Warrior Promotion Banquet

A few hours later, Chen Lie heard his communicator ring. He stopped cultivating the Lingguang Divine Refinement Chapter, got out of bed, and picked it up. It was an unfamiliar number.

After giving it some thought, Chen Lie accepted the call.

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

The moment the call connected, a familiar voice came through the communicator.

"Oh, Boss Yang. Did those ten sets of Skyshattering Fist crystal cards sell?" Chen Lie asked.

"Skyshattering Fist crystal cards are hot sellers and in high demand. I sold them all in one afternoon—not a single card was left."

"Oh, that's good."

"I'm contacting you this time to ask whether you have time today. I managed to get hold of some blank crystal cards from others in the trade.

"If you have time, would you rather come over, or send me an address and I'll bring the blank crystal cards to you?"

"You got blank crystal cards again?" Chen Lie's interest was piqued. "I'll come over myself. Just wait for me at your shop."

"Alright, alright. I'll be right here at the shop. Come whenever you like."

Chen Lie ended the call, walked out of his room, and washed his face in the bathroom.

When he reached the living room, he found his mother, Feng Yuelan, packing things.

"Chen Lie, today is the day Uncle He from next door is holding a warrior banquet. Do you want to go?"

Feng Yuelan asked when she saw Chen Lie.

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

Feng Yuelan could not help asking, "What have you been busy with all day? Have you been training hard lately? It's been several days already. Has there been any progress in your blood vitality?"

Seeing the look on his mother's face, Chen Lie froze for a moment, then handed her his elite student ID.

"Mom, look at this."

Feng Yuelan took the item Chen Lie handed her and held it up before her eyes. "What is this? Wait... an elite student ID?"

The card read:

Elite Class Student ID

Student Name: Chen Lie

Class: Elite Student Class 5

Instructor: Hong Chengshuo

(Issued by the Elite Martial Arts Division of East River Province First Key High School)

Feng Yuelan lowered the elite student ID and stared at Chen Lie in shock. "You got into the elite class?"

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

"When did this happen?"

"Just two days ago."

"Two days ago? Why didn't you tell me sooner? Other people have their parents accompany them for the elite student assessment. If you'd told me earlier, I could've had your dad come back early to go with you."

Chen Lie waved his hand. "There was no need. Dad's work is so busy—why make him come all the way back? My blood vitality had already met the standard. The elite student assessment was just a formality for me."

Feng Yuelan looked at Chen Lie's elite student ID, unsure how she felt.

Her son had truly made something of himself. Without saying a word, he had passed the elite student assessment. It seemed he really had been guided by someone from beyond the stars.

"How did your blood vitality increase so quickly? It's only been a few days, and you've already broken through 3 and joined the elite class?" Feng Yuelan could not help asking again.

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

"Alright. Mom won't ask anymore."

Feng Yuelan nodded and said, "Go get ready and change clothes. Come with me to the warrior promotion banquet Uncle He next door is holding for his son, Zhenming."

"Didn't I say I had something to do and wasn't going?" Chen Lie said.

"What do you have to do? Is it related to martial arts cultivation?" Feng Yuelan asked.

"No."

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

"Fine."

Seeing that his mother insisted, Chen Lie nodded in agreement. Still, he could not be bothered to change clothes.

After leaving home, Feng Yuelan hailed a speedboat to Changdong City Martial Arts Student Hotel.

On the speedboat, Chen Lie asked, "Mom, didn't they say they'd come pick us up?"

"That was just polite talk. We're only one family—were we really going to make them come get us?" Feng Yuelan said.

Before long, the speedboat arrived outside Changdong City Martial Arts Student Hotel.

After Chen Lie and his mother Feng Yuelan got off the speedboat, they entered the hotel.

The moment they entered, Chen Lie saw Liu Lianqing come up to greet them.

"Oh my, Chen Lie's mom, why are you only getting here now? Quick, quick, upstairs to the second floor. Come in, we've all been waiting for you."

Feng Yuelan smiled and nodded, following Liu Lianqing toward the second floor. Chen Lie followed behind his mother.

"Huh? Is it just you two? Why didn't Chen Lie's dad and Xingyao come?"

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

"The two of them—one is busy with work, and the other is busy studying. Neither could make time," Feng Yuelan said.

"That's a shame. We won't be able to properly catch up."

Liu Lianqing shook her head with a sigh.

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

Congratulations to Cloud River Key Martial Arts University student He Zhenming on his promotion to warrior.

Liu Lianqing led Chen Lie and his mother to a private room. "Chen Lie's mom, you and Chen Lie sit here. Zhenming's dad is busy, but Zhenming is here. Once I'm done, I'll come over too. Let's have a good gathering today."

"Zhenming, come over and greet Aunt Feng."

