Li Ling's voice was filled with envy.

She had not scored nearly high enough for the Eight Great Universities, and had to choose a military academy. Now, seeing the Eight Great Universities competing for Bai Pu felt like having bitten into a lemon, sour and bitter.

"Sister Ling, I don't really want to go to college."

Bai Pu explained his reasoning, "I took the college entrance exam mainly because it had generous rewards as a world event, and due to the real-world threat posed by the Superpower Group, I needed to increase my global reputation!

"Now my reputation has reached B-level, even though it's temporary, being the top student in the college entrance exam is like a talisman, coupled with my identity as a member of the Special Service Group, which significantly raises the cost for the Superstar Alliance to act against me."

"But to be on the safe side, I still prefer to stay in Xicheng, within the Divine Strategy Army."

Bai Pu is pragmatic. To others, attending university might seem self-evident, but in his eyes, if it's useless to him, it can be abandoned; there's no sentimental attachment to university life.

Staying in the Divine Strategy Army, developing under the organization's protection, is more practical than going to college.

"Going to college is supposed to be necessary..." Li Ling felt a headache coming on, "For Awakened individuals aspiring to participate in professional leagues and title battles, the 'University Competition' during college is a starting point. Many major forces watch the University Competition to select promising talents to sign for their own teams."

Most Awakened individuals enter university at Level 4 or below, falling into the Low-level or Mid-level Awakened category.

The hidden threshold for professional leagues is Level 7, which is the Advanced Awakened level, and the gap between them is huge.

As for title battles, they are stages for top-level—Level 10—Awakened individuals to duel.

Generally speaking, genius individuals who awaken early, like "Overlord" Zhou Tianyou from the Western Capital Region, enter university as a Level 4 Hero Profession.

During college, he plays in the University Competition while enhancing his personal strength. Once he reaches Level 6 or 7, he chooses a promising major force's team to join, achieves results within a few years, and ideally wins a Superstar League championship, becoming a renowned Awakened star.

"I've already signed a long-term contract. Just recently signed it." Bai Pu felt there was even less reason to join the University Competition.

"Wait, I forgot to mention that you can also learn knowledge in college! There are many knowledgeable professors with expertise in Spiritual Civilization knowledge from the Source Plane..."

"You're talking about knowledge for sub-professions, right..." Bai Pu looked at his hidden sub-profession: Daoist Alchemist, shook his head, and said, "In the real world, there's probably no professor who can guide me. It's better to spend more time exploring the Spirit Realm and learning from native scholars."

"Do you think everyone is like you, with such abnormal Spirit Realm exploration abilities."

Li Ling teased, observing Bai Pu's disinterested demeanor, and sighed helplessly, "So, you don't even care about those little Spiritual Points and Personal Attribute Points rewarded in the University Competition, right..."

"Wait a minute, did you say there are rewards?" Bai Pu's interest was piqued.

"Yes, a prize pool of ten thousand Spiritual Points provided by the University Competition organizers. As for Personal Attribute Points, they are rewarded after being endorsed by the Spirit Realm Will." Li Ling said.

"Hmm... I think it's necessary to experience how great college life is. Life won't be complete without having gone to college." Bai Pu said earnestly, "But for safety's sake, it's best to opt for a local university in Xicheng. I don't want to waste time in college; is it possible to only participate in the University Competition without attending classes?"

Li Ling was dumbfounded and unsure how to respond: "Maybe... not?"

"How would I know unless I try? After all, I'm the top scorer in the college entrance exam, deserving of this privilege." Bai Pu waved, "Sister Ling, help me screen the schools that sent me invitations recently."

"Why is it me..." Li Ling felt helpless, feeling uneasy, worrying she might end up becoming Bai Pu's personal advisor, which would be a significant downgrade.

However, seeing Bai Pu heading to the underground passage to train his combat skills in the White Bone Cave again, she couldn't bring herself to refuse, instead feeling a sense of trust.

She felt a little happy, realizing it wasn't easy for Bai Pu to let down his guard around her.

...

White Bone Cave, 3rd Layer.

A tall Black Knight, the soul flame in his eye sockets slowly extinguishing. The Nightmare Warhorse, which had once broken Bai Pu's ribs, had long turned to bone fragments.

