Upon hearing Wang Zhan's question, Cheng Shu was silent for a moment before replying very seriously, "Brother Zhan, you better not ask about this. I'm afraid my high status will make those who mess with you afraid to be my friend."

Without giving it a second thought, Wang Zhan immediately slapped Cheng Shu on the back of his head.

"Ouch, why did you hit me?"

"Why are you trying to make yourself out to be so mysterious? Do you think I care about people's backgrounds? I won't care even if your father is the president of the Federation," Wang Zhan said dismissively.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Shu's eyes lit up.

"Brother Zhan, do you mean that?"

"Of course... Wait a minute." Wang Zhan nodded, then suddenly realized. "Your father isn't actually the president of the Federation, is he?"

"Of course not. My dad is half a rank lower than the president of the Federation."

"I knew it... Wait, how much lower is your dad than the president?"

"Half a rank."

Wang Zhan looked deeply at Cheng Shu. The chubby boy had been surprisingly low-key. They had known each other for more than six months now, and Cheng Shu hadn't let slip a single word about his family background.

Shaking his head, Wang Zhan decided to ignore it. He hadn't befriended Cheng Shu for his background, so there was no need to care too much.

"Tell me, what do you need?" Wang Zhan asked.

Cheng Shu's eyes brightened. He first scanned the area furtively, ensuring no one was eavesdropping, then whispered, "Brother Zhan, we made a fortune this time!"

"Are you talking about the betting?"

"Exactly." Cheng Shu nodded emphatically, saying, "If it wasn't for you teaching that Zhong Lun a lesson at the end, we would have been wiped out by the dealer. They were planning to scam people with the excuse of the fight having no definitive outcome."

Cheng Shu handed Wang Zhan's Academic Credits Card back to him and said with a grin, "Brother Zhan, I left you an even 300,000 academic credits. I only received a total of 350,000, so I kept 50,000 for myself."

"300,000 academic credits isn't a small amount," Wang Zhan nodded, then asked, "But weren't my odds 1 to 5? I should still have around 100,000 academic credits or so left on my card, and you must have also placed your own bets, right?"

"Don't remind me; I can only accept my bad luck," Cheng Shu said, but the grin on his face didn't subside. "Those who set the odds went bankrupt, hahaha, sorry I couldn't help but laugh."

Speaking of this, Cheng Shu was on the verge of laughing so hard he was crying. "They... They told me that after spending over three years accumulating academic credits at the Military Martial Arts Academy, we cleaned them out in one blow. They're now so bankrupt they almost had to hand over their underwear to me."

"They only made a bit over 300,000 in over three years of betting? They must suck at this," Wang Zhan was somewhat speechless.

"That's already a lot, Brother Zhan, think about it. The beast core of a beast only ranges from a few hundred to a few thousand academic credits. This amount of academic credits is close to a hundred high-level beasts. Normal students might not even be able to kill this many in three years, let alone after they've graduated."

"That's true." Wang Zhan nodded, understanding now.

He earned academic credits so easily that he'd unconsciously overlooked the fact that, for ordinary students, beasts were opponents they had to risk their lives to defeat.

After settling the matter of the academic credits, Cheng Shu said goodbye and left.

Wang Zhan held his newly acquired Academic Credits Card. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go to the Academic Credits Exchange Office to get some Mixed Essence Pills to aid his cultivation.

He had reached 1,400 points in his three main attributes a month ago. However, for the 50 points of extreme attributes in each, he had spent an entire month only managing to increase them by thirty or forty points respectively.

Moreover, Grade-2 Mixed Essence Pills could hardly satisfy Wang Zhan anymore. He needed higher-grade Mixed Essence Pills.

...

「Academic Credits Exchange Office.」

"Twenty bottles of Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pills," Wang Zhan said, handing his Academic Credits Card to the staff member.

"Student, you mean Grade-5 Essence Concentrating Pills, right? A Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pill costs 5,000... uh, Student Wang Zhan, just a moment."

The staff member initially thought he had misheard. But when he looked up, he saw it was Wang Zhan.

Almost everyone at the Military Martial Arts Academy knew Wang Zhan by now. Moreover, he was known for his large transactions whenever he came to the Academic Credits Exchange Office, so the staff here remembered him vividly.

Soon, twenty bottles of Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pills, worth one hundred thousand academic credits, were placed in front of Wang Zhan.

After a casual thank you, Wang Zhan prepared to leave with the Mixed Essence Pills.

But as soon as he stepped out of the Academic Credits Exchange Office, he ran into Yue Xinyue and Zhou Yi.

"Student Wang Zhan," Zhou Yi greeted with a smile, and Yue Xinyue also waved from the side.

"Senior Zhou, Senior Yue," Wang Zhan nodded, and with a hint of curiosity asked, "Are you two here to exchange for cultivation resources? Are you preparing for the graduation examination in your senior year?"

"No, we have to go to another Base City. This matter is related to your sister…" Zhou Yi shook his head.

The moment these words left his mouth, Yue Xinyue immediately nudged Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi swiftly realized his mistake and gave Yue Xinyue a remorseful look.

"I'm sorry. Student Wang Zhan isn't an outsider, so I said it without thinking."

"Related to my sister? What's going on?" Wang Zhan hastily asked, "Isn't my sister training with the army? Why does she need your help?"

