Martial Arts Class

September 7, Monday.

Qin Fen and Chen Bo arrived at school.

Chen Bo returned to his own class for self-study, while Qin Fen headed to the Teaching Building.

The Teaching Building had four floors. The first floor housed the offices of ordinary teachers; the second floor was where the school's Martial Arts Teachers worked; the third floor housed school leaders such as the Vice Principal, Dean of Academic Affairs, and Office Director.

The fourth floor was the Principal's office.

Qin Fen arrived at the second-floor corridor, feeling slightly uneasy.

There were nine rooms on the second floor, and each Martial Arts Teacher had an individual office. This meant the school had only nine Martial Arts Teachers, with three assigned to each grade.

The Martial Arts Classes in every grade were divided into three classes: Class A, Class B, and Martial Arts Class C.

Senior One currently had nine classes. Each of the three Martial Arts Teachers taught martial arts to three classes, but after the Class Division a month later, the Senior One freshmen would be separated into martial arts and liberal arts tracks. Those three Martial Arts Teachers would no longer be responsible for teaching the Liberal Arts Class students martial arts, but would teach only the Martial Arts Classes, with one Martial Arts Teacher assigned to each Martial Arts Class.

Thirteen Middle School ranked at the bottom among all the high schools in Yang City. It was already quite good if each year could produce three Martial Arts Classes.

Sometimes, the combined number of students in all three Martial Arts Classes did not even exceed fifty.

At key schools like Yang City First High School, Yang City No. 2 High School, and Yang City No. 3 High School, a single Martial Arts Class had fifty students. No, rather, key schools did not distinguish between Martial Arts Classes and Liberal Arts Classes.

Key schools only divided students into Elite Classes and Regular Classes. Even every student in the Regular Classes had cultivated Jin Li and received instruction from dedicated Martial Arts Teachers, while the Elite Classes consisted of true elites with hopes of getting into a Martial Arts University.

Knock, knock, knock.

Qin Fen raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in."

Zhou Wu's voice came from inside.

Qin Fen pushed the door open and entered. The office was spacious, with quite a few training implements placed around it.

At the same time, he smelled an incomparably rich medicinal fragrance. Teacher Zhou Wu could transmit Jin Li to others, so he was at least in the Fifth Realm of Jin Li, an External Training Master. His daily consumption was extraordinarily high.

Thus, he could not eat like ordinary people. Instead, he ate specially prepared Medicinal Diets and Nutritional Meals.

Only Medicinal Diets with extremely high nutritional value could sustain an External Training Master of the Fifth Realm of Jin Li through an entire day's expenditure.

"Hello, Teacher."

When he reached Teacher Zhou Wu, Qin Fen immediately bowed slightly in greeting.

"Student Qin Fen, what do you need from me?"

Zhou Wu still had some impression of Qin Fen.

Among the three Senior One freshman classes he taught, Qin Fen's talent was considered the best.

His Galloping Horse Strength stance was the most standard. With another transmission of Jin Li this week and some more practice, he would certainly cultivate Jin Li.

"Teacher, I've already cultivated Jin Li."

Qin Fen said.

"What? You've cultivated Jin Li? Demonstrate it for me."

A look of surprise appeared in Zhou Wu's eyes.

"Yes."

Qin Fen assumed the stance of Galloping Horse Strength, then circulated the Jin Li until it surged into his arms. A faint current slowly flowed beneath his skin, and as the Jin Li circulated, the sound of galloping steeds came from Qin Fen's body.

If someone closed their eyes and heard only the Galloping Steeds Sound, they would think a fierce steed stood before them.

"It really is Jin Li. In just four days, you cultivated Jin Li." Delight appeared in Zhou Wu's eyes. He rose from his chair, walked to Qin Fen's side, and patted him on the shoulder. "Qin Fen, your martial arts talent has truly taken me by surprise. I originally thought you would need another transmission of Jin Li before cultivating it, but you managed it ahead of time, cultivating Galloping Horse Strength to the realm of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber. Among this year's Senior One freshmen, you should be the first to cultivate Jin Li."

"You praise me too highly, Teacher. I still have many shortcomings."

Qin Fen spoke truthfully.

If not for the existence of the Panel, and for using Righteous Qi Value to raise his Galloping Horse Strength proficiency, he absolutely would not have reached the realm of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber so quickly. Like the other students, he would still be at the level of Rudimentary Understanding.

