Chapter 1: The Start of School

Chapter 1: The Start of School

The scorching summer had mostly passed, and the start of the school season arrived quickly.

Chen Shouyi parked his bicycle and locked it, then joined his ragtag group of friends as they walked toward the school, chatting and boasting along the way.

"This summer, I signed up for a martial arts tutoring class. I feel like I’ve made a lot of progress. There’s a good chance I’ll pass the Martial Apprentice Test in my senior year," declared the scrawny Chen Shouyi, slapping his flat chest for emphasis.

Beside him, the short and stout Zhao Yifeng snorted dismissively. "Stop bragging. We all know the truth! Didn’t you call me last time saying your mom enrolled you in a math tutoring class that made your head explode?"

Sun Xin, standing nearby, seized the opportunity to chime in. "Guys like us shouldn’t even dream of passing the Martial Apprentice Examination. We’d be better off focusing on getting into a decent vocational college."

Chen Shouyi’s expression stiffened slightly, a mix of embarrassment and irritation flashing across his face. "Who only signs up for one tutoring class these days? My whole summer was packed with lessons—of course, martial arts was part of it."

As if to reinforce his point, he added firmly, "Anyway, I’m determined to become a martial artist."

...

Nearly two decades had passed since the Otherworld merged with Earth. Over these twenty years, the two worlds had waged several large-scale wars in attempts to conquer one another, yet each invasion ended in disastrous failure.

The reason lay in the fundamentally different natural laws governing Earth and the Otherworld. Electronic devices and explosives malfunctioned the moment they entered the Otherworld, and its gravity—three times that of Earth’s—terrified any invading army.

Similarly, when the Deities and priests of the Otherworld crossed into Earth, their divine powers and sorcery rapidly dissipated.

To this day, several powerful Deities had already perished on Earth.

Only pure martial prowess could traverse both worlds unimpeded.

Since then, Earth’s martial arts had flourished at an unprecedented pace. Becoming a martial artist and exploring the Otherworld had become a societal trend, and Chen Shouyi was inevitably swept up in it.

Unfortunately, he had been born frail and sickly, and no matter how hard he pushed himself, he could never measure up to others.

Chen Shouyi seethed inwardly at his so-called friends but didn’t want to ruin their fragile camaraderie. He was neither academically gifted nor physically capable, and with unremarkable looks and an ordinary background, he barely registered in his class. These two were his only friends.

Perhaps it was their shared mediocrity that allowed them to find rare solidarity among themselves.

After paying his tuition fees, Chen Shouyi quietly took his seat in the third row from the back, his eyes discreetly scanning the classroom for any attractive figures.

Though summer had just ended, the weather remained sweltering, and most of the girls in class wore light, revealing outfits.

They clustered in small groups, chatting animatedly, occasionally bursting into excited giggles and bouncing on their feet.

"Did you finish the summer homework?" Sun Xin asked as he dropped his backpack onto his desk.

"Of course I did!" Chen Shouyi replied, reluctantly tearing his gaze away.

"Let me copy it!"

"Three meals."

"Just one, or I’ll ask someone else," Sun Xin huffed.

"Fine, one meal. I want beef brisket with potatoes!" Chen Shouyi conceded, pulling out his summer homework from his bag.

Watching Sun Xin bury his head in copying, Chen Shouyi couldn’t help but feel a faint sense of superiority.

Then his expression darkened again. Only in front of this deskmate, who had always been at the bottom of the class, could he find a slight sense of superiority.

His own grades were only below average, and in this ordinary third-rate high school, in this ordinary class of a third-rate high school, such grades could only get him into a vocational college.

The future, for him, was likely bleak.

Though in countless wild dreams, he would often dream of himself sitting in a luxury car, surrounded by bodyguards, with a crowd of beautiful and alluring women desperately vying for his attention—only for him to dismiss them with disdain, as if discarding worn-out shoes.

Or perhaps, in another dream, he would become a powerful martial artist. Every time he appeared, reporters would swarm around him, countless microphones shoved toward his mouth, yet he would remain calm and composed, his eyes shining as he spoke eloquently.

