AD Calcium Milk

The principal's office of Jingcheng No. 7 High School.

A middle-aged man with streaks of gray in his hair stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, deep in thought.

"Principal!" A knock sounded at the door before an elderly man, around his fifties or sixties, walked in.

The old man had a refined appearance—more approachable than the middle-aged man, less imposing—but his eyes carried a trace of respect when looking at him.

"Old Zhao." The principal didn't turn around, speaking directly. "Have the forms been distributed?"

"They've already been handed out along with this year's 'Admissions Guide' to all the classes." Senior Year Director Zhao Hanhai nodded, then hesitated. "Principal, I don't quite understand—why suddenly arrange a preliminary martial arts assessment? There hasn't been such a practice in previous years."

"Did you notice? The college entrance exams have expanded enrollment this year," said Huang Tao, the principal of Jingcheng No. 7 High School.

"I did. The total planned admissions for martial arts universities nationwide have reached nearly six hundred thousand this year—a third more than last year. It's rather unusual… But you wouldn't ask this without a reason. Is there something behind it?" Zhao Hanhai was taken aback.

"Even with various backing, martial arts universities do not have infinite resources. The purpose of the college entrance exam is to allocate these limited resources to those who truly deserve them."

Huang Tao frowned, tapping his fingers on the desk. "This was the original policy set by the Martial Arts Department. But with such a sudden expansion this year, the burden on major universities will inevitably increase. In the long run, this isn't a good thing, unless…"

"Unless what?" Zhao Hanhai asked.

Huang Tao shook his head and changed the topic. "Yesterday, the city lord hosted a banquet. The principals of all nine high schools in Jingcheng attended. Before leaving, the city lord said something…"

"What did he say?"

"There's just one thing I can't figure out…"

"Principal!" Zhao Hanhai finally lost patience and raised his voice.

Sure, you're the principal, but as the senior year director, do I not have any dignity?

Even a tool shouldn't be ignored all the time, right?

Huang Tao snapped back to reality, realizing his lapse. He coughed lightly and said, "The city lord told us to stop holding back—to be bold in discovering, promoting, and cultivating talent."

Zhao Hanhai fell into contemplation. "So that's why you arranged the assessment?"

"The city lord has always been low-key, but he never speaks without reason. Considering the expansion of enrollment this year, there is clearly a deeper connection here." Huang Tao nodded.

"So this assessment is actually a preparatory step for what comes next?"

"Exactly. The city lord's implications were clear—if we do find promising candidates, we may have to bring out some of the resources we've been keeping in reserve."

"If that's all, the city lord wouldn't have needed to host a special banquet," Zhao Hanhai said, his expression turning skeptical.

Huang Tao nodded approvingly. "Indeed. At the banquet, someone unexpected showed up—someone no one anticipated. He only appeared briefly before leaving."

"Who?"

Zhao Hanhai asked, but Huang Tao remained silent, still gazing into the distance. Sensing something, Zhao Hanhai stepped forward and followed his line of sight.

In Jingcheng, there was a particularly unique building—a towering structure modeled after ancient architecture, reaching toward the heavens.

Right now, Huang Tao's eyes were fixed on the colossal bronze tower that pierced the clouds.

"…Jingcheng Marquis?" Zhao Hanhai's expression changed.

In this era of awakened spiritual energy, every city's lord was the highest authority—usually also the strongest martial artist.

But Jingcheng was different.

Because Jingcheng had a Jingcheng Marquis.

Gao Wenyuan, the Jingcheng Marquis, was a living legend—rarely seen by the public.

But if he had appeared at yesterday's banquet, there must be something more going on.

"Do you remember?" Huang Tao exhaled slowly. "The Jingcheng Marquis is the honorary principal of Jingcheng Martial Arts University…"

Zhao Hanhai's eyes flickered as if grasping something.

---

Shen Qian walked out of Class 109, looking somewhat confused.

He couldn't understand why the system had done that.

Just as he was filling out the assessment form, the system had abruptly activated Auto Mode.

Which meant—the form wasn't filled out by him.

By the time Shen Qian regained consciousness, the form had already been collected.

Originally, he had planned to keep his stats modest and inconspicuous. But after checking the Auto Mode Log, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Explosive Strength: 140kg. Speed: 10.5s."

Not only was this ridiculously high for someone trying to stay low-key, but the problem was… he wasn't even that strong yet.

"…Forget it. If Liu Simin questions me, I'll just say I wrote it down wrong."

It was just a form—nothing to take too seriously. Shen Qian quickly put the incident out of his mind.

"Shen Qian!"

A loud voice called from behind. Wang Yangming ran over, panting. "Why are you walking so fast?"

"Am I?" Shen Qian realized that his enhanced physical condition had unconsciously made his pace faster than Wang Yangming's jog. He slowed down.

"You said you had something to tell me after school, remember?" Wang Yangming asked after catching his breath.

Shen Qian smacked his forehead—almost forgot about that.

"I remember you mentioning that your dad was trying to get you some special enhancement serum. Did he get it?" Shen Qian asked.

"Special enhancement serums aren't that easy to get," Wang Yangming sighed. "I already took a Body Refining Serum when I graduated middle school, so taking another one wouldn't help much. I still can't break the 120kg threshold…"

According to Liu Simin's calculations, even with the expanded enrollment this year, last year's cutoff scores suggested that a strength of at least 120kg and a speed below 11 seconds were necessary for a decent chance.

Earlier, Shen Qian had heard Wang Yangming and Zhou Xu discussing that Wang Yangming had barely reached 110kg in strength, and his speed was even worse—11.7 seconds—slower than Shen Qian had been before.

"I have a new type of physical enhancement potion. Want to try it?" Shen Qian asked bluntly.

To test whether the potion worked on others, he had brought one-fourth of a normal dose. Wang Yangming was going to be his test subject.

"A new type of enhancement potion?" Wang Yangming's eyes lit up. "Which brand? When was it released? Why haven't I heard of it?"

Shen Qian glanced around. Seeing no one paying attention, he pulled a green-and-white plastic bottle from his bag and shoved it into Wang Yangming's hands.

Seeing Shen Qian act so mysteriously, Wang Yangming also became cautious. He glanced around, then cupped his hands together, peering into the gap.

The moment he saw the bottle, his expression froze.

"…Why does this bottle look exactly like AD Calcium Milk?"

"Don't worry about the details. The stuff inside is a new physical enhancement serum. I got it from the black market. Try it at home and see if it works. If it does, let me know—it's important."

Shen Qian patted Wang Yangming's shoulder and walked off. "I have something else to do. See you later."

Wang Yangming stood there, staring at the "AD Calcium Milk" in his hand, seriously questioning whether Shen Qian was mocking his intelligence.

Shaking his head, he barely resisted the urge to toss the bottle into the trash. Sighing, he stuffed it into his pocket and headed home.