A High-Value Teammate: Fang Yu

"Fang Yu, could you be one of those martial arts geniuses who awakened a star aspect while in junior college?" Xia Yao could not help but ask. "Given your Life Level and martial technique, there's no way you should be a junior college student." The burly Bai Chen also looked at Fang Yu with curiosity. Initially, he had been quite resistant to Jiang Wei forcing someone into his squad and had not held much hope for Fang Yu's strength. After all, how strong could a junior college student really be, even a recommended admission? It would already be good if he didn't drag them down. Only out of deference to Jiang Wei had he kept dragging things out, intending to wait until they met in person, deliberately let Fang Yu make a mistake, and then reject him on the grounds of insufficient strength. He had never expected Fang Yu to be this formidable. "No." Fang Yu shook his head. "I haven't awakened a star aspect yet." "You haven't awakened a star aspect yet?" Both Xia Yao and Bai Chen were astonished. Bai Chen blurted out, "Fang Yu, if you haven't awakened a star aspect, how is your Life Level so high?" "I spent a bit more money," Fang Yu replied simply. "So you're wealthy?" Xia Yao's eyes lit up. "Without a star aspect absorbing star force, you've reached Level 21 right as senior year starts. Even if you reached the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute long ago, that must have cost at least twenty or thirty million! Awesome! Our squad finally has a rich person!" "Money is great." Bai Chen smiled as well. They certainly didn't think Fang Yu being rich was a bad thing—quite the contrary, they saw it as a massive plus. "Twenty or thirty million?" Fang Yu chuckled softly, though he did not refute her. His family's circumstances were indeed quite decent... and once his endorsement contract with Shengchuan Group took effect, he would soon have even more Star Coins in hand. Among undergraduates, he was indeed considered wealthy. "Bai Chen, the person I recommended hasn't disappointed you, has he?" Jiang Wei smiled. He did not press Fang Yu on how he had reached Level 21; it came down to purchasing expensive medicines and treasures. No matter the reason. Making such immense progress was a good thing. On the path of a martial artist, a bigger fist was the absolute truth. As for how the fist grew so hard, as long as it didn't violate the laws of the Blue Moon Alliance, no one was going to pry too deeply. "Yeah, Brother Fang Yu's strength is quite impressive," Bai Chen said with a grin. The way he addressed Fang Yu had already changed. "Fang Yu's strength is actually far more than what you see right now," Jiang Wei said with a faint smile. "What he's truly best at is weapons. "In terms of weapon attainment alone, hardly anyone can keep up with him, even among martial artists on Earth Contracts." "Weapons?" Xia Yao looked dumbfounded. "That impressive?" Bai Chen's eyes brightened. He didn't believe Jiang Wei would lie, and he couldn't help asking, "Fang Yu, what was your score on the practical combat assessment for the Junior-College-to-Undergraduate Upgrade?" The upgrade examination was scored against undergraduate standards. From that score, one could immediately gauge Fang Yu's practical combat level. "Full marks," Fang Yu replied without hiding anything. "Full marks? You've reached saber Entering the Minute?" Bai Chen's eyes instantly went round as saucers. He knew very well what standard was required for 'full marks' on the practical combat assessment. Fang Yu nodded. "Fang Yu has indeed achieved saber Entering the Minute," Jiang Wei said with a slight smile. "It was solely through this that he directly secured an Elite Contract. If he hadn't yet awakened a star aspect... the university would have already signed an Earth Contract with him." Bai Chen and Xia Yao exchanged a look. They understood... they had struck gold. "Teacher Jiang, I really have to thank you this time," Bai Chen laughed. "I was originally racking my brains over candidates. For an extraordinary talent like Brother Fang Yu to join our Scarlet Flame Squad is truly our stroke of good fortune." His evaluation of Fang Yu shot up yet another notch. Jiang Wei smiled faintly. He had originally thought Fang Yu was Level 20, which—combined with saber Entering the Minute—would have been enough to secure a solid foothold in Bai Chen's squad, prompting his recommendation. But Level 21 meant he could play a massive role in Bai Chen's squad. After all, the difference in power between Level 20 and Level 21 was stark. Given identical martial technique, the gap in combat capability was naturally substantial. "Captain," Fang Yu addressed him, adopting the title as well, and asked with mild curiosity, "Is weapon Entering the Minute really that difficult?" "Difficult!" Bai Chen replied without hesitation. "Fang Yu, you were definitely the undisputed number one back in junior college, so without points of comparison, you probably don't have a clear grasp of what saber Entering the Minute means," Xia Yao explained in her melodious voice. "Put it this way: at our Huguang Martial University, students in the Earth Academy have extremely high Life Levels... Among our class, there are plenty who have already hit Level 30. "Elite students generally have high Life Levels as well. Even the weakest should be above Level 21. For instance, our captain, being an elite student, has already reached Level 23." Fang Yu listened quietly. Bai Chen was Level 23? Earlier, watching him practice his spear technique, Fang Yu had already caught clues of that... As for Earth Academy students being at Level 30, that did not perturb him either. At Huguang Martial University, Earth Contracts were reserved strictly for the top fifty students, barring exceptional circumstances. As the premier