Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.
On the morning of his departure, he stood on a platform at Planet Qiming's Central Maglev Station.
Beneath the massive dome, streamlined intercity trains, like silver behemoths, silently glided in and out on their designated tracks.
The air was filled with the faint, distinctive scent of ozone from the energy engines.
Qin Feng stood before the train car door, a simple travel bag on his back.
Across from him were his father, Qin Dahai, and his uncle, Wang Ming.
"Once you get to school and settle in, give us a video call."
Qin Dahai's voice was as steady as ever, but his usually calm eyes now held a hint of barely perceptible sorrow at their parting.
"Xiaofeng, when you're out there, be careful. Get along with your classmates. Don't be afraid of trouble, but don't go looking for it either."
Wang Ming chimed in from the side, his eyes a little red. "If you run out of money, just tell us."
"Dad, Uncle, I know."
Qin Feng nodded. "You two take care of yourselves, too."
[The T-001 train to 'Qiming Core Area' is about to depart. All passengers, please board immediately.]
The station's announcement rang out.
"Go on."
Qin Dahai reached out with his one arm and clapped his son firmly on the shoulder.
Qin Feng said no more. He turned and stepped onto the train.
The doors slowly closed, shutting out the two concerned gazes from the platform.
The train started, accelerating smoothly and rapidly. The scenery outside flew backward, and soon, the two figures standing firm amidst the crowd vanished from sight.
The train sped along an elevated track hundreds of meters above the ground, passing through bustling industrial zones and crowded residential districts before finally entering the planet's most central and brilliant region—the Qiming Core Area.
The architecture here no longer followed the utilitarian style of the outer districts.
Every skyscraper was like a meticulously carved work of art. Their outer walls, made of expensive Memory Metal and photosensitive materials, shifted with magnificent displays of light and shadow under the glow of the artificial sky.
Countless small, private anti-gravity shuttles, like schools of colorful fish, zipped through the well-organized skyways in an orderly fashion.
Half an hour later, the train arrived at the station.
Qin Feng left the station and, following the directions on his acceptance letter, transferred to a driverless bus heading for the "First Academy District".
When the bus slowly pulled up to its final stop, a cluster of buildings so magnificent it defied description came into view.
That was Qiming First Martial Arts High School.
It looked less like a school and more like an iron fortress standing in the heart of the city.
The school gate, hundreds of meters tall, was forged from some unknown black alloy. It was shaped like a colossal sword thrusting into the sky. On the hilt, the powerful, ancient-style words 'Qiming First Martial High School' were engraved.
Beyond the gate lay a campus so vast its edges couldn't be seen.
Soaring instructional towers that pierced the clouds, Cultivation Halls with domes like starry skies, open-air training grounds covering tens of thousands of square meters... Countless futuristic buildings were scattered tastefully across the campus, interspersed with meticulously designed gardens and man-made lakes.
A massive, invisible Energy Shield, like an inverted giant bowl, enveloped the entire campus.
Outside the shield was the clamor of the city; inside was a tranquil and solemn Sacred Land, belonging exclusively to the strong.
At this moment, a sea of people had already gathered beneath the sword-like gate.
Countless young faces, carrying travel bags just like Qin Feng, converged here.
They were the small, elite handful of geniuses from among the tens of millions of candidates on Planet Qiming.
Qin Feng blended into the crowd and made his way toward the new student registration area.
He could clearly sense powerful and surging fluctuations of life force permeating the air around him.
A young man who passed by him wasn't particularly tall, but his steps were steady, and his eyes flashed with a sharp glint. The concentration of his life force far surpassed that of any student he had seen at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.
Not far away, a tall girl was leaning against a pillar, resting with her eyes closed. She wasn't doing anything, yet the very air around her seemed to ripple with minuscule tides of energy in sync with her breathing.
Qin Feng even saw a few individuals who were so strong they seemed like monsters.
They were just standing there casually, but the pressure from the life force naturally radiating from deep within their bodies was so tangible that the other candidates subconsciously kept their distance.
Qin Feng could feel that their life force indexes were likely infinitely close to, or had perhaps even reached, 10 points.
Based on his observations while waiting in the registration line, Qin Feng came to a clear assessment of his own position. 'Among the new students of Qiming First Martial High School's class of 2781, my entrance exam rank of over sixty-seven thousand puts me at the bottom.'
This outcome was within his expectations.
He had only just recovered from his severe illness and had, all told, only trained to his absolute limit for a month.
Catching up to this point was already a miracle.
It was only natural that there was a gap between him and the true geniuses who had received top-tier training since childhood and had never strayed from the path.
The line moved forward slowly.
When it was Qin Feng's turn, he handed his electronic acceptance letter and identification to a serious-faced senior student at the reception desk.
The senior student took them and quickly tapped a few times on a data tablet.
"Qin Feng, overall rank 67,321. Confirmed."
The senior's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Sign the [D-Rank Student Resource Contract] here."