A martial arts instruction class

Seeing Chen Lie dare to talk back, Zhang Xun laughed in fury. "You're a real badass, huh? Looks like a few days away was all it took for people to forget who I am."

"Zhang Xun, Chen Lie is new here."

Wang Chen stood up beside them.

"Who the fuck asked you to butt in? If someone pisses me off, I don't give a shit whether they're new!"

After snapping at Wang Chen, Zhang Xun turned back to Chen Lie with a cold stare. "Chen Lie, right? If you've got the balls, follow me to the Duel Platform."

"Sure. Let's go!"

Chen Lie left his seat and started toward the classroom door.

"Wait, Chen Lie!" Wang Chen called out as soon as Chen Lie got up. "Don't go onto the Duel Platform! For an ordinary dispute like this, the worst Zhang Xun can do is give you a beating. He can't go too far.

"But if you step onto the Duel Platform, he can really hurt you. Even if he leaves you bedridden for ten days or two weeks, the school won't hold him responsible."

"Motherfucker, say another goddamn word! You think I won't smack you?"

Threatened like that, Wang Chen shrank back in fear and fell silent.

Just then, Xie Wanwan walked over from the front. "Zhang Xun, he's new and doesn't know anything yet. Don't make things so difficult for him."

"He brought this on himself!" Zhang Xun snorted.

Xie Wanwan turned to Chen Lie. "Hey, what was your name? Chen something? Never mind. I know you're new, so you probably don't know about Zhang Xun's bad temper. Just do what he says and buy him breakfast. It's only a little errand, and it won't cost more than a few Star Dollars.

"If he really loses his temper, even I won't be able to help you."

Their back-and-forth left Chen Lie both annoyed and amused. "Get lost. He's got a bad temper? You think mine's any better?

"I'm not his dad. Why should I indulge him?"

Xie Wanwan's face flushed, then paled with anger at Chen Lie's attitude toward her.

"Zhang Xun, was it? Let's see what you're really made of. Get on the Duel Platform."

With that, Chen Lie darted out of the classroom.

"Fuck, this new guy is one cocky bastard."

Zhang Xun cursed, then walked over to Xie Wanwan. "Wanwan, don't be upset. I'll teach him a proper lesson for you."

Xie Wanwan nodded, her eyes reddening.

The Martial Arts Arena was right beside the classroom, with the Duel Platform at its far end.

After leaving the classroom, Chen Lie headed straight for the Duel Platform.

Zhang Xun followed close behind and stepped onto the Duel Platform with him.

A ring of spectators had already gathered below.

"Someone's on the Duel Platform. What's going on?"

"Isn't that Zhang Xun? He's been an elite student for ages. Who's he fighting? I've never seen him before."

"He's new. What a shame. He challenged Zhang Xun before even learning how things work here. Zhang Xun's notorious for being ruthless. That kid's going to spend the next ten days or two weeks in bed."

On the Duel Platform, Zhang Xun stared coldly at Chen Lie.

"You're the cockiest newcomer I've ever seen. But arrogance comes at a price. Today, I'll take out both your arms and teach you a lesson. From now on, whenever you see me in the Elite Class, you'd better slink away like a dog with its tail between its legs."

"Enough bullshit. Let's start!"

"Die!"

Zhang Xun immediately charged at Chen Lie with his fist raised and a savage grin on his face. His exceptionally high blood qi value gave him immense strength, and his punch whipped up a gust of wind.

Chen Lie merely shifted his body slightly and easily avoided the ferocious punch.

"Huh?"

Zhang Xun's expression changed in shock when his punch missed.

Chen Lie moved his feet and was already behind him.

With a thud, Chen Lie drove an elbow into the back of Zhang Xun's neck, making his vision go black.

Then Chen Lie raised his foot and sent Zhang Xun flying with a boom.

Before Zhang Xun could hit the ground, Chen Lie leaped after him and stomped down hard, pinning him to the Duel Platform.

Chen Lie planted his foot firmly on Zhang Xun's face.

"Weren't you acting tough? Come on, show me how tough you are."

"You fucking..."

Trapped beneath Chen Lie's foot, Zhang Xun could hardly believe it. How could a newcomer be this strong?

"Hmm?"

Chen Lie frowned, then abruptly raised his foot and stamped on Zhang Xun's arm.

There was a crack, and sweat poured from Zhang Xun's forehead as he screamed in pain.

"Aah! It hurts!"

"Remember this. Stay out of my way from now on, or I'll beat you every time I see you!"

With that, Chen Lie kicked Zhang Xun more than ten meters away, sending him off the Duel Platform.

"Holy shit, how is this new guy so strong? He beat Zhang Xun like a dog!"

"That's an understatement. Zhang Xun was like a helpless little chick in front of him. He couldn't fight back at all."

"Go check on him! Zhang Xun got kicked off the Duel Platform."

As the students below buzzed with discussion, two of them reached down to lift Zhang Xun.

"Aah! My arm's broken! My arm's broken—"

Zhang Xun kept screaming as the two students lifted him.

Chen Lie didn't look at Zhang Xun. He simply jumped off the Duel Platform.

