"Class 8, Wei Qi, middle-stage martial apprentice. Class 8..." At this point, the principal's expression grew distinctly odd. "Jiang Fan... early-stage martial apprentice..."
What?
The office fell so quiet that a falling pin could have been heard.
No one could believe their ears.
Especially Jiang Fan's homeroom teacher, Lu Yi, who sat in his seat like a statue.
"H-how is that possible?" Qi Huai's shout brought everyone out of their dumbstruck stupor.
They could not help whispering among themselves.
"Jiang Fan? Wasn't his blood qi only 19 N? How did he suddenly break through to early-stage martial apprentice? Am I dreaming?"
"My heavens! What on earth happened? I feel like I'm dreaming too."
"I think we are dreaming. I just pinched my thigh really hard, and it didn't hurt at all, so we must be dreaming."
"Hey, listen. You pinched my thigh. Of course it didn't hurt you."
"Uh..."
Qi Huai hurried over to the principal, snatched the list from his hand, and stared at it with wide eyes.
He strongly suspected that the principal's aging eyes had misread it.
Yet the last row of the table bore a conspicuous line of text.
[Class 8, Jiang Fan, early-stage martial apprentice]
"How? How is that possible? Jiang Fan... how did he become an early-stage martial apprentice?" Qi Huai muttered blankly, as though he had suffered some sort of blow.
Now it was Lu Yi's turn to be pleased.
"Haha! That brat Jiang Fan really knows how to hide his strength! He deliberately scored 19 N on the last test to throw everyone off, all to give me a surprise during registration for this special training class."
Hearing Lu Yi's words, the others began to understand.
So Jiang Fan's blood qi had long since surpassed 19 N. He had been hiding his abilities all along, with the aim of making a name for himself.
Thinking about it, that made sense. Although early-stage martial apprentices were scarce at their school, they were not particularly extraordinary. Especially with a martial artist like Lan Shengxue already setting a jewel-like example, someone merely at the early-stage martial apprentice level could never stand out enough to make a name for himself.
But if he hid his strength, deliberately pretended to have only 19 N of blood qi, then revealed his true strength during registration for the special training class, everyone would be shocked.
"Students these days really know how to play their little games."
"Don't they just? Still, Class 8's homeroom teacher has lucked out. He has another early-stage martial apprentice now. As long as Jiang Fan works hard from here on out and doesn't slack off in his cultivation, he should have a very good chance of getting into a third-rate martial arts school."
At this, Qi Huai, whose nose was already practically crooked with anger, snorted.
"What's so lucky about that? It's just one more Jiang Fan. Lu Yi, you're still one student short of your assessment quota, and Jiang Fan might not even get into a martial arts school."
Unable to take it any longer, Lu Yi said, "Qi Huai, can you really not bear to see things go well for me? Are you that eager for all my students to fail to get into a martial arts university? I don't recall any irreconcilable blood feud between us. Besides, even if we did have a personal grudge, we both work at the same school. Isn't it a good thing for one more promising martial arts student from our school to get into a martial arts university? Can you really not bear to see Jiang Fan get in?"
Those words instantly made Qi Huai the target of everyone's criticism.
The principal, in particular, could not have looked at Qi Huai any more unfavorably.
The principal did not care about the scheming among the different classes' homeroom teachers, but he absolutely would not tolerate anything that affected promising martial arts students' chances of getting into martial arts schools.
Qi Huai shrank back and said sheepishly, "Of course not, of course not."
Inside Class 8's classroom.
Seated by the window, Wei Qi kept watching the school gates.
"My dad's here!"
Everyone could tell that Wei Qi was showing off.
As Wei Qi's three lackeys, Zhou Qiang, Wang Qi, and Li Chengyu immediately chimed in.
"Wei Qi, after today, you'll officially be a special training class candidate. After three months of training, you'll definitely be even better. Getting into a martial arts school will be a done deal. Don't forget us when the time comes, okay?"
His vanity satisfied, Wei Qi chuckled and said, "Of course. You're all my brothers. Once I get into a martial arts school and make something of myself, if you ever run into trouble and need my help, I'll definitely help as long as I can."
With that promise from Wei Qi, Zhou Qiang and the other two were absolutely delighted.
The three of them might not have much ability, but they knew how to cling to a powerful thigh.
As he laughed, Wei Qi glanced at Jiang Fan. Seeing Jiang Fan asleep with his head on his desk, looking as though nothing around him had anything to do with him, Wei Qi somehow felt inexplicably irritated.
Just then, the school broadcast came on.
"All students whose special training class applications have been approved, please report to the lecture hall... I repeat, all students whose special training class applications have been approved, please report to the lecture hall..."
Wei Qi stood up immediately, deliberately slowing his steps so he could savor his classmates' envious, admiring gazes.
"Screech-" Chair legs scraped against the floor as Jiang Fan pulled back his chair and stood up, then headed toward the classroom door under his classmates' astonished gazes.
Wei Qi froze for a moment. "Jiang Fan, what are you doing? Going to the bathroom?"
"To the lecture hall," Jiang Fan replied mildly.
"What did you say?" Wei Qi reached out and grabbed Jiang Fan's arm. "I suggest you keep your showing off within limits. I let it slide when you showed off a couple of days ago, but the school leaders will all be at the lecture hall today. Don't embarrass our class."
Jiang Fan pulled his arm out of Wei Qi's grasp in disgust. "I can't be bothered saying any more to you."
"Hey!" Wei Qi strode in front of Jiang Fan and blocked his path.
"You think I want to bother with you? If we weren't in the same class, it wouldn't matter to me how much you embarrassed yourself."
Just as Wei Qi had said, Jiang Fan was his classmate, after all. Although Jiang Fan was Jiang Fan and he was himself, if Jiang Fan really made a fool of himself elsewhere, someone would inevitably remark, "That's Jiang Fan, the one in Wei Qi's class. How embarrassing!"
"Move." Jiang Fan frowned in displeasure.
"I'm telling you-"
Before Wei Qi could finish, Lu Yi appeared at the door and interrupted him.
"Didn't you hear the broadcast? Hurry up and go to the lecture hall."
Wei Qi turned to Lu Yi. "Teacher Lu, Jiang Fan wants to go too."
At the mention of Jiang Fan, Lu Yi could not help taking a few more looks at this student.
"Jiang Fan, you really have made me see you in a whole new light. When did you break through to early-stage martial apprentice?"
Those words plunged every student in the classroom into silence.
Only after a long while did gasps begin to rise one after another.
"What? T-Teacher Lu, what-what did you say? Jiang Fan, h-he... he's become an early-stage martial apprentice? You're not j-joking with us, are you? Jiang Fan? How could he possibly?"