13: Warriors cherish their lives, but they must have the courage to fight to the death

After Lin Chen entered high school, his daily routine on the surface did not differ much from middle school.

However, his spiritual core was completely different from when he was in middle school.

In middle school, he had no strong pursuits; he just focused on cultivation daily, without worrying about money or resources, living carefree.

But in high school, it was different. The cost of improving his acquired aptitude weighed on him like a massive mountain, and with only three years left until the college entrance examination, a sense of urgency naturally arose.

Nirvana Martial High, First Year Martial Arts Class 1, still had the same students.

Lin Chen and his classmates were promoted directly, all choosing the martial arts path, confirming the status of Martial Arts Class 1.

For martial arts students, cultural subjects only accounted for 10% of the college entrance examination score. As long as they diligently studied cultural knowledge for six years in middle and high school, this 10% score would not be lost; it was a guaranteed score.

The curriculum for martial arts students changed significantly. One cultural class per week was for relaxation, while all other classes were martial arts courses.

Blood Qi class, Meditation class, Body Forging class, and Combat class, four sessions a day, five days a week, had become the standard.

It had been less than a month since school started.

Lin Chen noticed that the atmosphere in the class had changed greatly, and he himself had also changed significantly.

"Brother Chen, I'm so poor!"

"You're poor, I'm poor too. A deficit of several hundred billion federal currency is completely impossible to fill."

"Sigh, how can I earn money?"

"You're so well-informed, and you still can't find a way?"

"Brother Chen, you think too highly of me. I can earn tens of millions, but billions? You could sell me and it still wouldn't be enough."

"There's always a way."

Lin Chen was not the only one lacking money to improve his aptitude; most 15-year-olds were like this—they weren't short on small amounts, but they didn't have large sums.

The only advantage of aristocratic families was being a step ahead in the 0 to 5 aptitude range, but in subsequent aptitude ranges, there was no difference from ordinary people.

Ambitious aristocratic youths, such as Zhou Heshan and Oriental Red Sleeve, had more or less raised one or two acquired aptitudes that suited their development to 5 points.

After that, like Lin Chen, they fell into the predicament of lacking money.

Family resources could not be concentrated on one person. It was already good for third-generation juniors to receive some support; to get more, they had to prove their worth or earn money themselves.

In this regard, commoner students could quickly adapt to this pressure and disparity.

They originally had nothing, their expectations were not high, and any improvement was a gain.

If they had no money, they would earn it, accumulating bit by bit, being meticulous with their finances, and while balancing cultivation, they could always improve some acquired aptitudes, more or less enhancing their own advantages.

"Heshan, how do other high school students earn money? How can one earn big money?"

Lin Chen was indeed not very knowledgeable in this area. He could only imagine dangerous activities like exploring Star Gates, as they were all martial artists with strong individual combat power.

He didn't understand the specific situation and had no concept of it, because he had never lacked money or anything before, so he had no concept of earning money.

"I can answer that for you."

At this moment, Lin Fan appropriately took over the topic. As the commoner genius in the class, he had no family background, only talent.

He had started trying to earn money since his first year of middle school and had been very successful.

Otherwise, relying solely on the resources provided by the school, even with his talent, he could not have achieved his current cultivation close to Fourth-Stage Martial Ancestor and his stable combat power at Fourth-Stage Mid-level.

"Class Monitor, please enlighten me."

Lin Chen realized belatedly that there was such a commoner big shot in the class, and he had a path he could rely on.

"As martial artists, we have strong individual combat power. As long as we overcome the fear of hostile creatures like alien beasts in the wilderness, then the path to earning money is right before us."

"Exploring Star Gates, venturing deep into the wilderness to hunt demon beasts, collecting resources, pioneering dimensional fragments, and descending into the dungeons to eliminate alien races are all ways to earn money."

Lin Fan spoke eloquently. In this field, he could be considered an old veteran.

He had three years of experience exploring the wilderness, Star Gates, and dungeons, making him more seasoned than many old hands.

As for dimensional fragments, his strength was still too low, so he wasn't qualified to participate, but there was no rush; he would have plenty of opportunities in the future.

"Class Monitor, take me with you."

Lin Chen could feel the clash of blades and the aura of a strong person from Lin Fan's words.

"If you didn't ask me, I would have sought you out. Recently, Hongxiu and I discovered a dungeon ruin in a Fourth-Stage dungeon."

