The coming of a new era is always heralded by myriad strange signs.

A new generation of talent bursting forth, a hundred flowers blooming at once, was an essential part of this transformation. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The situation was stable. The entire population was engaged in cultivation, and ancient, forgotten sects were re-emerging.

All of Huaxia was a picture of thriving prosperity.

Under these circumstances, prodigious talents emerged in an endless stream.

One day, a ten-year-old boy would reach the Grandmaster Realm, and upon his success, ten thousand swords would hum in unison. The next, a prodigy would tread upon a Snow Mountain and comprehend the Extreme Cold True Intent, his breath of True Qi freezing the ground for hundreds of meters.

Strange and sensational news stories like these became increasingly common.

While the authenticity of these accounts was unknown, they spread like wildfire in today’s internet age.

The terrifying power, exaggerated martial arts effects, and extreme showmanship of these individuals, seen in videos and shared in stories, electrified the nation’s youth.

What was the point of flaunting money?

Nothing got you followers faster than showing off a martial art.

And it was far more satisfying.

Now *that* was truly badass!

And so, with a push from various bloggers and internet celebrities, the government-led trend of practicing martial arts grew even more intense.

Young people took pride in their martial arts accomplishments, and the concept of a "little Jianghu" began to spread through schools and youth groups.

Online, it even became trendy to create bizarre rankings like the "Top Ten Martial Dao Masters" or the "Peak Experts of the Younger Generation."

Whether these "experts" were the real deal or just influencers chasing clout was anyone’s guess.

Regardless, these people were extremely popular.

A single training video could often attract hundreds of thousands of followers.

Lincheng First High School!

After class, just as Zhao Ke was about to leave, Tian Yaru walked over, rapped her knuckles on his desk, and said, "Wait for me after school!"

Zhao Ke scratched his head sheepishly. "That’s not a good idea. It’s... inconvenient for me."

His words instantly made Tian Yaru furious, and she immediately tried to rap him on the head with her knuckles.

"What’s so inconvenient? Let me fix it for you!"

Zhao Ke dodged instinctively. The speed and precision of his movement were astonishing; he evaded it in a flash.

Tian Yaru’s hand hit empty air. She froze for a second, then her expression turned to one of pleasant surprise. "You... you’ve stepped onto the Martial Dao?"

At her words, the surrounding classmates all turned to look.

"Yeah, not too long ago."

Zhao Ke scratched his head, then his expression turned serious. "I... I really am busy. You go on without me. Please, don’t come looking for me if it’s not important!"

"Fine, Zhao Ke! I guess I was wrong about you. Hmph!"

Puffing her cheeks in a huff, Tian Yaru turned and stormed out of the classroom, leaving a faint, fragrant breeze in her wake.

"Whoa, Zhao Ke! What a man!"

His classmates hooted and broke into applause.

Normally, Zhao Ke was constantly on the receiving end of Tian Yaru’s "bullying," looking for all the world like a henpecked husband.

Who would’ve thought he’d finally stand up for himself today?

"You two having a fight?"

Zhao Ke’s deskmate asked curiously.

"No. Shouldn’t I keep my distance from girls?"

Zhao Ke said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Tch!"

The classmates around him all gave him the middle finger.

Talk about not knowing how good you have it. Tian Yaru was one of the prettiest girls in class. Countless guys dreamed day and night of being that close to her.

Zhao Ke paid them no mind, packed his bag, and walked out of the classroom.

However, he didn’t ride his bike home. Instead, he stopped at an intersection just outside the school.

A few minutes later, a red, "kawaii"-style women’s electric scooter slowly rolled up.

A pretty, petite girl with a smile on her face stopped the scooter.

"Hmph. You didn’t do that on purpose for me to see, did you?"

The girl feigned annoyance, but her smile revealed she was just flirting with him.

"I... I like you. I can’t be too close with other girls."

Zhao Ke said with a sheepish grin, scratching his head.

"Mm-hmm."

The girl suddenly reached out her slender, fair hand and gently took Zhao Ke’s.

As he stared in astonishment, she chuckled. "That’s your reward!"

Zhao Ke’s face flushed red, and he was suddenly at a loss.

"Let’s go!"

After speaking, the girl let go of his hand and rode off into the distance.

Seeing this, Zhao Ke quickly pushed off on his own bike and hurried to catch up.

Just after the two of them left, a pretty girl’s head peeked out from around a corner.

"Damn it! That bastard! He gets a girlfriend and forgets all about his friends. I’m telling your brother!"

This girl was, of course, Tian Yaru, who had stormed off in a huff earlier.

A sharp and mischievous girl like her wasn’t about to let it go that easily.

Pulling out her phone, Tian Yaru called Zhao Rui.

"Hey, Yaru. What made you think to call me? Is something wrong?"

"Your brother’s dating someone, and she’s one of those fake-innocent types."

PFFT!

Far away on the Great Northwest Border, Zhao Rui nearly choked.

"You’re already sure she’s a fake-innocent type?"

"A hundred percent. I’m a woman; my intuition is spot-on. She’s definitely bad news."

"Uh, it’s not really my place to interfere. Why don’t you handle it?"

"He picked a fight with me over some girl! It’s infuriating! Besides, we have the college entrance exams coming up!"

"The college entrance exams?"

Zhao Rui was taken aback. In the blink of an eye, time had flown by so fast. His little brother was already about to take his college entrance exams.

"I get it. I’ll talk to him."

"Okay. When are you coming back? I haven’t seen you in forever. Will you be able to come back when I start college?"

"Not sure. We’ll see how things go."

"Oh."

Tian Yaru sounded pitiful as she chatted with Zhao Rui for a good while longer, venting about all sorts of things before finally hanging up.

Zhao Rui looked at the disconnected call on his phone and couldn’t help but shake his head.

’It seems the college exams are just a few months away.’

’It’s obviously not a wise move for my brother to be dating right now.’

After a moment’s thought, Zhao Rui decided to call his brother anyway.

The phone rang for a long time before someone picked up.

Zhao Rui subtly hinted to his brother that he should be focusing on his studies.

Zhao Ke readily agreed over and over.