Chapter 51

This winding path was not short. After walking for another 15 minutes, the five people finally approached the foot of Wandao Mountain. In the distance, a long queue came into view, which was where the registration office was located.

On the way, Sun Yan had a general understanding of the situation. Every year, when new students enrolled, the Imperial Wind Academy set up 100 registration offices along the edge of Wandao Mountain. The registration period was only 6 hours, from 8:00 to 14:00. Students who failed to report by the deadline would lose their eligibility to enroll.

Starting at 14:00, students assigned to any mountain path entrance would begin the outdoor race. The first 20 students to reach the exit of Wandao Mountain would receive 10 academic credits as a reward.

Of course, this enrollment method specifically referred to martial arts students. Those with special talents had already been taken away by airships and directly entered the Imperial Wind Academy.

This year, the Imperial Wind Academy admitted about 50,000 martial arts students, with approximately 5,000 students registering at each office. On the planet Dommil, it was impossible to admit so many talented students every year. More than half of these 50,000 new students came from other planets.

As they gradually approached the registration office, looking at the long queue, Sun Yan sighed, "50,000 martial arts students every year, that's quite a lot!" Any one of these 50,000 martial arts students would have been a highly regarded genius in their original intermediate schools, but at the Imperial Wind Academy, they were just ordinary students.

Compared to other high-level academies, the number of students admitted by the Imperial Wind Academy varied each year, sometimes more, sometimes less, all determined by the martial arts test scores, with a strict policy of preferring quality over quantity.

The strict admission criteria were no wonder the Imperial Wind Academy was known for only accepting geniuses. Here, the most abundant resource was geniuses.

The five were about to join the queue when the soldiers standing on both sides walked over, took their luggage, and used instruments to shine light on them, conducting a detailed inspection, indicating that Sun Yan and the others should remove all their items.

One of the soldiers saluted and explained politely, "Sorry, to ensure the fairness of the outdoor race, no items are allowed to be carried into Wandao Mountain. Your luggage will be transported to the academy headquarters by our military department."

Sun Yan and the others had no objections. Without the need to carry luggage, they were quite happy. The five of them, holding only their admission notices, joined the long queue.

The registration process at the front was very fast. After a short while, Sun Yan and the others reached the middle of the queue and saw the staff at the registration office.

The facilities at the registration office were extremely simple, even rudimentary, with just a table and two staff members, one sitting and one standing.

The sitting staff member was a middle-aged man with black hair, a mustache, and a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. He was holding a long instrument, scanning each student's admission notice. At the same time, a metal round plate would automatically pop out, indicating the number of the mountain path entrance for the student.

The standing staff member caught Sun Yan's attention. He was a young man with a buzz cut, his hair standing up straight, wearing black sunglasses, a white tank top, and faded jeans with several holes, and a pair of slippers.

This young man was extremely tall, about 3 meters, with exposed skin of a bronze color, shining in the sunlight as if cast from copper. From a distance, he looked like a bronze statue, exuding explosive strength.

At first glance, Sun Yan felt a sense of familiarity and warmth. He sensed a familiar aura from this young man—thug.

While Sun Yan was looking around, a sudden commotion came from behind. Turning his head, he saw a young man walking straight over without queuing, causing a group of students behind to glare at him angrily.

This student was tall and extremely handsome, with a faint, mischievous smile on his lips, exuding a charming aura. Such a young man had a great appeal to women.

He slowly walked up to Sun Yan, pointed at his nose, and said, "You, go to the back of the queue."

The students in the queue immediately fell silent, looking over. They had seen people cut in line before, but it was rare to see someone so brazenly cut in line at the Imperial Wind Academy registration office.

For a moment, many students showed a keen interest. Anyone who dared to be so arrogant in such a place must have some skills. However, every student admitted to the Imperial Wind Academy was a martial arts genius, proud and competitive, and no one would easily yield to another.

All the students had the same thought: this was a good opportunity to gauge the level of their new classmates.

At the registration office, the young man with the sunglasses slightly turned his head, a barely noticeable smile forming on his lips, "Hmm, cutting in line? Interesting."

At the front of the queue, Chen Wang and Chang Cheng turned around. Seeing the young man, Chen Wang's brows furrowed, muttering, "It's that guy. With his strength, he doesn't have the qualifications to enter the Imperial Wind Academy. Hmph, a waste of a backdoor admission!"

Looking at the finger pointing at his nose, Sun Yan's lips twitched. He had been quite low-key, but trouble still found him.

If it were any other time, with Sun Yan's straightforward personality, he would have smiled and retorted. However, he felt two pairs of beautiful eyes on him, Feng Lingxue and Shui Lianqing were watching.

"Not good, in front of beautiful girls, I need to maintain a gentlemanly demeanor."

Sun Yan thought to himself that his image in the eyes of the two beautiful girls was not as glorious as he wanted. This was a good opportunity to establish a humble and gentlemanly demeanor.

So, Sun Yan smiled and said, "This classmate, if you want to cut in line, at least say 'please.'"

Damn, this guy is a wimp!

