There were more than a hundred of them!
Among these figures, some wore magnificent robes, others wore form-fitting, high-tech combat suits, and still others were dressed in traditional Martial Dao uniforms.
The auras they emanated, despite being mere projections, were still incomparably powerful. Every single one of them had reached the planetary level!
And the wide array of unique emblems on their chests revealed their identities—recruiting masters from the Top 100 Star Martial Arts Universities!
Upon seeing this group of uninvited guests arrive, Gu Yue and the other masters from the seven great Martial Arts High Schools showed no surprise. Nor did they display any of the reverence they had shown the last time they saw Zhou Xiong.
They simply remained in their seats, offering the projections a slight, polite nod by way of greeting.
This was because their statuses were equal.
Without exception, these lead masters of the "Seven Great Martial Arts High Schools" were also planetary-level powerhouses.
More importantly, they were present in person, while the others were merely projections that had crossed countless Star Realms.
In terms of sheer presence, they even held a slight edge over the others.
In the vast Canaan Star System, there were over a hundred million registered Starry Sky Martial Arts Universities.
But the ones that all intelligent life in the entire star system would fight tooth and nail to get into went by a single moniker—the "One Superpower and the Top 100."
The "Superpower" referred to the Canaan Star System’s sole, and strongest, legendary institution: Cannan Star Martial Arts University.
Its position was as solid as a rock, unshakable through the ages, the ultimate dream destination for every genius.
And the "Top 100" referred to the one hundred top-ranked institutions in terms of overall strength, excluding Cannan Star Martial Arts University.
This list changed slightly every year, and the competition was far more intense than the average person could ever imagine.
The figures appearing here were none other than the recruitment representatives sent by the vast majority of these "Top 100" schools.
Everyone knew why they had come.
"Heh, it seems the news of Lord Zhou Xiong’s visit to observe the ceremony last time still leaked out."
The old man from Dubhe Martial High School stroked his beard and chuckled, a hint of understanding in his voice.
"These guys’ noses are sharper than the Insect Race’s."
Jin Chengwu curled his lip and muttered under his breath.
As for the recruiting masters from the Top 100 Star Martial Arts Universities, they all understood the situation perfectly.
For a Black Hole Level Powerhouse from the Ultramarines Chapter to personally attend the event, there had to be a hidden, peerless genius—one that would drive every Starry Sky Martial Arts University into a frenzy!
"Gentlemen, I trust you’ve all been well!"
Among the projections of the recruiting masters, a particularly enthusiastic middle-aged man smiled and cupped his hands toward Gu Yue and the others. "We heard that Lord Zhou Xiong of the Ultramarines Chapter paid a personal visit. He must have discovered some astonishing talent. We came to see what all the fuss is about—to find out which young prodigy was fortunate enough to catch Lord Zhou Xiong’s discerning eye!"
It was another round of tacit probing.
Master Gu Yue simply picked up his energy drink, took a sip, and said nonchalantly, "How could we possibly presume to fathom Lord Zhou Xiong’s actions? You’re all overthinking it. His Lordship was merely acting on a whim, conducting a brief inspection."
His words deftly deflected the question.
The other masters all showed their agreement, some by nodding, others by smiling, but none of them took the bait.
’Are you kidding me?’
’That’s a Black Hole Level powerhouse we’re talking about!’
’Who would dare gossip about him behind his back? If a single wrong word displeased that great man, the consequences would be more than any one of them could bear.’
Seeing that the masters of the seven great Martial Arts High Schools had all clammed up, the recruiters from the Starry Sky Martial Arts Universities got the message.
They exchanged glances and, with a tacit understanding, pressed the matter no further.
However, among the hundred-odd projections of the recruiting masters, the eyes of one female master flashed with a distinctive glint, one of resolute determination.
Her name was Zhang Ruoyu, and she was from Du Na Star Martial Arts University, ranked seventy-third on the Top 100 list.
Unlike the others, who were merely chasing shadows, she possessed an absolutely reliable piece of insider information!
’These old foxes are so tight-lipped.’
A confident smile played on Zhang Ruoyu’s lips. ’But... it doesn’t matter,’ she thought.
’An old friend of mine is in the logistics department of the Ultramarines Chapter. I called in a favor and got one sentence in return: The person Lord Zhou Xiong specifically paid attention to that day was a student from Qiming First Martial High School!’
’The value of this intelligence is incalculable!’
’It narrows the search from the entire planet down to a single school!’
’Qiming First Martial High School...’
Zhang Ruoyu quickly linked to the Empire’s educational network and began searching for information.
’Let’s see, who really stood out at Qi Yi High last year... Aha!’
Soon, a name caught her eye.
Qin Feng!
The champion of last year’s Qiming Inter-School League Freshman Tournament—the "Freshman King"!
’It has to be him!’
Zhang Ruoyu was instantly certain. ’To win the "Freshman King" title as a freshman at a school like Qi Yi High, a place teeming with monsters, his talent and strength must be beyond question!’
’Only a figure like that could possibly have attracted Lord Zhou Xiong’s attention!’
She immediately pulled up Qin Feng’s more detailed file.
’Vitality index of 1.23 upon enrollment... Hmm, his talent is definitely top-tier.’
’During the freshman tournament, his vitality index was around 14.0... His progress is astonishingly fast!’
’Excellent. All the signs point to him!’
The light in Zhang Ruoyu’s eyes grew brighter as her mind raced, piecing together what she considered a flawless line of reasoning.
’He was a freshman last year, which means he’s just started his second year. Even if he’s a once-in-a-millennium genius and Qi Yi High has poured massive resources into him, the absolute most his vitality index could have reached in a year is 25.0.’
’That level of strength is impressive for this year’s upperclassman tournament, but there’s still a huge gap between him and monsters like Chen Tian and Liu Feixu, who have already reached the peak of a Third-level Martial Artist. He has absolutely no shot at becoming this year’s "Qiming General Star".’
’In that case...’
A bold and tempting idea began to sprout wildly in Zhang Ruoyu’s mind!
’There’s no need to let him waste another precious year in high school, struggling to compete for next year’s "Qiming General Star".’
’I’ll offer him an S-level contract right now, one he can’t refuse... No, he comes from a humble background. An A-level contract will be more than enough!’
’This is someone Lord Zhou Xiong himself took an interest in! His potential must be galaxy-class! Locking down a future powerhouse like him with just an A-level contract, then collecting the Imperial Contribution Points for recruitment... It’s an absolute steal!’
Zhang Ruoyu grew incredibly excited at the thought.
She immediately took action, paying a fee through the Empire’s official educational network to look up Qin Feng’s personal communication channel ID.
Meanwhile, in the Spectator Tower, the other masters from the Starry Sky Martial Arts Universities also began to act after their probing proved fruitless.
Unable to identify the target, they could only resort to the crudest, yet also safest, method: casting a wide net.
They all began extending olive branches to the most brilliant talents on record.
Within minutes, the private inboxes of students like "Golden Dragon" Chen Tian, "Dubhe Sword" Liu Feixu, and the mysterious "level-capper" Zhou Qi were completely flooded. Dozens of recruitment offers from the Top 100 Star Martial Arts Universities also poured in for any other upperclassman who possessed a Perfect Killing Skill.
Of course, Qin Feng was also caught in their wide net.
But as for Zhang Ruoyu, she had only one target in her sights.
She gazed at the ID she had just retrieved on her wrist-terminal—the one named "Qin Feng"—and a confident smile spread across her face, like a hunter locking onto its prey.
In her eyes, she was the master player, the one who held the ultimate piece of intelligence.
All she had to do was execute a perfect, precision capture before her net-casting peers even realized what was happening.