High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Downtown, Martial Arts Association.

Song Chen stood in front of the Martial Arts Association building, looking up at the thirty-story building. This was the most prosperous area of ​​Anning City, surrounded by high-rise buildings and bustling with people on the streets.

At this moment, a long queue had formed at the entrance of the building, filled with martial artists who came to handle various matters.

Song Chen went inside and found the information desk.

Where can I apply for martial arts certification?

The young lady at the information desk glanced at him and handed him a form.

"Fill out the form, pay the fee, and then go to the third floor to queue. The quota is full for today, so come earlier tomorrow."

Song Chen took the form and glanced at it briefly. Name, age, blood and qi value, martial arts level, whether or not he has any special abilities... these are all basic information.

He filled out the form, paid a registration fee of 500 yuan, and then took the elevator to the third floor.

The third floor was a huge hall, crowded with people, including martial artists in combat uniforms, young people like him who came for certification, and some family members who seemed to be there to observe.

In the center of the hall stood several enormous iron cages, each containing various first-tier mutated beasts: mutated wild dogs, mutated wild boars, mutated foxes...

Each one was pacing anxiously in its cage, emitting low growls. Several examiners stood beside the cages, notebooks in their hands, recording something with expressionless faces.

Song Chen walked to the authentication window and handed the form in. Behind the window was a middle-aged woman wearing glasses. She glanced at his form and frowned.

"Health and mana value of 2.2? Supernatural power: lightning?"

She looked up and sized up Song Chen: "How old are you?"

"eighteen."

The woman pushed up her glasses: "Eighteen years old, with a Qi and Blood value of 2.2, and she's even awakened her lightning powers... Which school does she go to?"

"Third Martial Arts High School"

The woman's expression softened somewhat: "Third Middle School? A student from Third Middle School? I've never heard of such a genius."

The woman didn't ask any more questions. She lowered her head, stamped the form, and handed him a number plate.

"Bring this number to the third floor at 8:00 AM tomorrow to participate in the practical assessment. Arrive half an hour early, and an examiner will explain the rules."

Song Chen took the number plate: "Thank you."

He turned to leave, but the woman suddenly called out to him, "Young man."

Song Chen turned around.

The woman looked at him with a complicated expression.

"The practical assessment is no joke. Every year, people die in the cage. You are excellent and should be fine, but I want to remind you that once you're in the cage, unless you're certain to die, the examiners won't save you. Prepare well."

Song Chen nodded: "I know."

He walked out of the martial arts association building, stood at the entrance, and looked at the crowds coming and going on the street. The sun had begun to set, and the light became soft.

Tomorrow he will take the martial artist certification exam. After passing, he will be able to openly go out of the city to hunt exotic beasts and openly accumulate kill points.

Then, he raised his head and looked in a certain direction in the distance, where the city defense army was stationed, and Zhao Wei's grandfather was located there.

Captain of the city defense forces, don't blame me, blame yourself for not teaching your grandson well.

He clenched his fist, then slowly relaxed it. No rush, one step at a time.

He turned and walked towards home.

When he got home and opened the door, the house was still bustling with activity. The same group of middle-aged women were still there, chatting around his mother.

When Li Xiuying saw him return, her eyes lit up.

"Xiao Chen's back! Come and eat!"

Song Zhengye sat on the sofa, slowly sipping a cup of tea. He looked better than in the morning, with a rosy complexion, and even the old scar seemed to have faded a bit. He noticed Song Chen's gaze and nodded slightly.

The father and son didn't say anything, but they understood everything.

After the meal, the relatives finally left. Li Xiuying cleared the dishes, humming a song, in an extremely good mood. Song Zhengye sat on the sofa and turned on the TV to watch the news.

Song Chen walked over and sat down next to him.

"dad."

Song Zhengye glanced at him: "What's up?"

Song Chen paused for a moment: "I'm taking the martial arts certification exam tomorrow."

This was good news, but Song Zhengye sensed a heaviness in Song Chen's tone, so he tentatively asked, "And then what?"

"I will go out of the city to kill alien beasts. My teacher is going to give me special training to prepare for the martial arts college entrance examination. This time it may take a long time, and I may not come back until before the martial arts college entrance examination."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiuying became anxious: "Xiao Chen, why are you going out now? It's dangerous outside the city."

Song Zhengye didn't speak, but stared at him for a long time, then he suddenly smiled: "Good, that's like a man. A man should prioritize his career like this."

He stood up, walked to the cabinet, rummaged through the innermost part and pulled out a worn-out iron box, which he handed to Song Chen.

Song Chen opened it, and inside was a martial arts badge, rusted and with the writing on it blurred.

Song Zhengye explained from the side, "This is my martial arts badge from back then. I've kept it all these years."

He turned the badge over, and on the back were engraved the words: Ninth Detachment of Anning City Defense Army.

He patted Song Chen on the shoulder: "I went through the same thing back then. I was poor, had no connections, no background, and I had to fight my way up from the bottom. You're better off than me, and you have a good teacher. I wasn't as lucky as you back then."

Song Chen gripped the badge tightly, feeling its cool touch: "Dad..."

Song Zhengye waved his hand: "Stop talking. Go take the exam tomorrow. If you pass, go do what you want to do. Don't worry about home, I'll take care of it."

Song Chen looked at his father's face, the once spirited martial artist, the man who silently shouldered the burden of his family after his arm was crippled by a strange beast, now standing in front of him, speaking the most weighty words in the most calm tone.

Song Chen nodded solemnly: "Dad, after this period, leave everything to me."

Song Zhengye looked at him and suddenly smiled. In that smile were relief, pride, and something else that was hard to describe.

"Okay, I'll wait."

……

At 7:30 a.m. the next morning, Song Chen appeared on time at the entrance of the Martial Arts Association building.

The morning sunlight shone on the glass curtain wall, making the whole building look like a giant luminous object. A long queue had already formed at the entrance, all of them young people who came to participate in the martial arts certification. Some were pacing back and forth nervously, some were muttering something to themselves, and some parents were constantly giving them instructions.

Song Chen stood in the middle of the line, his eyes scanning the crowd.

Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure: Lin Qingxue.

She stood not far in front of the group, wearing a white tracksuit and with her long hair tied in a high ponytail, making her stand out in the morning light. Several young people, who appeared to be her classmates, were standing next to her.

Song Chen hesitated for a moment, then walked over and called out, "Lin Qingxue."

He hadn't returned the knife yet, and he never expected to run into her on his way out.

Lin Qingxue turned around, saw it was him, and her eyes lit up immediately: "Song Chen!"

She walked over quickly, a surprised smile on her face: "What brings you here? Are you here for martial arts certification too? Have you surpassed level 1 in Qi and Blood?"

Song Chen nodded: "Yeah, what about you?"

Lin Qingxue smiled and her eyes crinkled: "Hehe, my Qi and Blood value has just broken through to 1.2. My dad said I should be able to pass the practical assessment, so he signed me up."

She looked Song Chen up and down, her eyes filled with concern.

"I heard about your training outside the city. I heard you encountered an emergency and had to end it early. Are you alright? Were you injured?"

Song Chen waved his hand: "It's nothing, just a minor injury, it's already healed."