"The Three Leading Universities—they are the ultimate goal that countless students strive for," Principal Zhao Yao said emotionally. "However, for you, it is easily achievable. No, even more—they will beg you to enroll."
"Beg me to enroll?" Xu Jingming tilted his head, showing confusion.
"With your results, you are already eligible for special recruitment. When the national rankings are announced, all the top 10 universities in the country will offer you various conditions to study at their institution. Isn't that called begging?" Principal Zhao Yao laughed.
Special recruitment was a privilege available only to the top three in the province. And Xu Jingming was clearly among them.
"I advise you to research the three leading universities in detail once you return home. You can't go to a special recruitment event without the slightest idea. Furthermore, don't let yourself be blinded by the conditions these institutions offer. The most important thing is to choose the university that suits you best. Of course, whichever of the three leading universities you choose, your future will be limitless!" Principal Zhao Yao earnestly advised, immediately ruling out the other seven universities from the top 10.
"I understand, thank you, Principal," Xu Jingming nodded, indicating he grasped the advice.
Now that the martial arts exam was over, it was indeed time to seriously consider his university choice.
It took more than an hour to drive from the military district to the city center. By the time Xu Jingming returned home, it was already 11:23 PM.
Exhausted, he didn't even have time to wash up; he simply removed his combat clothes, which were saturated with the thick smell of blood. Collapsing onto the bed, he fell into a deep sleep.
He woke up only the next morning, past nine o'clock.
"Phew, I slept for more than ten hours straight," glancing at the time on his phone, Xu Jingming jumped out of bed and rushed to the bathroom.
Shhh-shhh-shhh...
Warm water poured from the shower, washing over Xu Jingming's naked body.
"That feels good!"
During the twelve hours of combat, Xu Jingming had sweated profusely; his entire body was sticky. Now, as the warm water washed over him, he felt refreshed and immediately opened his system panel.
[Name]: Xu Jingming
[Level]: Awakened
[Ability]: Divine Thunder of the Purple Sky (S)
[Physical Strength]: 183 vitality points (+)
[Spiritual Strength]: 185 spiritual points (+)
[Skills]: Spear Mastery (High+), Lightning Breakthrough (High+)
[Ability Points]: 2534
Apart from the evaluation score, the main achievement from the martial arts exam was the Ability Points!
"2534 Ability Points. When I enroll in a Superpower University, this should last me for a while," Xu Jingming mentally noted.
The importance of Ability Points was undeniable. In a normal wilderness area, it would be impossible to obtain so many points in such a short time. This time, he was lucky because of the martial arts exam.
"I wonder if Superpower Universities will have similar ferocious beast-killing competitions? If they do, I'll definitely be the first to sign up," Xu Jingming was in high spirits.
Humming a tune, he finished washing, returned to the bedroom, turned on his computer, and began searching for information about the Three Leading Universities.
All three leading universities had a history of over a hundred years and had nurtured many strong individuals for Great Xia. Therefore, in the process of studying the information, Xu Jingming constantly let out exclamations of surprise.
"It turns out that the current Ninth-Rank State Guardian is a graduate of Qingjing Superpower University!"
"Is it true that most of the best Superpower training methods are only available at the leading universities?!"
"..."
The more he learned, the more astonished he became. It turned out that approximately half of the well-known high-level Superpower Users in the country were graduates of the Three Leading Universities!
Half!
This was truly a terrifying proportion. After all, there were thousands of Superpower Universities in the country. Moreover, many studied at foreign Superpower Universities and returned to the country after graduation.
And all those domestic and foreign institutions combined only nurtured as many powerful individuals as the Three Leading Universities. This clearly demonstrated the deep roots of the three leading universities!
Furthermore, the most crucial point was the superpower training methods. As the foundation for the development of Superpower Users, the quality of the training methods varied, and the speed of development was simply incomparable!
For instance, using the lowest-quality basic superpower training method, most Awakened needed three to four years to advance to the level of a Superpower User. However, if the best superpower training methods were used, this would require less than half a year!
