School Begins

In the blink of an eye, two days passed, and the new school year officially began.

Chen Wu, now a newly minted senior, arrived at school early to show off a completely different bearing from before.

He saw a crowd of students who had arrived even earlier gathered around the bulletin board beside the school gate, apparently looking at something.

Among them, Chen Wu spotted a classmate from his memories—Chai Lei.

After one summer apart, Chai Lei had already reached the third transformation of Tempering Origin.

Chen Wu stepped forward and asked, "Chai Lei, what happened? Why is everyone gathered here?"

Without turning around, Chai Lei replied instinctively, "The school is setting up a martial arts special training class, but the minimum requirement is the fourth transformation of Tempering Origin. That's one level higher than in previous years. What kind of nonsense is this?"

As he spoke, he looked rather dejected.

He had spent the entire summer reaching the third transformation of Tempering Origin, filled with lofty ambitions of joining the special training class.

Yet on the first day of school, he was told the rules had changed. It was already impressive enough that he had not completely fallen apart.

Chen Wu, who knew the inside story behind the changes, knew the school was preparing for the upcoming special recruitment by prestigious universities, so he said nothing more.

Once they reached the classroom, the teacher would announce it anyway.

Thus, Chen Wu thanked Chai Lei. "Thanks. See you in class later."

With that, he headed toward the teaching building.

Only then did Chai Lei turn around. Looking at the already distant figure, he scratched his head and muttered, "Wait, who was that guy? Why did he say he'd see me in class? Was he a transfer student from another city? Didn't the Education Bureau already stipulate that transfer students had to begin from the first semester of their first year locally and complete all three years before they could take the martial arts entrance exam? And how did he know my name?"

After entering the classroom, Chen Wu looked around and found that he had still arrived fairly early. Aside from the class monitor and the study representative, the subject representatives and group leaders had yet to arrive.

The class monitor was Wu Yiming, male, fourth transformation of Tempering Origin, and the only person in the class who could rival Chen Wu in height.

The study representative was Zhao Zihan, female, fourth transformation of Tempering Origin. Her face was fair and delicate, and standing beside the 1.9-meter-tall Chen Wu, she appeared somewhat petite.

"Student, did you enter the wrong classroom?"

Seeing Chen Wu come in, Wu Yiming spoke up.

"No. This is Senior Year Class 3."

Chen Wu was somewhat baffled. He even stuck his head out the door to look at the class sign in the hallway.

"This is indeed Senior Year Class 3, but I don't remember our class having a student like you."

Wu Yiming rose from his seat and walked over to Chen Wu.

As a provincial key high school, Jinlian No. 1 High School had eight first-year classes in total, with literary and martial arts tracks assigned upon enrollment.

There were five martial arts classes and three literary arts classes, each with around thirty students.

Including the faculty and staff, the total population remained just over a thousand.

Because martial arts existed, class monitors held somewhat greater authority—and correspondingly greater responsibility.

Chen Wu sighed. He had forgotten something important.

His original self had spent his second year of high school in a rather dispirited state, practically invisible within the class.

Moreover, since he did not practice martial arts, his entire body had looked rather frail.

After two months of martial arts training and spiritual energy nourishment over the summer, Chen Wu had changed from the inside out. Calling him handsome and elegant would not be an exaggeration.

It was only natural that Wu Yiming could not recognize him.

Chen Wu quickly identified himself. "Class Monitor Wu, it's me—Chen Wu."

"What?! You're Chen Wu?!"

Looking at his classmate's earth-shaking transformation, Wu Yiming recalled a strange incident that had occurred in the class group chat during the first few days of summer vacation.

When he had seen Zhang Qian post a message in the group saying that Chen Wu had started practicing martial arts, he had not paid much attention to it.

After all, he had needed to devote himself fully to preparing for the special training class and the martial arts entrance exam. He had no spare time to concern himself with other people's affairs.

Who would have thought that after two months apart, this legend of Jincheng No. 1 High School had truly turned back from the lost road?

Wu Yiming immediately took out his phone and looked at the class photo from their second year, finding Chen Wu's spot within it.

After comparing them, he found that the eyebrows and eyes were indeed the same.

"So it's Student Chen. Sorry, after one summer apart, I could barely recognize you. Oh, right—your seat is still the same as before, the second-to-last row by the window."

As the class monitor, yet unable to recognize a classmate he had spent two years with, Wu Yiming felt he had neglected his duty. He awkwardly squeezed out a smile and pointed Chen Wu toward his seat.

"Thanks."

Chen Wu thanked him, then walked over to his seat and sat down.

About twenty minutes later, more than a dozen classmates gradually arrived, and discussions began to fill the classroom.

At first, they merely complained about the changes to this year's martial arts entrance exam special training class.

But after noticing Chen Wu, they turned their discussion toward him.

The special training class was already beyond their reach. Rather than drowning in a sorrowful past, they might as well focus on the present.

The topic was who exactly was so bold as to sit in that Jinlian legend's seat.

That lord was someone even the principal and grade director did not dare speak harshly to.

Their homeroom teacher, Old He, only asked that he show up in class at all, never caring if he slept through lessons.

Quite a few students looked at him curiously, including Chai Lei, whom he had met earlier at the school gate.

In the end, Wu Yiming, as the class monitor, stepped forward and confirmed Chen Wu's identity for the class.

After provoking a burst of astonished exclamations, the discussion finally came to an end.

Zhang Qian, who had once met Chen Wu in the training room, was among the last to arrive.

Chen Wu took a look and found that she had already reached the fourth transformation of Tempering Origin.

She had become the fourth person in Senior Year Class 3 to reach that realm.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

As morning self-study began, a middle-aged male teacher wearing black-rimmed glasses entered the classroom. He was Teacher He, the homeroom teacher of Senior Year Class 3.

He announced to the students, "I have something to inform you all about. I imagine many of you have already learned about it from the bulletin board at the school gate."

"Starting this month, Jincheng No. 1 High School will officially establish the Class of 2110 Martial Arts Entrance Exam Special Training Class."

"The selection requirements are: newly enrolled seniors at the fourth transformation of Tempering Origin or above. Anyone interested may apply."

"The special training class has twenty spots. Each student will receive one mid-grade Qi-Concentrating Pill per month, as well as three top-grade Qi-Accumulating Pills."

When mentioning the pills, the middle-aged teacher added, "We also have to thank Principal Li. Because the children of the master who refines top-grade Qi-Concentrating Pills will also be taking the martial arts entrance exam this year, the pill output rate has dropped drastically. Even the existing stock was bought up in advance by Martial Arts Teachers' Affiliated High School and Jincheng No. 1 High School. For this reason, Principal Li personally made a trip to the Jincheng Alchemists' City Branch to secure benefits for the students in our school's martial arts entrance exam special training class."

"Besides one mid-grade Qi-Concentrating Pill per month, each person can also receive three top-grade Qi-Accumulating Pills."

"As for the special training class instructors, Xun Fei, Teacher Xun, who has taught several previous cohorts, will remain in charge. I, Li Chuan, Teacher Li, will assist him. The principal will also come by from time to time to provide guidance and lessons."

"Now, if you have any questions, please raise your hands and speak."