Crouching Tigers, Hidden Dragons (Second Update)

In class.

Lu Chenzhou looked at his unfamiliar classmates and smiled.

"My name is Lu Chenzhou. I'm a transfer student from Wanhua High School, here to study. I'm sixteen this year, and my hobby is practicing boxing. I hope everyone will guide me going forward."

At Wanhua High School, Lu Chenzhou had been well known.

But here, no one knew him.

"Welcome, new student."

Down in the classroom, a student whose towering build was no less imposing than Shaking Mountain Bear's stood up. Adolescent stubble covered his jaw, and he gave off an extraordinary presence.

Lu Chenzhou's heart stirred.

This student was far stronger than even Huang Hao, almost comparable to Shi Ruyu before she broke through to the Seventh Stage. And this was only Grade One.

In other words.

This person was the same age as him, yet already at the Sixth Stage.

Was this the affiliated high school of a top-tier Wuda?

There were many more talents like this on Fang Mountain... They were the finest young martial artists among Su City's fifteen million residents, protected by the strong.

Before coming, Shaking Mountain Bear had told Lu Chenzhou that every building on Fang Mountain had at least one Third Shackles-Breaking Realm expert stationed within—the equivalent of a Qingtian Cang-level powerhouse.

Deeper within Fang Mountain, there was also a senior of the Fourth Shackle Breakthrough living in seclusion.

A Martial Dao Grandmaster—the Forging Star Golden Dragon, Wang Jidao!

Lu Chenzhou had seen the man during the livestream of the All-Nations Martial Arts Tournament held at Mount Hua.

If Lu Chenzhou had not entered this circle, he could never have imagined that such a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons existed so close to his home. No wonder some fishing enthusiasts who wanted to fish around Fang Mountain were told it was a military restricted zone and driven away.

After the bearded student, more classmates applauded to welcome Lu Chenzhou.

"Welcome, new student."

"Lu Chenzhou? Great name!"

"What's your cultivation level? Let's spar after class."

This was a martial arts school, and its school spirit was fierce and bold.

Everyone was very polite, but Lu Chenzhou could sense the pride and self-confidence in their bones. The people here lived in a completely different world from ordinary high school students.

Like Huang Hao, they possessed a natural sense of distance toward ordinary people. Only once your strength earned their recognition might they offer you their true hearts.

Of course, they were also simply too young, with the temperament of youths.

If they became Martial Artists and reached the realm of powerhouses like Ji Xuantong and Qingtian Cang, they would return to simplicity. Instead, they would become more easygoing, with none of that sharp edge.

Shaking Mountain Bear was the homeroom teacher for Grade One.

After introducing Lu Chenzhou, he left.

The History of Martial Arts teacher was a Martial Artist. He had Lu Chenzhou go to his seat, a newly moved desk at the very back.

After Lu Chenzhou sat down, he continued the lesson.

"Today's lesson is the story of Master Lingkong and Grandmaster Xue, the first principal of Dragon City University of Martial Arts, discussing boxing. Within it, one can glimpse the profound boxing principles of Master Lingkong, founder of Form-Emulation Fist... This is an important knowledge point and will definitely be tested in the Martial Arts College Entrance Examination!"

Learning martial arts was not simply a matter of practicing boxing.

One also had to study the history of martial arts, the major schools, boxing theory, human anatomy, Nutrition Science, and all kinds of other knowledge related to martial cultivation. All of it would be tested.

He settled into the rhythm quickly. Under the watchful gazes of quite a few classmates looking toward the back row, he took out his books and pen and began taking notes. He did not act like a stranger at all—he had come here to learn.

He had joined halfway through, so the lesson left him utterly lost in a sea of clouds and fog. He knew that after class, he had to find a way to ask the teacher and his classmates to make up what he had missed.

Ring, ring, ring~

After class, Lu Chenzhou sat alone, flipping through the textbooks. Martial arts school students were generally outgoing, and several classmates, both boys and girls, gathered around him.

"Hello, I'm Liu Huan, our class monitor."

A broad, powerful hand reached toward him.

Lu Chenzhou stood up and shook it.

"Lu Chenzhou. Hello, Class Monitor Liu."

The owner of that large hand was the bearded classmate.

He stood head and shoulders above the crowd, exceptionally conspicuous.

"Once you're here, we're family. You're not the only transfer student in our class. Zhang Sanshun, Chen Yusheng, and the others... they also transferred from Culture High School, and we get along great. When you have time, get to know everyone more, spar and exchange pointers. You'll become familiar with us soon enough. If you have any problems later, ask me anytime. Don't keep everything bottled up by yourself."

Liu Huan was naturally friendly.

He was the strongest in the class and carried the greatest prestige.

He was the very embodiment of someone born to be class monitor.

