Earning a Living

"Have you ever thought about joining the Key Class?"

Chen Zilu looked at Jiang Ye as she spoke.

"Joining the Key Class?"

Jiang Ye froze for a moment, then shook his head. "I never thought about it."

The students in the Key Class all had Nascent Talent.

Though they attended the same school, the worlds of those two kinds of students were completely different.

With his Inferior Aptitude, Jiang Ye had never imagined joining the Key Class.

Chen Zilu said, "Then let me ask you this: do you want to get into an ordinary Martial Arts University, or the Twenty-Five School Alliance?"

"The Twenty-Five School Alliance," Jiang Ye answered without hesitation.

Before, he had only aimed for an Ordinary Martial Arts University.

But now that he had the system, he naturally had higher aspirations.

There was even a faint yearning in Jiang Ye's heart: to get into one of the Top Ten Elite Schools.

Of course, he knew the chances were next to nothing.

If he'd gotten the system in his first year of high school, he might have had a chance. But now he was already in the second semester of his second year, and there wasn't much time left.

So he could only settle for the next best thing.

The Twenty-Five School Alliance was what Jiang Ye had to strive for.

Chen Zilu said, "Only by joining the Key Class will you have even a sliver of hope of getting into the Twenty-Five School Alliance."

"A sliver?" Jiang Ye looked at his teacher.

Chen Zilu nodded. "The Twenty-Five School Alliance is made up of twenty-five Martial Arts Universities, and every one of them is top-tier."

"Even in our school's Key Class, only the top ten students each year can get in."

"The top ten in the Key Class?"

Jiang Ye's breath caught.

The students in the Key Class all had Nascent Talent.

Most of them could reach Cultivation Method perfection by their second year of high school.

Those with especially outstanding talent could even achieve First Break in their third year and become Starry Sky Martial Artists.

According to his teacher, did that mean one had to achieve First Break before joining the Twenty-Five School Alliance?

Chen Zilu smiled. "You've awakened your Martial Bone, so in theory, you have a chance."

"But the prerequisite is that you join the Key Class as soon as possible."

"Besides getting access to better resources, students in the Key Class can also learn advanced combat techniques and get priority access to all kinds of trials."

"Plus, they can go out and earn money as coaches."

"Even without all that, just having 'Key Class student' on your résumé is enough to make people from every walk of life take you more seriously."

Jiang Ye felt a stir in his heart.

Before, he'd only had a vague idea of the difference between the Key Class and the Ordinary Class.

He hadn't expected there to be so many hidden benefits.

Students in the Key Class could even use their status to make money!

Working as a coach? That sounded great—especially as a fitness coach.

After hearing his teacher say all that, he was tempted.

Chen Zilu continued, "That's not all. Students in the Key Class can rent Virtual Helmets without limit and enter the Virtual Starry Sky to hone their skills."

"Unlimited access to the Virtual Starry Sky?" Jiang Ye held his breath.

The Virtual Starry Sky was a technology made publicly available after Blue Star connected to the stars. It was a landmark innovation that could reproduce the real world down to the last detail.

One of the two practical assessments in the college entrance exam took place in the Virtual Starry Sky.

But Virtual Helmets were expensive, costing at least a million each, and even the school had only a limited number.

Apart from lessons, students in the Ordinary Class were allowed to rent them only a few times.

"The Key Class sure has a lot of privileges."

Jiang Ye couldn't help but marvel to himself.

He pondered for a moment, then asked, "Teacher, do you teach the Key Class?"

"I only teach your Class Nine," Chen Zilu said, shaking her head.

Jiang Ye furrowed his brows.

If Chen Zilu wasn't the one teaching him, he wouldn't get that 30% boost to his comprehension.

And with another teacher, he probably wouldn't be able to unlock the same achievement.

He continued asking:

"If I join the Key Class, can I still come back and ask you for help?"

Hearing that, Chen Zilu was momentarily amused.

"You're a student, and you think the Key Class's teaching isn't better than mine?"

Jiang Ye's expression turned solemn. "In my heart, Teacher Chen, your teaching is the best."

"Don't give me that. You haven't even attended a Key Class lesson."

Though Chen Zilu said that, she was pleased.

She smiled brightly. "If you want to come to me, I'll teach you whenever I have time."

"But there are conditions for transferring to the Key Class, too."

Chen Zilu sat back down, crossed her fair legs, and said:

"You have to reach perfection in the Star Martial Cultivation Method before the second semester of your third year."

