After fielding his classmates' congratulations, more than half of the ten-minute break had already passed.
Lin Ye walked to the railing by the classroom entrance and gazed into the distance, trying to calm the excitement still stirring in him. But a burst of conversation reached his ears.
"Just now, our homeroom teacher said Chu Tiange from Class One actually made it to the seventh stage. Even now, I still can't believe it. It's terrifying."
A boy beside him lowered his voice, but couldn't hide his amazement. "The seventh stage! He held on for more than two minutes before losing. That's insane."
"Tell me about it. Su Xiao from Class Four is insane too. She made it to the sixth stage, tying the record from the past few years. Those two are probably the face of our Third High School now."
"If the students at our school are already this good, are there any monsters at the other schools?"
"Of course. The other schools have even scarier ones. They say Mad Blade, Zhao Hu, from First High School scored higher in Virtual Combat than Chu Tiange. He almost cleared it."
"Damn, that scary? Isn't the stage guardian NPC at Peak Body Forging Stage, with Rolling Stone Fist at Great Success Grade? And he almost beat it?"
"Yeah. I heard that if the challenge on the second day hadn't restricted him to using Rolling Stone Fist and footwork martial arts, he might've cleared it."
"There's also a girl from Fourth High School called Han Qingyue. I heard she made it to the seventh stage too. And she ranked third in the district in the Ranking Tournament on the third day, ahead of Zhao Hu from First High School."
"Thunderbolt Blade, Lei Meng, from Second High School is even more terrifying. He came first in the entire district this time. His Thunderbolt Blade was so fearsome it left every opponent trembling."
"Yikes..."
Hearing this, the boy beside him sucked in a sharp breath. The martial arts prodigies in the district sounded absurdly powerful.
"Are there any dark horses this year, then? I heard there was a skilled spear user in the Ranking Tournament, someone with an unbelievably fast spear technique who knocked down several opponents alone during the Grand Melee."
"I heard that too. I think he was a top student from Second High School or maybe one of the other schools."
A spear?!
At that, Lin Ye's fingers tightened slightly. Their words brought to mind the cold spear from the third round of the Ranking Tournament—the three moves that had crushed him, followed by the thrust that pierced his heart.
Was it that person?
He wasn't sure. In the virtual space, he couldn't see his opponent's face. He only knew the person's codename and weapon. Their spear technique was frighteningly fast and precise.
"Lin Ye."
A voice sounded beside him. "What are you thinking about?"
Lin Ye came back to himself and saw Zhang Zhen. He answered honestly, "I'm wondering about that spear expert from the third round of the Ranking Tournament."
The night after the Ranking Tournament ended, he and Zhang Zhen had reviewed the opponents they'd faced together, so Zhang Zhen knew about the one Lin Ye had encountered.
"That spear user..." Zhang Zhen said. "I found out a little about him. The person you faced was probably called Luo Han, a top student from First High School. He came second in this Ranking Tournament and took down countless people with his Cold Star Spear. Back in his sophomore year, he even placed in the top eight at the city-level high school martial arts tournament. Your Blood Qi Value is just over 200, and you lasted four moves against him. That's already impressive."
"Luo Han?"
Lin Ye nodded, committing the name to memory.
"So don't dwell on it too much."
Zhang Zhen continued, "The Ranking Tournament's matchmaking has a bit of luck involved. If you'd matched with someone using a sword or a blade in the third round, you might've made it through."
"Luck is part of strength."
Lin Ye replied calmly.
Zhang Zhen was speechless.
At lunchtime, Lin Ye pushed open the door to Zheng Huai's office right on time.
Inside, Zheng Huai was seated behind his desk, reading a document. When he saw Lin Ye, he put it down and pointed to the chair opposite him. "Sit."
Zheng Huai didn't speak right away. Instead, he pulled a sheet of paper from a rack on his desk and slid it over to Lin Ye.
It was a printed list titled "Linjiang District Third High School Senior Class Key Cultivation Program: Final Candidates."
Lin Ye glanced over it and saw Chen Mo's name alongside his own.
"The list was decided this morning," Zheng Huai said. "The school's review panel considered four factors: your major exam results, rate of improvement, potential in actual combat, and family circumstances. Of the five candidates, you've improved the most, have the lowest Blood Qi Value, and come from the most ordinary family. But precisely because of that, the panel unanimously believes your potential is the greatest."
Lin Ye silently studied the list. Chu Tiange, Li Weiwei, and Zhang Zhen weren't on it. Their families were well-off, so they didn't meet the criteria for ordinary family circumstances.
Martial Dao was an activity that consumed tremendous resources.
