A Second Mu Yu?

Whooo!

The whistle blared as the train slowly pulled forward, the scenery of the platform sliding past the windows on either side.

Inside the carriage, teacher and student stood facing each other, speechless for a moment.

Wan Keshan had wanted to argue, but when he thought about how Li Qingshan had always followed through on everything he said since enrolling, he could not help swallowing his words.

After a moment of silence, he finally spoke.

"Fine, I believe you can do it. But are you really sure you want to skip a grade?"

Seeing Wan Keshan's serious expression and recalling his earlier words, Li Qingshan could not help asking in confusion.

"Teacher, is skipping a grade troublesome?"

"It isn't. I just need to fill out some paperwork and submit it." Wan Keshan shook his head and asked in return, "But have you considered this? The Martial Arts Class only has three grades. There is no such thing as repeating a year. Once you skip a grade, it means you will have one less year in the Martial Arts Class."

Li Qingshan finally understood what Wan Keshan was worried about and answered without hesitation.

"Teacher, it's fine. The remaining time is enough for me to reach the top hundred in Old Continent and head to New Continent."

"Fine my ass!" Wan Keshan raised a hand to his forehead and said helplessly, "Of course I know you can get to New Continent, but New Continent is only the beginning!"

Li Qingshan's heart stirred. Remembering their conversation from three months ago, he asked quietly.

"Teacher, are you worried about the 'Final Battle'?"

The Final Battle was the entrance qualification battle for New Continent Martial Arts University.

"That's right. The gap between martial arts universities in New Continent is far from ordinary." Wan Keshan gave a brief explanation and glanced at Li Qingshan.

"You know who's currently ranked first in Old Continent, right?"

"Mu Yu?" Of course Li Qingshan remembered that name that had dominated the rankings.

"Mu Yu is a super genius from Heavenly Fortune Province. Back in her second year, she already had the strength to break into the top fifty."

"But she kept her ranking outside the top hundred and did not go to New Continent early."

"If I'm not mistaken..." Wan Keshan paused, then said with emotion, "Her goal should be Purple Star Academy."

Wan Keshan did not explain just how powerful Purple Star Academy was, and Li Qingshan did not ask.

Because there was no need to.

The planet beneath their feet was called Purple Star.

For it to bear the name Purple Star, one could imagine what kind of existence it was.

"I originally thought you might become a second Mu Yu, but after skipping a grade, you'll have one less year. I'm afraid..."

Wan Keshan glanced at his student, then ultimately laughed freely.

"Forget it. I've said what needed to be said. The road is yours to choose!"

"Thank you, Teacher!"

Li Qingshan bowed slightly and thanked him sincerely.

Wan Keshan did not know he had cheats, so it was only natural for him to worry.

After all, in others' eyes, skipping a grade just for the rewards from a Rookie Tournament was obviously unwise.

But for Li Qingshan, with the panel, his rate of improvement would only become faster and faster.

One step ahead meant every step ahead.

He simply could not wait until he graduated normally in his third year before heading to New Continent.

Even next June's Final Battle was not entirely beyond his reach.

Becoming a second Mu Yu was naturally impossible.

After all, he was Li Qingshan!

After the teacher and student finished talking, they returned to the Martial Arts Class carriage.

The carriage was quiet. Everyone was listening intently as Teacher Li explained the precautions for this Rookie Tournament.

"Martial Righteous Province covers a vast area and counts as a large province. Apart from the provincial capital, Wuyi City, there are another sixty-five ordinary cities."

"The number of Rookie Tournament slots is equal to the number of Virtual Pods each city possesses. Each city has ten slots, while Wuyi's ten high schools each have ten slots."

"That makes seven hundred and fifty participants in total. As for the exact numbers from the first and second years, that depends on each school's allocation."

"Still, they should be similar to us at Luoying, with roughly one-third being first-years."

As Teacher Li spoke, his gaze passed over Li Qingshan before settling on Zhong Xian and the others.

"In other words, you probably have around five hundred opponents."

With Li Qingshan among the first-years, there was no suspense at all.

But among the second-years, even Zhong Xian would find it extremely difficult to compete for a ranking.

After hearing Teacher Li's words, everyone's expressions grew solemn.

Although they had long been mentally prepared, hearing how many people would be participating still made them uneasy.

After all, now that they were already on the train, who did not want to bring home a good result?

Yet among these hundreds of people, every one of them was no weaker than they were, perhaps even stronger.

Trying to fight for a place in the top ten was easier said than done.

For a moment, no one spoke, and the carriage fell completely silent.

The scenery outside flashed by swiftly. Li Qingshan leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes.

[Lost-Trace Steps 2951/3000 (Mastery)]

Two hours passed quickly. The train gradually slowed and pulled into the station.

"Dear passengers, the train is about to arrive at Wuyi Station. Passengers disembarking at Wuyi Station, please prepare your luggage and get off the train."

As the announcement sounded, the train came to a stop at the platform.

"Grab your weapons and get off!"

With a call from Wan Keshan, he led everyone off the train.

They had only taken a few steps after getting off when Zhao Hongzhou suddenly grabbed Li Qingshan's arm and shouted.

"Brother Shan, look! The opponents are here."

Li Qingshan halted and looked in the direction he pointed.

In the distance, a group of people was getting off another train. Their lineup was similar to Li Qingshan's group: ten students carrying weapons, following behind two teachers.

"They should be here for the Rookie Tournament too."

Li Qingshan nodded and withdrew his gaze.

"Nothing strange about that."

Yu Lei also glanced over and explained.

"We're all within the province. Even the furthest trips only take a few hours by train. The teams from the other cities probably all left today as well."

As she spoke, another competing team got off a train.

Li Qingshan was no longer surprised. He gave them a casual glance and continued forward.

Yu Lei was right. The Martial Arts Classes from all sixty-five cities had likely arrived this morning.

As they neared the exit, more and more teams with the same setup appeared.

Outside the exit, a banner had been hung up.

"Welcome teachers and students of Martial Arts Classes from all cities to Wuyi City for the Rookie Tournament!"

Beneath the banner, people bustled back and forth, making it look rather like college orientation from Li Qingshan's previous life.

"Teacher Li Xuan, long time no see!"

A thin male teacher approached Li Qingshan's group with a smile.

However, when he spotted Wan Keshan beside Teacher Li, his smile froze.

"Wan Keshan! Why are you here?"

"Watch how you speak!" Wan Keshan frowned and said unhappily. "Wang Yuzhi, is this how Wuyi No. 1 High School treats its guests?"

"No, no..." Wang Yuzhi hurriedly waved his hands, forcing out a smile.

"It's just that you haven't come to Wuyi in so long. I was a little surprised, that's all."

"Hehe, don't worry. There'll be plenty more to surprise you this time."

Wan Keshan smiled meaningfully and did not pursue the matter further.

Although Wang Yuzhi found it strange that Wan Keshan had suddenly become so easygoing, he did not think much of it and instead said.

"You two, come back to the school with me first! The school has already prepared a meeting room to discuss the specific arrangements for this Rookie Tournament."

"A meeting?" Teacher Li looked puzzled. There had been no such procedure in previous years.

"A meeting it is!" Wan Keshan did not care in the slightest and waved a hand. "Lead the way! I'd like to see what tricks you people are trying to pull."