Chapter 39: Entry

The Central Training Ground of Silverwood City Military Base was already buzzing with activity beneath the morning sun.

Tall concrete walls surrounded the massive training field, reinforced with thick defensive plating to protect the base from aerial beast attacks. Along the edges of the tarmac stood rows of black-iron strength pillars. Nearby, laser agility tracks glowed faintly while energy scanners hummed and surveillance drones moved steadily through the sky.

The stands around the field were packed with thousands of spectators. Clan elders occupied the VIP boxes alongside municipal examiners, their eyes fixed on the students below. A few federal military officers sat among them in olive-green uniforms, watching everything with calm, unreadable expressions.

On the field, teachers from Silverwood Elite High School and several neighboring academies moved between their students, giving last-minute instructions and making sure everyone was ready.

The atmosphere was tense.

Everyone knew this wasn’t just another school examination.

Today, countless eyes were watching.

The atmosphere was tense. There was none of the excitement or celebration one might expect from a school event.

This mock trial wasn’t a festival. It was a battlefield.

For the students taking part, today’s performance would determine which college they could enter, effectively deciding their future long before the official college entrance examination even began.

Just a few days ago, more than eleven hundred graduating students had stepped onto the Awakening Platforms.

Only a little over two hundred had managed to awaken a Martial Soul.

And for those who succeeded, the real struggle had only just begun.

Most awakened students were still trapped in the Soul Seed Circulation stage. They spent nearly every waking hour trying to guide the faint traces of ambient energy through their undeveloped meridians, hoping to complete even a basic ten-cycle Heavenly Cycle.

Breaking through and condensing a Spiritual Seed within just a few days was something only the most talented students could accomplish.

Those who reached Stage 1 and officially entered the Martial Warrior realm were already considered exceptional.

Among their classmates, they were no longer ordinary students.

They were the ones everyone watched, admired—and quietly envied.For the students taking part, today’s performance would determine which college they could enter, effectively deciding their future long before the official college entrance examination even began.

Standing near the edge of the assembly area, Eric Vance was clearly enjoying all the attention.

Four members of his clan stood behind him like personal guards. Eric had his arms folded across his chest, his chin raised slightly as he looked around with an unmistakable air of arrogance.

The bruising on his jaw from a few days ago had almost completely disappeared, thanks to the expensive healing salves his family had provided. With his injuries gone, his confidence had returned in full force.

After all, he had something to be proud of.

Eric was one of the rare students who had already stepped into the Martial Warrior realm.

He hadn’t reached that point through patience or careful cultivation, though.

To force his breakthrough ahead of everyone else, Eric had taken three Bone-Tempering Pills one after another. After completing only thirty-six cycles of the Small Heavenly Cycle, he had forcibly condensed his Spiritual Seed.

It was an effective shortcut.

But experienced cultivators knew exactly what that shortcut would cost him.

His foundation was weak, and the damage was already permanent. His future potential had been severely limited before his real cultivation journey had even begun.

The spiritual energy flowing through his meridians was thin and unstable, lacking the density and purity that came from patiently building a solid foundation.

Eric, however, didn’t seem to care.

Right now, all that mattered to him was one thing—

He had broken through before everyone else.

Eric didn’t know any of that, nor did he care.

With the Vance Clan’s wealth behind him and a B-Rank Fire Lion Martial Soul awakened within him, he genuinely believed he was a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

To Eric, ordinary students were nothing more than stepping stones.

"Look! The Sterling transport is landing!"

One of the lackeys suddenly pointed toward the eastern tarmac.

Eric’s attention immediately shifted in that direction.

A heavily armored personnel carrier descended toward the training ground, the silver crest of the Sterling family clearly displayed on its side. Its powerful thrusters blasted the ground with a fierce gust of wind, sending dust swirling across the tarmac.

A moment later, the vehicle touched down with a heavy hydraulic hiss.

The side hatch slowly slid open.

Evelyn stepped out first.

She wore a fitted midnight-black combat suit that complemented her tall, slender figure. Her glossy black hair was tied into a high ponytail, swaying lightly as she walked.

There was something effortlessly graceful about her.

Even in the middle of the noisy military training ground, surrounded by roaring engines, conversations, and the movement of thousands of people, Evelyn seemed to draw attention without even trying.

For a brief moment, Eric simply stared.

The arrogant smile on his face returned.

To him, this was exactly the kind of moment he had been waiting for.

For a brief moment, the entire training ground seemed to go quiet.

Hundreds of eyes turned toward the transport.

Then another figure stepped down the ramp.

Lucian.

He stretched lazily as he walked, looking more like someone who had just woken up from a comfortable nap than a student arriving for one of the most important examinations of his life.

Unlike Evelyn, he wore nothing special. His standard high school training uniform was plain and practical, without a single decoration.

Yet there was something unusual about the way he carried himself.

He looked completely at ease.

His dark eyes wandered across the packed stands, taking in the countless faces with little more than mild curiosity before he casually looked away.

That was enough.

The brief silence shattered almost instantly.

Whispers spread through the crowd like wildfire.

"Isn’t that Lucian? Why the hell is he getting off the Sterling Clan’s private transport?"

"I heard he’s been staying at the Sterling Grand Courtyard. Someone from the servants’ quarters told me."

"That guy? The beggar from the slums who awakened a useless D-Rank Shadow Martial Soul?"

"And now he’s attached himself to Young Miss Evelyn. What a shameless bastard."

"Of course he is. If the Sterling family wasn’t feeding him second-tier beast meat and giving him premium cultivation pills, do you really think someone with that trash talent could even stand here?"

"He’s not surviving on his own. He’s living off the Sterling family’s generosity."

The whispers grew louder.

Some people laughed.

Others looked at Lucian with open contempt.

Lucian heard every word.

But he didn’t react.