"The resources should start tomorrow."
Looking at Lin Ye, Zheng Huai continued, "They'll include one F-Grade Nutrient each day, specialized training in the Gravity Chamber twice a week, one Medicinal Bath Body Tempering session, unlimited use of the Virtual Combat Room, and borrowing privileges for one D-Grade Martial Art—" He paused, then added, "You'll also get two free premium meals every day."
"I've already spoken to the cafeteria. You can swipe your student ID for the premium exotic-beast meat set meals, and the cost will come from the school's dedicated funds."
Lin Ye looked up, a hint of shock flashing in his eyes.
The school had really thought of everything.
"Focus on your training. The principal and I worked hard to secure this for you." Zheng Huai looked at him. "Your meals before this were too poor. The basic meal plan couldn't keep up with what your body needed. No matter how well you practiced Stake Training, it'd be hard to improve quickly."
"Thank you, Teacher Zheng!"
Lin Ye was surprised. He hadn't expected Teacher Zheng to be the one who'd secured the meal benefits for him, and he was deeply touched.
"Don't thank me. Like I said, you earned this yourself."
Zheng Huai waved a hand, joking.
"Keep working hard and try to get into a provincial key school. Otherwise, your teacher here is going to catch flak."
"All right, Teacher. I'll do my best."
"Good. Go on."
Zheng Huai picked up the document again. "I'll officially announce the list in martial arts class this afternoon. Don't train tonight. Go home and tell your parents. I'm sure they're waiting to hear the news too."
"Yes!"
That afternoon, during martial arts class,
Zheng Huai first praised Lin Ye and several other students who had made considerable progress, especially Lin Ye. He told the class a few stories about him, such as practicing during lunch and training late at night. Paired with his eye-catching leap from the "lower middle ranks" to a "seed candidate," Lin Ye's story became instantly inspiring. Many of his classmates were fired up and vowed to follow his example and give it their all in the final two months.
Lin Ye felt a certain moral pressure bearing down on him.
He really wanted to say that it wasn't because he'd worked all that hard, but because he had a cheat. Hard work was secondary. But that was obviously something he couldn't say out loud, so he could only silently endure everyone's admiring gazes, enjoying them even as he suffered.
Next, Zheng Huai announced the Key Cultivation Program candidates.
Lin Ye's name stood out on the list.
A low murmur immediately rippled through the Martial Arts Hall.
"I knew Lin Ye from our class would get in..."
"Of course. It'd be downright weird if Old Ye didn't make it. He's improved so much."
"Chen Mo from Class Six is on the list too. He's the study-obsessed one everyone at school talks about."
"His family's ordinary, and he works so hard. Of course he'd get in."
"Chen Yuqing from Class Three made it too. I heard she's a real hard worker."
"Ahem!"
Zheng Huai coughed a few times, and the room fell silent. "Starting tomorrow, these five students will receive the school's focused support. We'll provide them with all the resources they need, but our expectations will be higher too. I hope everyone here will take them as examples and give it your all over the final two months."
He paused, his gaze sweeping across the room. "The Martial Arts College Entrance Exam is a single-plank bridge with thousands of soldiers fighting to cross. How far you make it is up to you."
"Also, starting this month, we'll no longer conduct systematic Blood Qi tests. If you want to check your Blood Qi, use the Vitality Testing Machine on your own. Just keep track of it yourself. I won't put you under any more pressure."
"From here on, it's up to you."
"Now, back to Stake Training!"
Zheng Huai's heartfelt words made many students feel a little sad, but his immediate order to return to Stake Training snapped everyone in the Martial Arts Hall back to reality. A fresh wave of groans rose from the students, sweeping away the faintly sorrowful air of farewell.
Lin Ye stood in his stance with ease, watching his proficiency rise little by little.
[Primordial Stance: Proficient, 400/500]
Before he knew it, his Primordial Stance proficiency had reached 400 points. He was only 100 away from Great Success.
An hour later, the stance training ended.
During the break, Zhou Qian came over to Lin Ye and said softly, "Lin Ye, congratulations on getting selected. When you make it big, don't forget to look out for me."
Lin Ye smiled without replying. His eyes occasionally fell below her neck, and he figured she probably didn't need him to look out for her.
Just then, Zhao Qiang walked over from nearby. He looked at Lin Ye with a complicated expression, but in the end, he simply said, "Congratulations."
Lin Ye was a little surprised, but still nodded and replied calmly.
A moment later, break time ended. During the fist technique lesson, he continued practicing Rolling Stone Fist, preparing to push it toward Consummation.
And so, the afternoon passed peacefully.
Before you continue