The flame burned silently, steadily eating away at the opponent’s Protective Gang Qi. Though not fast, its advance was relentless, showing no sign of weakening.

In the end, the Martial Artist could only watch helplessly as his Protective Gang Qi was burned through, forcing him to concede.

Similar scenes began to play out again and again.

Xu Wuyi’s win rate began to climb steadily.

Though he was still a long way from dominating the Sixth Rank Cross, he was at least no longer the fledgling Martial Artist anyone could easily defeat.

He also gave this unique flame a more fitting name:

The Undying Flame.

It alluded to the flame’s defining characteristic: it would not be extinguished until it had burned its target to ash.

One day, Xu Wuyi had just finished a grueling virtual battle.

His opponent was a veteran Martial Artist with a Life Energy Level of 31. His B-Level Palm Technique had reached the stage of Great Success, and with his abundant Qi and Blood, his Palm Force was staggering.

Relying on his formidable physique and his growing mastery of the Unburnable Fire, Xu Wuyi exchanged nearly a hundred blows with his opponent.

In the end, he took a direct palm strike from his opponent for the chance to slap a ball of Unburnable Fire onto the man’s shoulder.

Although the blow sent his own Qi and Blood into turmoil and dealt considerable damage to his virtual body, his opponent was the one to break first. Tormented by the inextinguishable flame, the man couldn’t hold on and chose to surrender.

Stepping out of the Virtual Pod, Xu Wuyi exhaled a long, turbid breath tinged with scorching heat.

He was exhausted, but his eyes were bright.

He could feel himself rapidly adapting to combat at the Martial Artist level, and his mastery of the Blood Burning Seal grew more profound each day.

More importantly, thanks to this period of high-intensity practice and real combat, his recently attained Martial Master Realm was now completely stable, even showing slight signs of advancement.

Life Energy Level: 30.2

Spiritual Strength: 29.7

’The Youth Martial Arts Tournament...’ Xu Wuyi clenched his fists, feeling the power surging through his body. His anticipation grew even keener.

...

The news of Xu Wuyi’s promotion to Martial Artist sent ripples far beyond the confines of Star Martial University, rapidly spreading to the Federation’s other top martial arts institutions.

「Xingjing City. Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy.」

As one of the Federation’s Three Great martial arts universities, on par with Star Martial University and Black Stone Academy, the Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy was situated in the heart of Xingjing. Its buildings were magnificent, a testament to its profound heritage.

Every student who trained here was an elite genius hailing from the Federation’s major provinces and powerful Noble Families.

In a private training area reserved for top students, two young men had just finished sparring. They bore a strong resemblance to each other, though their demeanors were slightly different. Now, they sat in the rest area, wiping away sweat and replenishing their energy.

These two were the renowned Song Brothers from Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy’s first-year class: Song Xingxian and Song Xing’an.

They hailed from the Song Family, one of Xingjing’s most prominent Noble Families. Last year, they had placed first and second, respectively, on Xingjing’s college entrance exam, earning them admission into the academy. With top-tier talent, resources, and backing, they were the most dazzling geniuses of their class.

"Brother, what are your thoughts on the Youth Tournament next month?" the younger brother, Song Xing’an, asked casually, taking a sip of a specially formulated Nutrient Liquid.

His features were sharper, and his personality was more volatile. He had every reason to be brimming with youthful confidence; just under a year ago, he had been the top scorer on the Xingjing City college entrance exam.

His older brother, Song Xingxian, was comparatively more composed. He slowly steadied his breathing and said, "The main competition will be from our academy and Black Stone. Zhai Zidu from Black Stone, who comes from the Northern Lands, has a Life Energy Level approaching 29. He can’t be taken lightly."

Song Xing’an nodded and added, "Right. And there’s Zhu Ming from Celestial Province. He’s another freak of nature, with a Level also nearing 29. As for everyone else... they’re just not up to par yet." 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

There was no overt arrogance in his tone; it was merely a casual assessment, yet it carried an inherent sense of superiority.

In their eyes, nearly all the noteworthy opponents of their generation were concentrated in two places: Starry Sky and Black Stone.

"What about Star Martial?" Song Xing’an added, as if suddenly recalling something. "Qin Rui from Central Province and Zhao Qingwei both ended up there."

"I’ve sparred with Qin Rui before. He’s still lacking. As for Zhao Qingwei... if the two of them can obtain Grandmaster Lin’s inheritance, then they might pose a threat."

Zhao Qingwei was also from Xingjing, so the brothers had sparred with her many times back in high school and were familiar with her skill level.

Song Xingxian gave a slight nod of agreement. "Star Martial enrolls too many commoners and forbids its instructors from taking personal disciples. Historically, they’ve always been a step below us and Black Stone."

Star Martial University has a huge student body, but the average quality of its students during their school years tends to be lower.

After all, they don’t have more resources than the other two, yet they have to spread them across a larger population. Add to that their weaker pool of incoming students, and it’s only natural they can’t keep pace.

"Geniuses can be found among commoners, of course..." Song Xing’an remarked. "But it would take them years to catch up to us."

This was a well-known pattern. A significant number of Star Martial graduates would only begin their rapid rise after leaving the university. In fact, the proportion of them who eventually reached the Grandmaster realm was no lower than that of the other two academies.

"Mm." Song Xingxian nodded slightly as well.

As far as the brothers were concerned, this year’s freshmen at Star Martial University were not yet qualified to challenge their status.

"Black Stone also has Su Yueling, Grandmaster Ren’s disciple," Song Xing’an said after a moment’s thought. "Heart Image Martial Arts are no joke. Their reputation is well-earned."

Song Xingxian frowned slightly. "Shadow Sword Technique, you mean? Her Life Energy Level is on the low side. She hasn’t even hit Level 25, has she? She won’t be much of a threat this year, but she could be a formidable opponent next year."

"Yeah..." Song Xing’an seemed to recall something. "Speaking of which, she’s from Dongjiang Province, same as Chu Shanhe. His Martial Arts were incredible; it’s a shame he insisted on taking that path."

Song Xingxian fell silent.

Chu Shanhe had been something of a legend at their academy, Starry Sky.

He hadn’t stood out much when he first enrolled, but upon his promotion to Martial Artist, he’d suddenly mastered four different B-level Martial Arts. It was almost superhuman.

While Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy didn’t have interdepartmental competitions, it did hold its own internal tournament around January. Chu Shanhe’s performance had been so impressive that the brothers once considered him a serious contender.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before news spread that Chu Shanhe had become obsessed with researching a Miraculous Technique called the Blood Nerve, hoping to become one of the "Eight Extremes" of the modern age.

If he actually succeeded, he would have instantly leaped into the highest tier of geniuses. But the Blood Nerve was hailed as the Federation’s foremost Miraculous Technique; it wasn’t something that could be mastered so easily.

Just as Song Xing’an curled his lip, ready to pass judgment on a few other "geniuses," the personal communicators they had placed to the side chimed in unison with an urgent alert.

That specific frequency signified an important update from a high-level intelligence channel, either from their family or the academy.

The brothers exchanged a look, each seeing a flicker of confusion in the other’s eyes. ’What could be so important right now?’

They each picked up their communicators, unlocked them with a fingerprint, and glanced at the screens.

The next moment, the casual, relaxed expressions on both their faces froze solid.