martial university in Huguang Province, it was entirely normal for one or two hundred Advanced Martial Artists to graduate each year. "In short, a high Life Level isn't rare; you can pile it up with money," Xia Yao continued. "However, reaching the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute in bodily technique, and reaching weapon Entering the Minute, are two major hurdles. "Among senior students, even among the elites, there are a few who haven't achieved the Great Accomplishment of Entering the Minute," Xia Yao said solemnly. "Reaching weapon Entering the Minute is even harder. "Looking across our entire senior class right now, there are probably fewer than ten people with weapon Entering the Minute," Xia Yao sighed with emotion. "The vast majority of Earth Academy students haven't reached weapon Entering the Minute." At this moment, Fang Yu finally realized the true weight of 'saber Entering the Minute.' Even among his peers at Huguang Martial University, his technique was poised to contend for the top ten. "Fang Yu, in terms of Life Level, mine is higher than yours," Bai Chen said with a forced smile. "But in terms of comprehensive strength, you probably aren't far behind me... The only thing you lack should be practical combat experience. "Once we reach the Primordial Star, after you adapt a bit, "Our squad can fully attempt hunting beasts at Level 25 and above in this combat exercise." Desires flared in Bai Chen's eyes as he smiled. "When the time comes, we'll be counting on you." "Understood," Fang Yu nodded. "Alright." "Bai Chen, you've been to the Primordial Star three times and have plenty of experience, so I'm leaving him in your hands." Jiang Wei's gaze rested on Bai Chen. "Fang Yu is my nephew-disciple. Safety must always come first. I hope all of you come back alive." "Rest assured, Teacher Jiang," Bai Chen replied solemnly. "Fang Yu, learn as much as you can from Bai Chen and the others," Jiang Wei said. "If anything comes up, message me." "Yes," Fang Yu said. After seeing Jiang Wei off, the three returned to the training room. "Fang Yu, you belong to a martial sect?" Xia Yao asked curiously. "My mother and Teacher Jiang were fellow disciples," Fang Yu answered simply. Xia Yao and Bai Chen exchanged a glance... In their minds, Fang Yu was already a high-value teammate hailing from a prominent lineage, possessing astonishing wealth, and born to powerful martial artist parents. Right at that moment— "Captain, how did it go? Did you turn that junior college student down? I saw Teacher Jiang walking away." A loud, boisterous voice suddenly drifted in from beyond another door of the training room. Fang Yu couldn't help turning to look. A remarkably burly and imposing man strode into the room. He stood well over two meters tall and was built terrifyingly broad, clad in a layer of heavy black armor that made him look at first glance like a general from antiquity. Standing in the doorway, he blocked it completely. "Fang Yu, I'm sorry. Before this, I didn't know your strength was so formidable, so I..." Bai Chen offered an awkward grin. "No worries." Fang Yu smiled faintly. "Venturing out onto the Primordial Star, a squad naturally has to be cautious beyond measure when selecting teammates. I would have done the exact same thing." Bai Chen looked at the hulking man and frowned. "Xiong Meng, watch your mouth. Come over and meet your new teammate." "Oh? He got your approval, Captain?" The hulking man chuckled sheepishly, strode over to Fang Yu, and scratched his head with a grin. "My apologies! I'm Xiong Meng, the squad's shield specialist. My job is drawing the fire of vicious beasts. You can just call me 'Da Xiong.'" "A saber-shield bearer?" Fang Yu was slightly puzzled. "To achieve maximum effectiveness, a martial artist squad is usually divided into assault, shield, shooter, and support roles," Bai Chen explained. "You and I are the assault specialists. Typically, assault roles are filled by weapon masters skilled in spears, sabers, and the like, who move with swift agility and handle close-quarters combat. "The shield role generally demands great strength. While Da Xiong's Life Level hasn't reached 22 yet, his explosive strength is exceptionally fierce, and he's best at shield techniques, specializing in protecting our shooters." Fang Yu listened attentively. Every person differed. At the same Life Level, some were faster, while others had greater brute strength... The same held true for weapons: long spears excelled in group battles, short blades were superior in close quarters, and shields were naturally suited for defense. "Firearms cannot be used on the Primordial Star, so the ancient art of archery instead displays tremendous power," Bai Chen continued. "At times, if a squad possesses a master archer, the deterrent effect is terrifying... That's why nearly every squad brings along one or two sharpshooters. "As for the support role, they typically take on advance scouting, detoxification, identifying Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, tracing ore veins, and assessing the strength, species, and numbers of vicious beasts. They also have to carry spare weapons for the rest of the team; after all, weapons are frequently damaged during life-and-death clashes... "In short, everything outside of direct combat has to be handled as much as possible by the support role," Bai Chen smiled. "So a support specialist doesn't necessarily have to be extremely strong, but they must have excellent academic marks and be able to endure hardships." Fang Yu was secretly astonished. All of this knowledge was brand new to him... The systematic curriculum covering the Primordial Star taught in universities had never even been introduced in junior college. "I'm the squad's support specialist," Xia Yao said with a bright smile.