Ninth In the World

Di Jiu was more anxious to master the Di Clan’s Seven Sabers than to get into North Luo University’s Institute of Martial Arts. The Di Clan’s Seven Sabers was considered a top secret art, so he could not practise it out in the open, especially at North Luo University, where there were so many people.

You Huli, who sensed the sincerity in Di Jiu’s words, took a deep breath before he said carefully, “Whatever is mine now will be yours in the future. Leave the Apricot Lake Hall matter to me. Elder Tan treats me really well. Even though he has left for the Swallow Capital, Brother Hu treats me well too.”

Teng Ling’er knew that Di Jiu had prevented You Huli from getting mad at her, but standing quietly in a corner made her feel upset. However, when she saw Di Jiu give You Huli the entry token without hesitation, her bad mood vanished immediately. She bowed before Di Jiu and said, “Brother Jiu, you are indeed Fox’s closest brother. I was really narrow-minded. Please don’t pay attention to the likes of me.”

You Huli snorted. “Women with long hair tend to be short on brains.”

Di Jiu thought that Teng Ling’er was a fairly decent girl.

Although the Apricot Lake Hall was situated a little out of the way, it occupied a wide area. Its infrastructure appeared slightly ancient, as though it had been built many years ago.

When You Huli took Di Jiu to the Apricot Lake Hall, Di Jiu felt that this was exactly the place he needed. The Apricot Lake Hall had a consultation room, a pharmacy, a surgery room and a hospital wing. However, there seemed to be no patients around, and the pharmacy, which sold Chinese medicine, was empty. The only person in the entire Apricot Lake Hall was Brother Hu.

Brother Hu said that he was the person in charge of the Apricot Lake Hall, but the way Di Jiu saw it, he was just a security guard.

Perhaps Brother Hu really trusted You Huli, or this place was just really deserted, because all it took was one sentence from You Huli for Brother Hu to agree to let Di Jiu work there.

Di Jiu’s job would be to sweep the back hall every day. His salary would be 4,000 per month, and he would be allowed to stay at the Apricot Lake Hall, but he would have to cook for himself. Frankly, he would just be the gatekeeper.

If he hadn’t been able to stay at the Apricot Lake Hall, his salary would not even have been enough to cover his food expenses. Now that he was on Earth, having a safe place to stay and such copious amounts of space to occupy satisfied Di Jiu greatly.

You Huli was anxious to register at the North Luo University, so the moment Di Jiu settled down, he immediately rushed away. Brother Hu clearly had no intention of staying there, as he left the Apricot Lake Hall right after he explained everything to Di Jiu.

Thus, Di Jiu was left alone in the big Apricot Lake Hall. He had once enjoyed the privilege of being served by others, but even though he did not need to serve anyone now, he still had to sweep the floor and watch the gates.

Di Jiu, who did not mind this, unpacked his things quickly and immediately took out the Di Clan’s Seven Sabers manual.

He had seen the first move of the Seven Sabers and tried to cultivate it before, but he had not been able to due to his lack of martial roots.

Now that he could practise martial arts, he was soon immersed in the first move of the Di Clan’s Seven Sabers.

…

Everybody knew that the busiest, most bustling area in Luo Jin was North Luo University.

North Luo University was not the only university in Luo Jin. In fact, it was not even the best university in town.

The reason North Luo University was so popular was because the Earth Union had approved its Institute of Martial Arts and sent a martial arts master to teach there. North Luo University was the first university in the whole Nan Jiang Capital to open such an institute.

That day was registration day at the Institute of Martial Arts, so the school was swarming with people. If it had not been for the security guards guarding the entrance, despite its size, the university would have flooded with people.

The people that had come to North Luo University were not limited to the residents of Luo Jin and the South River Province. Many people from across China and the entire world had come to sign up in hopes of getting into the university’s Institute of Martial Arts.

North Luo University was not the first one in China to establish an Institute of Martial Arts. In fact, it was not even among the first 10 to do so. However, there were not many universities in the world with such institutes, so any university that established one immediately attracted the attention of the entire world.

