I Mean It

Yang Sheng had actually transferred into the High-Aspiration Class.

Just a few days ago, he had been a lowly Lower Registry nobody begging him desperately. How had he suddenly become a student in the High-Aspiration Class?

How was that possible?!

Li Yan roared inwardly.

What gave him the right to enter the High-Aspiration Class? Back in his first year, Li Yan had worked so hard to curry favor with Jiang Tian.

Yet Jiang Tian had not even given him a proper glance.

But now, at this crucial point with only one month left until the Martial Arts Entrance Exam—

The High-Aspiration Class had actually accepted Yang Sheng.

Did Jiang Tian not care about the admission rate?

Li Yan could not make sense of it no matter how he thought about it. After mulling it over, only one answer seemed correct.

"Yang Sheng's truck-driver father loves bribing people. Who knows how much money he gave Jiang Tian."

"I took ten thousand from him without doing anything because I wanted to teach him a lesson. I never expected that old fool to remain so stubborn. Who knows how much money a family like that has? He probably sold off his old family homestead just to scrape together enough to give away."

"I originally thought Jiang Tian was a highly respected teacher. Turns out he is just another fame-chasing hypocrite. Taking money to admit trash like Yang Sheng into the class this time was incredibly shortsighted!"

"Once the Martial Arts Entrance Exam is over and the admission rate gets dragged down, will Jiang Tian cry? Looks like Teacher Zhao finally has a chance this time."

Thinking of this, Li Yan sneered.

He stared at Yang Sheng, watching him walk step by step toward Li Yan's former desk to pack his things.

Yang Sheng did not have much of his own.

Just a few basic martial arts manuals, some banknotes, and a pair of old peeling boxing gloves.

But no matter how shabby they were, they were still his belongings.

After Yang Sheng finished packing and reached the classroom door—

Li Yan suddenly said in a low voice, "Yang Sheng, right? We'll meet at the Martial Arts Entrance Exam."

Yang Sheng stopped and turned his face slightly.

"Then I'll personally beat you to death with my fists."

With that, he and Liu Chang turned and left.

Leaving behind a stunned Li Yan.

"Bastard!"

Li Yan instantly flew into a rage.

He punched the iron door, instantly denting the thick, heavy metal.

"What the hell is he? How dare he say that to me?!"

The students who had originally wanted to come over and persuade him hurriedly stopped in their tracks.

They knew Li Yan's temper all too well.

Anyone who crossed him would not have a good end.

As Li Yan raged helplessly, Liu Chang also said to Yang Sheng in a somewhat reproachful tone, "That Li Yan is a lunatic. You actually said something like that to provoke him."

Yang Sheng said seriously, "I mean it."

Liu Chang covered her face.

It seemed she really needed to suggest to the teacher that Yang Sheng repeat a year.

She had mentioned it to Jiang Tian before.

She had suggested that Yang Sheng stay back a year and take the Martial Arts Entrance Exam next year.

After all, Yang Sheng was only at Lesser Completion of Bright Force. His chances of getting into a good Martial Arts University were not high to begin with.

He was very likely to end up at a martial arts vocational college.

Though a good undergraduate program was not necessarily better than a vocational college—

If Yang Sheng really only managed to get into a martial arts vocational college, it would not only affect Jiang Tian's admission rate, but also Yang Sheng's own future development.

And now, the difficulty had risen another level.

Li Yan was practically determined to cut off Yang Sheng's path to higher education entirely.

"You really are a blockhead. Li Yan is one of only three Dark Force practitioners in the whole school. Of those three, one is our senior brother Wang Chao, and the second is Qian Feng from the Rocket Class."

"You're only at Lesser Completion of Bright Force. How are you supposed to fight Li Yan?"

Yang Sheng suddenly stopped walking.

Liu Chang took two more steps before turning back, only to see that resolute look in Yang Sheng's eyes again.

"Senior Sister Liu, I'm not joking or showing off. I mean it."

For one brief moment, Liu Chang truly believed Yang Sheng might be able to do it.

But that thought vanished in an instant.

How could someone at Lesser Completion of Bright Force fight a Dark Force practitioner?

"Then train hard for this month. When the time comes, we'll see what Teacher Jiang can arrange and try to keep you away from Li Yan."

As they spoke, the two had already reached the entrance of the High-Aspiration Class.

The moment they entered the classroom—

They saw Jiang Tian passionately explaining material from the martial arts cultivation manuals.

When he saw Yang Sheng return, Jiang Tian's eyes lit up.

"Let's welcome our new classmate!"

With that, he took the lead in applauding.

The High-Aspiration Class students also clapped one after another while craning their necks to look at the new student.

After the brief welcome ceremony, Yang Sheng found his seat and sat down.

Compared with the ordinary classes, the seats in the High-Aspiration Class were far more spacious.

Even the desks had been specially customized.

The ordinary classes used wooden desks with only one compartment.

But the High-Aspiration Class used ironwood desks.

They were as heavy as steel and exceptionally sturdy.

They were also larger, with two compartments and a place for weapons.

Besides the desks, the greatest difference between the High-Aspiration Class and the ordinary classes was that the High-Aspiration Class directly issued martial arts cultivation manuals to every student.

He had never even seen such things when he was in the ordinary class.

Only class officers in the ordinary classes could study such martial arts cultivation manuals, and even then, they could only train in the class officers' practice room each time.

Ordinary students were completely cut off from any chance to study martial arts manuals.

He opened the first manual and discovered that it taught Eight Extremes Fist.

It explained in detail the specific methods of cultivating the Six Harmonies.

The key movements of the first form, Iron Mountain Lean, were almost exactly the same as what he had realized on his own.

He carefully finished reading the section on Iron Mountain Lean, then flipped further ahead to the second form of the Six Harmonies.

Heart-Piercing Elbow.

"Heart-Piercing Elbow is extremely powerful. If used properly, it can even challenge opponents above your level. But it is very difficult to master, because Heart-Piercing Elbow demands highly precise control over one's strength. It is nothing like a rough move such as Iron Mountain Lean."

At some point, Jiang Tian had walked up behind Yang Sheng.

Yang Sheng looked up and only then realized school had ended.

He had been so absorbed in reading that he had not even noticed his classmates leaving.

"Teacher, please explain and demonstrate it for me."

Jiang Tian glanced at him and said with a smile, "I can't use Heart-Piercing Elbow on you as a demonstration. If I threw one elbow, even if you didn't die, you'd lose half your life."

"Heart-Piercing Elbow emphasizes the complete crosswise force of the body in every direction. The manual says: the head holds up the blue sky, the feet tread upon the underworld, and the two elbows and two knees spread outward in all four directions."

"To master Heart-Piercing Elbow, you must progress through four stages: seeking completeness through stance training, seeking hardness through single-form practice, seeking ferocity through moving steps, and Force Penetration."

As he spoke, Jiang Tian suddenly assumed a stance.

He sank his hips into a horse stance, spread his arms in a cross, twisted his waist, braced against the force, and exerted power. His swift iron elbow slammed into Yang Sheng's desk.

The ironwood desk, which had been as heavy and sturdy as iron, was sent flying by that single elbow. It spun several times in the air before crashing to the ground.

When Yang Sheng went to right the desk, he discovered a small round dent where Jiang Tian's elbow had struck it.

Ironwood was called ironwood not only because it was heavy, but because it possessed extraordinary rigidity.

It was not easily deformed.

Yet Jiang Tian's demonstration had actually left a dent in the ironwood with one elbow.

If that elbow landed solidly on a person—

Even if it did not kill them, it would cost them half their life.