Finally Entering the Elite Class

At dawn, the sun rose over the horizon, tearing apart the pitch-black night sky and illuminating all of Nandu.

"Meow!"

Jiang Chuan, who had been asleep, felt something wet on his face and groggily opened his eyes.

What greeted him was an enormous tiger... cat head.

"Di... Director."

Jiang Chuan then saw sunlight streaming in through the window and instinctively picked up his phone.

06:15

"Director, did you wake Jiang Chuan up? If he doesn't come eat soon, he'll be late for school!" Ji Min's anxious voice came from outside.

"I'm coming, Mom!"

Jiang Chuan got up and washed up. After breakfast, he picked up his schoolbag and headed for Immortal Gate High School.

At the thought that he would be able to join the Elite Class today, Jiang Chuan unconsciously quickened his pace.

When he arrived at the entrance of Immortal Gate High School, Jiang Chuan saw a white MPV parked by the roadside with its engine off.

The car door then opened, and Meng Nanxi stepped out.

"Good morning, Jiang Chuan."

Upon seeing Jiang Chuan, Meng Nanxi greeted him first.

"Morning, Campus Belle Meng!"

Jiang Chuan walked over to Meng Nanxi, then remembered something. "Campus Belle Meng, do I need to apply to the homeroom teacher to join the Elite Class?"

"You succeeded in Skin Tempering?"

Surprise appeared on Meng Nanxi's face. "No need. I'll take you straight to the Elite Class for testing. If you pass, you can join the Elite Class."

"Skin Tempering in twelve days. Your talent isn't bad."

Tang Ningzhu, Meng Nanxi's mother, who sat inside the car, spoke slowly.

"Hello, Auntie. My name is Jiang Chuan," Jiang Chuan said.

"I know you. Nanxi told me about you. You were the one who caught that little squirrel."

Tang Ningzhu examined Jiang Chuan. "Cultivate diligently and strive to remain in the Elite Class."

"Remain in the Elite Class..."

Jiang Chuan was somewhat baffled, but he still answered politely, "I'll cultivate diligently."

"Let's go test you."

Meng Nanxi then led Jiang Chuan into Immortal Gate High School and toward the Elite Class.

"Campus Belle Meng, what did your mom mean by remaining in the Elite Class?" Jiang Chuan asked, voicing the doubt in his heart.

Meng Nanxi did not answer Jiang Chuan's question. Instead, she asked him one.

"Why does the school spend so many resources nurturing Elite Class students?"

Jiang Chuan blurted out, "To protect Great Xia and protect humanity."

"To protect Great Xia, we need to fight demon beasts to the death. Naturally, the school has to prevent us from becoming flowers raised in a greenhouse."

Meng Nanxi paused before continuing, "So, to prevent Elite Class students from becoming greenhouse flowers, the school holds a Grand Competition once every semester."

"The Grand Competition involves real blades and real weapons, with Cold Weapons used in combat. The school also allows students outside the Elite Class to participate."

"After a fierce battle, the school keeps the top one hundred and fifty students in the Elite Class. Those squeezed out and sent back to regular classes lose the Elite Class's resources."

"It really is like raising venomous insects in a jar."

After saying that, Jiang Chuan felt that the comparison was somewhat inappropriate.

Meng Nanxi nodded. "It really is somewhat like that. But in an age of limited resources, only this model can maximize the use of those limited resources."

The two chatted as they walked. Before long, they passed through the Teaching Building and arrived before a Teaching Building deep within Immortal Gate High School.

Rather than a building, it looked more like a bunker to Jiang Chuan. Its windows were only as large as a single book.

Once inside, he saw a hall filled with facilities such as Punching Power Testers and treadmills, as well as a brown bear wearing a suit.

The brown bear sat in a chair, staring intently at his phone.

"Teacher Xiong Xuan, Jiang Chuan has succeeded in Skin Tempering. I brought him here for testing so he can join the Elite Class."

"Wait a moment. Let me finish arguing online."

