High Martial Arts: Become a God by Spending Money, Start by Spending All Your Compensation Funds

An hour later, Qingcheng Railway Station came into view.

Qingcheng is just a small third-tier city, with only two daily trains, one in the morning and one in the evening, stopping at the floating train bound for the capital.

An hour and a half before the early bus departs, a large crowd has already gathered in the station square, mostly students carrying luggage and business people on their way.

Lin Yun walked to a breakfast stall by the roadside and had just ordered a bowl of soy milk and fried dough sticks when a tentative greeting suddenly came from behind him.

"Lin Yun?"

He turned around and saw a couple of similar age standing there.

The boy, dressed in quick-drying sportswear with training wristbands wrapped around his wrists, was Zhang Hao, my classmate from junior high school.

The girl next to him, with light makeup, was Chen Yu, his classmate from back then.

When Zhang Hao saw his face clearly, his eyes lit up for a moment, revealing a hint of inquisitive curiosity.

Chen Yu raised her chin and scanned Lin Yun from head to toe. Her gaze moved from his ordinary casual clothes to his worn backpack, as if she were weighing something, which made people feel a little uncomfortable.

"It really is you! It's been so long!"

Zhang Hao smiled and took two steps forward, speaking casually.

"Are you going to report to the martial arts academy? By the way, what's your cultivation level now? How did you do on the exam?"

Lin Yun took the fried dough sticks from the stall owner and said in a flat tone, "Martial Apprentice Level 1, not bad."

As soon as Lin Yun graduated from junior high school, he was kicked out of the class group chat. The group admin at the time seemed to be Zhang Hao. If it weren't for the fact that they had been classmates for three years, he wouldn't have bothered to reply.

On the other hand, when Zhang Hao heard Lin Yun's answer, his smile paused for a moment, then he seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, followed by a knowing smile.

"Martial Apprentice Level 1? Hey, I was just wondering. I heard someone say the other day that there's a dark horse in Qingcheng this year named Lin Yun who managed to get into the top martial arts academy in the capital. I thought it was you, turns out it's just a coincidence of names."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yu immediately scoffed, rolled her eyes without any attempt to hide it, and turned down at the corners of her mouth.

The interest she had in Lin Yun vanished instantly, leaving only a look of indifference.

The fact that two people from Qingcheng were admitted to the top martial arts academy in the capital this year has already spread throughout the local martial arts community.

One is Su Nianhe, the eldest daughter of the Su family, and the other is a commoner who suddenly appears out of nowhere.

They originally thought it was their junior high school classmate and were looking forward to catching up, but they were wrong.

Zhang Hao's sense of superiority immediately followed. He raised his wrist, flexed his knuckles, and spoke with a hint of smugness.

"That's normal. The top martial arts academy in the capital isn't easy to get into. I didn't do so well this year and only got into the Jiangnan Martial Arts Academy. I'll hone my skills in the provincial capital, and I might have a chance to move up in the future."

As he spoke, he turned his head to the side, patted Chen Yu's hand, his tone slightly teasing, and deliberately spoke loudly, wanting Lin Yun to hear.

"Back in junior high, you were always praising how good-looking and academically gifted he was, saying he'd definitely amount to something. Now it seems he's just so-so. He's only at the first level of Martial Apprentice after all this time. What a waste of all that effort you put in back then."

Chen Yu playfully slapped his arm, then glanced at Lin Yun sideways, her tone slightly disdainful.

"That was all because I was young and didn't know any better. Who knew he would become more and more useless as he grew up? Luckily, I didn't confess my feelings to him."

The two spoke in unison, their words dripping with sarcasm.

In their eyes, a first-level martial arts apprentice is basically at the bottom of the martial arts circle. They can probably only get into a third-tier martial arts academy. At most, they can only make a living in this world. They are not from the same world as those of them who are admitted to regular martial arts academies.

Lin Yun held the soy milk cup, his face expressionless.

