In this situation, only those who are truly exceptional can pass the martial arts exam and receive national resources for training.

So every year, the martial arts college entrance exam is even harder than getting into a top university in the previous life!

In 2007, there were a total of 9 million students taking the college entrance exam in China, but across all universities nationwide, the total number of martial arts students admitted was less than 20,000—this is the combined number for all schools.

In the previous life, although top universities like Tsinghua and Peking University only admitted a few thousand students each year, there were still plenty of prestigious schools. The 985 universities combined admitted over 100,000 students annually.

But now, there are over 100 universities and specialized martial arts schools across the country with martial arts departments, and yet, these 100 schools only admit 20,000 students in total. On average, that's far too few.

An admission rate of nearly one in five hundred may not seem low, but that's in big cities. In smaller cities, this ratio expands tenfold!

This is also the main reason why people like Ethan Brooks feel so hopeless.

Besides this, there are many other barriers to applying for the martial arts program.

The 10,000 yuan application fee that Ethan Brooks mentioned earlier is just the minimum requirement.

Not to mention the other conditions—just the application fee alone is enough to give Brian Carter a headache.

And the martial arts application starts next week, with a time limit for registration.

Once the deadline passes, even if you have the money, you can't apply for the martial arts program.

"Ten thousand for the application fee..."

Just moments ago, Brian Carter was full of ambition, but now he felt deflated. The starting requirements alone had already extinguished more than half of his inner fire.

Not to mention, there are a whole series of requirements after that.

"What a headache!"

Brian Carter sighed. For a reborn person to end up doing so poorly in modern society—there probably aren't many like him.

...

After Brian Carter finished eating and returned to school, he only had 15 yuan left in his pocket.

The afternoon classes hadn't started yet. Some classmates were working on problems to prepare for the college entrance exam, while others were chatting—most of them were still talking about the grandmaster battle that Jason Bolton mentioned in the morning.

When Brian Carter came back, Ethan Brooks, who was working on problems, quickly put down his pen and asked, "Did you go play games?"

Brian Carter rolled his eyes and said speechlessly, "Who has the mood to play games at a time like this? Do you think I'm stupid? I went to look up information about the college entrance exam."

As he spoke, Brian Carter rubbed his hands together and grinned, "Hey, Little Ethan, do you have any spare cash?"

Ethan Brooks frowned slightly and after a moment said, "I still have 10 yuan..."

"Ahem, come on, don't joke around. If you have money, lend me ten or twenty thousand. When I make it big, I'll pay you back a hundred times over!"

"Heh!"

Ethan Brooks gave a forced smile, adjusted his glasses, and buried his head back in his work. Brian Carter must be out of his mind from being broke!

Brian Carter sighed—this path is a dead end.

They're all students. Not to mention Ethan Brooks's family is average, even the better-off classmates in the class—who would be foolish enough to lend you ten thousand yuan?

Does he have to ask his parents?

But his family's situation is average, and ten thousand yuan is no small sum these days. Based on his own standards, there's almost no hope of getting into the martial arts program. If he asks, would his parents even agree?

Today is Saturday, and only the senior students have classes. Although registration is said to be next week, in reality, there are less than two days until Monday.

If there were more time, he could try to figure out a way to scrape together the application fee, but with less than two days, even if he went wild with his golden finger, he couldn't get ten thousand yuan.

And this is just the first step in applying for the martial arts program. If he wants to get in, he'll have to keep spending money.

In this society, the strong are built on resources and wealth.

Otherwise, why do all martial arts experts run businesses and strive to make their companies bigger and stronger?

Even if they don't run businesses, most will enter official institutions.

Those experts in novels and TV shows, living carefree lives, leveling up with a sudden epiphany, not needing to eat or drink—before, Brian Carter might have thought nothing of it.

But now, Brian Carter knows that's pure nonsense!

A quick look online at noon revealed some exposés—even for the weakest first-grade martial artist, the resources needed to train one, converted to money, would cost at least a million!

And that's just first-grade, which in Brian Carter's eyes is the weakest, the most insignificant martial artist.

Even so, it takes a million yuan.

The higher the level, the more resources are needed. The money involved is astronomical. Without industrial support, it's impossible to go further!

If an ordinary family can't get into the martial arts program, with the current average salary, how many families could train themselves to become martial artists outside of college?

The reason everyone flocks to martial arts universities is because the key is that the martial arts program in college provides students with most of the resources—it's government-funded training.

Even if there's still a shortfall, once you get into the martial arts program, the banks will open their doors to you—loans are not a problem.

Or, you can sign contracts with big companies in advance. Martial arts students are in high demand, and major groups are happy to spend money to train some promising candidates.

But all of this is only possible if you get into the martial arts program.

Thinking you can become a martial artist without spending money is just a pipe dream.

Brian Carter sighed again. He didn't even know how many times he'd sighed today. How could this rebirth be so frustrating!

Chapter 4: When You're Poor, Nothing Works

In the afternoon, during the homeroom teacher's class, Old Ben brought up the martial arts application again.