Brother Mengzi!

Establishing the Elite Class was a decision he had made after careful deliberation.

The primary reason was that Muyang Third Middle School had been stagnant for far too long.

To put it politely, it was stagnation; to put it bluntly, it was a lack of strength.

Muyang Third Middle School had failed to win a single championship in the Muyang City High School League for five consecutive years.

Whether it was the first, second, or third year, the championships had all been snatched away by other schools.

Even Muyang Fourth Middle School next door had managed to win at least one city-level league title. In contrast, Third Middle School had truly lost all face.

If the status quo continued, he had no doubt that the higher-ups would slash their school's resources.

Therefore, implementing reform was an urgent and necessary task.

Additionally, there was another crucial reason: this year's cohort at Muyang Third Middle School actually had several promising talents. Their emergence had been a contributing factor in his decision.

As far as he knew, Jiang Ruohan from Class One had the highest Star Energy Aptitude among all students in this year's cohort in Muyang City.

In fact, if it weren't for Chen Qing appearing at Muyang First Middle School last year, there would be no one in the entire high school grade in Muyang City with a higher Star Energy Aptitude than her.

This was the most promising year for Muyang Third Middle School to win a championship, so naturally, he had to provide them with the best training.

Ten minutes later, a voice echoed throughout the venue via the loudspeakers.

"The competition is about to enter the warm-up phase. Please, all non-participants, leave the inner field and take your seats in the spectator stands!"

As the words fell, the dense crowd began to disperse, leaving behind only the students participating in the competition and some logistical support staff.

Then, the same voice rang out again.

"I will now announce the rules for this competition!"

"The competition is divided into two rounds! The first round is a group melee, and the second round is a knockout tournament!"

"There are sixteen battle platforms on the field, representing sixteen groups! You will be randomly assigned to different groups for the melee!"

"Being knocked off the battle platform is considered elimination!"

"The last two people standing on the platform will advance to the Top 32, and at the same time, they will secure their ticket into the Elite Class!"

"Afterward, the Top 32 will compete in knockout matches to determine their final rankings!"

"Attention! Different rankings will receive different resource allocations, so do not think that just because you have made it into the Top 32 and secured a spot in the Elite Class, you can rest easy!"

"How much resource reward you can get ultimately depends on you!"

"That is the basic information. Random grouping will take place in one minute!"

As the words fell, the arena erupted into noise once again, and the eyes of countless students lit up.

They had originally thought they were just here to make up the numbers, but it seemed there was actually a chance to enter the Elite Class?

If it were a pure test of strength through one-on-one duels, many of the lower-ranked students wouldn't stand much of a chance.

However, luck is often just as important as strength.

This first round of group battle royales was essentially a chance for them to stage an upset.

They could easily team up to eliminate the stronger opponents first, then settle the score among themselves later.

This way, even those with average strength could make it into the Elite Class.

Although this method would only work for this specific Ranking Battle and wouldn't be applicable once Elite Class rankings were determined by challenges in the future, it was enough!

To be able to enjoy a month's worth of Elite Class cultivation resources was already a massive win!

Besides, being one step ahead means staying ahead; some people were just stuck at a bottleneck, and with the resources of the Elite Class, they might just be able to secure their position for the long term.

In an instant, students began forming cliques, making pacts to join forces if they were assigned to the same group.

Soon, a minute passed, and the Star Rings on every student's wrist emitted a long "beep" simultaneously.

Qin Chen looked at the Star Ring on his wrist, and a tiny screen projected from it, displaying a single number in the center.

"Group Nine, huh?"

Qin Chen muttered to himself, retracted the screen, and walked toward the ninth combat platform.

Before long, Qin Chen arrived at the ninth platform, and a familiar figure appeared on the opposite side.

Upon seeing Qin Chen, the person froze for a moment, but immediately grew excited and ran toward him, shouting:

"Big Brother!! You're in Group Nine too?"

Qin Chen glanced at him indifferently and said calmly:

"I don't recall ever becoming your big brother."

The person who had arrived was none other than Li Meng. At this moment, his eyes were filled with fawning, mixed with deep awe as he looked at Qin Chen.

The person standing before him was a genuine golden ticket!

Just a few days ago, even Chen Qing, the most talented person in Muyang City in the last decade, had admitted that at Qin Chen's age, he was far inferior to him.

Doesn't this explain everything?

Don't let his appearance fool you; he might look like nothing but muscles, but he is actually quite meticulous!

When it comes to latching onto a powerful figure, he is an expert!

"I told you, I am not your big brother!"

Qin Chen frowned slightly. He didn't want to get too close to this guy who constantly talked about being a Mighty Man.

How embarrassing!

Sensing Qin Chen's less-than-welcoming attitude, Li Meng didn't say anything.

Instead, he used his Star Ring to call up a virtual panel and tapped on it a few times.

The next second, a notification sound came from Qin Chen's Star Ring.

[Account received a transfer—100,000 Star Coins!]

"Huh?!"

A look of confusion appeared on Qin Chen's face for a second.

The next second—

"Hahaha!"

"Isn't this my good brother Mengzi! Yo, you're in the Ninth Group too?"

Qin Chen patted Li Meng on the shoulder and laughed, his smile looking incredibly genuine.

It was clearly a smile from the heart.

"Big brother! It's me!!"

Li Meng immediately replied, a smile appearing on his face as well.

It worked!!

Just as he had guessed.

Qin Chen was a poor... a person who focused on spiritual pursuits!

Therefore, a little material gesture at this moment was the easiest way to move someone's heart.

He didn't expect to earn much gratitude from Qin Chen with these 100,000 Star Coins; he just needed to build some rapport with him.

"Mengzi! Since the two of us are in the same group, I think we are the perfect candidates for advancement!"

"What do you think?"

"I think the same, Big Brother. With your strength, even if everyone in this group teamed up, they wouldn't be a match for you!"

Li Meng immediately beamed with a flattering smile.

And he truly believed it.

A few days ago at the Myriad Blades Arena, Qin Chen already possessed strength that was nearly invincible at the Body Tempering Sixth Layer.

Even with Qin Chen's strength back then, he could have beaten the living daylights out of the twenty or so people on this stage.

Qin Chen was just a bit too overpowered.

Furthermore, he didn't believe for a second that Qin Chen hadn't grown stronger over the past few days, given his exaggerated rate of progress.

Even man's best friend wouldn't believe that!

Just then, the others on the stage began to gather into their own groups...