Martial Artist's Banquet

A few hours later, Chen Lie heard his communicator ring. He stopped his practice of the Lingguang Divine Refining Chapter, stepped off the bed, and picked it up to see an unfamiliar number.

After a moment of thought, Chen Lie tapped to connect.

"Hello, is this young brother Chen? I'm Yang Shen, the owner of the crystal card shop from the other day."

As soon as the connection was established, a familiar voice came through the communicator.

"Oh, Boss Yang. Did those ten sets of Void-Breaking Fist crystal cards sell out?" Chen Lie asked.

"Void-Breaking Fist crystal cards are a hot commodity on the market. I sold them all in one afternoon; not a single one is left."

"Oh, that's great."

"The reason I'm contacting you is to ask if you have time today. I've managed to get my hands on some blank crystal cards from a colleague."

"If you're free, would you like to come over, or should I send you an address so I can bring the blank cards to you?"

"You got more blank crystal cards?" Chen Lie's heart stirred. He said, "I'll come over directly. Just wait for me at your shop."

"Good, good. I'll be waiting at the shop. Come whenever you're ready."

Chen Lie hung up the communicator, left his room, and went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face.

When he walked into the living room, he found his mother, Feng Yuelan, tidying up.

"Chen Lie, today is the day our neighbor Uncle He is holding his martial artist banquet. Are you going?"

Seeing Chen Lie, Feng Yuelan asked.

"No, I have things to do." Chen Lie shook his head.

Feng Yuelan couldn't help but ask, "What are you busy with all day? Have you been training hard lately? It's been several days now, has there been any progress with your blood-qi value?"

Seeing his mother's expression, Chen Lie smiled slightly and handed his Elite Student ID to her.

"Mom, look at what this is."

Feng Yuelan took the item Chen Lie handed her and held it up to look. "What is this? Wait... an Elite Student ID?"

The card read: Elite Class Student ID

Student Name: Chen Lie

Class: Elite Class 5

Instructor: Hong Chengshuo

(Issued by the Elite Martial Arts Department of Dongchuan Province No. 1 Key High School)

Feng Yuelan put down the Elite Student ID and looked at Chen Lie in shock. "You got into the Elite Class?"

"Yes," Chen Lie said. "I am an elite student now."

"When did this happen?"

"Just two days ago."

"Two days ago? Why didn't you say anything sooner? Other elite student assessments are attended by parents. If you had told me earlier, I could have had your father come back early to accompany you."

Chen Lie waved his hand. "There was no need. Dad is so busy with work, why make him come back for that? My blood-qi value met the standard; the elite student assessment was just a formality for me."

Feng Yuelan looked at Chen Lie's Elite Student ID, a complex mix of emotions in her heart.

Her son had truly made something of himself, passing the elite student assessment without a word. It seemed he really had been guided by that expert from beyond the stars.

"How did your blood-qi value increase so quickly? It's only been a few days, and you've already broken through 3 to join the Elite Class?" Feng Yuelan couldn't help but ask again.

"Mom, don't worry about that. You just need to see the results. I said it before, my goal is Starry Sky University," Chen Lie said.

"Fine, Mom won't ask."

Feng Yuelan nodded and said, "Go tidy up and change your clothes. Come with me to attend the martial artist promotion banquet that our neighbor Uncle He is hosting for his son, Zhenming."

Chen Lie said, "Didn't I say I have things to do and wasn't going?"

Feng Yuelan asked, "What kind of things? Is it related to your martial arts cultivation?"

"No."

"Then it's nothing major. Come with Mom."

"Alright."

Seeing his mother's insistence, Chen Lie nodded in agreement, though he couldn't be bothered to change his clothes.

After leaving the house, Feng Yuelan hailed a speeder to head toward the Martial Student Hotel in Changdong City.

On the speeder, Chen Lie asked, "Mom, didn't they say they would come to pick us up?"

"That's just polite talk. We're just one family; how could we really expect them to come and get us?" Feng Yuelan said.

Before long, the speeder arrived outside the Martial Student Hotel in Changdong City.

After Chen Lie and his mother, Feng Yuelan, stepped off the speeder, they walked into the hotel.

As soon as they entered, Chen Lie saw Liu Lianqing coming up to greet them.

"Oh my, Chen Lie's mom, why are you only just arriving? Come, come, come, to the second floor, please. We've been waiting for you."

Feng Yuelan nodded with a smile and followed Liu Lianqing toward the second floor, with Chen Lie trailing behind his mother.

"Oh? Is it just the two of you? Why didn't Chen Lie's father and Xingyao come?"

As they climbed the stairs, Liu Lianqing looked back and suddenly asked.

Feng Yuelan replied, "The two of them—one is busy with work, the other with studies—neither could spare the time."

"That's a pity; we won't be able to catch up properly."

Liu Lianqing shook her head with a sigh.

As soon as they reached the second floor, Chen Lie saw a banner.

"Congratulations to student He Zhenming of Yunchuan Key Martial Arts University for promoting to a Martial Artist."

Liu Lianqing led the mother and son to a private room and said, "Chen Lie's mom, you and Chen Lie sit here. Zhenming's father is busy, but Zhenming is here, and I'll come over once I'm done with my tasks. Let's have a good gathering today."

