A Slim Hope Is Still Worth Pursuing

"Notice: Xu Zhiming, a student from Class 10, Grade C, relied on his strong blood energy and showed no restraint when sparring with classmates. Furthermore, when collecting medicinal agents, he attempted to forcibly take more from the teacher. He is hereby given a major demerit."

"Students of Yunshui First High School, take this as a warning. A martial artist should not bully the weak."

Zeng Hao watched this scene, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

He thought it was just gunk blurring his vision.

He picked it off and flicked it away.

He finally understood why Xu Zhiming hadn't shown up.

If he were wronged like that, he'd be furious enough to leave too.

Many students who practiced Wind Thunder Fist gathered around.

"Damn! Yu Qingqing is really shameless. It was an open fight; getting hurt is normal."

"Did the school investigate? Did they ask us witnesses? They're just talking nonsense!"

"Teacher Wang Hu should know the inside story. Let's go ask him."

Zeng Hao led a group of students to find Wang Hu.

A fire burned in everyone's chest.

All these students practicing Wind Thunder Fist owed Xu Zhiming a debt of gratitude for watching him train.

Whenever they had something they didn't understand, Xu Zhiming would explain it to them after his practice.

At Wind Thunder Martial Hall, hiring a private teacher cost two thousand per hour per lesson.

Zeng Hao spoke up.

"Teacher Wang Hu, the school never asked us. Why are they saying Xu Zhiming bullied the weak?"

Wang Hu was baffled. Xu Zhiming bullying the weak? He had no idea either.

A few students explained up front, and he finally understood.

"I'll go take a look."

A few minutes later.

Wang Hu looked at the group of students and didn't know how to explain.

He knew exactly what was going on.

It was probably Qiu Yingzong upstairs deliberately targeting Xu Zhiming.

Peng Sixiong had chosen Qiu Yingzong between the two students.

"Maybe there's a misunderstanding at school. I'll go explain things to them."

Wang Hu felt deeply disappointed. With those people around, the school's atmosphere would never improve.

He'd aim for a promotion this year and jump ship to Yunshui Second High School.

Zeng Hao heard the explanation, and the anger on his face faded, his boiling blood feeling like it had been iced over.

He looked around. There were over fifty senior students practicing Wind Thunder Fist.

"Is anyone willing to come with me to plead Xu Zhiming's case?"

"I'm going to write a letter and report this to the Martial Arts Education Bureau. I don't believe we students with poor talent deserve to be bullied."

Some of the students, meeting Zeng Hao's gaze, lowered their heads.

"Zeng Hao, since the school decided this, there must be a reason."

"If we go, will we get major demerits too?"

"We can't fight the system. Let's not go."

Zeng Hao listened to some of the students speak, and the fire in his chest felt like someone had doused it completely.

He met the eyes of over fifty students; most looked down.

"Fine, fine. You're all great. You don't even have a martial artist's blood energy."

"Anyone willing to come with me, follow."

Zeng Hao didn't know why he was doing this.

Maybe it was because the school ignored students like them with poor talent.

Maybe it was to prove he wasn't a coward.

Soon.

Zeng Hao wrote a detailed account of the incident, willing to vouch for it himself.

"One, two, three... eleven, twelve."

Zeng Hao looked at the twelve names on the paper.

He glanced around at the surrounding students.

For some reason, he felt a hint of desolation.

Then he quickly let it go.

He had already been criticized by Yu Qingqing for attacking Xu Zhiming's efforts as useless.

It was only natural that others were too afraid to write their names.

Perhaps these twelve names could even be an Honor Roll.

"I'm going now. You all keep practicing your fists."

If you find this book enjoyable, to avoid losing it next time, please remember to bookmark it.

Wang Hu looked at Zeng Hao.

This kid was interesting.

In just a short moment, he had thought of reporting the matter.

He lightly patted Zeng Hao on the shoulder.

"Let's go. I'll take you. It's not safe outside. I'll escort you to the Cloud Water City Martial Arts Education Department."

