Has Senior Sister Changed Her Ways?

A familiar greeting, the same warmth and kindness—but Zhong Xian nearly bolted in fight-or-flight reflex!

Her steps slammed to a halt. She forced down the urge to flee and looked at the smiling face across from her.

Yesterday, after a month away, she'd logged back into the Combat Space, brimming with confidence to push her limits. That very man had chopped her into several pieces.

After that battle, Zhong Xian nearly fell into depression!

At the same time, it drove home a profound lesson.

If you want others to listen, you first need the strength to make them listen!

Zhong Xian's chest heaved unevenly. The reprimands she'd prepared were swallowed back down, turning into a dry explanation.

"Not a coincidence. I'm heading to Wu Yi City too. I was just late."

Li Qingshan nodded with satisfaction, as if in approval.

"Not late. I just got here myself."

"Good." Zhong Xian breathed a sigh of relief.

Both sides spoke calmly, like an ordinary exchange of pleasantries.

But everyone around was stunned, unable to believe their eyes.

"Huh?" Zhao Hongzhou's mouth fell open. He exchanged glances with Yu Lei and Hong Qian, all seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Zhong Xian had rushed over without stopping—shouldn't she have chewed everyone out first, no questions asked?

How had it turned into this boring small talk?

When did Senior Sister Zhong Xian change her tune?

Compared to Zhao Hongzhou and the others' shock, Liu Haibing and her four companions on the ground were frantic.

Was Senior Sister Zhong Xian blind? Didn't she see Li Qingshan strike first and knock them all down?

"Senior Sister, you have to stand up for us!"

Liu Haibing couldn't hold back anymore. Crying and whimpering, she crawled toward Zhong Xian, reaching out to grab her leg.

"Senior Sister, this Li Qingshan is too much. He doesn't respect us Second Years at all."

"Yeah, Senior Sister. It's one thing for him to look down on us, but he doesn't even have you in his sights!"

"Right, he's just a First Year and already this arrogant, beating up seniors. What's he going to be like later?"

The other four followed behind Liu Haibing, embellishing their complaints with every bit of instigation they could muster.

Five pairs of eyes kept darting toward Li Qingshan, smug satisfaction gleaming in them.

They knew Zhong Xian well. With her "love of teaching" personality, she wouldn't let this slide.

"You're full of crap! When did Brother Shan ever provoke you? You came looking for trouble yourselves!"

Zhao Hongzhou was enraged by their twisted words and immediately moved to kick them.

Yu Lei grabbed Zhao Hongzhou and said urgently to Zhong Xian:

"Senior Sister, don't listen to them. They started it first, and Li Qingshan just..."

"Enough. I saw everything."

Zhong Xian's delicate brows furrowed slightly as she waved a hand to cut him off.

It's over, it's over.

Yu Lei, Zhao Hongzhou, and Hong Qian all turned pale.

Here it comes, here it comes.

Even if she split the blame evenly, Li Qingshan wouldn't escape!

Liu Haibing and her four companions perked up, eyes fixed intently on Zhong Xian.

Liu Haibing's outstretched hand was kicked back, and she fell flat on her back.

Zhong Xian withdrew her foot and said coldly:

"If you lose, you cry and whine—what's the point of training in martial arts?"

"Huh?"

The five on the ground froze, at a loss.

"Is the ground that comfortable? Or do you want to keep embarrassing our Martial Arts Class at the station?"

As she spoke, Zhong Xian's right hand tightened on her sword hilt.

The five jolted and scrambled to their feet, cautiously eyeing Zhong Xian.

Wasn't there supposed to be equal blame? Why were they the only ones getting it? What about Li Qingshan?

But no matter how they looked, Zhong Xian showed no sign of acting against him. Her cold gaze stayed fixed on them, not sparing Li Qingshan a single glance.

Just then, a hearty laugh rang out.

"Haha, the students sure have some spirit!"

Wan Keshan rubbed his chin as he walked over from not far away, with Teacher Li following behind him, looking helpless.

Li Qingshan's gaze shifted as he carefully studied Wan Keshan's slight lip-smacking motion, feeling it carried a hint of regret.

