Chapter 001: Youthful Ambition Knows No Sorrow

The autumn sun blazed fiercely, still patrolling the world with authority. The sunlight at three in the afternoon was glaringly white and scorching, shining down on the heavy, dark exterior of the massive gymnasium, draping it in a golden cloak.

Above the main entrance of the gymnasium, several large black, glossy characters displayed its own “name”:

“Songcheng University Martial Arts Club!”

Looking at these words from afar, watching the energetic young men and women streaming toward the gym, Eric Dawson felt a surge of vibrant spirit. Yet, though he should have belonged among them, he swallowed nervously, as if experiencing a kind of “homesickness at the doorstep.” Of course, martial arts is not home, and a club is not family.

He couldn’t help but turn to look at his roommate Brian Carter, as if seeking some kind of psychological comfort.

The two had only met when they first started college, but quickly found themselves kindred spirits. After going through military training and course selection together, they soon became close friends who were experts at teasing each other.

Brian Carter was half a head taller than Eric Dawson, standing over 1.8 meters. Not only was he tall and upright, but even in looks, Eric Dawson had to admit this guy was indeed handsome—almost the very image of “sword-like brows and starry eyes” from a novel. He also came from a well-off family and had great taste in clothes. The only problem was—he talked way too damn much!

“Orange, what are you nervous about?” Brian Carter had both hands in the pockets of his beige casual pants, noticing Eric Dawson’s unease. “It’s just the Martial Arts Club’s welcome event. Lots of people don’t even come. Look at Old Parker, he signed up before us and still went off to self-study, didn’t he? It’s not an exam, so what are you so nervous about?”

Eric Dawson thought for a moment and decided he still needed some advice, so he carefully said, “Casanova, do you remember that girl from when we signed up?”

This guy claimed to have dated many girlfriends, was experienced, and especially good at talking nonsense, so everyone in the dorm called him “Casanova.” It made sense to ask him about this kind of thing…

“Of course I remember! How could I forget? We’ve been at school for over a month, and I’ve only seen two or three girls of that caliber. If I didn’t already have true love, I’d have gone up to chat her up!” Brian Carter glanced at Eric Dawson and chuckled, “What? You like her? Want to pursue her? To think I thought you were a quiet, honest guy at first glance. Who would’ve thought, Orange, who would’ve thought!”

Eric Dawson hurried to explain, “Actually, I’ve known her for a while. In high school, she was in the class next to mine. Every time we did martial arts exercises during the broadcast, we’d end up right next to each other—she was on the far right of her class, I was on the far left of mine. After a while, well, you get it, right?”

“I get it! You know her, but does she know you?” Brian Carter said, trying not to laugh.

Eric Dawson’s mouth twitched, and he glared “angrily” at Brian Carter for a long moment before muttering, “No, she doesn’t…”

“I see, a secret crush. Who hasn’t had one?” Brian Carter stopped teasing and said, “No wonder you insisted on dragging me to sign up for the Martial Arts Club. I thought you’d seen through my disguise as a hidden master!”

“Pfft, aren’t you just an amateur fifth rank? Hidden master, my ass!” Eric Dawson couldn’t help but retort.

In today’s world, martial arts has a long history—it’s not just legend, nor is it ethereal. It’s existed for thousands of years, and after continuing into modern times, decades of competition with technology forced it to change old concepts and traditions, fully integrating into all aspects of society. The ranking system for martial artists also took on a modern flavor—special “grading tournaments” are held by martial arts associations to determine rank, with first rank being the highest and ninth rank the entry level. Beyond entry level, there are also amateur enthusiasts, so there are amateur first to ninth ranks as well. But don’t be fooled by the word “amateur”—that’s more than enough to handle ordinary people.

Brian Carter clicked his tongue and said, “Someone here isn’t even an amateur ninth rank. Whether you’re a master or not, it’s all relative, right? How about I give you a handicap and only use one hand?”

“Get lost!” Eric Dawson replied succinctly, then took a deep breath and strolled forward, saying as he walked, “She was already pretty famous in high school, so I knew she liked martial arts. What I didn’t expect was that we’d both get into Song University. At the time, I just thought it was fate, and I got excited and a bit nervous, so I dragged you to sign up, hoping for a chance to get to know her.”

“Not bad, that’s a normal way of thinking.” Brian Carter walked a few steps, then suddenly laughed, “Look, Orange, look—isn’t that your goddess over there?”