Northlake University may not be nationally ranked, but in Luojin City, it still holds a certain prestige.
At this moment, a man and a woman stood at the entrance of Northlake University. The man wore a branded outfit and was over 1.8 meters tall. Aside from his slightly angular eyes, his face could be considered handsome.
The woman was about 1.7 meters tall. Just by looking at her graceful and slender silhouette, one could tell she was a rare beauty.
In fact, she truly was, for she had once been Northlake University's number one campus belle—Zoe Shen.
Speaking of Zoe Shen, there were very few at Northlake University who didn’t know of her. Even those who had never seen her in person, as long as they were students here, knew who she was.
While studying at Northlake University, Zoe Shen was not only the campus belle, but she also did something no one else dared to imagine—she dropped out before graduating. The reason for her withdrawal devastated all the boys who admired her: she left to get married.
That’s right—a girl with a good family, looks, and academic performance left university before graduating to marry a young man who had never attended college. It was this incident that made Zoe Shen famous at Northlake University.
“Zoe, you know what it means for Celestia to be fully open. It means that soon, martial arts will become a basic survival skill. Northlake University is decent in Luojin, but compared to top schools like Capital University or Greenriver University, there’s still a clear gap.
Besides, Northlake University’s Martial Arts Academy has only just been established, while Capital and Greenriver set theirs up as soon as Celestia was discovered. Now, many Martial Arts Academy students have already entered Celestia, along with students from other countries..."
Ron Tao’s tone was sincere, but before he could finish, Zoe Shen interrupted him, “Ron Tao, I was originally a student here at Northlake. I never graduated, so now I’m just returning to my alma mater to continue my studies.”
"Zoe..." Cathy Liang called out uncertainly, having just gotten out of a taxi.
Zoe Shen turned around, her nearly flawless, delicate face coming into view before Cathy Liang. Though Cathy wasn’t unattractive herself, standing next to Zoe made her seem rather ordinary.
"It really is you, Zoe!" Cathy exclaimed in delight. "I thought you’d never return to Luojin, but here you are—I can’t believe I’m seeing you again."
After Joe Di left, Cathy Liang and Andrew Lang spent another day wandering around the Lethe Temple Fair, only returning to Northlake University today.
Zoe Shen smiled and said, "Not only have I come back, but I’ll be staying here for quite a while."
"Why?" Cathy asked, momentarily stunned.
"Soon, Celestia will be fully open to everyone. Not only martial arts students from major universities worldwide, but even those who aren’t in martial arts programs will have the chance to go to Celestia, as long as they pass the Earth Alliance’s test or pay a certain fee. Northlake has now established a Martial Arts Academy, so I’m responding to my alma mater’s call and coming back to continue my studies." Zoe’s voice was clear and crisp, and her words made several passing students stop in their tracks.
Zoe was already stunning, but now, standing at the school gate and saying something so astonishing, she nearly excited every student who heard the news.
Celestia is about to open to everyone!
Northlake is starting a Martial Arts Academy!
"Zoe, are you saying Northlake has started a Martial Arts Academy? Celestia really will be fully open? Is all this true?" Cathy Liang’s voice trembled with excitement.
She knew exactly what this meant for every Northlake student. Whether you could go to Celestia depended not on academics, but on physical fitness and combat ability.
Even though Zoe had just said that students outside the martial arts program could also have a chance to go to Celestia, almost no one took it to heart. So far, only students from martial arts academies worldwide had passed the Alliance’s test to reach Celestia.
According to Earth Alliance regulations, any university in any country wishing to establish a martial arts department must first obtain the Alliance’s approval. Then, the Alliance sends true martial arts experts to teach, and what they teach isn’t ordinary—it all comes from Celestia.
Celestia’s full opening isn’t just exciting for Northlake students. Anyone who hears the news will be thrilled, whether they can go or not.
The wealth humans chase after is trivial for anyone who enters Celestia.
In Celestia, you can gain not only wealth and fame. If you wish to stay young forever, or even recover from a terminal illness, as long as you reach Celestia, you have a chance.
"That’s right. None of this is false, which is why I’ve come back," Zoe Shen replied confidently.
She was from Beijing, and almost the moment Northlake University received permission to establish a Martial Arts Academy, she heard the news. She learned about it even faster than some of the school’s own administrators.
As her excitement faded, Cathy Liang seemed to remember something. She stepped closer to Zoe and whispered, "Zoe, I saw David Di two days ago... Oh, right, he goes by Joe Di now."
Zoe Shen’s expression stiffened slightly, but she quickly replied, “I have nothing to do with him anymore. He’s him, and I’m me.”
"Zoe, since you want to stay at Northlake University, maybe I’ll transfer here too," Ron Tao, who had been standing to the side, spoke up, clearly realizing Zoe wasn’t going back to Beijing.
He’d figured it out: one reason Zoe didn’t want to stay in Beijing for martial arts was that too many people surrounded her there—including himself. Now that Zoe had come to Luojin, if he followed, his competition would be much less.
"Zoe, when I saw Joe Di, he was on the verge of death..." Cathy Liang clearly understood why Ron Tao wanted to transfer, and although he was quite handsome, her heart was still with Joe Di—perhaps because he was her classmate.
"What?" Zoe Shen, who had been calm, suddenly stopped in her tracks. Without waiting for Cathy to say more, she asked again, "Where is he?"
"Two days ago, Andrew Lang and I saw him at Lethe Temple. I think he doesn’t have anywhere to go, so he’s probably back in Luojin..." Cathy replied.
"Zoe..."
This time, before Ron Tao could say anything more, Zoe Shen spoke first: “Ron Tao, where you choose to study martial arts is your own business. You really don’t need to tell me. I have something to do now, so I’ll be leaving.”
With that, Zoe Shen quickly said goodbye to Cathy Liang and hurried off.
...
Joe Di was awakened by a knock at the door. Before he could get up to open it, he heard the lock click—someone seemed to have entered.
Joe Di jolted awake and sat up. Who could this be, and how did they have a key to this place? Wasn’t this supposed to be his residence from his previous life?
A graceful woman strode in quickly. As she stood at the doorway, Joe couldn’t help but admire her—she was truly beautiful.
“You’re alright?” Zoe Shen asked in surprise, seeing Joe Di sitting up shirtless. She thought to herself that David Di looked thin, but he did have some muscle.
"Who are you? Why did you come into my home without my permission?" Joe Di frowned, his tone unfriendly.
After asking, Joe Di felt something was off. Why did this woman seem familiar? In a flash, he realized—she was the woman from the photo in his wallet. If he wasn’t mistaken, this was Zoe Shen, the woman he’d divorced.
(A quick recommendation for my previous novel, The Strongest Abandoned Son. If you find Ninth in the World a bit slow, give The Strongest Abandoned Son a try—you won’t be disappointed! This chapter is published ahead of schedule; today’s regular update will be delayed until 4 PM.)