Before coming here, Lu Chenzhou had actually prepared himself to be ostracized or looked down upon by these favored children of heaven. But for now, the martial arts school seemed harmonious and friendly as well.

As expected of seedlings with the potential to become Martial Artists—their moral character truly was high.

It seemed that where outstanding people gathered, people instead became more humble.

That let Lu Chenzhou breathe a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Class Monitor."

During the break, Liu Huan simply gathered everyone together and introduced them to Lu Chenzhou one by one, including their cultivation levels. Every single one was above the Third Stage.

No wonder Shi Ruyu had said that, no matter what, one had to get into a Wuda.

The Wuda campus and the outside world were completely different worlds.

Thinking about it, that made sense. Through all kinds of policies, the country had gathered the nation's finest martial arts talents here. Every conversation was with geniuses, every visitor was extraordinary. There were thirty-one people in Class One of Grade One, not counting Lu Chenzhou. Five had inferior bone aptitude, while twenty-five had average bone aptitude.

As for superior bone aptitude...

After turning six, they were assigned by the state to the main campuses or branch campuses of the top Wudas. There, specialized preschool teachers would guide them from the very beginning. They skipped the twelve years of compulsory education, and their parents could live on campus to accompany them. What they attended was called the Genius Class. At Lu Chenzhou's age, they had most likely already entered the Upper Three Stages.

Those who were monstrously gifted could even achieve a First Shackle Breakthrough.

Back to the point.

The strongest people in Lu Chenzhou's Grade One class were the "four-person cadre group": Class Monitor Liu Huan, Vice Class Monitor Yuan Zhigang, discipline committee member Ji Changkong, and martial virtue committee member Wen Tiange. All had average bone aptitude and Sixth Stage cultivation.

Of the remaining twenty-seven, six were at the Fifth Stage, ten at the Fourth Stage, and eleven at the Third Stage. Zhang Sanshun and Chen Yusheng, both among the Fourth Stage students, had inferior bone aptitude. They had also been discovered because of sudden enlightenment. Both their fathers were Martial Artists, and they had learned martial arts from childhood.

After learning all this, Lu Chenzhou, though at the bottom in strength as a newcomer, remained full of confidence. After all, he had only begun to exert himself in high school, so he had more room to improve. Naturally, here, he could not summon even the slightest arrogance.

His first day of school passed like this. Lu Chenzhou's main task was to build good relationships with his classmates, making it easier for him to ask about the courses he had missed.

While chatting, someone also recognized Lu Chenzhou as the Culture High School student who had acted bravely for a just cause on the subway last year, praising him for possessing martial virtue.

Dinner was eaten in the cafeteria. The martial arts school was under fully closed management.

On one hand, this allowed everyone to devote themselves wholeheartedly to martial arts. On the other, it better protected these martial arts talents. There was only one day off each week. Lu Chenzhou took the time to call home, so Li Xianghua and the others would not worry about him.

"Son, how is the school? Your classmates aren't bullying you, are they?"

"Mom, don't overthink it. My classmates are great. They take especially good care of me."

"Really?"

"Really."

"If anyone bullies you, you have to tell me."

"They really aren't, Mom. What kind of people do you take them for?"

"That's good, then. Is the food good?"

After dealing with his nagging mother, Lu Chenzhou carried his meal to a table and ate with everyone. The food at the martial arts school was nutritionally balanced, all formulated by the most professional nutrition masters. It would cost quite a bit outside. This was what resources meant.

They could also receive two boxes of martial arts supplements for free every month.

Furthermore, placing in various competitions also brought abundant martial arts resource rewards. In short, there were simply too many opportunities here, and Lu Chenzhou was filled with hope.

"Come on, Chenzhou. Sit over here."

Liu Huan called out to him. He worried that Lu Chenzhou might feel isolated because he did not know anyone. As class monitor, Liu Huan looked like a rough man, but he was actually attentive.

"Sure."

Lu Chenzhou sat down.

"Chenzhou, I heard you trained at Flying Swallow Martial Hall."

A female classmate at the Fifth Stage sat down beside him. She wore glasses. Generally speaking, martial practitioners rarely had nearsightedness, so Lu Chenzhou remembered her vividly.

Her name was Huo Tianyu. She had congenital nearsightedness and dreamed of becoming a Martial Artist, so that without surgery, she could improve and correct her vision and see the world clearly.

"Yeah."

Lu Chenzhou drank the delicious soup.

Huo Tianyu revealed her tiger teeth and smiled.

"You know Senior Sister Ji Feiyan, right?"

"I do." Lu Chenzhou knew that the hall master's daughter had studied here before later entering Dragon City University of Martial Arts. "Do you need something from Senior Sister? I have her MicroChat."

"Not really. I just didn't expect it to be such a coincidence."

Please keep reading, please give monthly votes, please give recommendation votes.