Wuling Martial Junior College

At seven in the morning, the family finished breakfast. "Siyue, Xiaolong." Fang Yu looked at his younger brother and sister. "There are only three days left before the early-admission special training at Star Radiance High School begins. Dad might not be home by then, so remember to report on time." "Okay," Fang Siyue and Fang Long replied, nodding. Top institutions like Wuling City No. 1 Senior High School and Star Radiance High School had extended admission offers to both of them, each tendering exceptionally generous terms complete with scholarships and an array of cultivation resources. Even so. After family discussion, they had ultimately chosen Star Radiance High School, an affiliate of Star Radiance Group and the second-ranked high school overall in Wuling City. In terms of martial arts training, it stood neck and neck with Wuling City No. 1 Senior High School. "This past month, I've taught you everything you need to know about the foundational stake stance and basic fist forms," Fang Yu urged. "'The master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual.' You've already signed early with Star Radiance Group, and they'll provide you with at least five hundred thousand Star Coins in training funds every year... but you must never slack off. "The contract you signed is an upgradeable one. "If you perform well enough, Star Radiance Group will proactively improve its terms. Those are conditions I could only dream of." Fang Yu looked at his siblings. "Both of you have the potential to break into the top ten of Wuling City's martial arts examination—or even claim the title of top scorer. "Yet how far you ultimately go three years from now will depend entirely on yourselves." Every year, the Eight Great Martial Artist Groups scouted young talents across New Moon and Blue Star for early signings, lavishing them with massive resources. Securing an early contract, however, was extraordinarily difficult. One had to possess an exceptionally high Star Aspect rank, such as a high-grade Star Aspect. Alternatively, if one's Star Aspect fell slightly short, one needed astounding technical martial talent—such as Entering the Minute in technique while still in high school... or a combination of both. Furthermore! If a recruit performed exceptionally, the Eight Great Groups never hesitated to pour in even more resources. In return, of course, anyone who signed with a martial artist group was obligated to serve them in the future and venture onto the Primordial Star. The penalty for breach of contract was staggering... Over several decades, this commercial model had matured into a well-oiled machine. Back when Fang Yu was in high school, his technical talent had been quite good, but his Star Aspect had never awakened... and he hadn't received a single signing offer. Seeing his younger brother and sister get such a high starting point brought Fang Yu genuine joy. "The regular martial arts instructors at Star Radiance Group are all Advanced Martial Artists, and even the assistant teachers are Intermediate Martial Artists. Learn diligently," Fang Yu instructed. "If you ever run into any confusion, feel free to call me." "Okay." Fang Siyue and Fang Long nodded in unison. After this past month of training, they understood perfectly well just how formidable their eldest brother was. In technical proficiency and teaching ability, he was likely no worse than many Advanced Martial Artists. And it had been private, one-on-one instruction. Had they hired an outside coach, the guidance fees alone for that month would have run into tens of thousands of Star Coins. *Hopefully they can maintain this momentum,* Fang Yu thought to himself. Once he headed to school and the roster for the Junior-College-to-Undergraduate Upgrade was finalized, he would have to depart immediately for the undergraduate university... Those were all located in the provincial capital, hundreds of kilometers from Wuling City, making return trips far more troublesome. "Big Brother, don't worry. We'll train hard and do our best to test into a key university on New Moon." Fang Siyue seemed to sense Fang Yu's worry. Fang Yu could not help smiling as he stroked his sister's hair. Without realizing it, the little girl who used to trail behind him had grown to over one hundred and seventy centimeters tall. With her ponytail and martial arts uniform, she had truly blossomed into a young woman, with only a trace of youthfulness lingering in her features. "Xiaolong, make sure you look after your sister at school," Fang Yu said. "Don't worry, Brother." Fang Long nodded heavily. He was a boy of few words, but he possessed a towering, burly frame. He had shot up quite a bit over the break and was already nearing one hundred and eighty centimeters. Fang Yu estimated that his