Click—the hatch opened fully, its automatic locking mechanism engaging to prevent it from closing abruptly.
Then, a staircase slowly descended from the hatch, landing steadily on the playground.
A middle-aged man dressed in a black Martial Path uniform, along with a young man in a suit, appeared at the hatch, following the steps down.
"You must be Professor Ming, what a pleasure to meet you," the vice-chancellor said, extending his hand.
The man in the Martial Path uniform offered a polite smile: "Hello."
Afterward, the middle-aged man's gaze shifted to Xu Bo standing beside him: "Xu Bo, long time no see."
"Senior Ming," Xu Bo said with a hint of respect, "I didn't expect you to come."
Xu Bo was well aware of the middle-aged man's prowess. Though he appeared to be under forty, he was actually in his eighties—a powerful Prime Warrior.
He was a very famous professor at Jiangbei Martial Arts University, with students all over the province and a high reputation within it.
Xu Bo had met him once before.
Martial Artists have exceptionally strong memories; once they meet someone, they rarely forget.
"Ha-ha, why couldn't I come?" Senior Ming asked with a smile, "I didn't come just to see you, but to take a look at the future young talents of Jiangbei Province."
The two conversed as though good friends.
"These must be the youngsters your school selected this year," Senior Ming's gaze fell on Li Yuan and others, his eyes flashing briefly.
As his gaze swept over them, Li Yuan instantly felt an overpowering pressure hit him, causing his heart to skip a beat.
It was like a normal person walking in the wild suddenly discovering a white-foreheaded tiger crouched three meters away, staring intently at them.
Fortunately, Li Yuan's spiritual power had already reached level 15, and day and night within the Mind Spirit Divine Palace, his will had been tempered by the scorching sun to be incredibly resilient.
He did not show any discomfort!
In contrast, among the other nine students, aside from Lin Lanyue and Gu Qianghan, everyone else instinctively stepped back two paces.
Even two of the students let out an involuntary cry before realizing there was nothing to fear, and hung their heads in shame.
"Psychic pressure, huh?" Li Yuan thought to himself.
When he had read "Basics of Martial Path," the book mentioned that beings with strong blood energy, powerful spiritual power, and astonishing will would naturally form a biological magnetic field around them, exerting pressure on weaker life forms nearby.
This was commonly referred to as 'presence.'
"Not bad, all of you are fine seedlings," Senior Ming said, his aura returning to normal with a smile.
"You flatter them, Senior Ming," the vice-chancellor responded politely.
Senior Ming took a step and, like a phantom, moved over ten meters to stand before Lin Lanyue.
Immediately, everyone's attention shifted to them.
"Senior Ming," Lin Lanyue said with considerable respect.
"Lin Lanyue?" Senior Ming's voice became gentle: "It seems the Lin Family is about to produce another outstanding heroine."
"You know me, Senior?" Lin Lanyue sounded a bit surprised.
"I do," Senior Ming said with a smile: "Years ago, I collaborated with your father. I have great respect for him."
The surrounding crowd was shocked, staring at Lin Lanyue, as they realized her father must be quite remarkable.
"Senior Ming is this friendly with her?" The vice-chancellor and the grade advisor were both surprised
Indeed, they did not know the true lineage of Lin Lanyue.
The 'family information' Lin Lanyue shared with others was optimized.
"Thank you, Senior Ming," Lin Lanyue said, neither humbly nor arrogantly.
"Work hard," Senior Ming said with a smile.
Then, he turned his attention to Li Yuan standing nearby: "Young student, what is your name?"
Li Yuan replied with great respect: "Li Yuan."
"Li Yuan?" Senior Ming chuckled: "I'll remember that. Li Yuan, if you don't choose one of the top five universities for your college entrance exam, Jiangbei Martial University's 'Warrior Class' will always welcome you. I'll keep a special training contract reserved for you."
"What?" Everyone around was taken aback.
"Li Yuan is that strong?" Gu Qianghan looked curiously at Li Yuan.
The other students were equally shocked.
The quota for Jiangbei Martial Arts University's Warrior Class? Most of the students present didn't care.
After all, as top ten in their grade, they were aiming for the top five universities.
But to have a special training contract reserved especially for him?
It meant that Senior Ming had high hopes for Li Yuan, recognizing his immense potential, far surpassing the other students present.
"Li Yuan scored lower than us in the January mock exams."
"He is favored over us?"
"Could it be that Li Yuan's strength surpasses ours by far?" A few students exchanged glances, confused but not daring to express it.
"A special training contract reserved for me?" Li Yuan was also bewildered.
Senior Ming saw so much in him?
Could it be that, like Hall Master Wan, he had sensed something special in his spiritual power?
"Li Yuan, aren't you going to thank Senior Ming?" Xu Bo urged in a low voice.
"Thank you for your generosity, Senior," Li Yuan promptly replied with respect.
"Ha-ha, no need to be so formal," Senior Ming laughed and then addressed all the students: "I know you all are aiming for the top five universities, but consider Jiangbei Martial University as a fallback."
"Moreover, this event is being observed by representatives from the top five universities."
"I hope that everyone will make the most out of these five days."
"Alright, board the flyer."
They watched the flyer take off.
"Teacher Xu," the vice-chancellor couldn't help but ask: "Do you know who Lin Lanyue's father is?"
"Not sure," Xu Bo shook his head.
"What about Li Yuan?" the grade advisor inquired with curiosity: "Based on grades, even without the extras, isn't Li Yuan behind Lin Lanyue? Why does Senior Ming favor him alone?"
