So Talented, Yet He Couldn't Even Get into the Town Martial Class-How Dare You!

The Oath-Taking Ceremony soon ended. Everyone could tell that Bai Yuyue, the head of the Town Martial Division in Yunmeng City, was eager to wrap things up.

Before long, Bai Yuyue hurried away with Luo Puxin and the others.

Zhang Qingsi and the other students who had used connections to get into the Town Martial Class finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Zhang Ge's son, what are you worried about?"

Chu Feiyuan came up beside Zhang Qingsi, smiling.

"You have to trust my Chu Family's influence. For a simple Town Martial Class, we decide who gets in."

"Right!" Zhang Qingsi hurriedly nodded.

He'd nearly thought he was finished earlier, that Chen Yan would enter the Town Martial Class sneering at him.

Now, though, he let out a faint laugh.

What could a poor kid like Chen Yan do to struggle against him?

He'd awakened his Qi and Blood, and his family had money. In just a few days, Chen Yan would be left staring up at the soles of his feet.

Watching the students follow Chu Xuansheng away, Zhang Qingsi's eyes flickered. He bowed to Chu Feiyuan, then immediately chased after them.

"A lot of the Origin inside this Origin Stele is missing."

As they walked, Bai Yuyue and Luo Puxin strode side by side. Behind them, Yin Yanjun, Chu Lan, and the Second High principal followed at a distance, keeping away.

"Director Luo and Minister Bai used to..." Chu Lan watched in alarm. He needed to reassess this parachuted-in Luo Puxin.

"Seems like they know each other," Yin Yanjun said with a smile, his words vague.

Chu Lan narrowed his eyes. No wonder the other man had been able to bring Bai Yuyue here.

Up ahead.

"The Origin's missing?" Luo Puxin exclaimed.

"Mm. It happened today. The problem is, an Origin Stele doesn't just lose its Origin for no reason. It only releases Origin to reward someone." Bai Yuyue looked seriously at Luo Puxin.

"A reward of this much Origin can only mean the Origin Stele detected someone who'd reached the beginner level in the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon. If it was a student, we need to find out who!"

Luo Puxin froze, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

"The Origin Stele doesn't hand out rewards just because someone reaches the beginner level. It can detect how long a cultivator takes from first encountering the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon to reaching the beginner level.

"The only reason it would give a reward is that they broke the record for the shortest time!" Bai Yuyue spoke, his eyes gleaming. "The Origin Stele in Luoshan County was brought over from First High School in Yunmeng City!"

As if an electric current had shot through the depths of his mind, Luo Puxin stopped in his tracks.

That meant a genius who'd reached the beginner level in the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon in the shortest time in the city's history might have touched this Origin Stele today!

At that thought, Luo Puxin quickened his pace, striding rapidly toward Second High. He seemed to be walking, but he moved so fast that he left no visible trace.

"You..." Bai Yuyue shook his head, but he picked up his pace even more.

At Second High, in the monitoring room,

Bai Yuyue, Luo Puxin, Yin Yanjun, and Chu Lan stared at an extremely old computer.

The Second High principal?

He hadn't dared come in.

"Whatever we find out in a moment, you must keep today's events confidential." Bai Yuyue looked at the people beside him.

Luo Puxin and the others nodded. Chu Lan's eyes shifted, but he nodded too. Offending Bai Yuyue would be incredibly foolish.

Soon, static flickered across the computer screen, and the video froze on the Body Tempering Room. A boy in a white T-shirt stood at the doorway, talking to Wu Chuhua inside.

"Hm?" Luo Puxin's eyes flashed. He hadn't expected to see Chen Yan here. He'd even sent people to look for him today, but they hadn't found him.

"You know him?" Bai Yuyue asked.

"I do. Chen Yan's from my hometown!" Luo Puxin smiled.

"He's Chen Yan?" Yin Yanjun raised an eyebrow. He and Luo Puxin had even made a bet over Chen Yan.

"That's him. And, wouldn't you know it, he earned the Town Martial Bonus through his own ability."

Luo Puxin looked pleased, but soon gave a cold laugh.

"But another student in his class took his place."

Chu Lan narrowed his eyes. A bad feeling rose in his heart, but he still smiled.