Bai Pu sat cross-legged, holding a tattered ancient book in his hands.

"What exactly is this 'Celestial Dragon Fragment'? Its techniques require spiritual power to comprehend! Luckily, with [Kan Ze's Headscarf] speeding up my spiritual power recovery, otherwise, who knows when I'd fully comprehend it." Bai Pu frowned in thought.

This 'Celestial Dragon Fragment' was obtained from Cao Zhang's Treasure Chest. After conversion by the Spirit Realm Will, it was worth 40 college entrance exam points!

Although 40 points might not seem much, they exceeded the valuation of typical golden equipment! That's why Bai Pu realized its value and immediately stored it in his Storage Space, hiding it from Overlord and Crazy Zen.

At the time, other Awakened individuals' attention was drawn to the Fangtian Halberd (false) drawn by Overlord, so few would have noticed Bai Pu getting this ancient scroll.

Bai Pu couldn't help but wonder, since this book was obtained alongside Lu Bu's Fangtian Halberd, could it be related to Lu Bu's martial arts?

These days, Bai Pu had also researched information.

The Three Kingdoms Plane was based on the framework of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms', expanded with various historical records and legends to form a Plane World.

One legend recorded the martial arts heritage of famous generals like Lu Bu and Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun learned from Tong Yuan, Lu Bu learned from Li Yan.

Tong Yuan and Li Yan were brothers, taught by a reclusive master with the Daoist name "Yu Zhenzi".

But these aren't the main points. The main point is, in this legend, what Lu Bu learned from his mentor Li Yan was an ultimate technique called 'Celestial Dragon Halberd Technique'.

This possibly provides some evidence supporting the speculation that 'Celestial Dragon Fragment' also comes from the Marquis Wen Relics.

Bai Pu couldn't grasp the essence of the fragment with his spiritual power.

However, after each attempt to comprehend it, he'd occasionally experience an unusual, instantaneous sense of divine aid during battles, executing wonderfully exceptional moves.

Each time he executed such an extraordinary move, his corresponding Combat Specialization would suddenly see a slight increase in proficiency. Don't underestimate this small increment; it was equivalent to Bai Pu's proficiency rising by thousands of moves.

Bai Pu couldn't help but marvel: How did I come up with such an ingenious move at the time? Attempting to find that feeling again proved elusive.

Perhaps the 'Celestial Dragon Fragment' still requires interpretation by a native expert.

Bai Pu put away the 'Celestial Dragon Fragment' and stepped into the fourth layer. He intended to use herds of Level 4 and above monsters to hone his Combat Specialization.

While Bai Pu was diligently training, his opponents were not idle either.

Western Capital Region.

A training ground.

Overlord wielded a golden halberd, continuously stabbing at eight wooden boards mounted on a wall!

The shaft of Overlord's halberd was as thick as a bowl's bottom and over a yard in length. The halberd blade glimmered coldly, exceedingly sharp. At the tip of the halberd, a drop of thick ink was dabbed.

Such a heavy and sharp halberd fell upon the wooden boards without causing even a splinter. Only knocking sounds could be heard.

When the golden light faded, half of the wooden boards on the wall fell, broken into two or three pieces.

The remaining boards each had an ink spot in the center, as if painted with a brush.

An aged voice spoke: "Your control over your force is not yet adept. When you can dab all eight boards with ink without breaking them, you'll have the basic qualification to wield the [Fangtian Halberd (false)] and unlock Lu Bu's lineage clues in the Three Kingdoms Plane."

Speaking was a hunchbacked elder dressed in traditional Huaxia-style robes and wearing a scholar's cap, looking like a sage from an ancient painting.

Overlord treated him with deep respect, wryly smiling and saying, "I've trained for half a month but can only manage to dab four boards without breaking them. Each subsequent board is harder to master than the previous four."

"Since you've set Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Chu, as your goal, you must not shy away from hardships or challenges." The hunched elder said.

"Indeed." Overlord regained his composure, "If I can't even meet the qualifications for Lu Bu's inheritance, how can I aim for the Overlord of Chu? This college entrance exam benefited me the most, Gangxin and Crazy Zen are destined to be stepping stones!"

…

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