to leave their home behind, their hearts filled with reluctance.

Once they crossed the provincial border, coming back would be difficult. Not only that, even communicating would be hard. Signal stations were difficult to build and maintain in the wilderness, and most were used for Star Wielders' communications, rarely being made available to ordinary people.

Still, the sorrowful atmosphere in the vehicles didn't last long.

After all, they were still youngsters. Once the vehicles left the city and entered the wilderness, every one of them forgot the sadness of leaving home and stared outside with wide eyes.

Hugging her little lunchbox, Li Yang also looked curiously out the window.

A high wall marked the provincial border, protecting the people of Donghua Province. Once they passed beyond it, even the air turned murky.

For a moment, it was as though she had returned to the special isolation zone.

Li Yang's Spirit Points were high. She narrowed her eyes slightly and saw the Starlight in the air. Sure enough, the Starlight in the wilderness was much denser than in the city, though she guessed it was still considerably less dense than in the isolation zone.

The students in the vehicle began chatting-

"This is my first time leaving the province. The wilderness really is desolate."