After hesitating for a moment, Tang Tian bravely walked toward the door. In order to uncover the secret of the Bronze Plate, he had spent five full years practicing the fundamentals to reach the one million points required to open it. All of that was for today.
When he stepped across the Southern Cross Door, the scene before him changed completely.
The first thing he saw was the black ground beneath his feet. He did not know what material it was made of. It shone like a mirror and reflected Tang Tian's figure. It was as hard as metal. After taking a few steps, Tang Tian curiously measured the place. It was about nine meters in a circle, lifeless, and the outside was surrounded by endless thick gray fog.
He tried to walk toward the edge of the fog, but it seemed that there was a strange force pushing him back. No matter how much strength he used, he could not enter the gray fog.
Suddenly, red words appeared from the mirror-like ground beneath his feet.
Black background and red words — it looked deep and evil.
"Regardless of whether you are strong or weak, you will always be your lifelong enemy. It is a battle for a lifetime. You have nowhere to run, and you cannot rely on luck. If you win, you will become unrivaled. If you lose, you will realize that you have done nothing and accomplished nothing."
"Applied upon yourself. Grade: Good. Rewarded training time: Ten Days."
Win over himself?
Good?
Rewarded training time?
Tang Tian's mouth twitched with disdain.
"Bullshit!"
"Thinking about it, that gray man and I used exactly the same moves. What dog cares about fighting yourself? Whatever I know, that guy also knows. Yet didn't I still defeat him in the end?"
Tang Tian thought happily.
This realistic youngster immediately focused on his own victory. What could excite the heart more than victory?
Ten days of training time? What kind of nonsense was this?
Tang Tian scratched his head and paced back and forth for a while. It would be better to clarify a few things.
The Bronze Plate was originally meant to help cultivation. Reaching one million points was the requirement to open it.
Tang Tian did not understand something. When his mother was still alive, she had never urged him to practice martial arts before. Could it be that his mother also did not know how to use this thing?
Where did Mother get the Bronze Plate from?
Unless…
Tang Tian's face turned gloomy.
Unless this Bronze Plate was something given by that bastard father.
Once this thought appeared, Tang Tian felt it was the most likely possibility. Every time his mother helped change the red threads, she would become fascinated while looking at the Bronze Plate, wearing a nostalgic expression.
Tang Tian clenched his fists tightly.
Despicable!
After being angry for quite a while, Tang Tian cleared his mind and released his anger. If the Bronze Plate was really given to his mother by that bastard, then even better!
He would fully use the Bronze Plate to help himself become stronger and eventually defeat that bastard!
Ha ha!
At that time, that bastard would surely regret giving the Bronze Plate to his mother back then!
Yes, it would be done this way!
Thinking about how that bastard would regret it until his guts turned green, ha ha, that would be refreshing!
Tang Tian became excited again, believing that the decision he made was truly a genius plan.
The number '0' was clearly shining on the door.
Why reset to zero?
Would he still need fundamental martial arts to increase it?
Tang Tian shook his head, guessing that it should be second-rank martial arts.
Finally being able to practice rank two martial techniques, finally touching the secret of the Bronze Plate, yet he still knew nothing.
Furthermore…
This place had no trace of Mother…
Tang Tian looked at the Southern Cross Door as if he were enchanted.
Did Mother also come here?
A trace of longing appeared on his face.
He stood there blankly for a while before returning to his senses.
He clenched his fists and muttered to himself.
"Mother, I will definitely uncover the true secret of the Bronze Plate! I will definitely find that bastard and drag him to your grave to repent!"
With determination on his face, he no longer hesitated and turned to walk toward the Southern Cross Door.
When Tang Tian stepped out of the Southern Cross Door, he passed through countless lights and shadows moving rapidly back and forth for a moment. In the next instant, the feeling beneath his feet made Tang Tian realize that it was the floorboard of his own home.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Tang Tian appeared inside his own room.
The surroundings were so familiar, as if everything that had happened earlier had only been an illusion.
He subconsciously placed his hand on his neck to feel for the Bronze Plate, but what he felt was only air.
Tang Tian trembled and turned pale with fear.
His neck, besides being empty, only had five red threads tied around it.
The Bronze Plate!
Where did the Bronze Plate go?
At that moment, a burning sensation appeared in his palm.
Tang Tian lowered his head to look and saw that a replica of the cross on the door had appeared in his palm.
The cross slowly faded until it completely disappeared.
Unless…
Tang Tian's eyes widened with shock. With a thought in his mind, the scene before his eyes changed. He was once again standing before the Southern Cross Door.