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

"Hello, Aunt Feng."

"This is Zhenming? It's been so long I almost didn't recognize you. Go on, sit down!"

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

Liu Lianqing added, "You should take Chen Lie and sit down too. We're all old acquaintances."

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

"Well, if it isn't Chen Lie?"

Chen Lie had barely sat down when he heard the voice. Turning his head, he saw that it belonged to a middle-aged woman.

"This is Aunt Gao."

Feng Yuelan reminded Chen Lie from beside him.

"Hello, Aunt Gao."

Chen Lie greeted her.

Forget about the fact that more than seventy years had passed—even in his previous life, he definitely would not have remembered these neighbors.

Ever since his second year of high school, he had rarely gone out. His life had been nothing but home and school, and even when he occasionally ran into neighbors, he would go out of his way to avoid them.

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

"Say, Zhenming, you're already a sophomore in college, aren't you? Why did you only break through to warrior now?

"My Qingqing was promoted to warrior at the beginning of the year."

He Zhenming said, "Aunt Gao, you may not know this, but becoming a warrior early is not necessarily a good thing. It depends on one's blood vitality before the breakthrough. The higher your blood vitality is during the blood vitality stage, the greater your future potential will be.

"What was Qingqing's blood vitality when she broke through to warrior?"

Aunt Gao thought for a moment. "Around two hundred cards, I suppose."

He Zhenming smiled faintly. "There you have it. Before I broke through to warrior, my blood vitality was already close to three hundred cards.

"Don't underestimate the gap of one hundred cards of blood vitality. It is a crucial factor that determines how far someone can go in martial arts."

After hearing that, Aunt Gao stopped talking to He Zhenming and turned to Chen Lie again.

"Chen Lie, you're in your third year of high school now. How is it? Has your blood vitality broken through 1 yet?"

Chen Lie nodded. "It has."

Aunt Gao said seriously, "Breaking through 1 is only the beginning. Your sister Qingqing had already been cultivating in the elite class for more than half a year at your age.

"You can't slack off either. Hurry up and break through 3 so you can join the elite class. There's no future in an ordinary class.

"Huh? If I remember correctly, you never made it into the elite class either, did you? Right, Zhenming?"

After saying that last sentence, Aunt Gao turned to He Zhenming again.

He Zhenming said, "The elite class and ordinary class do not really prove anything.

"Although I didn't make it into the elite class, many students at Cloud River Key Martial Arts University who had entered elite classes in high school have ended up performing worse than me.

"Besides, it wasn't that I lacked the ability to enter the elite class.

"My university instructor's evaluation of me was that I progressed steadily, built up strength over time, and came from behind. My martial arts cultivation only truly began to take off in my third year of high school.

"Aunt Gao, you may not know this, but schools tighten the promotion channels for elite students in the third year of high school. For a third-year martial arts student, even breaking through 3—or even 4—doesn't guarantee entry into the elite class.

"That was what happened to me. Although my strength had already met the standard during my first semester of third year, the school raised the standards for the elite student assessment. By the time my strength was sufficient, the school had already closed the path for third-year martial arts students to be promoted to elite students."

"Is that really true?" Aunt Gao said. "Why did I hear that once your blood vitality breaks through 3, you can directly enter the elite class?"

He Zhenming said calmly, "Martial arts on Blue Star are constantly advancing. I can say for certain that the elite student assessments for today's second- and third-year martial arts students are much harder than they were in my day.

"If you don't believe me, Aunt Gao, just find any student who is preparing to take the elite student assessment and ask them.

"Ask whether a third-year martial arts student whose blood vitality has broken through 3, but who falls short in other areas, can pass the elite student assessment.

"I dare say that even for a third-year martial arts student—and perhaps even a second-year martial arts student—breaking through 3 in blood vitality alone would not necessarily be enough to pass the elite student assessment if they failed to meet the standards in other areas."

"Is that really how it is?" Aunt Gao was filled with doubt.

He Zhenming nodded. "Of course. So, Aunt Gao, don't make things difficult for Chen Lie either. Even if his blood vitality breaks through 3, he still won't be able to enter the elite class.

"And this semester is about to end. Next semester, the school will close the route for ordinary martial arts students to advance into the elite class.

"So Chen Lie has no hope of entering the elite class."

As he spoke, He Zhenming looked at Chen Lie.

"How can the elite student assessment be as difficult as you say?"

Feng Yuelan spoke at that moment.

"Aunt Feng, you haven't paid attention to the elite student assessment, so you may not understand how difficult it is—"

He Zhenming had just begun to speak when Feng Yuelan cut him off directly. "I really don't know how difficult the elite student assessment is, but Chen Lie is already in the elite class now. That means he's passed the assessment, and I haven't heard him say it was difficult at all."