brother might eventually surpass one hundred and ninety centimeters. A tall, powerful build offered an immense advantage in the early stages of martial cultivation. "Grandfather." Fang Yu turned toward the pavilion, where his grandfather was doing his "fitness exercises"... Fang Zhiyuan had not practiced martial arts in his younger years, but after retiring, he paid particular attention to health preservation and physical fitness. "Haha. "I heard every word." Fang Zhiyuan took off his headphones and walked over to Fang Yu's side, his eyes crinkling in a smile. "My eldest grandson is so capable; passing the Junior-College-to-Undergraduate Upgrade will definitely be no problem. "It's about time our Fang family produced an undergraduate." Fang Yu's heart stirred. From what he knew, his great-grandfather had also attended a martial junior college... Indeed, over several decades, the Fang family had never produced a martial undergraduate. In this era, any household that could produce a martial undergraduate gained immense prestige. "You've handled everything remarkably well, so I don't have much to add." Fang Zhiyuan patted Fang Yu's shoulder. "Your father has been busy these past few days and didn't have time to see you off. "You're leaving early, so I hope you can be understanding of him. "I let him down; I wasn't a competent father to him. "But he has done right by all of you. He worked hard for thirty years so that you could pursue martial arts whenever you wanted." Fang Zhiyuan sighed with deep emotion. "Don't let down all those years of his efforts. "Go on now." *** It was not far from Fang Yu's home to the campus. Taking an autonomous taxi, Fang Yu arrived at the school gates in less than an hour. There were quite a few students gathered at the entrance today. After all, today was the reporting day for third-year students. *It's been over a month.* Fang Yu stepped out of the vehicle with his bag slung over his shoulder and looked at the school gates, which spanned dozens of meters wide and appeared quite magnificent. Wuling Martial Junior College was also known as the premier higher-education institution in Wuling City... Administratively, that was indeed the case, ranking half a tier higher than Wuling University. In this era, martial arts was the dominant melody. *Beep—beep—* Amidst the honking of a horn, a large, all-black SUV pulled up beside Fang Yu. The driver's window rolled down, revealing a young man in casual clothes wearing sunglasses. In the passenger seat sat a fresh-faced young woman wearing a white slip dress and light makeup, looking at Fang Yu with a curious expression. "Old Fang, you only came to school today?" The young man leaned against his seat and grinned at Fang Yu. "You actually have a shot at testing into an undergraduate program. Aren't you afraid of being late?" "Old Mo, long time no see," Fang Yu said with a smile. "You know me; my home is only half an hour away. "Switched cars again?" Fang Yu glanced over the vehicle's body. It seemed to be a recent, highly popular model. However, its style leaned traditional, making it a favorite among middle-aged men. "During the break, I went out to have fun and got into a fender bender. It's in the shop, so this is my dad's," the young man said, shaking his head. "I borrowed it for temporary use. In a couple of days, I'll have the driver swap it back." Fang Yu could not help but chuckle. This young man was named Wang Mo. He was Fang Yu's classmate and roommate, as well as a good buddy... A genuine second-generation heir, his family assets reached nine figures. His father was reportedly the wealthiest man in one of the counties under Wuling City's jurisdiction. "Come on, greet Brother Yu." Wang Mo turned toward the fresh-faced girl in the passenger seat and introduced him. "This buddy of mine has money at home too, and he's a true martial arts expert who's about to head to a martial undergraduate program." "Brother Yu," the pure-looking girl said obediently, a hint of curiosity in her eyes. She knew that someone Wang Mo treated with such respect could not be an ordinary martial junior college student. "Yeah." Fang Yu nodded slightly without asking for her name... In all likelihood, this girl would not stay by Wang Mo's side for very long; Fang Yu was already used to it. "Alright, I'll go park first. See you at the apartment in a bit," Wang Mo said with a wave. "Sure." Fang Yu nodded. Their dormitory building sat on a designated hill, and under normal circumstances, vehicles were not permitted on the mountain road. *** Before long, Fang Yu reached the base of the dormitory building... Though called a dormitory, it was actually constructed like a luxury apartment complex. Everyone had a private room, alongside communal amenities such as a martial arts training hall, a swimming