The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

Wu You, Wu Jing, Hua Linlin, and the little black cat with golden eyes lying on the sofa—the three of them and the cat sat in the living room without anyone speaking first.

The atmosphere fell silent for a moment.

Wu You glanced at Wu Jing, who was playing on her phone with her head down, and wanted to say something, but swallowed the words back.

He realized that, given his current identity, he didn't seem to have much to say.

At this moment, Hua Linlin looked at Wu You and then at Wu Jing, and spoke up, breaking the slightly dull atmosphere.

"Xiaojing, the college entrance exam starts tomorrow. Have you registered for the martial arts exam?"

The martial arts exam is newly opened, and it is tentatively planned to be an assessment method that runs parallel to the humanities exam. The first day of the college entrance examination will be the martial arts exam, and the second and third days will be the humanities exam.

Candidates can take both academic and military exams. Whichever subject they pass, they can choose to study there. If they are admitted to both, they can choose freely.

At the same time, Wuhan University has a special policy: as long as you are in high school, whether you are in your first, second or third year, you can apply to participate, and failing the previous assessment will not affect your application for the following year.

This is a special policy formulated by the Investigation Bureau with reference to the best age range for learning Qi and Blood Martial Arts and to increase the number of participants in martial arts examinations.

This is why Wu Jing and her classmates, who are only in their first year of high school, were able to participate in the Wuhan University entrance examination.

Moreover, because the announcement of the opening of martial arts subjects was made relatively late, registration for the martial arts college entrance examinations in various provinces and cities this year was still open until the day before the exam.

The martial arts exam is tomorrow, but if Wu Jing wants to participate, she can still register today.

Wu You also looked at Wu Jing and continued Hua Linlin's words.

His voice came from behind the mask, still that cool, emotionless, neutral voice: "I heard that the higher-ups attach great importance to martial arts, and the benefits are very generous. It's really good if you get in."

Judging from various sources, the situation on Earth will become increasingly severe in the future. For safety reasons, Wu You still hopes that his family can have some means of self-protection.

The special medicinal herbs he brought this time were for this very purpose.

Upon hearing their conversation, Wu Jing looked away from her phone screen.

She slightly raised her head, then shook it.

I didn't register this year.

"I tried practicing, but I don't have the talent for it."

Hua Linlin understood Wu You's thoughts.

She tilted her head slightly and looked at Wu Jing: "Xiao Jing, talent is a tricky thing."

"Maybe it just hasn't been discovered yet?"

"Moreover, even if you register for the martial arts exam but fail, it won't have any impact. You can take the exam three times during your three years of high school."

"You can still sign up this year and give it a try, just to see what the martial arts exam is like."

"It's also a novel experience."

Wu Jing paused for a moment; she was naturally aware of this special policy.

The school notified us, the homeroom teacher posted it in the group chat, and Lin Xinmai and the others also mentioned it.

She knew she was certainly eligible to participate in this year's martial arts examination.

But she was a proud person to begin with.

Lin Xinmai and Xia Yu both signed up, and they are practicing very well. One has already reached the level of "combat skills", and the other is not far from it.

She didn't want to embarrass herself, especially since her friends were there and she was confident she would pass.

In addition, the news of that person's "disappearance" had also had a great impact on her, which is why she seemed so dejected this time and didn't want to participate in anything.

Wu You chimed in, lowering her voice even further: "It's definitely worth a try. What if you pass?"

Wu Jing, who was initially stunned, was speechless upon hearing what "Sister An Shen" said.

What does "what if it passes?" mean?

This makes it sound like the martial arts exam is very simple, and you can pass it with a bit of luck.

Although she didn't know what level of "martial arts" Lin Xinmai and Xia Yu were talking about, she was still aware of her own capabilities.

She practiced that set of broadcast gymnastics for a week and still couldn't learn the first section. How was she able to pass the martial arts exam?

What if it actually passes?

That's even less likely than a comet suddenly colliding with Earth!

Although Wu Jing was inwardly complaining, she couldn't directly retort because of the other party's status as a guest.

She reached out and stroked the head of the little black cat lying next to her.

The cat was lying right next to her hand, its black fur gleaming warmly in the afternoon sun.

