School

Elsewhere.

Third Martial Arts High School, Anning City, Senior Year Class Three.

After the second morning class, the classroom was in an uproar.

Some students lay sprawled over their desks catching up on sleep, some gathered to discuss yesterday's mock exam, while several girls clustered around Lin Qingxue's desk, chirping away with questions.

"Qingxue, you're so close to Song Chen. What has he been doing lately?"

"Yeah, yeah. I heard he performed amazingly in the last field training. What's his Vitality Value now?"

Lin Qingxue was a little embarrassed by the questions, but the corners of her lips still curled upward. "I don't know the exact number, but during his last martial artist assessment, it seemed like he was already at 2.2."

One girl cried out in surprise. "2.2? Wasn't he still at 0.6 before?"

"Yeah, isn't that increase way too fast...?"

Lin Qingxue recalled what she had seen at the Martial Arts Association that day, and she still felt dazed.

One slash to kill a First Rank upper-grade Iron-Armored Rhino, Lightning Ability, a Vitality Value of 2.2.

At some point, Song Chen had already left her far behind.

"Qingxue, do you like him?" a girl asked softly.

Lin Qingxue's face instantly flushed red. "D-Don't talk nonsense..."

A wave of good-natured teasing rose through the classroom.

Just then, the classroom door was shoved open.

Their homeroom teacher, Li Guohua, stood in the doorway with a strange expression, as though he had seen a ghost.

Everyone fell silent.

"Teacher Li, what's wrong?" a student asked cautiously.

Li Guohua opened his mouth, but no words came out.

He walked into the classroom and stood at the podium. His gaze swept over the room before finally settling on the empty seat in the corner.

That was Song Chen's seat. Since the field training ended, Song Chen had not attended class.

His voice was somewhat dry. "Song Chen... do you know what he has been doing lately?"

The students looked at one another.

"No idea. Didn't he go on field training?"

"I heard something happened at home?"

"Maybe he's cultivating?"

Li Guohua drew a deep breath.

"I just received word that Song Chen has joined Divine Dragon Martial Hall."

The classroom went silent for a second, then someone laughed.

"Divine Dragon Martial Hall? The biggest martial hall in Anning City?"

"Teacher Li, you're joking, right? Divine Dragon Martial Hall's entry requirements are incredibly strict. You have to at least be Peak First Rank, and you need someone to recommend you..."

"Exactly. How could Song Chen possibly get in?"

Li Guohua said nothing. He waited for them to finish before slowly speaking. "Not as an ordinary member. He became a core member."

The classroom fell completely silent.

A core member of Divine Dragon Martial Hall?

What kind of concept was that?

It was an identity only the most outstanding group among Anning City's younger generation could obtain. Every core member was a key target of the martial hall's training, enjoying the best cultivation resources and the highest treatment.

More importantly, becoming a core member meant that his strength had been recognized by Anning City's largest martial hall.

Song Chen?

That Song Chen with a Vitality Value of 0.6?

"N-No way..." someone muttered.

Li Guohua gave a bitter smile. "I thought it was impossible too, but the news came directly from Divine Dragon Martial Hall. It has already been reported to the Education Bureau."

"The Education Bureau just sent out a notice asking the school to properly commend this outstanding student."

He paused and took another deep breath. "And there's something even more explosive."

Everyone's hearts rose into their throats.

"Yesterday, at Divine Dragon Martial Hall, Song Chen fought Wang Tieshan, a Peak Second Rank martial artist."

"In the end, Wang Tieshan admitted defeat."

The classroom exploded.

"Peak Second Rank?!"

"Song Chen? That Song Chen with 0.6?!"

"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"

Lin Qingxue sat at her desk, completely dumbfounded.

He had defeated a Peak Second Rank martial artist?

She remembered Song Chen killing the Iron-Armored Rhino in seconds at the Martial Arts Association that day. Back then, she had thought that was already his limit.

So it wasn't. That had only been the tip of the iceberg.

