Not All the Students Are from Our School, Are They?

"Would you be interested in becoming class monitor?"

Seeing a hint of bashful modesty appear on Zhao Rui's youthful face, Liu Jie couldn't help smiling as she asked.

"Class monitor?"

Zhao Rui froze for a moment, then shook his head. "Teacher, I don't want to."

"Why not? It would look good on your student record and benefit you when you look for a job or join an organization in the future!"

Liu Jie asked, puzzled. Her petite face was fair and flawless, and her slender lashes trembled slightly around her bright eyes.

"Teacher, actually, I still want to pursue a path in martial arts..."

Zhao Rui spoke honestly. After all, when he joined the Martial Arts Team and took care of other matters in the future, he would need his counselor to know and communicate with her.

Hearing Zhao Rui's words, Liu Jie fell silent. Only after a moment did she say, "I support you. If you need anything, just tell me. I'll talk to whoever needs talking to."

"Thank you, Teacher!"

"No need to be so polite. I'm your counselor, so of course I'll think about your future."

Liu Jie smiled and reached out to pat Zhao Rui on the shoulder, but then realized she was too petite. She couldn't help rising slightly onto her toes.

Only then could she pat his shoulder twice, managing to look like a proper adult.

"Keep working hard. I believe in you!"

"Teacher, I could've crouched down a little!"

"You're asking for a spanking! You're even making fun of your teacher!"

Liu Jie pretended to hit him. Zhao Rui laughed and hurriedly dodged, returning to the students.

Aside from target practice, the military camp's activities included a military boxing demonstration and a bonfire party. Once the camp activities ended, all the students still had to march back to school at night.

Hearing that they still had to return that night, the students groaned one after another. They wished they could drag the school administrators over right then and whip them twenty times.

With the kind of "combat skills" that hurt!

Unfortunately, grumbling was one thing. When the soldiers stationed at the camp lined up in formation to demonstrate military boxing, the students' exhaustion vanished in an instant.

They all opened their eyes wide with excitement, watching the soldiers' demonstration without knowing where to look.

The military boxing of this world was different from that of his previous life. It came in two forms. One was hard qigong, a martial art with a low barrier to entry that ordinary soldiers could practice.

The other was military martial arts. Like the traditions passed down by universities and sects, it had a firm foundation and a long history.

Those who mastered it became fierce generals in the army, slaughtering enemies on one front and guarding another. They were no less than Grandmasters—if anything, they surpassed them.

Combined with modern weapons, what could a mere Rogue Cultivator hope to do against such a force?

That was one of the reasons the nation could remain stable and prosperous despite the flourishing of martial arts.

"Zhao Rui, do you think the Martial Arts Students at our school could beat soldiers of the same level?"

Jian Congsheng watched the dazzling martial arts demonstration and couldn't help asking out of curiosity.

"Hard to say. It depends on the rules and the individual's temperament," Zhao Rui replied casually.

"Oh. I really envy you people with martial arts backgrounds. We'll have to count on you to look after us in the dorm from now on!"

Jian Congsheng sounded a little envious.

"Don't. I'm no genius from the Martial Arts Academy. I've just stuck with it a little longer than you guys and haven't given up."

As Zhao Rui spoke, a sudden commotion broke out in the crowd. He listened closely and realized the demonstration was over, and the troops were about to hold a competition with the students.

Although many of the boys had never studied martial arts, they were young men with hot blood in their veins. Who wouldn't want to step into the ring, fight a match, and show off in front of the girls?

"Each company, choose two student representatives. Let's have a little fun. Students may wear protective gear..."

At the company commander's words, each group immediately erupted into excited discussion.

"I'm a Level 3 Martial Artist. I'll go!"

"Wow, you're Level 3? What a shame. If you were Level 4, you could apply to a martial arts university."

"I'm Level 2. I'll give it a try. We've got protective gear, anyway! Which girl will cheer me on? I'm representing our company in this fight!"

"Come on, come on, come on!"

The atmosphere instantly soared. The girls' cheers rose and fell, and before long, two competitors from each camp had stood up and walked onto the field.

As for Zhao Rui's group, there was no need to think about it. Zhao Rui was bound to be one of them.

Before he left, one of the girls he'd helped earlier—bold and outspoken—shouted, "Zhao Rui, if you win, I'll be your girlfriend!"

As soon as she finished, a boy chimed in, "Zhao Rui, if you win, I'll be your boyfriend!"

The slightly flirtatious atmosphere collapsed with a bang, and everyone burst into laughter.

Zhao Rui smiled and walked onto the field with another boy who was a Level 2 Martial Artist.