"If you only break through right before the college entrance exam, joining the Key Class then won't mean much. So the sooner you reach perfection, the better."

Jiang Ye nodded.

Even at his current pace, reaching perfection before the college entrance exam would be difficult.

After all, the climb from Great Accomplishment to perfection was even harder.

Still, with the Low Martial Achievement System, he had confidence.

"Hmm?"

Chen Zilu looked at him curiously. "You seem pretty confident?"

Jiang Ye answered honestly, "I'm waiting for you to tell me the shortcut, Teacher."

He believed Chen Zilu had told him all this for a reason, not just to discourage him.

Chen Zilu rolled her eyes at him.

"There are no shortcuts in martial arts training."

"But there are indeed two ways to quickly improve your martial arts strength."

She looked at Jiang Ye and held up two slender fingers. "First, eat supplements or take performance-enhancing drugs. Second, take part in the school's trials."

"Trials?" Jiang Ye asked, puzzled.

He already knew about dietary supplements and performance-enhancing drugs.

Chen Zilu had told him before that she didn't recommend the drugs, so that left dietary supplements.

But this was the first he'd heard of trials.

Chen Zilu explained, "Some of the school's trials offer generous rewards if you pass."

"You can win not only advanced combat techniques but also tens of thousands of yuan."

"At the same time, the trials hone your abilities and can greatly improve your strength."

Jiang Ye's breath caught.

He could win tens of thousands of yuan?

For his family, that would be a timely gift in a moment of need.

His adoptive parents were under a lot of pressure trying to cover household expenses, especially with the cost of his dietary supplements.

Tens of thousands of yuan was no small sum.

It could help him improve and ease the strain on his family.

Chen Zilu added, "However, the Ordinary Class only gets a few spots in the trials each year."

"With your current strength, you wouldn't pass even if I let you participate."

"Wait until you reach Great Accomplishment in the Cultivation Method."

Jiang Ye nodded.

From what his teacher said, students from the Key Class took part in almost all the school's trials.

To compete against them, merely reaching Minor Accomplishment in the Cultivation Method wouldn't be nearly enough.

"Also, if you make the top ten in this semester's final assessment, you can get a scholarship. The higher your rank, the larger it'll be."

"Work hard."

Chen Zilu raised her delicate hand and patted Jiang Ye on the shoulder. "If there's anything you don't understand in your training, remember to ask me. Don't be embarrassed."

"Okay. Thank you, Teacher." Jiang Ye meant it.

He could also tell Chen Zilu treated him differently.

She might not go to so much trouble for the others.

"All right, head back," Chen Zilu said, waving him off.

"Goodbye, Teacher."

After Jiang Ye turned and left, Chen Zilu took a file from her desk drawer.

She looked over Jiang Ye's enrollment information on it.

Resting her pointed chin on her hand, Chen Zilu murmured, "Martial Bone Awakening? That's interesting."

What she hadn't told Jiang Ye was this:

Since Blue Star had connected to the stars, there hadn't been a single case of someone with Primitive Talent awakening a Martial Bone.

Everyone who'd managed to awaken one had possessed at least Dao Bone aptitude.

By the time Jiang Ye returned to the classroom, he'd made peace with it.

Getting into the Twenty-Five School Alliance was even harder than he'd imagined.

The threshold was becoming a Starry Sky Martial Artist!

Just how hard was it to become one?

Take his adoptive father, Jiang Dahai, for example. He practiced martial arts, too.

Yet he still hadn't achieved First Break and become a Starry Sky Martial Artist.

To achieve First Break, one first had to reach perfection in the Cultivation Method and then undergo Starry Sky Refinement several times.

The hard part wasn't just the former, but the latter as well.

Starry Sky Refinement was a long process.

"One step at a time."

Jiang Ye calmly planned things out on his own:

"I'll do my best to reach Great Accomplishment in the Star Martial Cultivation Method before the end of my second year, then take part in the trials as soon as possible."

"I have to make the top ten in the second-year final assessment, too. I'll aim for the top three."

Chen Zilu had said that students from poor families could get a scholarship by making the top ten in their class.

And the higher their rank, the greater the reward.

"If I want to speed up my training, I'll have to rely on that 30% boost to my comprehension."

Jiang Ye had already made up his mind.

Starting today, aside from his regular classes, he'd go to Chen Zilu for help every day, so he could trigger the effect of Friend of the Ancestor.

Since she didn't mind being bothered, he didn't need to hold back.

Even if he had to shamelessly wring Teacher Chen dry, he'd do it!