No wonder Yan Tianyang had called him a few days ago, solemnly assuring him that he had found a talented prospect to send over as his disciple. He had also said that the prospect was a lot like his grandson, and that he would definitely be satisfied.
He had to admit, this temper really was to his liking.
Although Yan Tianyang had said that the talented prospect he was sending possessed psychic power and would soon break through to become a junior psychic, his vitality was far too low.
When Jiang Fan returned home, he discovered that he could exchange his points for vitality again. Just one night of training had earned him enough to increase it by 1N. It seemed everything Crazy Old Man had said was true: these special alloy weight rings really could improve his physique.
Now that Jiang Fan was a member of the special training class, he attended academic lessons in the morning and had to go to special training in the afternoon.
The announcement played repeatedly over the speakers: "All exam candidates in the special training class, please assemble in Gymnasium No. 2."
No. 9 Middle School's Gymnasium No. 2 was normally closed, opening only to the members of each year's special training class.
As Wei Qi passed Jiang Fan, he snorted with his nose in the air.
Jiang Fan couldn't be bothered with him. He went inside and found a random place to sit.
Everyone was waiting for their second-rank martial artist instructor to arrive, their youthful faces filled with excitement and anticipation.
"The instructor's here!" a student suddenly shouted toward the entrance.
The next second, everyone's eyes turned in unison to the middle-aged man walking through the door.
The middle-aged man was around 1.9 meters tall, wore a trench coat, and had unkempt stubble, looking somewhat slovenly.
But no one looked down on him because of his appearance, for no other reason than that he was a middle-stage second-rank martial artist, far beyond the reach of these students.
The middle-aged man looked over the students, his gaze lingering on Lan Shengxue for a few extra seconds before he withdrew it.
"Hello, students. My surname is Wei, and my name is Wei Cangyue. You can call me Instructor Wei. Oh, and while we're at it, I'm from the Divine Wind Camp."
The Divine Wind Camp!
He was a Divine Wind Guard!
Jiang Fan hadn't been particularly interested, but at those words, his eyes couldn't help lighting up.
The Divine Wind Camp was the most badass fighting force in their Great Xia, a wall of bronze and iron protecting their nation.
Almost every cultivator considered becoming a Divine Wind Guard an honor.
At that moment, Jiang Fan's ears were filled with the students' excited discussions.
"Heavens! A Divine Wind Guard! I never thought I'd have a chance to be trained by a Divine Wind Guard in my lifetime! Has blue smoke started rising from my ancestors' graves?"
"Me too, me too! If we weren't forbidden from bringing phones to training, I'd definitely take pictures."
"..."
Wei Cangyue raised a hand to signal for silence. The next second, the bustling gymnasium fell so quiet that not even a crow or sparrow could be heard, showing just how badass the status of Divine Wind Guard was.
"I've introduced myself. Now it's your turn, one at a time."
Eager to show what he could do, Wei Qi was the first to stand.
"Instructor Wei, my name is Wei Qi. I'm a middle-stage martial apprentice, and my current vitality is 119N."
"Mm." Wei Cangyue nodded, then looked at the next person.
Wei Qi was a little disappointed. He had thought the instructor might give him a word or two of praise. After all, he had already cultivated to 119N.
"I'm He Wei, an early-stage martial apprentice, 86N."
"Xu Ming, early-stage martial apprentice, 90N."
Jiang Youtian stood up next. "Jiang Youtian, middle-stage martial apprentice, 100N."
Wei Qi didn't even glance at Jiang Youtian, looking at Lan Shengxue instead.
Lan Shengxue kept feeling that the way Wei Qi looked at her was very strange, but she stood up anyway.
"Lan Shengxue, early-stage first-rank martial artist. Vitality, 202N."
Her words shocked everyone present.
How many days had it been since Lan Shengxue broke through to become a martial artist? And her vitality had already increased by another 2N?!
Was she going to leave anyone else a way to live? Even genius and monstrous talent ought to have limits, right?
Hadn't she considered how difficult it was for everyone else to make any progress, even after working hard for so long?
At their current cultivation speed, their chances of getting into a martial arts school were still uncertain. That was why the school organized a special training class every year and invited experienced martial artists to train them.
Because if they relied on themselves and cultivated blindly like headless flies, one could imagine how slowly they would progress.
They were counting on making soaring progress during their brief time in the special training class.
Yet Lan Shengxue hadn't even begun special training, and her progress was already so great that they could only look up to her.
Wei Cangyue finally smiled. He looked at Lan Shengxue. "Student, are you interested in joining the Divine Wind Camp?"
That single question sent the entire gymnasium into an uproar. All the students looked at Lan Shengxue with shock and envy.
Without even thinking, Lan Shengxue replied, "I only want to get into one of the five elite martial arts schools."
"Getting into a martial arts school and joining the Divine Wind Camp as a Divine Wind Guard don't conflict. Student, why not give it some more thought? Becoming a Divine Wind Guard brings tremendous glory to your ancestors, you know. There are plenty of benefits."
Wei Cangyue was now tempting Lan Shengxue in the coaxing tones of the wolf disguised as a grandmother, making the students present even more envious and jealous.
Look at the treatment she received! The Divine Wind Camp was racking its brains to recruit her. Then look at them. Hadn't they seen Wei Cangyue's attitude toward them just now? It was the difference between heaven and earth!
"I'm not considering it for now," Lan Shengxue refused again.
Despite being rejected twice in a row, Wei Cangyue showed no sign of annoyance.
"All right, all right. It's fine if you're not considering it right now. You can give it more thought later."
After Wei Cangyue withdrew his gaze from Lan Shengxue, the kindly middle-aged man's smile faded from his face. His expression turned entirely serious as he looked at the other students.
"Continue your introductions."
Mu Feng was next.
Mu Feng stood up.
"Mu Feng, late-stage martial apprentice. Vitality, 151N."
At those words, Wei Cangyue's eyes brightened slightly, but that was all.
Mu Feng, who had been about to sit down, spoke again. "I want to join the Divine Wind Camp."
Everyone burst into an uproar, whispering among themselves.
Wei Cangyue smiled at Mu Feng. "You're quite good, but you're still a little short of what it takes to join the Divine Wind Camp."
Mu Feng's fists tightened slightly at his sides. "I'll work hard to earn that chance over these three months."
Wei Cangyue said nothing, because the path of martial arts was that cruel. More often than not, hard work could not make up for talent.
"Has anyone not introduced themselves yet?"
Only Jiang Fan remained.
Jiang Fan stood and said calmly, "Jiang Fan, early-stage martial apprentice. Vitality, 81N."
Without so much as looking at Jiang Fan, Wei Cangyue began speaking. "Our time is precious, so I won't waste words. We'll start our first lesson now."
Seeing that Wei Cangyue paid him no attention, Jiang Fan didn't mind at all and quietly sat down.
"Today, I'll cover some general knowledge. Next lesson, we'll begin training to improve your abilities."
Wei Cangyue switched on the projector. With a swish, a huge blue screen appeared before everyone.
It was a vast map showing the territory of their Great Xia.