"A Martial Master?!"

"What? That’s impossible!"

"Zeng Bonan, you’re not joking, are you?"

The rest area instantly erupted into chaos.

Shi Yi’s eyes went wide, and Hu Haobo unconsciously lowered his crossed arms, his face a mask of disbelief.

Liu Jing covered her mouth, and even Zhao Ding and the others from United Middle School nearby were clearly shaken by the news.

A Martial Master... That was a completely different level!

They were still struggling to raise their Life Energy Level by one or two, yet Xu Wuyi had already...

And he was only a first-year university student!

"It hasn’t even been a full year since he enrolled..." Hu Haobo murmured, his tone filled with complex emotions.

There was shock and resignation, but mostly, it was a sense of helplessness from being left so far behind.

He had made great progress at the university, even temporarily surpassing Zeng Bonan. He had been looking forward to seeing how Yu Peiling and Xu Wuyi were doing.

But as it turned out, Yu Peiling was already approaching Level 25, and Xu Wuyi had simply hit Level 30 and become a Martial Master... ’Is he even human?!’

"Yeah, he’s already officially registered it with the university," Zeng Bonan confirmed.

Just as everyone was still reeling from the shocking news, a flicker of light appeared at the entrance to the rest area, and a figure quietly materialized.

The newcomer had a tall, straight posture and wore a simple Star Martial University training uniform. His expression was calm, his eyes deep. It was Xu Wuyi.

His arrival was understated, but he still instantly captured everyone’s attention.

"Xu Wuyi!" Hu Haobo was the first to cry out.

Everyone turned to look, their expressions a complex mix of surprise, curiosity, and disbelief, which finally settled into the involuntary gravity one shows when facing a superior.

Seeing all the familiar faces, Xu Wuyi broke into a smile. "Everyone, long time no see."

They chatted for a few more moments before the conversation quickly turned back to the upcoming Youth Tournament.

"The preliminaries use open matchmaking, so we’ll likely be paired against experts from other provinces, or even other top Martial Arts Universities," Yu Peiling said.

"Everyone should pace themselves. If you run into an opponent you obviously can’t beat, just forfeit directly. Don’t waste your energy."

Prolonged fighting leads to mental fatigue. Even if the Battle Network can restore your body, it can’t recover that kind of drain on your Heart and Spirit.

That’s why some contestants intentionally wait until the afternoon to start matchmaking, just so they have a better chance of facing these "fatigued" opponents.

"Right, just do your best," Zeng Bonan added.

Xu Wuyi listened quietly, his gaze fixed on the giant, blank leaderboard in the center of the plaza.

His first goal was to break into the top 500 and qualify for the finals.

[Youth Tournament Notice: The preliminary matchmaking system has been activated. You have been assigned to ’Asura Field - Youth Tournament Zone’. Teleport to the preparation area now?]

The system’s prompt sounded in everyone’s ears.

"It’s starting!" Hu Haobo said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

After a round of mutual encouragement, everyone chose to teleport.

Xu Wuyi nodded to Zeng Bonan and the others. With a thought, his figure vanished from the rest area.

...

The scene before him shifted. He was no longer in the bustling plaza but in a sealed stone chamber that resembled an Ancient Roman Colosseum’s waiting room. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

This was each contestant’s private preparation room. Directly ahead was a screen of light displaying the matchmaking countdown.

The countdown on the screen hit zero.

Xu Wuyi’s figure was teleported to a standard, square-shaped arena.

Across from him, a burly young man holding a heavy, double-bladed axe had just materialized.

Information about Xu Wuyi’s first opponent quickly appeared:

[Opponent: Li Minghao]

[Affiliation: Panshi Martial Arts Academy]

[Life Energy Level: 25.3]

’Level 25.3. He should be considered pretty good at Panshi Martial Arts Academy,’ Xu Wuyi noted to himself.

Panshi Martial Arts Academy was part of the Seven-Star Alliance. Its contestants weren’t just first and second-year students; many of their upperclassmen had already entered the Martial Master Realm.

The moment Li Minghao appeared, his combat instincts drove him to stimulate his Qi and Blood in preparation for battle.

However, when he sensed the vast, ocean-deep aura emanating from Xu Wuyi, his expression changed instantly.

Then he saw his opponent’s information, and his face paled.

"A Martial Master?!" Li Minghao blurted out, his pupils contracting.

Panshi Martial Arts Academy naturally had students in the Martial Master Realm as well, but they were definitely upperclassmen, and there were very few of them.

Normally, the probability of him being matched with a Martial Master was very low. He never expected to run into a brick wall in his very first match.

’My luck is terrible!’

The fighting spirit on Li Minghao’s face receded like the tide, replaced by bitterness and resignation.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand decisively, and shouted to the empty space above, "I surrender!"

The chasm between a Martial Master and a Martial Artist was not something that could be bridged by courage or Combat Skills; it was a gap in the fundamental understanding of power.

Trying to fight would only be asking for humiliation, and it would needlessly drain his energy.

[Opponent has surrendered. Points +1.]

The system’s cold prompt sounded.

Xu Wuyi wasn’t surprised by this.

He gave Li Minghao a slight nod, a gesture of acknowledgment, and vanished from the arena a moment later.

The next few battles were practically carbon copies of the first.

The opponents Xu Wuyi was matched against generally had Life Energy Levels between 21 and 26. They were all top students from their respective schools.

However, as soon as these people entered the arena and sensed Xu Wuyi’s unconcealed Martial Master aura, their reactions were strikingly similar.

First came shock and bewilderment, followed swiftly by a decisive surrender.

"I surrender!"

"I give up!"

"Can’t fight him. I surrender!"

There was almost no hesitation.

One of them, a peak Level 29.7 Martial Artist from one of the Seven-Star Alliance universities, couldn’t help but stare at Xu Wuyi for a few extra moments before surrendering.

He had been stuck at the peak of the Martial Artist Realm for months and knew just how difficult it was to break through to become a Martial Master. One could only imagine how he felt seeing a Martial Master from Star Martial University.

Since Star Martial University only had first and second-year students competing, he naturally assumed Xu Wuyi was a second-year.

As for being a first-year... that was simply unthinkable.

Xu Wuyi calmly accepted all of this.

He understood their choice. If he were still a Martial Artist facing a Martial Master in peak condition, he would most likely make the same decision.

Saving time and energy to fight in more winnable matches was the smart move.

Besides, there was no real penalty for surrendering in the preliminary matchmaking.

If you lost too many matches, you’d be paired with weaker opponents and could quickly earn back the lost points.

This was consistent with the matchmaking logic of the Battle Network’s Rank Battles, something everyone was already used to.

And so, he effortlessly secured a five-win streak, his points steadily climbing.

The whole process was so easy it was almost boring. It didn’t even count as a warm-up.

The sixth match began.

Lights flickered, and a new opponent appeared across the arena.

It was a young man dressed in the deep blue combat uniform of the Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy. His eyes were sharp, and he stood tall and straight.

He held a bright silver spear, and his entire presence was like that of a drawn sword—sharp and exposed.

[Opponent: Song Xing’an]

[Affiliation: Starry Sky Martial Arts Academy]

[Life Energy Level: 29.1]