The Bronze Plate had actually been implanted into his body!
After the shock passed, the thick-skinned Tang Tian felt that this method was actually much better.
At least he no longer had to worry about losing the Bronze Plate.
After entering and exiting several times, Tang Tian roughly understood how the Southern Cross Door worked.
What shocked him the most was the rewarded training time.
Once he stepped across the Southern Cross Door, time in the outside world would stop flowing.
Even if he stayed inside for an entire day, time outside would not move at all.
This astonishing discovery was too unbelievable.
Tang Tian was stunned for quite a while before he recovered, a smile spreading across his face. Then he looked toward the sky and burst into loud laughter.
Time!
For the past five years, he had spent an unbelievable amount of time on fundamental martial arts.
His time had been four years slower than everyone else!
But now, he had the possibility of catching up with them!
He could finally get those hours back!
Tang Tian's current mood was extremely difficult to describe.
Five years.
From when he was twelve years old until seventeen.
He had already become the oldest student in Andrew Academy.
Although he always appeared carefree on the outside, deep inside his heart he carried enormous pressure.
The things pushing him forward every day were the numbers on the Bronze Plate that increased whenever he mastered another fundamental martial art, and the longing hidden deep inside his heart.
He wanted to find the bastard who abandoned his wife and son, beat him like a dog, and drag him to his mother's grave to repent.
That longing was enough to fulfill his promise.
He had promised Qian Hui that he would eventually find her in the Immortal Constellation, and they had agreed to walk Heaven's Road together.
Because of this, he had always gritted his teeth and endured.
Today, five years of foolish persistence and being treated like a fool had finally produced results.
"Haha! I definitely need to beat Little Grey a few more times! That way I will get more time!"
"I want to go to Heaven's Road! I want to find Qian Hui! Waoooooo!"
"I'm actually a man like a god! Yes! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Cheering sounds could be heard from outside the house.
Suddenly, the cheering stopped, and Tang Tian's smile froze.
He suddenly realized there was a problem.
Where would he go to learn rank two martial arts?
Rank two martial arts were different from fundamental martial arts because Spirit Cards were required.
Without a Spirit Card, it was impossible to practice them.
Martial artists used their own spirit mark to imprint onto the card, turning it into a Spirit Card.
Spirit Cards had two uses, and one of them was to learn the martial art engraved on it.
"Spirit Card! Spirit Card! Spirit Card…"
Tang Tian's eyes became focused as he repeatedly muttered.
A Bronze Grade Rank Two Spirit Card was not cheap.
Spirit Cards were usually provided by schools, where once students enrolled, the school distributed Spirit Cards according to their strength.
Tang Tian's gaze became even more focused.
Peng peng peng!
A violent knock on the door startled Tang Tian.
The door shook violently as if it would shatter apart.
Tang Tian gasped in fright, immediately remembering that he had no money to repair the door if it broke. He hurried toward the door.
Peng!
The wooden door could no longer withstand the knocking and exploded into pieces.
Tang Tian finally understood the meaning of the saying, "when the roof leaks, it rains all night."
He stood there staring blankly at the shattered pieces of the door.
[Robin: For those who don't understand, the idiom basically means that one bad thing usually leads to many other bad things.]
"Tang Basic! You finally got expelled! Ahha! Good! Truly great!"
Ah Mo Li roared happily from outside.
Tang Tian's eyes flashed fiercely before returning to normal.
His face twisted into a crazy expression. If any normal person saw him at this moment, they would most likely turn around and run away.
"Hahahaha! Wonderful! Truly wonderful!"
Ah Mo Li's saliva sprayed everywhere as he rushed into the house with his massive body like a raging wind.
"Tang Basic! This is your karma! You are destined to work with me to create a new Martial Dao! Come on! Come to my Beast Academy! Let's work together to create a New Martial Dao!"
Tang Tian, who had been about to explode, suddenly froze.
Beast Academy…
"Cough."
Tang Tian loosened his fists and pretended to cough.
Acting like a seasoned veteran, he said,
"Stupid cow, tell me, does your Beast Academy have good opportunities?"
"Opportunities? What do you mean?" Ah Mo Li asked stupidly.
Tang Tian immediately gave up.
"Damn it, I can't believe there are so many people in the world who are even stupider than me."
Disappointed, he waved his hand.
"Let's talk about how you are going to compensate for my door."
Ah Mo Li looked at the door, then back at Tang Tian.
With a serious expression he said,
"Tang Basic, come to my Beast Academy…"
Tang Tian stared at Ah Mo Li in disbelief, thinking in his heart,
"How can there be such a fool in this world…"
Wait a second!
