Both Great Geniuses Were Him

The chatter in the classroom never stopped.

Lin Hao also heard another topic his classmates were discussing.

"The potion big shot is awesome, but Jiang City has produced a real badass of its own! Word came out of the Martial Arts Bureau branch this morning that those two mimic spiders in the old district a few days ago were solo-killed by a high school student around eighteen!"

At those words, half the classroom instantly fell silent, before erupting into an even louder uproar.

"Seriously? Those two Shadow Mimic Spiders? Didn't the announcement say each one had a combat power of 2.4? He solo-killed them?"

"The branch's investigation results are already out. That guy's qi and blood was only a little over 1.3, but his combat power topped 5.0. The craziest part is that he killed both mimic spiders using nothing but the Mountain-Subduing Basic Fist we practice in class!"

"I heard about that too. Jiang City tried to keep it under wraps, but word still got out. Apparently, headquarters gave strict orders to find him within three days. Even the city lord has reportedly spoken-as long as he's willing to stay in Jiang City, he can name his terms!"

"Holy shit! Eighteen? A high school student? Could he be in our class? Aren't Jiang City's senior-year martial arts students all in the martial arts classes at our handful of schools?"

At that, the classroom burst into laughter.

"Oh, come on. What level is our class at? Bai Cheng might have nearly 1.3 qi and blood, but in that guy's eyes, his combat power would be no different from a freshman who's just learned a fighting stance."

"Exactly. If someone like that came out of our class, the principal and Mr. Shi would laugh their teeth out. They'd even wake themselves up laughing in their dreams."

Lin Hao sat down at his desk, listening to them, unsure whether to laugh or cry.

The two geniuses his classmates kept discussing were both him.

From the looks of it, the Martial Arts Bureau hadn't pursued the matter of him taking thirty thousand yuan from the mimic spiders. Instead, they were searching the entire city for him and letting him name his terms.

In that case, he might as well reveal his identity.

That would surely improve his family's living conditions immensely, and his older female cousin's problem would fall into place like bamboo splitting before a blade.

Still, he remained unwilling to confine himself to Jiang City and the five surrounding cities, binding himself to the factions within them.

That meant he needed to carefully plan what kind of relationship to establish with these factions, particularly those in Jiang City, before revealing his identity.

As he pondered, a sharp smack quieted much of the classroom's clamor.

Bai Cheng slapped the book in his hand onto his desk, stood, and swept his gaze over his classmates before declaring loudly,

"Instead of spraying spit over someone else's legend, you'd be better off reading your cultivation methods a couple more times and practicing a few more rounds of your fist technique.

"There are only twenty-three days until the Martial Artist Examination. No matter how amazing those geniuses you're talking about are, they can't sit the exam for you or get you over the 1.0 qi and blood threshold."

After he finished, the classroom fell silent for a few seconds, followed by scattered whispers.

Someone rolled their eyes and muttered to their deskmate, "As if we don't already know. All he ever does is spout lofty speeches."

"Exactly. If his uncle weren't Mr. Shi Tie, who funnels so many of our class's resources to him, would he have 1.3 qi and blood now?"

"Especially the monthly subsidies for underachievers like us. Probably eighty percent gets docked and handed over to him."

"Ah, what high school in Jiang City isn't like that? All the resources get piled onto the top students."

"Speaking of which, No. 2 High School has ranked dead last in Jiang City for its martial arts examination admission rate three years running. Who knows how this year will turn out?"

"I heard that if we finish last again this year, the Martial Arts Bureau will cut next year's subsidies straight in half. Isn't that why the principal and Shi Tie are worried sick?"

"Worrying won't help. With our class's level, we should burn incense in thanks if even five people besides Bai Cheng pass the threshold."

"..."

Lin Hao stopped listening. None of this interested him.

Then he noticed his deskmate, Jiang Chao, slumped over his desk, looking as though he had nothing left to live for.

"What's wrong? Lost your soul?" Lin Hao nudged him with his elbow.

