Chapter 3
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Li Yang tested herself and felt that if she kept chopping the four-leaf clover with the axe, it would take at most an hour to cut it down. No wonder He Song only needed one strike; with a physique of just 70 points, he had already made a qualitative leap. An 80-point physique was the minimum requirement for military academy applicants, and as He Song’s assistant teacher, his own physique might be several times that. Li Yang sat back in her chair and summoned the system panel to check her current stats.
Name: Li Yang
Lifespan: 5 years / 10 years
Physique: 70
Spirit: 30
Note: Only 5 years of lifespan remaining. Please harvest plants promptly to gain more lifespan.
With the experience from before, Li Yang no longer tried to push through three years at once but chose to train year by year. Less than a year showed no effect; more than a year gave high efficiency, but the unbearable, explosive growth pain of her body was something she preferred to avoid. She spent one year.
[You trained for one year. Due to the monotony of weightlifting, your training efficiency dropped significantly. Your physique increased to 76 points.]
Li Yang: "..."
Well, it makes sense that progress becomes harder the stronger you get.
She trained another year.
[You forced yourself to train for another year. Feeling frustrated due to no effect, you overate and your physique dropped to 75 points.]
Li Yang: ".........."
Why did it drop again?!
Li Yang felt heartbroken and glanced at her remaining lifespan—only 3 years left. She now had just two chances. Spending money in games made one’s heart race, but she was literally spending her life. If she had a long life, it wouldn’t be such a problem, but with only two or three years left, her hands began to tremble.
Li Yang stared at the panel for a long while.
Ideally, her physique should reach 85.
Would two years be enough?
If not, she would have to find mutated plants again.
She decided to invest two years in one go: "Consume two years to improve physique."
[You trained continuously for two years. With ample time, you underwent thorough training and study, successfully challenging the snowy mountain speed skating, raising your physique to 90 points and spirit to 40.]
Li Yang: "!"
Afraid she was seeing things, she quickly focused on the panel again.
Name: Li Yang
Lifespan: 1 year / 10 years
Physique: 90
Spirit: 40
Note: Only 1 year of lifespan remaining. Please harvest plants promptly to gain more lifespan.
She wasn’t mistaken—this time she not only improved her physique but also raised her spirit.
Li Yang pondered: "Long-term investment still seems worthwhile, but..."
Sure enough, a wave of agonizing pain hit her all over as she lay in bed curled into a ball.
However, it was much better than before; her body had undergone a qualitative transformation, improving her endurance, so she recovered quickly.
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Li Yang took a bath and decided to stop; with only one year of life left, there was no point in spending more.
—
In the following days, Li Yang didn’t rush back to school but sought ways to better understand this world.
The original owner’s memories were chaotic. Though aware of the existence of mutated creatures, the details remained unclear.
Her family had no internet, and the grandmother and granddaughter shared only an old phone. Li Yang didn’t waste money replacing it but spent most of a day at an internet café.
Her research clarified everything.
Around three hundred years ago, a realm called the “Star Realm” suddenly appeared on Earth. Ordinary people knew little about it, and the internet offered no detailed information.
All that was known was that starlight would surge from the Star Realm, and creatures contaminated by this starlight mutated. These mutated beings possessed terrifying offensive power, dealt a massive blow to human society, and led to the complete destruction of some small nations.
Later, individuals who mastered the power of the starlight gained formidable strength, cleared out mutated creatures, sealed the Star Realm’s entrance, and rebuilt human society.
These heroes were known as the “Star Keepers.”
Three centuries had passed, and to ordinary people, this was ancient history. People had grown accustomed to the occasional mutated creature and ignored the Star Realm, living their quiet, routine lives.
Yet the number of Star Keepers grew year by year.
Today, nearly all influential figures in society—from political elites and business magnates to professionals across industries and entertainment stars—were Star Keepers.
The first generation of grandmasters among the Star Keepers developed a more systematic training method, giving rise to clear ranks among them.
From Grade One to Grade Nine, the power gap was vast—like comparing a rifle to a nuclear bomb.
In this world, everyone aspired to become a Star Keeper.
There were many paths to becoming one, but the most common was enrolling in a military academy, which was both the cheapest and safest option.
Li Yang then searched the top military academies.
In China, there were two premier military schools: Zhongdu Military Academy and Starcut Military Academy, both located in the capital city of Zhongdu.
The two schools were equally ranked but had slightly different focuses. Over the years, no consensus had been reached on which was superior.
Because of He Song, Li Yang was particularly interested in Zhongdu Military Academy and focused on its information, which brought a pleasant surprise.
Agronomy Department!
There was even an agronomy department in a military academy!
Among many posts introducing Zhongdu Military Academy, this point was especially popular for its uniqueness—“Come to Zhongdu Military Academy, immerse yourself in a golden ocean, and guarantee you won’t be single!”
The post included a video showing a vast expanse of golden wheat fields.
