High School Student with Immortal Race System

At the entrance of the abandoned factory, Yang Shen and Long Jiu parted ways. He gave her instructions to return to "Cangwu Garden."

The renovations there were nearly complete, and it already belonged to the Yang Family in all but name. When not on a mission, Long Jiu stayed there, fulfilling her duties as a "Shadow Guard."

As for Yang Shen, he sprinted a few blocks before hailing a taxi and heading for the Jiangti Campus.

In the taxi, the driver kept glancing at Yang Shen in the rearview mirror, thinking he looked familiar.

It wasn’t until they passed a billboard plastered with a huge photo for the "Wang Ning Movement" that the driver, putting it together with their "Jiangti" destination, finally recognized him.

"Hey, kid! You’re this year’s Jianghuai Champion Scholar, aren’t you?"

Yang Shen smiled humbly. "I am."

The driver gave him a thumbs-up. "Incredible, kid! You’ve got a limitless future! I’ve even bought a bunch of stuff you endorse."

This piqued Yang Shen’s curiosity, and he leaned forward. "What did you buy?"

’After all,’ he thought, ’all my endorsements are aimed at high school students and young people...’

The driver pulled a half-empty beverage bottle from the side. On the label was a full-body shot of Yang Shen.

"Source Energy Forest. I drink this stuff all the time."

Yang Shen laughed. "Oh, that’s great. Their drinks do taste pretty good."

But the driver shook his head. "That’s not it. It’s mostly because the mouth of the bottle is wider."

Yang Shen stared at the yellow liquid inside the bottle... and his smile vanished.

’Wait! I can’t think about this anymore!’

Yang Shen said through gritted teeth, "I’ll pay you double the fare. Just please, never buy any of my endorsed products again."

...

About half an hour later, Yang Shen arrived in the Black Tortoise District.

Having visited many times over the summer break—especially since most of his photoshoots were in the city proper—Yang Shen was no longer a stranger to this megalopolis.

This city of nearly 30 million people was divided according to the Four Symbols and Five Subordinates, with the Yellow Dragon District at its very center, surrounded by the Cyan Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise Districts to the east, south, west, and north, respectively.

Of course, the directions were more of a rough guide than a strict rule.

The "Five Subordinate Zones" constituted Jianghuai’s traditional main urban area. Further out lay several suburbs like Celestial Martial and Chongwu. As for the Jinshui District, it was a suburb of the suburbs, even farther out.

Here, one could find both the passionate and ambitious "Jiang Piao" drifters and the deep-rooted Martial Arts Clans. Here, the bustling order of daytime gave way to the surging undercurrents of the night.

Here, wealth was dignity, and it had its own pricing system. The most exceptional talents from remote regions were, upon arriving here, no more than fish in a vast sea.

And now, Yang Shen, who at the tender age of eighteen had already achieved the "Eighteen-Merit Student" honor, had stepped foot into this world.

The boy who once gazed upon this prosperity from the Celestial Platform every day had finally become a part of it—and a dazzling one at that...

Jianghuai Sports Academy.

Its massive main gate, steeped in history and carved from Han Baiyu, radiated an aura of majesty and stories untold.

Outside the main gate, a dozen or so young figures were scattered about. Some leaned against the wall with brooding gazes, while others, tall and powerfully built, exuded an intimidating presence.

Today wasn’t the official first day of school. Instead, following its yearly tradition, Jiangti had gathered this year’s most outstanding new students ten days early for a campus tour.

Therefore, every one of this dozen-plus group was a Champion Scholar from their respective province or city.

To have made it this far, each one of them possessed absolute self-confidence. They were all paragons produced by the Martial Arts Education system.

Don’t you dare ask how big their loans are. Mind your own business when it comes to Champion Scholars, or you’ll have hell to pay!

The middle-aged male teacher in the lead glanced at his watch and did a quick head count. "There are still two missing. Let’s wait a bit longer."

A tall Champion Scholar immediately spoke up. "Wu, for a new student to have so little regard for punctuality... I wonder which province’s Champion Scholar it is."

Another chimed in, "As a Martial Artist, if they don’t even have that much self-discipline, I’m afraid they won’t get very far on the path of Martial Arts..."

They were clearly wasting no time in making trouble for the latecomers.

The rivalry between Champion Scholars was always like this!

Wu just smiled. "It’s not time yet. We’re the ones who arrived early. Look, isn’t that one of them now?"

Yang Shen stepped out of the taxi, waving toward the group with a bright smile, hoping to make a good first impression on his new classmates.

The other dozen-plus students all turned to give him scrutinizing looks.

Even among Champion Scholars, there was a pecking order.

It was undeniable that the Champion Scholar from Jianghuai, a region with the nation’s top educational resources, was naturally a cut above those from more remote areas.

Champion Scholars from remote regions were especially at a disadvantage when it came to commercialization; in extreme cases, their income might only be one or two million, whereas the Jianghuai Champion Scholar started in the tens of millions.

It was a classic case of rivals meeting, their eyes burning with jealousy.

After all, their own autobiographies were being crushed on the bestseller lists by Yang Shen’s "Greatness of Shen" and "When the Sun Rises," which had a very real impact on their fame and income.

No wonder they were brimming with hostility.

"Teacher Wu Yi, right? It’s been a while."

He’d met this teacher before. The man had come looking for him in the Jinshui District the day the exam scores were released. Back then, however, Yang Shen had been completely overwhelmed by all sorts of bigwigs, so after simply confirming he would apply to Jiangti, he had politely shown the man out.

