Mr. Yu, Teach Us!

As soon as Yu Bu'e returned to the classroom and sat down, Wu Yang grabbed his arm.

"Yu, please teach us! I'll listen on my knees! Seriously!"

The other boys crowded around him too.

"Mr. Yu, teach me! I've been single since birth. Now I'm even making out in my dreams!"

"Bro, look... my hand's worn calluses! Can you teach me a trick or two?"

A classmate wearing glasses squeezed to the front. "Yu, I really don't want to work hard anymore. How do I get myself a nice, comfortable life as a kept man?"

"Key point-a man kept by a campus beauty!"

Yu Bu'e raised his head and looked around. Seeing jealousy points constantly floating above his classmates' heads, he felt a surge of delight and decided to add fuel to the fire.

His mind raced through countless possibilities in an instant, then he put on an innocent, bewildered expression.

"Huh? Isn't... having a face all it takes?"

As he spoke, he even poked his own cheek, flashing an infuriating smile.

"..."

Wu Yang raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

"This is pointless... I'm out. Time for martial arts class!"

"Yu Bu'e, you're going to lose all your friends acting like this!"

"Pah! I've always despised men who live off women! A man should stand tall on his own! Crying? I'm not crying!"

Yu Bu'e stood up cheerfully and gathered his books. Just as he was about to put his language textbook back into his desk, several letters fell to the floor.

He bent down to pick them up and discovered they were love letters he had received earlier.

He had casually tucked them into a book back then. Who would have thought it happened to be the very book he had lent Luo Feixuan?

Strangely, the letters had become badly creased, as though someone had crumpled them into balls, then spread them out, pressed them flat, and tucked them back into the book.

Was it Luo Feixuan? But... why would she do that?

During martial arts class.

Yu Bu'e stood straight, his gaze resolute.

As they prepared to practice the Meridian-Opening Fist, almost everyone's eyes settled on him.

The video of Yu Bu'e performing the Meridian-Opening Fist had long since spread throughout the school.

Almost everyone had a copy.

Quite a few had been studying it repeatedly in private.

Now that they had a chance to watch him demonstrate it in person, they naturally kept their eyes wide open, unwilling to miss a thing.

Even the martial arts teacher looked at Yu Bu'e expectantly.

But just then, Yu Bu'e raised a hand.

"Mr. Bai!"

The martial arts teacher, Bai Qingqu, walked over and looked at him kindly.

"What's wrong, Yu? Aren't you going to start?"

Yu Bu'e asked with a puzzled expression, "Mr. Bai, I'd like to ask something. Apart from helping in the Meridian-Opening Realm, can the Meridian-Opening Fist improve your strength in the Qi Refining Realm?"

Bai Qingqu paused, considered it for a moment, then answered the question seriously.

"The Meridian-Opening Fist's primary purpose is to open your meridians during the initial stage."

"Once a martial artist enters the Qi Refining Realm, they will naturally have opened all twelve spirit meridians, and there will be new martial arts they can use to improve their strength."

"For a Qi Refining Realm martial artist, the Meridian-Opening Fist can only consolidate their realm and improve their proficiency. It can also still be used against opponents."

"But if you want to advance further and improve your cultivation, the Meridian-Opening Fist isn't a good choice."

Only after finishing his explanation did Bai Qingqu catch on, his eyes suddenly widening.

"Yu, are you asking this because... you've already entered the Qi Refining Realm?"

The other students had listened closely to his explanation, and now realization dawned on them.

"What? Yu Bu'e's already in the Qi Refining Realm?"

"No way! Didn't we just have our spirit meridians tested? He had eleven!"

"Xu Hu was only one step away and still hasn't broken through. How did he... do it so fast?"

The corners of Yu Bu'e's mouth lifted slightly.

Wasn't this exactly the reaction he had wanted when he asked that question...?

Standing beside him, Wu Yang had only one thought.

Damn it, he got to show off again!

"I'm a slow learner, but I've just entered the Qi Refining Realm. Thank you for explaining, Mr. Bai!" Yu Bu'e said with a smile.

He wasn't the only student in school who had entered the Qi Refining Realm. It wasn't a big deal to begin with, so there was no need to hide it.

