"After the meteor fell century ago, catastrophic earthquakes ruptured the earth and countless countries became victims of devastating tsunamis. Countless lives were buried and lost. Even the continents we once knew shifted…" As the female lecturer lectured in front, she pushed her glasses up and her gaze landed to the front of the classroom.

The teenager in front was listening attentively and the notebook on his desk was full of notes. He sat with his back straight, his black hair styled in a two-block haircut, with the sides much shorter than the top. He was 173 centimeters tall with excellent stature. His looks made many female students absent-mindedly stare at him while having a textbook in front of them to hide from the teacher's view.

The female instructor obviously noticed the little tricks. However, she couldn't help it. The students were clearly more interested in the boy than her boring history class. She could even see some males sneaking glances at the teenager.

But she did not reprimand them. This had happened dozens of times, and she couldn't be bothered with unproductive scolding.

With a bit of helplessness and frustration, the female instructor smiled at the teenager and said, "Student Sam, since most of your classmates are clearly attracted to your appearance than the lecture, why don't you tell us how the Era of Beasts came about?"

Sam Rivers had noticed the glances around him; he was quite used to it. At the same time, he was sorry towards his teacher. He stood up and answered with a soothing and confident voice, "The Era of Beasts began a year after the world recuperated from the meteor impact, in the year 2026. The aftereffects of the meteor impact opened a spatial rift to another dimension, where ferocious beasts reside. After the two worlds merged, monsters invaded Earth, and the planet was once again plunged into chaos. Humanity was on the brink of destruction. Fortunately, the monster invasion awakened the dormant spiritual energy, allowing the ancient humans beneath the earth to emerge and fight back against the threats.

"Thanks to the efforts of ancient humans, humanity was able to rebuild sanctuaries as beacons of hope. A century has passed since the Era of Beasts, but the threat still looms to this day."

"That's right!" The female instructor's expression was heavy as she said, "If not for the ancient humans guiding us, modern humans, onto the path of martial arts and arcane arts, we wouldn't be able to survive. That's why you should strive to open more genetic locks or open the spiritual mind; to fight for the survival of humanity!"

The students snapped from their daydream and a look worry slowly appeared on each of their faces. Clearly, the words of the female instructor had awakened them to the harsh reality.

The world had been invaded by ferocious monsters. Even though ancient humans possessed natural affinity for martial arts and arcane arts, they were still in the minority. Most modern humans didn't have the natural gift of cultivation that ancient humans had.

Modern humans must unlock genetic locks or open the spiritual mind to cultivate.

There are ten genetic locks in the human body. The more genetics unlocked, the longer one could walk to the path of martial cultivation.

But only a small number of modern humans could fully open ten genetic locks; most could only unlock three.

The path of martial cultivation is already difficult enough, not to mention the awakening of the spiritual mind, which is ten times harder than unlocking genetic locks.

The fate of humanity rests in their hands, and they are the hope of the next generation. Each day they survive means the blood and sweat of those on the frontlines.

"Next month is the practical exam. Those who have unlocked fewer than three genetic locks will be sent to the frontline. You must prepare well if you want to survive. Class dismissed." After saying that, the instructor quickly left the classroom.

After the instructor left, the atmosphere in the classroom grew oppressive. Even the girls who usually admired Sam Rivers couldn't be bothered anymore.

Being sent to the frontline at an early age mean the path of cultivation was hopeless. In fact, many considered it as death sentence.

The death mortality on the frontline was high. Warriors who had only unlocked one or two genetic locks were essentially cannon fodders, and typically perished within a month of enlistment. Only a few managed to survive.

"What should I do? I've only unlocked one genetic lock. With only a month left, it's certain that I'll be sent to the frontline!"

Most students faced this dilemma. Azure School's Class Nine was mostly made up of commoners who lacked resources.

At the Azure Base Sanctuary, it was rare for a commoner to unlock more than three genetic locks.

Sam Rivers silently observed the classroom before glancing at the clock. As soon as it struck twelve o-clock, he stood up and erased the markings on the whiteboard.

After finishing his daily routine, he quietly left the classroom.

…

The Azure School was one of the branch schools of the Azure Base Sanctuary. It was established by the government to train students into capable soldiers.

After four years of compulsory education, students were required take practical exams. If they failed to meet the school's requirements after three practical exams, they would be sent to the frontline. 

This clause was agreed upon and signed by students when they enrolled in the school. Those who attempted to escape would be labeled as traitors and executed.

However, students who unlocked three genetics or more were exempted from this clause. Those with three genetics already demonstrated the talent to reach the peak of Warrior realm.

The government valued these talents; those without it were seen as cannon fodder.

