24: immense pressure

The Martial Examination awards ceremony—this is a global awards ceremony for Huaxia!

The Martial Examination is extremely important to every country on Blue Star; it is the most direct way to showcase a nation's outstanding talent and heritage!

Not long ago, the Beautiful Country's Martial Examination concluded, and they held a grand awards ceremony.

Their top Martial Examination scorer awakened the special class Apocalypse Bringer and broke through to the Qi Refining Stage Seven Stars by the end.

Huaxia has two individuals whose realm surpasses the Beautiful Country's top scorer: Lu Yuan and Chu Wushe, both of whom broke through to the Qi Refining Eighth Star!

Netizens know that this year's awards ceremony is bound to be extremely grand; it is very likely that the Alliance Masters (Hall Masters) of the Seven Alliances and One Hall will all be present to jointly present awards to the top 100 candidates nationwide.

Discussions about which university Lu Yuan will join, as well as the topic of the awards ceremony, are intensifying.

Judging by this momentum, it will continue until the awards ceremony two days later.

Late at night, at Modu University.

A spacious conference room in the teaching building was packed with people, with thick documents placed on everyone's desks.

"He Xingchen, ranked ninety-seventh nationwide, awakened a Thunder Attribute Combat Class with S-Rank Talent, Qi Refining Fourth Star..."

The documents recorded the candidates' information in detail, as well as their performance during the Martial Examination.

Two or more instructors carefully reviewed the recording of He Xingchen's Martial Examination, scoring him on various aspects such as his on-the-spot reactions, personality, and talent.

They ultimately decided to recruit He Xingchen to join Modu University, with a recruitment priority of three stars.

A well-dressed Middle-Aged Man in a suit pushed the door open, and all the instructors looked up at him.

"Vice Principal!"

"Mm, thank you all for your hard work. I'll treat you to a late-night snack; order whatever you like," the Middle-Aged Man signaled to one of the instructors.

"Pull up Lu Yuan's file. No need to pull up the Martial Examination recording; I've already watched it a dozen times."

Zhuo Jingfu said, arms crossed, looking at Lu Yuan's file on the screen.

He is one of the four Vice Principals of Modu University, a Gold Attribute Combat Class, who broke through to the Saint Realm many years ago!

"So this is the true combat style of a Puppet Master?" Zhuo Jingfu tapped his right thigh rhythmically with the document in his hand.

The document contained information on Qiu Xingyao and Shen Jun, who had awakened the special Puppet Master class and passed away many years ago.

Qiu Xingyao had given up on becoming a Practitioner and lived until he was eighty-eight.

Shen Jun, however, had died from an exploding body due to an accident while creating his own Spirit Skill!

"It's somewhat similar to a Dark Attribute Combat Class, but there's a fundamental difference. The monsters Lu Yuan controls are far stronger than Dark Attribute Skeleton Warriors. Furthermore, Lu Yuan himself can also cast Spirit Skills," said another Vice Principal, Zhong Yaohui, as the image of Lu Yuan casting a Spirit Skill to take down a Xuan Gang Realm Moon Polar Bear appeared in his mind.

"Once the combat style of a Puppet Master is figured out, the subsequent cultivation will be much simpler. If Lu Yuan joins Modu University, we can have Old Bi instruct him."

Zhuo Jingfu said. The "Old Bi" he referred to was Bi Panshan, one of the four Vice Principals of Modu University.

And Bi Panshan is a Dark Attribute, Transcendent Realm eight-star powerhouse!

"Will Lu Yuan consider Modu University?" Zhong Yaohui asked.

This is the key!

They have many competitors, the foremost being Imperial Capital University!

"The Principal just gave me—or rather, gave the four of us—a strict order: we must do everything in our power to get Lu Yuan to join Modu University!" Zhuo Jingfu said firmly.

"For these past years, we've been unable to hold our heads up against Imperial Capital University; we desperately need a leading figure. Furthermore, Hall Master Shen of the Hall of Judgment is increasingly dissatisfied with our student training results."

Speaking to this point, Zhuo Jingfu's voice was very soft, soft enough that only he and Zhong Yaohui could hear.

The Five Great Top Academies—each academy is backed by the Seven Alliances and One Hall!

Modu University is backed by the Hall of Judgment, and eighty percent of the outstanding students who graduate from this university join the Hall of Judgment.

The Hall of Judgment does not only recruit Light Attribute Combat Classes; as long as the talent is high enough and the strength is sufficient, it doesn't matter what attribute is awakened.

"The pressure is immense."

Zhong Yaohui realized that getting Lu Yuan to join Modu University was imminent.

"I will personally go to Tianhua City tomorrow to have a good talk with Lu Yuan," Zhuo Jingfu made up his mind.