Thinking of Wan Keshan's usual mischievous tendencies, combined with the helplessness on Teacher Li's face.

He could almost be certain that Wan Keshan had arrived long ago and had been watching the show from the sidelines the whole time!

Li Qingshan took the initiative to meet him, saying with a meaningful tone:

"We were the ones who arrived late, making the two teachers 'wait a long time.'"

He stressed the words "wait a long time," and a flicker of embarrassment crossed Teacher Li's face.

"Haha!"

Wan Keshan's expression remained unchanged, completely unbothered.

"Anyway, the train hasn't left yet, no need to rush."

With that, he waved his hand and led the group toward the platform.

It only took two hours to go from Luoying to Wu Yi City, and there were many departures, so the platform wasn't crowded.

Before long, the Martial Arts Class group boarded the train smoothly.

After everyone had taken their seats, Wan Keshan reached out and pulled Li Qingshan up, calling out to Teacher Li:

"Teacher Li, keep an eye on these little brats for now. I'll be back in a bit."

Under many curious gazes, Li Qingshan followed Wan Keshan to the next car.

This car was spacious, with only a few scattered passengers.

As soon as they entered the car, Wan Keshan spoke abruptly.

"You've already fought Zhong Xian, haven't you?"

Li Qingshan nodded.

"That's right, we had a match in the Combat Space yesterday."

"I knew it. There's no way that little girl could hold back with her personality!"

Wan Keshan smiled with curiosity. "You definitely won, but what's your current rank?"

"23874."

"Over 20,000... wait!" Wan Keshan's smile froze as he stared at Li Qingshan.

"You're saying you're over 20,000 now?"

Li Qingshan nodded.

Wan Keshan sucked in a sharp breath and rubbed his temples.

"No, no, how could someone over 20,000 match with Zhong Xian?"

"Teacher, when I matched with Senior Zhong Xian yesterday, I was still around 60,000," Li Qingshan said honestly.

"Uh..." Wan Keshan choked for a moment, then reorganized his words.

"You mean, yesterday in the Combat Space, you climbed all the way from 60,000 to 23874?"

"Teacher, there's no need to be so surprised." Li Qingshan's expression was calm as he said evenly:

"I just wanted to see where I really stood among the Second Year students. 23874 probably isn't enough to secure a top 10 spot, right?"

"You really think you're a Second Year student now?" Wan Keshan laughed in exasperation.

No need to be surprised!

A First Year martial arts student with a rank already among the top tier of the Second Year—who wouldn't be surprised?

Three months ago, he thought it was just a casual remark, but Li Qingshan actually intended to pull it off!

Thinking of this, Wan Keshan's expression gradually turned serious.

"Rank 23874, you should be at Body Tempering fifth level, with Wind Shadow Blade at Perfection, and Mizong Step still at Great Accomplishment without a breakthrough, right?"

"Teacher truly sees through everything!" Li Qingshan slipped in a flattery without surprise.

As a Martial Arts Teacher, it would be strange if he couldn't deduce that.

Wan Keshan waved his hand and analyzed carefully:

"You were right before—just rank 23874 alone isn't enough."

"To secure a top 10 spot, your Mizong Step must break through to Perfection, and your rank needs to be within 21000."

"But now that we're heading to Wu Yi City and the official competition is tomorrow, there's no time for you to break through."

Wan Keshan shook his head, looking at his student.

"Forget about the cross-grade challenge. There'll be other chances for you to get a C-rank Martial Skill."

"How can we just forget about it?!" Li Qingshan immediately grew anxious and quickly said:

"Don't worry, Teacher. I've already grasped it. I'll break through first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Heh, you've gotten quite capable, have you? You can even pinpoint your breakthrough down to the exact moment?"

Wan Keshan let out a cold laugh, utterly unconvinced.

"The final step of the Mizong Step—'The Marvel of Square Inch'—is profoundly mysterious."

"You either understand it, or you don't. Even I was stuck at that very step back in the day and had to give up on the Heavenly Net Mizong Step."

"Teacher!"

Li Qingshan's expression turned serious as he looked at Wan Keshan and said earnestly:

"I really am certain!"