Sam Rivers was fully aware of this harsh reality.

"I unlocked the second genetic lock a month ago. Within two months, I'm certain to unlock the third genetic lock." Sam thought, a frown appearing on his face. "However, given the circumstances, it seems there's no hope of unlocking the third genetic lock before the last practical exam."

Sam Rivers came from a poor family. His father was a retired soldier who worked as a small-time instructor at a martial arts dojo, and his mother was a housewife. His younger brother was sickly and required expensive medicine, which was already a financial burden to his father.

His family's living conditions were dire, so Sam didn't have the face to make it worse.

If he wanted to unlock the third genetic lock before the practical exam, he could only rely on himself.

After having lunch at the cafeteria, Sam took a deep breath and hurriedly left the entrance gate of the school. Fifteen minutes later, he arrived at a small library near the school.

"Oi, Sam! You're finally here. Quick, take over my shift. It's already passed 12:30, and I have yet to fill my stomach!"

As Sam entered the library door, a cheerful voice full of anxiousness greeted him.

Sam looked up and saw his coworker behind the counter: an obese teenager wearing black-rimmed glasses. His demeanor and appearance made it clear he was a nerd.

"With how big you are, how could you possibly starve?" Sam couldn't help but tease his friend.

"Nonsense! I've only had three serving this morning; that's not enough to fill this little guy," Mark scoffed, rubbing his stomach – which was clearly not as small as he claimed.

Sam rolled his eyes and looked around.

At this moment, the library had a decent number of visitors, all wearing the same uniform as Sam and Mark.

This library was exclusive to the students of Azure Base School. Most first-year to third-year students came here to study for exam preparations.

However, there were no fourth-year students in the library other than Sam Rivers.

From first-year to third-year, the exams focused solely on theoretical knowledge: identifying different type of beasts, understanding the history of the world, memorizing the introduction to martial arts and arcane arts, and so on.

Starting from fourth-year, however, the exams became more practical-driven, requiring students to apply the knowledge they had gained over the previous three years.

Due to his outstanding grades, the advisor of Class Nine had given Sam the opportunity to work as a librarian in the school's library, allowing him to earn money to support his cultivation. Without this opportunity, there was no telling if Sam could have unlocked his second genetic lock on his own.

After Sam changed clothes in the locker room, Mark quickly stormed out to the canteen.

Watching Mark left in hurry, Sam shook his head. He headed to the desk and sat down, closing his eyelids.

He began circulating the Star Guiding Technique, and his mind soon entered an extraordinary state. His breathing became rhythmic and natural.

Sam effortlessly completed the first circulation of the Star Guiding Technique, and the thin spiritual energy – indiscernible to the naked eyes – emerged around him.

Two circulations…three circulations…four circulations…

With each circulation, the thin spiritual energy around Sam was drawn closer to him. After fifth circulation, it began permeating his body. By the fifteen circulations, the last circulation, of the Star Guiding Technique, the spiritual energy had fully permeated into his body, storing itself in his dantian.

The spiritual energy on his dantian was now 25% full. Once it was completely full, Sam could attempt to break the seal on his third genetic lock.

Of course, he could also try breaking the genetic lock with only 25% spiritual energy, but the probability of success was incredibly low.

The backlash could cause him serious injuries – or even death.

Even if he successfully broke the third genetic lock through sheer luck, his aptitude would still lag behind someone who broke it with 100% of spiritual energy.

The difference lay in the purity of spiritual energy. After breaking the genetic lock, the percentage of spiritual energy of the dantian directly influenced how the genes in the body were reconstructed.

Breaking the genetic lock means a genetic reconstruction, so each genetic reconstructing allowed a human to achieve a maximum strength increase of 1,000 kilograms.

If he broke the seal of the third genetic lock with 25% spiritual energy, his strength would increase by just 250 kilograms.

To pass the practical exam next month, one must possess a brute strength of 3000 kilograms. There was no way to pass with luck alone.

"To absorb a meager amount of spiritual energy in half an hour of is too slow," Sam opened his eyes, a sigh escaping his lips.

Each circulation of the Star Guiding Technique lasted two minutes. With a total of fifteen circulations, one session of Star Guiding Technique took about half an hour.

Half a day of practicing the Star Guiding Technique only increased the spiritual energy in his dantian by 1.2%. This meant that a full month of cultivation would increase his spiritual energy to 62%, which was nowhere near the 100%.

Of course, not every student had the same cultivation results. Some might gain nothing after half a day of cultivation, while others might only gather 0.5% on the same pace. Those born with a silver spoon, however, could condense 10%-15% spiritual energy every day, thanks to resources and a better breathing technique.