pool, and a weapons armory. "Fang Yu." "Old Fang." "Fang Yu is back?" Along the way, many students greeted him, both male and female. As one of the most formidable martial arts students in Class 5703, Fang Yu had also won the championship in the second-year martial arts technique competition. The two hundred students in this building belonged to Class 5703 and Class 5704, and since they shared most of their classes, practically everyone recognized him. Fang Yu greeted them one by one in return. Wuling Martial Junior College enrolled five thousand students each year, divided into fifty classes per cohort, with one hundred students per class. A designation like Class 5703 indicated enrollment in Year 57, with a class number of 3. Arriving on the third floor, past the communal living room and bathroom, there were three individual rooms... The door to one of the rooms stood open, where the fresh-faced girl in the white slip dress was diligently massaging Wang Mo as he lay on the bed. "Old Fang, you made it?" Wang Mo waved and grinned at Fang Yu from the bed. Fang Yu was thoroughly accustomed to this scene. In a martial junior college, dormitory buildings were co-ed... The Blue Moon Alliance actively encouraged childbirth, after all. For a first child, the total reward was one million Star Coins. For a second child, the total value was 1.5 million Star Coins... and so forth. Of course, the rewards were not distributed in a single lump sum; they could only be claimed as the child met Alliance requirements at various developmental stages. Quite a few students at the martial junior college registered for marriage. After all, once martial junior college students reached Life Level 10, obtaining a parenthood certificate was effortless. "Where's Old He?" Fang Yu called out. "Old He went to the Central Hall to check out the recruitment notices," Wang Mo replied. "He's probably planning to apply for immediate graduation... If my dad hadn't forced me back to take the assessment, I would've wanted to apply for graduation too." *Apply for immediate graduation?* Fang Yu thought to himself. Academic junior colleges ran on a three-year system. Martial junior colleges operated on a four-year system... For the first three years, the state provided dedicated "training funds" to encourage students' martial cultivation. In the fourth year, the training funds doubled, but only the top twenty percent of martial junior college students were eligible to receive them—another method the state used to incentivize performance. It also saved a massive amount of capital in the process. Lower-ranking students could only use basic training facilities. If they wanted additional cultivation resources, they had to rely entirely on themselves. Because of this, many martial junior college students who saw no hope of advancing in martial arts chose to apply for early graduation, which the school permitted. Many companies also visited campus for recruitment. Most, however, were small to medium-sized enterprises; companies like Tieshan Martial Club, an affiliate of Tieshan Group, were already considered "large enterprises." As for the level of the Eight Great Groups, it was entirely out of the question for them to recruit here. Every year, the Eight Great Groups conducted campus recruitment exclusively at martial undergraduate universities. After all, the threshold for their formal martial artist employees was Level 30. Even outsourced martial artists under their umbrella were required to be Level 20. A martial junior college? It was not worth their time to hold recruitment drives here... Among the three roommates, He Jiyu possessed the most ordinary martial talent and came from the poorest family background. Choosing to graduate directly was completely understandable. *To each their own path,* Fang Yu thought, putting the matter out of his mind. He turned and asked, "Old Mo, did you sign up for the guaranteed recommendation assessment for the Junior-College-to-Undergraduate Upgrade too?" He recalled that at the end of their third year, Wang Mo had said he wouldn't be participating in the assessment. "Yeah!" "Over the break, my dad spent a fortune buying a bunch of treasures and brute-forced my Life Level up to Level 20." Wang Mo sprawled out on the bed, sighing. "He even said that if I fail the upgrade assessment... "He'll freeze all my cards and make me go home to level up an alt." "And you agreed?" Fang Yu chuckled. Wang Mo certainly did not seem like someone eager to have children early. "Naturally not. I plan to wait until I'm forty before having kids," Wang Mo said, shaking his head. "But my dad said that if I don't agree, he'll just go level up a few alts himself... For the sake of the family fortune, I have to fight for it. "Old Fang, you can't blame me for snatching a quota!"