"Fatty Cao went to a great deal of trouble to find you a Thunder Pattern Blade."
Wan Keshan sheathed the blade, stuffed it into Li Qingshan's arms, then turned and walked through the school gates.
"Follow me."
"Teacher, you still haven't told me which A-rank Martial Art corresponds to the Mizong Step."
Li Qingshan hurried after him, his heart itching with anticipation.
Wan Keshan habitually began lecturing him in an earnest tone,
"Don't aim too high. The hurdle from Great Accomplishment to Perfection has stopped countless geniuses—it isn't so eas—"
As he spoke, he turned his head. The moment he saw Li Qingshan's face, his words came to an abrupt halt.
Remembering Li Qingshan's talent, Wan Keshan simply stopped wasting breath.
"The A-rank Martial Art, Heavenly Net Mizong Step, has two prerequisite Martial Techniques: the D-rank Movement Technique Mizong Step, and the C-rank Heavenly Net Step."
Li Qingshan nodded, committing the names to memory.
Only by cultivating both prerequisite Martial Techniques to Perfection could one gain insight into an A-rank Martial Art.
That might be difficult for others.
But for him, as long as it could be recorded by the Status Panel, he could grind it all the way to Perfection.
Before a progress bar, there was no such thing as a bottleneck.
The two crossed the campus and headed straight for the Martial Arts Hall.
When they reached the front entrance of the Martial Arts Hall, Wan Keshan abruptly turned and headed for the external staircase beside it.
"There's still one vacant Single Training Room on the second floor. You'll cultivate there from now on."
Li Qingshan followed without objection.
Having a separate training room would make it far more convenient for him to use the Martial Arts Space to cultivate during the day.
After turning up two flights of stairs, they entered the second-floor corridor, where a row of classroom doors lined the left side.
The first classroom was the largest. More than a dozen Second Year Martial Arts students were inside practicing Martial Techniques.
When they saw people passing the doorway, they all instinctively turned to look.
Wan Keshan ignored them and continued onward.
Li Qingshan casually glanced inside and unexpectedly spotted an acquaintance, so he politely nodded at him.
Inside the classroom, Yu Zhuo wore an expression as though he had constipation, not knowing how to respond.
Fortunately, Li Qingshan had no intention of waiting for a response and quickly passed the doorway.
Inside the classroom, the dozen or so Second Year Martial Arts students all stopped moving and began discussing in low voices.
"Li Qingshan? Why would Teacher Wan bring Li Qingshan up to the second floor?"
"Yu Zhuo, Li Qingshan just greeted you. Are you two close? Do you know what he came up here for?"
"Close my ass!"
After grumbling, Yu Zhuo swept his gaze over the room and suddenly laughed mockingly.
"Other than our classroom, there are only ten Single Training Rooms on the second floor. What do you think Teacher Wan brought Li Qingshan over there for?"
"You've all clearly guessed it, so what are you pretending for? Or are you just unwilling to believe reality?"
The moment he said this, the entire room fell silent. The expressions of three or four students, in particular, darkened visibly.
The school—or rather, the entirety of Luoying City—had only these ten Single Training Rooms.
The Martial Arts Class eliminated students year after year, and there were never more than five Third Year students each year, with each person occupying one training room.
The remaining rooms would be assigned to Second Year Martial Arts students, on the condition that they had reached at least the Body Tempering fifth level!
Several people in their class had already met the requirement. Now, only the very last Single Training Room remained.
Yu Zhuo was merely at the Body Tempering Third Level and had no hope at all, so naturally he did not care.
But they were different. Every one of them was close to the Body Tempering fifth level, and they regarded one another as competitors.
For some time now, they had been cultivating desperately, terrified that someone else would beat them to it.
"Why? Li Qingshan is only a new student. What use does he have for a training room?"
"That's right! Even if he's given a Virtual Combat Pod, he'll only go in there to get beaten up. It's a complete waste!"
"No, I refuse to accept this! I'm going to find Teacher Li. We can't let Teacher Wan do whatever he wants!"
Several of them looked anxious as they hurried out of the classroom.
The remaining students watched their retreating backs and shook their heads, but did not mock them as Yu Zhuo had.
So long as one still harbored even the slightest yearning for New Continent, one could not afford not to fight for a Single Training Room.
The training room itself was nothing special. What mattered was the Virtual Combat Pod inside.
With a Virtual Combat Pod, one had the chance to fight geniuses from across the entire Old Continent.
More importantly,
New Continent Martial Arts University conducted its selection through Virtual Combat Pods!
"There's actually a Virtual Combat Pod!"
