This chapter opens with the protagonist's conversation with the head of the martial arts academy in the second-largest city in the world. The protagonist complains that the academy is too small to compete with the best martial arts academies in the whole world. He also complains about the fact that he is being chased out of the academy by the academy's head, who is also a member of the same elite martial arts school. The academy head tells the protagonist that his cultivation base has "far surpassed old men" like the protagonist, and that if the protagonist continues to stay at the academy, he will be "berated" by others. This is a reference letter from him, and the protagonist takes it to the martial elite hall in the city. The martial academy head asks the protagonist if he has any documents, and if he does, the protagonist says that he has a letter from his father, who recommends that the protagonist enroll in the academy. The two men enter the hall together, and when the protagonist asks why the two men are allowed to enter, the academy head says that they are sons of wealthy families who have already enrolled their sons in the martial academy. He says that these wealthy families are the ones who get the privileges that the ordinary people will never have. He adds that the elite get their way while ordinary people like him have to pray for "good luck." The protagonist responds by saying that he thinks it is time for the academy to change the rules around the hall. He calls the head a "snobbish