The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

For the next half hour, the two of them did not discuss any important matters concerning the secret realm.

They took out their phones; one searched for good roasted whole lamb near the Bahrain Desert, while the other searched for recommended desert camping equipment in Northwest China self-driving tour guides.

"You've gone to a hidden gem, not a tourist destination in Northwest China."

"That won't stop us from having roasted lamb leg on the way, sir!"

Chen Hao stopped talking.

He picked up his phone again and read the briefing once more.

A secret realm that does not belong to any known era or race.

The scale far exceeds what is common sense.

Moreover, it is turning on by itself.

This is abnormal in itself.

Ancient secret realms all have owners, and where there is an owner, there is a lock. Without a key, the secret realm will not open itself to the outside world.

unless...

The contents inside are being pushed out.

He turned off his phone and suppressed the thought.

Maybe we'll see when we get there.

The following week, society as a whole was running at full speed.

Gaowu School launched its enrollment tests simultaneously in 31 provinces across the country.

Each province has five testing sites, and the queues stretch from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, with lines extending two streets from the entrance of the testing center.

The "talent rankings" for each province are updated online every day.

More than 5% of geniuses are extremely rare.

Those in the 3% to 5% range are referred to by netizens as "near-geniuses".

Those who barely make the cut (2% to 3%) are called "threshold players".

After the test, most people looked at the numbers 0.3% and 0.5% on the screen, then silently walked out of the testing room without saying a word.

2%.

That doesn't sound high.

However, it excludes 88 percent of the eligible population.

On major social media platforms, emotions have been divided into three camps.

One group posted photos of their admission notices and absorption rate scores, captioned "My dream of becoming a martial arts master begins today," while the comments section was filled with envy and congratulations.

One group consisted of those who failed the exam but were still determined. They flocked to major e-commerce platforms, searching for "Flame Spirit Stones." The price of a low-quality Flame Spirit Stone changed daily.

The price of medium-quality stones tripled. Some people sold their houses to raise money to buy them, while others maxed out their credit cards to hoard them. Social media was flooded with posts like "Self-Cultivation Guide to Flame Spirit Stones" and "Diary of a Wild Cultivator."

The third group completely gave up. Their absorption rate was too low, they were too old, and they had neither talent nor money.

They complained online, saying this was "class stratification in the new era," and that "the rich eat meat while the poor can't even get soup."

But grumbling aside, the gears of reality won't stop just because of a few complaints.

Chen Siyao has been keeping a close eye on these developments for the past few days.

What caught her attention were three new phenomena.

The first is the emergence of "spirit seekers".

Besides the large state-controlled mines, Flame Spirit Stones are increasingly found in the wild – scattered pieces have been found in the crevices of hills, under the riverbeds of streams, and even on construction sites in the suburbs.

The quantity is small and the quality varies, but the demand is too great.

Thus, a completely new profession was born.

The spirit seeker.

This group specializes in searching for Flame Spirit Stones in the wild. Some are employed by wealthy families, receiving a fixed salary plus commission; others are independent individuals who sell them on the black market once they find them.

The equipment ranged from the initial simple detectors to various homemade "psychic sensors," a wide variety of styles.

The government initially tried to control the collection of Flame Spirit Stones in the wild, but quickly gave up... The distribution was too scattered and random, making it impossible to manage.

Finally, a compromise was reached: the Flame Spirit Stones from national mines belong to the state, and those found scattered in the wild belong to whoever finds them first.

As soon as the news broke, the number of people seeking spirits increased fivefold within three days.

The second phenomenon is the rise of private martial arts schools.

Public martial arts schools have high entry requirements and limited places, excluding many wealthy people who lack the talent. When market demand arises, supply immediately follows.

The first to act were the major ancient martial arts sects. Those reclusive sects that had existed for hundreds of years before their mysterious resurgence emerged from the mountains and set up schools.

For example, Wudang, Shaolin, and Emei rely on their millennia-old heritage to teach ancient martial arts cultivation methods; some are founded by top practitioners who attract wealthy students to enroll by virtue of their own strength and reputation.

Some schools directly rent office buildings in the city center, while others acquire land in the suburbs to build schools, and their enrollment brochures are filled with flowery language.

The entry requirements are lower than those of public schools, but the tuition fees are sky-high.

Starting at 300,000 a year, with top-tier classes starting at 1 million and up.

The third phenomenon is the most interesting.

Some people have started teaching cultivation techniques in live-streaming rooms.

It's not the kind of serious teaching, but rather a "cultivation challenge" that various internet celebrities and self-media bloggers use to gain popularity.

Some bloggers held a Flame Spirit Stone and meditated in front of the camera for two hours, while the comments section was filled with "Dude, your absorption rate can't be 0.01%!"

Some claimed to be "disciples of reclusive masters" and taught viewers how to make simple spirit-gathering arrays using mineral water bottles, only to be exposed as micro-business owners selling health products.

Chaos, noise, and mud and sand all mixed together.

But beneath this chaos, there is a clear thread...

Wealthy people can accelerate their evolution by spending money to buy Flame Spirit Stones and advanced cultivation techniques.

Ordinary people can pass the entrance exams of advanced martial arts schools and follow the official route provided by the state.

Those who have neither money nor talent can only stand by the roadside and watch these two groups of people run further and further away.

Chen Siyao came across a news article: "The son of a wealthy businessman paid five million yuan a year to enter a private martial arts school, and the principal promised that he would break through to the Body Tempering Realm within three years." Some commenters sarcastically remarked, "It's good to be rich."

A new order is taking shape.

Chen Siyao placed her phone face down on the table and rubbed her temples.

She opened her chat window with Qin Zheng and sent him a message:

"Director Qin, is the price of Flame Spirit Stones still rising?"

Qin Zheng's reply came quickly:

"The latest data came out yesterday: the average price of low-grade Flame Spirit Stones is 25,000, and mid-grade is 68,000. Moreover, the supply cannot meet the demand, and there is no market for them. The higher-ups are discussing whether to introduce price control policies."

"What about private schools? Are they regulated?"

"A regulatory framework is being established, but to be honest, it's not keeping up. They're popping up too fast. In Shenzhen alone, seventeen new private martial arts training institutions were registered last week."

Chen Siyao stared at the screen for a while, then asked another question:

"Any new developments in the Bahrain desert?"

"The crack is still widening. The energy fluctuations are 14 percent stronger than last week. We have set up a temporary command center around it, with Director Fang Zhiyuan of the Northwest Special Affairs Bureau leading the team stationed there."

"Did anything escape from that vortex?"

"Not yet. However, monitoring data shows that the spatial structure inside the vortex is stabilizing. The expert team's preliminary assessment is that it will take about two months for it to fully stabilize."

two months.

Chen Siyao remembered what her brother had said—there was no need to wait two months.

She exited the chat window and glanced at the calendar.

There are only three days left until May Day.

The first day of the May Day holiday.

Chen Siyao woke up at six o'clock in the morning.