"According to my estimation, if we successfully clear it, we can at least harvest treasures worth over a billion. If the three of us split it evenly, each of us can get three or four hundred million."

"Class Monitor, tell me the details."

"Okay, I'll send you the specific information later. If you agree to team up to explore the ruins, we'll depart the day after tomorrow. It should take about one or two days to clear the ruins."

"Okay."

After Lin Chen and Lin Fan finished talking, the surrounding classmates looked at Lin Fan expectantly, hoping he could take them along.

They dared not hope for the ruins.

A Fourth-Stage dungeon, an unknown ruin—only Lin Fan, Oriental Red Sleeve, and Lin Chen in the class were qualified to venture into it. For weaklings like them, who lacked Fourth-Stage combat power, going along would only cause trouble and lead to death.

Do what your strength allows; don't be overly ambitious.

The price of being overly ambitious was losing one's life.

"Classmates, I won't favor one over another. I've compiled information on the Third-Stage dungeons and Star Gates within Feng City. You can choose to team up and explore dungeons and Star Gates."

"For your first exploration, it's best to hire a fixed team from our school's third-year students. Let experienced seniors take you on a few explorations. You'll basically know what to pay attention to when entering dungeons and Star Gates, so you'll be prepared."

"The situation in the wilderness is too complex, and within 500 kilometers of Feng City, valuable demon beasts and resources have basically been divided by previous explorers. Not only is it dangerous, but the income isn't high, so I don't recommend you go there."

As Lin Fan spoke, he sent the information he had collected to the class group chat and recommended five reputable and upright third-year senior teams to everyone.

"Thank you, Class Monitor! Class Monitor is the best!"

Unbeknownst to them, the homeroom teacher, Zhou Xingchen, had already arrived in the classroom. He quietly observed all of this, feeling very gratified.

(The homeroom teacher stays with the class for a 6-year cycle.)

With Lin Fan, this experienced Class Monitor, he could save a lot of trouble. And compared to him, a teacher who rarely left the school, Lin Fan, who frequently entered and exited dungeons and Star Gates, had more experience than him.

"Lin Fan, you will teach this class today. Tell your classmates about some of your experiences in the dungeons, Star Gates, and the wilderness, and educate them about the dangers."

"Yes, Teacher."

Zhou Xingchen spoke at the right moment, supporting Lin Fan.

Lin Fan organized his words slightly and recounted the dangers he had encountered during his explorations in the wilderness, dungeons, and Star Gates over the past few years.

Lin Chen listened very carefully. He was very afraid of death and cherished his life.

Lin Fan's experience was largely universal and gave Lin Chen a lot of inspiration.

Unconquered dungeons and Star Gates do not belong to the Human Race Territory. There is no law within them, only the natural law of the jungle, where the fittest survive.

In the wild, the most dangerous thing is one's own kind.

If one person out of a hundred harbors ill intentions, then you need to guard against all hundred. You don't know who will have malicious intent, and bad people don't write it on their faces.

This situation is basically unsolvable; all you can do is be cautious and careful, guarding against everything.

Listening to Lin Fan recount stories of deceit, heartlessness, and brothers killing each other for resources, Lin Chen felt somewhat uneasy and was not very keen on clearing ruins or exploring dungeons and Star Gates anymore.

"Actually, there's no need to push myself so hard. If I stay safely in the city, after a few decades, I'll naturally become stronger. There's no need to fight for every single day."

"I'm different from others; my talent allows me to lie low. What if I don't earn money? At most, my cultivation speed will just be a bit slower."

Lin Chen constantly found excuses for his retreat. The excuses were all reasonable and suited his situation.

"No, I must take this step; I cannot retreat. Otherwise, my future will be just mediocre. Even if I reach a powerful realm, it will be like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water, easily shattered."

Lin Chen constantly encouraged himself. In martial arts, not advancing means retreating. He must forge his own martial heart.

Fear of death and cherishing life are human nature, but as a martial artist, one must have the courage to fight desperately and the will to find life in death.

Taking one step back today, another step back tomorrow, will eventually lead to a point where there's no more room to retreat. At that time, having become accustomed to retreating, one might even betray everything just to survive.

One leads to two; habitual retreat will inevitably accompany one throughout life.

"I have life-saving trump cards. My grandparents give me a jade token containing their full-power strike every year. To still be so fearful of this and that is somewhat pathetic."

"But a Fourth-Stage dungeon, an unknown ruin, how dangerous could it be? Could it possibly break through the divine blessing and kill me?!"

"Let's do it!"