The time for the match drew closer and closer.
Li Yuan remained steady, not letting his restless emotions affect his teaching.
Every day in class, he could pick up quite a few Light Points and gain plenty of Experience Points.
At night, after returning to the suburbs, Li Yuan continued practicing Cloud Extreme Fist.
He intended to make this highly difficult martial skill his trump card.
Over the past few days, Chen Yong had not mentioned Jin Fan or the weekend match to Li Yuan.
He worried that bringing it up too often would only increase Li Yuan's anxiety.
Having decided to accept the challenge, he should just go all out and fight for it.
If he kept taking in negative news, even the little hope he had might vanish as his confidence wore away.
Recently, Chen Yong and Li Yuan had mostly discussed the situation at the Border Front.
The current Border Front required troops to be stationed there at all times.
The threat Fierce Beasts posed to humanity was far greater than people imagined.
Martial artists enjoyed considerable social standing because they protected everyone's safety.
If martial artists were merely brawlers, weapons used by different factions to fight over profits, they would not command so much respect.
"Two months ago, something went wrong on the Eastern Front.
They said an unseen type of Fierce Beast had appeared. It was not large, but it was extremely dangerous.
It once tore a huge breach in the Eastern Defense Line..."
As Chen Yong spoke, he could not help but sigh.
"I just hope this kind of trouble ends soon. I only want to live a quiet, peaceful life. Don't let it turn into a Level One Alert..."
The alert system was established by the Xia Kingdom to deal with all kinds of crises.
If a Level One Alert was declared, classes in Lingshan City would be suspended.
The Martial Dao teachers of Lingshan No.1 High School would also be drafted into the defense forces temporarily.
Chen Yong hoped for peace and wanted to live every day safely.
Li Yuan listened beside him and casually agreed.
Li Yuan was not as anxious as Chen Yong about such matters.
A Level One Alert had not been triggered in over fifty years, so things were generally stable.
After work on Friday, Chen Yong glanced at Li Yuan again before leaving.
After hesitating, he ultimately chose to keep quiet.
Tomorrow was the match. He had already said everything there was to say.
In truth, Chen Yong felt that Li Yuan had been in good condition this week.
But the opponent he had to face was a Grandmaster's disciple, a young genius watched by countless people.
"Running into a wall this time may actually be good for his future. I just hope the outcome won't be too bad..."
Chen Yong muttered to himself and hurried toward the school gates.
In his eyes, Li Yuan was destined to lose this time.
But if failure allowed Li Yuan to rein in his ambitions and return to keeping a low profile, that might be a good thing as well.
Meanwhile, Li Yuan packed up and prepared to head home.
He had long since made all the necessary preparations for this match.
Tomorrow, he could face the challenge calmly and fight for the Youth Martial Tournament qualification that was rightfully his.
While packing, Li Yuan discovered a bottle of energy drink in his backpack.
The stuff was not cheap. Many martial artists drank a bottle before carrying out dangerous missions.
This energy drink could boost a person's stamina and focus for a short time.
There was no need to think about it. Chen Yong must have put it there for him.
Li Yuan looked at the drink, then into the distance, feeling even more motivated.
Only by striving upward could he someday repay the kindness his friend had shown him.
That night, Li Yuan followed his usual routine.
He practiced and cultivated, then rested.
As for the energy drink, Li Yuan did not drink it right away, but he took it with him.
The night passed, and Saturday arrived.
Like on a workday, Li Yuan arrived at Lingshan No.1 High School early.
Martial Dao cultivation consumed a great deal of energy, so modern high schools did not hold weekend remedial classes.
If the body could not keep up, extra classes would instead weaken one's strength in the Martial Dao.
The school should have been quiet, yet by just after eight, quite a few people had arrived.
Some teachers at First High School usually arrived right on time for work.
But today, having come to watch the excitement, they had arrived much earlier.
Besides the teachers who had come to watch, many students had also shown up.
The match had been scheduled for the weekend precisely to avoid the students.
Unexpectedly, many students who were usually lazy had come to watch today's match.
Of course, more of the students with good grades had come.
Jin Fan's identity as a Grandmaster's disciple was widely known among the students.
The high-achieving students wanted to use this opportunity to see how a Grandmaster's disciple performed.
They hoped to learn something from it.
Although Jin Fan had been a teacher at Lingshan No.1 High School for nearly a year, the students had never seen him truly make a move.
Besides, Jin Fan had things to do from time to time.
Not only did he teach just one class, he often had other teachers cover for him.
The students truly had very few opportunities to study under Jin Fan.
This match for the Youth Martial Tournament qualification was set to take place on the school's main athletic field.
A row of seats had been arranged on the viewing stand directly in front of the field.
As expected, Principal Yin and the others would soon sit there to observe the match.
At nine o'clock, people filled the outer edge of the athletic field.
Those unable to find a suitable spot could only climb onto elevated platforms.
The spectators saw Li Yuan.
But Jin Fan, his opponent, had not appeared.
The agreed time had originally been nine o'clock.
As the crowd whispered among themselves, a young man casually squeezed through them and walked to the middle of the field.
He looked quite young, at most in his early twenties.
"Principal Yin, I'm Gu Yu, Senior Brother Jin Fan's junior brother.
Something came up with our mentor, and Senior Brother Jin Fan couldn't get away, so he sent me here. Consider it a formality."
Upon hearing this, Principal Yin unconsciously frowned.
But a moment later, he seemed to recall something.
The name Gu Yu sounded somewhat familiar...
Principal Yin suddenly took over the conversation and asked, "The top scorer of Jiangbei Province two years ago seemed to be named Gu Yu..."
Hearing that, Gu Yu put on a modest expression and nodded.
"That year, I got lucky and earned the title of top scorer.
As a student, I still have much to learn from my mentor."
Before he had finished speaking, the gloom on Principal Yin's face vanished. Smiling, he replied:
"The top scorer of Jiangbei Province two years ago was called the best top scorer in fifty years.
I thought Teacher Jin Fan did not care that much about the Youth Martial Tournament qualification.
Sending you here shows that he does take it seriously."
When Principal Yin mentioned the "best top scorer in fifty years," the noisy discussions around them grew even louder.
Everyone still remembered how widely it had been discussed three years ago.
When that title was bestowed upon him, many people had doubted Gu Yu.
Being top scorer was already impressive enough, yet he had been given the title of the best top scorer in fifty years...
Amid all the doubts, Gu Yu had not retreated. Instead, he had faced them head-on.
He proved himself.
All those people who had wanted to embarrass Gu Yu ultimately failed.
That year, television stations and the internet had promoted Gu Yu relentlessly.
Everyone watched as Gu Yu proved his excellence again and again.
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