There were so many students at the military training camp that only some of them had come this time. The Martial Arts Academy's company wasn't included.

So the company commander didn't send out any high-level soldiers. He only had four Level 3 Martial Artist soldiers and one Level Four Martial Artist soldier come out for a showing.

He didn't even bother to consider the students' martial arts levels.

After all, for students outside the martial arts major, Level 4 was already the limit.

The rules were explained briefly, and the competition officially began.

There were forty students in total, divided into groups of five, with each group competing at the same time.

Each match lasted three minutes. Being knocked down meant losing! Anyone who held out for three minutes won.

The students changed into the protective suits provided by the camp, rubbing their hands together and eagerly waiting to try.

At the sound of the whistle, the competition began.

The soldiers' eyes narrowed. Like cheetahs spotting a tasty prey, they sprang forward, precise and ruthless.

Even though these students were at Level 2, they'd only learned martial arts in middle school. Once they realized they weren't especially talented, they'd transferred to regular classes in high school. Who would keep training hard after that?

So it wasn't long before the five students were in dire straits. They could barely resist, let alone fight back.

One student was knocked to the ground, and soon the others followed, hitting the floor one after another.

"Ugh, they lost so fast!"

Naturally, the students watching were on their side. Seeing this, they let out regretful sighs.

One round ended and another began. The student team fought six rounds in total. Only two students were any good; they held out for two minutes, but in the end they were still knocked to the ground.

The result brought a chorus of disappointed wails from the students watching outside the ring.

"That's bullying! Why don't you wait until the students from the Martial Arts Academy get here and then compete? What kind of skill is there in picking on us weaklings?"

"Exactly! Compete in academics instead. We'd crush ten of you!"

The unity of opposites always seemed most obvious when people's own interests and positions were at stake.

The students who had been milling around to watch were suddenly united against a common enemy in the face of defeat.

"Good spirit. We can make things harder next time and really put them through their paces!"

On the viewing stand, the battalion commander smiled at the school official accompanying the students.

"They're all young people. If they don't even have that much fire in them, how can they become pillars of the country? Whether they're students or young soldiers, they're all the hope of our future," the school official said with a smile, unhurried.

But in his heart, he was cursing. This was obviously a deliberate jab at a bunch of intellectuals like them.

A bunch of grunts, acting all high and mighty!

"Haha, Principal Zhang is right. They're all the hope of the future!"

The battalion commander smiled and continued watching the martial arts field below.

As the students fell one after another, it soon came down to the final three groups.

Among them were the Level 3 Martial Artist college student and Zhao Rui.

The Level 3 Martial Artist student went first. He was fairly capable and traded blows evenly with his opponent. But he hadn't trained in a long time, and he lacked fighting experience. He lasted only two minutes before his opponent spotted an opening and flipped him onto the ground.

He lost the match, to everyone's disappointment.

Seeing even a Level 3 Martial Artist lose, the college students let out disappointed wails.

After all, Zhao Rui was only at Level 3 at most. Who with Level 4 wouldn't apply to the Martial Arts Academy?

Even so, when Zhao Rui stepped onto the field, the whole crowd erupted into enthusiastic cheers.

In the martial arts field, Zhao Rui adjusted his protective gear and clanked his way to the center. He looked at the soldier opposite him, then politely cupped his fists.

Seeing Zhao Rui's tall, well-proportioned build, the other man grinned. "How many minutes do you think you can last?"

"Three minutes. Any longer wouldn't be appropriate!" Zhao Rui replied with a smile. It was all just for fun, after all.

"Not bad, kid. You've got a big mouth!"

The soldier sneered. He'd only meant to tease Zhao Rui, but apparently the kid had thick skin.

He'd always looked down on these college students who couldn't fight their way out of a paper bag. They spent all day hanging around with girls,

enjoying the good life on campus.

Meanwhile, soldiers like him trained hard day after day. When they finally found a girlfriend, she was always someone the college boys had already dated.

He'd already been harboring some resentment. Now, he was even more determined to put these college students in their place.

As soon as the whistle blew, he wasted no time. Strength surged through his legs, his speed exploded, and he suddenly punched toward Zhao Rui.

Zhao Rui raised an arm and easily blocked it. His feet traced the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams, his body never losing balance as he borrowed the force and shifted with ease.

No matter how fiercely his opponent attacked, like wind and rain sweeping down, Zhao Rui remained calm, retreating without haste.

Anyone with a sharp eye could see something was wrong.

The battalion commander on the viewing stand had keen eyes. He immediately turned to the school official beside him and said, "Your regular classes are hiding a high-level martial arts student."

