The flying vehicle took off and landed several times. After picking up more than ten students from different schools, there were over fifty students inside. The vehicle finally started to accelerate, soaring into the clouds. The distance from the city center to Jiangbei Martial Arts University was just over a hundred kilometers, and at full speed, the second-tier flying vehicle arrived in just a few minutes.
As it slowly descended, the cabin door opened at four in the afternoon. More than fifty students followed their senior teachers, including Ming, as they stepped off the flying vehicle. They found themselves at a large airport.
Around them, there were over a hundred flying vehicles parked on the runways, most of which looked similar to the one they had just taken. Besides the terminal building, there was a unique tall metal structure nearby, and under the tower stood hundreds of students.
In the distance, at the edge of the sky, there was a massive war fortress, towering hundreds of meters high.
“A war fortress?” Many students gasped in awe. Li Yuan couldn't help but look over. In the city, most buildings were no taller than twelve stories, but the distant fortress had smooth contours, showcasing geometric beauty and a cold, technological feel. The surface of the fortress seemed to be made of reflective material, constantly shimmering with the changing light, revealing dense laser turrets, electromagnetic cannons, and numerous drone launch platforms.
Just one glance made Li Yuan think of the ‘Base No. 3’ he had seen in a video, which was a thousand meters tall in the Lobu Sea Star Realm. The impact of seeing it in person was completely different from watching it on screen.
“I’ve only heard about Jiangbei Martial Arts University’s war fortress; there are very few photos online,” Li Yuan thought. “But why is there a war fortress in a university?”
“Everyone, look over here.”
“I’d like to introduce you,” said the man in a suit, smiling. “What you see in the distance is a second-tier war fortress, which is our main teaching building at Jiangbei Martial Arts University.”
“At the same time, it’s also a military base, so during the entire event, photography is strictly prohibited on campus. I hope everyone understands.”
A main teaching building? A military base? Many students felt confused.
“You are all about to become students of a martial arts university, and it’s time to change your mindset,” the young man in the suit continued with a smile. “Students at ordinary universities are still regular people, just like countless citizens, and they are protected.”
“But students at martial arts universities are not ordinary people.”
“Every martial arts university is actually a gathering of top martial artists and a massive investment of resources.”
“Every student at a martial arts university is a reserve soldier. The country invests a lot of resources in martial arts universities for what purpose?” the young man asked with a smile.
“To kill enemies and protect the country!” some students instinctively replied.
This was the education and guidance they had received since childhood.
“Right. When the critical moment comes,” the man in the suit said seriously, “any student at a martial arts university must unconditionally obey military conscription.”
Li Yuan, Lin Lanyue, and the others became solemn and listened intently. Every student aspiring to be a martial artist understood that enrolling in a martial arts university meant signing a ‘conscription contract,’ which meant becoming a reserve soldier.
Being a martial artist didn’t just mean having powerful abilities and a high social status; it also meant the responsibility of protecting human civilization.
Martial artists kill enemies and protect the country; it’s their duty.
If one doesn’t have this awareness and mental preparation, then there’s no need to apply to a martial arts university; they might as well live as an ordinary person.
“Also, whether it’s the five major martial arts schools or various provincial martial arts universities, the locations are carefully chosen,” the young man in the suit added with a smile. “You will understand this in the future.”
“Look over here.”
“The nearby metal tower is an electromagnetic tower, which is part of our advanced land weaponry core and one of the outer defenses of the entire war fortress,” the young man continued. “There are many martial artists in the city, and the military is stationed here, so it’s very safe.”
“But here, the land is vast and sparsely populated, and with frequent takeoffs and landings of flying vehicles, we are prone to attacks from flying star realm creatures. Therefore, we specially built the electromagnetic weapon tower next to the terminal.”
“Within a radius of several dozen kilometers, if any flying star realm creatures dare to appear or get close, they will be directly killed by the electromagnetic cannons within the tower,” the young man explained. “To conserve energy, it’s currently in a hidden state.”
“If fully activated, there would be over a hundred electromagnetic cannons,” he added with a smile.
Many students were shocked. Having lived in the city for a long time, they rarely saw such war weapons.
“Let’s go.”
“Gather over here; most people have arrived,” the young man in the suit led everyone toward the base of the electromagnetic tower.
In fact, hundreds of students who had been waiting under the tower couldn’t help but look over.
“It seems like more students from Jiang City have arrived.”
“There are so many; this is the third batch.”
“Jiang City has a lot of spots.”
“What do you mean by Jiang City having more spots? It’s because our city has good results. Over a third of the students admitted to Jiangbei Martial Arts University are from Jiang City.”
“Ha, I’m going to show them that Jiang City is impressive.”
“None of them are handsome,” students from various places in Jiangbei Province whispered among themselves.
Those who were invited were all elite students from across the province. Most were prominent figures in their schools, with many often ranking first in their grades, so naturally, they had a bit of pride.
A group of students from Guanshan District approached, with Lin Lanyue and Li Yuan at the center.
