Qin Rui, the star of his generation in the Yuntai Qin Family and the top scholar from Central Province, was proud and arrogant, convinced he was second to none.

Even after Xu Wuyi had cleared the freshman challenge and performed brilliantly in the inter-courtyard competition, Qin Rui remained convinced he could catch up—and even surpass him.

As for the hurdle that was the Martial Master Realm, he estimated he could reach Level 29.9 within two to three months, polish his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, and begin his attempts to break through.

But even Qin Rui didn’t think he could break through on his first attempt.

He had faced a considerable bottleneck when advancing to the Martial Artist Realm. He was confident that even without relying on resources, he could have broken through in half a month at most.

But that was on the eve of the inter-courtyard competition. Qin Rui didn’t want to waste time, so he’d simply used resources to force the breakthrough.

As a member of the Qin Family’s direct lineage, the pros and cons of such an action had long been assessed, and the conclusion was that it wouldn’t impact his future potential.

This was the advantage of having a powerful family. Commoner geniuses like Li Hao and Ding Haichuan might receive resource funding, but they lacked the same kind of support systems.

Qin Rui believed he had always been on the right path.

However, even his family’s assessment didn’t believe Qin Rui could easily ascend to the Martial Master Realm after reaching the peak of a Martial Artist.

Breaking through within three months would have been considered a rather optimistic estimate.

This meant breaking through by the end of this year or the beginning of next, around the halfway point of his sophomore year, which was on par with the achievements of top students in the past.

But what about Xu Wuyi?

It had been less than a year since he enrolled, and only a few months since he’d become a Martial Artist. Had he just... crossed the threshold so quietly, so effortlessly?

This was the Martial Master Realm!

’Don’t you have bottlenecks?!’

Only at this moment did Qin Rui truly realize that the gap between him and Xu Wuyi wasn’t just about power, but something far more fundamental.

The frustration he’d felt over his setbacks in forming a team was now replaced by a much stronger emotion.

A blazing fighting spirit, thoroughly ignited and mixed with indignation and shock, burned even hotter.

"No, I have to get faster!" Qin Rui shot to his feet and headed for the training room.

’Forming teams, making plans... it was all meaningless in the face of absolute power.’

’Even with a perfect team, could I beat Xu Wuyi as he is now?!’

’The only thing I need to do now is get stronger, and fast!’

...

Zhao Qingwei was taking a break from her training when she received a flurry of frantic messages from Tana.

As she stared at the large, bold words on her screen—"XU WUYI IS A MARTIAL MASTER!!!"—a look of utter astonishment crossed her face.

She thought back to the mining cave mission. Xu Wuyi’s impenetrable defense and immense Qi and Blood had indeed been far beyond that of an ordinary Martial Artist.

But she had assumed he was just at Level 29, his performance a result of mastering his B-Level Body Refining Technique to a profound degree.

She hadn’t expected this. How much time had even passed?

"Monster..." she whispered the assessment again, but this time, her tone held less banter and more gravity... and a sense of helplessness.

Zhao Qingwei had never felt that even the top prodigies back in Xingjing were beyond her reach.

Her family couldn’t provide much help with the Flowing Shadow Sword technique she practiced. If she’d had Grandmaster Lin’s guidance from a young age, who knew who would have been the top scholar of Xingjing.

That was why Xu Wuyi was the first peer to ever make her, Zhao Qingwei, feel as if she’d been completely left in the dust.

...

「In the administrative sector of Star Martial University, inside the East Courtyard Dean’s office.」

He Yifeng was in high spirits, sipping tea while dealing with routine matters.

He kept an eye on Xu Wuyi, of course, but he didn’t devote all his attention to the young man.

After all, he was a Grandmaster. Although his advancing age had forced him to return to the Federation and take up a teaching post, he still had plenty of matters to attend to.

Besides, managing the university was no easy task; there were three other years of students to worry about besides the freshmen.

Suddenly, the light screen on his desk lit up, and Anna’s emotionless electronic voice sounded.

"Dean He Yifeng. It has been detected that first-year student Xu Wuyi, of your courtyard, has broken through to Life Energy Level 30.1. His registration for the Martial Master Realm has been filed and completed."

"PFFT—COUGH, COUGH, COUGH!"

He Yifeng nearly sprayed a mouthful of tea all over the screen and broke into a fit of coughing.

He slammed his teacup down, leaned forward, and stared intently at the screen, at the brief message that carried the weight of a mountain.

"’Level 30.1... Martial Master... filed...’" he read out, word by word. His expression shifted from disbelief to one of overwhelming joy.

"HA! HAHAHA! Excellent! What a kid!" He Yifeng slammed his hand on the desk and shot up from his chair. He began pacing back and forth in his office, an irrepressible grin spreading across his face.

"I knew it! I knew that kid was destined for greatness! How long has it been? His freshman year isn’t even over! A Martial Master! Hahaha!"

He rubbed his hands together excitedly. This surprise was ten times better than when Xu Wuyi had cleared the freshman challenge!

Clearing the challenge was a sign of potential. But ascending to the Martial Master Realm meant that potential was being converted into actual, tangible power at an astonishing rate!

This was real, visible growth!

’And a genius like that came from my East Courtyard!’

He Yifeng felt a swell of pride, wanting to announce the good news to the whole world... No, he wanted to go and "share" his joy with those three old geezers immediately!

Without hesitation, he once again used his internal clearance to send an urgent communication request to Ling Jue, Chen Shouzhuo, and the newly returned Dean of the South Courtyard, Duan Zhiyun.

This time, however, all he received was Anna’s uniform, cold electronic voice:

"Apologies, Dean He Yifeng. Dean Ling Jue has replied: ’Currently guiding a student through a critical training session. Cannot be interrupted.’"

"Dean Chen Shouzhuo has replied: ’New breakthrough in the lab. Currently in a critical data-gathering phase. Inconvenient to leave.’"

"Dean Duan Zhiyun of the South Courtyard is currently in a restricted star region. Signal is shielded. Unable to connect."

The smile on He Yifeng’s face froze.

He wasn’t stupid. Those three old ghosts had clearly received the news of Xu Wuyi’s promotion, guessed he was about to gloat, and were now deliberately avoiding him!

"Unbelievable! The three of you are cowards! Don’t you even have the courage to face reality?!" He Yifeng fumed, glaring and sputtering at the empty air.

This feeling of having a great victory with no one to brag to was suffocating.

Having no one to show off to felt like punching a fistful of cotton—all force, no impact.

He paced a few circles in his office, and suddenly his eyes lit up.

"Hmph! If you won’t see me, I’ll just go to the Chancellor! He needs to hear this wonderful news!" He Yifeng straightened his robes and strode out, his spirits soaring.

"Our East Courtyard has produced a True Dragon this year!"

...

「In the central district of Star Martial University, inside a simple, ancient-looking but heavily guarded building.」

This was the office and private retreat of Chancellor Lu Lingyun.