Chapter 015: Who Is the Top Freshman?

What… what’s going on?
How could it be Xiao Yang?
Xu Ruqing stared in disbelief.
And it wasn’t just her—Xu Chao, You Wenhao, and all the other students who had come up from Yuezhou First Martial Arts School and knew Xiao Yang wore similar expressions, as if they’d seen a ghost.
A student who had failed the entrance exams was now a specially recruited student?
What kind of joke was this!
Weren’t special recruits supposed to be those with extraordinary talent in martial cultivation? Could someone who failed the exams qualify?
For a moment, all the students from Yuezhou felt a tumult of emotions, their hearts in chaos.
Xu Ruqing was both shocked and delighted, happy for Xiao Yang but also a little annoyed—during their conversation last night, he hadn’t hinted at this at all. How excessive of him.
With over twenty thousand new students, the field was packed with more than two hundred hundred-person formations. Naturally, Xiao Yang didn’t seek out Xu Ruqing; he stood calmly by Lin Shaofeng’s side.
Lin Shaofeng patted Xiao Yang’s arm, indicating he should stay there, then headed for the podium.
“Old Lin, the quota for special recruits is extremely precious. What’s so outstanding about this young man that you brought him in personally?”
On the podium, a director spoke up. He had watched the earlier performance by Ling Dufei with a pleased expression—this was Director Lu Zhenyu of the Hero Martial Hall, one of the six heads of the school.
Lin Shaofeng smiled broadly, clearly in a good mood. “Xiao Yang is only eighteen but has already awakened his internal energy and become a First-Grade Martial Artist. Isn’t that more than enough for special recruitment?”
A First-Grade Martial Artist at eighteen?
Every school leader on the podium was visibly moved.
To reach the rank of martial artist at eighteen, before even entering the Martial University, was extremely rare. Ling Dufei was such a genius.
Lu Zhenyu’s face showed brief surprise, but he quickly regained his composure. “Where did you dig up such a prodigy? Ling Dufei became a martial artist at eighteen because he consumed a mutated heavenly fruit. What was Xiao Yang’s encounter?”
This year, among the students sent to Jiangnan Martial University by the three great halls, Ling Dufei from the Hero Martial Hall was the most gifted. Director Lu was in high spirits, having outshone Lin Shaofeng of Tiance Martial Hall and Ren Tianxing of Longteng Martial Hall.
But now, Tiance Martial Hall had sent in an eighteen-year-old martial artist as well. Lu Zhenyu was naturally displeased and tried to find out more about Xiao Yang, hoping to use Ling Dufei’s reputation to overshadow him.
Lin Shaofeng saw through Lu Zhenyu’s intentions, but still smiled. “Xiao Yang also became a martial artist by consuming a mutated heavenly fruit—he’s no less than Ling Dufei.”
This obviously made Lu Zhenyu unhappy. “Old Lin, Ling Dufei was already incredibly gifted, and he took the mutated Golden Pomegranate two months before school started to become a martial artist. As for Xiao Yang… if he’d become a martial artist earlier, how could he have failed the entrance exams? If I’m not mistaken, he probably failed the martial exam and then got lucky afterward with the heavenly fruit. How can he compare to Ling Dufei?”
Lin Shaofeng replied, “They both became martial artists through heavenly fruits. Ling Dufei was only two months earlier. Why can’t they be compared?”
Lu Zhenyu countered, “If you don’t believe me, let them compete. Let’s see who’s superior and whether they’re comparable.”
Lin Shaofeng raised an eyebrow. Ling Dufei had been a martial artist for over two months—he might have already started martial techniques. Xiao Yang had just become a martial artist; he would be at a disadvantage in a duel.
So Lin Shaofeng said, “They’ve both just become martial artists and haven’t even begun learning the martial arts inheritance. What’s the point of a duel? It’s better to see who learns the inheritance first and leaves the freshman department to begin formal cultivation.”
“That’s a good contest,” Principal Zheng Jianting declared. “Martial cultivation isn’t about a brief moment—it’s about future potential. Whoever masters the martial inheritance first will be the top new student this year.”
With the principal’s decision, Lu Zhenyu could hardly object. “Fine. Ling Dufei’s talent is unmatched—he will surely be the top freshman!”
Lin Shaofeng was not to be outdone. “We shall see.”
The contest between the two directors came to a temporary pause as Director Liao Zhengchu, speaking on stage, introduced Xiao Yang to all the new students.
He had been a student at Yuezhou First Martial Arts School, failed the martial exams, but a few days ago, after consuming a mutated Firecloud Fruit, awakened his internal energy and became a martial artist, already certified at Tiance Martial Hall as First Grade.
Yuezhou First Martial School had eight classes in its senior year. Xiao Yang was from Class One; not all students from other classes knew him.
