Chapter 7

Slightly hesitating for a moment, Tang Tian walked into the gate without any hesitation. He had spent five whole years cultivating basic martial arts to uncover the secret of the bronze plaque. Wasn't it all for this day?

As he stepped into the cross gate, the scene before his eyes changed.

The first thing that caught his eye was the black ground beneath his feet. The ground, made of unknown material, was smooth like a mirror, reflecting Tang Tian's figure. He stepped on it, and it felt as hard as iron. Tang Tian curiously looked around. The ground was about ten feet square, completely empty, surrounded by dense fog. He tried to walk to the edge of the gray fog, but the gray fog seemed to have a strange repelling force. No matter how hard he tried, he could not leave the open ground and enter the gray fog.

Suddenly, a line of red characters appeared on the black, smooth, mirror-like ground.

The black background with red characters was deep and eerie.

"Whether you are strong or weak, you will be your own lifelong enemy. This is a lifelong battle. You have nowhere to run, no way to be lucky. Victory will make you invincible, and failure will make you mediocre."

"Defeat yourself. Rating: Good. Reward cultivation time: ten days."

Defeat himself?

Good?

Reward cultivation time?

Tang Tian curled his lips in disdain: "Rubbish!"

Thinking about how the gray figure used the same moves as him, what nonsense about self, it was just what he knew, and the gray figure knew it all. But wasn't it still defeated by him? Tang Tian felt a bit smug at this thought.

This practical guy immediately focused on his spoils. What could be more exciting than spoils?

Ten days of cultivation time? What is this thing?

Tang Tian scratched his head, fiddled for a while, and finally figured out some things. The bronze plaque seemed to be an object used to aid cultivation, and mastering a million basic martial arts was the condition to activate it.

Tang Tian was a bit confused. When his mother was alive, she never urged him to cultivate. Could it be that she didn't know the use of this thing? Where did the bronze plaque come from?

Could it be...

Tang Tian's face darkened. Could it be that the bronze plaque was given to his mother by that bastard man?

This thought came to him, and the more he thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. Every time his mother replaced the red string for him, she would look at the bronze plaque and seem lost in thought, with a look of reminiscence.

Tang Tian's fists clenched!

Damn!

After being angry for a while, Tang Tian calmed down. He thought it through. If the bronze plaque was really given to his mother by that bastard man, then it would be even better!

He would make good use of the bronze plaque, use it to become stronger, and then defeat that bastard man!

Ha, that bastard man would surely regret giving the bronze plaque to his mother back then!

Yes, that's what he would do!

Thinking about the look of regret on that bastard man's face, ha, that would be incredibly satisfying!

Tang Tian was reinvigorated, feeling that his decision was a genius idea.

The number "0" on the light gate was bright and clear. Reset to zero? Would it still be basic martial arts? Tang Tian shook his head, guessing it would be second-stage martial arts.

He could finally cultivate second-stage martial arts, finally touch the true secret of the bronze plaque, but he still knew very little.

And... there were no traces left by his mother...

Tang Tian looked at the cross light gate, lost in thought. Had his mother ever been here?

The young man's face was filled with longing.

He stood there for a while, then came back to his senses. He clenched his fists and muttered to himself: "Mom, I will definitely uncover the true secret of the bronze plaque! I will definitely find that bastard and drag him to your grave to repent!"

The young man's face was resolute. He didn't hesitate any longer and turned to walk toward the cross gate.

The moment Tang Tian stepped out of the cross gate, it felt like he was passing through countless lights and shadows, but this illusion was very brief. The next moment, the sensation under his feet made Tang Tian immediately realize it was the floor of his own home.

Sure enough, the next moment, Tang Tian appeared in his bedroom.

Everything around him was so familiar, as if what had just happened was just an illusion.

He subconsciously touched the bronze plaque around his neck, but his hand found nothing.

Tang Tian was startled, his face turning pale!

His neck was empty, with only five intertwined red strings left.

The bronze plaque!

Where did the bronze plaque go?

At this moment, his palm suddenly felt warm.

Tang Tian looked down, and a cross identical to the one on the light gate appeared in his palm.

The cross slowly faded and disappeared.

Could it be...

Tang Tian's eyes widened, his face full of surprise. Suddenly, a thought came to him, and the scene before his eyes changed again. He was back in front of the cross light gate.

The bronze plaque had actually merged into his body!

After a moment of shock, the thick-skinned Tang Tian thought this was better.

Finally, he didn't have to worry about losing the bronze plaque.

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After going in and out many times, Tang Tian roughly figured out the function of the light gate.

What surprised and amazed him the most was the reward of cultivation time. When he stepped into the light gate, time outside seemed to stop. He stayed inside for a long time, but time outside didn't move at all.

This made Tang Tian feel incredibly astonished. He stood there for a while, then came back to his senses. A smile spread across his face, turning into a loud laugh.

Time!

In the past five years, he had spent an amount of time on basic martial arts that others couldn't understand. His time was four years less than others! But now, he finally had the chance to catch up!

Finally, he could make up for lost time!

Tang Tian couldn't describe his current mood. Over the past five years, from age twelve to seventeen, he had become the oldest student in the entire Ande Academy.

