Right now, what matters most to Joe Di isn't going to the Martial Arts Academy, but cultivating the Di Family Seven Blades. His blade techniques are secret, and a crowded place like Northlake University isn't ideal for cultivation.
Sensing Joe Di’s sincerity, Felix Yu took a deep breath, carefully put away the certificate, and said, “Joe, whatever is mine will be yours someday. As for going to Tan’s Apricot Hall, leave it to me. The old master there treats me best. Although he’s gone to Yanjing, Uncle Hu is also good to me.”
Felix Yu was about to snap at Joe Di, but Joe stopped him. Lena Teng, naturally aware of the situation, already felt a sense of grievance just standing aside. Now, seeing Joe Di hand over a priceless Northlake Martial Arts Academy admission certificate to Felix without hesitation, her grievance immediately vanished. She bowed to Joe and said, “Brother Joe, you truly are Fox’s best friend. My narrow-mindedness was wrong—please don’t hold it against me.”
Felix Yu snorted, "That's right. Women have long hair but short sight."
Lena Teng was quite a good girl, or so Joe Di felt.
Tan's Apricot Hall was a bit remote, though it occupied a large area. The buildings looked rather old, clearly having stood for many years.
As soon as Felix Yu brought Joe Di to Tan’s Apricot Hall, Joe felt this was the place he needed. Besides the clinic and pharmacy, there were also operating rooms and a ward. Yet there were no customers at all, and the herbal pharmacy was just a row of empty cabinets. The only person here was Uncle Hu.
Uncle Hu was said to be the manager of Tan’s Apricot Hall, but to Joe Di, he was just a gatekeeper.
Either Uncle Hu trusted Felix Yu completely, or simply no one ever came by. Felix only had to mention it, and Uncle Hu decided to let Joe Di work here.
Joe Di’s job was to clean the front and back halls every day, with a monthly wage of four thousand. He lived at Tan's Apricot Hall and handled his own meals. In short, he was just a gatekeeper.
If he didn’t live at Tan's Apricot Hall, even four thousand a month wouldn’t be enough for Joe Di to eat. On Earth, having a stable place to live was already satisfying for him, especially since Tan's Apricot Hall had so much space.
Felix Yu was anxious about enrolling in Northlake University’s Martial Arts Department. As soon as Joe Di settled in, Felix hurried off. Uncle Hu clearly didn’t want to stay either—after leaving everything to Joe, he also left Tan’s Apricot Hall.
The spacious Tan’s Apricot Hall now had only Joe Di left. Once, Joe Di enjoyed being waited on by others. Now, though he didn’t serve anyone, he still had to clean and watch the door every day.
Joe Di didn’t mind any of this. After tidying up briefly, the first thing he did was take out the Di Family Seven Blades.
He’d read about the first blade of the Di Family Seven Blades and had even cultivated it before, but without a martial root, he couldn’t cultivate at all.
Now that he could train in martial arts, he quickly immersed himself in the first blade of the Di Family Seven Blades.
......
Everyone knew the busiest and most prosperous place in Luojin City was Northlake University.
Luojin City had more than just Northlake University. In fact, Northlake wasn’t even the top-ranked university in the city.
The reason Northlake University was so lively was that the Earth Federation had approved its Martial Arts Academy—and would even send a martial arts coach there. In all of Southern Jiang Province, Northlake University was the first to establish a martial arts academy.
Today was the enrollment day for Northlake University’s Martial Arts Academy, and the crowds were even denser than usual. If not for the gatekeepers blocking the entrance, the university would have been completely packed.
Those coming to Northlake University weren’t just from Luojin City or even Southern Jiang Province. People from all over China—and even the world—had arrived, hoping to enter the Martial Arts Academy.
In China, Northlake University wasn’t the first university to offer a martial arts program, nor did it rank in the top ten. But with martial arts programs in short supply worldwide, any university that opened one immediately drew global attention.
