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"You mean to say that he completed Marrow Cleansing during his very first attempt at the Essence Tempering Technique!?" Qi Da looked up, looking somewhat stunned.

Huang Bo's face was full of joy: "Yes! I am certain! Principal, our Chenyang No. 1 High School has produced a martial arts genius this time! According to tradition, shouldn't we..."

Beyond reporting the good news, he had another motive: to secure benefits for Chu Yuan.

A smile appeared on Qi Da's face, and just as he was about to speak, he seemed to recall something and clicked his tongue in frustration.

Huang Bo's heart skipped a beat: "Principal, is there... some sort of problem?"

Qi Da looked annoyed: "There actually is... I was just about to tell you. A transfer student from the Li Family of Yunan Prefecture is coming soon."

"The Li Family!? Transferring to our school!?" Huang Bo could not understand. Of the thirty-six prefectures in Great Qin, Chenyang City was merely an inconspicuous little place under the jurisdiction of Yunan Prefecture. The Li Family, however, was a behemoth in Yunan Prefecture, possessing formidable martial strength within their clan! Even the head of the Li Family was already a Seventh-Order martial artist... How could they possibly look favorably upon a tiny place like Chenyang No. 1 High School?

Qi Da let out a long, weary sigh and explained: "The higher-ups have a cultivation program prepared to gather geniuses from across the country to train them together. Aside from those in the major cities and the prefecture seats, every other city is allotted three seed spots..."

Huang Bo understood instantly and felt a surge of indignation: "They came to snatch one of these spots? That's unfair! If he couldn't compete with others in the prefecture seat, he runs to a small place like ours to snatch one? Principal, how could you agree to such a thing!?"

"I... how was I supposed to know that a genius who could directly complete Marrow Cleansing would appear among this year's students!?" Qi Da gave a bitter smile: "If not our No. 1 High School, wouldn't there be the Second High School or the Third High School? What difference would it make where that Li kid goes? At first, I thought that by agreeing, I could at least secure some benefits for the school—the Li Family is truly generous... Besides, it would also increase the reputation of No. 1 High School. After all, his grades would count toward our school, making it easier to apply for next year's budget..."

If he had known, he wouldn't have agreed. No matter how strong that Li kid was, he wasn't one of their own. But since he had already given his word, it wouldn't do to go back on it; otherwise, wouldn't that be a slap in the face to the Li Family...

It wasn't that No. 1 High School couldn't accommodate two genius students, but the school could only apply for one top-tier support quota. To whom should this resource be given? If given to Chu Yuan, would that Li kid let it go? The resources within the support quota might not be much to him, but it was a matter of face. If given to the Li kid, it would be unfair to Chu Yuan...

"Regardless, his cultivation cannot be delayed. I will set aside a portion of the resources provided by the Li Family; you take them and give them to Chu Yuan to use for now."

Huang Bo knew the difficulty of Qi Da's position. Although he still felt some resentment, he could only nod gloomily in agreement...

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

Huang Bo spoke suddenly, interrupting the idle chatter between Yang Yi and Chu Yuan. In truth, the two had a good relationship, or rather, Yang Yi had a good relationship with every classmate in the class. He had even helped Chu Yuan with a few things...

Arriving at Huang Bo's office, Huang Bo gestured for Chu Yuan to sit. Without beating around the bush, he took out several jade bottles, placed them on the table, and gathered his thoughts before speaking: "The principal already knows about your talent. He asked me to give these to you."

"This is the Blood Qi Pill; it can accelerate the accumulation of blood qi, but you must digest it completely before taking the next one..."

"This bottle contains the Bone Strengthening Pill; it works even better when paired with the Blood Qi Pill..."

"The Spirit Condensing Pill..."

Although Chu Yuan knew that he would surely receive training once his talent was revealed, he hadn't expected it to happen so quickly...

As he picked up the jade bottle containing the Blood Qi Pill, the system sent a notification:

[Detected Blood Qi Pill; Can be converted—Qi Gathering Powder! Daily conversion limit: 0!]

Chu Yuan froze for a moment, then couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. So it wasn't just cultivation techniques; even resources could be converted!? It was a pity that the system seemed to have only one conversion attempt per day, and today's opportunity had already been used on the technique...

Seeing the look on his face, Huang Bo felt somewhat comforted: "This is a one-week supply. Afterward, we will continue to provide resources every week based on your progress."

Chu Yuan nodded: "Thank you, teacher."

"Nothing to thank me for. Go and cultivate."

Chu Yuan always felt that Huang Bo was acting a bit strange, as if he were hiding something from him.

However, he didn't press the matter, stuffing the few jade bottles into his school uniform pocket before leaving.

Just as he neared the classroom, he saw a crowd of students gathered outside his classroom door.

Though he felt a bit bewildered, he didn't overthink it, pushing through the crowd to head inside.

"Chu Yuan! You're back!"

Following a classmate's greeting, the students huddled outside the Class 2 classroom turned to look at him in unison.

"Hm?"

"They heard that our class produced a genius who achieved Marrow Cleansing right after starting cultivation, so they all came to see you!" Yang Yi leaned in, saying helplessly.

The news had spread far too quickly.

But there was no helping it; everyone possessed a Martial Artist Terminal, making it incredibly easy for any major event in the school to circulate.

The students of Class 2 likely didn't have any malicious intent; they just couldn't help but show off to their friends. After all, having a martial arts genius in their own class gave them a sense of reflected glory.

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

Someone spoke up to ask.

"No, they're just blowing smoke," Chu Yuan said calmly.

"Phew, I knew it..." The burly boy who had spoken exhaled, his expression showing a mix of disappointed expectations and, more predominantly, a sense of 'I knew it.'

"..." Chu Yuan couldn't help but mourn for the boy's intelligence.

However, not many people actually believed Chu Yuan's nonsense; after all, such things were too easy to verify. Why would the students of Class 2 collectively lie for someone else?

"He doesn't look like anything special, does he?"

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

"...I just thought a genius would be a bit different from us."

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

The burly boy realized what had happened and grew embarrassed and angry: "You dare play me for a fool?!"

But before he could make another move, Yang Yi shot him a cold glance: "Get lost!"

The burly boy silently shrank back.

Whether a martial arts genius could take him down was uncertain, but this guy definitely could.

"You've seen what you came to see, everyone disperse." After dropping that line, Yang Yi turned back to Chu Yuan, whispering mysteriously: "What did the teacher tell you? Did he apply for a support quota for you?"

Chu Yuan was stunned for a moment. Huang Bo had only given him resources; he hadn't mentioned anything about a quota.

He knew about these support quotas—they were essentially the same as financial aid in his past life—but he had been too preoccupied with the system earlier...

"I suppose... it is?" Chu Yuan touched the jade bottles in his pocket. Weren't the resources already in his hands?