"I guess he wants to take Li Yuan as his godson," Xu Bo said with a smile.
Grade Director: "..."
Inside the aircraft, apart from senior Teacher Xu and a few other teachers from Jiangbei Martial Arts University, there were already more than ten students sitting.
Looking at the school badges, they all came from other schools in Guan Mountain District.
"Looks like they're from First High School."
"They have so many people, and our school only got two slots."
"Stop complaining. The tenth place from their school is probably stronger than our first place."
Students from other schools whispered among themselves.
"Take your seats in order of your number and fasten your seat belts," instructed the young man in a suit.
Lin Lanyue, Li Yuan, and Gu Qianghan sat in two rows facing each other according to their grades.
Li Yuan, who ranked sixth overall in his grade, happened to sit opposite Lin Lanyue.
"Thanks for yesterday," Li Yuan said to Lin Lanyue in a low voice.
"It was nothing," Lin Lanyue nodded.
Curiosity got the better of Gu Qianghan: "Sis, what happened with you and Li Yuan yesterday?"
"Sit down and shut up," Lin Lanyue replied coldly.
Gu Qianghan dared not ask any further.
"Li Yuan, have you awakened your Martial Spirit?" asked the short-haired, bulky young man sitting in the middle, looking at Li Yuan with curiosity and an underlying competitive spirit.
The other classmates also looked at Li Yuan curiously.
They all remembered the scene from earlier; Teacher Xu's attitude towards Li Yuan was distinctly different.
"No," shook Li Yuan's head.
"You haven't awakened?" The short-haired, bulky young man was confused: "But what about Teacher Xu earlier?"
"I don't know," Li Yuan shook his head.
The short-haired, bulky young man frowned and was about to continue questioning.
"Dong Haifeng," Lin Lanyue suddenly said coldly, "Hasn't anyone taught you? Don't pry into others' privacy."
"Lanyue, you?" Dong Haifeng's expression slightly changed.
"Lanyue is what you call her?" Gu Qianghan, sitting beside her, was unhappy: "Call her by her full name."
Dong Haifeng was taken aback. He turned to look at Lin Lanyue, who was sitting by the window and had closed her eyes, clearly unwilling to deal with him.
"Understood," Dong Haifeng muttered.
Immediately, Dong Haifeng's gaze swept over Li Yuan, and a subtle hint of disgust flashed through his eyes.
When you dislike someone, there's no need for words.
"Dong Haifeng?" Li Yuan, with his strong spiritual power, sensed the change in the latter's emotions.
Dong Haifeng, who often ranked in the top three of his grade in Martial Arts, was not much different from Gu Qianghan.
Li Yuan did not know why the other held a dislike towards him, but he did not care.
"I'm not Blue Star Coins; how can everyone like me?" Li Yuan shook his head lightly: "Even if I were Blue Star Coins, some still call them 'the root of all evil'."
At the core area of Jiangbei Martial Arts University was a massive steel War Fortress, towering over three hundred meters high and brimming with a sense of technology.
From a distance, it looked like a sci-fi city made of steel.
Inside the steel city, in a small conference room, more than ten men and women dressed in uniform sat in a circle.
The badges on their chests bore the uniform emblem of an imposing mountain.
"The students invited to the event will arrive at the school this afternoon."
"These eighty-eight students are the primary targets of our recruitment mission, and we aim to persuade them to apply to Kunlun Martial Arts University," declared the bald, burly middle-aged man at the head of the table, his voice sonorous: "You've all quickly reviewed the information, and the corresponding targets have been allocated to you."
"S-grade targets, three."
"A-grade targets, thirteen."
"B-grade targets, seventy-two."
"Prepare detailed scouting reports. Immediately interview and sign contracts with those confirmed to meet B-grade standards. Understood?" the bald man asked in a deep voice.
"Understood," the group responded in unison.
"Any additions?" the bald man asked.
"President Li," a soothing voice suddenly spoke up: "I would like to add another candidate for scouting."
Swish! Swish! Everyone turned to look all at once.
"Professor Fan?" the bald man turned to look.
The speaker was an unassuming elderly man in his sixties, known as Professor Fan Jin from Kunlun Martial Arts University's 'Eight Institutes'.
"Who?" inquired the bald man.
"Li Yuan," Professor Fan Jin answered.
"Li Yuan?" The bald man pondered: "Student Li Yuan from the First High School of Guan Mountain District?"
"Yes," nodded Professor Fan Jin.
"His Martial Arts Skills are not bad, fitting the A-grade standard, but his other aspects are average, which overall do not meet the B-grade standard," the bald man directly shook his head.
He had memorized the information of thousands of students participating in the recruitment event.
"The material is incomplete," Professor Fan Jin stated: "I'll add two points."
"First, his skills are top-notch, having entered the top one thousand of the Blue Star youth rankings. In terms of skills, he meets the baseline of the S-grade standard."
"Second, he has an extremely strong talent for spiritual power, comparable to a 15th-level Martial Artist," Professor Fan Jin said.
Surprise showed on the faces of the seated teachers.
"Is this information reliable?" the bald man's eyes brightened as he pressed for confirmation.
"Reliable. As of last October, he has already signed a B-grade contract with Starfire Martial Hall," Professor Fan Jin assured.
"Good, temporarily listed as A-grade, a key target for scouting," the bald man decided, looking at Professor Fan Jin: "Professor Fan, you will take charge."
"In five days, I want to see a detailed scouting report on him."