The morning after the rain.
The road was already dry, leaving no trace of last night's rain.
Only the smell of damp earth in the air confirmed that it had been a rainy night.
Lin Yi sat on the bus, heading toward school.
As he passed the alley where he had fought the Dog Demons the previous night,
he saw several police cars parked outside.
Officers from the Martial Arts Police Station had cordoned off the alley with caution tape.
A crowd of gawkers was being held back behind the tape.
They stood on their tiptoes, craning their necks to see inside.
Inside the alley lay the three corpses of the Dog Demons.
Lin Yi merely glanced at the scene before casually leaning back in his seat and closing his eyes to rest.
Not long after the bus had pulled away,
a beat-up old pickup truck pulled over to the side of the road.
The door opened and Tang Zhan stepped out, a few half-eaten buns in his hand.
He walked into the crime scene alley with a blank expression.
"What's the situation?"
"Captain Tang, a sanitation worker reported finding Dog Demon corpses here this morning!"
"There are three in total, all killed last night!"
A uniformed officer quickly summarized the situation.
Tang Zhan nodded, walked over to the three Dog Demon corpses, and looked them over.
There was not a single ripple in his gaze.
Absolutely no emotional fluctuation.
"They're dead, so they're dead. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Was it a Demon Hunter?" Tang Zhan stuffed another bun into his mouth.
The officer shook his head. "Unclear, but judging by the fatal wounds, it was likely the work of a single person."
"Oh?"
Tang Zhan looked down again with a glimmer of interest.
"Can you determine the realm of these Dog Demons?"
"We just ran a scan, but they've been dead too long for an accurate reading!"
"Two are second-tier, one is fourth-tier..." the officer replied hastily.
Tang Zhan glanced down at the three Dog Demons again.
"Their time of death was outside the optimal detection window, yet they still registered as second and fourth-tier? I'm afraid those two second-tiers were probably around third-tier when they were alive. As for the fourth-tier, it was likely at the One-Star Realm!"
"To be able to kill three Dog Demons at once, with one of them at the One-Star Realm..."
Tang Zhan swallowed the bun in his mouth.
"Who else could it be but a Demon Hunter?"
At his words, the officer nodded. "Captain Tang, what about these three corpses...?"
"Ever eaten dog meat?"
A sharp glint flashed in Tang Zhan's eyes.
The officer froze for a second, then immediately understood what he meant.
A chill of revulsion crept up his spine. He shook his head and said, "N-No, I haven't!"
"You haven't lived... Haul them back to the station's cafeteria. Have the chefs stew these three Dog Demons. We're having an extra dish for lunch!"
After saying his piece, Tang Zhan stuffed the last bun into his mouth.
He walked away without a backward glance.
He left the officer standing there, dumbfounded, unable to process what he'd heard for a long time.
'Serve Dog Demon as an extra dish?'
'Who would dare eat something like that?'
'If they hadn't become demons yet, no one would have minded.'
'But these things have already cultivated themselves into demons.'
'Aside from not having shed their dog fur and their appearance remaining unchanged...'
'They could stand, walk, and even speak human language.'
'Could you really eat a monster like that?'
Just as he watched Tang Zhan get into the old pickup truck,
another officer walked over. "Wang Xiang, what are you thinking about all by yourself over here?"
"Huh?"
Wang Xiang jumped, startled, then turned to see it was a colleague.
He quickly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and asked in a hushed voice, "Can you eat Dog Demons?"
"What? Dog Demons? You aren't thinking of... No, wait, Captain Tang was just here, wasn't he?"
Wang Xiang nodded lightly.
A wry smile crossed his colleague's face. "That's just how Captain Tang is. If he tells you to do something, you do it. Don't worry about it, don't ask questions, just follow his orders!"
"At the station, you can offend anyone but him. Otherwise, you'll regret it!"
After offering a few words of well-intentioned advice, the colleague
headed into the alley.
Wang Xiang recalled Tang Zhan's nonchalant, breezy attitude just now.
'It seems this isn't the first time he's eaten a demon.'
'No wonder everyone at the station says Tang Zhan is an anomaly.'
'If it weren't for his human face, people would believe you if you told them he was a demon beast himself.'
'He dares to eat anything. Isn't he afraid of being poisoned?'
...
The bus stopped outside the school gates.
Lin Yi stepped off the bus, carrying his schoolbag.
The school seemed deserted today.
Usually, the area outside the gates would be swarming with a noisy, bustling crowd of students heading inside.
But today, only a sparse dozen or so people in school uniforms, backpacks on, trickled into the school.
Most of the students who still came to school today were likely those not planning to take the Martial Arts exam.
In reality, many were just like Lin Yi.
They had been deterred by the exorbitant registration fee.
Life in the Old District was already incredibly difficult.
Making money was harder than eating shit.
The money earned after a month of hard work wasn't much.
A family that could save any money at all was already doing quite well.
The thirty-thousand-yuan registration fee was enough to dissuade many.
Besides, even if they registered, if they failed the Martial Arts exam and weren't accepted into a Martial Arts University,
that thirty thousand yuan would be as good as thrown away.
Therefore, students from struggling families, or those who lacked confidence in themselves,
all chose to give up.
They would diligently prepare for the liberal arts college entrance exam and get into an ordinary university.
After graduation, they would find a stable job in the Old District.
They would get married, have children, and live out a mediocre and uneventful life.
Unless their descendants could break through these shackles and change their destiny with the Martial Arts exam,
they would remain in the Old District for the rest of their lives.
A fate passed down from generation to generation...
Naturally, Lin Yi was not like them. He was not content to be an ordinary person.
The Martial Arts exam was his only choice to change his destiny.
Lin Yi walked into the classroom. Only a dozen or so people were sitting at their desks.
They had their heads down, either writing something or reading a book.
No one spoke. The silence was somewhat oppressive.
"Huh? Lin Yi, what are you doing here?"
Just as Lin Yi was walking to his seat with his bag,
a classmate sitting by the window let out a surprised "Huh?"
Lin Yi smiled. "To attend class, of course!"
"No, I mean, are you really not going to take the Martial Arts exam?"
"Yeah, the head teacher and the coach both said you have great Martial Arts talent, that you're one of the best in the entire senior year. If you took the Martial Arts exam, you'd definitely pass..."
"To just give up like this... don't you think it's a shame?"
The other students also turned their attention to Lin Yi.
They all seemed to feel a deep sense of regret over Lin Yi's decision to give up on the exam.
Lin Yi smiled. "Who told you I was giving up on the Martial Arts exam? The exam is important, sure, but you can't neglect your regular studies either. I don't want people laughing at me for being an illiterate Martial Artist in the future!"