Early the next morning, the Vuong family of three, along with the old steward, Uncle Binh, and a driver, set off early for the provincial capital.
The distance from Quang Binh City to the provincial capital wasn’t far to begin with.
With the highly modern roads of this future era, it didn’t take long before they arrived at Nguyen Hung Cuong’s place.
Looking at the massive, imposing signboard bearing the words Thunderstrike Dojo, Vuong Minh clicked his tongue in admiration.
In a provincial capital where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, possessing a sprawling 20,000-square-meter plot like this was truly rare.
Although a large part of this was thanks to the inheritance his maternal grandfather left behind and his dad’s financial support, expanding a regular gym to its current massive scale wouldn’t have been possible without his uncle’s hard work.
Quang Tri Province wasn’t considered a major strategic hub; the entire province only had a single Core Condensation Realm expert.
But that person belonged to the military, only responsible for overseeing the military zone and not interfering in administration.
Thus, the real public figures maintaining public order in the province were a dozen or so Meridian Opening Realm experts.
And since Old Nguyen was one of those dozen-plus Meridian Opening Realm experts, one could easily imagine his status in Quang Tri.
“Brother-in-law, sister!
Minh, you’re here!”
Despite holding a high position, Nguyen Hung Cuong always remembered his roots.
Hearing that Old Vuong was coming, he personally brought his wife and child to the gate to welcome them.
“Hehe, Uncle, Auntie!
Rice, did you miss me?”
His uncle’s wife was named Le Thuy Dung, a very beautiful woman with a gentle and graceful demeanor, who was also his uncle’s college classmate.
According to his mom, his aunt’s family had a renowned tradition of medical and alchemical research in the capital city of Ha Thanh.
Goodness knows what methods Nguyen Hung Cuong had used to trick her into marrying him and starting a family here.
Their 5-year-old daughter, Nguyen Bao An—nicknamed “Rice” at home—was incredibly clingy when it came to a super handsome guy like Young Master Vuong.
The little toddler wiggled out of her mother’s grasp and charged straight into Vuong Minh’s arms like a gust of wind:
“Brother Minh!”
“Haha, Rice has gotten even prettier!”
Vuong Minh teasingly joked, making the little girl’s eyes curve into happy crescents.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Nguyen Hung Cuong was looking his nephew up and down, unable to hide the astonishment in his eyes.
His gaze was incredibly sharp.
Naturally, the changes in Vuong Minh couldn’t escape the meticulous scrutiny of a Meridian Opening Realm expert:
“Not bad!
I haven’t seen you for a few days, Minh, and you seem completely reborn!
How have you been cultivating?”
Without waiting for Vuong Minh to answer, Nguyen Ngoc Linh shared in the glory, proudly boasting:
“Cuong, you have no idea.
Minh has been working so hard lately, forgetting to eat and sleep just to cultivate.
I was worried he’d rush things and go down the wrong path, which is why I forced him to take a trip to the provincial capital today.”
“Excellent!
Minh’s aptitude is top-tier.
As long as he maintains this momentum, there’s no need to worry about failing to open his meridians in the future.” Nguyen Hung Cuong was inwardly overjoyed and couldn’t help but praise him loudly.
This made a certain “Great Emperor Dad” grin from ear to ear, feeling incredibly refreshed inside.
Laughing and chatting, the two families walked into the inner courtyard.
In the past, he only cared about eating and playing here, never paying much attention.
But now, observing with the mindset of an adult, Vuong Minh realized how formidable his uncle’s Thunderstrike Dojo truly was.
Walking in from the outside was the outer courtyard, spanning about two acres, packed with all kinds of weapons and training equipment.
Because it was the New Year, the place was empty, but having been here a few times, Vuong Minh knew that normally, hundreds of people would be sweating it out here to temper their bodies.
Past the alloy doors was the main training area for inner disciples.
There were gravity simulation rooms, combat arenas, and a highly advanced virtual reality system for deducing martial arts.
These things didn’t exist in Quang Binh City—not even at his First High School.
This gave Vuong Minh a profound sense of the gap between Quang Binh City and the provincial capital, let alone the nation’s capital or global strategic zones.
This made his desire to enter Victoria Academy burn even brighter.
Stepping past the training area led to the inner courtyard where Old Nguyen’s family lived.
The two-acre garden pavilion even housed a training room equipped with a Mid-Grade Spirit Gathering Array.
Having seen it often, Vuong Minh was no stranger to it.
He then slipped right back to the training area to test out the modern equipment at the Thunderstrike Dojo.
It wasn’t until nearly noon, when his mother came over to catch him—dragging him out drenched in sweat like a drowned rat—that Vuong Minh reluctantly stepped out of the gravity room.
He went to shower, changed into a fresh set of clothes, and embarked on his glorious journey to the blind date.
…
The provincial capital.
Inside some roadside milk tea shop.
Young Master Vuong sat facing three little fairies, his expression caught somewhere between amusement and sorrow.
Along the way, he had been busy calculating how to politely decline this setup, wanting to preserve his “purity” to make it easier to attract fangirls in the future.
Who would’ve thought that the clown in this scenario was himself?
He, the great and handsome Vuong, had been overly flattering himself.
The girl sitting in the middle opposite him was named Tran Huyen My, the daughter of the Deputy Director of the Provincial Public Security.
Her beauty was undeniable; after all, anyone practicing martial arts and cultivation had a graceful figure and jade-like skin.
Her youthful, invincible charm went without saying.
