Above the city's buildings, the hovercar flew soundlessly.
Inside the car, the silence was just as complete.
Neither Zhao Hongzhou and the other two nor Zhong Xian and the Second Year martial arts students had recovered from the violent scene just now.
Liu Haibing's group of five, especially, were trembling with fear.
Only now did they understand just how "gentle" Li Qingshan had been at Luoying Station.
Little Fatty Cao Shaoyu looked around, unable to bear the oppressive atmosphere any longer, and took the initiative to move closer to Li Qingshan.
"Coach, how about we go eat first? I discovered a hidden gem of a restaurant two days ago."
The moment food was mentioned, Cao Shaoyu immediately lit up with excitement.
Li Qingshan shook his head with a laugh and gently rubbed Little Fatty's head.
"You've been in Wuyi for three months, and all you've learned is how to find food?"
Who knew where this kid had heard about the Rookie Competition?
Earlier, while Ren Ming and Yu Yuanjun had been negotiating, Cao Shaoyu had already driven out in his flying car. Li Qingshan simply sent him the location.
In any case, the hovercar was entirely smart-controlled, so there was no need to worry about Little Fatty driving without a license.
"Coach, I can do more than just eat!" Cao Shaoyu lifted his head, saying with considerable pride,
"I've already cultivated The Stars Are Calling to the Second Level and mastered Force Generation. I've also begun to grasp the breathing coordination for the Third Level."
The moment those words came out, everyone else in the car froze and unconsciously looked toward Little Fatty.
They had thought he was just some rich second-generation brat. Who would have expected him to be a genius as well?
Anyone under fifteen who cultivated The Stars Are Calling to the Third Level could head directly to New Continent.
The goal they struggled and fought so desperately for was nothing more than a starting point to those geniuses.
For a moment, everyone could not help feeling downcast.
Li Qingshan had long known about Little Fatty's talent, so he was not surprised. He rubbed his head again and said,
"Then work hard and strive to reach New Continent as soon as possible."
"We agreed to meet in New Continent. Don't let me get there only for me to be unable to find you."
"Coach, stop bragging." Cao Shaoyu curled his fat face in disdain and muttered,
"You're only in the First Year Martial Arts Class. It'll take you at least another two years to reach New Continent. By then, I'll definitely be the one waiting for you!"
"Fine, then let's say I'm bragging."
The corner of Li Qingshan's lips lifted, and he smiled without saying anything.
Ren Ming had been standing guard nearby. Once he saw the two finish catching up, he carefully spoke up.
"Student Li, we should return to school first. Aside from arranging Dormitories for you, there will be a meeting this afternoon to announce the specific details of this Rookie Competition."
"Ah? We can't even eat one meal?" Little Fatty's face was full of disappointment.
"It's just one meal. Once the Rookie Competition is over, we'll go eat."
Li Qingshan patted his head. Cao Shaoyu could only pout and reset the destination.
The hovercar quietly turned and flew toward Wu Yi First High School.
Wu Yi First High School, meeting room.
Inside the vast meeting room, more than a hundred figures sat scattered about.
Wan Keshan slumped on a sofa with a teacup in hand, looking toward a short, stout figure in the center of the meeting room.
"Lü Jing, everyone's more or less here. Shouldn't you get to the point?"
Lü Jing, First High School's Martial Arts Teacher, was also the strongest person in Wu Yi City.
"Hehe, Old Wan, after all this time, you're still so impatient."
Lü Jing replied with a smile, swept his gaze around the meeting room, and cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Since everyone is here, I won't beat around the bush. The main purpose of this meeting is to change the rules of our Wuyi Province Rookie Competition."
As soon as his words fell, the Martial Arts Teachers from cities throughout the province either frowned or looked puzzled.
In past Rookie Competitions, opponents had been randomly drawn and paired off to fight.
They fought their way up round by round until the first place winner was decided.
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Moreover, everyone had three matching opportunities, preventing strong contenders from being eliminated immediately by even stronger ones and ensuring fairness to the greatest extent possible.
Now that Lü Jing suddenly wanted to change the rules, they truly could not imagine what there was to change.
Low discussions rose in the room, and quite a few teachers were guessing at Lü Jing's intentions.
"Old Lü, changing the rules isn't impossible, but you should at least explain why!"
A ringing, forceful voice sounded. The speaker was a beautiful middle-aged woman.
Once they saw who had spoken, the Martial Arts Teachers fell silent.
Because she was Wuyuan City's Stabilizing Pillar, Yuan Hongyan.
Yuan Hongyan had only come to teach in Wuyuan City ten years ago.
Before she arrived, Wuyuan City's Martial Arts Class had been just like those in other cities—completely ordinary.
Every year during the Rookie Competition, they could only compete together for the half of the remaining slots from Wu Yi City.
There was no helping it. Wu Yi City was the provincial capital and naturally gathered the province's talent and resources. Naturally, it held an advantage.
But after Yuan Hongyan arrived, everything changed.
First, the students she taught began making their mark in the Rookie Competition one after another. In the following years, she even taught several geniuses who fought their way into Old Continent's top hundred and headed to New Continent.
By now, Wuyuan City's Martial Arts Class had earned a reputation capable of standing shoulder to shoulder with the provincial capital's ten high schools.
Quite a few promising students even voluntarily gave up Wu Yi City and chose to enroll in Wuyuan City's Martial Arts Class.
"Ahem. It isn't that our old rules were bad. They were simply too ordinary."
Lü Jing coughed, drawing everyone's attention back.
"The purpose of the Rookie Competition is to discover promising First and Second Year students early and give them some assistance in terms of resources."
"But... resources aren't the only thing they lack!"
"In the years when our province had the best luck, three or four students could go to New Continent. In unlucky years, there wouldn't be a single one."
"But even after they reached New Continent, they could only disappear into the crowd."
"Uh... I nearly forgot. Yu Man is an exception!"
Lü Jing choked slightly, then looked apologetically at Wan Keshan.
The other Martial Arts Teachers also focused their gazes on Wan Keshan, their eyes full of envy.
Yu Man had gone to New Continent as Old Continent First, ranked among the best in the Final Battle, and entered Ziying Academy.
Yet under all those envious gazes, Wan Keshan showed no pride at all. Instead, his expression darkened.
Yu Man's matter could be called a thorn lodged in his heart.
With Yu Man's talent, she could have entered Ziying Academy anyway. It had nothing to do with his excellent teaching.
On the contrary,
Wan Keshan had always believed that it was precisely because of his teaching that Yu Man had been led astray and lost her chance to study on a Martial Star.
"If you have something to say, say it. Don't bring up all this irrelevant nonsense!" Wan Keshan snapped irritably.
The other Martial Arts Teachers found Wan Keshan's sudden anger baffling.
Lü Jing knew the reason, however, and could only smile apologetically before saying,
"Yu Man's case is merely an exception."
"What I mean is that our students lack more than just resources. They also lack a martial heart!"
"Our goal should not merely be to send students to New Continent. We should make sure that once they arrive there, they can still advance bravely and diligently."
"Tianfu Province changed its Rookie Competition format five years ago. I intend to follow their example."
"Tianfu Province?!"
All the Martial Arts Teachers present widened their eyes in shock.
Mou Yu, the current Old Continent First, came from Tianfu Province. Naturally, they knew quite a bit about Tianfu Province's news.
Tianfu Province's Rookie Competition used Free-for-All Mode.
Several hundred people were thrown into the Battle Platform at once, fighting in a chaotic melee until only one person remained standing.
There was no scoring system and no top ten.
The last person standing was the victor—the first place winner!
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