Jiang Shu remained neither humble nor arrogant, but there was already a hint of refusal in his words.
Zhang Taining was taken aback.
Jiang Shu was even more resolute than he had imagined.
Still, it wasn't a particularly big problem.
He had made these offers because he hoped Jiang Shu would stay at the school.
If Jiang Shu still chose to take a leave of absence, it wouldn't stop him from remembering this kindness.
After all, Jiang Shu was still a student at Ji City Fifth High School.
"Jiang Shu, class is about to start. Let's not disturb the other students. Why don't you come sit in my office?"
Zhang Taining smiled and added, "Mr. Zheng Yanbo, who's giving the lecture today, is in my office too. He's very interested in meeting you and said he'd like to chat."
"Sure."
Jiang Shu agreed at once. He truly had too many questions about the martial arts realms and cultivation methods of the Mystic Star.
Zheng Yanbo was probably the first expert he could meet at this stage.
If he learned something from their conversation, that would be a pleasant little surprise after everything that had happened.
The second hand moved steadily around the classroom clock.
The only sounds in the room were Jiang Shu and Zhang Taining's cheerful conversation.
One was an eighteen-year-old high school senior, an average student who had practiced martial arts for only four months.
The other was a high school principal past the age of forty, who had established himself in society long ago and attained a status most ordinary people could never reach in their entire lives.
Their positions were worlds apart.
And yet, at that moment, they were like old friends!
Everyone stared at the scene in a daze.
Even with reality right before their eyes, they still felt as if God were playing a huge joke on them.
Under the crowd's shocked, doubtful, disbelieving gazes, Zhang Taining and Jiang Shu walked out of the classroom, their laughter fading into the distance.
Though the two had left, the classroom remained utterly silent.
Only when the bell rang did it shatter Wang Han's silence.
"Jiang Shu—what makes him so special?"
"Even if he's achieved Qi and Blood Sensing, that only gets him past the threshold for entering an ordinary university without taking the entrance exam. Our school may not have many top-tier universities, but are we really short one undergraduate? Why are you covering for him?"
"Does being a Martial Arts Student mean he can do whatever he wants?"
"Teacher Yan, I refuse to accept this!"
Wang Han's expression twisted. He sprang to his feet, as if he were the victim of tyrannical oppression now.
The students' eyes all turned to Yan Dehou.
They wanted to know the real reason too.
Did Jiang Shu have some special background? That couldn't be it. They had been classmates for more than a year, and everyone had a pretty good idea of each other's family circumstances.
Was it because Jiang Shu had achieved Qi and Blood Sensing? That didn't make sense either. Qi and Blood Sensing only got someone into an undergraduate program.
It was possible that Old Yan thought highly of him.
But why would the principal personally lower himself to invite him?
Looking at the curious, expectant, shocked, and confused faces around the classroom, Yan Dehou finally couldn't hold back. He sighed and said quietly,
"Jiang Shu has already achieved Qi and Blood Transportation. The principal thinks he has a very good chance of making a final push for admission to an academy before the college entrance exams."
Jiang Shu actually had a chance to get into an academy!
Yan Dehou hadn't spoken loudly, but his words crashed through the classroom like thunder and raging waves, pounding against the tender hearts of more than forty underage students.
Most students in middle and high school had little real understanding of the power and wealth in society.
Academic performance was what they used to measure people.
The caliber of a university was one of the most important standards by which they judged whether someone had a promising future.
The best students in the class were all working hard to get into top-tier universities.
But now, Jiang Shu—who had always been an average student, quietly blending into the middle of the class—had switched to the martial arts track in his final semester. They had thought that, if he kept slacking off, he'd probably only get into a junior college.
Yet he had achieved Qi and Blood Transportation. He was all but guaranteed a top-tier university, and he was competing for an academy.
How could they believe it?
Even though the person telling them this was their homeroom teacher, Teacher Yan Dehou.
Soft breaths rose and fell throughout the classroom.
Looking at the empty seat before her, Xu Shuhui glanced at Wang Han, who was standing dumbstruck beside it. The anger in her expression was gone.
She only felt sorry for him.
Wang Han had made a scene, adding fuel to the fire.
But from the beginning, Jiang Shu had never taken him seriously.
With talent enough to achieve Qi and Blood Transportation in less than four months of martial arts training, how could he end up at a junior college?
How could he have no future?
He wasn't even a martial artist yet, and he could already speak to the principal as an equal.
And her—if she became the top student in her grade, would she dare speak to Principal Zhang like that?
Xu Shuhui couldn't help shaking her head.
Whether it was her or the other students, perhaps none of them had ever truly understood Jiang Shu.
She turned toward the classroom door, and her mind returned to the moment Jiang Shu had stood before Principal Zhang.
He hadn't tried to defend anything he'd done.
He hadn't pointed out what Wang Han had gotten wrong.
Faced with Wang Han and the other students making things difficult for him, he'd remained indifferent.
Only when he walked out, chatting and laughing with the principal, did he give his real response!
A foolish woman of Kuaiji thought little of Maichen; I, too, left home and headed west to Qin.
I laughed aloud as I walked out the door—how could we be mere weeds in the field?
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
How could Jiang Shu, in just over three months, have gone from an ordinary person to advancing through two major martial arts stages, from Qi and Blood Sensing to Qi and Blood Transportation?
An academy.
Could Jiang Shu really get into an academy?
There were only four academies in the entire Xia Kingdom.
Every year, only a few dozen people from all of Ji City made it into one.
Jiang Shu... how could he possibly do it?
It was fake. All of it was fake!
Wang Han dropped heavily into his seat, utterly bereft.
It was as if he'd been struck by lightning.
Diligence Building.
The principal's office.
Wearing only a light shirt, Jiang Shu held a steady horse stance. Beneath his perfected Horse Stance, his qi and blood flowed.
Standing before him were Zheng Yanbo and Zhang Taining.
Zheng Yanbo looked perfectly at ease. Zhang Taining, by contrast, couldn't hide his apprehension. Though he was already at the age when one understood the limits of life, he looked just like a student about to enter an exam hall.
His belief that Jiang Shu had achieved Qi and Blood Transportation and could make a push for an academy was only his own judgment.
As someone who wasn't an expert, he still needed Zheng Yanbo's approval.
"Principal Zhang, congratulations! Your school has produced a thousand-mile colt this time. An academy is within reach."
Hearing this, Zhang Taining felt a weight lift from his shoulders. Delight appeared on his face.
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