Once the news spread, it would bring him plenty more jealousy points. He certainly wasn't going to miss out on those!

Playing weak to catch people off guard wasn't his style.

Besides, trying that in the Qi Refining Realm? People would laugh themselves silly if word got out...

After receiving confirmation, Mr. Bai's eyes shone with excitement. Delighted, he reached out and gave Yu Bu'e's shoulder two hearty pats.

"Good! Good! Good!" Those three repetitions made his feelings plain.

"I knew you could do it, kid! From eight spirit meridians to the Qi Refining Realm in such a short time. Heaven truly rewards hard work!"

With that, Bai Qingqu turned to the other students.

"Yu Bu'e is living proof! I know you once looked down on him. Some of you even thought he had no talent for martial arts at all!"

"But the truth is, heaven never lets down anyone who works hard. When you strive toward a goal, the whole world will pave the way for you!"

Listening to Mr. Bai's motivational speech, Yu Bu'e sighed inwardly.

He had once believed the same thing and had worked twice as hard because of it.

Yet he had never achieved anything in martial arts.

Perhaps heaven rewarding hard work was like a carrot dangling in front of a foolish donkey. No matter how hard it tried, it could never reach it. The carrot merely drove it to pull the millstone around and around.

Throughout that process, he had constantly doubted himself, wondering whether "heaven rewards hard work" was merely praise for the winners and encouragement for the losers.

But now that he had escaped that vicious cycle, he had gained a new perspective.

The system's assistance seemed like a black swan event, but couldn't it also count as heaven rewarding hard work?

Even without the system, he still had the Insight Academy as an option. Didn't that count as heaven rewarding hard work?

Once he thought it through, he felt much clearer inside.

"The rest of you, keep practicing! Yu Bu'e, come with me for a moment," Mr. Bai said.

Just as Yu Bu'e had expected, once Bai Qingqu learned that he had entered the Qi Refining Realm, the martial arts teacher gave him plenty more advice.

For instance, he was not to dabble in other Qi-Guiding Martial Arts for now. He should wait until he entered the Martial Arts Academy.

He should also start looking for Body Tempering Martial Arts and, if his finances allowed, take medicinal baths in moderation.

Yu Bu'e took the opportunity to ask a question of his own.

"Mr. Bai, there's something I don't really understand. Why are the Martial Arts Academy's requirements so strict? They're even a little... unreasonable."

Bai Qingqu chuckled.

"You mean, why does the Martial Arts Academy strictly forbid students who have learned other Qi-Guiding Martial Arts from enrolling?"

Yu Bu'e nodded.

"You aren't the first to ask me that."

Bai Qingqu began explaining seriously.

"Drawing qi into your body is a delicate, painstaking process to begin with. The slightest carelessness can cause an accident."

"If you've learned other Qi-Guiding Martial Arts and then learn the Martial Arts Academy's Basic Qi-Guiding Art, the methods will differ. Even a momentary lapse in concentration could cause an accident."

"Two different methods of guiding qi can easily disrupt the qi within your body. In mild cases, your qi flow reverses. In severe cases, your spirit meridians shatter."

"To give you an example, it's like knowing both Mandarin and a dialect. At some point, you might blurt out something in your dialect when you're supposed to speak Mandarin."

Understanding dawned on Yu Bu'e, and he nodded firmly.

Bai Qingqu continued, "And all teaching at the Martial Arts Academy is built on the Basic Qi-Guiding Art! If you can't learn it, there's no point in being there."

"I understand now, Mr. Bai!"

Bai Qingqu looked at Yu Bu'e with approval.

He gave Yu Bu'e's shoulder a firm squeeze and said earnestly, "Kid, you really haven't let me down!

"If... you truly couldn't get into the Martial Arts Academy, perhaps even I would start doubting that heaven rewards hard work."

Feeling the genuine emotion in Bai Qingqu's words, Yu Bu'e finally realized that someone had been quietly watching over him while he worked hard.

"All right. If you have any more questions later, about Body Tempering Martial Arts or anything else, ask me anytime!" Mr. Bai said.

Yu Bu'e actually did have another question.

"Mr. Bai, do you know the Brilliant Star Pavilion?"

Mr. Bai's expression changed, his brows knitting together.

"Yu, that place... you'd better stay away from it!"