Xiong Xuan typed furiously at his phone. "You bastard, you little turtle son, you goddamn idiot! You actually said pandas are cuter and cooler than brown bears! Are your eyes just holes?! Brown bears are obviously cooler and cuter!"

Jiang Chuan: "..."

Meng Nanxi: "..."

I mean, was there any chance that pandas really were cuter and cooler than brown bears?

Ten minutes later, Xiong Xuan, refreshed after finishing his online argument, brought Jiang Chuan before an archery target. He then took out a dagger and handed it to him.

The dagger was entirely blue, carved with countless strange patterns the size of rice grains. Under the lights, it gave off a faint glow and exuded a chilling feeling.

Jiang Chuan took the dagger and immediately felt a bone-piercing Cold Intent.

"This is the magical artifact Cold Iron Dagger that I forged with Cold Jade Iron mixed into it. Now inject spiritual power into the Cold Iron Dagger."

Hearing Xiong Xuan's words, Jiang Chuan was somewhat astonished. He had not expected the dagger in his hand to be a legendary magical artifact.

The Great Sun Slaughtering God Technique began to circulate. Spiritual power surged from his dantian and flowed into the Cold Iron Dagger in his hand.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

As spiritual power poured into it, the Cold Iron Dagger was like a wild beast waking from slumber, blooming with dazzling Blue Light so bright that Jiang Chuan's eyes ached.

"If you can activate the Cold Iron Dagger, that proves you have spiritual power and didn't succeed in Skin Tempering through some special method. Stop."

Hearing Xiong Xuan's words, Jiang Chuan stopped injecting spiritual power into the Cold Iron Dagger.

"Now use your Divine Sense to control the Cold Iron Dagger and make it fly toward the archery target."

As Xiong Xuan spoke, he took out a folder and a pen, preparing to record the results.

Jiang Chuan drew a deep breath. Invisible Divine Sense surged out from his Sea of Consciousness.

Like an invisible giant hand, it wrapped around the Cold Iron Dagger.

Whoosh!

The Next Moment, under Xiong Xuan and Meng Nanxi's watchful eyes, the Cold Iron Dagger shot toward the archery target like an arrow released from the bowstring.

Bang!

The Cold Iron Dagger buried itself directly in the center of the target.

"It hit the target?!"

Xiong Xuan's eyes widened round, looking as though he had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Meng Nanxi also looked astonished. "Normally, a cultivator who has just completed visualization can only control the Cold Jade Dagger to fly half a meter. Yet Jiang Chuan used his Divine Sense to command the Cold Jade Dagger and precisely hit an archery target ten meters away!"

Jiang Chuan was somewhat dazed. "Wasn't controlling the Cold Iron Dagger to hit the bullseye the passing standard?"

"I never expected that, besides Song Zhiyan, there would be another genius in this class whose soul far surpasses that of ordinary people!"

Xiong Xuan came back to his senses, then pulled a Silver White card from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Chuan.

The Silver White card was about the size of a bank card. At the top was the number one, and beneath it were the large Arabic numerals 49.

"There are three Elite Classes in total. You are the forty-ninth student to pass the test. From now on, 01049 is your student number."

Jiang Chuan looked at the Silver White card, and the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.

Twelve days of effort!

He had finally entered the Elite Class!

After taking the card, Jiang Chuan asked, "Teacher Xiong, it seems I haven't undergone the third realm test yet."

"My eyes aren't holes. Do you think I can't tell whether you've completed Skin Tempering?"

Xiongli pointed at his bear eyes, then took out his phone.

"Since class hasn't started yet, I'll browse the internet for a while first. Meng... Meng Nanxi, right? Take him to collect the resources the school allocates to new Elite Class students."

Meng Nanxi smiled radiantly. "Jiang Chuan, follow me."

Then...

Jiang Chuan discovered that Meng Nanxi did not head upstairs, but downstairs instead.

"The Elite Class classrooms aren't aboveground. They're underground. Don't be too startled later!"

Hearing Meng Nanxi's words, Jiang Chuan also showed a curious expression.

When they reached the first basement level, an enormous Silver White Steel Gate came into Jiang Chuan's view.