She gently scratched the cat's head twice with her fingers, then said, "Never mind, let's not waste time."

The little black cat with golden eyes only twitched its ears slightly after being touched, and then showed no other reaction.

Although Wu You had already witnessed this scene, seeing it again still made his lips twitch.

He had originally intended to stop Wu Jing's actions, but then he remembered that the God of Beasts was in control of the body at this moment.

If He is unwilling, He will naturally jump away on His own.

Therefore, Wu You did not interfere much.

Just now, in the face of Wu Jing's actions, He showed no resistance and did not utter a sound in Wu You's mind.

Since that's the case, Wu You decided to go along with it.

Just as the two were about to say something more to persuade Wu Jing—

Click—

The sound of the door opening rang out.

Then came the sound of shoes being changed—

The three people and the cat all looked up towards the doorway.

A middle-aged man wearing a polo shirt and with slightly graying hair changed his shoes and walked towards the living room.

His hair was much whiter than before, with the white hair at his temples spreading from his temples to the top of his head, like a thin layer of frost.

It was indeed Mr. Wu.

At that moment, Mr. Wu also saw the people in the living room.

His gaze first fell on Hua Linlin, and a simple smile, exactly like Wu Ma's, appeared on his face: "It's Linlin, what's up today...?"

Then, he saw the black figure next to Hua Linlin, still completely covered up.

Baseball cap, sunglasses, face mask, black trench coat.

It was as if someone had stepped out of a spy movie, appeared in his living room, and sat on his sofa.

Upon seeing that familiar figure, Wu You immediately stood up:

"I--"

He was about to say something, but Wu Jing spoke first: "This is Sister Lin's friend, Sister An Shen."

Mr. Wu nodded, his gaze lingering for a moment on Wu You's sunglasses and mask before shifting away: "Oh—"

"So you're Linlin's friend."

"Welcome, welcome."

His voice wasn't loud, but it had a deep, gentle quality characteristic of middle-aged men.

At this moment, Aunt Wu also came out carrying a plate of home-style stir-fried pork.

"You're back? Perfect timing for dinner."

She glanced at Wu's father, then at everyone in the living room, placed the plate in the center of the dining table, and then greeted Hua Linlin and Wu You, saying, "Come on in, thank you for waiting."

All five of them sat down at the dining table.

Hua Linlin sat down next to Aunt Wu, sitting close to her.

Wu You sat in the seat he used to sit in.

Sitting in his seat, Wu You stared blankly at this all-too-familiar scene.

The plates, bowls, chopsticks, and dishes placed in front of him were all the same as before.

At this moment, Hua Linlin coughed slightly.

The cough wasn't loud, but it was enough to pull Wu You out of her daze.

Wu You snapped out of her daze and looked at her.

Hua Linlin pointed to Wu You's face and her lips moved slightly: "Time to eat."

Wu Ma also heard Hua Linlin's words and looked at Wu You with a gentle gaze:

"Hey, Xiao An, it's okay, just make yourself at home."

"There's nothing to worry about."

At the other end of the table, Mr. Wu chimed in, "Don't be shy here, don't be afraid, we won't overthink it."

Clearly, Wu's parents thought that Wu You had a physical defect and didn't want to see people, which was why she was wrapped up so tightly.

Wu You also realized what was happening.

He paused, then sighed inwardly: It was bound to happen eventually.

A moment later, he reached out and took off his mask. The dark-colored cloth that covered the lower half of his face slid down from behind his ear, folded it, and placed it on the table.

Then there were the large sunglasses that covered most of his face. He used two fingers to take them off his nose and placed them on the table.

Finally, there was the baseball cap. The cap, pulled low and concealing his long white hair, was taken off his head, brim up, and placed on his knees.

Wu You's face was fully exposed to the afternoon light.

Long white hair fell from her forehead, spreading out on both sides of her face, with the ends swaying gently in the air.

The silver eyes gleamed slightly in the light, and the starlight deep within the pupils seemed to pause for a moment, as if startled by something.

The sword mark between his brows flashed briefly the moment he took off his hat; a silvery-white light swept across the surface of the mark before dimming and turning into a faint silver trace.

There was a moment of silence at the dining table.