"Dad, Mom, Xiao Fei won the championship of our graduation exam!"
As soon as he got home, Li Tianyu shouted excitedly, seemingly more delighted than if he had won the championship himself.
"Xiao Fei won the championship?"
Li Lei and Zhang Yuqing were both somewhat surprised.
Then Zhang Yuqing smiled gently, "That's really wonderful."
Li Lei also showed a relieved smile, "Not bad, it seems that studying with Mr. Hao has really paid off."
Afterward, they asked Li Tianyu how he did in the exam, and upon learning that she made it to the top eight and received the 'Outstanding Graduate' award, they also smiled with satisfaction.
"You don't know, today that Chen Lixin came to provoke us, and Xiao Fei bet with him..."
Li Tianyu recounted the whole incident with Chen Lixin.
"After Xiao Fei won the championship, he went to claim the prize money from Chen Lixin, and the look on Chen Lixin's face at that moment, hahaha, it was so satisfying!"
Li Tianyu laughed heartily.
After listening, Zhang Yuqing looked worriedly at Li Lei.
Understanding her concern, Li Lei gently patted her hand and said,
"It's fine."
Li Fei had been watching Li Lei's expression closely and only relaxed when he said this.
He turned his head to look at Li Tianyu,
"Sis, if you get admitted to Wuda, you'll encounter Chen Lixin again. You should still be careful."
Li Tianyu responded nonchalantly, "I wasn't afraid of him in technical school, and I'll be even less afraid of him in university."
Li Fei looked towards Li Lei,
"Uncle Li, there should be some kids from the Xing City Inspection Bureau at Wuda, right?"
Li Lei nodded, "Yes, after Tian Yu gets into university, I'll give her a heads-up."
He then said to Li Fei,
"You did well today. Although the Li Family may not compare to the Chen Family, nobody can bully someone from the Inspection Bureau."
"Mhm."
Li Fei nodded emphatically, his face breaking into a smile.
"Alright, let's eat, the dishes are getting cold."
Zhang Yuqing said softly, calling everyone to the living room.
...
The next morning, after having breakfast, Li Fei jogged to the Martial Arts Hall and knocked on Hao Yi's office door.
"Come in."
Hao Yi's voice came from inside.
"Teacher."
Li Fei walked into the office and approached Hao Yi.
Hao Yi, who was drinking tea, looked up at him,
"How was the graduation exam?"
"I won the championship of the exam."
Li Fei said as calmly as he could.
Hao Yi, who was in the middle of drinking tea, paused noticeably, and after a few seconds, he nodded calmly,
"Good, you didn't disgrace me."
"It's all thanks to your teaching."
Li Fei said at the right moment.
Hao Yi's stern expression softened, "Let's go to the Medicine Bath Room."
"Teacher, I've already reached the minor achievement stage of the Heavenly Gang Dominator Body."
Li Fei proclaimed.
"Hmm?"
Surprise finally showed on Hao Yi's face.
Suddenly, he reached out and grabbed Li Fei's arm, feeling the muscle swell and fill with elasticity, almost vibrating his fingers off.
"Not bad!"
A rare smile appeared on Hao Yi's face.
His sudden movement without any warning and Li Fei's timely reaction indicated that the Heavenly Gang Dominator Body had indeed reached minor achievement.
Achieving proficiency in less than ten days, such talent...
He looked at Li Fei with undisguised admiration.
"Now that you have reached the point of proficiency, it's time to introduce you to the Implant," Hao Yi said.
Li Fei was thrilled; he could finally delve into the secrets of Martial Arts of this world!
Then, Hao Yi handed him a bill and told him to go make the payment first.
The amount on the bill was 360 yuan, more expensive than a semester's tuition!
This was the cost of purchasing an Implant.
The reason Liu Xing, who had already become a Rank B student and qualified to access the Implant, hadn't obtained it yet was that he hadn't managed to save up enough money to buy one.
