Chapter 122: Gathering of Admitted Students

Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Gathering of Admitted Students

That day, Li Heng woke up very early. After running the Ice Jiao Lake Dungeon twice, he stuffed some clothes into his medium-sized Space Stone. Of course, he didn’t forget the thermos he’d been carrying for days, steeped with goji berries.

"Hengzi! You bought that Soul Energy Skills book, and we were worried you wouldn’t have any money left. Your dad and I talked it over and put another twenty thousand into your account."

"Your mom and I originally wanted to go with you, but Teacher Lu said yesterday that parents aren’t allowed to accompany students. So we were worried that when you get there, the initial expenses at university would be high. Just take this and use it. If it’s not enough, just let your mom know."

During breakfast, the couple took turns reminding Li Heng of things. After they finished, Li Guobin pulled Li Heng aside and whispered, "If you find a girlfriend and you’re short on cash, send me a text. Whatever you do, don’t call."

Li Heng understood his father’s good intentions perfectly. He figured his dad must have a secret stash of money, but he didn’t call him out on it, only promising that he would definitely ask for reinforcements when the time came!

Li Heng said as much, but inwardly, he had no intention of asking his parents for more money. ’I have the Dungeons as my cheat, after all. I only asked this time because I was truly short on cash and in a hurry, and the source of my things would be too hard to explain. Otherwise, I would never have said a word.’

’But things will be easier once I get to university. Besides, with the terms Meteor University offered, my tuition is basically free anyway.’

The family of three took a long time to finish breakfast. It mostly consisted of his parents constantly giving him advice, with Li Heng spending most of the time nodding, saying yes, and reassuring them not to worry.

Even though Li Heng said he had packed everything in his Space Stone, his parents couldn’t help but feel their son looked a little "shabby," seeing him in just his school uniform without carrying anything.

They even suggested buying him a nicer set of Soul Energy Clothing, saying it wouldn’t look right for him to always be wearing his school uniform at university.

However, before the couple could act on this idea, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Lu Shengming was dressed in a traditional long robe today, with a long saber at his waist. He looked much more handsome than before.

"Brother Li, Mrs. Li... and Student Li Heng!"

"Teacher Lu, you’re here! Come in, have a seat. I’ll make you a bowl of noodles! They’re handmade, I rolled the dough myself." Zhang Yu Yao immediately invited him in and scurried into the kitchen.

Lu Shengming had originally planned to pick up Li Heng and leave immediately, but the moment he opened the door and saw him, he froze for a second. Then, an expression of pure, unconcealable joy spread across his face.

’A Soul Warrior!’

With just a single glance, Lu Shengming knew that Li Heng had broken through to the Soul Warrior realm!

’I thought it would take him another month or two, but I never expected him to reach the Soul Warrior realm after just one week!’

’A Soul Warrior at just eighteen years old... a Heavenly Ranking prodigy!’

Mulling this over, Lu Shengming sat down to get a better look at the young man before him—a Heavenly Ranking prodigy who had not yet been registered by the Soul Energy Alliance.

Li Heng knew he couldn’t hide his new realm from Lu Shengming, so he simply sat there openly and chatted with him.

Lu Shengming spoke with the family of three for a while longer. Just like Li Heng, he repeatedly reassured the couple that Meteor University would take good care of a young genius like Student Li Heng.

And so, under the watchful eyes of Li Guobin and Zhang Yu Yao, Lu Shengming left with Li Heng.

Just as they left the residential complex, Lu Shengming spoke up. "Student Li Heng, you’re aware of the Heavenly Ranking, I assume?"

"I am! Manager Lin mentioned it to me briefly before. I think it’s for Soul Masters under the age of twenty who have reached the Soul Warrior realm. They get on the Heavenly Ranking."

Although he knew of the Heavenly Ranking, he wasn’t clear on what purpose it served. Li Heng just assumed it was some kind of list.

Lu Shengming just smiled at this and said, "Never mind. When we get you registered at the Soul Energy Alliance, you’ll understand what it means. But... it’s a shame about the next year or two... Otherwise, it would have been spectacular!"

"Teacher Lu... a shame about the next year or two? What’s a shame? What would have been spectacular? What... what does all that mean?"

Listening to Lu Shengming’s disjointed words, Li Heng was completely bewildered, unable to make heads or tails of what he meant.

Lu Shengming said no more, maintaining an air of mystery.

He simply thought that all his previous efforts hadn’t been in vain. ’With a student like Li Heng, Meteor University has definitely hit the jackpot!’

Li Heng suppressed his curiosity and followed Lu Shengming, who was dressed in his traditional-style robes.

According to Lu Shengming, Meteor University’s school bus wasn’t allowed to enter Maple City and had to park on the outskirts. Before they went to the suburbs to find the bus, they first had to pick up the other students from the city who had also been accepted to Meteor University.

This year, twelve students from Maple City had applied to Meteor University. Eleven were provisionally accepted, with one to be admitted later.

Li Heng was the first student Lu Shengming picked up in Maple City. He then proceeded to pick up the others one by one. When those students learned that this year’s top scorer from Maple City had also chosen Meteor University, they were all delighted. Every single one of them greeted Li Heng and asked for his contact information.

Among these students was this year’s fifth-place scorer from Maple City, a girl named Chen Bingjing. She mentioned that she had scored 1100 points and that even though she was only four ranks below him, the nearly three-thousand-point gap was just absurd.

She also casually flirted with Li Heng, asking if he had a girlfriend, what he thought of her, and then reeled off three numbers: 87, 61, 88.

Li Heng had originally planned to flirt back—after all, Chen Bingjing had a great figure and was quite pretty—but after learning that she specialized in poison, he quickly declared that he already had a girlfriend.

Apparently, she was ruthless, having poisoned all the soul beasts on an entire island and nearly killing another exam candidate on the spot.

Li Heng figured it was better to just be friends with a girl like that. ’Yeah, I’m not blessed enough to handle someone like her.’

Since the last student’s home was near the outskirts, right where the school bus was parked, Lu Shengming led the ten students toward the final pickup location.

When the group arrived at the last student’s home, everyone except for Lu Shengming froze for a moment.

Li Heng, however, was the most shocked of all.

They had been somewhat prepared when they learned the last student lived on the outskirts; after all, anyone who could get into Meteor University was considered a top student.

Coming from a poorer family wouldn’t make them look down on her; on the contrary, they would assume the final student was incredibly hardworking, diligent, and determined to succeed.

But when they actually arrived in front of the student’s home and saw only a single, old-fashioned wooden house with a few roof tiles that looked like they could fall off at any moment, the expressions of all the students changed slightly.

They had considered that her family might not be well-off, but this was beyond anything they had expected. However, they quickly composed themselves and looked kindly toward the girl waiting in the distance.

Surrounding the girl were battered wooden training dummies covered in slash marks. She came from a poor family, but she was clearly hardworking enough—and a slender girl at that!

This alone was enough to earn her the gentle regard and respect of every student present.

Li Heng simply stood there, watching the girl who was staring right back at him.

In front of the wooden house, Bai Shasha stood, dressed in her Thirteenth Middle School uniform with two curved sabers at her waist. She stood before her grandmother, staring blankly at Li Heng for a full thirty seconds before finally turning to bid the old woman farewell.

After her grandmother nodded, Bai Shasha lowered her head and walked silently to Li Heng’s side. At that moment, all the other students’ attention was fixed on her every move.

No one noticed that the moment Lu Shengming saw the old woman, even from a great distance, he gave her a deep, respectful bow.