Mystery of a Square Inch!

At the southeast corner of the sports field.

The Five Plains City team stood in a circle around Yuan Hongyan.

Compared to the noise around them, it was quiet here.

Yet the expressions on the students' faces kept shifting, clearly revealing that their hearts were anything but calm.

At last, a round-cheeked girl could not hold back any longer.

"Teacher, this isn't fair! Wang Jie from Wuyi No. 1 High School is at the Body Tempering Third Stage, and he's proficient in both movement techniques and martial skills. Who in the first year can compete with him?"

"Not fair?" Yuan Hongyan raised her eyelids slightly and said calmly,

"You cultivated your own strength, Lin Mengxiao. Wang Jie cultivated his Body Tempering Realm, movement techniques, and martial skills himself as well. What's unfair about that?"

"Besides, martial arts are about strength, not fairness!"

"When you face fierce beasts or Evil God Followers in the future, will you still argue with them about whether something is fair?"

Lin Mengxiao froze, but the unwillingness remained between her brows as she muttered,

"But... but..."

"Mengxiao, enough." Lin Fan spoke up and stopped his younger sister.

"You took first place in the second year, so of course you don't care about the rule change."

Lin Mengxiao grumbled softly. Lin Fan frowned, about to scold her.

Yuan Hongyan shook her head and waved him off before looking at Lin Fan.

"You've fought Fu Wu in the Battle Space before, haven't you? How did it go?"

"Fu Wu and I have been matched several times. He's also at Body Tempering Seventh Stage, and his movement techniques and martial skills have reached major mastery. We've each won and lost."

Lin Fan tightened his grip on his spear and said confidently,

"Don't worry, Teacher. I've gained new insights into my spear techniques these past two days. I should be able to beat him!"

As Yuan Hongyan listened, Wan Keshan's meaningful smile suddenly flashed through her mind, and she could not help asking,

"By the way, have you encountered any martial arts students from Fallen Blossom City in the Battle Space?"

"Fallen Blossom?" Lin Fan's expression faltered as he recalled what had happened that morning. Then he shook his head.

"Originally, Fallen Blossom's strongest should have been Zhong Xian. Given her ranking, she wouldn't have been matched against me.

"But this morning, I did run into someone named Li Qingshan. His movement technique was decent, but his Body Tempering Realm probably wasn't above the sixth stage. He wasn't my match."

"That's good, then."

Yuan Hongyan nodded, no longer dwelling on it as she returned to the main topic.

"Even if you're confident you can defeat Fu Wu, this is currently a free-for-all mode. You may not get a chance for a fair fight."

Lin Fan seemed to understand something.

"Teacher, do you mean they'll form groups?"

"What's there to fear about them grouping up? If they can form groups, so can we!"

Lin Mengxiao spoke proudly, and several people around her puffed out their chests.

Their average strength was no weaker than Wuyi No. 1 High School's.

Yuan Hongyan glanced at her students and shook her head before turning toward the center of the sports field.

Wuyi City had more than one high school.

At the center of the sports field,

Lu Jing stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the lean young man before him.

"Wang Jie, are you ready?"

"Don't worry, Teacher. I've already contacted students from several other high schools. They agreed to help me."

Wang Jie replied with a smile, wearing an expression of complete confidence.

Lu Jing had proposed the rule change, and as the first-year ace, Wang Jie naturally learned the news at once.

Lu Jing nodded and added another reminder.

"That's good. Just remember not to let your guard down."

Beside them, a burly young man with a cold expression frowned and spoke.

"Teacher, if we form groups in advance, what's the point of free-for-all mode?"

"Fu Wu, you've really got guts!" Wang Jie sneered mockingly.

"What? Do you actually want to fight a hundred people by yourself?"

Fu Wu's expression turned cold as he stared at Wang Jie.

"Don't forget that you're only first in the first year. Don't test my limits."

Wang Jie stiffened and shut his mouth.

"Enough. This isn't the time for you two to be at each other's throats."

Lu Jing waved a hand to stop their argument. Looking at Fu Wu, he asked seriously,

"Have you considered what matters most if you want to take first place in free-for-all mode?"

Fu Wu's lips moved, and he was about to say the word "strength," but judging from his teacher's expression, it was clearly not that simple.

"Survival!" Lu Jing gave the answer directly.

"In free-for-all mode, the battle continues until only one person remains."

"The first thing you need to do is find a way to survive until the end."

Lu Jing paused, his gaze shifting between the two students.

"I'm having you form groups mainly so you can protect yourselves."

"Protect ourselves?" Wang Jie and Fu Wu were both stunned.

"You'll form groups, and students from other cities will form groups too." Lu Jing shook his head and sighed.

"In fact, because you're from Wuyi No. 1 High School, you may very well face their combined targeting!"

Grand principles were things discussed in conference rooms.

A free-for-all involving hundreds of people did not mean one person necessarily had to fight a hundred.

At the very least, the shallow waters of Martial Righteous Province could not nurture such a dragon yet.