Li Guohua slapped the desk. "Quiet! All of you, quiet down!"

The classroom slowly settled down, but every face still bore disbelief.

Li Guohua looked at them and slowly said, "I know it's hard for you to believe. To be honest, I don't quite believe it myself, but it's the truth."

He paused, his gaze falling upon that empty seat.

"Song Chen's current Vitality Value is reportedly 9.6, just one step away from Second Rank."

"9.6!"

A girl covered her mouth, nearly crying out.

One boy's jaw nearly hit the floor.

Someone else dropped a pen, which struck the ground with a crisp sound.

Lin Qingxue's hands were trembling.

9.6.

What kind of cultivation speed was that?

What kind of monster was he?

"And he has awakened a Lightning Ability."

No one in the classroom could make a sound anymore.

At this point, even Li Guohua's voice floated unsteadily. "And his blade technique—he has trained a C-grade combat skill to the Mastery Realm."

Mastery Realm.

Someone began to wonder whether they were dreaming.

A C-grade combat skill, at the Mastery Realm.

What did that mean?

It meant that his understanding of that blade technique had already surpassed the vast majority of Third Rank martial artists.

Eighteen years old.

A C-grade combat skill at Mastery Realm.

What kind of talent was that?

The class monitor spoke with difficulty. "Teacher Li... are you sure the information is right? Could it be someone with the same name?"

Li Guohua shook his head.

"I thought that at first too. But the information Divine Dragon Martial Hall sent over clearly says: Song Chen, male, eighteen years old, student of Senior Year Class Three at Third Martial Arts High School in Anning City, parents Song Zhengye and Li Xiuying, living in the slums..."

He read off a string of details.

Every piece of information matched the Song Chen in their class.

The classroom once again sank into dead silence.

Some looked toward the empty seat, their expressions complicated.

Some lowered their heads, not knowing what they were thinking.

Others secretly glanced at Lin Qingxue, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy.

Lin Qingxue noticed none of it.

She merely sat there blankly, her mind utterly empty.

Song Chen—the one she had stopped at the training grounds and urged, "Don't go throw your life away."

Song Chen—the one who had accepted the blade she gave him before the field training outside the city and said, "I'll return it when I'm back."

Song Chen—the one who had killed the Iron-Armored Rhino with one slash at the Martial Arts Association.

A Vitality Value of 9.6.

A C-grade ability.

A C-grade combat skill at Mastery Realm.

A core member of Divine Dragon Martial Hall.

She suddenly recalled something Song Chen had said to her that day at the Martial Arts Association.

"Right now... I guess I'm doing okay?"

This was doing okay?

Li Guohua's voice continued in the classroom.

"With Song Chen's results, the Martial Arts College Entrance Exam is already in the bag. Forget key universities—even those top academies in Shangjing are entirely within reach."

He paused, a trace of emotion in his tone.

"In all the years since our Third Middle School was founded, we've never produced a student of this caliber."

No one spoke. Everyone remained silent.

Some remembered the things they had once said to mock Song Chen.

"Trash with 0.6."

"With Vitality Value that low, what university are you even trying to get into?"

"What good is being first in actual combat? If your Vitality Value isn't high enough, no matter how good you are in actual combat, it's all for nothing."

Those words now sounded like slaps across their own faces.

Li Guohua took a deep breath and clapped his hands. "Enough. Stop standing around in a daze. Next class is combat training. Go gather at the field."

The students rose one after another and headed out of the classroom.

Yet every one of them still wore that dazed expression.

Lin Qingxue was the last to leave the classroom. Standing at the door, she looked back at that empty seat.

Sunlight streamed in through the windows, falling across the desk.

She suddenly remembered that Song Chen had always sat there in the past, quietly reading, never participating in the classroom's bustle.

Back then, no one noticed him.

And now?

She withdrew her gaze and left the classroom.

The sunlight in the corridor was just right. From the distant field came the sounds of students warming up.

It seemed as though nothing had changed.

But everything had already become different.