The students below watched in astonishment as Chen Lie walked past them.

A newcomer to the Elite Class had utterly crushed a veteran elite student. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

Just how high was his blood qi value? Why had he waited so long to join the Elite Class?

As Chen Lie passed her, a flicker of fear crossed Xie Wanwan's eyes. She instinctively lowered her head and averted her gaze.

She had never expected this newcomer to be so strong. Zhang Xun hadn't stood a chance against him.

When Chen Lie returned to the classroom, Wang Chen immediately came over.

"Chen Lie, what's your blood qi value? Even Zhang Xun couldn't beat you! I heard his was almost thirty!"

"I passed double digits ages ago," Chen Lie said.

"That's incredible. No wonder you weren't afraid of Zhang Xun. But why did you only join the Elite Class now?"

Suddenly, as though something had occurred to him, Wang Chen asked, "I've got it! Your family must be so well-off that the Elite Class's resource subsidies mean nothing to you. That's why you stayed under the radar in an Ordinary Class for so long. You wanted to make a splash when you finally joined the Elite Class."

Chen Lie didn't bother correcting Wang Chen's guess.

They were only casual acquaintances. Wang Chen had already done something commendable by risking Zhang Xun's anger to warn him.

"The instructor's here!"

At that moment, the students outside poured back into the classroom.

Two students carried Zhang Xun to the classroom door.

When Hong Chengshuo, the instructor of Elite Class 5, arrived and saw Zhang Xun screaming on the ground, he frowned. "What happened here?"

"Sir, Zhang Xun lost a match on the Duel Platform. His opponent wrecked one of his arms!"

A student immediately answered Hong Chengshuo's question.

"The Duel Platform? Who did Zhang Xun lose to?"

"Me!"

Chen Lie stood up and said calmly, "He was too arrogant. That attitude will get him into trouble once he leaves school, so I gave him a little lesson. He needed to learn that there's always someone stronger out there."

"You?"

Hong Chengshuo looked at Chen Lie. If he remembered correctly, Chen Lie had only joined the Elite Class in the past couple of days.

His blood qi value was only six. He had taught Zhang Xun a lesson? Surely it should have been the other way around.

Still, the outcome of a match on the Duel Platform wasn't his concern.

"Two of you, carry Zhang Xun to the infirmary. Everyone else, get ready for class."

At Hong Chengshuo's instruction, two elite students carried Zhang Xun to the infirmary.

"Everyone, today's class will focus on martial arts instruction. Follow me to the Martial Arts Arena outside."

With that, Hong Chengshuo led the students of Elite Class 5 to the Martial Arts Arena.

Since it was a martial arts instruction class, more than seventy elite students had shown up.

Now, those seventy-odd students stood in a circle around Zhang Xun.

"The school's Elite Class primarily teaches two C-Rank Martial Arts. One is Flying Dragon Leg, and the other is Army-Breaking Fist.

"We'll go with the majority. Those who want to learn Army-Breaking Fist, stand on the left. Those who want to learn Flying Dragon Leg, stand on the right.

"Whichever side has more students will decide which martial art we learn."

Once Hong Chengshuo finished speaking, the students divided themselves into two groups.

There were more than twice as many students on the left as on the right.

Seeing this, Hong Chengshuo nodded. "Good. In that case, we'll study Army-Breaking Fist today."

"I'll demonstrate the whole sequence first. I'll deliberately slow down, so watch carefully."

With that, Hong Chengshuo began moving his fists.

"Army-Breaking Fist, first form: Sweeping Thousand Armies!"

"Boom! Boom!"

Hong Chengshuo was a Martial Artist, after all. Army-Breaking Fist was imposing in his hands. Force gathered with every punch, and his fists tore through the air with thunderous booms.

"Army-Breaking Fist, second form: Mountain-Shattering Strike!"

Suddenly, the character of Hong Chengshuo's punches changed, shifting from sharp and fierce to heavy and powerful.

He soon finished demonstrating the entire Army-Breaking Fist sequence.

He waved at the students around him. "All right, everyone. Spread out and form ranks."

"Next, I'll break down Army-Breaking Fist move by move. I hope you'll all learn something from this."

Hong Chengshuo then began explaining Army-Breaking Fist in detail.

After watching his first demonstration, Chen Lie had already grasped the broad outlines of the fist technique.

Now that Hong Chengshuo was dissecting every detail for the students, Chen Lie couldn't speak for the others, but he no longer needed further instruction. He had already learned this martial art.

After carefully explaining Void-Breaking Fist, Hong Chengshuo looked over the students. "All right. Start practicing on your own."

Seeing the other students begin practicing Army-Breaking Fist, Chen Lie joined them.

Hong Chengshuo paced among the students, stopping to offer guidance whenever he spotted someone going astray.

When he reached Chen Lie, he couldn't help stopping.

Chen Lie was performing the entire Army-Breaking Fist sequence with seamless fluidity, without a single pause or mistake.

"This..."

Hong Chengshuo was astonished. Chen Lie had performed the fist technique with almost complete ease and mastery. Even if he nitpicked, he couldn't find a single error.

Even his own demonstration of this fist technique would only be at that level, wouldn't it?