"It's just a minor mission, nothing too bothersome. You don't need to worry," Yue Xinyue explained. "Since Zhou Yi and I have cooperated with Sister Qi for the longest time, she asked us to help. The army has already discussed it with the Academy, and this mission will count as our graduation exam."

"I see…" Wang Zhan shook his head helplessly.

He could tell Yue Xinyue was withholding information, but if she didn't want to disclose it, he couldn't force her.

But Wang Qi had been fending for herself for so many years; she should have a firm grasp of what she was doing. While it was impossible for her not to face any danger, he believed she could handle it.

"I wish you success in your mission," was all Wang Zhan could say.

After bidding Zhou Yi and Yue Xinyue goodbye, Wang Zhan brought his Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pills back to his dormitory.

He first opened his attribute panel.

Host: Wang Zhan

Strength: 1438

Agility: 1434

Physique: 1441

Charm: 30

Wisdom: 22

Mental Power: 30

The three main attributes are just a little short. I hope these Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pills are effective enough, Wang Zhan thought.

There was about a month and a half left before the Federal Martial Arts Tournament. Wang Zhan wanted to see if he could break through to the Warrior realm before then.

Even though it would be challenging, he still wanted to give it a shot.

Enough of that. I'll focus on breaking through to Level 9 first.

Wang Zhan opened a bottle of Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pills and consumed them. The next moment, he felt as if his insides were on fire.

This is potent! At least 60 to 70% stronger than the Grade-2 Mixed Essence Pills!

Wang Zhan was slightly pleased, but his distraction caused minor damage to his meridians.

While this minor damage to his meridians wasn't critical, it definitely couldn't be ignored.

He didn't dare delay any longer and quickly immersed himself fully in a state of cultivation.

...

「Just as Wang Zhan began his secluded cultivation in his dormitory.」

The day after the people from Yanjing Martial Arts Academy left the Military Martial Arts Academy, a Federation investigation team arrived in Chu State City and headed straight for the Zheng Family.

「Inside the Zheng Family Villa.」

"Zheng Yu, you are under serious suspicion of crime. You have the right to remain silent, but we already have conclusive evidence. Await your trial in the Federal Court," the leader of the investigation team coldly stated.

Zheng Yu's face remained expressionless. He had anticipated all of this but did not expect it to happen so fast.

"The Cheng Family... truly swift and decisive, almost frighteningly so." Zheng Yu shook his head slightly.

At this point, not only Zheng Yu, but his wife and son, Zheng Sikai, were also in the living room.

Compared to Zheng Yu's calm demeanor, his wife and son were terrified into silence, staring blankly as the investigators placed handcuffs on Zheng Yu.

Just as Zheng Yu was about to be escorted from the villa, he suddenly paused at the front door.

"Can you tell me what you've found?"

The investigator thought for a moment before responding, "It's fine to tell you. Frankly, Zheng Yu, you're incredibly audacious. When I first saw the file on you, I almost couldn't believe it."

"Never mind the other charges; those are just abuses of power. Even if they caused a significant stir, they'd only amount to life imprisonment. But colluding with the Original Organization, and even participating in their human experiments! Zheng Yu, you truly have some nerve!"

Hearing this, Zheng Yu sighed deeply.

"It seems there's no escape for me. Impressive work on your end, uncovering everything about this carefully hidden secret in just a day."

The investigator sneered, "If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it. Enough talk. Take him away!"

After escorting Zheng Yu away, the investigators expelled Mrs. Zheng and Zheng Sikai from the villa and sealed it off.

However, after completing all this, the investigation team still noticed that the number of people was off.

"Zheng Yu's younger son is missing, and there are no records of him leaving Chu State City."

"Most likely, that guy sensed things were going down and arranged for his departure beforehand."

"What a nuisance."

With the investigators' grumbles, the once majestic Zheng Family, who used to lord it over Chu State City, was now a thing of the past.

...

On the third day of Wang Zhan's cultivation retreat, after taking the fourth bottle of Grade-5 Mixed Essence Pills, he finally cultivated his three major attributes to 1,450 points.

It was already evening. Wang Zhan decided to press on and consumed another bottle of Mixed Essence Pills.

Just half an hour later, he smoothly broke through to become a Level 9 Martial Artist.

This is the peak for a Martial Artist. Next, I need to max out my attribute points and find a way to break through to Warrior, Wang Zhan thought, opening his eyes with a hint of joy in his gaze.

Unknowingly, in more than half a year, he had already approached the finish line of the Martial Artist Stage.

However, breaking through to Warrior was not simple. Besides maxing out all three main attributes, he also needed to cultivate his mental energy much more diligently.

I've heard that even the lowest-level Warrior can control the Spiritual Energy within a hundred-meter radius. At my current stage, cultivating mental energy is of utmost importance.

Sunlight streamed through the window into the dormitory. Although Wang Zhan hadn't slept all night, having just broken through, he was feeling exceptionally energetic.

Initially, he had planned to seek Duan Kun for a sparring session to max out his basic 100 attribute points.

But just as he stepped out of his dormitory, he ran into Huang Pufeng and Song Dongming, who were approaching him.

"We need your help! It's important!" Huang Pufeng said, cutting straight to the chase.

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