Commoner School Belle

Fist Arts Class 6 was as oppressive as the sea before a storm.

The moment Lu Jue stepped through the door, anxious discussion washed over him, sharper than ever before.

"I just got off the phone with Zhang Chi. His family really couldn't scrape together the money, so he's going to report to General High School tomorrow and give up!"

Several sharp intakes of breath rang out in the classroom.

"Zhang Chi gave up? He ranked in the nine hundreds during last year's final assessment! If he pushed just a little harder, he could've stepped through the doors of a Third-rate Martial Arts School!"

"With Zhang Chi included, there are already seven people from our Class 6 who've definitely given up, right? Who's going to be next?"

"Fuck! I don't want to leave! I want to practice martial arts!"

A burly boy's eyes reddened, his voice carrying a trace of pleading. "After the Quota Competition, we have to pay tuition. Even after my family sells everything they own, we're still short thirty thousand. Brothers, if any of you have some money to spare, can you lend me some? I, Wang Meng, swear to the heavens! Once the Martial Arts Examination is over, I'll repay every cent with interest!"

Yet what answered him was mostly helpless silence and evasive gazes.

Thirty thousand was no small sum for most families here.

Another student slumped in his chair and complained weakly, "Forget borrowing money. The prices of all kinds of resources have shot up by more than fifty percent! Last semester, I could still occasionally buy some Spiritual Meat to satisfy my cravings. But now? I'm probably going to have to live on Energy Powder."

Without a word, Lu Jue walked to his window-side seat. The cries of misery around him seemed not to affect him in the slightest. He merely sat quietly, his gaze falling on the figures in the training grounds outside, already racing against time to practice martial arts.

"Brother Jue! You finally made it!"

At that moment, a slightly plump boy with honest-looking eyes hurried over.

The newcomer was Liu Ga, one of Lu Jue's few friends at school.

Liu Ga's family was fairly well-off. His father ran a small business, while his mother was the head of a local district office.

Two years ago, Liu Ga had offended a rich young man over a girl from the neighboring class. He had been beaten by people sent after him, and while fleeing, he was accidentally saved by Lu Jue. That was how their friendship began.

He gave Lu Jue's shoulder a familiar pat and asked quietly, "How is it? Have you gathered the tuition?"

"No. What, are you lending me money?"

Liu Ga gritted his teeth. "I do have three thousand in private savings. If it's not enough for you—hey, hey, hey! You're seriously taking it?"

"Why would I stand on ceremony with you? Don't worry, I'll definitely pay you back within a month!" Lu Jue did not hesitate at all. He needed money right now.

Liu Ga knew his family's circumstances. That he was willing to lend him money at a time like this was a kindness Lu Jue would remember.

"Damn, aren't you going to treat me to a meal? I want Calamity Beast Meat!"

"Get lost! At most, I'll treat you to a stir-fry in the cafeteria. One hundred, no more!"

"Stir-fry works too. It's noon already, so let's go now!"

"Alright. By the way, do you still have that technique catalog?"

"I'll send you the electronic version. Wait a second!"

Seeing Lu Jue rise, Liu Ga suddenly froze. He looked him up and down, then jerked back half a step. "Brother Jue, what's going on with you? Why do you feel like a completely different person?"

Lu Jue was slightly taken aback, then understood.

He had always been handsome. Unlike the hard, rugged style common in this world, he had kept his hair slightly longer out of habit from his previous life and combed it into a slicked-back style, giving him a lazy yet dangerous air.

On top of that, with two of the Three Great Basic Cultivation Methods perfected, his originally six-foot frame had grown even more upright, and the look between his brows had become increasingly deep and unfathomable.

"Heh, haven't I always been like this?"

As he laughed and pushed Liu Ga toward the cafeteria, he opened his phone and browsed through the technique catalog, filtering for a suitable target.

The martial arts school had a rule: once any one of the Three Great Basic Cultivation Methods reached perfection, a student could visit the Technique Hall and borrow one non-advanced technique for free.

After perfecting the Basic Fist Arts and Basic Body Tempering Exercise, the only technique Lu Jue had yet to perfect was the Basic Breathing Technique.

The Basic Breathing Technique had a rapid-mastery difficulty rating of "2." Not only did it require too many resources, but even if perfected, it could not greatly increase one's strength in a short time.

He planned to borrow a technique that took little time and energy to master quickly, then master it before the Quota Competition to consolidate his current strength!

It was already eleven thirty at noon, and many people were streaming toward the cafeteria.

The martial arts school cafeteria was spacious and noisy, filled with the mingled smells of various foods and sweat.

After the two got their food and had just found an empty table to sit down at, a commotion broke out in the aisle beside them.

Lu Jue subconsciously looked up and saw that two male students had gotten physical over someone cutting in line.