Rong Tao had told Shen Ziyu that North Luo University was terrible and that she should return to the Swallow Capital to learn martial arts, but an Institute of Martial Arts was not a place anyone could enter just like that. His words had been targeted at an extremely small number of people.

There were several paths that people could take to get into the Institute of Martial Arts, but the easiest way was by producing an entry token. Besides that, there were also a few other ways, such as being selected as the top student from each province, being one of the students recommended by the Earth Union, or being scouted by the university itself. However, the university allocated very few slots for this purpose, so this small quota was reached fairly quickly.

You Huli clutched his bag tightly as he squeezed to the front of the university gate. He didn’t wait for the security guards to stop him. He just took the blue entry token out of his bag right away.

As soon as they caught sight of the blue copper plate in his hands, the security guards felt a deep respect for You Huli. They took the entry token carefully with both hands and then returned it to You Huli again. They could not hide the envy in their eyes.

“You! That student over there! Sell me that entry token! I’ll give you five million for it!” somebody outside the school gates hollered.

“If you sell it to me, I’ll give you whatever you ask!” another person shouted, followed immediately by another voice.

You Huli quickly shoved the entry token into his bag and hugged it. He would never sell it to anyone, even if they offered a lot more than five million. He was so eternally grateful to Di Jiu, that he even felt a little guilty. However, he was really desperate to get into the Institute of Martial Arts. This was his lifetime goal.

He decided that, as soon as he made a name for himself, the first person he would help would be Di Jiu.

By this time, somebody had already been sent down to show You Huli around. Every student at the institute was a valued member of the university.

Within a mere 30 minutes, You Huli was done with the registration process. Thanks to the guidance of the assistant who had been sent down to help him, he had already made his way to the main auditorium.

By the time he entered it, there were already over 200 people sitting inside.

Shen Ziyu, who was sitting close to the entrance of the auditorium, glanced at every person who entered.

When she had woken up at the hospital, Di Jiu had already left. She did not feel any more discomfort in her heart, or any other symptoms for that matter. She actually felt much better and way more relaxed.

She was so happy, that she had even stopped Auntie Fang from asking why no one had taken out the trash from the private room yet.

Her sickness had not gotten worse, which meant that she would be able to make it in time for the registration at the Institute of Martial Arts. She felt less restrained compared to when she had been married, so she did not feel the need to complain about many things.

Little had she expected that the price of a North Luo University entry token would rise so high. Even her father had only been able to obtain two North Luo University entry tokens by sacrificing a Swallow Capital University entry token. She had only been given these two entry tokens so that she would agree to the arrangement of her second marriage.

Another hour passed and more than 20 people entered. When she did not see Di Zimo, she realized that he was definitely not coming. If he was not there, then he must have sold his entry token.

Shen Ziyu shook her head. She did not find this strange. At least, she did not owe him anything anymore.

The doors to the hall were locked as an average-sized man walked up to the stage to give a speech.

Numerous people in the auditorium recognized the man. He was the principal of North Luo University, Wang Zhenqi. Judging by his hurried steps, it was easy to tell that he was a little excited. He just couldn’t calm himself down.

The auditorium went silent as Wang Zhenqi’s gaze fell on the audience. He scanned everyone once before he said into the microphone, “Even I did not expect that North Luo University would be granted permission to establish an Institute of Martial Arts. As the principal of North Luo University, I will not avoid speaking about the reason we got the approval. One of our professors, Zhan Zhechen, had the privilege of visiting the Fairy Planet and finding an original martial arts cultivation manual. It was thanks to Professor Zhan’s contribution that we obtained the right to establish this institute.”

“What worries me is that after the exploration, Professor Zhan disappeared from the Fairy Planet. I hope that every future student from the North Luo University Institute of Martial Arts will not forget to seek out Professor Zhan when they are given the opportunity to visit the Fairy Planet…