Su Bai's Strength

"Su Bai, come on. Let me see if you've improved at all this week."

"Haha, you'd better watch out, then." Su Bai and Lin Hu were sparring too.

Lin Hu was strong and sturdy, half a head taller than Su Bai. He had mastered the Three Body Technique early, and his Chakra Level had reached 0.5 cards. He was considered a genius at school.

As good friends, the two of them had often sparred before, and Lin Hu knew Su Bai's strength well, so he started out using only thirty percent of his strength.

"Watch out!" Lin Hu growled, swinging a fist at Su Bai's chest.

In Lin Hu's imagination, Su Bai wouldn't be able to dodge that punch and would have no choice but to meet it head-on.

But to his surprise, Su Bai suddenly vanished right before his eyes. He was ridiculously fast!

"How is that possible? Did Su Bai suddenly get so much stronger?" Lin Hu heard the wind rushing behind him and hurriedly formed Hand Seals.

"Substitution Technique!"

Thud!

Su Bai's fist struck a wooden post, one the school had prepared for the students beforehand.

"Su Bai, how did you get so much stronger all of a sudden?" Lin Hu's surprised voice came from behind him.

Su Bai turned around and smiled faintly.

"I've been having an easier time refining Chakra lately, so I really have gotten a lot stronger."

"How much Chakra do you have now?" Lin Hu asked curiously.

Su Bai shook his head, choosing to keep some things to himself. "I don't know. I haven't gotten tested yet."

Every city in the Federation had equipment for measuring Chakra levels. In his memories, the original Su Bai had last been tested just after he first refined Chakra, more than a month ago.

In over a month, "Su Bai" had refined only 0.03 cards of Chakra. It was easy to imagine how poor his talent had been!

"Holy crap, you're improving way too fast. I bet you have at least as much Chakra as I do now!" Lin Hu scratched his head, looking surprised.

The last time he'd fought Su Bai, he'd had an easy time of it. Now, he'd nearly been beaten by him.

As the two spoke, a burly boy over 1.8 meters tall walked over. Lin Hu immediately grew wary and stepped in front of Su Bai.

"Wang Qiang, what do you want?"

"Su Bai, you've really surprised me. I never thought you had that kind of nerve." The newcomer was Wang Qiang. He merely glanced at Lin Hu without acknowledging him, then gave Su Bai a hostile once-over.

Su Bai knew he was talking about the incident where he'd "teased" Xia Xueqing. He rolled his eyes and ignored him.

Wang Qiang frowned at this, putting on an air of superiority.

"Su Bai, are you deaf? Didn't you hear me asking you a question?"

"You don't need to shout. I heard you." Su Bai waved a hand as if shooing away a fly. His attitude infuriated Wang Qiang.

"Not bad, Su Bai. No one at First High School has ever dared to talk to me like that."

"Now tell me. How many days do you want to spend in the hospital?"

Wang Qiang clenched his fists and slowly approached him.

Lin Hu immediately shouted, "Wang Qiang, don't do anything stupid! We're at school!"

"Heh, I know." Wang Qiang walked up beside Su Bai and said with a mocking smile, "I just want to spar with Su Bai. Even the teachers can't object to that."

Xia Xueqing was the most popular girl at First High School, and Wang Qiang had been infatuated with her for a long time.

His father supported him, too. After all, the Xia Family was a famous bloodline clan. If Wang Qiang managed to win Xia Xueqing over, he'd be set, with the Xia Family backing him!

But Wang Qiang had pursued Xia Xueqing for ages without making any progress. Then Su Bai came out of nowhere and stole his goddess's first kiss...

When Wang Qiang found out, he flew into a rage. If he hadn't been worried about losing school points and hurting his college entrance exam results, he would've come after Su Bai long ago. Why wait until now?

Su Bai glanced at him.

"Who do you think you are? Just because you want to spar with me, I have to agree?"

"What? You're refusing?" Wang Qiang was stunned. No one had ever refused a challenge during practical combat class.

