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

Song Chen picked up his combat suit, revealing two metal tubes underneath.

Each tube is about the thickness of a thumb and twenty centimeters long. The tube is made of transparent reinforced glass and contains a dark blue liquid.

The liquid was not still, but flowing slowly, as if it were something alive.

There was a ring of glowing psionic patterns around the opening of the tube, emitting a faint blue light against the dark lining of the box.

"This is an S-grade Qi and Blood Essence produced by the Spirit Energy Research Institute, a top scientific research institution in Tianhai City."

"One of these costs 70 million Great Xia coins on the market, and there's no market for them. Here are three."

She reached out and gently lifted a corner of her combat suit.

Beneath the combat suit lies a layer of foam partition; when lifted, a third metal tube lies quietly at the very bottom.

Three of them, exactly the same.

Assistant Fang closed the box and took a step back: "Three S-grade Qi and Blood Essence, worth a total of 210 million, are the reward for the First-Class Combat Hero Medal."

"The principal asked me to tell you that Tianhai City will not mistreat heroes."

Song Chen carefully put away the envelope and box, slung the Thunderclap Blade over his shoulder, and nodded to Assistant Fang: "Thank you."

Assistant Fang bowed slightly and turned to leave.

The sound of high heels gradually faded away in the corridor, finally disappearing around the corner.

Song Chen stood still for two seconds.

Three hundred million in cash, three S-grade Qi and Blood Essence, a set of A-grade combat uniform, plus the First-Class Combat Hero Medal on his chest—Tianhai City is quite wealthy.

This was an unexpected bonus.

He thought for a moment, then took out a vial of S-grade Qi and Blood Essence and examined it closely. He could feel the immense power of Qi and Blood within it.

It's still the same, quite different from what the system produces.

With his current level of understanding, he couldn't see any difference, so he shook his head and stopped thinking about it.

Song Chen turned and walked towards the stadium exit.

As soon as he stepped out of the main building, the sunlight hit him in the face, and he squinted.

Then he stopped.

A large group of people stood in the square outside the gate.

The freshmen huddled together, some holding phones, some holding tablets, and some holding nothing at all, just craning their necks to look towards the gate.

They seemed to be waiting for someone.

The moment Song Chen appeared, the entire crowd seemed to be set ablaze.

"They're out! They're out!"

"Song Chen, it's Song Chen!"

"Oh my god, he's so handsome."

"Is the sword on his back a Grade A combat sword? Why is it cracked...?"

"Nonsense, after killing so many strange beasts, how could the blade not crack?"

The crowd surged forward like a tide, but about two meters away from Song Chen, it seemed to be blocked by something, automatically forming a semi-circular encirclement.

No one dared to get too close. It wasn't intentional; it was the lingering killing intent Song Chen carried from the battlefield that drew an invisible line in the crowd.

A boy wearing glasses was the first to rush up, holding a notebook in his hand, his face flushed: "Song, Song Chen, I'm a freshman at the Martial Arts Academy. Could you please sign my name? Just one."

Song Chen glanced at him, took the notebook and pen, and signed her name on it.

The boy excitedly took the notebook, holding it in both hands as if it were a rare treasure, his eyes reddening: "Thank you, thank you, Song Chen, I... I will keep it safe."

Before he could finish speaking, the people next to him pushed him aside.

A girl with pigtails pushed her way to the front, holding up her phone with a QR code displayed on the screen. Her voice was high-pitched and crisp: "Song Chen, could I please add your contact information?"

Song Chen looked at her, paused for a second, and then added it anyway.

The crowd erupted in cheers.

Dozens of hands simultaneously raised their phones, the QR codes on the screens gleaming in the sunlight.

Song Chen stood still, adding things one by one, his movements mechanical and slow.

Each time someone else joined, that person would cheer as if they had won the lottery, only to be pushed away enviously by those around them.

A girl with short hair squeezed to the front; she had bright features and two dimples when she smiled.

She wasn't as excited as the others, but her eyes were bright as she stared straight at Song Chen.

"Song, are you free tonight? I know a quiet restaurant near the school, and I'd like to treat you to dinner."

Her voice wasn't loud, but everyone around her heard it.

The square fell silent for a moment. Then whispers spread like the wind blowing through a wheat field.

"Oh my god, she actually asked me out?"

"That's way too direct..."

"Being good-looking makes all the difference; look at her confidence."

Song Chen looked at the girl in front of him. She was indeed very beautiful, even more so than Lin Qingxue.

She has big eyes, long eyelashes, and deep dimples when she smiles. She looks like a painting in the sunlight.

Unfortunately, he really didn't have time.

"I'm busy."

The girl's smile froze for a moment, but quickly returned to normal.

She shrugged, her tone relaxed: "Then let's do it another day. We'll be in the same school anyway, there will be plenty of opportunities."

As she turned to walk away, several girls nearby crowded around, whispering amongst themselves with gloating smiles on their faces.

Song Chen continued walking forward, and the crowd followed him like a tide, yet dared not get too close.

It took him fifteen minutes to walk from the main stadium building to the east campus.

In fifteen minutes, he signed up for forty-seven people, added eighty-three friends, and rejected nine invitations to dinner, two invitations to dates, and one public confession of "Can you be my boyfriend?"

Being a celebrity is tough.

As we walked into the East District, the crowd gradually dispersed.

It's not because people don't want to follow anymore, but because there's a turnstile at the entrance to the East District that says, "Teachers and Visiting Scholars Only, Students Please Do Not Enter."

The new students were not authorized to enter this area and could only stand outside the turnstiles, watching Song Chen's figure disappear at the end of the tree-lined path.

"Does he live in the East District?"

"Isn't that where the professor lives?"

"He's a first-class combat hero, so what if he lives in the East District?"

"Too……"

Outside the turnstiles, the crowd was still buzzing with discussion.

A girl leaned against the turnstile, holding her phone. On the screen was a photo she had just secretly taken of Song Chen's profile. Sunlight fell on his angular jawline, and the medal on his chest reflected a golden light.

She looked at the photo for a long time, and then set it as her screensaver.