Just as the two boys shoved at each other and the smell of gunpowder grew thicker, the surrounding crowd abruptly fell silent for a moment and instinctively moved aside.

Two tall girls, like ice splitting through a heatwave, stepped into the center of the conflict.

The one in front stood around five foot eight, with a full chest and a slender yet powerful waist.

She wore a simple white tank top and black fitted athletic shorts, revealing a pair of straight, long legs with smooth, clearly defined muscle lines.

A neat ponytail exposed her smooth forehead and a beautiful face with a hint of heroic spirit. Her gaze was sharp, her steps steady, and her entire body radiated a cold aura that warned strangers to keep away.

She was Su Li, the commoner School Belle from neighboring Fist Arts Class 7.

Ranked eighteenth in the grade, she was the female principal's last disciple and held an important position at the martial arts school. Rumor had it that she had followed elite squads into the Wasteland several times and had even personally slain low-level Calamity Beasts. Her combat experience was far beyond that of ordinary students.

"Holy shit! Brother Jue, look! Su Li!"

Liu Ga immediately got excited. He jabbed Lu Jue hard with his elbow, his lowered voice filled with excitement. "Su Li! Tsk, tsk, that figure, those legs—they're deadly! Those two ran into her? They've really stepped in dog shit today!"

Su Li did not even deliberately quicken her pace. She simply walked over calmly, yet her solid presence had already splashed over the two arguing boys like icy water.

The two, red-faced moments earlier, looked as though someone had instantly seized them by the throat. Their arrogance visibly wilted.

When they recognized Su Li, their faces turned deathly pale with a swish. Their shoving hands froze in midair, they even held their breath, and their calves began to tremble.

"According to Article Nineteen of the martial arts school regulations, those who fight without cause in public and disrupt order will have the corresponding credits deducted according to the severity of the offense, and will be punished with cleaning a training hall or solitary confinement for reflection."

Su Li's indifferent gaze swept over them. Her cool voice was not loud, yet it reached every person present with perfect clarity, carrying unquestionable authority.

"Six credits deducted. Before lights-out tonight, thoroughly scrub the floors of Training Hall No. 1. Any objections?"

The two boys whose names had been called felt their scalps go numb. How could they dare object? They immediately shook their heads like rattles, cold sweat already pouring down. "N-No! Sorry, Senior Su, we know we were wrong!"

"Now, either go eat or go clean immediately. Don't block the way here!"

As though granted a reprieve, the two grabbed their trays and fled the scene in a scramble.

The commotion settled. Su Li remained expressionless as she carried her tray, preparing to leave with her companion.

Yet at the instant she turned around, her sharp senses caught the two gazes from the side that had not shifted away as quickly as everyone else's.

She suddenly turned her head, and those sword-sharp eyes instantly locked onto the source of the gazes—Liu Ga and Lu Jue, who were staring at her.

She said nothing, nor did she glare or mutter a curse under her breath like an ordinary girl might.

She merely continued exerting pressure with her gaze. It carried not only her usual coldness, but also the solid Sha Qi forged through genuine life-and-death battles, so heavy it nearly froze the air around them.

Stabbed by that look, Liu Ga shuddered all over. The chopsticks in his hand nearly fell onto the table as he quickly lowered his head and muttered, "Fuck! She's fierce!"

Lu Jue was slightly startled.

If it had been two days ago, he would probably have lowered his head and fallen silent just like Liu Ga.

But now, the surging power within him was like a dormant volcano, bringing him confidence he had never possessed before. Even facing that undisguised Sha Qi, he felt not the slightest fear.

At that moment, his gaze did not retreat, but neither did it become provocative or aggressive. He simply met her eyes with an extraordinary calmness and openness.

Those who practiced martial arts had vigorous blood and qi, and their desires and impulses in certain respects far surpassed those of ordinary people.

Lu Jue was a normal man. It would be impossible for him to say he had no thoughts about beautiful girls.

Sometimes, he did not understand why the protagonists in novels, despite possessing cultivation that reached the heavens and penetrated the earth, were all as pure-hearted and ascetic as saints.

But at this moment, perhaps because he had consumed too much Energy Powder recently, he had temporarily entered an almost sage-like, Buddhist state of mind.

Facing the commoner School Belle, there was little ripple in his eyes—only pure calm.

This abnormal reaction clearly exceeded Su Li's expectations.

A flicker of surprise passed through her ice-sealed eyes, but only for an instant.

In the end, her delicate brows creased almost imperceptibly. As though she found continuing this a complete waste of her precious time, she turned away and headed with her companion toward an empty table in the distance.

Yet she did not notice at all that from the moment she turned to exert pressure until she finally left, the equally tall companion beside her had quietly developed two rosy clouds on her fair cheeks after inadvertently catching Lu Jue's gaze, and even her fingertips had unconsciously tightened slightly.