Gift

After Jiang Ye finished the transfer procedures with Zhang Jianwu, he returned to Chen Zilu's office, but she was no longer there.

"Buzz buzz!"

Just then, his watch vibrated.

Jiang Ye opened his watch and saw it was a message from Chen Zilu.

Chen Zilu: "Jiang Ye, come to the school entrance. I have something to tell you."

A moment later.

At the entrance of Ancheng Third Middle School.

Jiang Ye saw a cool, beautiful woman standing alone at the school gate from afar.

To call her a 'woman' was perhaps inaccurate; she was more of a young lady.

Chen Zilu wore a simple white dress, her complexion as fair as snow, her face pure and beautiful. Her long, dark, and thick hair cascaded down to her slender waist, which was easily encircled by a hand.

Her figure was exquisite and outstanding, with a full and high bosom, and her long legs were as graceful as a painting.

Without her teacher's attire, she looked no older than eighteen or nineteen, exuding an aura of youth.

"Teacher," Jiang Ye said, guessing that she was likely leaving.

"You're here?"

Chen Zilu's voice was sweet, and she gave him a stunning smile.

Then, she took out an exquisite metal bottle from her suitcase.

"Here."

Chen Zilu handed the metal bottle to Jiang Ye and said, "This will help you absorb Star Energy. Use it during your Starry Sky Refinement."

Jiang Ye was slightly surprised.

Something that helps absorb Star Energy?

He had never heard of it, and it was likely very valuable.

Chen Zilu smiled and said, "Don't open it here. It's best to see what it is when you get back."

Hearing this, Jiang Ye became even more certain of its preciousness.

"Teacher, I can't possibly accept this," Jiang Ye said, taking the metal bottle with a hint of helplessness.

He still hadn't repaid the thirty thousand yuan, and now she was giving him a treasure.

He'd never be able to repay this kindness.

Chen Zilu chuckled, "I told you before that I would help speed up your Starry Sky Refinement."

"But it seems now that I won't be able to wait until then."

She shook her head and smiled, lamenting, "Originally, I wanted to wait until after your college entrance exams to return to school, but unfortunately, plans don't always go as expected."

Jiang Ye's heart stirred.

He was actually very curious why she had come to Ancheng to be a teacher.

Logically, when she arrived, she was only a freshman at White Dragon University and shouldn't be leaving so soon.

"Why did you..." Jiang Ye couldn't help but voice his confusion.

Hearing this, Chen Zilu's fair and pretty face showed a look of reminiscence.

After a moment, she shook her head and said, "The reasons are complicated. It was mainly due to failing a trial, which caused my strength to be damaged, and then I encountered many other things."

"I came to Ancheng partly because it's my mother's hometown."

"And partly to adjust my mindset," Chen Zilu sighed softly.

Jiang Ye was quite surprised.

He hadn't expected her to have such a past.

However, since she had decided to leave now, she must have adjusted her mindset.

"I wish you great success at White Dragon University," Jiang Ye said solemnly.

Chen Zilu smiled enchantingly, her beauty breathtaking.

She patted Jiang Ye's arm and said with a smile, "And I wish you get into the Twenty-Five School Alliance."

"Buzz!"

Just then, a small black dot suddenly appeared in the sky, and a faint vibrating sound could be heard.

In an instant.

Whoosh~

A huge shadow suddenly appeared overhead.

Jiang Ye looked up and held his breath.

It was a small spaceship full of sci-fi aesthetics, shaped like a 'V', deep black in color, with countless diamond-shaped nano-scales arranged densely on its surface, rhythmically undulating as if it were breathing.

"A private spaceship?" Jiang Ye was inwardly startled.

This ship clearly utilized extremely cutting-edge technology, crossing tens of kilometers in mere moments.

"Boom~"

A massive hatch opened at the rear of the ship, expelling white mist.

A man in a suit, resembling a butler, stood at the hatch.

"I'm leaving."

Chen Zilu glanced at Jiang Ye and waved, "Jiang Ye, we'll meet again if fate allows."

With that, she stepped out.

The next moment, she had already appeared on the spaceship hundreds of meters in the air.

"Miss."

The man in the suit at the spaceship's hatch bowed respectfully.

"I told you, you didn't need to pick me up. It's fine that you came, but must you be so ostentatious?" Chen Zilu looked at the spaceship, displeased.

The man in the suit paused, then chuckled helplessly, "Miss, this is already the most low-key vehicle I could choose."

"."

Chen Zilu shook her head. This spaceship belonged to her father.

However, ever since that incident in her childhood, she felt resistant to anything associated with him.

After starting university, she had never asked her family for a single cent.

"Let's go back."

Chen Zilu said calmly and walked into the spaceship, the hatch closing slowly behind her.

She cast one last glance at the tiny figure of the boy on the ground, knowing in her heart that this was likely their last meeting.

Behind her, the man in the suit cautiously inquired, "Miss, who was that young man just now...?"

"He's my student," Chen Zilu replied coolly.

The man in the suit nodded, a flicker of worry in his eyes dissipating.

Previously, seeing the young man bid farewell to Chen Zilu alone, he couldn't help but overthink.

But in reality, there was nothing to worry about.

Just a poor kid from a mountain village.

What right did he have to catch his young lady's eye?

