A Gift

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

Bzz!

Just then, his watch vibrated.

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

Chen Zilu: "Jiang Ye, come to the school gate. I need to talk to you."

A little while later.

Outside Ancheng Third Middle School.

From a distance, Jiang Ye spotted a cool, pretty woman standing alone by the school gate.

"Woman" wasn't quite right. She looked more like a young girl.

Chen Zilu wore a plain white dress. Her features were pure and lovely, her skin fair as snow, and her thick, dark hair fell to her slender waist, narrow enough to fit in one hand.

Her figure was graceful and striking, her chest full and high, her long legs beautiful as a painting.

Without her teacher's clothes, she looked only eighteen or nineteen, full of youthful energy.

"Teacher." Jiang Ye spoke. He guessed she was probably about to leave.

"You're here?"

Chen Zilu's voice was sweet. She gave him a breathtaking smile.

Then she took a delicate metal bottle from her suitcase.

"Here."

Chen Zilu handed the bottle to Jiang Ye. "This will help you absorb Star Energy. Save it for when you undergo Starry Sky Refinement."

Jiang Ye was slightly taken aback.

Something that helped absorb Star Energy?

He had never heard of anything like it. It was probably worth a fortune.

Chen Zilu smiled warmly. "Don't open it here. You can take a look when you get back."

Her words only made Jiang Ye more certain that the item was precious.

"Teacher, I can't possibly accept this." Jiang Ye took the metal bottle with a helpless look.

He still hadn't paid her back the thirty thousand yuan, and now she was giving him another treasure.

He'd never be able to repay this debt of gratitude.

Chen Zilu chuckled. "I told you before that I'd help speed up your progress when you underwent Starry Sky Refinement."

"But now, it seems I won't be around by then."

She shook her head with a rueful smile. "I'd planned to return to school after you all finished your college entrance exams. Unfortunately, plans can't keep up with change."

Jiang Ye's thoughts stirred.

He had always been curious about why she had come to Ancheng to teach.

She had only been a first-year student when she arrived, just starting at White Dragon University. It didn't make sense for her to leave school so soon.

"Why did you—" Jiang Ye couldn't help voicing his question.

At that, a look of remembrance crossed Chen Zilu's fair, pretty face.

After a moment, she shook her head. "It's complicated. Mainly, I failed a trial and suffered a setback in my strength. Then I ran into all sorts of other trouble."

"One reason I came to Ancheng was that it was my mother's hometown."

"The other, and the main reason, was that I needed time to clear my head," Chen Zilu said with a soft sigh.

Jiang Ye was quite surprised.

He hadn't expected her to have gone through all that.

But since she had decided to leave now, she must have found her footing again.

"I hope you thrive at White Dragon University," Jiang Ye said solemnly.

Chen Zilu smiled, radiant as ever.

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

Bzz!

Just then, a tiny black speck appeared in the sky, accompanied by a faint rumble.

In the blink of an eye.

Whoosh—

A huge shadow abruptly swept across the sky.

Jiang Ye looked up and held his breath.

It was a small, futuristic-looking spacecraft shaped like a "V." Its surface was a deep, pitch-black, covered in countless tightly arranged diamond-shaped nanoscales that rose and fell rhythmically, as if breathing.

"A private spacecraft?" Jiang Ye was startled.

The craft clearly used cutting-edge technology. In an instant, it had crossed dozens of kilometers.

Whoom—

A huge hatch opened at the back of the spacecraft, releasing a plume of white vapor.

A man in a suit, who looked like a butler, stood at the hatch.

"I'm leaving."

Chen Zilu glanced at Jiang Ye and waved. "Jiang Ye, until we meet again."

With that, she took a step forward.

In the next instant, she was already beside the spacecraft, more than a hundred meters above the ground.

"Miss."

The suited man at the hatch bowed respectfully.

"I told you there was no need to pick me up. And since you came anyway, you didn't have to make such a spectacle of it." Chen Zilu eyed the spacecraft with displeasure.

The man in the suit paused, then gave a helpless smile. "Miss, this is already the most discreet vehicle I could choose."

"..."

Chen Zilu shook her head. The spacecraft belonged to her father.

But ever since that incident in her childhood, she had been repelled by anything that came from him.

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

"Let's go."

Chen Zilu said coolly and stepped inside the spacecraft. The hatch behind her slowly closed.

She took one last look at the tiny boy on the ground, knowing this was most likely the last time they would meet.

Behind her, the suited man asked carefully, "Miss, that boy just now was...?"

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

The man nodded, and the trace of worry in his eyes quietly faded.

Seeing that boy alone with Chen Zilu to say goodbye had naturally made him wonder.

But in truth, there was nothing to worry about.

He was just a poor kid from some backwater village.

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

Forget Ancheng—even across all of Xishan Province, it was hard to imagine someone like that.