The school official didn't know martial arts, but he wasn't stupid. Seeing Zhao Rui handle his opponent with ease while the other students had all struggled, he smiled. "Students have a strong sense of independence these days. Our school also emphasizes all-round development—moral, intellectual, and physical."

"Could he be a Martial Arts Academy student who snuck over?"

"What difference does it make? Aren't they all students from our school?"

The school official chuckled without committing himself.

The battalion commander nodded, beckoned the orderly beside him, and gave him a few instructions. Then he continued watching the match with a smile.

On the martial arts field!

Zhao Rui watched his opponent attack at leisure. In his mind, he silently clicked to copy the new martial skill on the system panel: Hundred Battles Fiery Cloud Fist.

It was a rudimentary military combat technique, a low-level martial art. Still, it was better than nothing.

Besides, he'd get an advancement point for learning it.

The three minutes passed quickly. No matter how fiercely his opponent attacked, Zhao Rui remained planted in the ring, steady as a mountain.

When time ran out, he was the only college student still standing in the entire martial arts field. Everyone's eyes were drawn to him at once.

"You..."

The soldier fighting him knew by then that he was no match for Zhao Rui. He spat in frustration and left the ring, chagrined.

"Damn, he won! That's a real morale boost!"

"Exactly! He's from our class. Pretty impressive, huh?"

"Zhao Rui is so handsome."

"So his name is Zhao Rui. Is he in the accounting department? I really want his contact info!"

"Zhao Rui, I want to marry you and have lots and lots of monkeys with you!"

Some shameless boy had shouted that.

Zhao Rui raised a hand and smiled at the crowd. What was youth without a little swagger?

He wasn't going to act cocky, but there was nothing wrong with showing himself off a little.

When the boy who'd offered to marry him saw Zhao Rui respond, he got carried away. He hiked up his military training shirt and started dancing.

The atmosphere grew even more heated, almost like a concert.

The troops had originally planned to use the competition to put the college students in their place. They hadn't expected an oddball to show up and win so handily.

"Should we switch people?"

One of the soldiers suggested.

"Switch who? Keep going!"

The company commander organizing the competition shot the soldier who'd spoken a glare. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, as if lightning had cracked across the sky.

"If you lose, I'll step in myself!"

At the company commander's words, the soldiers' eyes filled with ferocity. One by one, they looked like wild wolves out hunting, ready to pounce on their prey.

Soon, the competition moved into its second round, with the winners facing off again.

Since Zhao Rui was the only one left on the college student team, the entire second round was simplified to a match between him and the winning soldier.

The soldiers often sparred with each other. There was no need for them to compete among themselves, so they put forward the Level Four Martial Artist.

"Come on, kid. I'll show you what it means to be a real man!"

The soldier took off his undershirt, revealing a torso packed with muscle and marked by numerous scars.

He'd clearly been injured plenty of times.

"Just a friendly match," Zhao Rui said with a smile, waiting for the other man to make the first move.

This man was always the first to charge into battle. Seeing Zhao Rui standing there casually, seemingly without a single opening, he immediately realized he'd encountered an expert in inner force.

He quickly scraped his foot across the ground, kicking up dust from the martial arts field until it formed a vast cloud of yellow sand.

Using the dust to hide his movements, he suddenly lowered his body, then burst forward, spinning straight toward Zhao Rui like a top.

Zhao Rui leaped high to avoid his charge and swept his sleeve through the air, scattering the cloud of yellow sand.

Then he caught the heavy punch aimed at him, pressed a vital point on the back of the man's hand, and twisted his arm down with force.

In an instant, he yanked the man off balance and toppled him cleanly onto the ground.

"Thank you for the match!"

Zhao Rui drifted back a step and cupped his fists in salute. If not for the clumsy protective gear, he would have looked every inch the graceful gentleman.

"I concede!"

The soldier was straightforward. He got back to his feet, openly admitted defeat, and stepped aside.

"I'll take him!"

The company commander, who had been overseeing the match from the sidelines, could no longer hold back. He strode forward.

Zhao Rui glanced at the other man's barely restrained Killing Intent, then took a step back. "Sir, you're not one of the competitors, are you?"

At those words, the company commander, who had been striding forward with a fierce air, stopped dead in his tracks. His expression twisted into an ugly, conflicted grimace.

He really wasn't a competitor.

Just as he was caught between advancing and retreating, the battalion officer on the reviewing stand cleared his throat and spoke into the microphone. "Young man, you've won the competition. But everyone you beat was lower-ranked than you. So here's the deal: if you beat our company commander, I'll authorize two hours of leave for you both!"

At those words, the eyes of the entire camp instantly converged on Zhao Rui!