Zeng Hao turned his head to look at Wang Hu. He had originally thought Wang Hu was also afraid.

"As a teacher, it's perfectly reasonable for me to worry about a student getting into an accident outside and go with him, right?"

Wang Hu lit a cigarette and walked ahead.

He wasn't planning to stay long anyway, so he might as well do something for these students who still had fire in their hearts.

A dozen students might not carry enough weight. Adding him, a teacher, might still not be enough.

But even if it wasn't enough, he had to try.

Zeng Hao watched Wang Hu's back. He was less than 1.7 meters tall, but at this moment, he seemed somewhat imposing.

"It has to work! I'm sick of this school's atmosphere!"

"Too bad it's almost time for the college entrance exams. Transferring is too difficult, and Yunshui Second High School won't accept students like us who don't work hard."

"I feel like it probably won't work. Xu Zhiming's Wind Thunder Fist is only at the fifth level. It just shows his comprehension is decent, not enough to attract attention."

Some were angry yet hopeful, practicing martial arts with fury; others were disheartened, slumping down and giving up.

Twelve o'clock.

Xu Zhiming drank a bottle of Energy Potion that Meng Tian had given him and continued practicing his fists.

[You have diligently practiced Wind Thunder Fist five hundred times, triggering an 80x Critical Hit]

[You have diligently practiced Wind Thunder Fist once, triggering a 50x Critical Hit]

[You have diligently refined a potion, Qi and Blood increased by 0.08, triggering a 30x Critical Hit, Qi and Blood increased by 2.4]

[Qi and Blood: 17.49]

Meng Tian watched Xu Zhiming, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

He hadn't expected Xu Zhiming to practice his fists so crazily.

He had always been one of the most hardworking students at Yunshui Second High School when it came to martial arts.

Now he had met a Desperate Man who was even more reckless than him.

Xu Zhiming wiped away his sweat. Today, he didn't practice Coiling Dragon Surging Waves; he focused entirely on Wind Thunder Fist.

The results were very significant.

He could complete about a hundred repetitions in an hour and a half.

Every time Xu Zhiming practiced Wind Thunder Fist now, the triggered critical hit was at least thirty or forty times.

One repetition of his fist was equivalent to thirty or forty repetitions for someone else.

No matter how difficult Wind Thunder Fist was to master, how many critical hits could it withstand?

Xu Zhiming was confident he could reach the sixth level of Wind Thunder Fist within a month.

He immersed himself in the ever-increasing critical hit multiplier of Wind Thunder Fist.

Five o'clock in the afternoon.

Meng Tian wiped the sweat from his forehead and quietly watched Xu Zhiming. Beyond his shock, admiration rose in his heart.

He had originally thought that since his Qi and Blood was much higher than Xu Zhiming's, Xu Zhiming would be the first to give up practicing Wind Thunder Fist.

In the end, he was the one who couldn't hold on.

He had never experienced such an intense level of martial arts training.

"No wonder he could comprehend the fifth level of Wind Thunder Fist," he silently mused.

In the afternoon, Xu Zhiming had someone deliver a bottle of Level 10 Demonic Beast Essence Blood Potion.

[You have diligently refined a potion, Qi and Blood increased by 0.04, triggering a 50x Critical Hit]

[Qi and Blood 18.00]

He refined three bottles of Monster Beast Essence Blood potions in a single day.

His blood vitality rose from over fourteen points to eighteen.

Eighteen points was the limit of the Wind Thunder Fist's fifth layer; to continue improving, he would need to advance to the sixth layer.

He lightly tapped his shoulders with his hand—even with blood vitality at eighteen points, high-intensity martial arts training still left some soreness.

"Show me a round."

Meng Tian nodded firmly.

After one round of Wind Thunder Fist, Xu Zhiming frowned.

There was some improvement, but not much.

"I have a method that might help you improve faster. Want to try it?"

Meng Tian nodded heavily.

"Yes!!"