The Most Outstanding Zhuangyuan in Fifty Years

The day of this match was drawing closer.

Li Yuan remained steady, his restless mood not affecting his classes.

Each day's lectures allowed him to pick up quite a few Light Points and gain a good amount of experience.

Returning to the outskirts in the evening, Li Yuan continued to cultivate the Cloud Extreme Fist.

He was turning this extremely difficult martial technique into his hidden trump card.

Over these past few days, Chen Yong hadn't brought up Jin Fan or the weekend match to Li Yuan.

He worried that mentioning it too much in front of Li Yuan would only increase his anxiety.

Since Li Yuan had decided to accept the challenge, he should go all out and fight for it.

Constantly receiving negative news would chip away at even a sliver of hope, all because confidence had been eroded.

What Chen Yong and Li Yuan had been discussing lately was the situation on the border front.

The current border front required troops stationed there at all times.

The threat of brutal beasts to humanity was far greater than imagined.

Martial artists enjoyed a high social status, but the essence of it was that they protected everyone's safety.

If martial artists were merely fond of fighting and acting as weapons for various factions to vie for profit, they wouldn't earn so much respect.

"Two months ago, some trouble broke out on the Eastern Front.

They said there was a type of beast never seen before, small in size but extremely dangerous.

At one point, it tore a huge gap in the Eastern defense line..."

As Chen Yong spoke, he couldn't help but sigh.

"I hope this kind of trouble ends soon. I just want to live a stable little life, and I really don't want a Level One Alert..."

The so-called alert mechanism was set up by the Xia Kingdom for various crises.

If a Level One Alert was declared, Lingshan City would suspend classes.

The martial arts teachers from Lingshan No.1 High School would also be mobilized and temporarily assigned to the defensive forces.

Chen Yong hoped for stability, to get through each day peacefully.

Li Yuan listened on the side, casually chiming in.

On these matters, Li Yuan wasn't as anxious as Chen Yong.

Level One Alerts hadn't been triggered in over fifty years; things were generally still stable.

After work on Friday, before leaving, Chen Yong glanced at Li Yuan again.

Hesitating, he ultimately chose to keep his mouth shut.

Tomorrow was the day of the match. As for words of advice, he had already said everything he needed to.

Actually, Chen Yong felt that Li Yuan's state had been pretty good this week.

But the opponent he was about to face was the disciple of a Grandmaster, a young genius under the spotlight.

"This setback might actually be a good thing for the future. I hope the result won't be too bad..."

Chen Yong muttered to himself, then quickly walked out of the school.

In his view, Li Yuan was destined to lose this time.

But after the loss, if Li Yuan could rein in his pride and return to a low profile, that might be a good thing.

At the same time, Li Yuan packed his things, ready to head back.

The preparations for this match had already been fully arranged by him.

Tomorrow, he could face the battle with complete composure and fight for the Youth Martial Tournament qualification that was rightfully his.

As he packed, Li Yuan noticed that a bottle of energy drink had somehow ended up in his backpack.

This stuff wasn't cheap. Many martial artists would drink a bottle before carrying out dangerous missions.

This kind of energy drink could temporarily boost a person's stamina and focus.

No need to guess—it must have been from Chen Yong.

Li Yuan looked at the bottle, then into the distance, and felt even more motivated.

Only by striving upward could he one day have the ability to repay his friend's kindness.

That night, Li Yuan was just as usual.

He cultivated, trained, and then rested.

As for that bottle of energy drink, Li Yuan didn't drink it right away, but he brought it along.

The night passed, and Saturday arrived.

Li Yuan came to Lingshan No.1 High School early, just like on a workday.

Martial arts cultivation consumed a lot of energy, and middle schools nowadays didn't have weekend makeup classes.

If his physical body can't keep up, extra training will only drag his martial arts down instead.

The school, which should have been quiet, already had quite a few people showing up just past eight o'clock.

Some teachers at No.1 High School usually clock in right on time for work.

But today, they came much earlier just to watch the excitement.

Besides the teachers here for the spectacle, quite a few students had also come.

The match had been scheduled for the weekend specifically to avoid the students.

Unexpectedly, many students who were usually lazy had come to watch today's bout.

Of course, among those who came, the higher-achieving students still made up the majority.

Jin Fan's identity as a Grandmaster's disciple had spread pretty widely among the student body.

The top students wanted to use this chance to see how a Grandmaster's disciple performed.

And try to learn something from it.

Although Jin Fan was a teacher at Lingshan No.1 High School and had been teaching there for almost a year, the students had never actually seen him fight.

On top of that, Jin Fan was often busy with other matters.

He only taught one class, and even then, he frequently asked other teachers to cover for him.

The opportunities for students to learn from Jin Fan were truly few and far between.

This match for the Youth Martial Tournament qualification was set on the school's main sports field.

In front of the field, a row of seats had been arranged on the rostrum.

Barring any surprises, Principal Yin and the others would be sitting there later to observe the match.

At nine o'clock, the perimeter of the field was packed with people.

Those who couldn't find a good spot had to look for elevated platforms.

The onlookers who had come saw Li Yuan.

But his opponent, Jin Fan, was nowhere to be seen.

The originally scheduled time was nine o'clock.

As the crowd buzzed with chatter, a young man casually pushed through the crowd and walked to the center of the field.

He looked quite young, at most in his early twenties.

"Principal Yin, I'm Junior Brother Gu Yu, from the same master as Senior Brother Jin Fan.

Something came up with our mentor, so Senior Brother Jin Fan couldn't make it. He sent me instead, just to go through the motions."

Hearing this, Principal Yin's brow furrowed involuntarily.

But a moment later, it seemed he recalled something.

The name Gu Yu sounded familiar...

Principal Yin suddenly picked up the thread and asked, "The top scholar of Jiangbei Province from two years ago was named Gu Yu, wasn't he..."

Upon hearing this, Gu Yu put on a modest air and nodded.

"I got lucky that year and took the top scholar title.

As a student, I still have a lot to learn from my mentor."

Before he finished speaking, the gloom on Principal Yin's face cleared, and he replied with a smile:

"The top scholar of Jiangbei Province from two years ago was called the best top scholar in fifty years.

I thought Teacher Jin Fan didn't care much about the Youth Martial Tournament qualification.

Sending you shows he does take it seriously."

When Principal Yin mentioned "the best top scholar in fifty years," the surrounding chatter grew louder.

Everyone still remembered how widely this had been discussed three years ago.

When that title was thrown out, many people doubted Gu Yu.

Being a top scholar was already impressive enough, but to be crowned the best in fifty years...

Amid the skepticism, Gu Yu didn't back down; instead, he stepped up to face the criticism.

He proved himself.

Everyone who tried to embarrass Gu Yu ultimately failed.

That year, television and the internet were full of praise for Gu Yu.

People watched as Gu Yu proved his excellence again and again.