Chapter 9: A Warrior's Privileges
"Yan Luo's right," Jiang Nian said, fixing Luo Feng with a serious gaze. "You're progressing at an astonishing rate—probably the fastest in our Yian District Extreme Martial Arts Gym. You joined at 16, and now at 18, you've already met warrior physical standards. If you waste four years in college, you'd be throwing away your prime training years. From 16 to 30, that's when warriors make their biggest leaps. The older you get, the harder it gets."
Luo Feng felt a rush of clarity. Maybe failing the gaokao wasn't a disaster after all.
"Luofeng, once you become a warrior, would you consider joining our gym?" Jiang Nian smiled. "As a member, we'll assign you a private villa in a prime location—you can't sell it, but it's yours to live in. Plus a monthly base salary of 20,000 Chinese yuan."
"A private villa? 20k a month?" Luo Feng gasped. The salary was decent, but the villa was jaw-dropping. In China's six major human bases, land was sky-high priced. Private villas, slapped with massive luxury taxes, cost millions per square meter. Even a small 300-square-meter villa would be worth 200–300 million yuan—more than Zhang Haobai's wealthy father probably owned.
"Our gym's benefits are on par with national special forces," Jiang Nian continued. "Their warriors get similar pay and housing, plus a 'kill license'—they can take out civilians in certain situations, though they still have to report it. But here's the thing: if a civilian messes with you, just report it to us. We'll work with Jiangnan City Security to handle them. Join us, and you'll have wealth, status, and the freedom to pursue martial arts to the limit." He gestured to Yan Luo. "My brother here earned nearly 100 million Earth dollars—over 300 million yuan—hunting a single monster recently. With your talent, you could reach his level someday."
Luo Feng was stunned. What kind of monster pays that much?
"Work hard, Luofeng. Don't waste your talent ." Jiang Nian clapped his shoulder.
"Don't slack off, kid," Yan Luo added with a grin. "You might even become a Commander-level warrior someday. Then the world's your oyster—wealth, power, everything. I'd love to hunt with you then." With that, the two warriors left, their confidence and swagger lingering in the air.
Luo Feng stood alone, thoughts racing. Their casual arrogance was inspiring. Why hold back? he thought. The world's top warrior, Hong, and Thunder God built empires. Why can't I?
At 18, his values were shifting. He smiled and headed for the door. Time to chase greatness.
××××××
On the morning of June 28th, Luo Feng and Wei Wen walked toward Yian District Third High School to collect their diplomas and college applications.
"Are you really sure about this Provisional Warrior test?" Wei Wen asked, still amazed.
"July 1st, I'm heading to Yangzhou City's Extreme Martial Arts Headquarters for the assessment," Luo Feng said confidently.
As they approached the school, Luo Feng noticed a shift in his mindset. They're planning college, careers, families. My path is different.
In the hallway, students greeted him warmly, but whispers trailed him: "He collapsed during the gaokao..." "Such a shame..."
In Class 3(5), classmates waved as Luo Feng entered. But in the corner, whispers hissed: "Top student one day, collapse the next. Karma, maybe?"
"Diplomas and applications, everyone!" Three class officers stepped onto the podium, calling names.
"Luofeng!" The room fell silent as he approached. Everyone knew his score—four points short of undergrad.
"Here." Monitor Qu Lin handed him the diploma and application.
"Wei Wen, let's go," Luo Feng said, crumpling the application into a ball and tossing it into the trash.
The class froze.
"Luofeng, why did you throw that away? Aren't you applying to college?" a freckled girl gasped.
"Probably repeat a grade next year. No way he's going to a junior college," someone muttered.
Wei Wen scowled from the doorway. "Junior college? Repeat? Are you kidding? He's about to take the Provisional Warrior test! Who needs college?"
"Lay off, let's go," Luo Feng said, pulling Wei Wen away.
The classroom erupted. "Warrior test? He can't be serious..." "Wei Wen's just bragging. No way he's ready."
But deep down, some couldn't deny the envy—the once-unreachable genius had stumbled, but maybe he'd risen even higher.