"Fortunately, I won more prize money from Chen Lixin; otherwise, I would have to ask Uncle Li for money again," Li Fei thought to himself.
He had won the championship in the graduation exam and received a prize of 300 yuan, plus an additional 300 yuan given by Chen Lixin, making him feel wealthy with a total of 600 yuan in hand. Yet now, he was about to spend most of it.
After Li Fei made the payment and returned with the receipt, Hao Yi led him out of the office building to a black gate outside.
There were guards on duty at the gate, who were clearly skilled in Martial Arts and also had pistols at their waists.
Since the court's reform, Western gunpowder weapons had been introduced, and new armies were formed. The Inspection Bureaus across the region were progressively supplied with firearms and ammunition, and so were some legal martial institutions.
The fact that the guards arranged by the Martial Arts Hall at this compound were equipped with firearms showed the importance attributed to this place.
"This is where the Martial Arts Hall stores the Implants," Hao Yi told Li Fei.
He then led Li Fei through a very thorough registration process at the gatehouse.
Several minutes later, after passing through a few checkpoints, they finally entered a warehouse within the large compound.
The temperature inside the warehouse was much lower than outside, with rows of refrigeration units lined up.
"There are many ways to store Implants, and the more advanced the Implant is, the more complicated the storage method becomes. All the Implants here are from the Lower Three Grades, so they just need to be kept cool," Hao Yi explained.
"Lower Three Grades?" Li Fei caught these words.
"Do you know where these Implants come from?" Hao Yi asked.
"I do not," Li Fei responded.
"Implants originally come from the body tissue of Exotic Beasts."
"Exotic Beasts." Li Fei paused, recalling memories related to Exotic Beasts from his original body.
This world also had wild beasts, some of which could mutate and become Exotic Beasts.
Most ordinary people would never see an Exotic Beast in their lifetime, so information about them was rare among the populace.
"Exotic Beasts have various powerful abilities. Some are impervious to blades and bullets, some possess immense strength, some can swallow clouds and spit fog, and some can condense ice and spit fire... Some talented and visionary predecessors tried to transfer these abilities from the Exotic Beasts to humans, thus making humans stronger," Hao Yi said.
"They were successful, and thus the Martial Artists were born." Li Fei pondered, envisioning the mighty figures of Martial Artists with both human and bestial traits.
Hao Yi glanced at him, seemingly guessing his thoughts, and sneered, "Compared to Exotic Beasts, the human body is too frail. Initially, the Implants from the bodies of Exotic Beasts were very crude. As a result, nine out of ten Martial Artists would eventually mutate, becoming half-human, half-beast monsters, their human nature gradually overtaken by the beast's instinct, no longer able to be called human."
Li Fei shuddered involuntarily at his words.
"Later, as Implant technology matured and the methods of Martial Arts Cultivation became more refined, the path of Martial Artists slowly became safer. We use Implants to obtain great power, but the essential goal is to continually strengthen ourselves with the Implants and evolve," Hao Yi continued with a serious look in his eyes.
"Remember, the Implant is just a tool to aid your cultivation, to help you become stronger. It's essentially no different from the medicine you use or the weapons like knives, guns, or clubs. If you ever lose sight of this and put the means before the end, at best, you'll undergo a bodily mutation; at worst, your beastly nature will overwhelm your humanity, turning you into a monster with no place in this world!"
When Li Fei heard this, he immediately thought of Hao Yi's blood-red hands.
Li Fei nodded earnestly, "Teacher, I will remember."
"Hmm."
Hao Yi turned to look at the refrigeration units in the warehouse:
"Exotic Beasts are divided into nine grades, with Ninth Grade being the highest and First Grade the lowest. Consequently, Implants are also split into nine grades. Beginners can only use Lower Three Grade Implants for cultivation. Anything higher, and the body wouldn't be able to withstand it."
After saying this, he gestured for the warehouse manager to come over:
"Bring over that box of high-quality Second Grade Steel Armor Implant."
...