"Got it, Dad. I'll be careful tomorrow," Su Yu replied casually.
"Got it? You don't know a damn thing!" Su Wu snapped, giving Su Yu a sharp rap on the head. The crisp crack startled Xiao Bai, who was gnawing on a chicken leg nearby.
"Ouch! Dad, what was that for?" Su Yu clutched his head, his face a picture of aggrieved innocence. I'm already a Master, and you're still hitting me on the head? Where's my dignity?
"That's to knock some sense into you," Su Wu said sternly, crossing his legs. "Don't think becoming a Master makes you invincible. This world is vast—far vaster than you can imagine."
Su Wu activated a holographic projection and pulled up an encrypted file.
"I've gathered intelligence through special channels. The reason so many foreign examinees have converged on Azurewave Base this year is because several satellite cities housing interstellar jump points have been newly constructed near Azurewave."
Su Wu pointed to the red markers on the map, his voice grave. "Most of these examinees come from—Mars."
"Mars?" Su Yu's brow furrowed.
In this era, Mars was no longer the desolate red desert of old. Centuries ago, as Earth's resources dwindled, a segment of the elite—those who controlled advanced technology and vast wealth—migrated to Mars en masse, establishing a far more advanced civilization.
In essence, the martian humans had become the "noble class" of the Federation.
"Exactly," Su Wu sneered. "Those self-proclaimed 'superior humans,' despite their advanced technology and their habit of drinking genetic optimization fluid like water, lack practical combat experience. Because Mars has no feral beasts, their native-born descendants, though possessing high cultivation realms, often have flimsy real-world combat skills."
"To pass the grueling Federation Elite Selection, many martian families send their children to Earth to take the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination, calling it 'rural gilding'—a euphemism for stealing spots from Earth's candidates and padding their scores!"
A cold glint flashed in Su Wu's eyes.
"Moreover, these young masters and ladies are ruthless. To them, Earth's natives are no different from feral beasts in the wilderness. In past years, countless Earth candidates have been crippled or even maimed by them."
Su Wu turned to Su Yu, his tone becoming solemn. "I'm not worried about you losing. I'm worried you'll hold back and suffer for it. Remember this: once you step into the examination hall, whether they're from Mars or Mercury, if they dare bare their teeth at you, crush them without mercy!"
Hearing this, a coldness flickered in Su Yu's eyes as well.
Stealing spots? Using Earthlings as stepping stones?
He clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking audibly, and a confident smirk curved his lips. "Don't worry, Dad. No matter where they're from, if they provoke me, I'll make them regret it."
The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, the gates of Azurewave First High School were already swarming with people.
A three-kilometer perimeter had been established, with fully armed City Defense Army soldiers maintaining order.
Countless parents waited anxiously beyond the cordon, their eyes filled with anticipation.
For ordinary families, the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination was their only chance to defy fate and change their destiny.
Su Wu drove the limited-edition hovercar gifted by the city lord, bringing Su Yu and Xiao Bai, who was curled up around his neck like a scarf, to a discreet stop at the VIP entrance.
"Go on," Su Wu said, patting Su Yu's shoulder without wasting words. "I'll wait for you outside."
"Mm."
Su Yu nodded, his black combat suit making him look both sharp and aloof.
As soon as he stepped out of the car, several students recognized him.
"Look! It's Su Yu!"
"The legendary Young Master Su? I heard his dad is some reclusive big shot!"
"Shh! Keep it down."
Ignoring the surrounding whispers, Su Yu strode toward the school gates.
But just as he was about to cross the threshold...
Rumble—!!
The clear sky suddenly darkened.
A massive gust of wind descended from the heavens, howling through the air and whipping up a sandstorm that sent countless examinees and parents staggering. Even the electronic banner above the school gates was torn down. Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.
"What's going on?!"
"Look up at the sky!"
The crowd frantically craned their necks upward.
The clouds had been violently torn apart, revealing over a dozen sleek, pitch-black spacecraft hovering like steel behemoths above the school.
Blue tail flames spewed scorching heat, distorting the surrounding air.
These were private shuttles from Mars!
Beep—! All non-essential personnel clear the area!
A cold, arrogant voice boomed from the spacecraft's loudspeakers, completely disregarding the dense crowd of examinees below.
The shuttles slowly descended onto a temporarily requisitioned open space beside the school.
Their massive landing gear left deep imprints in the ground.
The hatches hissed open.
Psssht—
White cryogenic vapor billowed out.
A group of young men and women, clad in silver-white nano combat suits and radiating an air of noble arrogance, emerged in single file.
The men were handsome and imposing, the women strikingly beautiful, their skin flawless as porcelain.
Instead of immediately joining the registration queue, they stood at the hatches, surveying the dusty, disheveled Earthlings around them with the same detached curiosity one might reserve for monkeys in a zoo.
"Tsk, so this is Earth? The air is so dusty it's making my throat itch," a blond-haired youth said disdainfully, pinching his nose.