Wu Yi recalled Yang Shen’s file. A classic "poor Champion Scholar"... his family’s financial situation was rather tight.

’He wondered if Yang Shen had managed to pay off his loans over the summer,’ Wu Yi mused. ’At any rate, he’d certainly seen a lot of his ads.’

"Welcome to Jiangti. Today, I’ll be giving you a tour of the campus."

Yang Shen had timed his arrival perfectly, thinking he was the last one, but then he heard the squeal of brakes behind him.

He turned around and froze.

It wasn’t just him; the brains of the other Champion Scholars seemed to short-circuit for a moment as well.

A black stretch limousine... had come to a flamboyant stop right at the gates of Jiangti.

A man dressed like a butler trotted around the vehicle, bowed, and opened the car door.

First, a golden leather shoe emerged... followed by the leg of a pair of immaculate, gleaming trousers.

"Young Master, we’ve arrived."

’What is this, an overbearing CEO drama?’ Yang Shen thought.

An extravagantly dressed young man stepped out, his hair slicked back so meticulously it was impossible to guess how much wax had been used.

The man adjusted his collar, his disdainful gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally landing on Yang Shen.

He strode forward and plastered on the fakest smile imaginable. "You must be Yang Shen. We finally meet. I’m sure you recognize me."

Yang Shen: ’???’

"Sorry, I don’t have that particular skill. Who are you?"

The young man’s smile froze. He pointed at himself. "Me. Jiang Xin."

Only then did the dozen-plus Champion Scholars in the back react, and they began to revel in the awkwardness.

The name Jiang Xin had become quite famous among college entrance exam candidates over the past few months.

A once-in-a-generation prodigy for all of Yanhua, a genius who took the college entrance exam having already reached the Innate Realm!

Yet he had lost to a suburban candidate in the Late-stage of Marrow Refining... he hadn’t even managed to snag a Champion Scholar title, being relegated to the long list of "also-rans."

The guy had probably been planning to make a huge splash; who knew how desperately he had pushed himself in private to break through to the Innate Realm before the exam.

Instead, he’d just ended up making a huge mess, becoming a laughingstock for everyone else.

Now that the other party had announced his name, it all clicked for Yang Shen, who also found the situation rather amusing.

While it was true that powerful Martial Arts Clans weren’t short on cash, he really hadn’t expected Jiang Xin to have such a flamboyant personality...

Taking the college entrance exam at eighteen after reaching the Innate Realm... no amount of wealth or resources could explain away his terrifying talent. This was especially true given that both of them had received nearly perfect scores, with Yang Shen only winning due to bonus points.

It was hard to say who was actually stronger at the time of the exam, Jiang Xin or Yang Shen.

’But this whole style of yours... isn’t it a bit too cliché...’

Jiang Xin introduced himself again, this time more formally. "Jiang Xin, of the Jianghuai Jiang Family."

Amused, Yang Shen shook Jiang Xin’s outstretched hand. "Yang Shen, of the Jianghuai Yang Family."

A glint flashed in Jiang Xin’s eyes as he recalled the book he had flipped through and studied by lamplight a thousand times over the summer.

’As if his Jiang Family wouldn’t know whether a Yang Family existed in Jianghuai.’

But... he offered no mockery, no doubt...

On the contrary, his respect for Yang Shen grew... ’This is a man who intends to forge a new Martial Arts Clan all by himself.’

’As expected of the man who defeated me!’

There was no clichéd contest of strength in their handshake. Jiang Xin simply smiled, nodded, and smoothed back his hair.

"I wasn’t planning on coming today, since I’m not a Champion Scholar," he said. "But when I heard I’d get to meet you, I made a special trip."

Wu Yi stepped in to smooth things over with a smile. "You are a once-in-a-generation Innate examinee. You’re more than qualified to be here."

Yang Shen had no objections, though he was a bit disappointed that Zhuzi hadn’t been invited and would have to wait ten days to start school with everyone else.

Now that everyone was present, Wu Yi wasted no more time and led the group toward the school’s main gate.

Through the heavy, wrought-iron gates, a lush, tree-lined campus road stretched on as far as the eye could see.

It being the middle of summer break, everything within seemed mysterious... and alluring.

Wu Yi smiled faintly. "Jiangti’s main gate holds great historical significance. It isn’t normally opened."

"But, as is tradition, the school will make an exception and open it once for you, our chosen elites."

As he spoke, he raised one hand and made a pushing motion from a distance.

With a metallic GROAN, the heavy, wrought-iron gate—tens of meters wide and forged from steel as thick as a child’s arm—was pushed open as if by an unseen force.

The path ahead was suddenly wide open!

’This technique...’ Yang Shen had seen it before.

’The True Gang Realm!’

’To think a random admissions teacher has this level of power!’

’Jiangti really is full of crouching tigers and hidden dragons...’

Even Jiang Xin toned down his flamboyant aura a notch...

A smile played on Wu Yi’s lips; he had clearly intended to show off a little. He turned and said:

"My dear students! The main gate is open. Congratulations... you have successfully leaped the Dragon Gate and become proud new students of Jiangti."

Everyone’s spirits soared.

"All of you possess at least the power of Late-stage Marrow Refining, so let’s do this the Martial Artist way... We’ll start with a quick tour of the campus."

"And remember, the campus speed limit is sixty kilometers per hour. If you’re caught speeding, you’ll have credits deducted."

With that, he vanished in a blur, signaling for the others to keep up.