Elite Students

Chen Lie heard the assessment broadcast, but unlike the other students, he showed neither great joy nor sorrow, simply walking off the martial arts stage with an expressionless face.

"Superior comprehension, what a genius!"

"To wait until his Vitality reached over 6 units before taking the elite student assessment—he really knows how to keep his cool."

"Wait, hasn't anyone noticed? That's a perfect score of 150!"

Amidst the chatter of the students below, the instructor in front of the martial arts stage watched Chen Lie's retreating back and couldn't help but remark, "This student is interesting. He passed the elite assessment without showing a hint of joy; he is truly indifferent to favor or humiliation."

The assessment instructor beside him replied, "Look at his Vitality; it's nearly at 7. With a little more effort, it wouldn't be impossible for him to break 10 units in two or three months. With such high Vitality, he clearly had the elite assessment in the bag. When you're certain of success, you naturally don't feel much surprise when you achieve it."

"It's just a pity he's a third-year student. If he were a second-year martial arts student, he would be worth the school investing heavily in."

Chen Lie went straight downstairs and arrived at the waiting area in the first-floor lobby.

Nearby, many students who had failed the elite assessment were being comforted and encouraged by their parents; before long, they all left one by one.

Since Chen Lie had been among the last to take the elite assessment, he didn't have to wait long before the entire process concluded.

"Students who have passed the elite student assessment, please proceed to the second counter window in the first-floor lobby to collect your elite student certificate."

At this moment, the first-floor broadcast sounded, repeating the message three times.

Seeing that there weren't many people, Chen Lie went to the counter to queue up and collect his.

Upon reaching the counter, Chen Lie was surprised to find that only five people had come to collect their elite student certificates.

This meant that out of the fourteen students who had participated in the elite assessment, only five had passed, and he was the only third-year martial arts student among them.

Chen Lie was the last to receive his certificate. As the staff member handed it over, they said, "Report to the freshman registration office in the elite campus before five o'clock this afternoon. Your classes will be assigned then."

Chen Lie nodded, took the certificate, and turned to leave the elite student assessment area.

When he arrived at the elite campus, Chen Lie checked the time and saw it was not yet three o'clock. He showed his elite student certificate at the campus gate to gain entry.

School regulations prohibited non-elite students from entering the elite campus. Although elite students and ordinary martial arts students were in the same school, they rarely interacted, living in what felt like two completely different worlds.

When facing ordinary martial arts students, elite students usually overflowed with a sense of superiority; they might not necessarily express open contempt, but they definitely looked down on them.

Chen Lie had experienced this deeply in his past life.

The elite campus was vast and empty. As soon as Chen Lie entered, he looked for the freshman office. Seeing a map on a roadside bulletin board, he realized he had been walking in the opposite direction and turned back.

As he walked along a small path in the campus, Chen Lie was moving at a steady, unhurried pace when he suddenly saw two fresh and refined girls walking toward him.

One of the beautiful girls, wearing a high ponytail, looked familiar to Chen Lie.

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

Lu Qingchan was an elite student, so it was no surprise to see her on the elite campus.

Chen Lie continued walking at his steady pace until the two sides crossed paths.

Lu Qingchan's bright eyes looked at Chen Lie with some surprise, as if wondering why he was appearing on the elite campus.

Lu Qingchan thought that since their families were old friends, it would be impolite not to say a word upon meeting, so she greeted him, "Are Uncle Chen and Aunt Feng doing well?"

"They're doing fine."

Chen Lie replied casually.

Lu Qingchan let out an "um." She thought the conversation was a bit dry and wondered if she should say something else, but she was stunned to see Chen Lie walk right past her without even looking back.

"Qingchan, is that your friend?"

The girl beside Lu Qingchan asked curiously.

"No, my father and his father were comrades-in-arms. Our families often get together for meals," Lu Qingchan shook her head.

"He walked away without even finishing a sentence. It seems he doesn't really care for you, our school beauty!"

"Don't talk nonsense!"

Lu Qingchan glared at the girl beside her with feigned annoyance.

She was also a bit puzzled. In the past, whenever Chen Lie saw her, he was extremely attentive, always chasing after her. In her presence, he was always full of desire to perform, wanting to talk but not daring to say too much, or perhaps not knowing how to say it.

But ever since they ate together last time, she could clearly see that Chen Lie's attitude toward her had changed. He had become distant and cold, as if she were merely a slightly familiar stranger, someone to acknowledge with a nod and nothing more.

"Alright, I won't say it."

The girl shook her head in assurance, then added, "Qingchan, can you spare half a day in the next two days?"

"What for?" Lu Qingchan asked.

"It's my younger sister. You know, she's been learning combat techniques lately and asked me to guide her, but I didn't have the time, so I told her I would in a few days."