Don’t be fooled by Ron Tao telling Zoe Shen that Northlake University wasn’t good and urging her to study martial arts in Yanjing instead. Getting into a martial arts program wasn’t as simple as he made it sound—his words only applied to a very select few.
There were several ways to get into Northlake University’s Martial Arts Department. The simplest was to have an admission certificate. Besides that, there were top students recommended by each province, some with Earth Federation recommendation, and finally, Northlake University’s own admissions. The university’s own quota was the smallest, and those few spots had long been snapped up.
Felix Yu clutched his small bag tightly, squeezing up to the university gate. Before the guards could stop him, he pulled out his blue Martial Arts Department admission certificate.
Seeing the blue copper-paper certificate in Felix Yu’s hand, the gatekeeper became solemn, respectfully took the certificate to check it, then handed it back with both hands. The envy in his eyes was obvious.
“Hey, classmate, sell me that Martial Arts Department admission certificate—I’ll give you five million.” someone called out from outside the gate.
“If you sell it to me, you can name your price,” another voice followed.
Felix Yu quickly stuffed the certificate back into his bag and hugged it tightly. No matter how many five-millions he was offered, he wouldn’t sell it. Deep down, he was grateful to Joe Di, and even felt a bit guilty. Even though Joe was his brother through life and death, he couldn’t just take Joe Di’s Martial Arts Academy admission certificate. But he wanted to enter the academy so badly—it was his dream.
He made a silent vow: when he made a name for himself in the future, the first person he would help would be Joe Di.
At this moment, a staff member came to guide Felix Yu—every student enrolling in the Martial Arts Department was highly valued by Northlake University.
In just thirty minutes, Felix Yu, led by the staff, completed his registration and arrived at the grand auditorium.
By the time Felix Yu arrived, more than two hundred people were already seated.
Near the entrance of the auditorium, Zoe Shen’s gaze swept over everyone who entered.
When she woke up, Joe Di was already gone. Oddly enough, she no longer felt any discomfort in her heart, nor did she have any other symptoms. In fact, she felt lighter overall.
This lifted her mood considerably. Even when Auntie Fang wanted to ask the nurse why there was still trash in the VIP ward, she stopped her.
Her condition hadn’t worsened, which meant she could make it to Northlake Martial Arts Academy registration—and possibly control her own marriage. Compared to freedom in marriage, she didn’t care about anything else.
Even Zoe Shen hadn’t expected that a Northlake Martial Arts Academy admission certificate would be worth a fortune. Even her father had only managed to get two for Northlake, sacrificing a spot at a Yanjing university’s martial arts academy to do so. Both certificates went to her, just so she’d agree to the arrangement and marry again.
Nearly an hour later, after more than twenty people entered, David Di was still nowhere to be seen. Zoe Shen realized that David truly wasn’t coming. It seemed he had no intention of joining the Martial Arts Academy—he must have sold his certificate.
She shook her head, not finding it strange. At least she felt she no longer owed David Di anything.
The doors to the auditorium closed, and a medium-built man stepped onto the podium.
Most people in the auditorium recognized the medium-built man as Principal Winston Wang of Northlake University. From the urgency in his steps, it was clear that even the principal was excited and not entirely calm.
The auditorium was very quiet. Principal Wang swept his gaze over the crowd, then took the microphone and said loudly, “Yes, I never expected Northlake University would be authorized to open a martial arts program. As for the reason, I’ve never shied away from it as principal. It’s because our teacher, Professor Zane Chen, was fortunate enough to go to Celestia. There, he discovered an original martial arts manuscript, or what we might call a martial arts technique. Because of Professor Chen’s great contribution to Earth, Northlake University was granted the qualification to open a martial arts academy.
What worries me even more is that Professor Chen disappeared during his later exploration of Celestia. I hope that in the future, if any of our Northlake Martial Arts Academy students have a chance to go to Celestia, don’t forget to search for Professor Chen…"
......