"The one who replaced him was Zhang Qingsi. Like Cun Gao and Zhang Mancang, Zhang Qingsi awakened his Qi and Blood, while Chen Yan didn't.

"Zhang Qingsi would beat him for much the same reason. Chen Yan's talent is mediocre, which is why I..."

As Chu Lan spoke, Bai Yuyue raised a hand. Chu Lan fell silent.

Fortunately, Zhang Mancang had tipped him off, so he'd looked into all the students properly. Otherwise, he wouldn't have remembered some country bumpkin named Chen Yan.

Someone like that didn't deserve to enter his line of sight.

But soon, Chu Lan's expression shifted.

"They're fighting!" Luo Puxin exclaimed in surprise. "Wu Chuhua's one of the top five students at Second High."

The others grew interested too. On the screen, the slender young man was fighting Wu Chuhua. Gradually, everyone's expression changed.

They saw Chen Yan tossing Wu Chuhua around like a sandbag.

Click.

Bai Yuyue narrowed his eyes and rewound the video. Then he rewound it again, and again.

"Old Bai... Minister Bai, what are you doing? We're watching the fight. I had no idea Chen Yan could—"

"Quiet!" Bai Yuyue barked, pointing at Chen Yan just as he was about to make a move. "Did none of you notice? Chen Yan activated the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon the instant the fight began."

"Hm?" Everyone's expression grew solemn as they turned their attention back to the image on the monitor.

The footage had no sound, and the picture was blurry. But in the frame Bai Yuyue had frozen, Chen Yan seemed to be breathing out a mouthful of White Mist.

"He did activate it. Using the Breathing Technique like that, he'd never last long without reaching the beginner level..." Chu Lan said calmly, then suddenly fell silent.

His eyes flew wide open, and a ringing burst through his mind.

"When did he start learning the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon?" Bai Yuyue asked first, his gaze fixed intently on Chen Yan.

"After Monday. This Monday—today's Friday!" Luo Puxin blurted out, his breathing quickening.

"Don't make things up!" Bai Yuyue scolded him.

"It's true. Qingshan High School only chose the Town Martial Bonus winner on Monday. Chen Yan studied the Origin Crystal after he won!" Yin Yanjun said evenly, though his eyes too were shining.

Bai Yuyue opened his mouth, then turned his head and glanced at Chu Lan.

"Good!"

"Very good!"

Chu Lan's face turned deathly pale. Chen Yan's ability to breathe out White Mist meant his understanding of the Crimson Gang Body Tempering Canon was on the verge of reaching the beginner level. How many days had he even been learning it?

And he'd denied a genius like that a place in the Town Martial Class.

Bai Yuyue continued clicking through the footage. The image changed.

"But he hasn't reached the beginner level yet. He wasn't the one who triggered the Origin Stele's response." Chu Lan forced a smile. "This time, I..."

"Strength Stripe!" Luo Puxin's mouth fell open. "He actually condensed a Strength Stripe! I could tell he had incredible strength the last time I saw him, but he's already formed a Strength Stripe this quickly!"

The air in the monitoring room seemed to go still.

No one said a word. Luo Puxin and Yin Yanjun waited for Bai Yuyue to continue playing the video, while Chu Lan's face grew paler by the second.

Then came the moment Chen Yan swallowed his first [Skill] Character Saint Breaking Fruit that day.

Bai Yuyue narrowed his eyes. Everyone else stared fixedly at the computer screen.

Chen Yan exhaled a mouthful of White Mist tinged with red.

"It's him! He broke through and reached the beginner level in the Breathing Technique during the fight!"

Luo Puxin spoke in disbelief.

"It was him!" Bai Yuyue agreed.

Click!

The image on the computer froze. Silence filled the monitoring room.

Chu Lan had gone completely ashen. His legs even wobbled. Then he saw Bai Yuyue turn to look at him, his eyes fierce.

"It was him!"

"Old Luo, go find him!"

"Bring him here at once!"

"Yin Yanjun, you go too. Chu Lan, you stay right here!"

"So talented, yet he couldn't even get into the Town Martial Class—not even the county's Town Martial Class! Is your Luoshan County Town Martial Class on par with Town Martial Refinement?"

"How dare you!"