Chapter 58: Martial Exam Registration
Chapter 58: Chapter 58: Martial Exam Registration
May 28, Jinchuan Seventh University. The Martial Exam registration site.
The atmosphere on campus was completely different from usual, carrying a newfound sense of solemnity and tension.
Several soldiers in crisp uniforms maintained order and managed the registration process. An officer in charge of taking names revealed a rare smile and remarked to his colleague beside him, "The situation at The Seventh Congress is pretty good this year. So far, I haven’t seen any students crying their eyes out, or parents drowning in despair."
A round-faced soldier nearby chimed in. "You’re right, Company Commander. Every year around this time, we always hear about some students getting robbed of their registration fees on the way. Even worse, entire families are sometimes murdered for the money... We haven’t heard any news like that from The Seventh Congress side this year."
Hearing this, Principal Yu, who was accompanying them for the reception, quickly stepped forward. Wearing a smile that beamed with shared pride, he explained, "Company Commander Jia, this is mainly because of a highly exceptional student at our school named Fang Chen. He’s quite adept at disciplining the campus environment."
"Fang Chen?" Company Commander Jia looked thoughtful, lightly tapping his fingers on the table. "The name rings a bell... Is he the one who kept a cool head during that incident at The Three Greats and successfully led over a dozen students to escape? I remember the Martial Arts Association even issued a commendation for him."
"Yes, that’s him!" Principal Yu nodded eagerly. "I just don’t know if he managed to gather enough for the fee this year. It would be an absolute shame if such a promising talent couldn’t take the Martial Exam just because of money."
Just as he spoke, Principal Yu’s eyes lit up. He pointed into the distance. "Oh, that’s Fang Chen right there!"
Company Commander Jia followed his gaze.
A tall, upright young man was striding over. He was about 1.85 meters tall, his well-proportioned build exuding a lean toughness. His ordinary school uniform stretched over clear muscle contours, and his steps were steady and powerful.
He carried a bulging black duffel bag that looked quite heavy.
"Bringing a bag like that, it looks like he scraped it together," Company Commander Jia murmured, a flash of admiration passing through his eyes.
Fang Chen had initially expected the registration site to be packed with long lines. To his surprise, the queue was sparse. In just a short while, there was no one left in front of him.
He quickly understood why. The five hundred thousand yuan registration fee shut out the vast majority of students. Coupled with the fact that some knew their talents were limited, they simply gave up. Out of the more than five hundred graduating students at The Seventh Congress, only about eighty were ultimately able to make it here and hand over the fee.
Fang Chen stepped up and nodded in greeting to Principal Yu and the officer. "Principal Yu, Sir, I’m here to pay the Martial Exam registration fee."
Principal Yu beamed. "Excellent, excellent, student Fang Chen. Come, have a seat."
Fang Chen placed the heavy duffel bag on the table, unzipped it, and pulled out neatly bound stacks of cash, piling them on the surface. The round-faced soldier began counting the money with practiced ease.
Watching the accumulating stacks of bills, Fang Chen’s mind flashed back to everything he had endured over the past half-month to scrape this together. The initial hope and ultimate disappointment of the crowdfunding in Li Family Village. Uncle Dayuan going back on his word. Aunt Dehui stepping up to help without reservation. His four consecutive victories in the arena at the Geta Club. Luo Wu’s "apprenticeship fee"...
And Zhao Xinlan’s one hundred thousand yuan... In the end, he had gathered the five hundred thousand, leaving him with an unexpected thirty thousand yuan in spare cash.
"It hasn’t been easy," he thought.
A few minutes later, the round-faced soldier finished counting and verified the amount. "Company Commander, five hundred thousand. It’s exactly right."
Fang Chen then started filling out the registration forms. After confirming his information was correct, he completed the process.
Company Commander Jia pointed to an area behind the registration desk displaying various gear, his tone carrying a note of caution. "Over there are the Combat Suits, and over here are the Weapons. Go pick something comfortable for yourself. Choose carefully; out of your five hundred thousand yuan registration fee, nearly three hundred thousand goes toward this equipment."
Fang Chen’s expression turned serious as he nodded. "Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Sir."
He did need to choose carefully.
He first walked over to the weapon zone. His gaze swept across sabers, spears, swords, and halberds before finally settling on a row of standard Longswords. He selected a Longsword with a comfortable length and weight. Gripping it, he took a few practice swings. The balance felt good.
However, unlike an ordinary Longsword, the pommel of this weapon had a transparent Crystal Stone about the size of a fingernail embedded in it, faintly glowing.
The Noncommissioned Officer in charge of equipment introductions noticed this and took the initiative to explain. "That is a Strong Attack Spiritual Crystal Stone. Pressing the activation button on the hilt during combat will temporarily infuse the blade with Spiritual Energy. It can unleash cutting and destructive power roughly three times greater than that of a standard blade.
"However, keep in mind that the energy inside this Crystal Stone can be depleted. If you have already reached the True Martial Realm, you can use your own True Qi to slowly nourish it and replenish the energy, which won’t drain you too much. If you haven’t reached the True Martial Realm yet, you will need to periodically replace it with a new Spiritual Crystal Stone, and that is a considerable expense."
Fang Chen understood. For someone like him who possessed True Qi, this wouldn’t be a problem.
After selecting his weapon, Fang Chen moved to the adjacent equipment area.
The appearance of the Combat Suits here surprised him a little. They weren’t the heavy armor he had imagined, but rather designed to look like ordinary hoodies and casual wear. They came in various colors and all featured hoods. Looking closely, he could spot faint, intricate inscriptions woven directly into the fabric fibers.
Company Commander Jia strolled over and casually introduced them. "The baseline performance of these Combat Suits is pretty much the same. Look, here is the hood, here are the gloves, and there are the shoes—they come as a complete set.
"When entering a combat state, pull up the hood, zip it to the top, and pull out the gloves hidden in the sleeves. The internal Spiritual Energy circuits will automatically connect, generating a nearly flawless energy defense layer that covers your entire body."
He patted one of the Combat Suits. "The styles might look no different from everyday clothes, but the materials are woven from ranked Demon Beast Hides or special silk, making them inherently tough.
"A Spiritual Crystal Stone is also built into the chest area, serving as the core of the entire defense system.
"A single press activates it. On standby, it can last about eight hours.
"In high-intensity combat, the energy drains quickly and will bottom out in roughly half an hour.
"If you’re under constant attack, it will probably only hold up for three minutes at most before you need to recharge it or swap out the Crystal Stone."
Fang Chen nodded. "Three minutes is often enough to decide victory, defeat, or even life and death in a mortal struggle," he thought.
He didn’t hesitate for long, picking out a blue-and-white Combat Suit styled like a sporty hoodie.
"Once the Spiritual Crystal Stone in these Combat Suits is activated, not even regular firearms can break through their defense," Company Commander Jia stressed. "Keep it safe. You absolutely cannot lose this thing. If it gets out into the civilian world, it’s an absolute killer weapon. Taking on ten people at once would be a breeze."
"Yes, Sir! I will keep it safe!" Fang Chen replied solemnly.