And according to the information Xu Jingming found, most of the best superpower training methods in Great Xia were stored in the libraries of the Three Leading Universities!
"No wonder there are rumors online that the Three Leading Universities are a tyrannical academic clique that doesn't want to publicize their secret techniques..." Xu Jingming suddenly understood but didn't pay much attention to it.
How valuable are the best superpower training methods? Trying to use public opinion to force the universities to share the best techniques seemed unlikely, no matter how one looked at it.
Ding-dong...
Just as he was about to continue studying the information, the doorbell rang.
"Who's here so early, is it Aunt?" With confusion, Xu Jingming got up and left his bedroom to open the door.
Standing at the door were two beauties—one adult, one young.
The adult was in her thirties, dressed in luxurious clothing, with exquisite features. The young one was about the same age as Xu Jingming, tall and slender, with a face seven or eight parts similar to the older beauty, but colder.
These two indeed turned out to be his Aunt Xu Qingwan and his cousin Tang Qi.
"Aunt, Sister," Xu Jingming greeted them with a smile, inviting them into the living room.
However, the awkward part was that due to the superpower evolution the night before last, the entire living room looked as if it had been engulfed by a fierce fire. Not only were the floor and walls charred black, but all the furniture in the living room—the sofas, coffee tables—had been reduced to ashes.
In the enormous living room, there was nowhere even to sit down.
"Xiaoming, did you have a fire?" Aunt Xu Qingwan immediately grew anxious and hurriedly pulled Xu Jingming, inspecting him carefully: "When did this happen? Are you hurt?"
"A minor incident, nothing serious," looking at his aunt's worried face, Xu Jingming smiled gently. After his parents' death, only his aunt could give him warmth similar to family.
"It's good that you're okay, good," Aunt Xu Qingwan sighed in relief, and then said: "I mainly came to ask about your results from yesterday's martial arts exam."
"Didn't Sister Qi tell you?" Xu Jingming was surprised.
"I thought it would be better if you told Mom yourself, so I didn't say anything," Cousin Tang Qi smiled slyly.
"I see," Xu Jingming nodded. "Then let's go downstairs and find a place to sit and talk."
Xu Jingming led them downstairs to a coffee shop called 'Morning Light' located next to the residential complex, a place he frequently visited.
It was around ten in the morning, and the coffee shop was not too crowded. Xu Jingming chose a table by the window and ordered three cups of hot coffee.
'Morning Light' did not serve any special hand-brewed coffee. So, after just a few minutes, the waiter brought three steaming cups to the table.
"Enjoy," the waiter left a warm smile and departed.
"Can you finally reveal the secret?" Aunt Xu Qingwan took the coffee cup with a smile. "Your sister created such an air of mystery, is she perhaps afraid that I'll spank you like when you were a child? Don't worry, think about it, since you went to high school, when have I hit you? Even when you wanted to participate in the martial arts exam, I agreed, didn't I? This time, even if your results are very poor, I won't hit you."
Listening to Aunt Xu Qingwan's speech, Xu Jingming rubbed his nose awkwardly. His aunt was a typical Jiangnan woman, with a soft and gentle nature, but that was limited only to periods outside of final exams. Should his grades drop even once during final exams, a painful spanking with a bamboo switch awaited him.
And he couldn't resist. After all, when his parents died, he was only 11 years old, and his aunt was appointed his official guardian...
"Mom, don't worry, Cousin won't disappoint you this time," seeing that her mother had misunderstood her intentions, Tang Qi hurried to explain.
"Oh? Really? So, Xiaoming, did you do well this time? How many points? Did you get a hundred?" Aunt Xu Qingwan's eyes lit up, and she eagerly asked.
A hundred points was the generally accepted minimum passing score across the country. Scoring over a hundred points meant one could hope to get into a Superpower University.
"Yes, I got a hundred points," Xu Jingming nodded with a smile. "And much more than a hundred points—ten thousand points."
"Te... Ten thousand points?!"
This result was so staggering that Aunt Xu Qingwan wide-opened her beautiful eyes and froze in place, unable to comprehend what she had just heard.