"Zhenming, come over and greet Aunt Feng."

Inside the private room, a tall, thin young man stood up and walked to the door.

"Hello, Aunt Feng."

"Is this Zhenming? It's been so long, I almost didn't recognize you. Go on, take a seat!"

Hearing Feng Yuelan's words, He Zhenming nodded and sat back down.

Liu Lianqing added, "You should take Chen Lie to sit down too; we're all acquaintances here."

Feng Yuelan nodded, entered the room, found a spot, and sat down with Chen Lie.

"Oh, isn't this Chen Lie?"

As soon as Chen Lie sat down, he heard this voice. He turned his head and saw that the speaker was a middle-aged woman.

"This is Aunt Gao."

Feng Yuelan whispered a reminder to Chen Lie.

"Aunt Gao."

Chen Lie greeted her.

It wasn't just that over seventy years had passed; even in his previous life, he certainly wouldn't have remembered these neighbors.

Ever since his second year of high school, he hadn't gone out much, living a life confined to two points and a line. Even if he occasionally ran into neighbors, he would always take a detour to avoid them.

Aunt Gao nodded, shifted her gaze from Chen Lie, and looked toward the star of today's banquet, He Zhenming.

"Tell me, Zhenming, you're already a sophomore, right? How come you only just broke through to become a Martial Artist?

My Qingqing promoted to a Martial Artist at the beginning of the year."

He Zhenming replied, "Aunt Gao, you might not know this, but promoting to a Martial Artist early isn't necessarily better. It depends on your Blood-Qi value before the breakthrough. The higher the Blood-Qi value during the Blood-Qi Stage, the stronger one's future potential.

Do you know what Qingqing's Blood-Qi value was when she broke through?"

Aunt Gao thought for a moment and said, "Around two hundred units, I suppose."

He Zhenming smiled slightly. "That proves my point. Before I broke through, my Blood-Qi value was already approaching three hundred units.

You shouldn't underestimate this gap of one hundred units; it is a key factor in determining how far one can go on the path of martial arts."

Hearing this, Aunt Gao stopped talking to He Zhenming and looked back at Chen Lie.

"Chen Lie, you're in your third year of high school. How is it? Has your Blood-Qi value broken 1 yet?"

Chen Lie nodded. "It has."

Aunt Gao said sternly, "Breaking 1 is just the beginning. At your age, your sister Qingqing had already been training in the Elite Class for over half a year.

You can't slack off. Hurry up and get your Blood-Qi value past 3 so you can join the Elite Class; there's no future in the Ordinary Class.

Wait? I remember, you never made it into the Elite Class, right? Isn't that so, Zhenming?"

After finishing her last sentence, Aunt Gao turned to look at He Zhenming again.

He Zhenming said, "The Elite Class and the Ordinary Class don't necessarily prove everything.

Although I didn't make it into the Elite Class, many of my classmates who were in the Elite Class during high school have grades that aren't as good as mine at Yunchuan Key Martial Arts University.

Besides, it's not that I lacked the strength to enter the Elite Class.

My university mentor evaluated me as someone who progresses steadily, accumulates strength, and eventually surpasses others. My martial arts training only really started to gain momentum in my third year of high school.

Aunt Gao, you might not be aware, but the school tightens the promotion channels for elite students for third-year martial arts candidates. For a third-year student, let alone breaking 3, even breaking 4 doesn't guarantee entry into the Elite Class.

That was my situation. Even though my strength met the criteria in the first semester of my third year, the school raised the standards for elite student assessments. By the time my strength was sufficient, the school had already closed the channel for third-year students to promote to the Elite Class."

Aunt Gao asked, "Is that so? How come I heard that once your Blood-Qi value breaks 3, you can enter the Elite Class directly?"

He Zhenming said indifferently, "The martial arts of Blue Star are constantly evolving. I can say with certainty that whether it's for second-year or third-year students, the elite student assessments are much more difficult now than they were in my time.

If you don't believe me, Aunt Gao, you can ask any student currently preparing for the elite assessment.

Ask them if a third-year student who has broken 3 in Blood-Qi but fails to meet other criteria can pass the assessment.

I dare say, let alone a third-year student, even a second-year student who only has a Blood-Qi value over 3 but fails in other areas might not pass the elite student assessment."

"Is that really so?" Aunt Gao asked, full of doubt.

He Zhenming nodded and said, "Of course. So, Aunt Gao, don't make things difficult for Chen Lie. Even if his Vitality value has broken through 3, it's impossible for him to enter the Elite Class."

"Besides, this semester is about to end. By next semester, the school will close the promotion channel for regular martial arts students to enter the Elite Class."

"Therefore, Chen Lie should have no hope for the Elite Class."

As he spoke, He Zhenming looked toward Chen Lie.

"How could the Elite Student Assessment be as difficult as you two say?"

Feng Yuelan spoke up at this moment.

"Aunt Feng, you haven't been following the Elite Student Assessment, so you might not be aware of the difficulty of the examination..."

He Zhenming had just started to speak, but Feng Yuelan interrupted him directly: "I truly don't know how difficult the Elite Student Assessment is, but since Chen Lie is already in the Elite Class now, it means he has already passed the assessment, and I haven't heard him say it was difficult at all."