Chapter 45 The Rush

That night, at Xia Yan's house.

Jiang Xiao was eating a late-night snack, wolfing down the noodles cooked by Aunt Zhou. Suddenly, he thought of something and said with a smile to Han Jiangxue, "I haven't even graduated yet, and I've already received two offers, and they're from the top two teams in China."

Han Jiangxue rested her cheek on her hand and smiled, rolling her eyes at Jiang Xiao. Although there was a hint of reproach, her face was filled with pride and admiration.

"I'm so full of myself, Aunt Zhou, give me two more slices of meat," Jiang Xiao said, puffing out his chest.

"Come, come, eat more, eat more." Aunt Zhou cut two slices of cooked beef and put them into Jiang Xiao's bowl.

Although Aunt Zhou was almost 50 years old, she was used to staying up late. These kids trained so hard every day that they always had to eat extra meals when they came back at night. Consequently, Aunt Zhou's schedule had also changed.

When these kids went out to compete, Aunt Zhou stayed home alone. Although she could go to bed early, she felt empty inside.

"Eh?" Xia Yan held up her bowl, raising her head, with noodles still hanging from her mouth, "Mmph, mmmph..."

Aunt Zhou quickly cut two more slices of beef for Xia Yan.

...

What the group didn't expect was that the arrival of the Pioneer was just the beginning.

In the short week that followed, Jiang Xiao and his team met many important figures.

Of course, compared to Qin Wangchuan of the Pioneer Legion, these other big shots came during the day, and they all visited through the school. No one acted like Qin Wangchuan, as if they were elementary school kids fighting, ambushing outside the classroom door after school, lying in wait in the hallway...

The first to arrive were people from the Bei Jiang Province Star Warrior Association.

From the Bei Jiang Province High School League to the Bei Jiang Province Second Wilderness Reclamation Competition, the Bei Jiang Province Star Warrior Association provided Jiang Xiao's team with six Fallen Shadow Witch Star Beads in these two official events.

Logically speaking, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they were being given priority treatment.

They came to Jiang Bin No. 1 High School to invite members of Jiang Xiao's team to join the Star Warrior Association.

What does the Bei Jiang Province Star Warrior Association do?

This is a very good question. The concept of this type of organization is a bit abstract: to unite Star Warriors from all walks of life, to adhere to serving the people under the leadership of the country, to strive to promote the development of Star Studies, the social popularization of Star Studies knowledge, and to continuously promote the improvement of the overall level of Star Warriors.

In general, anything related to Star Warriors falls within their purview.

Here's a simple example:

For example, the holding of various competitions within the province. You should know that this world doesn't revolve around high school students. Beyond Jiang Xiao's horizons, there are countless Star Warrior competitions.

If various problems arise in a major competition, such as behind-the-scenes manipulation, the Bei Jiang Province Star Warrior Association bears the brunt of the responsibility. Although the Star Warrior Association is not the organizer of the competition, they are the leaders and supervisors of various competitions, and of course, one of the responsible parties.

How extensive is the Star Warrior Association's scope of authority?

There's a saying circulating in society: When in doubt, go to the Star Association.

The Star Warrior Association has great power, and its responsibilities are not small. Without exception, its members are all registered Star Warriors.

Awakened students like Jiang Xiao, who have not yet graduated from high school and have not been approved and issued a "Star Warrior Certificate," are not qualified to become members of the Star Warrior Association.

In other words, Jiang Xiao, Han Jiangxue, Xia Yan, and Li Weiyi were considered to be exceptionally admitted.

The people sent by the Star Warrior Association made it clear that they would not add any burden to the children before they graduated from high school, nor would they assign them any tasks. They asked them to focus on the *gaokao* (national college entrance examination).

For Jiang Xiao and Han Jiangxue, they didn't have much of a choice. Since others were giving them face, they would accept it.

And to be honest, if they didn't join the military, joining the provincial or national Star Warrior Association would be a very, very good choice for finding a decent job after graduating from high school and university. Why not take the opportunity to join directly now?

It's always good to have a big tree to lean against.

And Jiang Xiao also had some small calculations in his heart. Since the Bei Jiang Province Star Warrior Association had taken out six Fallen Shadow Witch Star Beads, could they take out four more?

Uh...

The Toxic Milk King said he didn't care about face.

He happily joined the Star Association and had a pleasant conversation with the people sent by the Star Association.

