I became a martial arts saint while playing games.

Li Shun found an inn for Gu and Shen and booked rooms for them...

...two rooms.

"Then you two sirs should rest well. I will report any further clues immediately."

Li Shun took his leave.

Shen Qinghan was indeed quite tired, and soon went to bed to rest after returning to her room.

Gu Yan doesn't need to rest or sleep; he has other plans and arrangements.

But before that, he paused his progress, exited the game, and returned to reality.

It was getting late, and he should probably head back to school.

...

...

Today is the day of the selection and assessment for freshmen at Linjiang University to switch from liberal arts to military studies.

The taxi stopped outside the campus gate. Gu Yan got out of the car and looked up. He saw that the school gate was grand and spacious, with the four gilded characters "Linjiang University" hanging above the gate, shining brightly in the sunlight.

The school gate was bustling with traffic and students gathered in small groups, creating a lively scene.

Gu Yan entered the school gate and went straight to Teaching Building 7. The teaching building had already been cleared out, and there were eye-catching notices on both sides of the stone steps, which read in black and white: Special Examination for Liberal Arts Students to Transfer to Martial Arts Students. Non-examinees are not allowed to enter.

Two martial arts students stood guard outside the door, stopping anyone who approached and only allowing them to enter by showing their admission ticket.

Gu Yan took out his exam admission ticket and was about to step forward when he suddenly heard someone call out from behind, "Gu Yan!"

Gu Yan turned around and saw that the person who came was tall and strong, with short, neat hair, slightly dark skin, bright eyes that showed enthusiasm, and a smile with a hint of cheerfulness and simplicity.

That was Gu Yan's roommate, Zhou Hao.

Gu Yan said, "Didn't you say you weren't going to take the exam? Why did you still come?"

"Don't even mention it," Zhou Hao waved his hand and said, "I mean, I'm going to fail anyway, so it's pointless to take the exam. But when I went back home during the holidays and told my grandpa, he was furious and said I was being disrespectful."

He said that even if I failed the exam, I had to have no regrets, and he insisted on making me take it no matter what. I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go for it.

Gu Yan knew that Zhou Hao's parents had been working away from home for a long time since he was a child, and he had grown up mainly with his grandfather, so he was especially close to his grandfather. If his grandfather gave him an order, he would probably do anything, even go through fire and water, to find a solution.

However, Zhou Hao's martial arts level was only similar to Gu Yan's before, and neither of them felt that they had little hope of passing the assessment. Although they signed up, they were basically just participating for the sake of participating, which was quite similar to the way Gu Yan and his buddies made a promise to "see you next year for the make-up exam" when they took their final exams in their previous life.

Of course, that was before Gu Yan discovered he had a cheat code.

With the exam time approaching, the two didn't talk much, showed their admission tickets, and entered the teaching building.

Building 7 is the martial arts teaching building, which contains the dedicated venues and equipment needed for the examination. Gu Yan and Zhou Hao registered at almost the same time in their dormitory, and their admission ticket numbers were consecutive, so they were assigned to the same examination room.

Once everyone had arrived, they stood in the open training area. A proctor stepped forward and briefly explained the important points.

"The entire exam will be video recorded and monitored in real time by the Ministry of Education. All candidates are strictly prohibited from using any enhancement drugs; only weapons provided in the examination room are permitted. Cheating is strictly forbidden..."

After the teacher finished speaking, he left the training area and went to the control room next door.

The control room and the training area are separated by a one-way glass partition. The proctors can clearly see the training area from behind the glass, but the students in the assessment area cannot see this side of the glass.

One of the proctors said, "Old Jiang, are there two of your students in the exam room today?"

The teacher, referred to as Lao Jiang, is named Jiang Yi, and is Gu Yan and Zhou Hao's martial arts teacher.

However, martial arts classes for liberal arts students are actually not difficult to teach. After all, the financial resources invested in martial arts in liberal arts are limited, students tend to have less talent, and the martial arts requirements of the academy are also lenient. No one has high expectations for grades, so the teachers naturally teach with ease.

Jiang Yi recognized Gu Zhou and the other person, and said, "Yes, indeed."

He glanced at Gu Yan again, then shook his head.

"I remember this student. He was very dedicated to martial arts, often asking me for advice outside of class, and he practiced diligently. What a pity..."

Jiang Yi shook his head.

The world of martial arts is quite cruel. If you don't have talent, you don't have talent; if you can't learn it, you can't learn it. There are some things in this world that simply cannot be achieved through hard work alone.

The proctor standing nearby said, "So, you think neither of your students has a chance?"

