A person faces many choices in life.

Before sinking in, he felt a strange, heart-pounding sensation. In the darkness, a voice seemed to be telling him that this would be an extremely important choice.

To become the unprecedented national martial arts champion, to become the most dazzling star, shining brightly, or to temporarily lie low, secretly making a fortune in silence.

If you want to wear the crown, you must bear its weight.

Climbing high allows one to see far, but once one falls, one will surely be shattered to pieces and never be able to recover.

Praise and slander are always equal.

As he gazed at the dazzling Milky Way, his mind gradually drifted away.

Looking back on my life, before the system appeared, I was cautious and timid, trying to seize every possible opportunity to turn my life around, but I was always knocked back into the dust of reality.

He was never special; he was just an insignificant, ordinary boy struggling to make his way in the world.

Everything he experienced shaped his steady and reliable character.

The past four months have felt like a dream. As Shen Qian watched himself grow stronger step by step, his mindset also changed little by little.

The past is gone, and we respectfully leave it behind.

So, what about in the future?

What path should I take?

Both of them remained silent.

At the top of this starry sky, time seems to have vanished; no one knows exactly how much time has passed.

“Minister Ma,” Shen Qian suddenly spoke up, “there have been two people in history who scored 299 points, but you only mentioned one. What about the other one?”

“…He’s dead,” Ma Gongzuo replied softly. “And he was just one of the countless peerless geniuses who have fallen over the past few centuries.”

"Died from a monster?" Shen Qian asked.

Ma Gongzuo remained silent.

"I have a feeling that you're all hiding something..." Shen Qian muttered.

“You’ll understand once you get to university,” Ma Gongzuo said with a smile.

"When I received my first martial arts training token, my third senior brother said the same thing."

He sighed, “So, the world is far more dangerous than we imagine, and perhaps... far more vast than we imagine.”

He turned around and looked back at the path he had come from. The twenty-story staircase stretched upwards in the mist, and he could no longer see the starting point. He suddenly smiled.

"What came to mind?" Ma Gongzuo asked with a smile.

"I thought of a letter."

His expression returned to calm.

"So, you have an answer?" Seeing that Shen Qian didn't say much, Ma Gongzuo didn't press for details about the letter. He simply smiled and asked.

"Got it." Shen Qian nodded.

...

Outside the provincial gymnasium, candidates who had finished their exams were walking out of the examination hall one after another.

They gathered around, discussing this unprecedented martial arts combat test.

Some were excited, some found it unbelievable, and some were annoyed by their performance or lamented their bad luck in encountering only strong opponents.

But overall, for these ordinary test takers, just do your best.

The admission criteria for martial arts universities mainly focus on physical fitness scores. Willpower and combat skills are areas where geniuses compete, but they are not areas that those who leave early need to value too much.

They felt more satisfied with participating in such a grand event.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out at the exit of the examination room.

Many people turned to look, puzzled.

"Isn't that girl Cao Wen?"

"Which Cao Wen?"

Some people didn't react for a moment.

"One of those two freaks from Mingcheng, a hot favorite for this year's provincial top scorer!"

"Hiss, Cao Qian's sister?"

"How did she get out so quickly?"

The crowd became restless.

The duration of the final practical exam is clearly directly related to the candidate's ability.

The stronger a player is, the more matches they can play.

At this moment, most of those gathered in the square, except for a very few unlucky ones, were only of average or below-average skill.

This is why they were shocked.

Cao Wen... this is absolutely wrong!

The other party is a top genius who received an invitation from the Thousand Star Society in advance. Even if their judgment is lacking, the Thousand Star Society can't possibly be wrong, right?

Cao Wen felt the whispers and pointing fingers around her. She pursed her lips and walked silently to a conspicuous spot in the square. She stood still, staring intently at the entrance of the examination hall, as if waiting for something.

As time went by, more and more candidates walked out of the provincial gymnasium.

These people also saw Cao Wen, and after their initial surprise, they began to discuss the matter amongst themselves.

A small number of people who dislike crowds left, but many more who wanted to know what Cao Wen was waiting for stayed.

"Judging from the time, Cao Wen actually left even earlier than us, that's unbelievable!"

In a corner of the square, Ouyang Fei, who had just arrived, inquired around before turning back to speak to Gu Zifang and the others.

The rest of the people from Jingcheng are also on their way.

Regardless of the outcome, now that the martial arts college entrance examination is over, the geniuses of Jingcheng naturally want to get together as a way to relax after the exam.

In fact, most test takers think this way: with both arts and sciences exams over, it's the perfect time to let loose before the results are released.

Although most of the teenagers' excited dreams ultimately turned into a mediocre overnight stay at a VR arcade...

Because of its central location, many candidates agreed to meet at the provincial gymnasium.

"There's nothing strange about it. All the candidates from across the country are in there. If you're unlucky and encounter a series of top geniuses, it's normal to come out earlier."

Chen Peng laughed and said, "Zifang, don't worry about it. Cao Wen is probably just as unlucky as you. Anyway, you'll definitely get the points you're owed."

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