"Big brother, look, I'm also a member of our organization now. In order to make our Bei Jiang Province stand out and to achieve breakthroughs in better results, can you support us with a few more Fallen Shadow Witch Star Beads? My sister's aptitude is good, 30 Star Slots, it's hard to find a second one in the whole province. Trust me, she will eventually absorb the Voice of Silence."

Then the people from the Star Association left.

Hmm...

I wonder if they regretted inviting Jiang Xiao to join.

In the days that followed, Jiang Xiao's team received several more groups of people and received some written invitations.

These people were also quite impressive: Bei Jiang Province Star Warrior University, Zhong Ji Province Star Warrior University, Dong Wu League Star Warrior Academy, Da Meng Province Star Warrior University, and so on...

One purpose: to poach people!

This made Principal Yan very happy. As things stood, as long as Han Jiangxue nodded, this would be a pile of guaranteed admissions, even exempting the *gaokao*. She could go to any school she wanted.

After discussing it with the school, Han Jiangxue gave Principal Yan enough face and politely declined these invitations.

It's not that you're not good, it's just that the Snow Goddess can get something better.

Well, that's a sad story.

Afterward,

The real big invitation came: Northern National Defense Science and Technology University.

It's not a local Star Warrior University, but it's a real military academy.

After the *gaokao*, Awakened students have several destinations: various local Star Warrior Universities and local military academies.

The strength of this school is slightly inferior to that of the Southern National Defense Science and Technology University in Hunan. That school is known as the "Tsinghua and Peking University of the Military," but the Northern National Defense Science and Technology University is definitely a key undergraduate institution.

To this,

Li Weiyi was tempted.

Li Weiyi's father had set the goal for him to be the Southern National Defense Science and Technology University.

And now, an invitation letter of almost equal weight was placed in front of Li Weiyi. He could directly take the letter to the school without going through a series of complicated procedures such as the *gaokao* and Star Examinations, and he would be admitted after symbolically participating in its internal examination.

If you were him, would you be willing to seize this opportunity?

The only thing preventing Li Weiyi from choosing was that he had already received 20 extra points on the *gaokao* (Li Weiyi didn't get extra points for bravery).

Li Weiyi was aware of his academic level. In the Star Studies assessment, he would get good results without any surprises, and passing the line should not be a problem. But in terms of academics, even with 20 extra points, could he really pass the score line of the Southern National Defense Science and Technology University?

What? You say the bonus points from the National High School League?

Don't dream. Their team was indeed influential in the province, but on the stage of the national competition, they were not good enough at all.

For many years, since the National High School Competition was established, the Bei Jiang Province High School Team had never entered the semi-finals. That is to say, regardless of the reform of the competition, the Bei Jiang Province High School Team had never been in the top eight.

What does the Bei Jiang Province High School team compete for? What do schools, the Provincial Star Warrior Association, and the Provincial Department of Education require?

It's ranking!

What ranking? From ranking 99, enter ranking 50. As long as the ranking enters the top 50, it is considered a success.

This is not a joke, it is a sad fact.

For a time, Li Weiyi was a little confused.

Faced with this very formal invitation, Li Weiyi immediately said that he needed to discuss it with his family.

It was impossible for Jiang Xiao not to be tempted. This was a national key military academy, not a joke.

But when Jiang Xiao looked at Han Jiangxue, he found that her expression was unwavering, and her beautiful, dark eyes were calm.

Sensing Jiang Xiao's probing gaze, Han Jiangxue reached out and gently patted Jiang Xiao's shoulder, shaking her head slightly, and softly uttered a word: Di Du Star Warrior (Capital Star Warrior University).

Jiang Xiao's heart was full of admiration: This young lady is so ambitious!

And Xia Yan had said a long time ago that she didn't want to join the military, so she wasn't interested in this invitation either.

Taking advantage of Principal Yan's joyful expression, Jiang Xiao also pestered him.

He was too young back then and agreed to the school's request to stay at the school for three years.

Now, Jiang Xiao already has 30 extra points on the *gaokao*. This team is extremely tacit, and whether it is the cultural exam or the Star Exam, they will have good results. Jiang Xiao is likely to be admitted to a very good university.

If he stays at the school for a few more years, by the time of that year's *gaokao*, the extra points will be gone, and he will never find such good teammates again.

Principal Yan seemed to have considered this issue as well. He didn't hesitate at all and readily agreed to Jiang Xiao's request, saying something very interesting: You can go to any first-class key university you want, the school will definitely not stop you, but if you lower your standards, I suggest you retake the exam until you get into a first-class university.

Jiang Xiao wanted to pick up the invitation letter from Northern National Defense Science and Technology University and run away...