But dreams were just dreams. Upon waking, he faced the harsh reality. This summer vacation, he had been working hard, but the results were minimal.

Sometimes, the gap between a genius and an ordinary person was even wider than that between apes and humans.

...

Homeroom teacher Cao Lili had gained some weight since giving birth last year and had become increasingly nagging.

"This semester, you’re all in your final year of high school. I won’t say much—those who understand already do, and those who don’t should by now. The college entrance exam is a crucial crossroads in life, one that will largely determine your future.

If life is compared to a marathon, the college entrance exam is the starting line where you truly engage with society. If you gain an advantage at the starting line, you’ll at least hold that advantage for a while afterward.

...

Of course, if you have martial arts talent, that’s a different story. But that path is even harder to walk.

Last year, including some students from previous grades who had completely abandoned their studies and taken a year or two off, only twenty-one from our school passed the Martial Apprentice Examination and successfully entered a Martial Arts Academy. That’s fewer than the number who got into prestigious universities. Rather than pouring all your energy into martial arts, it’s better to study hard and get into a decent college—at least there’s a decent chance of that."

The martial arts culture at Dongning Fifth High School wasn’t strong. Those with talent had long been picked out by other elite schools as early as elementary school. After layers of screening, those who ended up in this third-rate high school were basically the leftovers.

Unlike Dongning First High School, which had a dedicated martial arts class, even the biweekly martial arts sessions here were often replaced by other subjects.

Listening to the homeroom teacher’s college entrance exam pep talk, Chen Shouyi felt a pang of confusion.

In truth, he wasn’t firmly decided on whether to aim for college or a Martial Arts Academy. For him, both passing the Martial Apprentice Examination and getting into college seemed like distant hopes.

The entire morning, he felt dazed, barely registering anything from the classes.

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, Chen Shouyi immediately shook off these melancholic thoughts and, along with Sun Xin and Zhao Yifeng, sprinted madly toward the school cafeteria’s smaller dining hall.

Compared to the main cafeteria, this place was noticeably more upscale. On the first day after summer break, many students still had some money in their pockets. Despite their frantic dash, by the time they arrived, a long line had already formed.

They waited a full ten minutes before it was finally their turn.

"One serving of braised beef with potatoes."

"Same for me!"

"I’ll have the stir-fried tomato and eggs."

...

Chen Shouyi stuffed food into his mouth, grumbling with his lips puckered, "The chef must have changed this year. This beef brisket is way too tough, and the sauce isn’t flavorful enough. It’s not even as good as my dad’s cooking!"

"I think so too!" Sun Xin agreed. "When are you inviting us over for a meal at your place?"

"As if you haven’t eaten there before. Let me count how many times I’ve treated you—five at least. Every time you guys come over, you never leave without eating," Chen Shouyi said dismissively.

"Last time we went, why didn’t we see your sister?" Zhao Yifeng interjected.

The moment his sister was mentioned, Chen Shouyi immediately went on high alert. "She’s out participating in the Ningzhou District High School Martial Arts Exchange Competition. Don’t even think about getting any ideas about her."

If Chen Shouyi was just an ordinary person, then his younger sister Chen Xingyue was a true genius. She was already the top student in the elite martial arts class of the city’s only key high school. For her, the Martial Apprentice Examination wasn’t some insurmountable gap—she could clear it with ease.

His refusal to give up on martial arts wasn’t entirely unrelated to the pressure he felt from his sister’s achievements.

Just then, a commotion broke out in the cafeteria.

"Ding Liang is here!"

"So that’s Ding Liang!"

"I heard he already passed the Martial Apprentice Examination last semester. The school even put up a banner for him!"

"Look at those muscles—I just want to pinch them!"

Ding Liang strode into the cafeteria, his gaze fixed straight ahead. His powerful muscles stretched his tank top to its limits, drawing admiring glances and hushed whispers from many of the female students.

Chen Shouyi watched with quiet envy.

Such shallow women.

One day…

I’ll— "Stop staring. It’s no use! That’s just natural talent—nothing you can envy your way into," Zhao Yifeng muttered, patting his own plump belly.

His words were like a bucket of cold water, snapping Chen Shouyi back to reality.