The Elders' Expectations

July. The sky was a clear, translucent blue, unmarred by a single wisp of cloud. The vast Da Qingshan Mountains were lush with green, the distant peaks tinged with indigo.

Inside the Tianxin Style martial arts building, Aisafu and a few of the style's elders were leisurely sipping tea.

Xis and Cal were also present, having just returned from the Primeval Mountains. Their expedition had lasted over ten days, and after crossing dozens of mountain peaks, the pair had brought back enough medicinal bath materials that they wouldn't need to worry about ingredients for a while.

After storing the materials, the group sat together, listening to Xis and Cal recount their journey into the mountains, punctuated by occasional bursts of laughter.

A full set of tea utensils sat in the center. With Alice's skilled brewing technique, a small spoonful of freshly roasted green tea steeped in the clear spring water. Soon, the tea leaves unfurled, releasing a delicate, lingering fragrance along with the rising steam.

"If I calculate the time, Meixia should be arriving at the Superpower Academy about now."

Taking a cup of clear tea from his wife's hands, Aisafu began to miss his beloved daughter.

Alice glanced at the calendar on the wall. "It's about that time. I wonder how she's doing, whether she made it into the advanced class."

"Meixia is so smart, she'll definitely make it!" Bearos, a handsome blond man, said with a smile.

"I hope so," Alice replied with a faint smile.

The Superpower Academy had beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes, with different training protocols for superpowered individuals of varying potential. Getting into the advanced class meant starting from a higher point than others. Not only was the graduation certificate different, but it also represented an opportunity for the superpowered individual themselves, at the very least being extremely beneficial for developing their abilities.

As a mother, Alice naturally hoped her daughter would enter the advanced class, but she wasn't going to force it. After all, with the backing of the Tianxin Style, even if Meixia grew up to be an ordinary woman like herself, she wouldn't be bullied.

"You two don't need to worry. Clarissa should be sending word back soon," Xis said, taking a sip of tea with a smile, seeing the anxious expressions on Aisafu and Alice's faces.

He could understand their feelings. When children were away, what parent wouldn't be worried? But with Clarissa accompanying her, there was really nothing to fret about.

The group's topic shifted away from Meixia, gradually turning to the style's several disciples, as they commented on each one's strengths and weaknesses one by one.

In the Tianxin Style, theoretically all disciples were the master's students, but in practice, each elder would specifically mentor one or two disciples. Though these disciples didn't have the formal title of apprentice, they had the substance of one, making the elders the most familiar with them.

Exchanging updates on the disciples' progress at regular intervals was a long-standing principle. Through these discussions, they could formulate more accurate follow-up training plans.

When the conversation reached Mu Yang, everyone let out a sigh of emotion.

Just over ten minutes ago, Mu Yang had come by and raised several questions he'd encountered during his training.

"Mu Yang's progress is truly astonishing. I thought it would be years before he asked those kinds of questions, but he's already bringing them up now," Cal said, looking at the others with a tone of amazement.

Yula nodded. "From the look of it, he's already grasped the knack of Tianxin Ki. Maybe before long, our Tianxin Style will produce the youngest disciple ever to master Tianxin Ki."

Turning to Aisafu, Yula smiled. "I'd like to congratulate Senior Brother Aisafu here..."

Aisafu felt quite pleased. A disciple's achievements reflected well on him. Honestly, over the past few days, this disciple of his seemed like a different person, improving day by day, and before he knew it, he'd left the other disciples far behind.

As the senior disciple, this set an excellent example! It was also very beneficial for the style.

Aisafu nodded with a faint smile, not sparing his praise. "At Mu Yang's current pace, he might have a chance to participate in the 11th World's Strongest Martial Arts Tournament in three years. If he could make it into the Top Eight at his age..."

"If he makes the Top Eight, our Tianxin Style will finally hold our heads high!"

Bearos cut in, his face full of excitement.

The World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament was a major competition jointly launched by martial arts styles from around the world, held once every five years.

At this time, the tournament wasn't yet officially hosted by the Earth government as in the original story, but was instead organized on a rotating basis by renowned martial arts styles.

In previous years, the Tianxin Style hadn't participated in the tournament very often. One reason was that the style had few disciples, making it hard to find candidates who met the conditions. Although the tournament had no age limit, in practice it was usually the rising stars of each style who competed. The future of a style lay in its new generation, and the older martial artists of each school were too embarrassed to compete on the same stage as their juniors.

The second reason, ultimately, came down to strength. Even when a suitable disciple happened to be available, the Tianxin Style's results were mostly lackluster. In fact, it had been several tournaments since they'd last made the Top Eight.

As Bearos had said, making the Top Eight was, to some extent, already a way to bring renown to one's style.

Aisafu thought highly of Mu Yang as a disciple; otherwise, he wouldn't have taught him the ki cultivation method so early. But Aisafu also knew that there was always someone stronger, and there were heavens beyond heavens.

After all, this was the World's Number One Martial Arts Tournament, which would gather the most outstanding martial artists from all over the world. Even if Aisafu himself participated, he might not achieve the best results.

For Mu Yang to enter the tournament and aim for a Top Eight finish at his age was already extremely difficult.

Of course, Mu Yang had no idea what was going through Aisafu's mind. At that moment, he was alone in the training ground on the back mountain, honing his skills.