Chapter 23: Dust Settles, Heavenly Pride Battalion!

The next day, when sunlight gently brushed the earth.

All of Hengcheng, accompanied by the descending sun, gradually awoke.

Su Yu woke up from a night of cultivation.

"Huh."

Spitting out a breath of foul Qi, Su Yu's eyes grew brighter.

"In a few more days I can take another Refining Marrow Pill, and then break through the Blood Refining Realm!"

Thinking of that, Su Yu couldn't help but get excited.

Half a month ago, I was just a kid who hadn't even entered the Martial Artist Realm.

And in the blink of an eye, I'm about to ascend to the Blood Refining Realm.

You should know that in Hengcheng, the Blood Refining Realm already makes one a top‑tier strong one.

Even a group founder as powerful as Li Tianhe is only at the Blood Refining Realm.

And I, in less than half a month, have reached this height; I must say, the speed is truly astonishing.

Even looking across all of Daxia, Su Yu's cultivation speed would rank in the top ten.

"There are still two or three months before the college entrance exam, and I don't know if I can break into the Organ Tempering Realm; if I can, perhaps I could shake the national rankings!"

Su Yu murmured.

The college entrance exam is a once‑a‑year grand event for all of Daxia; the Heavenly Pride candidates nationwide will take it, have their scores judged, and then enter better martial academies.

Only then can a carp leap over the dragon gate.

Therefore, during the exam, Heavenly Pride candidates appear together; even a strong one at the Organ Tempering Realm showing up is no surprise.

It is said that in one year's exam, a strong one at the Golden Body Realm was even born.

Thus, the exam's gold content is terrifyingly high.

Of course, not every year does the exam produce Golden Body Realm strong ones; any genius who reaches the Golden Body Realm before the exam inevitably becomes a Titled Strong One!

After a brief adjustment, Su Yu stepped out of the room.

Today is the time for him to go with Bai Zhan to the Heavenly Pride Battalion for reporting.

Thinking of the Heavenly Pride Battalion.

Su Yu couldn't help but curve his mouth into a smile.

"Heavenly Pride Battalion, a place where the Heavenly Pride roams, I'm really looking forward to it."

Su Yu murmured, heading toward Liu Kuang's office.

Inside the office, Bai Zhan and others were already waiting.

When Su Yu entered, Bai Zhan smiled and said,

"How did you sleep last night?"

Su Yu gave a wry smile.

"After going through that, how could I sleep? I only did a simple cultivation session all night."

Bai Zhan praised,

"Unflustered in danger, still able to leap stages and slay foes—truly the Golden Heaven's Pride. All right, get ready, let's set off before any mishap occurs!"

Su Yu nodded.

After a moment, under the arrangement of the Hengcheng Martial Artist Association, Su Yu and Bai Zhan boarded a black sedan and slowly drove out of Hengcheng.

In the car, Bai Zhan sat upright, his gaze fixed on Su Yu, his eyes solemn.

"Su Yu, before we go to the Heavenly Pride Battalion, there are some matters I still need to advise you on."

Hearing that, Su Yu became interested.

"You know the Heavenly Pride Battalion is a training ground the Jiangnan Sheng Martial Artists Association set up specifically for the college entrance exam's Heavenly Pride candidates."

"Here, there are not only geniuses from your cohort, but also some repeat candidates! The cohort geniuses have cultivation roughly comparable to yours, but you were born in Hengcheng, with scarce resources and a short time to cross into the Martial Artist Realm."

"Thus, although you have Golden-level potential, your cultivation still lags a bit."

"When you get there, you should adjust your mindset; don't belittle yourself just because you're behind others."

Bai Zhan said seriously.

This, too, is what Bai Zhan worries about most.

Although Su Yu's demonic talent is genuine, in a small place like Hengcheng resources are pitifully scarce; had Su Yu been born in a big city like Jingdu or Modu,

perhaps he would already be a strong one at the Organ Tempering Realm now.

That's the gap resources create.

Su Yu nodded; regarding confidence, he never worries.

"It's just a little behind; I still have the system,"

"When I reach the Heavenly Pride Battalion and obtain resources, I can even double them, so the gap will shrink, right.."

Seeing Su Yu's demeanor, Bai Zhan couldn't help but sigh.

He really is the disciple he favored; with this mindset, if it weren't for Su Yu's age, Bai Zhan would find it hard to grasp—he's only a seventeen‑ or eighteen‑year‑old youth.

Bai Zhan continued.

"Of course, besides the cohort's Heavenly Pride, you must watch out for those repeat candidates."

Repeat candidates!

Su Yu's eyes lit up, though he was also a bit puzzled.

Su Yu asked, "Instructor Bai, why do those repeat candidates choose to repeat? Logically, they must have insufficient talent, which leads them to retake."

"What purpose does such a person have in entering the Heavenly Pride Battalion?"

Su Yu asked the question he most wanted answered.

Bai Zhan seemed to have long known Su Yu would ask this; he merely gave a light smile and said.

"I know you have many doubts, but I want to tell you that those repeaters in the Heavenly Pride Battalion are not useless; on the contrary, they are very talented!"

Su Yu's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Talented? Talented people should have already gone to the martial arts academy, right?"

Bai Zhan laughed and said, "How should I put this? You know what the college entrance exam is for, right? The martial arts academy!"

"But there are differences among martial arts academies; some academies' strongest are at most a Grand Master, while others even have a King-Conferred Strong One holding the fort!"

"So different martial arts academies differ; you must pay attention to this when choosing one in the future."

"A good martial arts academy can bring terrifying improvement, while a poor one merely puts you on the right path, and may not even have enough resources to allocate."

Now Su Yu understood.

So these repeaters are aiming for a better martial arts academy.

At this moment, Bai Zhan continued speaking.

"Of course, this is only one reason; more importantly, this year's college entrance exam is somewhat different!"

"Different?"

Su Yu was stunned; the college entrance exam has been going on for so many years—could there still be some new tricks this year?

Without explanation, Bai Zhan revealed a mysterious smile.

"This, you'll naturally know once you reach the Heavenly Pride Battalion!"

Su Yu felt helpless, suppressing his inner disappointment.

While the two were chatting, the vehicle slowly entered a deep mountain.

And in the deepest part of that deep mountain, a huge building had actually been erected.

The building covers several thousand mu, nearly ten thousand mu in size.

And on the building's gate, three large characters were conspicuously written.

"Heavenly Pride Battalion!"