"No choice, just bear with it," another red-haired girl said, twirling a laser dagger in her hand, her eyes filled with disdain. "It's all because the old man back home insisted I come here and win the 'Provincial Top Scholar' title. But look at this bunch of misfits—even those so-called geniuses are only at the early Innate Realm. How boring."
Su Wu stood at the edge of the crowd, his eyes narrowed slightly as his divine sense swept across the group.
"What a grand scheme," he thought, a cold smile playing on his lips.
There were about fifty people in the group. Nearly a third of them radiated energy fluctuations characteristic of the Master Realm!
Though most were "Masters" artificially elevated through drugs, their foundations unstable, they still represented a crushing advantage against these Earth students struggling in the Qi Blood and Innate Realms.
Since the ecological restoration, Mars's resources had indeed become far richer than Earth's.
Just then, another, even deeper rumble echoed through the sky.
A sleek, luxurious spaceship, its hull inlaid with starlight gold, descended slowly.
Four unmanned fighter jets escorted the ship, their ostentatious display leaving onlookers speechless.
The hatch opened, and a red carpet automatically unfurled.
Two figures emerged slowly: an old man and a young man.
The young man, around eighteen or nineteen years old, possessed an otherworldly beauty. He wore a seemingly simple yet priceless flowing cloud silk robe.
A folding fan rested in his hand, and a casual smile played on his lips, as if he were on a leisurely outing.
"I really don't understand my father," the young man muttered, shaking his folding fan as he walked, his voice brimming with impatience. "Why did he insist I come to this godforsaken Azurewave Base? With my talent, I could easily get into a top university even on Mars. Why bother competing with these Earth bumpkins for scraps?"
He was Li Xinghe, the young master of the Li Family of Mars.
The Li Family was one of the most prestigious clans in the entire Federation.
Though the old man appeared frail and near death, the violent air currents swirling around the spaceship miraculously calmed into gentle breezes within three feet of him.
"Young master, your father's arrangements have their reasons," Uncle Li said, his voice raspy but clear. "Though Earth has declined, it remains the ancestral home of humanity, harboring many great opportunities. Moreover, the Federation's high-ranking officials in the First Star District seem to be selecting 'seeds' here, so the attention here is no less than on Mars."
"Fine, fine, I get it," Li Xinghe waved dismissively. "Let's just finish the exam quickly and get out of here."
Uncle Li smiled, his cloudy old eyes filled with indulgent affection.
However, just as he was about to withdraw his gaze and escort the young master into the examination hall...
Buzz!
Uncle Li's half-closed eyes snapped open!
An invisible psychic storm erupted from him, sweeping across the entire crowd in an instant.
His gaze skipped over City Lord Pan Hong, who was maintaining order, and the so-called Martian geniuses, finally... locking onto a middle-aged man standing at the edge of the crowd, leaning against a vehicle with a white cat perched on his shoulder.
Su Wu.
The moment Uncle Li's gaze landed on him, Su Wu also looked up.
Their eyes met.
Across hundreds of meters of surging humanity, across the clamor of the mortal world.
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no lightning-streaked skies.
But within their spiritual realms, it felt as if two towering mountains had collided with earth-shattering force!
Boom!
Uncle Li's steps froze abruptly. His stooped back straightened instantly, and a terrifying glint erupted from his cloudy old eyes as he stared intently at Su Wu.
"A Martial Saint?!"
A tidal wave of shock crashed through Uncle Li's mind.
How could such a remote place as Azurewave Base—a place so obscure it required zooming in several times on a map to find—possibly harbor a Martial Saint?!
Moreover, the man's aura was as deep as the ocean. Though seemingly restrained, the faint yet palpable energy radiating from him sent a chill down even this seasoned Martial Saint's spine!
"What's wrong, Uncle Li?"
Li Xinghe, walking ahead, noticed the old man's unusual demeanor and stopped, turning back to ask.
Uncle Li took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the surging qi and blood within him, and withdrew his gaze with a complex expression.
"Nothing, young master," he replied, his voice carrying an unprecedented solemnity. "I simply didn't expect to find a true dragon coiled in these shallow waters."
"Young master, remember to temper your arrogance during this exam. This place... is not as simple as it seems."
Li Xinghe paused, taken aback. This was the first time he had ever seen Uncle Li wear such an expression.
He followed Uncle Li's gaze but saw only an ordinary middle-aged man feeding a white cat a sausage.
"Tch, superstitious nonsense," Li Xinghe scoffed, turning away dismissively and striding into the examination hall.
Meanwhile, on the other side...
Su Wu leisurely peeled open the sausage packaging and fed it to Xiao Bai perched on his shoulder, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"A Martial Saint, huh..."
"An old geezer from Mars. His strength is decent, but his qi and blood are waning. He's just a low-level Martial Saint."
Su Wu brushed the crumbs from his hands and turned his gaze toward Su Yu's retreating figure inside the examination hall.