The Marvel of Square Inch!

The southeast corner of the athletic field.

The Wuyuan City team stood in a circle around Yuan Hongyan.

Compared to the clamor around them, this place was quiet.

Yet the expressions on the students' faces kept shifting, clearly showing that their hearts were anything but calm.

At last, a girl with plump cheeks could not hold herself back any longer.

"Teacher, this isn't fair! Wang Jie from Wu Yi First High School is at the Body Tempering Third Level, and both his movement technique and martial techniques are at mastery. Who in First Year can compete with him?"

"Unfair?" Yuan Hongyan slightly raised her eyelids and said calmly,

"Your strength, Lin Mengxiao, was cultivated by yourself. Wang Jie's Body Forging Realm, movement technique, and martial techniques were likewise cultivated by himself. What is unfair about that?"

"Besides, martial arts are about strength, not fairness!"

"When you face Fierce Beasts and Evil God Cultists in the future, will you still argue with them over whether something is fair?"

Lin Mengxiao froze, but the defiance between her brows remained as she muttered,

"But... but..."

"Mengxiao, enough." Lin Fan spoke up and stopped his younger sister.

"You can take first place in Second Year, so of course you don't care about the rule change."

Lin Mengxiao muttered under her breath. Lin Fan frowned, just about to scold her.

Yuan Hongyan shook her head and waved him off, then looked at Lin Fan.

"You've fought Fu Wu in the Combat Space before, right? How did it go?"

"Fu Wu and I have matched several times. He's also at the Body Tempering seventh level, and his movement technique and martial techniques have reached Great Accomplishment. We've each won and lost against the other."

Lin Fan gripped the Long Spear in his hand tightly and said with complete confidence,

"Don't worry, Teacher. I've gained further insight into my spear techniques over the past two days. I should be able to beat him!"

Hearing this, Yuan Hongyan suddenly recalled Wan Keshan's meaningful smile and could not help asking,

"By the way, have you encountered any martial arts students from Luoying City in the Combat Space?"

"Luoying?" Lin Fan was startled. He could not help recalling what had happened that morning, then shook his head and said,

"Originally, Luoying's strongest should have been Zhong Xian. With her ranking, she couldn't have matched against me.

But this morning, I did run into someone called Li Qingshan. His movement technique was decent, but his Body Forging Realm shouldn't have exceeded the sixth level. He wasn't my opponent."

"That's good."

Yuan Hongyan nodded, stopped dwelling on it, and returned to the main topic.

"Though you're confident you can defeat Fu Wu, this is Free-for-All Mode. You may not get the chance for a fair fight."

Lin Fan fell into thought.

"Teacher, are you saying they'll band together?"

"What's there to fear about banding together? They can band together, and so can we!"

Lin Mengxiao spoke proudly, while several people around her also puffed out their chests.

Their average strength was no weaker than Wu Yi First High School's.

Yuan Hongyan glanced at her students, shook her head, and turned toward the center of the athletic field.

Wu Yi City had more than one high school.

At the center of the athletic field,

Lü Jing stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the lean young man before him.

"Wang Jie, are you ready?"

"Don't worry, Teacher. I've already contacted students from several other high schools. They agreed to help me."

Wang Jie answered with a smiling face, looking as though victory was already in his grasp.

Lü Jing had proposed the rule change. As the First Year ace, Wang Jie naturally learned the news at the earliest opportunity.

Lü Jing nodded and added another reminder.

"That's good. Just remember not to let your guard down."

Beside them, a burly young man with a stern expression frowned and spoke up.

"Teacher, if we band together in advance, what meaning does Free-for-All Mode even have?"

"Fu Wu, you've really got some nerve!" Wang Jie sneered mockingly. "What, are you planning to take on a hundred alone?"

Fu Wu's expression turned cold as he stared at Wang Jie.

"Don't forget, you're only first in First Year. Don't test my bottom line."

Wang Jie stiffened and shut his mouth.

"Enough. This isn't the time for you two to lock horns."

Lü Jing waved a hand to stop their quarrel. Looking at Fu Wu, he asked seriously,

"Have you considered what matters most if you want to take first place in Free-for-All Mode?"

Fu Wu's lips moved. He wanted to say the word "strength," but judging from his teacher's expression, it was clearly not that simple.

"Survival!" Lü Jing gave the answer directly.

"In Free-for-All Mode, the battle does not end until only one person remains."

"The first thing you need to do is find a way to survive until the very end."

Lü Jing paused, his gaze moving between the two students.

"I'm having you band together mostly for self-preservation."

"Self-preservation?" Wang Jie and Fu Wu were both stunned.

"Sigh, you'll band together, but students from other cities will band together as well." Lü Jing shook his head and sighed. "What's more, because you come from Wu Yi First High School, you may very well face their united targeting!"

The grand principles were explained in the meeting room.

A free-for-all among several hundred people did not mean one had to fight a hundred alone.

At the very least, this shallow pool known as Wuyi Province could not nurture such a Flood Dragon.