Now, after the introduction, everyone realized that Xiao Yang was a student from Yuezhou First Martial School—a failed candidate who, thanks to a heavenly fruit, became a martial artist and was specially admitted to Jiangnan Martial University.
The students from Yuezhou marveled and envied him. After being transformed by a heavenly fruit, Xiao Yang was destined for an extraordinary future.
Students from other cities also looked upon him with envy, especially those from first- and second-tier cities, who felt even more uncomfortable.
To them, a third-tier city was just a small place. With the rural concept gone, third-tier cities were considered the countryside by first- and second-tier students.
For a country boy to have such heaven-defying luck and opportunity, their feelings were more than envy—those with narrower hearts even felt jealousy.
Regardless of their thoughts, every student remembered the sight of Xiao Yang arriving by Lin Shaofeng’s fighter, remembered the name Xiao Yang.
Before this, only one new student had ever been so memorable—Ling Dufei. Now there were two.
Only by mastering the martial inheritance could one officially enter one of the seven main institutes of Jiangnan Martial University.
Until then, whether a martial artist or not, everyone belonged to the freshman department.
Xiao Yang was assigned to Class 288, the last class of the freshman department, with fewer than a hundred members. This meant that, in total, there were over 28,700 new students.
As the school leaders left the podium, the freshman welcome ceremony ended.
“The principal said, whoever masters the martial inheritance first—Ling Dufei or you—will be the top freshman. You’d better work hard,” Lin Shaofeng instructed Xiao Yang before leaving.
With so many students and limited housing, four shared a dorm.
But because of his special status, Xiao Yang, like Ling Dufei, had a single room, larger and better furnished than the others, in the same courtyard.
The head of Class 288, Lu Fang, showed Xiao Yang to his room and left.
After settling in, Xiao Yang went to find Xu Ruqing. He hadn’t told her anything last night, and now, appearing before her as a special recruit, she would be both thrilled and a little annoyed. He should seek her out to apologize, not wait for her to come to him.
As Xiao Yang left his room, a tall, handsome young man was watching him in the courtyard.
The young man approached and extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Ling Dufei.”
Xiao Yang shook his hand. “Hello, I’m Xiao Yang.”
Both were already well aware of each other’s name—how could they not be, with such fame and brilliance? Among all the freshmen, they shone like stars in the night.
Ling Dufei was one meter eighty-eight, taller than Xiao Yang’s one eighty-two. He looked down slightly, carefully observing Xiao Yang.
“Is there something you need?” Xiao Yang asked.
Ling Dufei shook his head. “Nothing.”
Xiao Yang smiled calmly. “I have something to do, so I’ll be going.”
As Xiao Yang was about to leave, Ling Dufei watched his back and said, “From now on, we’re rivals.”
Xiao Yang waved behind him without replying.
Truthfully, Xiao Yang didn’t see Ling Dufei as a rival at all.
With the Transdimensional Book in hand, Xiao Yang had only spent four days in it before becoming a true martial artist—a fortune unimaginable for others.
And this fortune… he could revisit every month. No matter how gifted others were, they couldn’t match such heaven-defying luck.
So when Ling Dufei saw him as a rival, Xiao Yang regarded Ling Dufei as merely a passerby—a brief one at that.
In the freshman department, dorm area of Class 128.
Xiao Yang found Xu Ruqing.
They sat beneath a large tree. Xu Ruqing glared at Xiao Yang, cheeks puffed in mock anger.
Xiao Yang looked at her with a bright smile. “Surprised? Didn’t expect it, did you?”
Xu Ruqing kicked him. “Why didn’t you tell me last night?”
Xiao Yang gave an innocent smile. “Would you have believed me if you hadn’t seen it with your own eyes? You’d probably think I was teasing you.”
Xu Ruqing considered this and realized he had a point. Without seeing it herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.
She rolled her eyes at him. “Still, you’re so heartless. How do you know I wouldn’t believe you? No matter how shocked, I’d still believe you.”
Xiao Yang took her hand. “Alright, alright. I wanted to surprise you. Before, I was just an ordinary guy in Yuezhou while you were becoming a martial artist in Jiangnan. I really had no confidence in our future. But now, we’re both martial artists. We can adventure together, train together, go anywhere together.”
As he spoke, Xu Ruqing’s face lit up with a longing, enchanted smile. Both now martial artists, soaring together—it was indeed the best outcome.
…
Though it had only been a few days, and they’d kept in touch every night, seeing each other again felt like an eternity. They talked for a long time under the tree.
Xiao Yang had only just entered Jiangnan Martial University, yet his fame in the freshman department was already resounding—everyone knew his name.
Xu Ruqing was a campus beauty, and many saw her and Xiao Yang holding hands and talking under the tree. Word spread through the freshman cohort like wildfire.
The next day.
Ling Dufei made a high-profile declaration of love to Xu Ruqing, announcing he would pursue her as his girlfriend.