For Sam to gain 1.2% every half day already indicated decent cultivation talent. However, such talent was not enough to catch the eye of the higher ups.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Sam could do about it, much less complain. The Star Guiding Technique was the breathing technique provided by the government to its students. Even in the outside world, it was rare to find a better breathing technique than the Star Guiding Technique.

He was already grateful to have the Star Guiding Technique.

"Senior brother, are you busy?"

Sam Rivers was about to continue his cultivation when a voice interrupted his train of thoughts. He looked up and saw it was a male student.

"Junior brother, what do you need?"

"Senior Brother, I heard you aced your first-year to third-year exam with full marks, I was wondering if you could give me some pointers to pass the exam."

"Yeah, sure. After my partner returns, I'll come by your seat."

Sam smiled at the boy, who bowed to him gratefully. After the boy returned to the seat, the bell at the entrance rang.

It was Mark, returning with a satisfied stomach. Sam approached Mark and told him to watch the desk for a while.

Mark was confused for a moment before noticing Sam heading toward the male student in the corner and starting to give him lecture. Mark instantly understood what was happening and did as he was told.

"Ai, this guy is not only very handsome and smart, but he's also nice and has a beautiful girlfriend. On top of that, the library has more visitors now– mostly Sam's diehard admirers who comes here under a pretense of 'learning'." Mark sighed enviously.

Learning my ass…They're just here to approach Sam Rivers!

"Junior brother, the technical exam is not as difficult as you imagined. Since your current exam is about martial arts, browsing the Introduction to Martial Arts is a good start," Sam Rivers sat next to the boy and asked. "How much have you learned from this textbook?"

The boy scratched his head and responded: "Senior Brother, I'm quite slow. I've only memorized the divisions of cultivation and a little understanding of their details."

"Then tell me what you know, and I'll evaluate if your current knowledge is satisfactory," said Sam.

The boy nodded and quickly responded, "Before the invasion of monsters, those who followed the path of martial arts were known as martial artists. The ancient humans have identified four realms of cultivation in the following order: Martial Warrior, Martial Master, Martial Grandmaster, and Martial Saint."

"However, after the Era of Beasts, the cultivation realms were revised. Now, there are five realms: Genetic Student, Genetic Warrior, Genetic Master, Genetic Grandmaster, and Genetic Saint…"

The Junior Brother finished his explanation and awaited Sam's evaluation with nervous anticipation.

Sam Rivers nodded and bluntly said, "Your knowledge is decent. You can pass the exam if you expand your knowledge on the specifics details of each realm, how they connect with one another, and how they evolved after the Era of Beasts."

"But…" Sam Rivers looked at the boy and continued, "That will only earn you an above-average score. If you're aiming for a high mark, then you should thoroughly study the history of the beast invasion, why the old martial paths do not work for modern humans and, conversely, why the new martial path is unsuitable for ancient humans. If you're bold enough, you can also throw in your own ideas, which could let you obtain positive or negative points depending on your answer."

The boy nodded and stood up, bowing deeply. "Senior brother, thank you so much for your guidance."

This boy was an orphan who had lost both of his parents on the frontlines. As a poor student, he aspired to become someone like Sam Rivers.

Although he had not understood most of the profound context, at least with Sam Rivers' advise, he had a clear path.

The lesson was incredibly important to him.

After thanking Sam, the boy left the library.

Sam watched the boy disappear through the library doors. He sighed as he had been in the same situation as that junior before he became a librarian, so he could empathize with him.

Unfortunately, the world was never a fair place.

Sam picked up the Introduction to Martial Arts textbook to return it to its proper place.

Having worked in the library for a year, Sam knew exactly which bookshelf the book belonged.

After shelving the book, he turned to leave.

As he turned around, a glint from among the books caught his attention. Narrowing his gaze, he reached for the source of light and pulled out a book.

Flipping through the pages, Sam noticed a white crystal resting on top the letters.

Sam picked up the crystal. Immediately, a warm energy coursed through his body, leaving him a refreshing sensation in both mind and body.

"This crystal seems to have an effect on the body and mind."

Sam Rivers recalled seeing a similar item in the market. They were a popular accessory among mortals, especially during winter season or simply when one is stress.

"And here I thought I had found something extraordinary. Turns out, it's just a piece of crystal," Sam muttered, shaking his head.

Still, he couldn't afford to discard it. He knew such crystal could fetch a decent price in the market.

If necessary, he would sell it. For now, however, it serves a way to rejuvenate his body and mind, so it was quite useful.

After all, he barely had any breaks.

School, work, cultivation…Every day was a struggle.

"I'll just make a necklace out of it and wear it to keep me warm, I guess…"

Sam Rivers pocketed the white crystal and walked away.