Chapter 166: Head Senior Brother and Picking a Side

Chapter 166: Chapter 166: Head Senior Brother and Picking a Side

It also had a private bathroom and projection equipment. Light and shadow particles began to coalesce in the air.

In an instant, Little Chan was projected into the room. She was dressed in blue, with delicate features and black hair that fluttered as if she were a real person.

"Little Chan, how do you like the new home?"

"Master, I feel great!" Little Chan said with a smile.

Lin Qi showed a satisfied smile. Little Chan was now his personal smart AI, with her own core module.

He could carry her core module with him, and she would awaken as a projection whenever it was installed in a device.

He also planned to bring Little Chan with him when he entered Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy.

Then, he sat down cross-legged in the Five Hearts Facing Heaven Technique. He calmed his mind, cleared away all distracting thoughts, and began his Cultivation of the Vajra Tiger Evolution Technique.

In his consciousness, he visualized the Vajra Tiger. In a moment, the Vajra Tiger awakened, and a powerful aura erupted from his body.

WHOOSH~

Wind stirred from nothing, and strong gusts blew through the Martial Arts Room as dense Source Energy Particles instantly gathered around him.

In Lin Qi’s Perception, the air was filled with dense Source Energy Particles.

He remembered what Yue Feng had said. The Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo had special tech equipment that could gather Source Energy Level Particles from the air and channel them into specific buildings.

It was just like the "Spirit Gathering Arrays" from cultivation novels.

This increased the Source Energy Density inside his Martial Arts Room.

The same principle applied to the Imperial View Mansion District, which most people simply called the Red Dome District.

It was a residential area owned by the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo, and most of its residents were affiliated with Red Dome.

Every villa was installed with this special equipment.

His current villa had been uninhabited for a long time, so the accumulated Source Energy Particles were quite substantial.

BOOM!!

Under the lights, Lin Qi’s body seemed to emit a Golden Light as a massive amount of Source Energy Particles surged into him.

Like a faucet turned on full blast, a torrent of Source Energy flowed through his pores, entering his blood, muscles, Great Tendons, and bones.

After being filtered, it was absorbed and digested, causing all parts of his body to begin to transform.

WHOOSH~

Lin Qi’s chest rose and fell erratically, his body undergoing a transformation with every breath.

Flesh, blood, tendons, and bones. Lin Qi focused on guiding the Source Energy into his body’s Great Tendons for Refinement.

Just like forging steel, making them tougher and more elastic.

Time slowly passed, and Lin Qi’s body also experienced a significant transformation.

「Two hours passed in the blink of an eye.」

BOOM!!

WHOOSH~

A fierce gale whipped through the room as Lin Qi snapped his eyes open.

[You have absorbed a large amount of Source Energy. Your body’s Great Tendons have been fully refined. Qi and Blood Value +1.0]

[Qi and Blood Value: 27.45 → 28.45]

...

CRACK! CRACK!

Lin Qi stretched his body. His Great Tendons bulged beneath his skin, and veins popped as he clenched his fists, his joints letting out a series of sharp cracks.

Endless power surged out.

"This session was as effective as taking a large dose of Qi and Blood Pills. The results are incredible."

A smile appeared on Lin Qi’s lips. The accumulated Source Energy Particles in the villa were even more than at the Joint Training Base.

It directly raised his Qi and Blood Value by 1.0.

He looked at his data panel. His Qi and Blood Value was now 28.45, very close to 40.

From 0 to 10, it took him seventeen years.

But from 10 to 40, he wouldn’t even need a full year.

With money and Talent, his progress was ridiculously fast.

’But even with my rapid progress, there were still eleven people from the college entrance exams with a higher Qi and Blood Value than me.’

Lin Qi sighed inwardly. ’This means some of those eleven people have already surpassed a Qi and Blood Value of 30.’

’They might not even be far from 40. In a month or two, some of them might even break through to become a Three Realm Skin Refining Martial Artist.’

’I’m still far behind.’

’The university competition has already begun!’

’I have to make full use of this vacation. By the time the semester starts, I need to have closed the gap with those top-tier geniuses.’

Lin Qi began calculating in his mind.

...

「Imperial Capital. Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, nestled deep in the mountains.」

Inside a large conference room, a massive, high-tech circular table occupied the center.

Ten high-tech chairs, white and red, surrounded the table. They were all occupied by a group of middle-aged men and women, each exuding an invisible and terrifying aura.

They were like a pack of terrifying behemoths in human skin, ready to unleash earth-shattering power at a moment’s notice.

A stooped, hunched-backed old man took a sip of water from a silver thermos and spoke slowly.

"This meeting of the Deans from the Nine Great Academies of our Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy is now officially in session."

"Let’s start with the First Institute. You were last place last year."

Everyone’s gaze turned to a middle-aged man with fair skin, sharp features, and a refined, scholarly temperament.

He flashed a proud smile, revealing a set of perfectly white teeth.

"I have already reached an agreement with the nation’s second-ranked, Huo Wanyang. He will be coming to our First Institute."

"Next year’s first place has already been reserved by our First Institute."

"Next, the Ninth Institute!"

A beautiful middle-aged woman with an elegant yet alluring air, dressed in a magenta gown, spoke for the Ninth Institute.

Her red lips parted slightly amidst a puff of smoke as she spoke, "I have reached an agreement with the fourth-ranked Ao Feng. He will be coming to our Ninth Institute."

