"The Modu Star Martial Academy just contacted me and invited me to enroll as well," Jiang Xinyu's message read.

"Also?" Wang Lan quickly sent a question mark.

"Yes, haven't you already agreed to attend the Modu Star Martial Academy with Eld Di? That way we can be together and won't have to separate," she replied.

"Did Mrs. Sun tell you that?" he asked.

"Yeah, wasn't it?" Jiang Xinyu's message came back quickly.

Seeing this, Wang Lan suddenly showed a strange smile. No wonder the Modu Star Martial Academy was the last to arrive; they were playing such a cunning trick, undermining the others.

"Right, yeah! I forgot to tell you earlier," Wang Lan hurriedly replied.

The enrollment conditions offered by the four major Star Martial Academies were roughly the same, and Wang Lan would have been very satisfied with any of them. However, each academy had its own advantages, making the decision quite difficult. But now that Jiang Xinyu had chosen the Modu Star Martial Academy, Wang Lan no longer needed to struggle over which one to choose.

He put away his phone and took a deep breath.

Turning around, he pushed open the door and entered the conference room.

"Have you decided, Wang Lan?" one of the teachers asked as he entered.

Everyone in the conference room stopped their discussions or put down what they were doing and looked up at him.

"Esteemed teachers, I have made my decision. I have decided to enroll in the Modu Star Martial Academy," he declared.

As Wang Lan finished speaking, a mysterious smile appeared on Sun Li's face, while the expressions of the other three representatives didn't change much, showing only a hint of regret.

The four major Star Martial Academies were comparable in strength, and the conditions they offered were also similar. It was only natural for Wang Lan to pick any one of them, and choosing one naturally meant forgoing the other three.

But even though Wang Lan had given his answer, the representatives from the other three academies weren't ready to give up just yet.

Director Zhao leaned back in his chair, arms folded, watching Wang Lan. "Wang Lan, can you tell me why you chose the Modu Star Martial Academy? Or rather, why didn't you choose one of our three institutions?"

Wang Lan shot Sun Li a desperate look, but she merely returned a helpless gesture. His face fell, and a wry smile appeared. "Do I have to answer?"

"You must answer," Director Pang stated firmly, staring at Wang Lan.

"Because... Modu City is closer to home," Wang Lan said, a shy, innocent smile on his face. "I've grown up here and never left Suzhou City. The Imperial Capital and Xiangjiang are so far away... I'm a bit reluctant to be away from family and friends.

"Modu City is so close. If I want to go home, I can return on a Saturday or Sunday. It only takes two hours," he explained.

All three of them were taken aback. No one had expected Wang Lan's reason to be so simple. They had imagined he would offer countless reasons for choosing Modu City, but they had never considered proximity to home!

Director Zhao sighed deeply. "Alright, since you've made your choice, we won't pressure you. Wang Lan, I hear you have a good relationship with Jiang Xinyu. Do you have her phone number?"

"I do," Wang Lan replied, the corners of his mouth twitching slightly as he maintained a serious expression.

"Give her a call and ask her to come over."

"What, Director Zhao, have you taken an interest in Jiang Xinyu? She only ranked ninth," Director Pang asked indifferently.

"But her performance was also very impressive, and she has met the admission standards of the Imperial Capital Star Martial Academy. If I can't recruit Wang Lan, surely you wouldn't want me to have come all this way for nothing?" Director Zhao replied.

"Director Zhao, I'm afraid you really have made this trip for nothing," Sun Li said with a triumphant smile. "Before I came here, Jiang Xinyu had already agreed to attend the Modu Star Martial Academy."

"Hmm? You went to see Jiang Xinyu first?" Major General Yu looked at Sun Li with a puzzled expression, a speculative glint in his eyes as he seemingly hit upon a guess.

"Yes, it was on the way, so recruiting Jiang Xinyu hardly caused any delay," Sun Li replied.

"Sigh! Your Modu City moves fast, snatching away both promising talents from Suzhou No. 1 Middle School. Well, this was a wasted trip," Director Zhao said, standing up and walking out of the conference room.

"Then I, too, will take my leave," Major General Yu declared, standing and departing with a robust and imposing gait.

Soon, only Wang Lan and Sun Li remained in the conference room. Sun Li waved at Wang Lan. "Come here and fill out the application form."

Wang Lan did as instructed, quickly filling out the form with the pen Sun Li handed him, occasionally catching a whiff of a delicate fragrance from her.

"Now that we're alone, Wang Lan, I'd like to hear your real reason for choosing the Modu Star Martial Academy," she said.

"Doesn't Mrs. Sun already know? Why state the obvious?" he replied.

"So my strategy worked? Don't worry, my promises to you will stand, and your little girlfriend will also receive much better treatment than the average student," she assured him.

Once Wang Lan finished filling out the form, a notification suddenly sounded in his mind: "BEEP. Congratulations to the Host for being directly admitted to the Modu Star Martial Academy, completing the task 'Enter one of the Four Great Star Martial Academies.' Reward: 20,000 Experience Points, 1,000 Skill Points."

"Teacher, although these conditions are very favorable to me, I'm puzzled. Won't this special treatment bring disadvantages? Like, people being jealous?"

"There's usually no such issue, because this is standard practice at Star Martial Academies. Their guiding principles have never been fairness, justice, and transparency, nor are they about those slogans on banners you see at elementary school entrances that often display phrases like:

"'Everything for the children, for the sake of all children.'

"Star Martial Academies operate on the principle of survival of the fittest," Sun Li continued, her voice firm. "As long as you perform well enough, you'll stand out and receive special consideration.

