The Slots

"You mean he completed Marrow Cleansing the very first time he practiced the Essence Tempering Technique!?" Qi Da looked up in astonishment;

Huang Bo beamed. "That's right! I'm sure of it!

Principal, a martial arts prodigy has come out of our First High School this time!

By convention, shouldn't we..."

Besides reporting the good news, he also had another purpose: to get some benefits for Chu Yuan.

A smile appeared on Qi Da's face, and he was about to speak when he suddenly seemed to remember something. He clicked his tongue;

Huang Bo's heart sank. "Principal, is there... some kind of problem?"

Qi Da looked troubled. "There is, actually... I was just about to tell you. The Li Family of Yunan Prefecture is sending a transfer student here."

"The Li Family!? They're transferring to our school!?" Huang Bo couldn't understand. Of Great Qin's thirty-six prefectures, Chenyang City was merely an insignificant little place under Yunan Prefecture;

And the Li Family could be considered a giant in Yunan Prefecture, with formidable martial arts strength within its ranks!

Their patriarch was even a seventh-rank Warrior... How could they possibly set their sights on little Chenyang No. 1 High School?

Qi Da let out a long sigh and explained, "There's a training program from above. They're planning to gather the nation's talented youngsters and train them together;

Aside from the major cities and the prefectural capitals, every other city gets three seed slots..."

Huang Bo understood at once and grew indignant. "They're here to snatch one of those slots? That's not fair!

He can't compete with anyone in the prefectural capital, so he comes to a small place like ours to take a slot?

Principal, why would you agree to this!?"

"I... How was I supposed to know that this year's students would include a prodigy who could complete Marrow Cleansing right away!?" Qi Da said with a wry smile. "Even without our First High School, there's still Second High School and Third High School. What difference does it make where that Li boy goes?

At first, I thought that if I agreed, the school could at least get some benefits out of it. The Li Family really is generous...

Besides, it would bring First High School a little more prestige. His grades would count toward our school's record, which would make it easier to apply for next year's budget..."

If only he'd known, he wouldn't have agreed. No matter how strong that Li boy was, he wasn't one of their own;

But since he'd already agreed, it wouldn't be right to go back on his word. Wouldn't that be a slap in the Li Family's face...

It wasn't that First High School couldn't accommodate two talented students, but the highest-level support slot the school could apply for was limited to one.

Who should get those resources?

If Chu Yuan got them, would the Li boy let it go? The resources that came with the support slot might not mean much to him, but it was a matter of face.

If the Li boy got them, it wouldn't be fair to Chu Yuan either...

"Whatever happens, he can't put off his training;

I'll set aside some of the resources the Li Family provided and have you give them to Chu Yuan so he can use them for now."

Huang Bo understood Qi Da's predicament. Though he still felt indignant, all he could do was accept with a sullen nod...

"Chu Yuan, come with me for a bit."

Huang Bo's sudden voice interrupted Yang Yi and Chu Yuan's conversation;

The two got along well—in fact, Yang Yi got along well with everyone in the class.

He'd even helped Chu Yuan out a few times...

After they reached Huang Bo's office, Huang Bo gestured for Chu Yuan to sit.

He didn't beat around the bush. He took out several jade bottles, set them on the desk, gathered his thoughts, and said, "The principal knows about your talent. He asked me to give you these."

"This is a Blood Qi Pill. It can speed up the accumulation of your blood qi, but you have to digest it completely before taking another..."

"This bottle contains Bone Strengthening Pills. They work even better when used together with Blood Qi Pills..."

"Spirit Condensing Pills..."

Chu Yuan had known that he would receive support once his talent came to light;

But he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly...

He picked up the jade bottle containing the Blood Qi Pills, and the system sent him a prompt;

[Blood Qi Pill detected;

Can be converted into—Qi Gathering Powder!

Conversions remaining today: 0!]

Chu Yuan froze for a moment, then couldn't help looking delighted;

So it wasn't just techniques—the system could convert resources too!?

Unfortunately, the system seemed to allow only one conversion per day, and he'd already used today's chance on a technique...

Seeing his expression, Huang Bo felt somewhat reassured. "This is enough for a week. After that, you'll keep getting resources every week based on your progress."

Chu Yuan nodded. "Thank you, Teacher."

"There's no need to thank me. Go train."

Chu Yuan felt there was something off about Huang Bo, as if he were hiding something from him;

But he didn't press him. He stuffed the jade bottles into his uniform pocket and left.

When he got near the classroom, he saw a crowd of students gathered outside it...

He was a little puzzled, but didn't think much of it. He pushed through the crowd and went inside.

"Chu Yuan! You're back!"

At a classmate's greeting, the students crowded outside Class Two all turned to look at him.

"Hm?"

"They heard Class Two had a genius who completed Marrow Cleansing as soon as he started training, so they all came to see you!" Yang Yi came over and said helplessly.

The news was spreading way too fast...

But there was nothing to be done. Everyone had a Martial Artist Terminal, so any big news at school could spread in no time;

The students in Class Two probably didn't mean any harm. They just couldn't resist bragging to their friends. After all... having a martial arts prodigy in their class gave them a sense of pride by association.

"You're Chu Yuan? Did you really complete Marrow Cleansing?"

"No, they're making it up," Chu Yuan said calmly;

"Whew, I knew it..." The burly boy who'd asked let out a breath, looking a little disappointed, but mostly as though this had confirmed what he already believed;

"..." Chu Yuan couldn't help mourning his intelligence;

Still, not many people believed Chu Yuan's nonsense. After all, this was easy enough to verify. Why would the students in Class Two all tell the same lie for someone else?

"He doesn't look all that special."

"What were you expecting? Auspicious signs from the heavens and golden lotuses springing from the earth?"

"...I just thought a genius would have to be a little different from the rest of us?"

Chu Yuan ignored their chatter and went straight to his seat.

The burly boy finally caught on, his embarrassment turning to anger. "You think you can mess with me!?"

But before he could make another move, Yang Yi gave him a cold look. "Get lost!"

The burly boy quietly backed down;

Whether a martial arts prodigy could take him on was uncertain, but this guy definitely could...

"You've seen him. Everyone, move along." After saying that, Yang Yi went back over to Chu Yuan and asked in a secretive tone, "What did the homeroom teacher say to you? Did he apply for a support slot for you?"

Chu Yuan froze. Huang Bo had only given him resources and hadn't said anything about a slot?

He knew about the support slots. They were basically the equivalent of scholarships in his previous life, but he'd been too busy thinking about the system just then...

"I guess... so?" Chu Yuan felt the jade bottles in his pocket. He'd already received the resources, hadn't he?