Before today, he would never have dared to imagine receiving a scholarship.

Now, thanks to his stunning performance in the Martial Dao skills assessment—where he’d fought his way into the top thirty—he had not only proven himself but also secured this life-saving sum of money.

A second-class scholarship! Ten thousand Huaxia Coins!

"Teacher Wang! Thank you so much!" Li Wen gave Wang Hu a deep Martial Artist’s bow. "I’m truly grateful to you and Principal Huang!"

"I don’t deserve such thanks." Wang Hu smiled, helping him up. He waved his hand and said earnestly,

"You earned this with your own blood, sweat, and strength! Principal Huang made a special exception because he values talent. In fact, he wanted to apply for a first-class scholarship for you,"

Wang Hu explained, "but there just wasn’t enough time. A first-class scholarship has to be submitted to the Education Bureau, and the review process is complicated. Since today is the last day of the semester, we couldn’t make it. Otherwise, you would have deserved more." 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"This is more than enough, Teacher Wang! A second-class scholarship is already wonderful!" Li Wen said hurriedly, his voice filled with gratitude and contentment.

He truly believed he wouldn’t be short on money in the future. Between the hefty subsidies from the Flying Star Class and the various resources he could acquire on the path of a powerhouse, hundreds of thousands, or even millions, might one day be commonplace.

But that was all in the future, not the present.

Right now, he was just a young man being crushed by reality, struggling to even breathe.

The ten-thousand-coin scholarship from Wang Hu was a true godsend, a timely blessing. It would drastically alleviate his urgent predicament.

With this money, his plan to purchase Qi and Blood Potions to raise his physical body level could be moved up significantly. His confidence in breaking the 7.0 physical body level threshold for the Flying Star Class soared, and some of the pressure on his father would be relieved as well.

"Come on, let’s get the paperwork done." Wang Hu led Li Wen away from the still-bustling plaza and toward the administration building.

At the finance office window next to the principal’s office, a reasonably pleasant staff member handed Li Wen a "Bluestone Third Middle School Scholarship Application Form."

Under Teacher Wang’s guidance, Li Wen neatly filled out the form with his name, class, student ID, and other information. In the section for the scholarship tier, he carefully wrote "Second-Class."

He also added a note: "Special approval based on rank in the final Martial Dao skills assessment (awaiting final publication)." Afterward, Teacher Wang had him knock on the door of the principal’s office next door.

"Principal, Li Wen is here to get his form signed." Principal Huang Yuanting, the elder who had been at the helm of the Third Middle School for over a decade, looked up from behind his wide desk at the entering Li Wen.

A rare, appreciative smile broke through his typically serious expression as he nodded at Li Wen.

"The young are truly formidable. I saw your performance in the assessment just now. To be able to hold your own for so long against a simulated Minor Achievement realm opponent while still at the peak of the entry level is truly commendable! That tenacity and combat awareness of yours—excellent!"

The principal’s words of encouragement and validation were deeply heartening to Li Wen. "Thank you for the praise, Principal Huang!"

Huang Yuanting picked up the application form Li Wen had just filled out, his eyes scanning it to confirm everything was in order. Then, he picked up the exquisite principal’s seal from his desk.

He pressed it onto an ink pad and, with a solid THUMP, stamped the approval section of the form. A clear, red seal appeared, bearing the words "Disbursement Approved" and "Seal of Huang Yuanting." To Li Wen, the sound of the stamp landing was music to his ears.

"Take this form and wait for the school’s finance department to notify you of the exact disbursement date." Huang Yuanting handed the stamped application back to Li Wen, adding in a serious tone,

"Li Wen, on the path of the Martial Dao, advancing your realm is fundamental. You’ve already shown outstanding performance in technique, which is excellent! But don’t forget that the physical body is the foundation for everything. Make good use of this scholarship and raise your physical body level as quickly as you can. Strive to..."

He paused. "Bring your technique realm up to speed as well. Reaching the Unity Realm is when you’ve truly stepped through the door."

"Thank you for your guidance, Principal Huang! I’ll remember it!" Li Wen accepted the application form with both hands. The single sheet of paper felt as heavy as a cornerstone that could change his destiny.

He solemnly gave Principal Huang Yuanting a standard Martial Artist’s fist-and-palm salute. "I will continue to work hard!"

When he walked out of the administration building and returned to the plaza, the virtual assessment for the third group of students was in full swing, with combat footage constantly refreshing on the large screen.

The assessment was still underway, and students continued to gasp or sigh at the various performances.

But Li Wen’s mind was already elsewhere.

He clutched the application form, stamped with the principal’s bright red seal, his eyes no longer holding any curiosity or concern for the assessment.

’When will the scholarship be disbursed? "Three to five days"? "By the year-end financial settlement at the latest"?’

He turned the key information he’d gotten at the finance office window over and over in his mind, his thoughts racing as he planned what to do with the money.

’Qi and Blood Potions... Should I buy at least two bottles? Or three? I have to be careful with the spending...’

’Training time... Winter break. This is a crucial period for improvement.’

’Level 7.0! The Flying Star Class! That’s the key, the ticket to changing everything.’

The clamor of the plaza seemed distant. Classmates kept approaching him, trying to strike up a conversation about the scholarship or the details of his earlier fight, but Li Wen merely offered polite, brief replies.

After sitting for a little while, he decided the noisy environment was a waste of his time.

He turned to the class monitor. "Hey, I’m heading to the restroom."

With that, he stood up and left the celebratory post-assessment gathering without a second thought.

’Rather than waste precious time soaking up useless praise, I should be grinding for experience points.’

The determined young man ran back to the quiet classroom of Senior Class 3-21, his steps light and firm.

The classroom was empty, with only the warm sunlight spilling through the windows onto the desks.

Li Wen sat down at his desk without a moment’s hesitation. He pulled a math book and a notebook from his bag and quickly immersed himself in studying and reviewing.

Time slipped by as he focused on reading, organizing his notes, and solving problems. Finally, the system’s pleasant notification tone sounded deep within his mind:

[Ding! You have studied diligently for one hour. Scholar experience +6]

[Class: Scholar Lv. 3 (256/400 -> 262/400)]

Li Wen set down his pen and let out a long sigh.

He had been busy with his final exams for the past two days, and at night he’d been pushing himself to the limit practicing the Splitting Blade Golden Killing Skill. He really couldn’t squeeze out much time to calmly accumulate Scholar experience.

Over the past two days, his experience bar had only increased by a little over twenty points, still a long way from his goal of 400.

He wasn’t too worried, though.

’It’ll be soon,’ he thought. ’Once the final exam results from the last couple of days are posted—especially for the subjects I completed in my [Absolute Focus] state—I’m bound to get a huge windfall of experience points.’

Now, all he had to do was wait patiently—wait for the scholarship money and wait for his grades.

Everything was heading in the right direction.

He packed up his books and left the classroom, his heart filled with anticipation.

The future, forged through this steadfast effort, was now within his grasp.

...

(PS: Thanks to all you big shots for the monthly tickets and for keeping up with the story!)