Swallowing the Stars: Starting with the Steel of the Heart

In a lounge

Xiang Bei did manage to get an audience with some bigwigs as he wished.

However, unlike Xiang Bei's plan for a private meeting, the lounge was filled with four representatives from various major powers.

The man in the lead was the middle-aged officer who had spoken on the platform when Xiang Bei first arrived at the base.

Upon seeing Xiang Bei, he smiled and patted Xiang Bei on the shoulder.

"Xiang Bei, well done! No wonder you're General Xiang's grandson. You've achieved such strength at such a young age!" The middle-aged officer, his previous seriousness gone, said with a broad smile, "Don't be nervous, feel at home here. My name is Ding Bowen, and I was also a soldier trained by General Xiang. Just call me Uncle Ding."

"Uncle Ding!" Xiang Bei called out readily.

"Good! Not bad, young man." Ding Bowen's smile widened. "Let Uncle Ding introduce you."

As he spoke, Ding Bowen pulled Xiang Bei into the crowd.

"This is Lu Ming, the manager of the main branch of the Kyoto base of the Kyoto Martial Arts Academy."

"Hello, Manager Lu," Xiang Bei said respectfully.

As the head of the Ultimate Martial Arts Academy headquarters, his status is comparable to that of the God of War to some extent, and he wields immense power.

"Haha, no need for formalities, young man, you have the same flair as Old Xiang back in the day!" Lu Ming was a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty years old, with an average appearance and dressed in simple casual clothes. He was the kind of person who would be almost impossible to spot in a crowd.

However, his eyes were exceptionally bright. Xiang Bei glanced at them unintentionally and involuntarily looked away in a flustered manner.

"A mentalist!" Xiang Bei narrowed his eyes, feeling that his judgment was probably correct; this Supervisor Lu Ming should be a high-level mentalist of the warrior class.

"You flatter me," Xiang Bei quickly replied with a smile.

"This is Shan Yucheng, the manager of the Kyoto base of the Thunder Martial Arts School," Ding Bowen continued.

The manager of the Thunder Martial Arts Academy was about 1.8 meters tall, with a slender build, and his demeanor was more like that of a refined scholar than a martial artist.

"Greetings, Manager Shan." Xiang Bei greeted him again.

"Okay." Shan Yucheng nodded gently with a smile, giving people a feeling of warmth and comfort.

"This is the representative of the Wang family from the HR Alliance. Mr. Wang's elder brother is Wang Yanchong, a War God-level expert in the Wang family," Ding Bowen introduced.

"Hello, Mr. Wang."

The last man was only in his early thirties, dressed in a neat white suit. Although he smiled when Xiang Bei greeted him, he couldn't hide his arrogant demeanor, especially when Ding Bowen introduced him as his god-like brother, his arrogance became even stronger.

Xiang Bei didn't seem to care, and Ding Bowen didn't even bother to introduce himself, so he probably wasn't anyone important.

Moreover, he was originally born and raised in Kyoto base city.

The Wang family, who are also based in Kyoto, are quite well aware of this.

Among the second generation of the Wang family, the most powerful are those few war god-level experts.

Among the three generations, there should be two: Wang Xingping and Wang Xingan.

He's never been a good person since he was a child. He has a wicked personality. After being beaten up by Xiang Bei, he still dared to talk tough to Xiang Bei. Then he was beaten up by Xiang Bei a few more times. Now he avoids Xiang Bei whenever he sees him.

"Alright, Xiao Bei, you two chat. I have other things to do, so I won't stay any longer." After introducing Xiang Bei, Ding Bowen didn't linger. He gave a few instructions and then left the lounge.

"Manager Lu, Manager Shan, Mr. Wang, what brings you here today?" Xiang Bei asked bluntly.

"General Xiang fought valiantly on the battlefield, slaying countless monsters. I, Lu Ming, truly admire him. Since you, Xiao Bei, are General Xiang's grandson, I won't hide anything. Our Extreme Martial Arts Academy intends to invite you to our basic training camp," Lu Ming said directly.

Is there only a basic training camp?

Xiang Bei couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He would have preferred to join the elite training camp of the Extreme Martial Arts Academy, and frankly, he looked down on the basic training camp now.

Then Xiang Bei turned to look at Shan Yucheng of the Thunder Martial Arts School.

But Shan Yucheng smiled gently and said slowly, "The conditions offered by my Thunder Martial Arts School and the Limit Martial Arts School are the same, but we can add an extra condition: if you can reach the advanced warrior level and the weapon application level before you turn seventeen, my Thunder Martial Arts School is willing to give you the opportunity to enter the elite training camp."

To be honest, the reason they are here today is largely due to the efforts of Xiang Bei's second uncle, who has been promoting him on various occasions for the past month or so.

Extreme Martial Arts Academy and Thunder Martial Arts Academy have cooperative relationships with various countries, and every year a few free spots are reserved for these countries in their elite training camps and basic training camps.

Although Xiang Bei did not officially join any faction, his grandfather held a position in the Xia Kingdom's military, making him, in reality, half a member of the Xia Kingdom's military.

The correct route to enter the training camp is the military's route.

Unfortunately, the spots for this training camp had already been decided long ago. They were all young geniuses whom the Xia Kingdom's military had done its best to cultivate. It was impossible to kick others out just for Xiang Bei. That would not be fair to those people, since Xiang Bei had not yet joined the military.

That leaves only two options: one is to spend money, using hundreds of billions of dollars or various treasures to impress the inspectors of the two martial arts schools.

But it's clear the Xiang family doesn't have that kind of financial resources.

Then there is only one remaining method: to publicize Xiang Bei's talent extensively to attract the attention of the two major martial arts schools, and ideally, to make the two major martial arts schools ignore the problem of Xiang Bei's natural identity and recruit Xiang Bei into the training camps of the two major martial arts schools.

Clearly, Xiang Bei's methods were successful. After using countless connections, he finally attracted the attention of the top leaders of the two martial arts schools.

"Manager Shan, I am already a high-level warrior, and I reached the mastery level in the use of the battle halberd half a month ago. Furthermore, I have completed the first level of my Xiang family's secret manual, 'Breaking Army,' and I am confident that I can reach the second level within two months." Xiang Bei did not give the Wang family representative a chance to speak and said confidently.

Although he had not reached the advanced warrior level before participating in the martial arts assessment, Xiang Bei used the Giant Devouring technique four times during this practical assessment. With the boost to his maximum health, his physical attributes have definitely reached the advanced warrior level, though it is unknown how much he has exceeded the limit.

"really!"

As soon as Xiang Bei spoke, Lu Ming and Shan Yucheng's eyes lit up, while the Wang family representative was automatically ignored.