Scarlet Flame Squad

After completing their enrollment procedures, Fang Yu met up with Wang Mo and Zhang Tao. "Old Fang, what's your ranking?" Wang Mo asked curiously the moment they met. "1,256th," Fang Yu replied. "That high?" Zhang Tao blurted out from the side. "I'm only 2,488th." He had originally thought his ranking was quite good, considering they had just enrolled. Never had he expected Fang Yu to rank over a thousand spots ahead of him. "What a freak. Having saber Entering the Minute really is amazing," Wang Mo said, shaking his head. "I'm 4,343rd. I'm probably sitting right at the very bottom of our class." "Old Mo, no need to be in a rush," Fang Yu said with a smile. "The Life Levels of Martial Undergraduate students are generally higher. Back in February, they most likely took part in combat training, which means they've accumulated multiplier points. Naturally, their total scores are higher. "Zhang Tao ranks higher because his bodily technique has reached the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute. I'm even higher probably because I have an additional mastery of saber Entering the Minute. "Judging by base scores alone, your ranking wouldn't be anywhere near this low," Fang Yu continued. "Once we return from participating in the practical combat assessment, both your ranking and Zhang Tao's will shoot up by a huge margin." This was a very realistic deduction. Someone like Zhang Tao had a Life Level of 20 and the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute, which placed him firmly in the upper tiers of their graduating class of undergraduates. As for Wang Mo, even though his martial technique was only at the Lesser Accomplishment of Entering the Minute, his Life Level of 20 was still among the highest in their class at Huguang Martial University. On that metric alone, his rank should not have been so low. What separated them from the rest of the undergraduate students was the coefficient multiplier. "Yeah." "Looks like we made the right choice deciding to take part in actual combat," Wang Mo said solemnly. "Even though breaking into the top three hundred to secure an Elite Contract will be tough, a higher ranking will at least save us from losing too much face." According to Huguang Martial University's regulations, students who broke into the top three hundred for the first time during the end-of-term assessment each semester would be awarded an Elite Contract. At the same time, if an elite student fell out of the top five hundred, their Elite Contract would be terminated. Wang Mo did not care overly about grades, but what young man lacked competitive spirit? "Right, we can't lose too much face," Zhang Tao laughed as well. *My strength might be inferior to Fang Yu's for now, but I've awakened a Star Aspect. The speed of my Life Level improvement definitely won't be slow,* Zhang Tao thought to himself. *It's not entirely out of reach to charge into the top three hundred.* Zhang Tao's heart was filled with yearning. His goal was to secure an Elite Contract before graduating from university. *** Until three in the afternoon, Fang Yu strolled around Huguang Martial University to familiarize himself with the campus environment. Although the university had not officially begun classes, large numbers of students were already cultivating on campus. Using his Elite Student Card, Fang Yu was able to access several restricted cultivation grounds one after another. *Huguang Martial University truly is a treasure trove for martial cultivation,* Fang Yu reflected inwardly. Virtually all trivial chores were handled by dedicated staff. All the students needed to do was concentrate on cultivating. The university offered various high-grade cultivation facilities, such as gravity chambers and star force chambers, none of which had existed at his junior college. Of course, Fang Yu had yet to awaken a Star Aspect, so he could not use the star force chambers just yet. *** Around four in the afternoon, Fang Yu met up with Martial Uncle Jiang Wei once again. Accompanied by him, Fang Yu met with another vice president of Shengchuan Group and formally signed the endorsement contract. It was a tripartite agreement witnessed by Huguang Martial University and uploaded to the Alliance Martial Artist Contract App for digital archiving. With that, the contract took full legal effect. "Mr. Fang Yu, the first payment under the supplementary agreement, five million Star Coins, will arrive in your account within a day," the vice president of Shengchuan Group said with a smile. "I'll head back first to report to President Wang." "Thank you for your trouble," Fang Yu replied courteously. *** After seeing off the vice president of Shengchuan Group, Jiang Wei led Fang Yu toward another martial arts training room in the building. As they walked, he explained, "Fang Yu, when it comes to Primordial Star actual combat, students at Huguang Martial University generally team up with peers from their own year to form squads