"But she seems angry with me these past two days; her attitude toward me has changed. The day before yesterday, I offered to guide her in combat techniques, but she didn't seem to have much interest in learning."

"I was thinking, hasn't your Cloud Smoke Steps reached the realm of effortless mastery? My sister happens to be learning that martial art too. Could you do me a favor and spare some time to guide her?" the girl said.

"Your sister? Is she that girl who always likes to wait for you outside the gate of the elite campus?" Lu Qingchan asked.

"Yes, her name is Li Xianyu, she's in the first key class of the first-year martial arts stream."

"Understood. Let's make it the day after tomorrow afternoon; I happen to be free then."

"Heehee, sounds good!"

On the other side, Chen Lie arrived at the freshman registration office and spotted the central service counter at a glance.

He walked up to the counter and said to the staff member inside, "Hello, I'm a freshman who just passed the elite assessment. I'm here to register."

"Give me your elite student ID," the staff member replied.

Chen Lie nodded and handed over his elite student ID.

The staff member took the ID, scanned it on their optical computer, and then returned it to Chen Lie.

"Chen Lie, since you achieved a perfect score on your assessment, you are entitled to choose your own elite class instructor.

Excluding Elite Class 1, there are fifteen elite class instructors available. Do you have a preference?"

Chen Lie said, "Any of them will do. Just assign me one at random."

"Are you sure?" The staff member asked, explaining patiently, "You should think this over carefully. Each of these fifteen instructors specializes in a different field, such as fist techniques, footwork, leg techniques, or Blood-Qi circulation. If you want to learn fist techniques, you should choose an instructor who specializes in them. If you want to learn footwork, sign up for an instructor who excels in that. Otherwise, your training will be twice the effort for half the result."

"It doesn't matter, I'm sure. Just assign one randomly," Chen Lie said.

His martial arts insights from his previous life remained intact. Before reaching the Grandmaster realm, he required no guidance. Moreover, in terms of pure martial arts insight, while there might be a few people on Blue Star qualified to instruct him, they could certainly be counted on one hand.

"Very well. You have been assigned to Elite Class 5, and your instructor is Hong Chengshuo."

Seeing Chen Lie's insistence, the staff member had no choice but to assign him an instructor at random and handed him a piece of paper.

"This is your elite class receipt. Give it to your current general class instructor. Remember to report to your elite class instructor tomorrow."

Chen Lie took the receipt and turned to leave the registration office.

After exiting the elite campus, Chen Lie went straight to the office of his general class instructor, Ren Hongguang.

Arriving at Ren Hongguang's office, Chen Lie knocked on the door.

He heard a voice from inside say, "Come in."

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

"Teacher Ren, I passed the elite student assessment and have been assigned to Elite Class 5. This is the receipt the registration office asked me to give you."

"Hm? You passed the assessment?"

Ren Hongguang looked up at Chen Lie, feeling incredulous.

He knew full well how difficult it was for a third-year martial arts student to promote to the elite class. For Chen Lie to pass on his first attempt meant that he had truly been hiding his strength.

"Not bad, not bad! You are the first student in our class to pass the elite assessment. I'll use the communicator to notify the others to return to the classroom so they can celebrate your achievement."

"There's no need for that, Teacher."

"Don't be so quick to decline. Informing your classmates of your promotion can serve as motivation for them. Don't worry, it won't take up much of your time," Ren Hongguang said.

"Alright then," Chen Lie nodded.

"Sit!"

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

"What has your Blood-Qi value reached?"

Chen Lie sat down and said, "A bit over 6."

"You broke 6? No wonder you passed the elite assessment on your first try. Have you undergone the medicinal bath yet?" Ren Hongguang asked.

"Not yet."

"Not yet?"

Ren Hongguang was startled and immediately pressed, "Not even once? Or have you only done two or three out of the ten required baths?"

"Not a single medicinal bath yet."

"Truly?"

Ren Hongguang slammed his hand on the desk. "In that case, doesn't that mean you still have massive room for improvement? After the ten medicinal baths, your Blood-Qi value should at least break 8, right?"

"Logically, that is the case."

Chen Lie nodded, though his method of cultivation had long since deviated from the standard progression of Blue Star, making it naturally unconventional.

"Good! Once you enter the elite class, put in the effort and strive to break 10 as soon as possible to enter the fast lane of the Blood-Qi Stage."

Facing Ren Hongguang's encouragement, Chen Lie responded with a few polite remarks.

Because his own aptitude had been mediocre in his previous life, he had never made it into an elite class. Ren Hongguang had been his third-year instructor for an entire year; even when he had grown disheartened with martial arts toward the end of the year, Ren Hongguang had never given up on him, calling him via the communicator whenever he missed an important class.

It could be said that Ren Hongguang had done everything he could for his past self. It was just that in this life, the bond between teacher and student could only go this far.