Lü Jing was not the only one who understood this. The other Martial Arts Teachers understood it too.

The Rookie Competition rule change was more about cultivating genuine prodigies in the martial arts classes of future cohorts.

At those words, both Wang Jie and Fu Wu grew considerably more serious.

The situation of the Rookie Competition was even harsher than they had imagined.

"Teacher, I'll go contact a few more classmates I'm on good terms with." Wang Jie called out as he prepared to leave.

"Wait!" Fu Wu stopped Wang Jie and said coldly,

"Tomorrow morning, during the First Year Rookie Competition, help me teach a martial arts student from Luoying a lesson. His name is Li Qingshan."

Wang Jie halted and said with amusement,

"Heh, is that the attitude of someone asking for help? Can't you teach this Li Qingshan a lesson yourself?"

Fu Wu frowned and enunciated each word.

"I'm telling you to teach him a lesson in the Virtual Combat Space!"

He did not want to involve himself in Yu Yuanjun's matter, but he had no choice but to deal with it.

However, with the Public Rearing Discrimination Law involved, Fu Wu also did not dare rashly make a move in reality.

Lü Jing did not care about disputes between students. How could the martial path possibly be peaceful and harmonious?

But once Fu Wu mentioned "Luoying," he had no choice but to care.

"Luoying? Li Qingshan?"

Lü Jing looked at Fu Wu and asked,

"What year is this Li Qingshan in? How strong is he?"

"Li Qingshan is in First Year. His strength... should be quite strong?" Fu Wu was not too sure either.

The main issue was that Yu Yuanjun was only at the Body Tempering Second Level and had been instantly defeated. There was simply no way to gauge Li Qingshan's true strength.

Lü Jing nodded and earnestly reminded Wang Jie,

"Be careful of this Li Qingshan. Don't be careless."

Recalling Wan Keshan's performance in the meeting room, Lü Jing always felt somewhat uneasy.

So he rose onto his toes and gazed toward the northwest side of the athletic field.

That was where the Luoying teachers and students were gathered.

A young man stood among the crowd, particularly conspicuous.

Just as Lü Jing was about to look more closely, a burly figure took one step forward and blocked his line of sight.

A meaningful smile hung on that rugged face.

Lü Jing had no choice but to withdraw his gaze and curse under his breath.

"Madman Wan!"

"Shorty Lü!"

Wan Keshan smiled smugly and turned to look at the students.

After the new rules were announced, the impact on the Luoying students was no less severe.

The ones most affected were Yu Lei and Zhong Xian.

That was because the two of them had truly wanted to give it everything this time and seize a place in the top ten.

However, some time had already passed, and both had calmed down.

At that moment, everyone's eyes were fixed on Li Qingshan.

With the rule change, Li Qingshan was undoubtedly the greatest beneficiary.

With Li Qingshan's strength, taking first place in First Year was as certain as a nail driven into a board!

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Li Qingshan still stood there blankly, his eyes nearly shooting out golden light.

Wan Keshan's face darkened as he stepped forward and gave him a slap.

"Kid, snap out of it! Looking like you've seen money and your eyes lit up—don't tell people outside that you're my student!"

Li Qingshan rubbed his shoulder and grimaced in pain.

"Teacher, that's 100 million Star Coins!"

Though the Thunder Pattern Blade was also worth 100 million, he could look at it but not spend it. It was nowhere near as tempting as the 100 million Star Coins he could freely use.

"Only 100 million?"

Wan Keshan shook his head and walked toward a secluded corner.

"Come with me!"

Li Qingshan's eyes flickered as he followed behind.

After ensuring there was no one around, Wan Keshan stopped and looked at Li Qingshan with a half-smile.

"What? You don't want to challenge a higher grade now?"

"Teacher, isn't first place in Second Year going to be difficult to contend for?" Li Qingshan hesitated slightly.

Whether he challenged a higher grade or not did not matter. In any case, he could not possibly remain in the Martial Arts Class for all three years.

But his original plan had only been to contend for the top ten in Second Year.

As for first place? Li Qingshan felt that even if the Mizong Step reached perfection, it still seemed unlikely.

"Whether it's difficult to contend for depends on whether you can truly comprehend The Marvel of Square Inch and cultivate the Mizong Step to perfection!"

Wan Keshan's bright, piercing gaze made Li Qingshan's scalp prickle. He could not help asking doubtfully,

"Teacher, I can naturally do what I say, but is the Mizong Step really that strong?"

"What's strong isn't the Mizong Step, but The Marvel of Square Inch!" Wan Keshan gently shook his head and sighed.

"It is one of the cores of the A-rank Martial Art, Heavenly Net Mizong Step!"

"The Marvel of Square Inch brings the art of shifting, turning, and maneuvering to its utmost limits. It is best suited for free-for-alls!"

"So..." Wan Keshan curled his lips.

"You understand, right?"

"Thank you, Teacher. I understand."

Li Qingshan's heart settled, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Teacher, please help me prepare the materials for my application to challenge a higher grade."