of five to eight people. The squad I've chosen for you is quite formidable. "All of them have Life Levels above 20. "Even with my recommendation, martial artists ultimately value strength above all else," Jiang Wei noted. "If you want to secure a solid footing in the squad, it will come down to what you can do." "Understood," Fang Yu nodded. The master leads the disciple to the door, but cultivation rests on the individual. Martial Uncle Jiang Wei had already helped him immensely; Fang Yu could not expect him to carry him forever. Before long, the two arrived at the entrance of a martial arts training room. Looking inside, they saw an exceptionally burly, short-haired young man quietly practicing his spearmanship with a heavy spear. *Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!* The long spear shot forth like exploding arrows, looking as if it could pierce through all enemies ahead. Every thrust tore through the air with a piercing screech, radiating tremendous lethality. *Such formidable spearmanship, such tremendous power,* Fang Yu thought in silent shock. A quick judgment told him that this youth's strength was very likely above his own. At the edge of the training room sat a fair-skinned female martial artist with a striking figure and flowing long hair, cross-legged in quiet meditation, seemingly absorbing star force. "Bai Chen, Xia Yao," Jiang Wei called out. "Hm?" The burly, short-haired youth finally drew back his spear. Turning around, he spotted Jiang Wei. A stiff expression lingered on his face as he broke into a grin. "Teacher Jiang." The meditating, long-haired young woman also rose to her feet and stepped forward respectfully. "Teacher Jiang." "This is the one I spoke to you about earlier," Jiang Wei said, gesturing toward Fang Yu. "Fang Yu, a senior transfer student who hopes to join your Scarlet Flame Squad." "Fang Yu?" The woman with the striking figure looked at Fang Yu with curiosity. The burly, short-haired youth fixed his gaze on Fang Yu. "Hello, Fang Yu. I'm Bai Chen, captain of the Scarlet Flame Squad. Since Teacher Jiang recommended you, I trust your strength isn't lacking. However, actual combat on the Primordial Star is a matter of life and death, and I have to be responsible for the rest of our team. "Therefore, I must test your strength. I hope you can understand," the burly youth said. "Of course," Fang Yu nodded. Between martial artists, honest straightforwardness was always best. "Fang Yu, test your Life Level first," Jiang Wei said, pointing toward the nearby equipment. "Xia Yao, turn on both the life-level tester and the punch-force tester." "Yes." Xia Yao quickly powered up the instruments beside them. Immediately after, both the burly youth and Xia Yao turned their attention to Fang Yu. Fang Yu stepped straight in front of the life-level tester as pulses of light rippled across the machine. "Life Level 21.0!" A number flashed onto the display above the device. "Level 21?" A flicker of astonishment crossed Bai Chen's eyes. Among their peers, reaching a Life Level of 21 was rare. Not even everyone on their squad had reached Level 21. "He's actually Level 21? No wonder Teacher Jiang recommended him. Didn't they say he was a junior college student before?" Xia Yao was equally startled. "His Life Level is even slightly higher than mine." If Bai Chen and Xia Yao were merely surprised, Jiang Wei, though calm on the surface, was thoroughly shaken inside. *Level 21? How is that possible? Just a few days ago during the upgrade assessment, didn't the test show 20.1?* *In a matter of days, his Life Level rose by nearly an entire level? Even guzzling elixirs wouldn't be this fast!* *Or is the machine malfunctioning?* "Fang Yu, don't waste time," Jiang Wei said, keeping his composure outwardly, though an edge of urgency crept into his tone. "Test your punch force. Start with your base punch force, then try your maximum punch force." "Alright." Seeing that his Life Level was already out in the open, Fang Yu naturally had no thought of hiding his strength. Standing firmly in front of the punch-force tester, he planted his stance and threw a straightforward punch. "2,822 kilograms!" That was a textbook base punch force for Level 21. Immediately following that, Fang Yu circulated his vitality and blood. His spine arched like a great dragon as his Dark Force erupted. With an audible airburst, his fist slammed brutally against the punch-force tester. *Bang!* Accompanied by a dull, explosive boom, Jiang Wei, Xia Yao, and Bai Chen all snapped their gazes toward the digital screen atop the device. "—4,798 kilograms!" It was an utterly staggering number. "Technique at the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute?" Bai Chen's eyes lit up. "Excellent!" "Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute?" Xia Yao's shock was even more pronounced. "He really came from a junior college? Since when did junior college students become this terrifying? Where on earth did he come from?"