Li Qingshan's eyes shone with amazement as his palm carefully brushed across the dark gray casing.
Wan Keshan stood beside him, smiling faintly.
"You can go in and play around once in a while later. Of course, if you enjoy getting beaten up, I've got no objection to you going in every day."
"Getting beaten up?" Li Qingshan raised an eyebrow and turned to ask,
"Are there a lot of experts in there?"
"Experts would be overstating it." Wan Keshan shook his head and explained,
"Across the 107 Provinces of the Old Continent, each province has fifty or sixty ordinary cities like Luoying, while every provincial capital has one hundred Virtual Combat Pods and every ordinary city has ten."
"In other words, each province has roughly seven hundred Virtual Combat Pods, and the entire Old Continent has over seventy thousand!"
"These Virtual Combat Pods are exclusively for Martial Arts Classes, and are basically allocated according to strength."
Li Qingshan immediately understood.
They might not be called experts, but anyone able to enter a Virtual Combat Pod was at least among the top ten in a city's Martial Arts Class.
At his current Body Tempering Second Level, even with Great Accomplishment Martial Techniques, he would definitely be brutally beaten if he went in.
"Originally, school rules required you to reach the Body Tempering fifth level before you could be assigned this training room. But with yesterday's record, it won't be a problem for you."
Wan Keshan glanced at Li Qingshan, his expression gradually turning serious.
"Weren't you all curious about how to get into New Continent Martial Arts University? I can tell you now."
"At the end of June every year, the top hundred in the Virtual Combat Pod battle rankings qualify to travel to New Continent and participate in the 'Final Battle.'"
Li Qingshan sucked in a sharp breath. Even though he had prepared himself mentally, the outrageous conditions still stunned him.
"Teacher, putting aside over seventy thousand people fighting for one hundred spots, there's even some kind of 'Final Battle'?"
"It isn't as brutal as you think. The 'Final Battle' isn't an elimination round. As long as you make it to New Continent, you can enter a Martial Arts University."
"But there's more than one Martial Arts University on New Continent. Everyone wants to attend a better school, so naturally they have to compete for Entrance Qualifications."
Wan Keshan waved a hand and explained,
"'Final Battle' is merely an Old Continent nickname. To New Continent Martial Arts students, it is simply a normal Entrance Qualification Battle."
"A hundred boats race in the current, a thousand sails pass by; only then can one stand on the same battlefield as New Continent Martial Arts students." Li Qingshan murmured, then shook his head with a laugh. "The name 'Final Battle' really does fit."
"Don't overthink it. The vast majority of New Continent Martial Arts students were also selected from the Old Continent."
Wan Keshan lightly patted his student's shoulder and said solemnly,
"The Federation has tried its best to make things fair. Geniuses like you, whose talents Awakened relatively late, will not be overlooked."
"Teacher, you're worrying too much. I was only saying it casually."
Li Qingshan looked completely natural, without the slightest hint of dissatisfaction.
He had not Awakened—he had activated cheats!
Talent had never made sense in the first place, let alone had anything to do with fairness.
Wan Keshan did not dwell on it either, waving his hand as he changed the subject.
"Alright, the 'Final Battle' is still too far away. Let's first talk about the Rookie Competition at the end of the year!"
"Teacher, is this the opportunity you mentioned to learn the Thunder Roar Blade?"
Remembering what Wan Keshan had said earlier, Li Qingshan immediately perked up.
The copyright fee for a C-rank Martial Technique was five million, and he could not afford it.
"Not just the Thunder Roar Blade." Wan Keshan curled his lips into a smile and explained,
"The Rookie Competition is held specifically for First Year and Second Year Martial Arts students. Its purpose is to provide lower-year geniuses with resources and help them prepare early for the 'Final Battle.'"
"Each year is ranked separately. The top ten can not only choose one C-rank Martial Technique, but also receive a cash reward of five million Star Coins."
"A reward worth ten million!" Li Qingshan's eyes immediately lit up.
At that moment, he deeply understood the meaning of Cao Ya's warning last night.
Indeed, as long as one was talented enough, there was no need to sign all those messy contracts.
Wan Keshan did not dislike his student's money-grubbing display. On the contrary, he was quite satisfied.
A little greed was good. With a goal came motivation.
"Cultivate well. With your combat strength, there should be no opponent for you in Wuyi Province's First Year."
"Teacher, can Martial Arts Classes skip grades?"
"What do you mean?"
Wan Keshan froze, unable to react for a moment.
Li Qingshan's eyes gleamed as he licked his lips.
"I mean, after competing in the First Year Rookie Competition, I'll skip another grade and continue competing in the Second Year Rookie Competition."
Before you continue