Although he appeared carefree to others, he always felt immense pressure. What motivated him every day were those cold numbers, the constant jumps, and the deep-seated desire in his heart. Tang Tian longed to find the bastard who abandoned his wife and child, beat him up like a dog, and drag him to his mother's grave to repent. He longed to fulfill his promise to Chiharu, to go to the Perseus constellation to see her, and they had agreed to go to the Heavenly Path together.

So, he gritted his teeth and persisted.

Until today, the seemingly foolish persistence of the past five years finally paid off.

"Ha, I must defeat Little Gray more often! That way, I'll have more time!" Tang Tian was extremely excited, his right hand clenched into a fist, his face glowing. With a swift motion, his left hand rested on his waist, and his right hand pointed at the gray figure on the light gate: "Ah! Little Gray, submit to the man who is like a god! Be defeated by me! Next time I see Chiharu, I'll surprise her! Hahaha!"

"I'm going to the Heavenly Path! I'm going to find Chiharu! Wow!"

"I am indeed a man like a god! Hahaha!"

Cheers echoed from the room.

Suddenly, the cheers stopped, and Tang Tian's smile froze on his face. He suddenly realized a very practical problem. Where would he learn second-stage martial arts?

Second-stage martial arts were different from basic martial arts. They required a Soul General Card. Without a Soul General Card, it was impossible to learn. A Soul General Card was a card made with a martial artist's soul imprint. It had two main functions, one of which was to learn martial arts.

"Soul General Card! Soul General Card! Soul General Card..." Tang Tian's eyes were fixed, and he muttered to himself.

Even a bronze-level second-stage Soul General Card was not cheap. Soul General Cards had to be provided by oneself. However, when entering an academy, the school would distribute a Soul General Card based on the student's strength at the beginning.

Tang Tian's gaze became more and more fixed.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The loud knocking on the door startled Tang Tian. The door trembled violently, almost falling apart.

Tang Tian's fixed gaze suddenly came back to him. He suddenly remembered that if the door broke, he wouldn't have money to fix it! Tang Tian jumped up in a hurry.

Bang!

The wooden door finally couldn't withstand the abuse and shattered into countless pieces.

Tang Tian finally understood what it meant to have one misfortune after another. He stared blankly at the scattered pieces of the wooden door...

"Basic Tang! You've finally been expelled! Ha, that's great! That's really great!" Amoli's ecstatic roar came from outside the wooden frame.

Tang Tian's eyes twitched, and his anger rose.

He had seen people rub salt in wounds before, but never like this!

"Ha ha ha! That's great! That's great!" Amoli's saliva flew everywhere, his massive body rushing in like a whirlwind: "Basic Tang! This is your destiny! You are destined to create a new martial path with me! Come on, come to the Beast Academy! Let's create a new martial path together!"

Tang Tian, who was about to explode, was stunned. The Beast Academy...

"Cough." Tang Tian relaxed his raised fist, pretending to cough lightly, acting like an old hand: "Stupid Ox, do you have any connections at the Beast Academy?"

"Connections? What connections?" Amoli looked bewildered.

Tang Tian immediately gave up. Damn, there are really people dumber than me in this world! Disappointed, Tang Tian waved his hand: "Let's discuss how you will compensate me for the door."

Amoli glanced at the door, then looked away, his face full of enthusiasm: "Basic Tang, come to the Beast Academy..."

Tang Tian looked at Amoli with great frustration, muttering to himself, how can there be such a stupid person in this world...

Wait!

"How did you know I was expelled?" Tang Tian's face darkened.

"Didn't you know? The Zhou family didn't want it to get out, but Young Master Zhou, being stupid, boasted about it. He even said he would be the leader of Ande Academy in the future! Now the whole Starwind City knows, and the Zhou family has lost face!" Amoli said with a grin.

The Zhou family!

Tang Tian suddenly understood. A fierce light flashed in his eyes, and he clenched his fists. This debt will be settled!

"Come to the Beast Academy! Come on, come on!" Amoli looked at Tang Tian with eager eyes.

Tang Tian, seeing this, had to be more straightforward: "I only know basic martial arts, and I was just expelled. How can the Beast Academy accept me?"

"Seems so!" Amoli looked enlightened, nodding repeatedly.

Seeing his expression, Tang Tian lost the urge to scold him.

Amoli frowned, squatted on the ground, and looked deep in thought.

"Hey, quickly compensate me for the door." Tang Tian reminded Amoli: "Don't waste my time, I still need to find a job. Even a man like a god needs to find a job!"

At this moment, Amoli, who was squatting on the ground, suddenly had a bright idea and excitedly slapped the ground: "Ha! I have an idea!"

Bang!

Tang Tian felt the ground shake, almost losing his balance.

Amoli's entire hand was embedded in the floor, with cracks like a spider web around the edges.

Dust fell from the ceiling, and Tang Tian stood there, eyes wide and fixed.

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Tang Tian looked at the old man in front of him, who was even more ragged and dirty than himself, and turned to look at Amoli with suspicion. Could this stupid ox be trying to do a good deed?

Although he looked like a good person, this wasn't the right time!

"Old Wei, I've brought a great genius to your school!" Amoli said boldly, clearly very familiar with the old man.

School?

Tang Tian became even more suspicious upon hearing this.