Earlier, after following Old Nguyen to meet and dine with the Tran family, he and Tran Huyen My had been shooed outside to stroll the streets and “bond.”
And then, they ended up here.
Two of the girl’s besties showed up—names Vuong Minh was too lazy to remember—and the three of them surrounded him like judges at a tribunal, interrogating him on his background.
“So, Vuong Minh, how are your grades in class?”
“Hmm, I suppose they’re not bad.
I’m consistently at the top of the martial arts class, never dropping below third place.”
“Hmm.
Quang Binh City’s education is passable, so being in the top three really isn’t bad.”
Huyen My took a delicate sip of her tea, delivering an objective, deadpan assessment before asking:
“Are you confident in getting into Victoria Academy?”
“Yeah, no problem at all!”
“But I don’t really want to go to Victoria Academy.”
Vuong Minh: …then why the hell did you ask?
Ignoring his baffled expression, Huyen My nonchalantly shook her head:
“Victoria isn’t that great.
I prefer Holy Light Academy or Amaterasu Academy.
Do you think you have what it takes to get in there?”
Holy Light was a major academy in Europe, highly revered across the old continent.
Amaterasu Academy was from the Fusang Nation and had produced many outstanding talents.
Had this been before, Vuong Minh wouldn’t have even been confident about getting into Victoria.
But now…
He lifted his tea, took a large gulp, savored the fresh taste, and then shook his head, feigning mild dissatisfaction:
“I planned to apply to Victoria because it’s in the Southeast Asian Zone.
Our Viet Nation has a lot of connections and network ties with the Academy there.
Otherwise, if I weren’t going to Victoria, wouldn’t it be better to just go to the Eagle Nation and attend the War God Academy?
What’s the point of going to places like Holy Light or Amaterasu?”
Yes, very good!
A very powerful justification.
Blue Star had a ranking of the Top Ten Academies.
Victoria was ranked tenth.
Ranks four through nine were fiercely contested by the likes of Holy Light and Amaterasu, fighting to move up or down a spot, but the top three hadn’t changed in years.
Especially first place—that undeniably belonged to the War God Academy in the Eagle Nation.
We’re talking to you about the bottom half of the rankings, and you’re saying choosing number one wouldn’t be better?
The question is: if you choose it, would it even look at you?
The conversation immediately died right there.
Tran Huyen My’s face froze for a moment before she stayed silent, dedicating her attention to enjoying her milk tea.
The other two little fairies lowered their heads, typing frantically on their phones pew-pew-bam-bam.
Who knows what they had to talk about so urgently.
These girls clearly had zero interest in dating or associating with Young Master Vuong from the start.
That was fine too!
Vuong Minh didn’t take offense in the slightest.
He happily finished his tea and proactively called the waiter over for the bill.
But right at that moment, the door opened, and a young man walked in.
He had a slightly slim build and wasn’t overly handsome, but he had somewhat of a scholarly aura.
He walked past their table and suddenly feigned surprise:
“My!
What a coincidence, you’re here drinking tea too?”
His acting was so exaggerated and shallow that even a three-year-old would cringe watching it.
Yet the two little fairies next to Tran Huyen My somehow managed to stomach it, even pretending to be playfully annoyed:
“Gia Bao!
Is Huyen My the only person you see?
You don’t even want to say hi to us.”
The young man named Gia Bao hurriedly clasped his hands in apology:
“Sorry, sorry!
I was just too excited and didn’t notice.
Let me treat everyone to this meal as an apology.”
“No need, someone is already paying for this table.”
One of the fairies pouted, jutting her chin toward Vuong Minh.
Only then did Gia Bao pretend to notice him, asking:
“Oh, is this your friend?
May I ask who this is…”
“Hmph!
Let me formally introduce you.
This is Vuong Minh, in the same grade as us, studying at Quang Binh City First High.
Classmate Vuong Minh’s grades are excellent, always in his school’s top 3.
He’s currently torn between going to the War God Academy or Victoria Academy just to stay close to home.
We were just giving him some advice.”
“Pfft!”
“Haha, sorry…”
Here it comes, here it comes!
This is exactly the flavor!
Vuong Minh’s eyes lit up slightly.
Watching the kids in front of him joyfully acting out their little skit, he felt this blind date had suddenly become a lot less boring.
As for Huyen My, she just calmly sat there drinking her tea, still not saying a word.
She had seen her friends texting Gia Bao to come over but made no deliberate effort to stop them.
Because her impression of the guy sitting across from her was just too terrible, having a white knight come over and chase him away didn’t seem like a bad idea.
They all had their own separate thoughts, but their shared goal was to see Vuong Minh make a fool of himself.
What a pity.
What kind of storms hadn’t Chairman Vuong weathered?
These petty words were nothing but mosquito bites to him.
Seeing Young Master Vuong sitting there as steady as a mountain, squinting his eyes while sipping tea and seemingly enjoying their performance, anger inevitably welled up in Gia Bao’s heart.
He tried hard to maintain his image in front of the beauty and didn’t blow up.
Instead, with a fake smile plastered on his face, he asked in a passive-aggressive, sarcastic tone:
“Since Classmate Vuong Minh is such a genius, your mecha piloting skills must be outstanding too.
There’s a ‘Mech Storm’ arcade nearby; how about we head over there and play a round?”
As soon as he finished speaking, the other three immediately turned their eyes toward Vuong Minh, hoping to catch a glimpse of guilt or panic from him.
But all they received was a nonchalant nod:
“Sure.”