The Reason to Grow Stronger!

Boom!

The order exploded like a thunderclap in the minds of everyone in Class One, Fourth Year.

The entire training hall fell deathly silent once more.

Everyone was so stunned by the news that their heads spun, disbelief written all over their faces.

It had only been half a month since he skipped from third year to fourth year!

And now he was going straight from fourth year to sixth year?

This was no longer skipping grades. He was riding a rocket!

"N-no, Teacher Wang!" Zhao Jie was the first to react, and he panicked. "Those bastards in sixth year already have it in for Boss. If you send him over there alone now, wouldn't that be sending a sheep into a tiger's jaws?"

"And... and I want to stay with Boss too!"

Yet Chen Fan, at the center of the storm, once again reacted in a way no one expected.

He simply raised his eyes calmly, met Wang Zhen's burning gaze, and asked a question no one had anticipated.

"Are the cultivation resources in sixth year better?"

Wang Zhen was taken aback.

Then he burst out laughing, his laughter filled with boundless admiration and delight.

"That's right!"

His voice was firm and decisive, full of temptation.

"They're the best in the whole school!"

Hearing Wang Zhen's words, Chen Fan nodded and agreed.

Wang Zhen then said to Chen Fan, "All right, go home and get some proper rest today. There's no need to cultivate. Come with me straight to Class One, Sixth Year tomorrow!"

If it had been any other student, Wang Zhen would never have let them rest. Once someone set foot on the path of martial arts, they had to devote twelve parts of their energy to it.

But Chen Fan was different... Chen Fan was a genius!

A balance of work and rest was best.

Chen Fan thought it over. Cultivating at home was no different from cultivating at school for him anyway, so he prepared to leave.

Zhao Jie stood on the steps, watching Chen Fan's receding figure, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, fervent flames flickering in his eyes. He took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Boss! Just you wait! I'll definitely keep up with you. I can make it to sixth year too!"

The students around him turned to look. Some sneered, while others were envious.

Chen Fan didn't turn around, but his steps paused for a moment.

With his back to Zhao Jie and the others, a faint smile appeared on Chen Fan's face.

"That guy..."

Chen Fan shook his head, slowly raised his arm, and waved.

The corner of the corridor completely cut him off from the clamor behind him.

At the edge of East Sea City, at the old house.

Chen Ping was watering a pot of orchids in the courtyard. The last rays of the setting sun fell across the courtyard wall in a mottled pattern.

Creak.

The courtyard gate was pushed open.

Chen Ping's hand jerked, spilling water all over the ground and soaking the tops of his shoes.

He looked up and saw Chen Fan's calm face.

This time again.

Home early again.

Chen Ping's heart felt as though something had seized it in a crushing grip, and an indescribable ache welled up from the bottom of his heart.

He set down the watering can and hurried over, forcing a gentle smile onto his face, though the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes could not hide his deep concern.

"Xiao Fan, you're home."

He wanted to ask how things were at school, wanted to ask whether someone was bullying him again. But when the words reached his lips, he forced them back down.

The doctor's words were etched into his mind like a spell.

"Don't upset the child. Don't put pressure on him."

Chen Ping silently took Chen Fan's schoolbag, his movements gentle. "You must be tired. Go inside and rest. Grandpa will make you something to eat right now."

Chen Fan nodded and walked straight into his room. The door closed, shutting all that concern outside.

The smile vanished from Chen Ping's face, replaced by deep worry.

"No."

He muttered to himself, his voice as raspy as if it had been scraped over sandpaper.

"This can't go on."

Although he didn't know everything about his grandson's situation at school, judging by how often he came home early each day, it was clear he couldn't stay there.

He had asked Chen Fan's teacher, Lin Tao, about it before, but Lin Tao had said Chen Fan was doing very well.

But given the situation now, how was this doing very well?

He suddenly stood up, a trace of resolve flashing in his cloudy eyes.

Chen Ping strode toward the study.

On a shelf in the study sat a special communication device, a Military-Grade Quantum Communication Terminal left behind by Chen Fan's parents.

It could transmit information across galaxies, but a round trip took a long time. Often, ten days or half a month might pass before a message got a response.

After all... the universe was simply too vast. Even though technology capable of surpassing the speed of light existed now, exploring the entire universe was still extremely difficult.

Chen Ping's fingers trembled slightly as he carefully activated the device.

The screen flickered. Chen Ping entered the details of Chen Fan's situation, then clicked send.

Only after doing all this did Chen Ping let out a long breath of relief.

In the bedroom.

Chen Fan sat at his desk and switched on the personal optical computer on his wrist.

A pale blue screen was projected into the air.

He deftly opened the Federation Military News Channel.

"...Yesterday, on the outskirts of our Federation's No. 56 Battlefield Fortress, a fierce clash broke out between the Thunder Legion and the Zerg Ripper Group. Although our forces successfully repelled the enemy, casualties were heavy..."

The female news anchor looked solemn. In the background footage, beams of light from explosions tore through the pitch-black universe.

Chen Fan's pupils contracted slightly.

The picture changed, and a blurry recording flashed across the screen.

It was a meat grinder capable of devouring everything. Countless human battle suits shattered beneath the claws of monstrous Zerg, turning into a mist of blood that filled the sky.

Fortress No. 56.

The Thunder Legion.

Those words were like poisoned steel needles, stabbing deep into Chen Fan's heart.

Chen Fan listened to battlefield news from the front lines every day. It was his only way of learning about the front.

Although his parents were not at Frontline Fortress No. 56, the front lines were dangerous all the same.

Even a martial artist was nothing more than an insignificant scrap of flesh in the front line's millstone of blood and flesh.

Chen Fan pressed his lips together, his hands clenching involuntarily.

Although today's report was about Fortress No. 56.

What if tomorrow the news reported that the entire combat unit his parents were in had been wiped out?

What if he lost the people he wanted to protect before he had grown strong enough?

Chen Fan stared fixedly at the recording. At that moment, his reason for growing stronger became incomparably clear.

Snap!

Chen Fan turned off the screen.

The room fell into absolute silence. Only the chirping of unidentified insects outside the window accentuated the oppressive atmosphere.

He slowly rose without the slightest hesitation, bent his knees slightly, lowered his waist, and settled into a horse stance.

Five Elements Stance.

Opening form.

This time, his movements were more precise and steadier than ever before.

The dusk outside the window gradually faded, and the night grew black as ink.

The qi and blood within him began circulating wildly with each breath he took.

That scorching power surged through his meridians, each cycle seemingly tempering his will.

Sweat slid down his forehead, soaking his clothes.

Pain.

His muscles were tearing, his bones reforming.

But Chen Fan didn't stop.

He didn't need rest. He didn't need comfort.

He only needed to grow stronger.