Lu Jing was not the only one who understood this. The other martial arts teachers understood it as well.

The Rookie Tournament's rule change was more about cultivating true prodigies in future Martial Arts Classes.

At those words, Wang Jie and Fu Wu both turned much more serious.

The Rookie Tournament's situation was even harsher than they had imagined.

"Teacher, I'll go contact a few more students I'm on good terms with." Wang Jie called out as he prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Fu Wu stopped Wang Jie and said coldly,

"Tomorrow morning, during the first-year Rookie Tournament, help me teach a martial arts student from Fallen Blossom a lesson. His name is Li Qingshan."

Wang Jie halted and said with an amused smile,

"Heh, is that how you ask for help? Why don't you teach this Li Qingshan a lesson yourself?"

Fu Wu frowned and emphasized every word.

"I'm telling you to teach him a lesson in the virtual Battle Space!"

Fu Wu did not want to involve himself in Yu Yuanjun's affairs, but he had no choice but to do so.

However, because it involved the Public Cultivation Discrimination Act, Fu Wu did not dare act rashly in reality.

Lu Jing did not care about disputes between students. What path of martial arts was ever peaceful and harmonious?

But when Fu Wu mentioned "Fallen Blossom," Lu Jing could not ignore it.

"Fallen Blossom? Li Qingshan?"

Lu Jing looked at Fu Wu and asked,

"What year is this Li Qingshan in? How strong is he?"

"Li Qingshan is a first-year student. His strength... should be pretty strong, I guess?" Fu Wu was not too sure either.

The main issue was that Yu Yuanjun was only at the Body Tempering Second Stage and had been defeated instantly, leaving no way to gauge Li Qingshan's true strength.

Lu Jing nodded and seriously warned Wang Jie,

"Be careful of this Li Qingshan. Don't be careless."

Remembering Wan Keshan's behavior in the conference room, Lu Jing felt vaguely uneasy.

So he rose onto his toes and looked toward the northwest side of the sports field.

That was where the teachers and students from Fallen Blossom were gathered.

A young man stood among the crowd, especially conspicuous.

Just as Lu Jing was about to take a closer look, a burly figure stepped in front of him, blocking his view.

A meaningful smile hung on that rugged face.

Lu Jing had no choice but to withdraw his gaze and curse under his breath.

"Madman Wan!"

"Shorty Lu!"

Wan Keshan grinned smugly and turned toward the students.

After the new rules were announced, the impact on the Fallen Blossom students had been no less severe.

The ones most affected were Yu Lei and Zhong Xian.

That was because both of them had truly intended to give it their all this time and fight for a spot in the top ten.

But some time had already passed, and both had calmed down.

At that moment, everyone's attention was focused on Li Qingshan.

With the rules changed, Li Qingshan was undoubtedly the greatest beneficiary.

With Li Qingshan's strength, taking first place in the first year was practically guaranteed!

Under everyone's gaze, Li Qingshan still stood there blankly, his eyes nearly glowing gold.

Wan Keshan's face darkened, and he walked over and gave him a slap.

Smack!

"Kid, snap out of it! Look at you, acting like you've seen money! Don't tell people you're my student when you're out there!"

Li Qingshan rubbed his shoulder, grimacing in pain.

"Teacher, that's 100 million Star Coins!"

Although the Thunder-Pattern Blade was also worth 100 million, he could only look at it and not spend it. It was nowhere near as tempting as 100 million Star Coins he could freely use.

"Just 100 million?"

Wan Keshan shook his head and walked toward a secluded corner.

"Come with me!"

Li Qingshan's eyes flickered as he followed him.

Once no one else was around, Wan Keshan stopped and looked at Li Qingshan with a faintly amused smile.

"What? You don't want to skip a grade now?"

"Teacher, won't first place in the second year be difficult to contend for?" Li Qingshan hesitated slightly.

Whether he skipped a grade or not did not matter. In any case, he could not possibly stay in the Martial Arts Class for all three years.

But his previous plan had only been to fight for a place in the second-year top ten.

As for first place? Li Qingshan felt that even if Lost-Trace Steps reached perfection, it still seemed unlikely.

"Whether it's difficult depends on whether you can truly comprehend the Mystery of a Square Inch and cultivate Lost-Trace Steps to perfection!"

Wan Keshan's piercing gaze made Li Qingshan's scalp prickle, and he could not help asking doubtfully,

"Teacher, I can naturally do what I said, but is Lost-Trace Steps really that strong?"

"What's strong isn't Lost-Trace Steps, but the Mystery of a Square Inch!" Wan Keshan shook his head gently and sighed.

"It is one of the cores of the A-rank martial art, Heavenly Net Lost-Trace Steps!"

"The Mystery of a Square Inch brings the art of shifting, dodging, and maneuvering to the extreme. It is most suited for free-for-alls!"

"So..." Wan Keshan's lips curled upward.

"You understand, right?"

"Thank you, Teacher. I understand."

Li Qingshan's heart settled, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Teacher, please help me prepare the materials for my grade-skipping application."