"Oh, right, Miss." The suited man spoke up suddenly. "Your father hasn't received a reply from you in half a year. He wants to know how you're doing and whether you have enough money."

Chen Zilu's expression turned icy.

"There's no need for him to worry."

On the ground.

Jiang Ye watched the private spacecraft disappear into the distance and couldn't help taking a deep breath.

"That spacecraft must be worth at least a few hundred million, right?"

"Teacher Chen is actually that rich."

Then again, it made sense.

Going by the inheritance of talent, the stronger a Martial Arts Expert was, the more likely they were to have outstanding descendants.

With Chen Zilu's incredible talent, her family was probably a behemoth.

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

Jiang Ye sighed.

Suddenly.

He froze.

A system message abruptly popped up before his eyes.

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

[Title unlocked: Ancestor Feeding!]

[Reward: The value of the gift you received has increased by 200%.]

"??"

Jiang Ye stared, dumbfounded.

No, come on.

Shouldn't this sort of thing unlock something like an affection rating?

What was this "feeding" nonsense?

But he had just confirmed one thing: No wonder I got nothing when I gave gifts before. The other person has to give one to me?

He looked at the reward.

The value had increased by 200%? Did that mean the gift Chen Zilu had given him was now several times more effective?

Jiang Ye stared at the metal bottle in his hand, itching to open it right away.

But he held back.

"Don't flaunt your wealth. I'll take a look when I get home."

"For now, I should go report to the Key Class."

Jiang Ye turned and headed into the school.

"This is Jiang Ye. He transferred here from the Ordinary Class."

The homeroom teacher stood at the front of Class One, Senior Year.

"Jiang Ye, introduce yourself."

The teacher looked toward the handsome boy at the door.

"Sure."

Jiang Ye's gaze swept over the unfamiliar faces in the classroom. "Hello, everyone. I'm Jiang Ye. Jiang as in 'rivers and mountains,' Ye as in 'ambition.'"

"...In the most recent monthly exam, I ranked eighty-ninth in the grade."

He finished his introduction.

"Welcome."

A cool, aloof girl with long, fair legs was the first to applaud.

She was Zhao Qingli, the class monitor of Class One and the top student in the grade.

Clap, clap, clap!

With the class monitor leading the applause, the other students soon joined in. The room erupted in thunderous clapping.

After the welcome, the homeroom teacher turned and left.

Jiang Ye walked into the classroom.

A young man came over to meet him with a cheerful smile. "Jiang Ye, let's get acquainted. I'm Wang Ziang."

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

"You've got a good eye." Wang Ziang looked quite pleased. He patted Jiang Ye on the shoulder. "It's your first time in the Key Class, so you probably don't know the lay of the land yet. I'll fill you in."

With that, he began explaining.

Jiang Ye soon learned that, once they reached senior year, the Key Class held a major exam every month.

The top fifty students received ten thousand yuan.

The top twenty received twenty thousand yuan.

The higher the ranking, the bigger the prize.

But a low ranking also came with risks.

If a student placed in the bottom ten three times or more, they would be kicked out of the Key Class.

As a result, competition in the Key Class was fierce.

"Our class posts a number of tasks every month."

Zhao Qingli came over and said coolly, "Complete them, and you can earn generous rewards. Some might even pay more than fifty thousand yuan."

Jiang Ye's thoughts stirred.

It seemed these two knew he was short on money and were deliberately telling him how to earn more.

"Once your Cultivation Method reaches perfection, making your First Break takes a huge amount of money."

"Whether it's Starry Sky Refinement or Martial Arts Dietary Supplement, both cost a fortune," Zhao Qingli said coolly. "So some valuable class tasks, like combat missions, are usually in high demand and can earn you a lot. Keep an eye out for them."

"Got it." Jiang Ye nodded.

Combat missions paid well? He made a note of it.

"Thanks for the tip," Jiang Ye said sincerely.

Zhao Qingli replied coolly, "I'm only worried you'll fall out of the grade's top hundred. As class monitor, I don't want to see that happen."

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

Jiang Ye might be ranked eighty-ninth right now.

But some students in the Key Class still hadn't undergone Starry Sky Refinement.

After all, Starry Sky Refinement wasn't something you could just decide to do.

Each semester offered only three opportunities, and they required a hefty fee.

Even students in the Key Class waited until they were fully prepared and certain everything was in order before signing up.

Once these students completed Starry Sky Refinement, they would immediately pull ahead of Jiang Ye.

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

Zhao Qingli looked at Jiang Ye with some sympathy, as if she could already see what lay ahead for him. "There'll be a Starry Sky Refinement next month. If you're confident in yourself, sign up."

"Got it. Thanks for the reminder, class monitor." Jiang Ye nodded.

But something stirred in his mind.

Starry Sky Refinement?

He really did need to make some preparations.

But before that, he still had to break through to perfection in his Cultivation Method, then climb the Martial Arts Heavenly Ladder.