Jiang Yi said, "Yes. Zhou Hao has slightly more talent, but he can't endure hardship and doesn't work very hard. Otherwise, he would have had a chance to become an entry-level martial artist before graduation."

Gu Yan is indeed diligent, but if he wants to advance to the next level...

He sighed and didn't continue.

Statistics show that university is often the period with the highest rate of martial arts practitioners advancing to higher levels. If a person fails to cross the threshold and become a first-level martial artist during their four years of university, they are likely to remain at that level for life and never have the chance to advance to the next level.

It may sound harsh, but it's the truth.

It was because Gu Yan often sought his guidance that he noticed this student and realized that the student had limited talent and a less-than-wealthy family background, and would probably never be able to cross the threshold of entry into the sect.

Since their own teacher said so, the other proctors naturally stopped paying attention to the two of them.

Heaven is inherently unfair; teachers have seen far too many students who work hard but have no hope of promotion.

Their attention was quickly drawn to a student named Lu Xingci on the field.

The assessment is divided into two parts. The first part is a basic elemental energy test, and the second part is the actual combat.

This is the first round. The examinee unleashes their full power of elemental energy, striking the testing device with their palm. The device monitors the level of elemental energy in real time, and AI generates a specific score.

The student named Lu Xingci struck the instrument with his palm, and the examiners immediately received the AI's real-time score.

"95 points!"

All the examiners were taken aback.

This is an extremely high score, which is absolutely rare in the examination hall for transferring to the martial arts major.

The score is out of 100. Reaching 100 means that one's Yuan Energy level has crossed the entry threshold and one has become a first-level martial artist. Even in martial arts, becoming a first-level martial artist in the first year is considered excellent, so how could one possibly see that in the humanities?

A score of 95 means this student is just one step away from entering the next level. Someone with that level should have already gone to the martial arts department; they shouldn't be appearing in this exam hall.

"Perhaps he was lazy in his training in the past, and only started to work hard this semester, which is why his level has improved so rapidly in a short period of time," one examiner analyzed. "Or perhaps he had no intention of pursuing martial arts in the first place, so he applied for the liberal arts major. But after this semester, he suddenly changed his mind and applied to switch to the martial arts major, which is also possible."

The examiners all nodded in approval; such precedents were not uncommon. In any case, this score was likely the highest among this year's freshmen.

"It's quite unexpected that the top scorer this year is in our exam hall."

Lu Xingci had already finished his exam, but the examiners were still discussing him. Although they continued to call out numbers and organize the assessment, they paid almost no attention to the students who followed.

Zhou Hao, who had just finished testing his energy, came off the field looking dejected.

"I knew I wouldn't pass the assessment," Zhou Hao said to Gu Yan. "But what I didn't expect was that my Yuan Energy not only didn't improve, it actually regressed—can you believe it!"

Gu Yan said, "Learning is like rowing against the current. You've been slacking off too much lately, so naturally you'll fall behind."

That's for sure. Cultivating elemental energy is like building muscle; if you don't practice for a long time, you'll naturally regress.

Unlike Gu Yan, whose cultivation level was less than half of what he cultivated himself, with the remaining 95% coming from potential points.

How can the cultivation you've painstakingly acquired be as stable as the points I've gained through cheating?

When Gu Yan's name was called, Zhou Hao patted him on the shoulder and said, "Don't be nervous. We're just there to make up the numbers, so play it easy. The sooner we get up there, the better. We'll go out for hot pot for lunch!"

"OK."

Gu Yan smiled, walked onto the stage, and without exerting any force or preparing, simply struck the testing instrument with a casual palm strike.

Zhou Hao couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

Every candidate who takes the test must prepare for a long time, holding back for half a day, looking as if they want to use all their strength to unleash all their energy in one palm strike.

Gu Yan's palm strike was so light and casual, it seemed like he was just going through the motions, as if he didn't even want to do it.

Dude, when I said play casually, I meant keep a calm mindset, not that you should actually give up.

The examiners next door were still discussing Lu Xingci's score. Jiang Yi glanced casually at the score displayed by the AI ​​while speaking, and muttered, "One hundred points."

He then turned to continue his discussion with the examiners.

But just half a second later, he suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

Wait, what score did I just say?

Jiang Yi suddenly paused, then turned to look at the score on the screen again.

All the examiners who were chatting and discussing simultaneously stopped talking, stopped all their topics, and turned to look at the screen.

Everyone was certain they weren't hallucinating or seeing things; they clearly saw the prominent sausage and two eggs on the screen.

100.