Elite Student

Chen Lie heard the assessment announcement. Unlike the other students, he showed neither joy nor despair. He simply walked off the Martial Practice Platform without a trace of expression.

"Outstanding comprehension! He's a genius!"

"His Blood Qi Value is over six Ka, and he only just came to take the Elite Student assessment? He's got nerves of steel."

"Wait, did anyone else notice? That's a perfect score of 150!"

As the students below the platform buzzed with discussion, the instructor standing before it watched Chen Lie walk away. "That student is interesting. He passed the Elite Student assessment, but he doesn't look happy at all. Nothing seems to faze him."

The assessment instructor beside him said, "Look at his Blood Qi Value. It's almost seven. If he works a little harder, reaching ten Ka in two or three months isn't impossible. With a value that high, he was obviously confident he'd pass. Getting something you were certain you'd get isn't much of a surprise.

"It's a shame he's already a senior. If he were a second-year Martial Arts Student, he'd be worth the school investing heavily in."

Chen Lie went straight downstairs and waited in the first-floor lobby.

Nearby, parents comforted and encouraged students who had failed the Elite Student assessment. Before long, they all left one by one.

Chen Lie had been among the last to take the assessment, so he did not wait long before it ended for everyone.

"Students who passed the Elite Student assessment, please collect your Elite Student IDs at counter two in the first-floor lobby."

The announcement rang through the lobby three times in a row.

Seeing that there were not many people, Chen Lie joined the line at the counter.

When he reached it, he was surprised to find that only five people had come to collect Elite Student IDs.

Of the fourteen who had taken the assessment, only five had passed. He was the only senior among them.

Chen Lie collected his Elite Student ID last. As the staff member handed it to him, she said, "Report to new student registration at the Elite Campus before five this afternoon. They'll assign you a class there."

Chen Lie nodded, took the ID, and left the assessment center.

When he arrived at the Elite Campus, he checked the time. It was not even three o'clock. He showed his Elite Student ID at the entrance before he was allowed in.

School rules barred anyone outside the Elite Classes from entering the Elite Campus. Though Elite Students and ordinary Martial Arts Students attended the same school, they hardly ever mixed. They might as well have lived in different worlds.

Elite Students usually felt vastly superior to ordinary Martial Arts Students. Contempt might be too strong a word, but they certainly looked down on them.

Chen Lie knew that well from his previous life.

The Elite Campus was spacious and quiet. As soon as he entered, Chen Lie looked for new student registration. A map on a noticeboard beside the path showed him that he had gone in the opposite direction, so he turned back.

Chen Lie was walking along a campus path at an unhurried pace when he saw two fresh-faced girls coming toward him.

One of them, a striking girl with a high ponytail, looked familiar.

Wasn't she Lu Qingchan, whom he had eaten with just a few days ago?

Lu Qingchan was an Elite Student, so there was nothing strange about seeing her here.

Chen Lie kept walking at the same unhurried pace until they came face-to-face.

Lu Qingchan looked at him with surprise in her bright eyes, as though wondering why he was on the Elite Campus.

Their families had been friends for years, Lu Qingchan thought. It would be rude not to say anything, so she greeted him. "How are Uncle Chen and Aunt Feng?"

"They're well."

Chen Lie answered casually.

Lu Qingchan murmured an acknowledgment. She was wondering whether she ought to say something more after such a stiff exchange when Chen Lie walked right past without looking back. She stood there, stunned.

"Qingchan, is he a friend of yours?"

The girl beside her sounded curious.

"No. My dad and his father were comrades. Our families often get together for meals." Lu Qingchan shook her head.

"He left before you could even finish a conversation. Looks like the great campus beauty Lu doesn't impress him much!"

"Don't start!"

Lu Qingchan shot the girl beside her a reproachful look.

She found it strange too. In the past, Chen Lie had always been eager to see her. He would seek her out and try hard to impress her, wanting to talk but never daring to say much—or perhaps never knowing what to say.

But since their last meal together, she could clearly tell his attitude toward her had changed. He had grown distant and cool, as if she were merely a vaguely familiar stranger, someone he would only nod to in passing.

"All right, I'll stop."

The girl shook her head in promise, then asked, "Qingchan, can you spare half a day sometime in the next couple of days?"

"What for?" Lu Qingchan asked.

"It's my little sister. You know she's been learning Combat Arts lately. She asked me to coach her, but I was busy, so I told her I'd help her in a few days.

"But I think she's angry with me now. She's been acting differently toward me. When I offered to coach her in Combat Arts the day before yesterday, she didn't seem interested in learning.