Let alone An City, even the entire Xishan Province would struggle to find someone like him.

"Oh, right, Miss," the man in the suit suddenly said. "Your father hasn't received a reply from you in half a year. He wants to know how you're doing and if you have enough money to spend?"

Chen Zilu's expression turned icy.

"No need to trouble him."

On the ground.

Jiang Ye watched the private spaceship disappear into the distance and couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"This spaceship must be worth at least a few hundred million, right?"

"Teacher Chen is actually that rich."

It made sense, though.

Looking at the inheritance of talent.

The stronger a Martial Arts cultivator, the more likely they were to produce outstanding descendants.

Given Chen Zilu's immense talent, her family background was likely a colossal entity.

"A few hundred million... when will I ever be that rich?"

Jiang Ye sighed.

Suddenly.

He froze slightly.

A system message popped up before his eyes.

[You have achieved a new accomplishment: Martial Arts Ancestor has sent you a precious gift!]

[Title unlocked: Ancestor's Feeding!]

[Reward: The item gifted by the other party will have its value increased by 200%.]

"???"

Jiang Ye was completely bewildered.

Wait, don't mess with me.

Normally, this kind of action should unlock affinity or something, right?

What the heck is "feeding"??

However, Jiang Ye had confirmed one thing in his heart: "No wonder my gifts didn't work before. It turns out the other person has to give me something first?"

He looked at the reward.

A 200% increase in value? Doesn't that mean the things Chen Zilu gave him were also much more effective?

Jiang Ye looked at the metal bottle in his hand, wanting to open it immediately.

But he held back.

"Don't flaunt your wealth. I'll look at it when I get back."

"For now, I need to report to the Key Class."

Jiang Ye turned and walked towards the school.

"This is a new student transferring from a regular class, Jiang Ye."

In Class 3-1, the homeroom teacher stood on the stage.

"Jiang Ye, please introduce yourself."

The teacher looked towards the handsome youth at the door.

"Yes."

Jiang Ye's gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces in the classroom as he spoke, "Hello everyone, my name is Jiang Ye. Jiang from Jiangshan, Ye from Yexin."

"My score on the most recent monthly exam ranked 89th in the grade."

He finished his introduction.

"Welcome."

A cold, proud girl with fair legs was the first to applaud.

She was the class president of Class 1, and also the top student in the grade – Zhao Qingli.

"Rustle~"

With the class president leading the applause, the other students naturally followed suit, and the sound of clapping filled the room.

After the welcome ceremony, the homeroom teacher turned and left.

Jiang Ye walked into the classroom.

A young man walked up to him with a smile, "Jiang Ye, nice to meet you? My name is Wang Ziang."

Jiang Ye looked at him and nodded, "Third in the grade, Brother Wang."

"You've got good taste." Wang Ziang seemed quite pleased. He patted Jiang Ye's shoulder and said, "This is your first time in the Key Class, you probably don't know the environment here yet, right? Let me show you around."

As he spoke, he began to introduce things.

Soon, Jiang Ye learned that after entering the third year of high school, the Key Class had a major exam every month.

The top fifty students would receive 10,000 yuan.

The top twenty students would receive 20,000 yuan.

The higher the rank, the higher the bonus.

But if the ranking was too low, there were also dangers.

If a student was consecutively in the bottom ten for more than three times, they would be kicked out of the Key Class.

Therefore, the competition in the Key Class was extremely fierce.

"Our class posts some missions every month," Zhao Qingli walked over and said coolly. "Completing missions can also earn considerable rewards, possibly even over 50,000 yuan."

Jiang Ye's heart stirred.

These two seemed to know he was short on money and were deliberately telling him how to make it.

"After perfecting the cultivation method, reaching the first breakthrough requires a huge amount of funds."

"Both Starry Sky Refinement and Martial Arts dietary supplements are incredibly expensive," Zhao Qingli stated coolly. "So, some valuable class missions, like combat missions, are usually highly sought after and can earn a lot of money. Keep an eye out for them yourself."

"Okay," Jiang Ye nodded.

Combat missions were profitable? He made a mental note.

"Thank you both for the reminder," Jiang Ye said sincerely.

Zhao Qingli said lightly, "I'm just worried you might fall out of the top hundred in the grade. As class president, I don't want to see that happen."

For the Key Class, falling out of the top hundred was a disgrace.

Don't just look at Jiang Ye's current rank of 89th.

Some students in the Key Class hadn't undergone Starry Sky Refinement yet.

After all, one couldn't just go for Starry Sky Refinement whenever they pleased.

Each semester, there are only three opportunities, and a significant fee is required.

Even students in the Key Class would wait until they were fully prepared and certain of success before signing up.

Once these people underwent Starry Sky Refinement, the gap between them and Jiang Ye would immediately widen.

By then, Jiang Ye would quickly fall out of the top hundred in his grade.

Zhao Qingli looked at Jiang Ye with some sympathy, as if she could already see his future: "There's a Starry Sky Refinement next month. If you have confidence in yourself, go sign up."

"Understood, thank you for the reminder, Class President," Jiang Ye nodded.

His heart, however, stirred.

Starry Sky Refinement?

He really did need to prepare for it.

But before that, he still had to break through to the completion of his cultivation method and then ascend the Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder.