The sleek black 4-seater car glided past the rows of trees lining the road.
Fifteen minutes later.
The car stopped at a testing center.
This was a center established by the city to serve those who needed to have their body indexes measured.
Lam Minh stepped out of the car. In front of him was a large white house—well, not exactly a house. It resembled a large, single-story company building.
"Let's go, kid. Let's see what your index has reached," Mr. Ma said to Lam Minh.
"Yes, sir," Lam Minh nodded and followed him inside.
Upon entering the lobby, a magnificent bronze-gold color assaulted Lam Minh's eyes.
In the middle of the lobby was the reception desk, where several young women sat, ready to assist guests who had come for measurements.
Seeing Principal Ma walk in, a young woman in a short blue uniform dress stood up to greet him.
"Mr. Ma, are you bringing another genius here today? It's already so late," the receptionist asked.
"Hahaha, what genius? Let me introduce you. This is Lam Minh, a treasure I just found at my school," Mr. Ma said, putting his arm around Lam Minh's shoulder.
The young woman looked Lam Minh up and down.
The first thing that caught her eye was his worn-out uniform. He had no expensive accessories on him. Also, he was very handsome.
With the professionalism gained from receiving thousands of customers, she quickly assessed what type of person Lam Minh was.
Poor family, a newly-matured calf, a rising genius.
If she received him well and formed a good connection, then if Lam Minh became a powerhouse in the future, she could latch onto this relationship.
A warm smile bloomed on her face as she extended her hand to shake Lam Minh's.
"Hello, my name is Truong Le. It's a pleasure to serve you," Truong Le said in greeting.
"Hello, I'm Lam Minh," Lam Minh replied simply, with an air of indifference.
Having lived two lives, how could Lam Minh not see through Truong Le's thoughts?
"Alright, Truong Le, make a black card for Lam Minh. All expenses will be on me," Mr. Ma said to Truong Le.
"Yes, sir. Young Master Lam, may I borrow your ID card?" Truong Le replied, taking Lam Minh's ID card and heading straight to the registration counter.
Ten minutes later, she returned with a black card in her hand.
On it was only the logo of the center and a few characters, "TTKTQG," probably an abbreviation for National Testing Center.
Truong Le handed the card to Lam Minh and began to explain the privileges of the black card.
Things like being able to come and get measured at any time, as well as overnight accommodation support and a 24/7 buffet.
After hearing this, Lam Minh secretly praised the excellent service of this place.
So now he had three places to sleep.
One was his home, the second was the dojo, and the third was the center.
"Alright, now that we're done, let's hurry up and get you tested," Mr. Ma said, pulling Lam Minh's arm.
His steps were hurried; it seemed he was very eager to know the results.
Thirty minutes later.
Lam Minh was sitting in the car.
The car was rolling again, taking him back home.
Mr. Ma was focused on driving.
His mind was wandering, thinking about all sorts of things.
The measurement results showed that Lam Minh's blood essence index was 1000 points.
His mental strength value was N/A, meaning the machine couldn't analyze it.
All his physical indexes were outstanding.
He was a little disappointed with the results.
He had thought Lam Minh had already entered the Body Tempering realm, but that wasn't the case.
But still, Lam Minh was an outstanding genius.
The proof was that he had defeated his opponents so easily today.
…
In a feminine pink bedroom in the center of Ho Chi Minh City.
To Quyen was sitting at her study desk.
She was applying various physics formulas.
Her hands danced across the pages.
Suddenly.
Her phone chimed with a message notification.
She opened it to read.
"Quyen, check out Lam Minh's commotion at school today, link: ..." Lam Kha Bang, a female classmate of hers, messaged.
Curious, To Quyen clicked on the link.
A long video was posted on the Tran Hung Dao High School forum.
In the video, Lam Minh was a whirlwind of action.
Defeating opponent after opponent.
Undefeated alone among 119 people.
His face was proud, exuding a strong sense of confidence.
To Quyen was completely engrossed.
It was as if she were watching a blockbuster action movie.
Although To Qwen didn't like Lam Minh, for some reason, deep down, she had a desire for him to win and defeat all his opponents.
The more she watched, the more tense and surprising it became.
Her fingers were now clenched tightly.
Sweat beaded on her skin from the suspense.
Until she watched the match between Lam Minh and Luc Du.
To Quyen saw Lam Minh win.
She jumped up from her chair and cheered continuously.
Suddenly.
To Quyen stopped for a second.
"What am I doing? Why am I so happy? This Lam Minh guy suddenly revealed his talent, but it has nothing to do with me," To Quyen wondered.
She couldn't understand herself at this moment.
She opened Messenger and tapped on the chat with Lam Minh.
To Quyen was about to tease Lam Minh for showing off in the arena.
But she kept typing and deleting the message.
She just couldn't bring herself to hit the send button to start a conversation.
Frustrated, To Quyen threw her phone aside.
She hugged a pillow, trying to fall asleep.
But the image of Lam Minh fighting so gracefully on the stage kept replaying in her mind.
And more importantly, Lam Minh would be transferring to class 11A01. Her classroom and his were next to each other.
….
The car stopped in front of the Lam family's apartment.