"Your Cloud Smoke Steps have reached the point where you can use them freely, right? My sister happens to be learning them too. Could you do me a favor and find some time to coach her?" the girl asked.

"Your sister? The girl who's always waiting for you outside the Elite Campus gates?" Lu Qingchan asked.

"That's her. Her name's Li Xianyu. She's a first-year in Key Class 1."

"Got it. The afternoon after tomorrow works. I happen to be free then."

"Hehe, great!"

Meanwhile, Chen Lie reached new student registration and immediately spotted the service counter in the middle.

He walked up to it and said to the staff member, "Hello. I just passed the Elite Student assessment. I'm here to register."

"Give me your Elite Student ID," the staff member said.

Chen Lie nodded and handed it over.

The staff member took the ID, scanned it on the Optical Computer, then returned it to Chen Lie.

"Chen Lie, you earned a perfect score on the assessment, so you can choose your Elite Class instructor.

"Apart from Elite Class 1, there are fifteen Elite Class instructors. Is there anyone you'd prefer?"

"Anyone's fine. Assign me one at random," Chen Lie said.

"Are you sure?" The staff member explained patiently, "Think carefully. Each of those fifteen instructors has a specialty, such as fist techniques, footwork, leg techniques, or blood-qi circulation. If you want to study fist techniques, choose an instructor who specializes in them. If you want to study footwork, sign up with a footwork specialist. Otherwise, you'll have to work twice as hard for half the results."

"It's fine. I'm sure. Choose at random," Chen Lie said.

"All right, then. You've been assigned to Elite Class 5. Your instructor is Hong Chengshuo."

Since Chen Lie insisted, the staff member assigned him an instructor at random and handed him a sheet of paper.

"This is your Elite Class registration slip. Give it to your Ordinary Class instructor. Remember to report to your Elite Class instructor tomorrow."

Chen Lie took the slip and left new student registration.

After leaving the Elite Campus, Chen Lie went straight to the office of Ren Hongguang, his Ordinary Class instructor.

He knocked on Ren Hongguang's office door.

"Come in," a voice called from inside.

Only then did Chen Lie open the door and walk over to Ren Hongguang's desk.

"Mr. Ren, I passed the Elite Student assessment and was assigned to Elite Class 5. New student registration told me to give you this slip."

"Hm? You passed?"

Ren Hongguang looked up at Chen Lie in disbelief.

He knew exactly how hard it was for a senior Martial Arts Student to get into an Elite Class. For Chen Lie to pass on his first try meant he had been hiding a great deal of his strength.

"Excellent! You're the first student in our class to pass the Elite Student assessment. I'll message the others on my Communicator and ask them to come back to the classroom. We should celebrate."

"There's no need, sir."

"Don't turn it down so quickly. Telling your classmates you've made it into an Elite Class could motivate them too. Don't worry, it won't take much of your time," Ren Hongguang said.

"All right, then." Chen Lie nodded.

"Have a seat!"

Ren Hongguang pulled out a chair for Chen Lie and poured him a glass of water.

"What's your Blood Qi Value now?"

Chen Lie sat down. "A little over six Ka."

"Over six? No wonder you passed the Elite Student assessment on your first try. Have you started your medicinal baths?" Ren Hongguang asked.

"Not yet."

"Not yet?"

Startled, Ren Hongguang immediately pressed him. "Do you mean you haven't had a single one, or that you've only had two or three of the ten?"

"I haven't had a single medicinal bath."

"Really?"

Ren Hongguang slapped his desk. "Then you still have enormous room to improve! After all ten baths, your Blood Qi Value should reach at least eight, shouldn't it?"

"In theory, yes."

Chen Lie nodded. But the way he cultivated and advanced had long since departed from Blue Star's standard progression, so ordinary expectations did not apply to him.

"Good! Work hard once you're in the Elite Class. Aim to get your Blood Qi Value above ten soon and enter the fast lane of the Blood-Qi Stage."

Chen Lie offered a few words of agreement in response to Ren Hongguang's encouragement.

In his previous life, his talent had been mediocre and he had never qualified for an Elite Class. Ren Hongguang had therefore been his instructor for his entire senior year. By the latter half of that year, Chen Lie himself had nearly lost heart in martial arts, but Ren Hongguang had not given up on him. Whenever he missed an important class, the instructor would call to check on him.

Ren Hongguang had done all he could for him in his previous life. In this one, though, their time as teacher and student had come to an end.