As a Vice Principal of Modu University, his status is comparable to an Elder of the Seven Alliances and One Hall, and the status of an Elder of the Seven Alliances and One Hall is even higher than that of a Provincial Governor!

There is no need to speak of such sincerity; surely Lu Yuan himself will be able to see it!

...

At Shencheng University, the three Vice Principals were talking over each other.

"How about I personally go to Tianhua City to find Lu Yuan and talk?"

"One isn't enough. If you ask me, the three of us going together would be the ultimate display of respect, letting Lu Yuan feel the sincerity of our Shencheng University!"

"No, three is too many; it would actually be bad. I'll go; I'm a woman."

Vice Principal Sun Yurong said.

"What do you mean? Yurong, you're over forty, and Lu Yuan is still a child!" said the tall, muscular Lu Jingrui.

"Is your brain stuffed with rocks? I mean that I'm a woman; it's easier for Lu Yuan to develop a sense of trust compared to you!"

Sun Yurong said unhappily.

"Besides, so what if I'm over forty? I'm still charming and beautiful, and my skin is more tender than a twenty-year-old girl's!" Sun Yurong said proudly, having already planned how to talk to Lu Yuan tomorrow, aiming to secure Lu Yuan as quickly as possible!

...

Imperial Capital University, Pengcheng University, Linan University.

The Vice Principals engaged in intense discussions, all arranging for one or two Vice Principals to personally visit Tianhua City to persuade Lu Yuan to join their respective universities!

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for them.

Lu Yuan slept soundly, so much so that he didn't wake up slowly until noon the next day.

After washing up, Lu Yuan came to the living room, where Lu Yeli was eating fruit and watching a variety show as usual.

"Make some space," Lu Yuan said.

Lu Yeli pretended not to hear Lu Yuan.

"What are you doing!"

Seeing Lu Yuan sitting on her lap, Lu Yeli rolled her eyes.

"That's for not moving." Lu Yuan crossed his legs, skillfully snatched the fruit platter from Lu Yeli's hand, and started eating on his own.

"Getting bold, aren't you, our family's big star."

Lu Yeli tossed the phone to Lu Yuan.

"The old man said that the Vice Principal of Imperial Capital University, Liu Hongsheng, is waiting for you at the city stadium; he wants to talk to you about university applications. He's already been waiting for over two hours," Lu Yeli said.

Vice Principal of Imperial Capital University?

Lu Yuan perked up, wondering what he had done to deserve someone of such status and rank waiting for over two hours.

"Why didn't Principal Liu come to the house?" Lu Yuan asked.

"Not sure. Anyway, Principal Liu said there's no rush; wait until you wake up and go to the city stadium to find him."

Lu Yeli shrugged.

The city stadium is not far from home, about a kilometer away.

"Got it." Lu Yuan stretched, then walked toward the city stadium.

On the way, he met many residents who recognized Lu Yuan and asked for photos and autographs.

Lu Yuan did not refuse any such requests. Not long after arriving at the city stadium, he saw a Middle-Aged Man with an elegant temperament, wearing a suit and glasses.

The Middle-Aged Man was about forty-five or forty-six. It is worth mentioning that because of his presence, the hot wind blowing in the originally hot weather turned into a cool breeze.

"Hello, Lu Yuan. I am Liu Hongsheng."

Liu Hongsheng smiled and took the initiative to extend his hand.

"Hello, Principal Liu." Lu Yuan automatically omitted the "Vice" from Vice Principal.

"The weather is nice today. Shall we walk around the rubber track and chat?" Liu Hongsheng proposed.

"Sure."

Before the two had walked a few steps, just as Liu Hongsheng was trying to use Lu Yeli as a starting point to find a topic, a Middle-Aged Man with a square face and a slicked-back hairstyle blocked their path.

"Hello there, Lu Yuan. I am Zhuo Jingfu, Vice Principal of Modu University."

Zhuo Jingfu quickly introduced himself.

Seeing Zhuo Jingfu, Liu Hongsheng thought to himself, "Oh no!"

The reason he invited Lu Yuan to the city stadium was to ensure that the recruitment heads of the other four top academies couldn't find Lu Yuan, but it turned out that Zhuo Jingfu of Modu University had actually found him here!

"Hello, Principal Zhuo." Lu Yuan greeted him politely.

"Together?"

Zhuo Jingfu said.

Lu Yuan didn't mind, and seeing this, Liu Hongsheng felt embarrassed to say anything.

Immediately after, the Vice Principals of Pengcheng University and Linan University also arrived at the city stadium!

The Vice Principals of the Five Great Top Academies gathered, surrounding Lu Yuan and staring at each other.

"Lu Yuan, let's talk privately," the five said in unison.

Lu Yuan: "???"

Why does everyone want to talk to me? If worst comes to worst, should these five big shots just have a fight, and I'll go with whoever wins?