There was no helping it; Guanshan District had the most students from the top high school, and the most prestigious were Lin Lanyue and Li Yuan.
Lin Lanyue walked beside Li Yuan and suddenly whispered, “Li Yuan, look at that boy in the distance playing with a smart wristband. His name is Tian Dazhuang; remember him.”
“Tian Dazhuang?” Li Yuan was taken aback.
That name was quite rare. Looking over, the boy was unremarkable, with short limbs that would be hard to spot in a crowd.
“What about him?” Li Yuan asked, puzzled.
“He comes from the Shizhou Mountain area,” Lin Lanyue said quietly. “His family is very poor, but he scored full marks in martial arts skills during the January assessment.”
“Full marks?” Li Yuan was slightly surprised and couldn’t help but glance at the boy named Tian Dazhuang.
Was his martial arts skill really that impressive?
“And that girl in the white outfit is from Xiangzhou,” Lin Lanyue continued in a low voice. “Her name is Wang Yu, and she also scored full marks in martial arts skills during the January assessment.”
“Wang Yu?” Li Yuan noted that name as well.
The girl named Wang Yu was wearing a tight martial arts outfit, had a great figure, but her looks were ordinary, far from Lin Lanyue.
“Anyone else?” Li Yuan couldn’t help but ask.
“Do you think full marks in martial arts skills are common? The last one is Wu Dongdong from the city; he hasn’t arrived yet,” Lin Lanyue shook her head and laughed. “But since the January assessment was a few months ago, it’s possible that others have improved.”
Li Yuan thought to himself.
Someone has improved? That’s just me.
“Remember them; are we going to fight them?” Li Yuan asked.
“Didn’t you read the itinerary?” Lin Lanyue shot him a glance. “Tonight, there’s a martial arts skills assessment. Did you think it would be like the college entrance exam with separate evaluations?”
“Isn’t it?” Li Yuan was confused.
He had looked at the itinerary, but there weren’t detailed explanations for each item.
“It’s a cage battle; the last one standing wins,” Lin Lanyue said, revealing eight words.
Li Yuan’s pupils shrank; this was a competitive mode from the Star Combat Network.
It was quite brutal.
“Try to avoid those top experts. If you can survive until the end in one of the rounds, your evaluation will definitely be higher in the eyes of the observers from the five major martial arts schools,” Lin Lanyue whispered. “For universities, they don’t just look at scores; they focus on practical combat.”
Li Yuan nodded slightly.
If one could win in a chaotic battle without absolute strength, it would prove their combat ability.
After all, combat isn’t just about scores; someone strong can still lose to someone weaker.
So, knowing the strength of others in advance is very important.
“If your skill score exceeds 380 points, there are about ten others who might have broken through. I’ll point them out to you, and you remember them,” Lin Lanyue said, indicating each person to Li Yuan and stating their names and scores.
With Li Yuan’s spiritual power, remembering a dozen people in a short time wasn’t too difficult.
After Li Yuan memorized them, he quietly asked, “Why are you helping me?”
The results of the January assessments from various cities wouldn’t be made public, and checking one by one in the cities and states wasn’t easy.
The most crucial part was getting their appearances and remembering them, which was very difficult.
Normally, high school seniors wouldn’t deliberately pay attention to the scores of other cities, let alone remember their appearances.
Even within one’s own city, remembering the top student would be impressive enough.
“Friends help each other,” Lin Lanyue said with a faint smile. “I’m counting on you to help me during the practical assessment.”
Li Yuan smiled too. Help Lin Lanyue?
When he saw Ming treating Lin Lanyue specially on the school playground, Li Yuan had used ‘detection’ and confirmed that Lin Lanyue’s physical constitution had reached an impressive level of 10.1.
This was already above the full score standard for physical constitution in the college entrance exam.
But Li Yuan didn’t point it out.
“Alright, friends help each other,” Li Yuan said.
He vaguely felt that from yesterday to today, his relationship with Lin Lanyue had indeed become more like that of normal friends.
Moreover, Li Yuan was genuinely grateful to her.
This information was very timely.
His spear technique had just broken through to the fourth level, and if he really encountered Tian Dazhuang or Wang Yu, he might not win.
Li Yuan and Lin Lanyue continued their conversation.
Not far away, other classmates were watching.
Suddenly, another flying vehicle arrived, and dozens more students came down.
“Those are from our Jiang City district,” Lin Lanyue said suddenly.
Li Yuan was taken aback; he couldn’t tell at all.
Walking at the front of the group was a bouncy girl with a ponytail, looking around with curious eyes.
“Gu Qiang, your good friend has arrived,” Lin Lanyue turned to look at Gu Qianghan, who was bragging with a girl.
“Good friend? Who?” Gu Qianghan turned around, his pupils shrinking. “Oh no, that little maniac.”
He immediately tried to run away.
But it was already too late.
Swish! A figure flashed by, and the ponytailed girl appeared right in front of Gu Qianghan, grinning, “Xiao Qiang, long time no see!”
“Dongdong, it’s been a while; you look even prettier,” Gu Qianghan forced a smile.
(End of Chapter)