An Unexpected Weakness
Shen Qian flipped through the recruitment information of various martial arts universities but didn't find what he was looking for. Only after going further did he finally come across the "Four Kings" of martial arts universities in the country.
Unlike the other martial arts schools crammed together in a single section, these four institutions had their own dedicated pages, each occupying half a page, making them stand out from the rest.
Among them, Northern Martial University and Huaxia Martial University were the most prestigious.
Northern Martial University was located in the capital, while Huaxia Martial University was situated in the southern metropolis of Baiyun City. Both were firmly ranked among the world's top ten. Meanwhile, Shenwu University, located in the coastal metropolis of Magic City, and Suzhou Science & Martial University in Gusu City, were slightly weaker but still far superior to the country's ordinary key universities, ranking around the top twenty globally.
Recalling his agreement with Ding Yi to meet in the capital and strive for greatness together—not for anything else—Shen Qian's eyes naturally locked onto Northern Martial University.
The minimum admission criteria for Northern Martial last year were as follows:
Physical Ability:
Explosive Strength: 145 kg
Speed: 10.3s
Combat Rating: D+
Academic Score: Minimum of 580
...
These two were the most critical requirements; the rest were just minor details.
However, the more he looked, the more shocked he became.
The physical requirements were absolutely insane, almost reaching the threshold of a quasi-martial artist. And this was just the minimum requirement.
In other words, Shen Qian had to reach the level of a full-fledged martial artist to have a secure chance of getting in.
At the same time, a thought surfaced in his mind—
Ding Yi, the only student from their school in the past three years to be directly admitted to Northern Martial University, had he really just reached the initial martial artist level?
Still, Shen Qian was confident. With three months left until the college entrance exam and the support of his "system dad," he should be able to meet this standard.
But then, his gaze landed on the second requirement, and his expression darkened.
The academic score.
Previously, he had never looked into the admission process of martial arts universities, naively believing that as long as his physical abilities improved, he would be guaranteed a spot.
But now, he realized just how wrong he had been.
The maximum score for the academic portion of the college entrance exam was 750, and the requirement was 580.
To put it into perspective, the minimum score to get into a first-tier liberal arts university last year was 550!
Not only did Northern Martial demand elite-level physical fitness, but even its academic requirements were absurdly high!
Shen Qian quickly checked other schools, only to find that—except for a few lower-tier institutions and vocational colleges—most martial arts universities had similarly strict academic requirements.
What kind of logic is this?
No brute force idiots allowed?
At that moment, he noticed Wang Yangming and Zhou Xu staring at him.
Recalling his last mock exam score, Shen Qian hesitated before asking, "Hey, remind me… Was my last score 504 or 450?"
"It was 405."
The two glanced at each other and answered in perfect sync.
"…I'm off by that much?"
Shen Qian doubted their memory, but he had no evidence to prove otherwise.
Alright, maybe he had been too focused on physical training, giving himself the illusion that his academic performance was still decent.
After all, most students only crammed academics when all else failed.
People always have this weird self-confidence: I'm not bad at something, I just haven't put in the effort yet.
But now, staring at the 100+ point gap, Shen Qian finally realized—
His biggest weakness wasn't physical ability.
It was academics.
---
Wang Yangming couldn't hold back anymore.
"Shen Qian, what the hell are you doing?"
Only then did Shen Qian realize they had been watching him for a while.
After thinking for a moment, he spoke in a low tone, "If I told you guys that my physical ability has skyrocketed recently, to the point where I might soon reach the martial artist threshold… would you believe me?"
"We would."
Both nodded without hesitation.
Shen Qian was stunned. These two… weren't playing by the usual script?
"Actually, I'm the illegitimate son of the Governor of Jingcheng."
"I've already been guaranteed admission to Huaxia Martial University."
The two quickly added, grinning to themselves.
Seeing their amused expressions, Shen Qian finally relaxed.
"I was just curious about the difference between top universities and regular martial arts schools…" he muttered.
"Stop looking. These schools have nothing to do with us," Wang Yangming patted his shoulder. "All they do is destroy our self-confidence." Then, narrowing his eyes, he added, "But… you have been acting weird lately. First, you actually paid the application fee, and now you're researching things you never cared about before. Did your physical stats really improve?"
"Just a little."
Shen Qian nodded, not hiding it completely. This was part of his plan—to let people slowly get used to his progress.
"…Sounds like a lot of improvement," Zhou Xu said curiously. "No wonder we barely see you these days. What's your strength at now? Over 100?"
"Well, let's just say I've surpassed last year's minimum admission threshold."
Shen Qian answered honestly.
"…Did you take Strength Pills?!"
Both were shocked.
As close friends, they had a rough idea of his abilities. Before winter break, Shen Qian hadn't even hit 100 kg in strength. Now, after only three or four months, he had exceeded the admission line? That was ridiculous!
Besides, other than Ding Yi, the strongest martial arts applicants in their class had barely hit 130 kg.
Ignoring their disbelief, Shen Qian flipped another page—then suddenly froze.
There was one more section in the "Martial Arts Universities" chapter.
"Huh? Jiangzhong Military Martial Academy?"
Shen Qian was surprised.
Hearing this, the two—who had just been debating whether to pool money for a Strength Pill—also looked over curiously.
"Jiangzhong Military Martial?" Zhou Xu frowned. "Wasn't that school completely managed by military martial artists? I thought they never admitted outsiders?"
"I read a post online before," Wang Yangming recalled. "Apparently, ten years ago, Jiangzhong Military Martial did accept civilian students. But for some reason, they stopped."
The name of this mysterious institution had always sparked discussions among students.
"That's true."
Suddenly, their class's academic ace, Zhang Liangwei, appeared out of nowhere. Adjusting his glasses, he added,
"Back when it was open, Jiangzhong Military Martial was ranked higher than both Northern Martial and Huaxia Martial."
"…What?"
Shen Qian and the others were stunned.
Higher than Northern Martial and Huaxia Martial?
"One reason was their insanely low admission rate. People online even joked that they only accepted valedictorians. But more importantly, they were backed by the military—many of the country's top martial artists came from there."
"But why is it in the guide now? Are they reopening admissions?"
They excitedly discussed the possibility, but upon checking the guidebook, they found no contact info or entrance exam requirements—just a brief introduction.
"Probably just included for reference," Zhang Liangwei concluded. "If they were reopening, the internet would be exploding with news. I just checked—there's nothing."
"Well, whatever," Zhou Xu sighed. "Even if they do reopen… what's it got to do with us?"
That killed the excitement instantly.
Just then, Liu Simin knocked on the desk.
"Alright, class. You can take the Admissions Guide home. For now, we need everyone applying for martial arts universities to fill out this assessment form…"
Assessment?
Shen Qian stared at the form in his hands.
Aside from basic information, the first section was physical stats.
...How was he supposed to fill this out?