Assembly

Dawn had barely broken when two figures pushed open the doors of the VR Hall and walked out.

There were few pedestrians on the streets at this hour. The cold wind made both of them hunch their shoulders, and they clasped their arms as they found a breakfast stall by the street corner. They ordered two large bowls of meat-topped small-pot rice noodles and a serving of pea flour soup.

"Shen Qian, I've really figured it out. Don't ask me to pull all-nighters with you again," Wang Yangming said solemnly, the bags under his eyes slightly swollen.

Shen Qian was still in fairly good spirits. Unmoved by the words, he merely took a sip of the pea flour soup and said flatly, "You've still got a bit of a smell on you. Remember to wash up when you get home."

"Y-you... what are you talking about? What smell?" Wang Yangming panicked.

"Heh heh."

"Y-you're slandering me! Wasn't I playing Martial God with you all night... I have no idea what you're talking about!" Wang Yangming grew anxious.

"We didn't play during the second half of the night. While you were in the bathroom, I put on your helmet and took a look. Damn, it got my blood pumping."

After thinking for a moment, Shen Qian delivered another blow. "And that pack of tissues you picked up from the floor? I threw it there."

Wang Yangming looked utterly devastated.

After breakfast, the two went their separate ways. Wang Yangming's parents had already booked him a room at the martial arts hall. He planned to make the most of the medicine's effects over the two-day break, while Shen Qian obediently returned to school for class.

The second class that morning was martial arts theory, taught by their homeroom teacher, Liu Simin. Shen Qian paid no attention to that, taking out the second-semester History of Huaxia textbook for first-years and continuing his great undertaking of studying.

At this stage, as long as he was doing something proper, Liu Simin generally turned a blind eye.

"Generally speaking, the internal organs are only tempered once one reaches the realm of an Advanced Martial Artist. But when laying your foundation, you must also pay special attention to them, because you may unknowingly damage your foundation. For example, we all know that staying up late harms the liver, while excessive indulgence harms the kidneys..."

"Pfft!"

That abrupt laugh made everyone turn their heads. Liu Simin's murderous gaze also locked onto Shen Qian.

"Shen Qian, what are you laughing at?"

"I..."

For a moment, Shen Qian had no idea how to explain himself. He had been immersed in his book, but when he happened to stretch and heard the words "excessive indulgence harms the kidneys," Wang Yangming immediately came to mind, and he could not hold it in...

Knock knock!

The sudden knock at the door saved Shen Qian. An elegant-looking elderly man appeared at the entrance to Class 109.

"Director, what is it?" Liu Simin asked in surprise.

The students of Class 109 also recognized the visitor as Zhao Hanhai, the third-year grade director, and all looked over curiously.

"Excuse me... is student Shen Qian here?"

Zhao Hanhai glanced at the list in his hand before looking up and asking.

The crowd's gazes immediately focused on Shen Qian again, and they began whispering among themselves.

Liu Simin was also somewhat taken aback. She quickly walked to the classroom door and exchanged a few quiet words with Zhao Hanhai. When she turned back around, her expression had become exceedingly strange.

"Shen Qian, come out for a moment." Liu Simin beckoned to Shen Qian.

Shen Qian was completely baffled. Could it be that his overnight trip to the VR Hall with Wang Yangming had been exposed?

But that did not seem right either. Was such a small matter enough to alert the grade director?

To be safe, he and Wang Yangming had specifically gone to Chengdong, and Shen Qian was absolutely certain there had been no cameras in that private room...

Amid Shen Qian's wild thoughts, Liu Simin led him outside the classroom. She glanced at Zhao Hanhai, who was waiting nearby, then frowned at Shen Qian and asked quietly, "What happened? You couldn't even fill out a form correctly?"

Hearing that it was not about the overnight session at the VR Hall, Shen Qian let out a sigh of relief and asked instinctively, "What form?"

"The baseline assessment form the school handed out a couple of days ago. Did you put down 140 for your strength? And for speed, you also wrote... Huh, you weren't just filling it in randomly, were you?"

Halfway through, Liu Simin came to a realization. Even if he had made a mistake, there was no way he could have gotten both figures wrong!

"I... I thought it didn't matter at the time, so I just filled it in casually." Shen Qian could not exactly explain that the system had been acting up, so he could only scratch his head.

"Can you just fill in something randomly on a document that requires a signature for confirmation?" Liu Simin said angrily. "Now Director Zhao has come looking for you. What are you going to do?"

"Why is the director looking for me?" Shen Qian asked in confusion.

"I don't know yet, but it must be related to the data you filled in randomly." Liu Simin glanced at Zhao Hanhai, who was waiting for them, and pondered aloud, "All I can do is try to explain it to him and see if I can get his understanding..."

"Will they deduct conduct points?" Shen Qian asked.

He needed high scores in every category if he wanted to get into the best martial arts university, and conduct points were included in the political review score. The college entrance examination guide had made that clear as well.

"Most likely. Director Zhao seems easygoing, but he has always been meticulous when it comes to these matters..."

"Then forget it, Teacher Liu. How about I go with him? We still don't know what this is about. If I can't handle it, I'll explain things to the director then." The moment Shen Qian heard that, he made up his mind.

Besides, he vaguely felt that there had to be some reason he did not yet understand behind the system acting up.

"You... Fine, then. If anything comes up that you can't handle, call me right away. I'll come over once class is over." Liu Simin thought for a while, then nodded in agreement.

After Liu Simin returned to the classroom, Shen Qian walked over to Zhao Hanhai and respectfully said, "Hello, Director!"

As one of the school's higher-ups, Shen Qian had vaguely heard before that Zhao Hanhai was at least an Advanced Martial Artist. In any case, being polite could not hurt.

"Hello, Shen Qian... There's no time. We still need to visit other classes, so let's go."

Zhao Hanhai checked his wristband and gave Shen Qian no chance to ask questions before turning and leaving. Shen Qian hurried after him.

Next, Zhao Hanhai went to the other five third-year classes and called out another eleven people. Shen Qian looked them over and recognized several familiar faces, likely some of the school's prominent students.

What surprised Shen Qian, however, was that they also went to a second-year class and called out another girl.

Including Zhao Hanhai, the group of fourteen arrived at a low building surrounded by greenery behind No.7 High School.

Shen Qian remembered this place. It seemed to be the school's old Physical Testing Hall. After the new Physical Testing Hall was built, this place had been abandoned.

On the way, Shen Qian observed the others' expressions and found that everyone looked somewhat confused. Apparently, no one knew why Zhao Hanhai had gathered them here.

Of the thirteen students, twelve were third-years. Only the girl with straight bangs was a second-year... Huh, she was rather pretty.

Big eyes, thin lips, an oval face, willow-leaf brows, fair and delicate skin, black and bright pupils—she possessed both soft beauty and a heroic air... Mm, she looked a little like the girl on the poster from that game Wang Yangming had played yesterday, except her figure was rather flat.

As though she sensed Shen Qian's gaze, the pretty underclassman looked over and lightly glared at him. Shen Qian immediately stared straight ahead.

In front of the old Physical Testing Hall, Zhao Hanhai stopped. Pointing at the half-open door, he said gently to everyone, "This is the place. Go in one at a time."