Ripple Princess

"I heard Zuo Haoran is a member of the Falcon Gun Club. He goes to the shooting range every weekend to play with guns, and in a year, he fires dozens of times more bullets than ordinary students. Even many Rocket Class students can't compare to him. Meng Chao, you were really rash this time."

Having seen Zuo Haoran's true colors, class beauty Gu Fang revealed the information she had worked so hard to uncover.

"Then what do we do? Meng Chao's gunmanship is at least several dozen points behind Zuo Haoran's. No matter how fast he runs or how heavy his fists are, he can't make that gap back, can he?"

"Meng Chao was still too impulsive. That said, those trashy remarks just now made even me want to beat Zuo Haoran up. Being impulsive was perfectly normal."

"Forget it. Go compete with confidence. Even if you lose, at least your spirit is commendable."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be embarrassing for Meng Chao to lose to Zuo Haoran. I'd say that as long as the gap is within fifty points, it counts as a win!"

"Strength, speed, and firearms—as long as you can beat Zuo Haoran in even one category, you win. We believe in you."

The students all encouraged him, and Meng Chao felt waves of warmth.

He thought about it and decided one shouldn't put on too much of an act. He should still be sincere.

"Thank you, everyone, but my gunmanship is actually pretty strong."

"Hehe, how strong?" The students smiled politely, leaving him a little dignity.

Meng Chao recalled the essence of countless firearm disassemblies and shooting techniques in his mind: images of drawing guns, firing them, flicking them, headshots, and blind sniping, along with all his experiences from his previous life blasting demons and monsters apart.

"If I had to use one word to describe it, it would probably be..."

He said reservedly, "Perfect?"

The conflict in the testing room kept everyone excited for the entire day.

During afternoon self-study, Meng Chao did not keep his knowledge to himself and took out the Modified Ripple Force to discuss with his classmates.

The results, however, were less than ideal. Other than the homeroom teacher, none of the other students could see its mysteries.

That was perfectly normal. Ordinary citizens had limited comprehension. It was impossible to pick up a secret manual and instantly become an expert.

Yesterday, Meng Chao had exhausted himself adjusting Chu Feixiong's acupoints one by one. It had been even more tiring than cultivating himself.

Today, he was clearly not interested in adjusting the entire class one person at a time.

Moreover, Ripple Force simulated an endless, surging tide. It was harder to learn than the Wild Bull Technique. Even with hands-on instruction, it was not simply a matter of pressing acupoints. Both hands had to be pressed close against the skin to feel the rhythm of the muscles, then, like a blind masseur, explore every muscle across the body before gradually correcting all the erroneous exertions of force.

There was an awkward dilemma here.

Even if the boys were willing to let Meng Chao feel over their entire bodies to adjust them, Meng Chao was not willing.

He did not even want to touch Chu Feixiong.

Well, to be honest, the boys did not want him touching them either.

As for the girls, Meng Chao was happy to lend a hand, but the girls seemed to suspect that he had ulterior motives and avoided him like the plague.

Even class beauty Gu Fang had failed to appreciate Meng Chao's good intentions.

"What a case of measuring a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick. I was wholeheartedly trying to contribute to the class collective, and you think I wanted to touch you?" Meng Chao fumed.

After one self-study period, apart from harvesting 12 Contribution Points from the homeroom teacher, he got at most one or two from every other student, for a total of only 76 Contribution Points.

Meng Chao calculated in his head. One use of Elementary Healing Technique cost just over a thousand, and it would take three uses to repair all his hidden injuries—roughly 3,500 in total.

To raise the Wild Bull Technique and Ripple Force from "Expert" to "Master" would require more than a thousand Contribution Points each, and raising Basic Gunmanship from "Perfect" to "Ultimate" was even more out of the question.

Together with upgrading Elementary Harvesting Technique and unlocking Dragon Snake Force, all told, he would need 10,000 Contribution Points.

And that did not even include the two mandatory high school cold-weapon combat techniques, Hundred Battles Blade Technique and Thunder Cross Sword.

At a rate of roughly a hundred Contribution Points a day, he would only have seven or eight hundred after a week—not even enough to exchange for one Elementary Healing Technique.

"I have to open up new channels. Only then will I have confidence in the National College Entrance Examination." Meng Chao pondered inwardly.

After school, he found his best friend. "Fei Xiong, go find Devil Yan later and ask him to guide you in Super Raging Bull Force."

Chu Feixiong was startled. "Why? Devil Yan doesn't only teach our class. If I ask for his guidance, won't that expose us?"

"There are two benefits."

Meng Chao explained, "First, aren't you planning to apply to Military Academy? Devil Yan used to be an Iron-Blooded Instructor. Although he has retired from the military, he still has countless threads connecting him to it. If you discuss Super Raging Bull Force with him, he'll definitely see you in a different light, and your future path in the military will be much smoother."

"But I can't use yours..." Chu Feixiong grew anxious.

Meng Chao waved him off. "Don't rush. Listen to me first. More importantly, I want to challenge the class monitor, but I need to guard against his uncle. Old Wang is a decent man, but he is not enough to contend with the dean of discipline. Looking across the whole school, other than the Principal, only Devil Yan can arm-wrestle the dean of discipline."

There was actually a third reason.

Ever since he had spawned an Elite Monster last night, Meng Chao had been thinking about who else resembled an "Elite Citizen."