Jiang Chao raised his head, his eyes full of resentment. "What's there to say about those genius big shots? They're a hundred and eight thousand miles away from us. I've actually got something serious to have a proper chat with you about."

"What is it this time?" Lin Hao raised an eyebrow, already having a premonition.

Sure enough, Jiang Chao immediately opened the floodgates and began pouring out his troubles in a nonstop stream.

It was just more lamenting about Xia Zhi, the new girlfriend he planned to get, and his future love life.

Lin Hao listened on and off, occasionally nodding and offering perfunctory replies like "That is pretty ridiculous" and "No need to get upset over that," while his mind had long since drifted elsewhere.

The Primordial Qi and Blood Potion he brewed himself was considerably more potent than the version circulating on the market. He definitely wouldn't have to worry about finding buyers.

Jiang Chao's family had been in the building materials business for over a decade and knew the ins and outs of opening shops and developing distribution channels.

Besides, other than his family, Jiang Chao was one of the few brothers he could trust in this world.

He thought that once the Martial Artist Examination was over, he could discuss it with Jiang Chao and work out a way to make money from potions.

But all that could wait until after the Martial Artist Examination, when he could consider it at leisure.

Ring, ring!

The bell rang, and the class finally quieted down. Jiang Chao stopped airing his grievances too.

The first two periods were martial arts theory. Mr. Zhou Lie walked up to the lectern carrying his lesson plans, switched on the projector, and played footage of combat from previous examinations.

Bit by bit, he broke down the logic of offense and defense in the fights, along with techniques for responding to various situations.

In the past, Lin Hao would have found this material profound and incredibly abstruse.

Now, however, ten years of life-and-death combat experience on the border let him easily understand every movement and every response Mr. Zhou Lie explained.

He could even spot the flaws in them at a glance.

The two periods passed quickly. The dismissal bell had barely rung and Mr. Zhou Lie had only just left when Mr. Shi Tie appeared in the classroom doorway.

His face was expressionless as his gaze swept across the classroom, finally settling on the five students in the back row. "Lin Hao, Jiang Chao, Jiang Lei, Zhao Peng, Sun Hao. You five stay here and wait for me. Everyone else, assemble on the field and get ready for practical combat class," he said in a low voice.

With that, he turned and left.

The students launched into another round of discussion as they headed toward the field.

Before long, the classroom quieted, leaving only Lin Hao, Jiang Chao, and the other three.

Jiang Chao leaned back in his chair and scoffed. "I knew it. Here comes the job."

Lin Hao looked up at him. "What's going on?"

"Twenty-three days until the exam, and registration closes on the fifteenth. Don't they pull this every year around this time?"

Jiang Chao curled his lip, his tone dripping with disdain. "They'll persuade 'underachievers' like us to voluntarily give up registering for the exam to protect the school's admission rate. There are only twenty-one people in our class. If the five of us don't register, that takes five straight out of the denominator and bumps the admission rate up a whole lot."

Hearing this, Jiang Lei sighed. "Ah, forget it. My qi and blood is only 0.5. Even another twenty days of training won't get me anywhere near 1.0. Taking the exam would be pointless anyway. I might as well skip it."

"Forget it? Why should we?" Zhao Peng immediately protested. "How much money have our families poured into these three years since we joined the martial arts class? If the school wants us to give up without giving us a satisfactory answer, not a chance!"

Something occurred to Jiang Lei. His eyes lit up, and he sat straight. "Right! Last year, the school paid thirty thousand yuan per person to persuade martial arts students to withdraw. They can't pay any less this year!"

Sun Hao leaned closer and lowered his voice. "If we finish dead last again this year, the Martial Arts Bureau will cut next year's dedicated martial arts subsidy in half. That's a shortfall of several million! What's thirty thousand compared to that? I say eighty thousand, minimum!"

"Right! Eighty thousand!" Jiang Lei and Zhao Peng immediately nodded as though they'd been injected with chicken blood.

The three exchanged glances, then first looked at Jiang Chao, only to remember that his family ran a building materials business and had no shortage of that little bit of money.

Then all their gazes settled on Lin Hao.