Green Seedling Program

Han Zhen brought Chen Mochuan back to the office. With the most important matter settled, he finally had the mood to think about other things.

"Did Li Biao awaken a Spirit Talent recently, just like you?"

Unlike the understated and reserved Chen Mochuan, Li Biao's recent changes had been more noticeable.

Perhaps others hadn't noticed anything, but Han Zhen knew Li Biao well. About half a month ago, the student had practically had "I'm taking off!" written all over his face.

Han Zhen had also happened to notice Li Biao's sudden spike in appetite lately. Putting that together with Chen Mochuan's condition, he had already formed a suspicion.

Chen Mochuan was slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Han Zhen to be so observant.

He didn't want to lie to Han Zhen, but without Li Biao's permission, he wouldn't reveal to anyone else that Li Biao had awakened a Spirit Talent. So all he could say was, "Teacher, you'd better ask him directly about that."

At his words, Han Zhen understood.

Given the relationship between Chen and Li, they would naturally share information. Since Chen Mochuan hadn't denied it, Li Biao had most likely awakened a Spirit Talent.

As far as he knew, another student in this year's graduating class at First High School had awakened a Spirit Talent this week, bringing their total to six.

Compared to No. 8 High School, where only two students had awakened one so far, First High School had completely overwhelmed them.

Although awakening a Spirit Talent didn't guarantee someone would go further in martial arts cultivation—there were plenty of peerless experts who had never awakened one—it couldn't be denied that Spirit Talent users cultivated faster in the early stages than the vast majority of those who hadn't awakened one.

Besides a school's overall admission rate, the number of students admitted to top universities was what high schools cared about most. High school was precisely when those who had awakened a Spirit Talent could make their greatest strides and pull away from everyone else.

Though No. 8 High School being outmatched by First High School in the Martial Arts Department was nothing unusual, the gap between the two schools was simply too great this year.

In the last citywide examination, First High School had not only scored considerably higher than No. 8 High School on average in the Martial Arts Department, but had also comfortably outnumbered them among the top scorers.

Now, First High School's overwhelming lead in the number of students with awakened Spirit Talents had made No. 8 High School's administrators feel even more pressed for time. The principal had even called several meetings specifically to discuss countermeasures.

But Spirit Talent awakenings were an objective and deeply personal matter. No matter how anxious the administrators and teachers became, they couldn't influence them, and there was no good way to respond.

All they could do was increase the scholarships and study grants for Martial Arts Department students starting that month, in the hope of narrowing the overall gap with First High School.

Han Zhen had also been unable to rest well lately because of this. It was one of the reasons he had taken the initiative to speak with Chen Mochuan today.

Fortunately, the outcome hadn't disappointed him. With Chen and Li included, the number of students with awakened Spirit Talents in No. 8 High School's graduating class in the Martial Arts Department had reached four.

At last, the heavy stone on his heart had lifted.

That afternoon, in the principal's office at Eighth High School.

Principal Wang Binren received an application report submitted by the Academic Affairs Office after its preliminary review. It required his final approval.

When he saw the words "Spirit Talent Awakening" in the title on the cover, his heart leaped with joy, and he hurriedly opened the file to read it.

"Huh... it's him?"

Wang Binren had a deep impression of a student named Chen Mochuan.

In his first year, Chen Mochuan had gone from the bottom of the honors class to the top three in his grade in just two semesters. Wang Binren had once placed great hopes in him, considering him a potential Martial Arts Top Scholar who might make it into The Big Six.

But in his second year, Chen Mochuan had developed health problems. His Blood-Qi Value had begun to grow extremely slowly, and he had gradually faded into the crowd, falling off Wang Binren's list of students to watch closely.

Who would've thought that he'd awakened a Spirit Talent now?

"Could his unusually rapid Blood-Qi growth back then have been caused by a metamorphic phase before his Spirit Talent awakened? But how could a metamorphic phase last that long?"

Wang Binren temporarily set aside his doubts and continued reading.

Besides the Spirit Talent test results, the application report also contained some of Chen Mochuan's personal information and physical data, as well as a very objective assessment from Han Zhen.

"His Blood-Qi Value went from 2.92 to 3.66 in just over half a month..."

Wang Binren was surprised once again. He knew that after a Spirit Talent awakening, the body had just undergone a metamorphosis, so the Blood-Qi Value would go through a rapid growth spurt before its rate of increase returned to a relatively normal level.

That was why the initial stage after awakening couldn't be considered representative of a person's usual Blood-Qi growth. Still, Chen Mochuan's increase was astonishing. At the very least, Jiang Hao and Su Zhining hadn't seen growth like this when they first awakened their Spirit Talents.

"His grasp of martial arts techniques has improved at a tremendous pace too... Could he have awakened a Mysterious-Grade Spirit Talent?"

Although awakening a Spirit Talent was extremely difficult—making it a rare occurrence, with only one in a hundred or even a thousand managing it—the abilities displayed by different Spirit Talents varied in strength. They were divided into four grades: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow.

Jiang Hao and Su Zhining hadn't reported the specific abilities of their Spirit Talents to the school, but based on his long-term observations, Wang Binren could roughly judge that theirs were probably only Yellow-Grade.

Chen Mochuan's demonstrated talent was clearly superior to theirs. Reaching Mysterious-Grade shouldn't be a problem.

"On top of the school's study grants, I'll apply for a Green Seedling Program scholarship for him too."

Even as the principal of a high school in a county-level city, Wang Binren had access to resources and information that ordinary teachers couldn't.

The Green Seedling Program was a special cultivation program launched by Hua Nation to encourage and discover young martial arts talent. It was designed specifically for high school students.

Wang Binren had previously applied for Green Seedling Program scholarships for the top ten students at No. 8 High School, but only Jiang Hao, Su Zhining, and two other students had passed the lowest-level Grade D review.

While in high school, these four students received a substantial scholarship each month.

And Grade D was only the lowest level. Rumor had it that those in the top tier, Grade A, could receive not only money but also martial arts resources that were difficult to obtain on the open market.

Wang Binren logged onto the Green Seedling Program application website, uploaded Chen Mochuan's Spirit Talent test report, and carefully described his progress over the past half month. He also included his own assessment that Chen's Spirit Talent might be Mysterious-Grade.

When it came time to submit the application, Wang Binren looked at the four grade options: A, B, C, and D.

"Grade D is a sure thing for him, but his Blood-Qi Value is just too low. Grade C will probably be a tough sell..."

After hesitating briefly, Wang Binren still decided to apply for the third tier, Grade C.

Although a Grade C application might be a little troublesome, the review team would simply call him to ask about Chen Mochuan's circumstances, after which they would hold another round of evaluation.

That wouldn't take too much effort. He had to give it a try—who knew, perhaps Chen really would qualify.

After submitting the application, Wang Binren was in a very good mood. He suddenly remembered that he still had a Dream Iris seed in his desk drawer.

When this flower bloomed, it was dazzling, but it was extremely demanding about its growing conditions, including soil, sunlight, and humidity. It was difficult to cultivate.

Wang Binren was an expert flower grower, but his repeated attempts to cultivate this flower over the past two years had all ended in failure. This was the only seed he had left.

A feeling stirred in his heart. He cleared a flowerpot and planted the last Dream Iris seed in the potting soil.

"Hopefully, it'll bloom this time," he murmured, his gaze filled with anticipation, as though he were hoping both the seed and Chen Mochuan would grow strong and thrive.