Rumors

It was exactly six in the morning.

At this hour in winter, the sky was still dark.

Chen Yiming knocked on Chen Yingying's door and urged her to get up for morning practice.

"Brother, isn't it too early? The sun isn't even up yet." Chen Yingying opened the door, bleary-eyed and groggy, reluctance written all over her face.

"From now on, you're getting up at this time every day for morning practice. Don't even think about slacking off," Chen Yiming said sternly.

He had decided to set Chen Yingying on the path of martial arts, so he couldn't go soft on her. He had to help her build good habits from day one. If he gave in once, he would have to give in countless times.

"Every day?" Chen Yingying pouted, her little eyes wide.

She was wide awake now. The thought of getting up this early every day made her want to cry.

After a quick wash, Chen Yingying tied her hair into a single ponytail and followed Chen Yiming into the courtyard to begin morning practice.

"Last night I taught you the downward cut and the sweep from the basic sword moves. Go through them now and let me see whether you've improved," Chen Yiming said once she was in position.

"Oh. I'll start, then." Unable to argue her way out of it, Chen Yingying reluctantly began.

Half a minute later, the veins on Chen Yiming's forehead were nearly bulging.

How can my sister be this hopeless? Chen Yiming thought.

It also confirmed something for him: Chen Yingying would probably need outside help to break through in her future training.

Once Chen Yingying had practiced everything he'd taught her yesterday, Chen Yiming patiently pointed out every mistake and demonstrated the correct techniques again, guiding her step by step.

I'm going to have my hands full, Chen Yiming thought with a sigh as he watched his sister practice.

He recalled his own entrance test at the academy. When the academy master, Wan Rong, encountered someone like this, he simply told them to stop.

At eight thirty, Chen Yiming arrived at the academy.

The academy was livelier than usual today. Many students had gathered to chat, excitement plain on their faces. Something worth talking about had clearly happened again.

"Junior Chen, you're finally here!"

"Junior Chen, we heard what happened last night."

"Junior Chen, you became famous overnight!"

As soon as Chen Yiming walked in, students broke off their conversations and came over to greet him. Nearly all their questions were about the robbers he had captured last night.

"I got lucky. I didn't run into them all at once. Otherwise, I wouldn't have stood a chance," Chen Yiming told the students who asked, using the explanation he had prepared.

He had known people would keep asking about how he had taken down three robbers at the Second Body Metamorphosis and three at the First Body Metamorphosis.

If the story was true, people would start debating whether Chen Yiming belonged in the first or second tier of East Lake City's young talents.

But no one besides those present knew the details of the capture. Neither Chen Shaojie nor his colleagues had even reached the Apprentice Realm, so they couldn't judge Chen Yiming's true strength.

As for Zhao Baolong and Dong Fen, who would believe what captured robbers said? They would most likely assume the robbers were ignorant and had never encountered a talent capable of fighting above his level.

"That's still impressive. Even taking them down one by one isn't something just any student at the First Body Metamorphosis could do," Liang Lele chimed in.

"Exactly. At the same level, any of us academy students could crush those robbers. But you fought opponents a level above you and took down several of them," Zhao Jingru said, praising him in a rare departure from her usual aloofness.

She knew that if she didn't make herself known to him now, Chen Yiming might not even remember that they had joined the academy at the same time.

"Junior Chen, have you broken through to the Second Body Metamorphosis? People outside are saying the City Patrol has a new adviser at the Third Body Metamorphosis," one student asked.

The academy students didn't believe the rumor that Chen Yiming was an expert at the Third Body Metamorphosis.

An ordinary student from a force like the Praying Mantis Snake Sword Academy would be elite by outside standards. Fighting several opponents at the same level would be no problem. Most of them guessed that Chen Yiming had broken through to the Second Body Metamorphosis.

"How could I have advanced that quickly? I'm still at the First Body Metamorphosis. I've just made a little progress lately," Chen Yiming said, denying the rumor.

"Then you're bound to soar, Junior Chen. You might even become a Core Disciple ahead of schedule," a student said admiringly.

They were all academy students, yet the gap between them was even greater than they had imagined.

Zhang Youde did not join the ordinary students in congratulating him. He wasn't as simple-minded as they were; a few words of congratulations would accomplish nothing.

Those robbers look vicious, but the techniques they've learned put them near the bottom at their level. When your opponents are weaker than you, numbers aren't a problem. I could do it too, Zhang Youde thought.

Chen Yiming was stronger than him, so he saw nothing strange about Chen Yiming taking care of a few robbers one level above him. It wasn't as though he had faced a robber at the Third Body Metamorphosis.

If someone at the Second Body Metamorphosis could defeat someone at the Third, that would make him no ordinary talent. He would rank among the top tier of the younger generation.

After Chen Yiming briefly answered the students' questions, they felt too embarrassed to keep holding him up. They soon dispersed to prepare for class.

Wang Bowen waited until the students had left before coming out of the inner room.

"Junior Chen, why are you so late today?" Wang Bowen asked.

Chen Yiming had never arrived this late before, so his absence earlier had felt strange.

"My younger sister just started learning martial arts. I needed to supervise her myself on the first day," Chen Yiming explained.

"I see." Wang Bowen nodded in understanding. "By the way, I have good news for you."

"What good news?"

"I contacted the academy master and reported your situation. From now on, you're a Provisional Core Disciple," Wang Bowen said with a smile.

"A Provisional Core Disciple?" Chen Yiming asked, puzzled.

He knew about Core Disciples, but he had never heard of Provisional Core Disciples.

"The academy master has made an exception and granted you the benefits of a Core Disciple two years early. If you haven't broken through to the Third Body Metamorphosis after two years, those benefits will be withdrawn," Wang Bowen explained.

"I don't know how to thank you for your help, Senior Wang," Chen Yiming said gratefully.

The academy master didn't personally keep track of ordinary students. No matter how well they performed, without a Core Disciple to recommend them, they could only wait until they reached the Third Body Metamorphosis and were automatically promoted to Core Disciple.

But there was a prime age for training. By receiving Core Disciple benefits two years early, a Provisional Core Disciple had a far better chance of reaching the Third Body Metamorphosis than an ordinary student.

"I don't care about thanks. Beating a few small-time robbers at the Second Body Metamorphosis is nothing to boast about," Wang Bowen said sternly, making sure Chen Yiming didn't get carried away. "When you can defeat someone at the Third Body Metamorphosis while still a level below them, I can apply to have you promoted straight to Core Disciple."

At his level, potential was what mattered. There was a vast difference in difficulty between someone at the First Body Metamorphosis defeating an opponent at the Second and someone at the Second defeating an opponent at the Third.