Everyone’s attention then turned to Dean Liu, a man with large earlobes sitting in the corner. He spoke calmly.

"I have reached an agreement with the tenth-ranked Lin Qi. He will be coming to our Sixth Institute."

As soon as these words were spoken, several of them showed smiles, but they were tinged with mockery.

"Well then, we really have to thank you, Old Liu. You’ll always be a friend to us at the Second Institute."

"You passed on the nation’s sixth-ranked student, Duan Chuchu, and gave her to us, choosing the tenth-ranked Lin Qi instead."

A middle-aged man sitting not far away grinned. He had a lean build, a sharp aura, and a straight-line scar on his forehead.

The others also smirked to themselves.

Dean Liu remained calm. "It’s not a significant loss for us. If things don’t work out, we’ll simply try again next year."

"But if the geniuses you’ve all chosen end up being surpassed by Lin Qi, now *that* would be embarrassing."

At his words, the expressions of the refined man, the beautiful middle-aged woman, and the man with the scar all shifted slightly.

...

「Five days had passed since the college entrance exam results were released.」

June 20th. The three-day window for submitting university applications had begun.

At 10 AM sharp, the three top academies of the Xia Country simultaneously announced major news on their official websites.

They announced the leading disciple for each of their constituent academies, including detailed introductions for every one of them.

This was to attract talented students from all walks of life to apply.

In the Tianhai No. 2 Middle School group chat, Zhang City started a video conference to explain the competitive system at the Martial Arts Universities.

Lin Qi was watching. The video showed a large screen filled with information, with Zhang City’s avatar in the corner as he began his presentation.

"At a Martial Arts University, there is only one major: Martial Arts. The entire curriculum is focused on how to increase your strength."

"Every year, the three top academies recruit about thirty thousand geniuses. Among them, Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy recruits the fewest, only nine thousand people. Shanyu Martial Arts University recruits the most, over ten thousand people."

"Each of these universities is divided into nine constituent academies, with about one thousand students per academy."

"This year, the number of Martial Arts Students taking the college entrance exam set a new high, reaching an astonishing number of over three million six hundred thousand."

"In other words, those who can get into the three top academies are all one-in-a-hundred geniuses," Zhang City said.

Everyone in the conference room felt the pressure after hearing this.

Lin Qi felt the immense gap as well. ’Without my template Talent, I probably wouldn’t have even made it into one of the top three universities.’

"The moment you enter any top academy, the competition begins."

"Because in university, the competition for resources is the most intense, and the country even encourages it."

"Martial Arts University is different from high school. There are a large amount of public Cultivation Resources."

"These public resources are inaccessible to the outside world and can help everyone quickly improve their strength," Zhang City said.

"I know, the most famous is the Gravity Room, which can help us improve our cultivation efficiency, even more powerful than the Gravity Ring," Jiangtao suddenly said over the mic.

"Jiangtao is right, and the Gravity Room is just one of them."

"Your peak years for strength improvement are during university. With access to vast Cultivation Resources, your power can increase by an unimaginable degree over those four years."

Lin Qi nodded to himself. Dean Liu had promised him a wealth of Cultivation Resources. Over four years, his strength would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

"And after entering university, everyone is at the same starting line, with the same public Cultivation Resources."

"But after one month, various competitions and assessments will begin, and rewards will be divided based on two rankings: individual ranking and academy performance ranking."

"Individual rankings grant rewards based on your personal strength."

"The overall academy ranking, however, is irrelevant to most people, because most of the competition depends on the top one hundred geniuses from each academy."

"The collective performance of these top one hundred students determines the academy’s ranking, which in turn determines the reallocation of Cultivation Resources."

"The higher the rank, the more resources."

"The leading disciple is also crucial in these competitions. Sometimes, the outcome rests entirely on their strength."

"So, choosing your side is very important. If you follow the right leading disciple, you might get more resources, which will benefit your own growth," Zhang City said.

Everyone nodded. It was clear there were a lot of complex dynamics at play. To sum it up in one phrase: follow the right leader.

"Of course, don’t blindly trust the rankings. The high school rankings only represent high school. University is a new beginning."

"So be cautious when applying to an academy," Zhang City suggested.

"I have a suggestion. For classmates applying to Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy, just put down the Sixth Institute and follow Brother Qi. Sooner or later, you’ll get first place," Jiangtao sent a message.

Li Zhou: Agreed

Qi Yuelin: Agreed

Zhu Yuqi: Agreed

Qiu Jie: Agreed

...

Once Jiangtao said this, most of the people in the class agreed.

A portion of the people had different opinions after hearing this. They felt it was safer to follow the nation’s number one.

After all, no matter how strong Lin Qi was, he was still only ranked 10th in the nation.

But there was no way you could go wrong following one of the top three in the nation.

Thus, everyone began to fill out their applications one after another.

"Brother Qi, needless to say, I’m definitely following you."

Jiangtao sent a text, having already decisively applied to Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy’s Sixth Institute. He even sent a screenshot to prove it.

Seeing this, Lin Qi smiled.

He looked at the screen, quickly filled in Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy’s Sixth Institute, and clicked confirm.

He wasn’t worried about the individual rankings. As for the academy’s top-one-hundred ranking, he had Jiangtao, who was also a future top-tier genius.

With the two of them working together, they were bound to do well.

...