Her high ponytail made her look youthful and capable.
Behind her stood four black-suited bodyguards with expressionless faces and steady, calm auras.
Lin Xiaoxiao pushed past the bodyguards blocking her way and quickly ran over to Su Yu.
A faint blush tinged her fair cheeks from the run.
"You actually came?"
Lin Xiaoxiao looked Su Yu up and down, her eyes filled with both surprise and barely concealed worry.
Three nights ago in the old street, Su Yu had turned down her family's special recruitment offer.
She thought he was just putting up a front to save face.
Once he calmed down and faced the harsh reality of his 0.8 qi and blood value, she assumed he would definitely give up on going to the exam and embarrassing himself.
She never expected him to actually show up.
And he came empty-handed, as casually as if he were going for a stroll.
"I said I'd see you at the college entrance exam," Su Yu said, looking at her with a calm tone.
Lin Xiaoxiao bit her lower lip.
She glanced around, lowered her voice, and spoke with a hint of urgency.
"Su Yu, have you lost your mind?"
"This is the martial arts exam venue! Not the academic one!"
"The very first round is the qi and blood test, and the passing mark is 6 points!"
"If you step on that machine with your 0.8 qi and blood value, it'll alarm and kick you out immediately! Tens of thousands of people will be watching you fail. Can you handle that?"
As a wealthy heiress, she knew all too well how brutal elimination was in this kind of setting.
It wasn't just failing the exam.
It was having your dignity stripped away in public and trampled underfoot.
Su Yu looked at Lin Xiaoxiao's anxious expression and felt a slight stir in his heart.
This girl was really stubborn.
For the sake of a life-saving debt she could never fully repay, she cared more about his dignity than he did.
"I've got it under control," Su Yu said without elaborating.
Lin Xiaoxiao stared at his unyielding attitude and stamped her foot in frustration.
"Control my ass!"
She spun around abruptly, pulled out an exquisite metal vial from her pocket, and shoved it into Su Yu's hand without giving him a chance to refuse.
"Take it!"
The metal vial was cool to the touch, with no label on it.
But Su Yu could smell an extremely rich medicinal fragrance seeping from the mouth of the vial.
"This is a liquefied extract of the 'Violent Blood Pill' my dad prepared for me last night," Lin Xiaoxiao whispered, speaking rapidly.
"Drink it, and it'll forcibly increase your qi and blood value by 2 points for half an hour."
"It's still not enough to pass the passing line, but at least it'll save you some face and keep the machine from disqualifying you on the spot."
"There are no side effects. Just drink it!"
Su Yu held the invaluable little bottle in his hand.
A drug that could forcibly boost qi and blood was astronomically expensive on the market, and nearly impossible to find.
And Lin Xiaoxiao had just handed it to him without a second thought.
"Thanks," Su Yu said, looking into Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes and speaking those two words earnestly.
Then.
He slipped the metal vial back into Lin Xiaoxiao's pocket.
"But I don't need it."
"You—!"
Lin Xiaoxiao's eyes went wide, and she nearly laughed in exasperation.
Why was this guy so stubborn!
Could pride fill your stomach? Could it boost your qi and blood value?!
Just as Lin Xiaoxiao was about to lose her temper and force the drug down Su Yu's throat—
A sudden commotion broke out at the edge of the plaza.
"Look! It's the Zhao family's motorcade!"
"The young master of Jiangcheng’s Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall, Zhao Ze!"
"I heard his qi and blood value is almost at a perfect score. He's one of the top talents from Jiangcheng this year with a shot at the Kyoto Martial Arts University!"
The crowd automatically parted, clearing a wide path.
Three black Rolls-Royce Phantoms slowly pulled into the reserved parking area outside the exam venue.
The doors opened.
Eight burly bodyguards in matching black suits got out quickly and lined up on both sides of the car doors.
An imposing aura.
Then.
Zhao Ze stepped out of the middle car, dressed in a pure white custom martial arts uniform.
He had gone all out on his hair today, styling it with meticulous precision.
His chin was slightly raised.
His eyes carried that air of lofty, condescending arrogance.
Behind him followed the butler with the handlebar mustache.
"How's the young master feeling today?" the butler asked, bowing slightly and handing him a warm towel with a fawning smile.
"Never better," Zhao Ze said, taking the towel, wiping his hands, and tossing it aside casually.
He took a deep breath, soaking in the surrounding looks of awe, envy, and jealousy.
This was the treatment he deserved.
He, Zhao Ze, was born to rise to the top under the spotlight.
"Is that trash Su Yu taken care of?" Zhao Ze asked nonchalantly as he walked toward the center of the plaza.
He was already convinced Su Yu was dead, but he wanted to confirm it before entering the exam, just for good luck.
"Rest assured, young master," the butler said, following closely behind and lowering his voice with a grin.
"You know Old Mo's work, don't you?"
"That kid's probably nothing but dust by now."
"Clean and thorough. No flies buzzing around to ruin your fun."
Zhao Ze smiled with satisfaction.
"Excellent."
He lifted his head, casually sweeping his gaze across the crowd ahead.
To him, the ordinary civilian test-takers were like weeds in a field—utterly worthless.
But then.
His gaze, as it passed over a corner at the edge of the plaza, suddenly stopped.
His pupils, in that instant, shrank to the size of pinpricks!
His steps froze in place.
It was as if someone had slammed a club into his skull, leaving him completely stunned.
"Young master? What's wrong?"
The butler noticed Zhao Ze's unusual reaction and followed his line of sight.
The next second.
The butler's face also turned deathly pale, his handlebar mustache trembling violently.
"This... how is this possible?!"
The butler cried out in shock, his voice dripping with the terror of seeing a ghost.
At the far end of their line of sight.
That young man in the washed-out short-sleeved shirt, with his hands in his pockets.
Standing there quietly.
The sunlight fell on his face, every tiny detail crystal clear.
Alive.
Completely unharmed.
Without so much as a scratch!
Su Yu!
Zhao Ze felt his brain explode with a bang.
A wave of intense dizziness hit him, nearly knocking him off his feet.
What the hell?!
How is he here?!
What about Old Mo?!
That official martial artist with over a hundred qi and blood points?!
Didn't he go to break his legs?!
Didn't he go to silence him permanently?!
Why is this 0.8 qi and blood waste standing outside the exam venue completely fine?!
Zhao Ze's breathing turned ragged.
His chest heaved violently.
His face, usually so calm and arrogant, twisted into a grimace of extreme shock and disbelief.
Su Yu seemed to sense the panicked stare.
He turned his head slightly.
Across dozens of meters, through the bustling crowd.
Su Yu's gaze locked precisely onto Zhao Ze's face.
No anger.
No hatred.
Only an eerily calm indifference, the kind you'd give a dead man.
Su Yu even curled the corner of his mouth slightly.
A faint, almost-smile.
Boom!
To Zhao Ze, that expression was like a bomb detonating in his mind!
A provocation!
A blatant provocation!
He knows!
He knows everything!
Zhao Ze’s eyes instantly turned red.