The students couldn't help but curse in their hearts. They thought they would see a good show, but instead, they encountered such a coward, which was extremely disappointing.

"Please?" The young man's face changed, looking down at Sun Yan with a condescending gaze, "You, do you deserve to make me say 'please'?"

The young man clenched his hand, and his smooth skin instantly turned gray, like rock.

"This is the 'Great Boulder Technique' of the Qiu family in Lianjing City!"

"The Qiu family, with a 2400-year-old lineage, the 'Great Boulder Technique' is extraordinary, said to be both offensive and defensive."

"The 'Great Boulder Technique,' the Qiu family's exclusive technique, can make the skin as hard as a boulder after practice."

"Right, the skin turning gray like rock is a characteristic of the 'Great Boulder Technique' at the third level."

"This person must be Qiu Shanlin, a member of the fourth generation of the Qiu family, quite capable."

The crowd became restless, discussing the young man, and many looked at him with a hint of fear.

The young man glanced at Sun Yan with disdain, then turned to look at Feng Lingxue and Shui Lianqing, who were in front and behind Sun Yan. His face immediately changed to a warm smile.

"Two beautiful classmates, I am Qiu Shanlin from the Qiu family in Lianjing City. Being sandwiched between such a fly, I'm sure you two are already annoyed. Now, let me get rid of this fly for you. The next four years at the Imperial Wind Academy will be long. If you two beautiful classmates are willing, I, Qiu Shanlin, am willing to accompany you always."

Qiu Shanlin finished speaking, then glanced at Sun Yan, saying slowly, "I'll count to three, and you immediately go to the back of the queue. Otherwise, I'll teach you what politeness means on behalf of your parents."

"Oh, politeness?"

Sun Yan hated it when others insulted his parents. His face turned cold, and he said calmly, "I indeed don't know what politeness is. Qiu Shanlin classmate, why don't you demonstrate it personally? Only through action can one truly understand."

"Hmm!" Qiu Shanlin's eyes widened, his gaze terrifying, and he said darkly, "You refuse the wine and ask for the punishment."

As he spoke, he extended his hand, inner energy flowing through his fingertips, his palm turning gray like rock, exuding a heavy and suffocating pressure, and grabbed Sun Yan's right shoulder.

"Get out of here!"

Sun Yan stood still, his face unchanged, stepping on the "Dragon Stabilizing Pile," his dantian energy immediately flowing, and he raised his right hand to meet the attack. The two palms collided heavily.

Bang!

A dull sound echoed, and Sun Yan remained unmoved, while Qiu Shanlin leaned back, unable to control his momentum, and involuntarily stepped back. Sun Yan took the opportunity to grab his wrist.

With his wrist restrained, Qiu Shanlin's eyes widened, and he said angrily, "You fly, dare to..."

Before he could finish, Sun Yan turned his body, his left hand forming a fist, and swiftly swung it, launching the "Second Segment Crushing Fist."

Qiu Shanlin was both surprised and angry. His eyes flashed with a fierce look. The Qiu family's "Great Boulder Technique" was best suited for close combat, invincible. This fly dared to seek death, truly self-destructive.

Activating the "Great Boulder Technique," Qiu Shanlin's right fist joints crackled, the entire fist covered in a gray rock-like armor, like a stone hammer, smashing toward Sun Yan's fist.

Bang, bang, bang...

In a moment, the two exchanged over ten punches, the air filled with the sound of their fists colliding.

"Ah!"

Qiu Shanlin let out a scream, his right arm hanging limply, his hand trembling uncontrollably, his fingers bent unnaturally, and blood seeping from the joints, indicating that all five fingers were broken.

His left hand was still tightly held by Sun Yan, like a steel band, and no matter how hard Qiu Shanlin tried, he couldn't break free.

The students immediately fell silent, not expecting such a result. The Qiu family's "Great Boulder Technique," when activated, could make the skin as hard as a boulder, and at a high level, could even be impervious to blades and bullets, making it a powerful technique for both offense and defense.

However, Qiu Shanlin, in close combat, exchanged over ten punches with someone and had his finger bones shattered, which was almost unbelievable.

For a moment, the way people looked at Sun Yan changed. This handsome young man, who looked like a harmless, innocent boy, turned out to be so violent in combat, like a monster in human skin.

"Damn, take your dirty hands off me! Do you know who I am? I am from the Qiu family in Lianjing City..."

Sun Yan frowned slightly, raised his left hand, and slapped him.

Slap!

A loud slap echoed, leaving a red handprint on Qiu Shanlin's smooth face. His face quickly swelled, forming a high, bloody lump. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, mixed with small pieces of broken teeth.

Qiu Shanlin's head was knocked to the side, his head buzzing, and his vision filled with stars. After a long moment, he regained his senses and mumbled, "You, you this..."

Slap!

Sun Yan's left hand swung again, slapping him on the right cheek. This slap immediately made Qiu Shanlin's face symmetrical. Both sides were high and swollen, looking like a ripe peach, and he couldn't speak a complete sentence.