"How did you know I got expelled?" Tang Tian's face darkened.
"You didn't know? The Zhou Clan originally didn't want to spread it, but that idiot Young Master Zhou happily shouted that he would become the Big Boss of Andrew Academy from now on. The entire Star Wind City knows about it now. The Zhou Clan has lost a lot of face this time!"
Ah Mo Li replied.
Zhou Clan!
Tang Tian finally understood the reason why he had been expelled.
A fierce expression appeared in his eyes as he clenched his fists tightly.
This debt would definitely be repaid!
"Come to my Beast Academy! Come, come!"
Ah Mo Li looked at Tang Tian impatiently.
Seeing this, Tang Tian realized he needed to be more direct.
"I only know fundamental martial arts. I just got expelled. How could Beast Academy possibly think about accepting me?"
"Hah, good point!"
Ah Mo Li's face suddenly changed as he nodded immediately.
Seeing him act like this, Tang Tian did not even have the heart to scold him anymore.
Ah Mo Li frowned and squatted down as if squeezing his brain to think of something.
"Hey, hurry up and compensate me for the door," Tang Tian reminded him.
"Don't waste my time. I still need to find a job. Even a man like a god needs to find work!"
Right at that moment, Ah Mo Li slapped the ground happily.
"Ha ha! I've got a plan!"
Peng!
Tang Tian felt the floor shake and almost lost his balance.
With both hands completely embedded in the ground, Ah Mo Li clenched his fists, causing cracks like spider webs to spread across the floor.
Dust began falling from the ceiling.
A rustling sound came from the roof.
Tang Tian stood there like a wooden chicken, staring blankly.
Tang Tian looked at the dirty old man standing before him.
He was even messier and more ragged than Tang Tian himself.
Tang Tian turned his suspicious face toward Ah Mo Li, wondering whether that stupid cow had actually done something good for once.
Although Ah Mo Li looked like a decent person, this was not the time to be doing good deeds!
"Old Fart Wei! I've brought a genius to your school!"
Ah Mo Li shouted loudly as if he were very familiar with the old man.
School?
Hearing this word made Tang Tian even more suspicious.
Which school would actually allow such a sloppy person to hold a position there?
"Genius?"
Old Fart Wei squinted his eyes.
"A genius of fundamental martial arts?"
Ah Mo Li was stunned and said in admiration,
"Ah Ah Ah! Even you can tell!"
Standing there rolling his eyes, Tang Tian could not believe that Ah Mo Li failed to understand the sarcasm in the old man's voice.
Pleased with himself, Ah Mo Li continued.
"He is the martial artist I respect the most. He has the strongest martial artist's heart and is determined to create his own Martial Dao. He is Tang Perfect, Tang Tian, a man like a god!"
"Hehehe! Sounds very powerful!"
Old Fart Wei laughed as he squinted his eyes and examined Tang Tian.
"How about it? We've stunned him now!"
Ah Mo Li assured Tang Tian, pounding his chest proudly.
"Once you let him in, your broken school will definitely turn things around."
"Wuwuwu, that actually makes sense. However, a very interesting problem, Ah Mo Li… don't you want to participate?"
Old Fart Wei smiled brightly at Ah Mo Li.
Tang Tian could not stand it anymore.
In his eyes, the old man looked like someone trying to trick Ah Mo Li, like a kidnapper.
Although he wanted to enter a school, if it came at the cost of Ah Mo Li, he would never accept it.
This stupid cow might be a little dull, but as his brother, Tang Tian felt obligated to help him.
He was about to interrupt when he suddenly saw Ah Mo Li extend his carrot-like fingers and start counting.
"It's not that I can't go, but you have to promise. At least a Silver Grade Blade related Rank Four Spirit Card. Triple the usual pay. Five Grade Four Star Stones. Five Grade Three Star Stones. Full marks on every test but I'm exempt from classes. If I reach the top 50 in the Star Wind City government exam, the reward will be a Grade Four Five-Star Stone. If I reach the top 30, ten Grade Four Star Stones. If I reach the top 10, twenty Grade Four Star Stones. If I reach the top 5, forty Grade Four Star Stones. And if I get first place, one Grade Five Star Stone."
Hearing this, Tang Tian was completely stunned.
What a ruthless deal!
Once this lion opened his mouth…
It was truly brutal and inhuman!
"Deal!"
Old Fart Wei agreed immediately without the slightest hesitation.
Tang Tian instantly froze with a blank expression on his face.