The school had always encouraged a martial spirit, and anyone who refused a challenge would be looked down on.

So the classmates he'd beaten up before would rather put up with being bullied than be looked down on. After all, they were just students who hadn't experienced much, and they cared a lot about their pride!

But Su Bai was different. He'd been through the harsh realities of society, and he didn't care about pride—something you couldn't eat or drink.

"That's right. I refuse your challenge." Su Bai shrugged indifferently, then said to Lin Hu, "Let's go. That guy's an eyesore."

With that, he turned and walked away without hesitation.

The other students had noticed what was happening long ago. When they heard Su Bai refuse the challenge, they were all stunned.

"What a... loser."

"Yeah. The others may not be Wang Qiang's match, but at least they have the guts to accept his challenge. Su Bai just flat-out refused. What a weirdo."

His classmates couldn't understand Su Bai's actions. The boys especially thought it was humiliating to back down in front of the girls!

Wang Qiang was left speechless. If Su Bai wouldn't fight him, there was nothing he could do. He glared at Su Bai's back and cursed.

"Like father, like son. No wonder you turned out to be such a useless piece of trash. You don't even have the guts to accept a challenge!"

"No wonder your parents are broke losers who'll never amount to anything!"

Su Bai's background was no secret. Like most of his classmates, he lived in the "slums."

And naturally, someone as arrogant as Wang Qiang looked down on him. Now he'd said exactly what was on his mind.

Su Bai stopped in his tracks, clenched his fists, and turned around to stare at Wang Qiang through narrowed eyes.

If Wang Qiang had only insulted him, Su Bai wouldn't have bothered with him. He thought that kind of behavior was childish and couldn't be bothered to stoop to Wang Qiang's level.

But Wang Qiang had dared to insult his parents. That immediately ignited Su Bai's anger!

You bastard. You're asking for it!

"You want to spar, right? Fine. I accept."

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Su Bai's eyes, but his expression remained calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.

But Lin Hu, his good friend, knew him well. He knew that whenever Su Bai narrowed his eyes... it meant he was truly angry!

Chapter 12: Su Bai's Strength

Yangcheng No. 1 High School, sports field.

Chu Yuan stood sternly on a raised platform, gazing at the entire senior class. He shook his head.

"This year's students are as disappointing as ever. I'm afraid that little girl from the Xia Family is the only one who'll get into Nine Provinces Academy."

As the highest-ranked university in the Kyushu District, Nine Provinces Academy had an incredibly powerful faculty. Every student had to reach Chunin level within their four years there to qualify for graduation. Otherwise, Nine Provinces Academy wouldn't recognize them as graduates.

This ironclad rule had been laid down by the academy's founders when they established it. By now, they had all become famous powerhouses in Hua Country. They'd built the school around the idea of "quality over quantity"!

They would rather expel every student than let a single waste remain at the academy!

It was fair to say that anyone who graduated from Nine Provinces Academy would be a person of importance!

Government agencies, financial conglomerates, and all kinds of ninja squads were clamoring to recruit its students!

Nine Provinces Academy was also Chu Yuan's greatest regret... His dream back then had been to get in and bring honor to his family and alma mater.

Unfortunately, his talent had been limited. He'd missed the cutoff by the narrowest of margins and ended up at another prestigious university instead.

After graduating, Chu Yuan had relied on his exceptional courage and astonishing perseverance to fight Magic Beasts in the Wasteland Zone. He'd finally distinguished himself among his peers and become a popular and powerful Genin in Yang City.

When Yangcheng No. 1 High School invited him to teach practical combat, Chu Yuan had agreed without a second thought.

It wasn't because Yangcheng No. 1 High School had offered him some great benefits.

Quite the opposite—guiding these students would waste his time.

For years, he'd either trained like a madman or hunted Magic Beasts. He'd wished he could make every day last twice as long, all so he could rise above the rest!

