Chapter 2

At the entrance of Mingzhu Academy, a young man in casual clothes stood, his eyes fixed on the academy’s main gate with anticipation. As the music signaling the end of classes played, the main gate opened, and a group of young men and women rushed out.

The young man watched the group of students rush out, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes. He quickly hid this envy and began searching the crowd.

A moment later, his eyes brightened, and he quickly approached a long-haired girl in a purple floral dress, handing her a bouquet of flowers and saying, "Manman, this is for you."

The girl stopped. Her skin was smooth and white, like it had been bathed in milk. When she looked up at the young man, her beautiful face immediately outshone the surrounding young men and women. It was not fitting to describe her as a crane among chickens, but her presence indeed made the others lose their youthful luster.

Even though her face still had a hint of youth, her perfect figure was already taking shape, and one could imagine how dazzling she would be in a few years. Everyone in the academy knew her; she was the first beauty of Mingzhu City, Zhen Manman.

Zhen Manman looked at the young man who loved her deeply but did not take the flowers from his hand. She remained silent for a full ten seconds before speaking softly, "Di Jiu, I just crossed the Warrior Realm today and will soon leave Ji State. Take care of yourself, and we will meet again if fate allows."

Di Jiu’s hand trembled, and the bouquet of flowers fell from his hand, scattering on the ground.

How could he not understand the meaning behind Zhen Manman’s words? He knew that Zhen Manman’s martial arts talent would eventually lead her to leave Ji State, but he did not expect it to happen so soon. To cultivate martial arts, one must reach the Warrior Realm before the age of twenty to leave Ji State for the Luyuan Empire.

He had just completed his martial arts test at sixteen yesterday and failed again. This news was known not only to Zhen Manman but probably to everyone in Mingzhu City.

"Sorry!" Zhen Manman lowered her head and softly said three words, sighing inwardly as she quickly walked past Di Jiu and moved away.

She had not given Di Jiu no chance; she had waited for him. Unfortunately, Di Jiu failed his third martial root test. In fact, even if Di Jiu’s third test had shown a slightly inferior martial root, she would not have left Ji State so soon.

...

In Ji State and the Aaren Continent where it is located, martial arts are highly esteemed. Despite the advanced technology, only martial arts are considered the ultimate path. All technological talents serve martial arts, and the rulers of any country are inevitably martial arts experts.

To practice martial arts on the Aaren Continent, one must have a martial root. Without a martial root or if it does not appear, no matter how hard you try, you can only strengthen your body but cannot become a true martial arts expert.

The time when a martial root appears varies for each person. There are several age stages for testing the martial root. The first test is before the age of five. If a martial root is detected at this stage, it is generally an excellent martial root.

If no martial root is detected in the first test, it does not mean one cannot practice martial arts. Some people’s martial roots appear at the age of twelve. If no martial root appears by twelve, one must wait until the last test at sixteen.

If no martial root appears by sixteen, it means one cannot practice martial arts. There has never been a case of a martial root appearing after sixteen on the entire Aaren Continent.

Di Jiu was extremely intelligent from a young age and was once hailed as the first prodigy of Ji State. His father, Di Shan, placed all his hopes for the prosperity of the Di family’s martial arts on Di Jiu.

There is a saying that the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. Di Jiu failed his first martial root test, which meant he could not practice martial arts.

Seeing his peers of the same age striving to learn martial arts, and his former companions gradually leaving him behind, Di Jiu could only focus all his energy on his studies. He believed his martial root would eventually appear, just later than others.

The education in Ji State was not just theoretical knowledge but a combination of practical technology and theory. By the age of twelve, Di Jiu had spent eight years learning almost everything that others would take twenty to thirty years to learn. He even designed a new type of aircraft.

However, during his second test at twelve, Di Jiu still had no martial root.

At this point, not only Di Jiu but also his father became anxious. Di Jiu lost all interest in continuing his studies in technology and culture. His previous efforts in learning technology were merely to fill the time he would otherwise spend practicing martial arts. Now, with two consecutive failures in the martial root tests, he had no heart for further studies.

Di Jiu’s father told him not to worry and that there was still a third test at sixteen.

However, Di Jiu was unwilling to continue waiting for luck. He began to study medicine.

In the Aaren Continent, technological talents are of low status and value. However, the status of medical arts is second only to martial arts. Achieving success in medical arts would earn even more respect than a general martial arts expert.

Di Jiu did not study medicine because of its high status but because he was worried that he would still have no martial root at his third test at sixteen.

The great medical master of Ji State, Xue Tuo, once said that the highest-level medical masters could use techniques to allow those without a martial root to practice martial arts. Di Jiu studied medicine to leave himself a backup plan. If he still had no martial root at sixteen, he hoped to use his medical knowledge to open a path in martial arts for himself.

He never told anyone about this, as such words would only invite ridicule.

A medical master who could enable those without a martial root to practice martial arts was more revered than the king of Ji State, and there might not be such a master on the entire Aaren Continent. Xue Tuo’s words were just a legend.

The Di family was extremely wealthy, and Di Shan was the first war god and general of Ji State. As Di Shan’s only son, Di Jiu could obtain any medical books he wanted.

In four years, Di Jiu read through almost all the medical books the Di family could obtain and even apprenticed under great physicians like Xue Tuo, Wanchuan, and Fang Xilin. With his natural intelligence, his medical skills surpassed those of the great physicians after four years of study.

At the age of fifteen, Di Jiu fell in love with a girl, the first beauty of Mingzhu City, Zhen Manman.

The first time he saw Zhen Manman, he fell deeply in love with her. Whether it was due to youthful infatuation or her extraordinary beauty, from the moment he saw her, he could not forget her.

Di Jiu, who had not even told his father about his purpose in studying medicine, confided his love for Zhen Manman to his father, hoping his father would go to the Zhen family to propose on his behalf.

Although Di Shan had six sons, five of them had died in the line of duty, leaving only Di Jiu. Regardless of Di Jiu’s strong and studious nature, if his son had a crush on a girl, Di Shan would personally go to propose.

Di Shan, the first general of Ji State, controlled over seventy percent of the state’s army. He was a figure second only to the king. His personal proposal to the Zhen family was a great honor.

In response to Di Shan’s proposal, the Zhen family neither accepted nor rejected it, only saying that the children should get to know each other first.

Similarly, Zhen Manman neither rejected nor accepted Di Jiu’s pursuit; she only became slightly closer to him.

In the blink of an eye, Di Jiu turned sixteen, and his fears became reality. At sixteen, Di Jiu’s third martial root test still showed nothing.

(Seeking recommendations)

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