Five minutes later, the head referee suddenly announced the end of the match, declaring Yu Fei the winner. Mi Qi was utterly confused, only to see Yu Fei suddenly materialize, his longsword less than ten centimeters from her neck.

The normally cheeky Mi Qi was scared stiff, mainly because she hadn’t detected Yu Fei’s sword at all. Logically, with a sharp blade so close, she should have sensed something. It was just too eerie.

Mi Qi suddenly broke into a grin. "You’re pretty amazing, little bro!"

’This girl’s got some nerve.’

After the result was announced, Yu Fei sheathed his sword, turned, and walked away. Having completed his three matches for the day, he was now exempt from any more challenges.

Zhang Xunyi, who had been pondering deeply, suddenly exclaimed, "That’s a power of Sword Intent!"

He was also a Sword Cultivator, making his perception of Sword Intent sharper than anyone else’s.

Li Jueyin narrowed his eyes, saying doubtfully, "Are you sure? I’ve never seen a Sword Intent with a trait like that!"

Zhang Xunyi shook his head and said with conviction, "I’m absolutely sure. My judgment is never wrong. Just because you’ve never seen it doesn’t mean it can’t exist. I just don’t know how he managed to cultivate it. This is a completely new type of Sword Intent."

Watching Yu Fei’s retreating figure, the competitive spirit of the gathered prodigies flared. None of them would ever admit to being weaker than him.

After recovering his Qi Blood, Yu Fei returned to the Tianxing Dojo to cultivate. Second-realm cultivation progressed from the five viscera to the six bowels; the viscera would absorb the five elemental spirit rings and convert them into essential qi to strengthen the bowels. With every session, Yu Fei could feel himself slowly growing stronger.

After six matches over two days, Yu Fei’s rank had climbed to 25th, with a total of 24,000 points. Among the more than eight hundred prodigies, his ranking was exceptionally high for someone at the second realm.

That afternoon, the Honglian Martial Saint, Zhuo Feiming, made an announcement: after the five-day challenge tournament concluded, any prodigy with at least ten net wins would receive a special gift. This news ignited everyone’s passion. A gift from a Martial Saint was something no one would treat lightly.

At this, everyone began silently calculating. Ten net wins meant one could lose at most twice. Many who had been too eager to climb the ranks had already lost several times, and they couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. The news also spurred some of the more laid-back Martial Artists into action.

Many prodigies with mediocre rankings had previously lacked ambition, but now they too grew restless.

The worst that could happen was just a few losses, but if they chose their opponents carefully, achieving ten victories might not be impossible.

At the same time, Meng Jun announced a new rule: starting on the third day, the S-rank prospects would also begin their own internal challenge matches. This, combined with the new incentive, made the third day of the competition incredibly intense.

Yu Fei did not use his right to challenge. The talent-copying ability of his Fate-Defying Pearl had already been expended. Moreover, after observing the five "silver" prodigies, he wasn’t confident he could secure a victory against them.

These few were simply too strong. There was one in particular, Zhuge Zhigang, whose Iron Body training made him practically invincible. He could withstand attacks from opponents using Inner Qi without taking much damage. Yu Fei estimated that one of his sword strikes would, at best, only lightly injure the guy, after which he himself would be utterly crushed.

Starting on the third day, Yu Fei’s matches grew progressively harder. His abilities were now almost completely exposed, and his challengers were all S-rank prodigies. Every person who challenged him had clearly done their homework, only stepping up when they felt they had a decent chance of winning.

It was only because they all underestimated the stealth granted by his Illusory Sword Intent that Yu Fei was able to eke out one difficult victory after another.

At this stage, everyone’s perception was limited, and their combat experience was still relatively green. They simply had no good way of dealing with an invisible opponent like Yu Fei.

Among his challengers, Zhang Xunyi fought him twice more. He tried every method he could think of, but in the end, he was still defeated by Yu Fei.

It was a classic case of a friendship forged in rivalry. The two of them later exchanged insights on Sword Intent in private, and both learned a great deal from each other.

By the end of the five days, Yu Fei was ranked 12th with a total of 32,000 points, having 14 wins and 1 loss.

How to put it... at the last minute, he couldn’t resist challenging the "silver" talent, Luo Mengfei. He’d heard through the grapevine that this girl, who looked like a Barbie doll, was developing into a support-type Martial Artist. Yu Fei wasn’t clear on the specific traits of support types, but his instincts told him they probably weren’t very strong in a fight.

