A connected kid? The start-of-term assessment!

The night was as dark as ink.

Wang Zhen, the homeroom teacher of fourth grade's class one, ended the call on his personal optical computer. His brows knitted into the shape of the character 川.

The call had come from the principal, Li Guangming, himself.

"Mr. Wang, a child will be transferring into your class tomorrow. His talent... is quite good. Please look after him."

Li Guangming had spoken vaguely, saying little about the specifics and repeatedly emphasizing that Wang Zhen should look after him.

Wang Zhen's face darkened.

Nothing disgusted him more than a connected kid with a murky background.

His Grade Four Class One was the culmination of the entire East Sea Martial Arts Elementary School's efforts. Every student in it was a promising elite he had personally selected from the whole grade, the school's future glory.

"Another connected kid!"

Anger simmering in his heart, Wang Zhen pulled up the electronic file of the student named Chen Fan.

He skimmed the basic family information, but when his gaze fell on the glaring line of old diagnostic records at the bottom of the file, his expression grew even darker.

"Natural aptitude assessment: mediocre."

"Autistic tendencies."

"Heh."

Wang Zhen shut off the light screen with a cold laugh.

An autistic child with mediocre natural aptitude?

Just because his parents were martial artists on the front lines, he thought he could parachute into Wang Zhen's elite class?

What an utter joke!

"A connected kid?" Wang Zhen leaned back in his chair, tapping his knuckles on the desk as his gaze sharpened. "In my class, even a dragon has to coil up and behave!"

He had already made up his mind. Tomorrow, he had to teach this connected kid who didn't know the immensity of heaven and earth a lesson he would never forget.

Better yet, he would kick Chen Fan straight out. Otherwise, just anyone would be able to get into his class.

How could his so-called elite class carry on then?

Elsewhere, Chen Fan knew nothing of this.

After testing his qi and blood and eating dinner with Chen Ping, he returned to his bedroom and began practicing the Five Elements Stance again.

When he finished his Five Elements Stance practice, he felt that the qi and blood within him had grown a little stronger and more condensed than it had been that afternoon.

That visible growth in strength intoxicated him.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, when Chen Fan woke from his deep sleep, he felt full of energy. His bones and muscles seemed to be brimming with explosive power, and every breath was long and powerful.

At the dining table, Grandpa Chen Ping looked at his grandson, who was full of vigor, but the worry in his eyes was almost overflowing.

He slipped a thoroughly washed apple into Chen Fan's schoolbag. His lips moved as though he wanted to say something, but in the end, all that came out was a low sigh.

"Xiao Fan, if you're unhappy at school... come home. Grandpa will be here."

Chen Fan nodded, slinging his schoolbag onto his back without pausing for a moment.

"I know, Grandpa!"

He knew his grandpa had misunderstood, but any explanation would have sounded hollow.

Under Chen Ping's concerned gaze, Chen Fan strode quickly toward the school. Perhaps because his qi and blood had grown stronger, Chen Ping found that he reached the school about ten minutes faster than before.

Lin Tao was already waiting at the school gate.

Unlike the assessing look he had given Chen Fan when they first met yesterday, he was warm now, his face wreathed in smiles.

"Chen Fan, you're here!"

He hurried over and gave Chen Fan an affectionate pat on the shoulder. Then, apparently thinking better of it, he quickly lowered his voice and gave him a warning in the tone of someone sharing a secret:

"The teacher in charge of you is Wang Zhen. His nickname is Iron Yama."

"He's... rather upright and unbending, but he isn't bad at heart. He's definitely a good teacher, though, so having him teach you from now on is a good thing!"

Chen Fan merely gave a calm grunt of acknowledgment, then followed Lin Tao toward Grade Four Class One.

Lin Tao led him up to the fourth floor of the teaching building.

Outside the classroom of Grade Four Class One, before they had even arrived, a fierce aura mingled with sweat and fighting spirit rushed at them.

"Hah! Hyah!"

Shouts rang out in perfect unison like muffled thunder from behind the closed classroom door. Each shout was accompanied by the sharp sound of fists and feet cutting through the air.

The children here were nine to ten years old on average, but the sharpness in their eyes and the precision of their movements were far beyond anything the new third graders playing around in the training hall yesterday could match.

Lin Tao pushed open the door, and the sounds inside the classroom stopped abruptly.

Dozens of sharp gazes instantly focused on them like searchlights.

At the very front of the formation stood a man with an upright bearing and a stern face that looked as though it had been carved with a knife.

He saw Lin Tao, then Chen Fan beside him, and stopped the training without a change in expression.

That small, thin frame and expressionless face only strengthened the judgment in his heart.

"Is he the transfer student the principal pushed into the class?"

Wang Zhen's voice was icy, without a trace of emotion.

In an instant, the dozens of gazes from the class shifted from mere scrutiny to include curiosity, amusement, and undisguised disdain.

"Another transfer student? I remember there was one yesterday too, but Mr. Wang ended up sending him away!"

"This is the elite class. Of course lots of people want to get in. What's so surprising about that?"

"Hehe, I wonder if this guy can pass the homeroom teacher's test."

"Pfft, you know what our homeroom teacher's standards are. There's no way this kid will pass!"

The fourth graders spoke up one after another with laughter, and Wang Zhen did nothing to stop them.

If their words could provoke Chen Fan into backing down in the face of difficulty, it would save him the trouble of wasting time.

But as he looked at Chen Fan, Wang Zhen frowned slightly.

Even with all the chatter around him, Chen Fan's expression remained calm, without a ripple.

"This kid..."

Wang Zhen was a little surprised.

"Mr. Wang, this child..."

Lin Tao immediately prepared to explain, but Wang Zhen cut him off with a wave of his hand.

He faced the class and abruptly raised his voice. "Perfect! Today is the first assessment of our fourth-grade term!"

"Since a new student wants to join our class one, let him take part too!"

"This will also show the people outside what standard they need to meet to join our class one!"

Wang Zhen's voice was loud, sweeping through the entire classroom.

He had deliberately said it for Chen Fan to hear. Under such circumstances, children of this age would usually be intimidated and leave obediently on their own, without him having to do anything further.

Yet when Wang Zhen looked at Chen Fan again, he found that Chen Fan's expression was still as undisturbed as an ancient well.

That attitude made Wang Zhen even more uncomfortable.

"Hmph!"

Wang Zhen snorted coldly and immediately led everyone toward the martial arts testing room.

Watching this, Lin Tao anxiously wanted to explain, but Wang Zhen gave him no chance at all. With no other choice, he could only bring Chen Fan along and follow Wang Zhen to the martial arts testing room.