At Ninth High School, apart from the Principal, only Devil Yan had a little of an Elite Monster's aura.

"Is it really that serious? Even if you defeat the class monitor, you'll be following the rules. What excuse would the dean of discipline have to target you?" Chu Feixiong still did not understand.

"What if I don't just want to defeat him, but cripple him too?" Meng Chao's eyes flashed with murderous light.

In his previous life, Zuo Haoran had caused him to fail the National College Entrance Examination. Later, Zuo Haoran had betrayed Dragon City and caused countless deaths.

How could Meng Chao possibly let this scum have an easy time in this life?

Chu Feixiong jumped in fright. "What did you say?"

"Nothing. Just listen to me, and you can't go wrong. Besides, this is something we can't hide—when next week's test comes around and our class's hundred-meter dash and Limit Fist Strength have both improved drastically, do you think everyone else is stupid and won't get to the bottom of it?"

Meng Chao patted Big White Bear's shoulder. "Rather than wait for others to sneak around and steal our techniques, we might as well be generous, make a good impression on Devil Yan and the Principal, and gain some benefits along the way. Besides, I learned plenty of secret methods on the Life Science Forum of the Deep Web. I have plenty of trump cards."

Only then did Chu Feixiong relax. "Then come with me to find Devil Yan. We can apply to Military Academy together when the time comes, right?"

Meng Chao shook his head. "Military Academy is too restrictive. Free hunting suits me better. As for Modified Ripple Force, I really do need to discuss it with an expert... but who? Devil Yan follows a fierce and hard path, so he's just right for teaching you. I want to find someone especially skilled in Ripple Force."

Chu Feixiong thought for a moment. "Then you should find Ripple Princess. She's best at guiding teenagers into Ripple Force. She's definitely better than Teacher Wang and Devil Yan."

"Ripple Princess?" Meng Chao's eyes lit up.

Ripple Princess Yan Feirou was a second-year student at Dragon City University, vice president of the Dragon City University Martial Arts Research Association, and a Two-Star Extraordinary.

Her grandfather, Yan Hengbo, had been the leader of the Ripple Force research and development team. Though he had suffered grievous injuries in fierce battles in his early years and no longer possessed his former strength, his sharp eye and astonishing martial arts wisdom still made him a Grandmaster of his generation.

Her father, Yan Zhennan, had carried Yan Family Ripple forward in actual combat. He was a famous monster hunter who spent all year walking Deep in the Mist, more brutal than the monsters themselves.

To promote her family's martial arts, Yan Feirou gave public lessons on Sky Eye Live, Dragon City's largest livestreaming platform. With her youthful and lovely image and Ripple Force that had reached the height of perfection, she quickly attracted countless fans.

Whenever she gave a lesson, whether in views, likes, comments, bullet comments, or viewer payments and tips, she ranked among the very best across the entire platform.

Thus, livestreaming platforms and social media had hyped her into the "Ripple Princess," the "goddess" in the hearts of countless hot-blooded teenagers.

After Meng Chao had been injured in his second year of high school, he had used Ripple Force for rehabilitation and watched quite a few of Ripple Princess's public lessons.

And after Chu Feixiong's reminder, Meng Chao's head began to ache faintly. More fragments of memory surfaced from the depths of his mind.

In his memories of his previous life, Yan Feirou's final achievements seemed to have surpassed both her father and grandfather. She became the undisputed Ripple Queen, an existence that Meng Chao, a Third-Rate Expert, could only look up to.

The "future" Ripple Force Meng Chao had awakened seemed to be the product of Yan Feirou's countless bloody battles, drawing on the strengths of many schools, and tempering it a thousand times over.

Of course, Yan Feirou was still just a delicate second-year college girl. This so-called "princess" was nothing more than praise from idle admirers.

Her Ripple Force was still quite immature and badly needed guidance from a kindhearted person.

Meng Chao grew excited.

Then he suddenly felt something was off. "Wait, Fei Xiong, aren't you focused on cultivating Raging Bull Force and following a path of unmatched fierceness? You once said Ripple Force was for sissies. How are you so familiar with Ripple Princess?"

Chu Feixiong coughed repeatedly.

"You know." The fat man weighing over two hundred pounds waggled his brows.

Meng Chao understood instantly.

On his way home, Meng Chao stopped by the Vegetable Market and bought two props: a piece of Sword Halberd Demon Pig Meat and a piece of the tenderest soft tofu.

He would use them shortly to guide Ripple Princess over the internet.

No one was home. His father and brothers had gone to Jiuxin to handle their resignations, Old Mom had gone to the community clinic to have her legs massaged, and his little sister's school had arranged a visit to the Thermal Power Plant so she could see what it meant to generate electricity using Fire Qilin and other flame-type monsters.

Meng Chao opened the livestreaming platform. What a coincidence—there was an entry for Ripple Princess Yan Feirou's public lesson right on the homepage. She was currently teaching.

On the cover was an energetic girl with slightly flushed cheeks, dressed in yoga clothes.

The livestreaming platform had even used special effects to draw a tiny princess crown atop her beautiful hair.

Her Ripple Force was a family inheritance, and she had long since cultivated it to the height of perfection. With such a healthy, beautiful image as well, it was no wonder that in Dragon City alone, thirty thousand people were watching her public lesson live.