That wheat was definitely mutated, standing three times taller than ordinary wheat. The stalks were as thick as a human thigh, and the golden grains shimmered like nuggets of gold.
Li Yang stared, forgetting to blink.
Beauty aside, the key was that these wheat plants, like the four-leaf clover, had a very high safety rating!
There was only one four-leaf clover plant, but the wheat was a vast field—if she harvested it all, would she still worry about her short lifespan?
Excited, Li Yang searched specifically for the agronomy department.
The military academy had an agronomy department to study mutated plants.
However, this department was very niche. Among the top-ranked military academies, only Zhongdu Military Academy maintained an independent department, while others folded it into their military equipment departments.
Since it wasn’t listed separately elsewhere, those academies lacked the large-scale, standardized cultivation seen at Zhongdu.
The more Li Yang learned, the more determined she became: she had to go to Zhongdu Military Academy’s agronomy department!
Honestly, Li Yang had no interest in the Star Realm or mutated creatures. Such dangerous matters were for the brave. She just wanted to stroll through golden fields, harvesting wheat to extend her life.
—
Monday.
After completing her re-enrollment procedures, Li Yang sat in the last row of the classroom.
The original owner had left school early in the year. The grandmother’s death hit her hard, and with average grades, she couldn’t get into good universities. Even if she barely got into ordinary ones, she couldn’t afford the exorbitant tuition.
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Li Yang flipped through the original owner’s textbooks ahead of time and breathed a bit easier.
There were many similarities between the two worlds; for example, the high school curriculum—humanities, especially history, differed greatly, but the sciences were quite close.
Li Yang had been a science student in her previous life. Though she graduated long ago, she hadn’t forgotten everything she learned.
Other military academies had low cultural course requirements, but Zhongdu Military Academy’s standards were high. With the original owner’s grades, admission would be difficult.
However, after doing a practice test herself, Li Yang wasn’t worried. With some intensive preparation, it wouldn’t be a problem.
Students gradually arrived in the classroom. A group of boys chatted nervously:
“Today’s the military academy’s comprehensive physical test—so nerve-wracking!”
“I heard Zhongdu Military Academy raised the physique requirement by three points this year! Crazy, it gets higher every year!”
Li Yang’s ears perked up. If it rose by three points to 83, her 90 points should be sufficient.
“Why bother with Zhongdu Military Academy? Only geniuses or rich kids can get in there.”
Li Yang didn’t understand, but the boys did, sighing:
“True. Like our Yu Ge, his physique is about the same as ours, but he’s got a rich dad. Seriously enviable.”
So that ‘rich’ was the wealth kind.
They lowered their voices. Normally, Li Yang should not have heard them, but perhaps her enhanced physique made her more alert.
“Is that Spirit Pill really that amazing? One pill boosts physique by ten points?”
“One million per pill! How wouldn’t it be amazing?”
“Didn’t Yu Hongyuan take two?”
“He’s seriously rich!”
This world had Star Keepers for three hundred years and a well-established training system. Military academies had various research departments, so producing corresponding pills was no surprise.
A pill worth a million could only boost physique by ten points—Li Yang felt a bit more forgiving of her “life-burning system.”
A girl interjected, “I don’t buy Yu Hongyuan’s hype. Pills might boost physique on paper, but they’re useless in practice. Even if his dad bought him into Zhongdu Military Academy, he’s just a waste!”
“Stop being sour. He’s just polishing his resume at Zhongdu Military Academy, so it’s easier to inherit the family business later.”
“I’m not sour. I admire our grade’s top student. Her dad is in the military, and she didn’t rely on pills to boost her physique!”
“Come on! The Fang Chuyun family are all Star Keepers. Her sister is a Grade Three Star Keeper at a young age. Besides, how do you know she hasn’t taken pills? Maybe from childhood, otherwise how’d she reach 85 physique?”
“What? She’s got 85 physique? I’m only 65. Comparing myself to others really kills me.”
“Yu Hongyuan must have at least 83, right? This year Zhongdu Military Academy’s cutoff is…”
As they spoke, a tall, burly boy entered, speaking louder than usual: “I overheard you at the door. 83? I just tested this morning—I got 86!”
More students arrived, and hearing this, they exclaimed, “Yu Ge, you’re amazing! You’re our school’s top!”
“Of course,” Yu Hongyuan said proudly, “85 is a big barrier. Beyond that, it’s really hard to improve, so 86 is the ceiling!”
Li Yang glanced at her info panel—Physique: 90.
So it was really tough beyond 85. Looks like her physique was a bit too high.
Another boy said enviously, “I heard that if you’re accepted by the two top military academies, our city gives a 100,000 yuan scholarship.”
He swallowed nervously, “Of course, Yu Ge doesn’t care about that money.”
Yu Hongyuan ignored him. Would he care about that petty scholarship? It cost him a pill just to go from 84 to 86!
Li Yang’s ears perked up sharply.
What? Scholarship? How much?
One hundred thousand!
She absolutely had to go to Zhongdu Military Academy!