ninth in the world
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
At the school gate of Pearl College, a teenager wearing green casual clothes was waiting expectantly, staring at the school gate. When the music that announced the end of class was heard, the school gates opened and a group of young men and women rushed out of the gate.
The teenager in the green clothes stared in admiration at the group of young men and women rushing out of the school gate. He instantly hid his admiration and continued his search among the crowd.
A moment later, the teenager’s eyes lit up. He walked quickly towards a teenage girl in a purple flowery dress and handed her a flower bouquet. “Man Man, this is for you,” he told her.
The teenage girl paused for a moment. Her smooth white skin looked like milk. As she looked up at the teenager, her beautiful complexion made everyone around her pale in comparison. Saying that she stood out from the crowd would be an understatement. However, as the teenage girl stood there, every other young man and woman around seemed to lose their youthful radiance.
Even though she looked like a young adolescent, her body had a perfect outline. One could imagine how brilliant she would look a few years later. Everyone at college knew who she was. She was Zhen Man, the most beautiful girl in Pearl City.
Zhen Man looked at the teenager who was madly in love with her. She did not accept the flowers he was holding in his hand. She remained silent for over 10 seconds before she eventually said gently, “I have just stepped into the Martial Knight realm, Di Jiu 1 . I will be leaving the Ji Nation soon. Take good care of yourself. We shall meet again in the future if fate wants us to.”
Di Jiu’s hand started to tremble. He dropped the flower bouquet from his hand, letting the flowers scatter on the ground.
He clearly knew the meaning behind Zhen Man’s words. Given her potential in martial arts, he knew that it would be a matter of time before Zhen Man would leave the Ji Nation. However, he had not expected that it would happen so soon. In order to practise martial arts, one had to pass the Martial Knight realm before the age of 20, before they were able to leave the Ji Nation and proceed to the Lu Yuan Empire.
Di Jiu had just completed the Martial Knight realm test for sixteen-year-olds, but he had failed it. The entire Pearl City had heard the news, including Zhen Man.
“Sorry!” Zhen Man lowered her head and said three words softly. She sighed silently as she walked around Di Jiu and walked away quickly.
She had given Di Jiu plenty of chances. She had waited for him, but he had failed the Martial Knight realm test three times. Actually, if he had failed his third test by a small margin, she would not have to leave the Ji Nation so soon.
…
Martial arts were practised widely both in the Ji Nation and in the Yalun Continent, where the Ji Nation was located. Although the level of technology was really high there, people that practised martial arts still ruled the land. Technology just serviced the martial arts, so the rulers of the countries were all martial arts masters.
In order to practise martial arts in the Yalun Continent, one had to possess martial roots. People without martial roots or signs of martial roots were only able to practise martial arts to keep fit. They were never able to become real martial arts masters, no matter how hard they worked.
Martial roots showed up at different times for different people. The test to uncover martial roots was conducted at various ages. The first test happened before the age of five. If one was deemed gifted at that age, they were usually an individual with great potential.
If one’s martial roots did not show during the first test, that person would still be able to continue to practise martial arts. There were some people that only showed their martial roots at the age of 12. If they did not though, there was still a final test conducted at the age of 16.
If one’s martial roots did not show at the age of 16, then that person would not be able to practise martial arts anymore. There was no case of martial roots showing up after the age of 16 in the entire Yalun Continent.
Di Jiu had been extremely smart since a young age, so it had been rumored that he was the number one genius in the Ji Nation. His father, Di Shan, had placed all his hopes on Di Jiu. He was hoping that he would flourish and practise martial arts for the entire Di clan.
However, great hopes only begot great disappointment. The first test revealed that Di Jiu did not have martial roots. If he did not have the gift, he would not be able to practise martial arts.
As he watched his peers practise martial arts hard and his companions pull away from him slowly, Di Jiu put all his effort into studying. He believed that his martial roots would definitely appear. They were just a little late.
The Ji Nation’s education system emphasized on a combination of modern technology and theory. By the age of 12, Di Jiu had spent eight years learning what others would learn in 20 or 30 years. He had even designed a new aircraft model.
However, when he took the second test at the age of 12, he still did not show any martial roots.
Di Jiu was getting anxious, and so was his father. Di Jiu had also lost his interest in technological research. The only reason he had worked so hard to learn about technology had been to use up the time others were spending practising martial arts. After failing two martial arts tests in a row, he did not have the heart to keep learning anymore.
Di Jiu’s father told Di Jiu that he shouldn’t get anxious. There would still be a third test when he turned 16.
However, Di Jiu did not want to wait. He started to practise medicine instead.
In the Yalun Continent, technology geniuses were worthless. Their social status was the lowest one in existence. However, practising medicine came a close second to practising martial arts. If one was able to achieve greatness through practising medicine, they would gain a lot more respect than a martial arts master.
Still, Di Jiu did not start practising medicine because it was second best to practising martial arts. He was worried that he would still not have martial roots when he took the third test at the age of 16.
However, the grand medical master of the Ji Nation, whose name was Xue Tuo, had once said that the best medical masters could use certain methods to allow people without martial roots to continue practising martial arts. Di Jiu practised medicine because he wanted to find a loophole. In the event that he took his martial arts test at the age of 16 and he still did not have martial roots, he would be able to use his medical skills to open up a martial arts path for himself.
He did not tell anyone of his intent, as he knew that, if word got around, he would become a laughing stock.
A medical master who could make a person with no martial roots keep practising martial arts would be more respectable than the King of the Ji Nation. There might not even be one person in the entire Yalun Continent that possessed such an ability. What Xue Tuo had described might only have been a mere legend.
The Di clan was a very rich family. Di Shan was the number one warrior and general in the Ji Nation, and Di Jiu was his only son, so he could have any medical books he wished.
In four years, Di Jiu had managed to finish reading all the medical books the Di clan had obtained. He had also become an apprentice of medical masters like Xue Tuo, Wan Chun and Fang Xi Lin. Di Jiu was extremely smart, so after four years of learning, his medical skills were much higher than most medical masters’.
When Di Jiu was 15, he fell in love with a girl. The girl was Zhen Man, the most beautiful girl in Pearl City.
From the first time he saw her, he had fallen deeply in love with her. He didn’t know whether this was because he was young and full of affection, or because Zhen Man was simply too pretty, but from the moment he saw her, he had not been able to forget her.
He did not tell his father his secret reason for studying medicine, but he told his father that he loved Zhen Man. He was hoping that his father would go to the Zhen family and ask for her hand in marriage.
Di Shan had had six sons, but five of his sons had died serving the country, so Di Jiu was his last surviving son. Di Jiu was very diligent, but even if he had been a useless person that sat around and did nothing all day, he would still have gone personally to the girl’s family to propose marriage.
Di Shan was the number one general in the Ji Nation, so he controlled more than 70% of the country’s army. He was only second to the king himself. He showed a lot of respect to the Zhen family by proposing the marriage personally.
The Zhen family did not accept or reject the proposal immediately. They only said that they should let the two of them interact with each other to see if they got along.
Zhen Man did not accept or reject Di Jiu’s courtship either. She just stayed close to him.
In the blink of an eye, Di Jiu had turned 16 and his worry had become reality. When he took the third test at the age of 16, Di Jiu still did not show any martial roots.