He never imagined that this girl would actually be able to detect him while he was concealed by his Illusory Sword Intent. He walked right into her ambush.

After the point-based challenge tournament concluded, Base 105 held a grand gala. All the prodigies also received a university declaration form. Each prodigy could only select one of the "Seven Great" universities. Before making their choice, however, they all received informational materials on each of the seven.

Yu Fei read through the materials carefully. To be honest, he had previously only known the names of the Seven Greats and the fact that three of them were military academies.

Yu Fei first looked at the materials for Yuqing University; both Han Qiubai and Tao Lang came from there.

Among the Seven Greats, Yuqing and Tianwen were the more research-oriented universities. Tianwen University focused on weapons and various types of powered equipment for Martial Artists; the Holographic Mirror Helmet was one of their creations.

Yuqing University focused more on the study of Cultivation Techniques and martial philosophies.

Xinghai University was a purely comprehensive institution—a jack of all trades, but master of none.

The description for Tianchen University was somewhat bizarre. The only thing that stood out between the lines was its sheer extravagance; little else could be gleaned.

The remaining three—Shenhan, Wanren Mountain, and Chongming—were all military academies.

Reading the descriptions left Yu Fei a bit puzzled. Though he had already set his sights on Shenhan, it couldn’t hurt to learn more.

After some thought, he contacted his master’s wife, Su Yue, for advice.

"Didn’t you already decide you were applying to Shenhan?"

"That hasn’t changed. I just wanted to understand the differences between the Seven Greats."

"The differences... well... Oh, right! What rank did you end up with?"

Yu Fei replied seriously, "S-rank!"

Su Yue exclaimed, "What? You managed to get S-rank at only the second realm? I figured it would be a stretch for you to even get A-rank! That’s incredible!"

In fact, Su Yue herself had only achieved B-rank back in her day; her strength at that time had not been exceptional.

Su Yue’s voice came through again. "I’m a Chongming graduate. Back in my year, I was at the bottom of the list among the prodigies. The three military academies don’t have any fundamental differences; it’s mainly that they’re responsible for different defense sectors. The training they provide for all students is top-tier. If you absolutely had to point out a distinction, Chongming University has a few more support-type Martial Artists.

"Wanren Mountain is famous for its assault and defense types, while Shenhan is more of a generalist..."

As Su Yue continued to explain, Yu Fei gradually came to understand the differences between the Seven Greats.

The fundamental difference between the universities lay in their respective defense sectors.

This was completely different from Yu Fei’s previous life. In a world possessing the supernatural power of the martial path, universities didn’t just handle education; their military might was also first-class. From another perspective, the Seven Greats were like the seven functional divisions of a single massive sect. The common folk at the bottom were managed by a political department, which handled general affairs.

Cooperation between the Seven Greats was extremely tight. The three military academies were the primary force projectors for external conflicts. Yuqing University acted as a research center for Cultivation Techniques, Tianwen University was akin to a logistics and support division, and Xinghai handled commerce, diplomacy, and domestic stability.

But Tianchen University was the strange one. According to Su Yue, it was more like a finishing school for the children of the elite. It had the best resources, but its students weren’t necessarily the strongest. Its web of connections, however, was woven deeply into the other six universities. For a prodigy from a common background like Yu Fei, it was the worst possible choice.

If he were to actually choose Tianchen, the university would still invest all its resources in training him, but it would be incredibly difficult to make a name for himself there.

’No wonder,’ Yu Fei thought, ’phrases like "exceptional rewards" and "abundant resources" kept appearing in Tianchen University’s brochure.’

’Shenhan University...’

After a moment’s thought, he filled in his choice without any hesitation.

Wu Yi was working overtime to review Yu Fei’s file, but grew frustrated staring at the two words on the screen: "Access Denied."

’How strange,’ he thought. ’I can view parts of Ren Feng’s file. Why can’t I see Yu Fei’s?’

The fact that Ren Feng was the scion of a Martial Saint was an open secret in their circles.

With no other choice, he contacted the university, asking the Dean’s Office, which had higher clearance, to run a search. A short while later, a message came back.

This student’s information has been classified as Top Secret under the authority of the Honglian Martial Saint and the Shenxiao Corps. To view this file, you must submit an application directly to the Honglian Martial Saint!