After a few seconds, Qin Rui’s voice finally came through again, tinged with unconcealable shock. "...You guys have been a team for several months? And you’ve even completed real-world missions?"

"Yes," Xu Wuyi confirmed. "The team also includes Luo Liang, Tana, Li Hao, and an Archer named Ding Haichuan."

"...Tana’s on the team too?"

Qin Rui’s voice rose slightly, this news clearly taking him even more by surprise. Tana was from his West Courtyard, a teammate who had once fought by his side!

And then there was Li Hao. He was sponsored by the Qin Family; with a connection like that, it should have been much easier for Qin Rui to recruit him.

In fact, he had already considered them his default teammates, which was why he had approached Xu Wuyi first. He never expected to receive an answer like this.

"Yes, she is," Xu Wuyi affirmed.

Silence once again fell on the other end of the call.

Qin Rui was truly caught off guard by this news.

He thought he had acted quickly enough, starting to plan his second-year team months in advance to get a head start and build the strongest possible squad.

But he never, ever imagined that Zhao Qingwei had moved even faster!

Not only had she quietly assembled a team, but she had even poached Tana from his own West Courtyard, and Xu Wuyi, the "lone wolf" he had also set his sights on!

’Zhao Qingwei, you, you, you... How could you jump the gun like that? And by so much, too!’

He had originally assumed that he and Zhao Qingwei were on the same starting line, both focused on their training and waiting until their second year to begin this phase of their competition.

But as it turned out, she had silently pulled ahead of him by several lengths!

"...I understand." After a long pause, Qin Rui’s voice came again. His tone was calm, but tinged with wry amusement. "It seems I was behind the times."

Zhao Qingwei’s move had truly taken him by surprise.

It also made him realize that on the path to compete for a mentorship spot with Grandmaster Lin, Zhao Qingwei was far more proactive than he had imagined, and had laid her plans much earlier.

"In that case, I won’t disturb you further." Qin Rui quickly adjusted his mindset. "I wish you the best of luck in the Youth Martial Arts Tournament."

"You too," Xu Wuyi responded.

The call ended.

Xu Wuyi set down his communicator, easily imagining the complex emotions swirling within Qin Rui right now.

This proud and arrogant genius from a top Noble Family had likely just gotten his first taste of what it felt like to fall behind Zhao Qingwei.

For Xu Wuyi, however, this was just a minor interlude.

He pushed the thought aside, his focus returning to himself.

Breaking through to the Martial Master Realm meant a completely new beginning.

Many of the mysteries of the Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace at the Minor Success Realm required the Qi and Blood and Spiritual Power of the Martial Master Level to truly manifest. For example, projecting one’s Qi and Blood outside the body, a more refined "Melting" of external objects, and even preliminary attempts to infuse attacks with the True Intention of Martial Arts.

Combat Skills like the Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear and Instant Shadow Step also needed to be adjusted and refined to suit the unique power of a Martial Master.

"The Youth Martial Arts Tournament..." Xu Wuyi murmured, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.

The tournament was less than half a month away, and the top geniuses from every major university would all be gathered there.

Having just broken through to become a Martial Master, this grand event was the perfect opportunity to test his current strength and see exactly where he stood.

As far as Star Martial University was concerned, he no longer had any rivals.

This wasn’t arrogance; it was simply impossible for anyone else to catch up to him and advance to the Martial Master Realm in a mere half-month.

The threshold to become a Martial Master was much higher than that for a Martial Artist, and the corresponding boost in power was also far greater.

Never mind a top-tier Martial Master like Xu Wuyi, who had achieved his breakthrough through "Thick Accumulation and Thin Emission." Even the weakest of Martial Masters, one who had advanced purely by luck, could easily crush a Level 29.9 genius Martial Artist.

Qin Rui, Zhao Qingwei, Tana... even if all these former rivals attacked him at once, the current Xu Wuyi could take them all down with one hand.

’Of course, such a comparison is meaningless. I’m just one step ahead, that’s all.’

There were other universities at the youth tournament. The top experts from Black Stone and Starry Sky, for example, had always been stronger than those from Star Martial University.

Someone of Qin Rui’s caliber, who entered with a top score from the Central Province’s entrance exam, was already considered a peak student at Star Martial University. But out there were many other major martial arts provinces and cities, like Xingjing, the Northern Lands, Shangjing, and Celestial Province.

Furthermore, the Youth Martial Arts Tournament wasn’t just for first-year students. Xu Wuyi knew he was likely no match for the more experienced, upper-year Martial Masters.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the battle lust surging within him. Instead of rushing to test his newfound power, he sat down cross-legged again.

He had just broken through, and he needed some time to stabilize his new Realm, allowing his body and Spirit to fully adapt to the changes that came with being a Martial Master.

The Cultivation Room fell silent once more.

...

News of Xu Wuyi’s breakthrough to the Martial Master Realm spread quickly within Star Martial. After all, he had already registered his new status, and the university’s AI system verification couldn’t be faked.

The stir it caused was far greater and more shocking than when he had advanced to the Martial Artist rank.

Martial Artist and Martial Master. Though the names differed by only a single word, the gap between them was the first true watershed on the path of Martial Arts.

Countless people with decent talent could reach the peak of the Martial Artist rank through hard work and a mountain of resources, but the threshold to the Martial Master Realm had stymied innumerable heroes.

It no longer required simple accumulation, but a profound understanding and fusion of one’s own Essence, Qi, and Spirit—a leap in one’s very level of existence.

Even at Star Martial University, a significant portion of students failed to take this step by the time they graduated.

"A Martial Master... He’s already a Martial Master?"

Inside Villa #10 of the Hidden Dragon Garden, Shen Wei stared at the confirmation message from Yu Peiling on his communicator. He stood frozen for a long moment before muttering aloud.

He had just been struggling to break through to Level 26, feeling that his progress was astonishingly fast and that he was closing the gap with the top-tier students.

But in the blink of an eye, the person he had set as his goal had stepped into a whole new Domain, leaving him completely in the dust.

The feeling was no longer just the powerlessness of being unable to catch up, but also a dazed bewilderment, like staring up at an impossibly high mountain peak.

Meanwhile, Qin Rui, who had just ended his call with Xu Wuyi and was frowning, wondering who else he could invite to join his future squad, received the explosive news almost immediately.

His fingers clenched around his communicator, his face a mask of utter disbelief.

One moment, he was still feeling stunned and slightly bitter about Zhao Qingwei jumping the gun on team formation; the next, the news of Xu Wuyi’s promotion to Martial Master struck him like a bolt of lightning, shattering all his thoughts.

"A Martial Master... He actually... so fast..." Qin Rui murmured, an indescribable shock appearing for the first time in his perpetually sharp and confident eyes.

If his defeat during the inter-courtyard competition had been within his expectations, and if he had believed the gap between them was small enough for a proper showdown in the future, then now...

’How am I supposed to catch up now?!’