"The privileges offered to you aren't unique; you've just been promised them in advance. In fact, the more outstanding students need these less. Even without preferential resource allocation, they'll quickly distinguish themselves after enrollment, and the academy's resources will naturally favor such excellent students.

"The sole purpose of Star Martial Academies is to cultivate outstanding students, and to train even more of them.

"Jealous? What's there to be jealous about? If you're capable, strive to be better than others. Excel, and you'll have everything. If you're mediocre, naturally, you'll end up with nothing."

Hearing Sun Li's explanation, Wang Lan felt reassured. "Is it similar to the survival principles of the Sect Gates in those Star Martial Art novels?"

"Quite similar. You can consider Star Martial Academies worldwide as Sect Gates, with the four major academies being the largest and strongest among them. The only difference is that all these Sect Gates are under state management, and they aren't allowed to fight amongst themselves or plunder resources."

"I heard that after we enroll in a Star Martial Academy, our actual combat training will no longer take place in Trial Fields? We'll enter Pioneer Spaces, or go abroad to offer support?" Wang Lan asked with concern.

"Correct! Star Martial Warriors cannot improve their strength without Soul Beads, and Soul Beads are only found within the Exotic Beasts of Different Dimensional Spaces. Trial Fields are for junior Star Martial Warriors to improve in a relatively safe environment. Anyone admitted to Modu Star Martial Academy is at least at the Star Cloud Stage of cultivation. Why would they still go to such comfortable places as Trial Fields?

"Your actual combat will take place in Pioneer Spaces, or you might receive invitations for international support missions, sending you to volatile regions. Of course, going abroad is much more dangerous than operating in our own Pioneer Spaces. But the rewards are also greater: you don't have to surrender a portion of the Soul Beads to the host country—you can pocket all of them and also receive a hefty mercenary fee.

"From the day you officially enroll in Modu Star Martial Academy, though you are students, you will already be protectors of the nation and the world. At that moment, you become true warriors. And because of your inherent excellence, you will be even more distinguished than Pioneers or members of the Star Martial Army.

"For ordinary people, getting into college means liberation. College life is countless times more relaxed than the preceding twelve years of schooling. For Star Martial Warriors, however, it's the opposite; college marks the true beginning of an arduous journey.

"Wang Lan, you and Jiang Xinyu are both exceptionally talented; few in Suzhou City can compare to you. But you should have also seen how many in Jiang Province are your equals or even superior? Over thirty such individuals participated in the provincial martial arts competition alone, not to mention those who didn't.

"Modu Star Martial Academy recruits nationwide. Here, in Suzhou City, you and Jiang Xinyu might be considered peerless prodigies. But after you enroll, you'll discover just how many geniuses there are. Never think you're *the* genius. Once you enter the academy, you'll find it's full of them."

"Yes!" Wang Lan promptly nodded in understanding.

"Anything else you want to ask?"

"How do we learn Star Martial Skills? I mean, after enrollment, where do we gain access to learning them? Are they taught collectively by teachers?"

"Teachers provide hands-on instruction for subject-specific knowledge, practical combat experience, and during combat internships. For other things, like learning and developing Star Martial Skills, teachers can only offer guidance.

"After all, Star Martial Skills are transmitted directly into the mind through inscriptions. This includes not just the cultivation methods but also the experiential insights of the Star Martial Skill. Since everything is directly infused into your mind, there's naturally no need for others to elaborate further.

"As for the source of Star Martial Skills, the academy has a Star Martial Skills Hall—you can just go and purchase them there."

"That easy?" Wang Lan's eyes instantly lit up. For him, anything that could be bought with money was generally easy to obtain.

"Don't get too excited. The currency for purchasing Star Martial Skills isn't money, but points. These points, also known as Academic Credit, are earned through your performance at the academy. Examples include participating in community service activities, maintaining perfect attendance in classes, passing exams, and assisting with school administration through the student council, among other things. You'll learn the specifics of how to earn Academic Credit after you enroll. In any case, the primary task for freshmen is to study theoretical knowledge and accumulate Academic Credit. You'll have a full year to understand all this. If you have no other questions, I'll be going. Your admission notice will be mailed to you in a few days."

"Safe travels, Teacher. Goodbye, Teacher."

"Oh, by the way," Sun Li suddenly paused as she reached the door and turned back to ask, "although your combat strength is impressive, you're still considered a Medical Attribute Star Martial Warrior, right?"

"Am I... considered one?"

Wang Lan wasn't sure how to answer. He wanted to say that although he could fight well, he was still in the Medical Attribute. But it wasn't up to him; it depended on whether others would agree. People had seen Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors who could take a beating, but never one who could fight like *him*. *Am I considered one? No, you're not worthy!*

"Yes!" Sun Li said, beckoning to Wang Lan with a finger. "I'm a Medical Attribute teacher too, you know. Remember to sign up for my class."

"Oh..."

As Sun Li left, Wang Lan breathed a sigh of relief. But he had completely forgotten her invitation almost as soon as she'd made it.

Medical Attribute? Did he even need to enroll in classes? Even Star Sea Stage Medical Attribute Star Martial Warriors probably didn't have his healing abilities, did they?

After leaving the conference room and returning to his classroom, all eyes were fixed on Wang Lan.

This was the guy who had already been admitted to one of the four major Star Martial Academies. While others were desperately cramming for the college entrance exams less than twenty days away, he could legitimately sleep through classes, attending school merely for show.

It was downright infuriating to watch.

"Ahem—Wang Lan, go back to your seat. Don't disturb the other students' studies," the teacher in charge of the class said softly.

That sounded as if I used to cause trouble in class or something.

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