But now he was standing here... It was because Yangcheng No. 1 High School was his alma mater, and he was someone who cared deeply about his hometown. He wanted to do his part for the school's future...

Chu Yuan's gaze was deep as he watched Xia Xueqing, who was clearly several times stronger than the other students on the field, and thought to himself.

"That girl is bound to get into Nine Provinces Academy. Her cultivation resources far surpass those of ordinary people. It's no surprise she's achieved so much."

The Xia Family was a famous bloodline clan in Yang City Base City, with countless powerful experts and cultivation resources. Three of the Upper Jonin experts they had publicly revealed were already known!

And Xia Xueqing was the Xia Family's precious darling, showered with affection... So if she got into Nine Provinces Academy, no one would think it was thanks to Yangcheng No. 1 High School's education. They'd say she'd been destined for it all along!

"The other students are so far behind. Not a single one has caught my eye. I'm afraid Yangcheng No. 1 High School will once again be a laughingstock among the other schools this year."

Chu Yuan sighed.

Five years ago, in his graduating class, Yangcheng No. 1 High School had produced three geniuses, including him.

The other two geniuses from his year had both gotten into Nine Provinces Academy, while he himself had missed it by the narrowest of margins...

Four years ago, a junior he'd had high hopes for had also gotten into Nine Provinces Academy, as expected, preserving Yangcheng No. 1 High School's last shred of dignity that year...

But ever since three years ago... Yangcheng No. 1 High School had gotten worse with every graduating class. It hadn't produced a single noteworthy genius, let alone anyone who could get into Nine Provinces Academy.

This left him, someone who cared deeply about his hometown and valued his alma mater, sighing to himself...

While Chu Yuan's thoughts wandered, Wang Hai and the homeroom teachers from the other five classes walked over.

"Teacher Chu, it's an honor for these students that you've made time in your busy schedule to guide them."

"Exactly. I heard yesterday that your ninja squad hunted a C-Class Magical Beast, an Earth Snow Lion. I thought you'd be taking the day to recover, but you still came."

"Haha, everyone knows how much Teacher Chu cares about Yangcheng No. 1 High School!"

Aside from Wang Hai, the other five teachers were very deferential to Chu Yuan, their words tinged with flattery.

Chu Yuan smiled and nodded to each of them in turn. Finally, he looked at Wang Hai and respectfully bowed.

"Teacher."

"Mm."

Wang Hai accepted the greeting calmly, unlike the others who had tried to curry favor with Chu Yuan.

It wasn't that he was putting on airs because of his age. Chu Yuan had been his star pupil back then!

Wang Hai glanced over the students on the field, who couldn't even use the Three Body Technique properly, then sighed at Chu Yuan. "Alas, I really miss your graduating class."

"Teacher, don't lose heart. The college entrance exam is still a few days away. Maybe one of the juniors will suddenly break through and get a good score." Seeing his former mentor sigh, Chu Yuan offered some "insincere" comfort.

"Suddenly break through? Heh. Do you believe that yourself?"

"..."

Chu Yuan fell silent.

It was true. He didn't believe what he'd just said, either.

The other five teachers' expressions darkened at this. They were discouraged too, remembering the days when Yangcheng No. 1 High School had been in its heyday.

Just then, a sharp-eyed teacher spotted Su Bai sparring with Wang Qiang and exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? Old Wang, isn't that Su Bai from your class? Since when has he gotten so good?"

The others immediately followed his gaze!

They saw Su Bai defending himself against Wang Qiang's fierce attacks with ease, occasionally retaliating with the Three Body Technique!

Wang Hai's pupils contracted sharply. "That kid..."

At that moment, Su Bai and Wang Qiang were locked in combat, switching between attacking and defending without either gaining the upper hand!

"Damn it, you used to be a poor student. How can you be holding your own against me?" Wang Qiang dodged one of Su Bai's sharp punches and backed away.

Su Bai's strength had shocked him!

Su Bai looked at him calmly without saying a word, then formed Hand Seals.

"Clone Technique!"

Thud-thud!