Therefore, Qin Fen felt no pride in his heart. Once he entered the Martial Arts Class, he would only train even harder.

"You needn't be modest either." Zhou Wu opened the drawer of his desk, took out a form, and said, "This is the information form for entering the Martial Arts Class. Fill it out. Once the Principal returns from his meeting at the Martial Arts Bureau and the Education Bureau, I'll hand the form to him. Only after the school system enters your information into the Martial Arts Bureau's Martial Arts Student records will you truly be a member of the Martial Arts Class."

In the past, schools had been managed by the Education Bureau.

Now, they were jointly managed by the Martial Arts Bureau and the Education Bureau.

The information of a school's liberal arts students was entered into the Education Bureau's system, while the information of Martial Arts Students was entered into the Martial Arts Bureau's system. Only after becoming a Martial Arts Student could one apply to use certain Martial Arts Facilities.

"Yes, Teacher."

Qin Fen immediately began filling out the information form.

"Go to class first. Once the Principal returns, I'll take you to see him."

Zhou Wu put away the information form and placed it in the drawer.

"Yes."

Qin Fen nodded, left Zhou Wu's office, and returned to the classroom.

In the classroom, all the students were still holding the standing stance of Galloping Horse Strength as they loudly read their texts.

With one glance, Qin Fen could see that his classmates' stances had improved greatly and all met the standard. Over the two-day weekend, they must have trained diligently at home without slacking off.

As long as the standing stance met the standard, more practice would allow them to reach the realm of First Glimpse of the Path.

But reaching the realm of Entering the Hall and Reaching the Inner Chamber and cultivating Jin Li depended on one's personal talent and aptitude.

Those with good talent could cultivate Jin Li on their own after two or three transmissions from a teacher.

Those who cultivated Jin Li only in the final month had relatively poor aptitude and could only enter Martial Arts Class C.

Qin Fen returned to his seat, assumed the stance of Galloping Horse Strength, and began self-study.

Time passed, and the morning classes came to an end.

At this moment, Qin Fen felt hungrier than usual.

After the self-study class ended, he had already felt somewhat hungry. After cultivating Jin Li, when he circulated Galloping Horse Strength, his blood and qi flowed faster than before. This accelerated his body cells' absorption of energy, increasing their demand for it.

If he lacked nutrition for a long time and remained in a state of hunger, with his cells unable to absorb energy, they would consume the body's potential. Not only would this fail to strengthen the body, it would instead train it into ruin; even the strongest body would suffer from all manner of ailments and injuries.

During the break, Qin Fen bought several bags of bread to fill his stomach.

As soon as class ended, Qin Fen headed for the cafeteria.

"Qin Fen, don't walk so fast. Wait for me."

At that moment, Chen Bo rushed out of another classroom, quickly ran over, and slung an arm over Qin Fen's shoulder.

"How's your Galloping Horse Strength cultivation going?"

Qin Fen asked with a smile.

"Thanks to your guidance these past two days, my efficiency in cultivating Galloping Horse Strength has greatly improved. Over these two days, I feel like I've gained dozens of pounds of strength. I'll cover all your cafeteria meals this week."

Chen Bo patted his chest as he spoke.

"Then you're going to bleed heavily. Starting today, I'll be eating Nutritional Meals on the fourth floor of the cafeteria."

Qin Fen said.

"What? Eating Nutritional Meals on the fourth floor? That's where Martial Arts Students eat. Ordinary liberal arts students never go to the fourth floor. Nutritional Meals are too expensive. Don't tell me you've already cultivated Jin Li."

An incomparably astonished expression immediately appeared on Chen Bo's face.

"Of course. I've already filled out the information form with the teacher. As soon as the Principal returns, I can become a Martial Arts Student."

Qin Fen said with a light laugh.

"Amazing. That's seriously amazing. You're the first Senior One freshman to cultivate Jin Li, aren't you?" Chen Bo could not help giving him a thumbs-up, clicking his tongue in amazement. "We grew up together, so how is the gap between us this huge? You've already cultivated Jin Li, while I haven't even reached the realm of First Glimpse of the Path. You'll have to look after me from now on. Don't let anyone bully me."

"No problem. Your big brother has got you. If you run into trouble in the future, just give them my name. It should get you a discount."

Qin Fen said with a laugh.

"Get lost."

The two chatted and laughed along the way, soon arriving at the cafeteria.

Thanks to reader Bo Yun Ba Wu for the 500-coin tip.