As Qin Chen's words fell, the entire study instantly plunged into an awkward silence.
Su Boyue stared with wide eyes, suddenly at a loss for words.
...
"You can really go to university?"
Su Boyue scratched his messy hair and asked with a hint of uncertainty. In his memory, Qin Chen had only awakened an ordinary Mage class, and his innate potential wasn't particularly high.
Since the entrance examination standards for universities were extremely rigorous, Qin Chen might not even pass. To secure a future for him, Su Boyue had pulled every string he could, swallowing his pride to beg his former comrades-in-arms until they finally agreed to arrange an idle desk job in the Logistics Department of the Town-Demon Army.
"I should think so."
Meeting Uncle Su's inquiring gaze, Qin Chen suddenly answered with a trace of hesitation. Having awakened the trait-upgrade system that granted Golden Traits upon leveling up, his abilities would only grow stronger as his level rose and his Golden Traits accumulated. Logically speaking, getting into university shouldn't be much of a problem.
"That's a relief!"
Su Boyue let out a long breath. He had spent the past few days agonizing over Qin Chen's future, racking his brains and losing sleep over it. Now that he heard Qin Chen could go to university, the heavy burden finally lifted, and he instantly felt refreshed.
"You brat, why didn't you say so earlier?"
Su Boyue slumped back into his chair in a relaxed, carefree posture, a look of complaint written all over his face. He had worn himself out running around these past few days.
"Uh, Uncle Su didn't ask before!" Qin Chen rubbed the back of his head with an embarrassed smile.
"Never mind, whatever you say. Just keep this letter of introduction anyway. If you bomb the college entrance exams a month from now, going to work in the Logistics Department of the Town-Demon Army is still a solid backup plan. It never hurts to have an extra option."
"Alright, thanks a lot, Uncle Su!" Qin Chen nodded.
"Oh right! I almost forgot to tell you—Su Li has already been specially recruited by Longyuan Martial Arts University. I didn't dare tell you earlier for fear of crushing your confidence."
"Longyuan Martial Arts University?"
A flicker of surprise crossed Qin Chen's mind. Longyuan Martial Arts University was one of the premier top-tier universities in the entire country. Those who managed to enter were undoubtedly the absolute elite in talent and strength. Countless powerhouses graduated from its halls every year, contributing immensely to the defense of Huaxia and the fight against Fierce Beasts.
Decades ago, the Fierce Beast crisis erupted, overturning the established order of the world. Human cities were assaulted by mysteriously appearing Fierce Beasts, resulting in countless casualties. Humanity rose up to resist, yet found themselves powerless to turn the tide. Fierce Beasts poured endlessly through portals from another realm, impossible to exterminate entirely; humanity suffered devastating losses and retreated step by step.
At that critical juncture, humanity underwent a digital mutation. Survivors discovered that everyone possessed a data interface displaying detailed personal stats, and they began awakening various classes with diverse abilities. Furthermore, the corpses left behind when Fierce Beasts died had a chance to generate items and props possessing all sorts of miraculous functions.
When used by humans, these items induced various transformations—granting superhuman strength, hardened flesh, or extended lifespan, along with all kinds of bizarre abilities and attributes. Led by human champions, humanity finally managed to repel the Fierce Beast invasion and rebuild their own safe-zone cities.
Ordinary people now lived beneath the protection of these powerhouses, and a new world order was established. The role of modern universities was to supply a steady stream of fresh blood for humanity's ongoing struggle against the Fierce Beasts.
"Alright, hurry up and try to build up your strength before the college entrance exams. If you fail to get into a university, you'll just have to come back and honestly take that post in the Logistics Department of the Town-Demon Army." Su Boyue waved his hand impatiently.
"I know!" Qin Chen nodded firmly.
Although he was confident he could get into a good university, Uncle Su's actions still warmed his heart. Only true family worried this much over a child's future.
Qin Chen stepped out of the study, only to find Su Li lingering sneakily by the doorway, looking as though she had no idea what she was doing. Startled the moment she saw him emerge, she looked like a little mouse caught stealing butter.
