Ethan Sutton paused for a moment, only then remembering that his old man had already left that afternoon.

  “Sigh!”

  Ethan Sutton sighed, turned on the light, glanced at his communicator—it was just past three in the morning, still a long way from dawn.

  “More than ten years, and there’s never been any peace!”

  Having the same dream for over a decade—anyone would break under that.

  He’d just gotten used to it. In the early years, Ethan Sutton had nearly died from exhaustion because he was too afraid to sleep.

  “What on earth is going on?”

  Ethan Sutton leaned against the headboard, pondering this question—a question he’d thought about for many years.

  He’d mentioned it to his father, but the old man was at a loss too. They’d even seen doctors at the hospital, who said it was due to excessive fright, resulting in some psychological trauma.

  The thing was, Ethan Sutton didn’t remember ever being frightened.

  “It’s always like this—at the end of every dream, I’m being hunted down, chased by demons, chased by monsters…”

  Ethan Sutton was frustrated. The dream was the same every day—though not exactly; to be precise, he was hunted in his dreams every night, but the ones chasing him were different, and some weren’t even human.

  All sorts of monsters—though blurry and unreal, judging by their shapes, they weren’t the same kind of creature.

  What did I ever do to deserve this?

  Being hunted in dreams for over a decade—no one else could say that.

  Back then, his father even guessed it might be the work of the Nightmare Clan’s sorcery, but this was the Human Realm. If the Nightmare Clan really had cast a spell, and it lasted over ten years, the strong ones in the Human Realm would have killed them long ago.

  If a Nightmare Clan member really did sneak into the Human Realm, it would be to deal with the strong, not to waste over a decade on an ordinary person. If they did, they’d have to be either an idiot or a super idiot!

  “Endless and annoying!”

  Ethan Sutton complained, not knowing when it would finally end. By now, he was somewhat used to it—otherwise, he’d never have a peaceful life.

  “Dad said that once I open the Nine Orifices and step into the Thousand-Pound Realm, I’ll be free from all illness, immune to evil, and my body will be tempered by vital energy. Maybe then it’ll stop?”

  At this moment, Ethan Sutton could only hope that after reaching the Thousand-Pound Realm, the nightmares would finally cease.

  Lost in thought, time flew by. In the blink of an eye, light was already shining through the window.

  It was morning!

  Su Long was gone, but life had to go on. Today wasn’t a holiday—he still had to go to school.

  ……

  After washing up and making a simple breakfast, Ethan Sutton grabbed his backpack and left the house.

  Downstairs.

  A crew-cut boy was already waiting. When he saw Ethan Sutton coming down, he hurriedly called out, “Ethan, I heard from my dad that Uncle Su yesterday…”

  “Yeah.”

  Ethan Sutton answered before he could finish.

  The crew-cut boy got anxious. “What’s Uncle Su thinking? He’s not young anymore! Going to the All-Heavens Battlefield at a time like this, isn’t that just…”

  At this point, he stopped himself.

  He wanted to say Su Long was going to get himself killed, but he couldn’t say that. Even if he thought it was true, he couldn’t say it in front of Ethan Sutton.

  “He wanted to go himself, I couldn’t stop him.”

  Ethan Sutton forced a smile. “Besides, there are millions of soldiers on the All-Heavens Battlefield, and plenty of invincible human experts stationed there. It’s not that easy for something to go wrong.”

  “I know, but Uncle Su is only… at the Thousand-Pound Realm!”

  The crew-cut boy was even more anxious than Ethan Sutton. “The Thousand-Pound Realm is impressive to us, but on the All-Heavens Battlefield, it’s the weakest. The soldiers of the myriad races there all start at the Thousand-Pound Realm.”

  “I know.”

  “Ethan, how can you not be worried at all!”

  The crew-cut boy was worried on Ethan Sutton’s behalf. If it were him, he’d be crying his eyes out.

  “What good would worrying do?”

  Ethan Sutton was helpless. His old man was already gone—no amount of worry would change that.

  What mattered now wasn’t pointless anxiety. This guy was still as impatient as ever.

  “Let’s get to school. Enough talking.”

  “School?”

  The crew-cut boy was surprised. “You’re still going to school…”

  Ethan Sutton stared at him, making the crew-cut boy a bit embarrassed.

  “Of course. If I don’t go to school, should I just stay home, cry every day, and wait for bad news from the front lines?”

  Ethan Sutton rolled his eyes. What was this guy even saying?

  “Come on, let’s go! In a few days, the school will recommend candidates for the university entrance exams. I’m going to sign up first.”

  “Didn’t you already sign up?”

  Henry Brooks asked in confusion, “You and I went to sign up together last week, remember?”

  “I know. Last time I signed up for the Civilization Academy. This time I’m signing up for the War Academy.”

  Henry Brooks was stunned. The War Academy?

  “You…”

  “Let’s go!”

  Ethan Sutton didn’t give him a chance to say more. He’d made up his mind yesterday—he was going to apply for the War Academy, whether he got in or not.

  ……

  Nanyuan Secondary Academy.

  Registration Office.

  The teacher in charge of registration checked the records and asked in surprise, “Ethan Sutton, didn’t you already sign up for the Civilization Academy entrance exam? You’ve mastered eighteen languages of the myriad races, which is among the best in Nanyuan. Even the renowned Great Xia Civilization Academy would almost certainly accept you. Why sign up for the War Academy too?”

  Normally, students who applied to both major systems did so because they weren’t confident about getting into either and wanted a backup plan.

  Ethan Sutton was smart and hardworking. Over the past few years, he’d mastered eighteen languages of the myriad races. Even the most prestigious Great Xia Civilization Academy would open its doors to him.