October; the northern lands are already covered in heavy snow, rendering the world a vast expanse of white.
At the end of the wilderness, a great city rises from the ground.
The city walls are hundreds of meters high and several tens of meters thick — wide enough for two large trucks to run side by side on top.
Constructed entirely of reinforced concrete, an array of sensor mines are spread in the thousands of kilometers around the city walls. Numerous metal gun barrels of varying visibility extend outward in a dense fashion.
Even under the city walls, there are dozens of meters of concrete pouring, with alloy iron gates weighing hundreds of tons sealing off the city, forming an almost invincible fortress. Whether it is the sky, the ground, or underground, they are all armed to the teeth.
The city sprawls for a hundred miles — it is the largest Base City in the north of Hua Xia. In the era of the Common Era, this place was called Harbin. After the God Transformation Calendar, it was renamed Ice City. Following its liberation and development, it became a bridgehead in the human war against the Mutated Beasts and was also the northern homeland where people depended for survival.
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Sixth High School is located in the North District of Ice City, with thousands of students in the campus. Today is the last class for the senior year, with graduation exams coming up next.
The class teacher for class three is giving a lecture on the podium.
"Today is my last class with you. In three days the graduation exam takes place, with cultural classes in the morning and physical fitness tests in the afternoon. This day will determine your future fate. The results will be announced immediately, with the military and major martial arts halls present for recruitment. Whether you can win the favor of the martial arts halls and whether you can make something of yourselves in the future depends on this. As your tutor, I wish you good luck."
Having finished teaching, the tutor turns around to tidy her things and leave the classroom. School's out.
Details regarding Mortal Realm, Star Realm, Hua Xia District, power, Thunder
The students were leaving the school in a school of. Many, however, did not leave the campus immediately, as they had a deep attachment to the school and wanted to retain their last memories here.
Familiar students gathered in twos and threes, bidding each other farewell and discussing their futures.
"It's so nerve-wracking! Graduation exams are coming up. I don't want to go to college. I want to become a Martial Artist. I'm not worried about the cultural class, but what about the physical tests? My punch strength is less than 150kg, no martial arts hall will want me."
"Even though my punch strength has reached the 200kg pass line, which is the entry standard for a second-level Warrior, my average punch speed is only 4.5 punches per second, which isn't up to the mark. Do I have to be a mobilized soldier?"
"4.5 should still have room for improvement. As long as you pass the cultural class and your nerve reaction reaches the pass mark of 0.1, you should still have a chance to enter a martial arts hall. Besides, the military isn't necessarily a bad thing. There are a fair number of Martial Artists who come from the military, right?"
"That's because the military has a high base number. Besides, the real strong ones still come from martial arts halls. For example, Gale, the strongest man in Hua Xia. His Gale Martial Arts Hall is the number one martial arts hall in Hua Xia District. I dream of becoming a Gale warrior."
"Don't even think about Gale. Even Changfeng and Dragon Slayer, these two martial arts halls, are not ones that average people can enter. In our class, only Ouyang Yu, Meng Dong, and Lin Zhen have hopes. They are the three main pillars of our class."
"Ouyang Yu and Meng Dong are alright, but Lin Zhen might be a little lacking. I heard that he offended Ouyang Yu because of our school flower, An Ning. Ouyang Yu has spread the word that he will not let Lin Zhen enter any martial arts hall."
"Really, martial arts halls will listen to Ouyang Yu?" a classmate asked, not believing it.
"It's hard to say. Ouyang Yu's family is very influential, his father is a government official from the Base City. As long as Lin Zhen's results are not extraordinary, a common martial arts hall would typically give face."
"Really? Then Lin Zhen is in danger. His results are just above the qualifying line. Huh! Where is Lin Zhen? Why can't I see him? I remember he was here just now."
The male students chatting idly looked around and saw a figure walking off far away. It was Lin Zhen.
In his black eyes flashed a glint of determination, Lin Zhen's steps were quick.
He had forgotten how long it had been since he walked this fast. Even though his body was still weak, his blood was boiling, his whole body was filled with strength.
He was incredibly fortunate that when he was on the brink of his lifespan, a cosmic black hole phenomena appeared. Time collapsed and returned, his soul was returned to Earth, back to the eve of his high school graduation.
In his past life, Lin Zhen was devoted to martial arts, hoping that one day he could change his own fate and the fate of his family, but fate never really favored him.
Although his qualifications were okay, they were not considered genius. Added with his commoner background and scarce resources, his martial arts career was unbearably tough and full of difficulties.
Either you should have no qualifications at all and be an honest ordinary person, or you should be a genius. For a low-level Martial Artist like Lin Zhen, it was too hard to stand out. He had been crushed by countless geniuses throughout his life and became the stepping-stone of countless people. Although he was smart, his achievements were ultimately limited.
By the end of the God Transformation Calendar, Lin Zhen was still alive, but he had always lived in humiliation. His wishes to realize his value and take care of his family had been shattered. He lived long enough, merely because he could endure. Even though some geniuses had died, he was still alive. But this was not what he desired.
After the end of the God Transformation Calendar, Earth underwent a second drastic change. Humans began to leave the Earth and migrate to stars. In the end, he managed to survive in the stars. He even broke through the Mortal Realm successfully and succeeded in challenging the Star Realm.
However, that was only the beginning of another tragedy. Lin Zhen still lived at the bottom, oppressed by countless geniuses, never seeing the day to rise above.
Not until his next breakthrough attempt failed, his lifespan was exhausted, and he was on the brink of death did he gain some insight. He lived his life cautiously with safety first and lived long enough, but was never able to take the next step. This was not the path of a Martial Artist; he had taken the wrong path from the start.
If he had the chance to start over, he would seize every opportunity, use all resources, and strive to walk a path that leads to the heavens.
Martial Artists should be against the heavens. If they choose mediocrity, they should not practice martial arts!
This was Lin Zhen's enlightenment before his death. He thought it was too late. Everything was over. There would be no chance to start again.
Before he closed his eyes, he saw the heavens being torn apart, the tide of time reversing, and a storm of time and space wreaking havoc. A cosmic black hole had appeared!
He felt as if his soul was about to be torn apart by the energy of the black hole. But when he opened his eyes, he was surprisingly in the high school classroom.
He was still Lin Zhen. He was still alive and had returned to Earth, back to the age he wished to return to most, with all his memories intact.
When Lin Zhen left the classroom, he still could hardly believe everything he was seeing.
But everything around him told him that this was real. He had returned.
"My long lost family, I have returned! The girl I loved, I have returned!"
All the regrets of the past life, this life must not have!