He neither got angry nor offered an explanation.

To people with different perspectives, saying even a single word is a waste.

Seeing that he remained silent, Zhang Hao assumed that he had been hit where it hurt and dared not refute, and his sense of superiority became even stronger.

He put his arm around Chen Yu's shoulder and deliberately raised his voice a few decibels: "I'm not saying this to be mean, but back then you were the only one in our class with decent grades. But in the end, martial arts are all about aptitude and cultivation. Studying by rote is useless; in the end, you'll still be stuck at the bottom."

Chen Yu nestled in his arms, nodded, and looked at Lin Yun with nothing but contempt.

The two were singing in harmony when a surprised voice suddenly came from behind them.

"Lin Yun? It really is you!"

A boy wearing a martial arts training uniform walked over quickly, his face full of surprise. It was Zhao Kai, his classmate from junior high school.

His family runs a small martial arts school in Qingcheng. He grew up immersed in the martial arts circle and is very well-informed.

He walked up to Lin Yun in a few steps, his tone filled with genuine admiration: "I thought I was seeing things. Are you going to the capital to report for duty? My dad was telling me the other day that our Qingcheng has produced such a dark horse, managing to break into the top martial arts academy in the capital. He told me to learn from you."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Hao's smile instantly froze.

He was stunned for a moment, then turned to look at Zhao Kai with an incredulous expression.

"Zhao Kai, you've mistaken him for someone else. He is indeed Lin Yun, but he's only at the first level of the Martial Apprentice realm. How could he possibly have gotten into the top martial arts academy in the capital?"

"Martial Apprentice Level 1?"

Zhao Kai was taken aback at first, then his gaze fell on Lin Yun. After carefully sensing him for a moment, his eyes widened suddenly, as if he had thought of something, and he gasped.

"Holy crap, I have to start all over again after my cultivation is completely destroyed?"

His words came out of nowhere, leaving Zhang Hao completely confused: "What do you mean by 'dispersing internal energy'?"

"You don't even understand this, and you still have the nerve to laugh at others?" Zhao Kai glanced at him, his tone carrying undisguised disdain. "Lin Yun's basic cultivation method must be quite special. After reaching its peak, he disperses his qi and blood, then cultivates it again, increasing the refinement of his qi and blood by at least 10-20%. He's aiming for perfect Foundation Establishment, or even the ultimate Foundation Establishment!"

He paused, then added a sentence, each word piercing Zhang Hao and Chen Yu's hearts.

"Don't underestimate him just because he's only at the first level of Martial Apprentice. He could easily take on someone like you at the third level of Martial Apprentice with one hand. You two are being sarcastic and insincere, but he can't be bothered with you. You're not even on the same level."

Zhang Hao opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time.

He glanced at Zhao Kai, then at Lin Yun, whose face remained calm. His face flushed red and then paled, his earlier sense of superiority completely shattered.

Chen Yu's face turned pale, and her lips were pressed tightly together.

She never imagined that the person she had just been so disgusted with was actually the genius dark horse who had become famous throughout Qingcheng.

She had only heard these terms from her family elders: "dispersing one's cultivation and rebuilding," and "reaching the ultimate foundation." These were paths that only true geniuses dared to take.

She recalled what she had just said, and felt her face burning with embarrassment, wishing she could disappear into the ground.

Lin Yun then raised his eyes and nodded slightly to Zhao Kai: "Are you going to report too?"

"Yeah, I'm going to report to the Jiangnan Martial Arts Academy." Zhao Kai scratched his head and smiled shyly. "I definitely can't compare to you, I'm just going to get a diploma."

"Jiangnan Martial Arts Academy is quite good."

The two exchanged a few casual pleasantries before the station's public address system announced the ticket check.

Lin Yun picked up his backpack, gestured to Zhao Kai, and turned to walk towards the entrance, never once glancing at Zhang Hao and Chen Yu again.