Mr. Ma took the initiative to get out and open the door, which surprised Lam Minh with his enthusiasm.
Before leaving, he still reminded Lam Minh.
"Minh, remember to transfer to class 11A01 tomorrow. Don't go to the wrong class!" Mr. Ma said, then stepped on the gas and drove away.
Lam Minh only had time to say "Thank you, sir" before he disappeared down the road.
Lam Minh entered his house.
In front of him was the same familiar scene as always.
His sister was doing her homework. Mrs. Mai was setting the table for dinner.
Mr. Dao was sitting at the table, different from usual.
Today, he wasn't puffing on a cigarette, but sitting with his legs crossed.
A faint smile was on his face as he cheerfully poured tea into a cup.
Seeing this, Lam Minh guessed that his little sister had probably shown the family the news about him today.
And it was true. Unlike last week, when Lam An had to hide the news of her brother being knocked out, today she had screamed and run to show her parents.
The whole family had watched the video of Lam Minh competing.
Mr. Dao and Mrs. Mai were both shocked by Lam Minh's strength.
They both hoped their son could get into the Combat University, but they never imagined he would be so powerful and ruthless in the arena.
After watching the video, each family member had different thoughts and went about their own business.
But no one could hide the pride in their hearts.
Until they saw Lam Minh walk into the house.
His little sister, Lam An, just had time to shout, "Ah, big brother is home!"
Mrs. Mai hurriedly ran over, feeling Lam Minh all over.
"Oh, son, are you hurt anywhere? Why did you fight so fiercely?" Mrs. Mai said.
Mr. Dao, who was sipping his tea, also looked at Lam Minh, his face unable to hide his pride.
"Sit down and have some tea," he said.
"I'm fine, Mom. Yes, Dad," Lam Minh replied.
Lam Minh sat opposite Mr. Dao.
Unlike the past.
Every time Lam Minh came home from school, he had to face questioning from his family.
Like if he had a test today, what his score was.
But now, those questions were all gone. Instead, Mr. Dao looked at Lam Minh.
"Was the fight tiring today? You're not hurt, are you?" Mr. Dao asked, showing a tenderness that Lam Minh had never experienced before.
"No, Dad. I was the one doing all the hitting," Lam Minh replied with a grin.
"Tomorrow, our family will prepare a meal to offer to our ancestors, to thank them for protecting you. Remember to come home early tomorrow," Mr. Dao said, and then asked again:
"Why did you fight so fiercely in the arena?" Mr. Dao voiced his confusion.
He had seen Lam Minh's opponents get beaten. Some had broken arms, some had bruised faces, and some were even unconscious. This shocked him quite a bit.
"That's what cultivation is like, Dad. Once you set foot on the path of cultivation, you can't avoid fighting and killing. School is just a miniature model. When you truly step into the Cultivation World, things are a hundred, a thousand times more brutal," Lam Minh explained in a humble tone, also taking a sip of tea.
Mr. Dao was silent.
He thought to himself.
Cultivation, is it really that brutal?
Perhaps he was old. He belonged to the previous generation, when cultivation was not yet widespread.
And Lam Minh, his son, was living in the explosive era of cultivation. Two generations, two different mindsets.
This made him think a lot.
A both happy and thoughtful evening passed in the Lam family.
…
6:00 AM.
Bach Hoang Dojo.
Lam Minh appeared, greeting each of his senior brothers and sisters in the dojo.
Everyone acted normally towards him; it seemed that his victory at school had no effect on him at the dojo.
And that was true. For the senior brothers and sisters at the Bach Hoang Dojo, school competitions like Lam Minh's were not exciting at all.
What could excite them was cultivation, carrying out missions, and fighting against insiders from the Cultivation World.
And there was one more thing that was extremely interesting to them: carrying out missions in the Cultivation World.
For the senior brothers and sisters, who had fought and killed in the Cultivation World.
A place where law did not exist. The law in the Cultivation World was the Great Sects.
If a disciple of a Great Sect said you were guilty, you would die immediately.
A place where cultivators could roam freely.
Taking revenge with pleasure.
Everything was vibrant and colorful.
Those things were more attractive than a video with hundreds of millions of views on social media.
So Lam Minh's weekly platform defense victory was trivial.
Lam Minh had set up a cultivation routine for himself.
In the morning, he would go to the dojo, practice, and use his Spirit Origin to secretly collect all the attribute bubbles from his senior brothers and sisters.
Before going to school, he would challenge his senior sister Quynh Nhu for combat experience.
In the afternoon, he would go to school.
In the evening, he would come home to eat and rest.
At this rate.
Before long, Lam Minh would break through to the Body Tempering realm.
A life that was both leisurely and progressive.
And so, a month later…
Lam Minh was sitting cross-legged on a meditation cushion in the dojo.
A month had passed.
According to Lam Minh's schedule, his accumulated attribute points had been increasing steadily.
The ones who contributed the most attribute points were, of course, his Eldest and Second Senior Brothers.
Each bubble that dropped from them was worth 500-600 points.
They were truly powerhouses.
Every time Lam Minh picked up their bubbles, he couldn't help but think, how many points would he get from dual cultivating with his maste