In Galactic Year 374, ancient martial arts originating from China experienced a revival on Nuwa-3, a Chinese colonial planet 34 light-years away from Earth. On this planet, whose atmosphere closely resembled that of Earth during the Middle Ages, practitioners of ancient martial arts advanced rapidly. Some martial artists who reached extremely profound levels, though not as omnipotent as those in novels who could move mountains and overturn seas, nevertheless possessed exceptional physiques and remarkable longevity.

Before the sixth century of the Galactic Era, ancient martial arts were indeed regarded as a means of prolonging life and enhancing physical fitness, and were actively promoted by the medical and educational communities of various nations.

In Galactic Year 531, the American military’s supercomputer ‘Blue’ malfunctioned, and soon after, nearly all computers and intelligent robots broke free from human control. This marked the beginning of the so-called ‘Dark Century’—an artificial intelligence rebellion that lasted eighty-seven years.

After the intelligence level of onboard computers in mechas (the general term for ‘humanoid mobile combat armored units’) was restricted, the advantages of ancient martial artists in mecha operation began to emerge.

—At that time, a third-rank Heaven-tier ancient martial arts master from China even set an astonishing record in a single battle: shooting down 174 mechas and destroying 7 Dreadnought-class battleships. From then on, ancient martial arts were made compulsory in all countries. Heaven-tier mecha pilots became highly sought-after talents worldwide.

Now, in Galactic Year 3704, ancient martial arts have become a skill everyone must learn. Even setting aside its life-extending effects, the enhancements in agility, strength, reflexes, and even intelligence that come with reaching a certain level of mastery are impossible to ignore.

However, everyone’s innate talent for ancient martial arts differs, and the threshold of innate Heaven-tier beginner level remains a dividing line, keeping the vast majority of practitioners below it. If one fails to break through before the age of sixty, it becomes nearly impossible to advance to Heaven-tier in this lifetime.

Among them, Alex was undoubtedly a genius. At thirty-six, he had reached the eighth tier—an astonishing achievement anywhere. And it wasn’t just his internal strength; his combat skills were also highly praised among practitioners of the same tier.

Yet today, right before their eyes, he lost to a minor who was four tiers below him, and the whole process took less than a tenth of a second. It was almost unbelievable!

In ancient martial arts, each tier represents a huge gap in internal strength, agility, power, vision, perception, and reaction speed. Pure combat skills can hardly make up for these differences.

It’s not unheard of for a higher tier to lose to a lower one, but that usually happens with those who focus solely on internal energy and neglect martial techniques. However, Alex’s profession ensured he was a master of combat.

Of course, part of the reason was that the burly black man underestimated his opponent at first, but the military academy youth’s superb combat skills were beyond doubt!

The beautiful woman stared blankly at the end of the corridor, then her red lips curled up slightly: “Paul Turner, you kept saying the students at this academy aren’t up to par—are you convinced now? With Earth-tier fourth-rank internal strength, Alex was utterly defeated in a single exchange. With this kind of talent, if given some time for training, and with equipment and medicine to boost his internal strength, in our company, not only could he serve as the leader of a combat squad, he’d be fully qualified to be the director of a combat division in a sub-fleet. The Brophy family doesn’t have anyone like this—”

“His combat skills are indeed impressive, even genius-level. However—”

Paul Turner snorted coldly and turned to look at the stairwell behind them. “I noticed that student just now seemed to have come up from the underground parking lot. In other words, like us, he just arrived from outside the military academy. To allow students to stay off campus—such a school makes me question the discipline of its students! And, if I’m not mistaken, today is the start of the academy’s graduation exams, right? That student’s epaulet showed he’s a third-year. Hah! Arriving at the academy right at 8:30—what poor discipline.”

“Paul Turner, you’re always so strict and critical, always able to find fault no matter what.”

The beautiful woman shook her head helplessly. “But in my opinion, there must be some special reason why that boy arrived so late.”

Recalling how the unfamiliar youth had just now moved with the grace of a swimming dragon, dodging Paul Turner, who had already reached the innate level, and brushing past her, her star-like eyes immediately sparkled.

……

“Yo! The eternal repeater has finally arrived!”

At 8:29:40, Brian Carter finally reached the entrance of the simulated warship battle room. He was just about to sneak to his seat while the proctor wasn’t looking, but the greetings and laughter coming his way immediately dashed his hopes.

“It’s you? Why are you late again?”