"What are you doing at the door?" Qin Chen asked, puzzled.
A flush of red flashed across Su Li's delicate face before she demanded, "What did my dad want with you? Why did he close the door so tight?"
Looking at Su Li's exquisite little face, a strange, mischievous impulse welled up in Qin Chen. He smiled and said, "Your dad was just discussing when the two of us should get married!"
Hearing Qin Chen's deliberate teasing, Su Li let out an indignant huff, snapped her head away, and refused to look at him.
Qin Chen felt a spark of amusement; occasionally teasing this little girl was quite entertaining. Let's just treat it as a bit of spice for daily life, he thought.
Just then, Su Li whipped her head back around and asked with cautious hesitation, "Were you and my dad really talking about getting married?"
"Nope, totally fake!" Qin Chen replied without missing a beat.
"Hmph!"
Realizing she had been played, Su Li stomped off toward her bedroom without a backward glance, boiling with anger.
Watching her retreating figure, Qin Chen felt a twinge of awkwardness.
Crap! It looked like he had really pissed her off this time. Oh well, he'd wait for her anger to blow over and coax her later when he had time.
Qin Chen sighed, glanced up at the wall clock, and saw it was still early afternoon. He had plenty of time, which meant he could head over to the school's instance dungeon to grind some monsters, level up, and boost his strength before the college entrance exams. If by some bad luck he really failed to get into a university, he would simply have to go waste away in a sinecure at the Logistics Department of the Town-Demon Army.
Leaving the house, Qin Chen headed toward the school.
The streets were bustling with crowds. The city he lived in was Town Demon City, a frontier city of Huaxia and the frontline against the Fierce Beasts. Because of this, martial arts culture was exceptionally robust, with duel arenas scattered everywhere along the streets.
Just as Qin Chen rounded a corner, he spotted a duel arena surrounded by a dense, lively crowd, punctuated by cheers erupting from time to time. He stopped and drifted closer to watch.
"Ha!"
On the stage, a robust Martial Artist with bulging muscles and a ripped physique threw a massive, wind-breaking punch straight at a delicate-looking girl standing before him.
To everyone's surprise, the girl didn't even blink, simply watching that sandbag-sized fist hurtle toward her.
With a sharp cry, she suddenly shifted her body, using a deflection technique to grab the muscular man's arm with both hands and twist violently in the opposite direction.
The Martial Artist lost his balance instantly, his body flying out of the arena. The surrounding spectators cried out in alarm and scrambled to clear a path.
"A Judoka!"
A strange glint flashed in Qin Chen's eyes as he recognized the girl's awakened class. It was a relatively rare class centered around martial techniques combined with traditional fighting styles, possessing immense combat prowess capable of overpowering opponents stronger than oneself.
Seeing the Martial Artist sent flying off the stage, Xu Rou flashed a proud expression, put her hands on her hips, and tilted her chin up at the crowd below.
"Anyone else want to come up and try?"
"Win against me, and you get a hundred thousand in prize money."
The onlookers fell silent, none daring to answer. There was no helping it; this little girl was too fierce, having already defeated multiple opponents in a row. Nobody wanted to court disaster by going up there just to get beaten up for nothing—not to mention how humiliating it would be to lose to a young girl.
Xu Rou scanned the crowd on the stage and, seeing that no one dared to respond, felt a surge of pride. Just as she was about to call an end to the matches, her gaze caught an unusual look in the crowd.
While everyone else avoided her eyes, this particular person seemed to be examining her with curiosity.
Instantly piqued, Xu Rou looked closer and noticed the person was wearing a school uniform, apparently a student from the neighboring Jidi Academy. He wasn't bad-looking either—in fact, rather handsome.
Xu Rou felt a sudden urge to compete. The students of Zhenbei Academy had always been at odds with those from Jidi Academy, constantly looking for ways to outshine them. Without hesitation, Xu Rou pointed straight at the uniformed boy.
"You! Get up here and fight me!"
Qin Chen, who had originally planned to take a quick look and leave, was stunned when the girl on stage pointed directly at him.
"Me? You want me to go up?"