The Association President Pays a Visit

"Examiner, please make the announcement!"

When Qin Chen saw that the examiner still hadn't spoken, he had no choice but to remind him.

Only then did the certification officer recover from his shock.

"Qin Chen, certified as a one..."

At that point, he suddenly remembered that Qin Chen had applied for one-star martial artist certification, but his combat power had reached the level of a two-star martial artist.

If he simply announced him as a one-star martial artist, it seemed Qin Chen would be getting the short end of the stick. After all, the allowance for a two-star martial artist was different, and Xu Hua had brought him in person. If Qin Chen became dissatisfied, the thought of offending a genius like him was frightening.

But announcing him as a two-star martial artist outright didn't seem to comply with the rules.

Without realizing it, he looked toward Xu Hua with a pleading expression. Clearly, he couldn't make the decision and had to ask for help.

Xu Hua glared at him, then thought for a moment before saying to Qin Chen, "Brother Qin, I'm afraid the certification will take some time. Tomorrow."

"The result will be ready tomorrow, and we'll notify you directly then. How does that sound?"

He was somewhat at a loss himself, but he still wanted to grant Qin Chen two-star martial artist certification outright. After all, he knew about Qin Chen's family circumstances.

However, he didn't have the authority to make the final decision. He needed to report the matter to the president. The only thing he could do was make a recommendation to the president and try to secure the treatment of a two-star martial artist for Qin Chen.

"Sorry for the trouble, Director Xu!" Qin Chen wasn't in a hurry over a single day.

"No trouble at all." Xu Hua hurriedly waved his hand.

"Director Xu, I'll head back first, then. Please carry on with your work."

After saying that, Qin Chen didn't linger, and he also declined Xu Hua's kind offer to see him off.

Everyone watched Qin Chen leave. Those who had just passed their certifications wanted to go up and get acquainted with him, but they hesitated. After all, a genius like him might not think much of them.

In Qin Chen's presence, they couldn't help feeling a little inferior.

After returning home, Qin Chen saw Li Xiufen massaging Qin Dahe.

"Xiao Chen, why are you back? Did the training camp end so soon?"

Both of them were puzzled to see Qin Chen. The Genius Training Camp shouldn't have ended so quickly.

"I took some time off. Oh, right, pack the things we need. We're moving the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"Moving? What do you mean, moving?" Li Xiufen asked in confusion.

"You'll know tomorrow!" Qin Chen didn't explain.

At first, Qin Dahe didn't understand, but soon he looked seriously at Qin Chen, having thought of something.

"Go pack!" Qin Dahe hurriedly said to Li Xiufen.

He still found it somewhat hard to believe, but Qin Chen looked serious and didn't seem to be joking.

A martial artist. Could my son really have become a martial artist?

For an ordinary family like theirs, with neither money nor influence, there was only one reason to move: someone had become a martial artist, and they were moving to the city center.

"You've gone crazy too!" Li Xiufen said irritably to Qin Dahe, paying no attention to the matter of moving.

Qin Dahe smiled wryly. He figured that if he said their son had become a martial artist now, Li Xiufen would curse him to death.

Qin Chen smiled and said nothing more. He didn't have a certificate yet. Once it was ready tomorrow, there would be no need to explain anything.

Now to condense the ice Elemental Mark!

That night, Qin Chen didn't sleep. Instead, he sat on his bed and conjured an ice flower in his hand, then began concentrating on completing the ice Elemental Mark.

His ice talent was better than his wind talent, so it wouldn't be too late to cultivate the wind element after his ice element also broke through to one star. Cultivating both at once would only take more time.

Besides, I also need to keep the fire-element Divine Mark on track.

He needed to break through to one-star martial artist with both the wind and ice elements. At the same time, he couldn't stop cultivating the fire element; he needed to push for two stars.

"No wonder dual elements aren't as popular as I imagined. There really isn't enough time!" Qin Chen shook his head.

Dual elements were indeed a powerful talent, but in the eyes of those important figures, people with dual elements weren't valued as highly as a genius like him, who had become a martial artist before turning eighteen.

That was because many dual-element geniuses were proud and wouldn't obediently cultivate one element first. Instead, they cultivated both at once, and ultimately failed to keep up with their progress.

"Sister Xiufen, what's the special occasion today? Why did you buy so many groceries?"

Early in the morning, Li Xiufen returned carrying a pile of groceries, prompting a curious question from the neighbor next door.

"Oh, that boy of mine came back. What a bother!" Though Li Xiufen called it a bother, she looked delighted.

"Xiao Chen's back?" The neighbor was stunned. "Didn't you just say yesterday that he'd gone to that Genius Training Camp? He's back already?"

Li Xiufen had mentioned Qin Chen to some neighbors yesterday. After Qin Chen had previously received his Body Tempering certification, she and Qin Dahe had already spread the news.

"I didn't ask, but since he's back, he must have finished training there, I suppose!" Li Xiufen said uncertainly.

She didn't know much about the Genius Training Camp. All she knew was that it had the word "genius" in its name, so her son was a genius. Naturally, a genius returning home deserved a good meal.

"I heard they eliminate people at the Genius Training Camp," a man suddenly said.

He was another of the Qin Family's neighbors and the wealthiest person among the nearby households. His name was Zhou Yi, and he usually went about in a suit and polished shoes.

"Zhou Yi, don't talk nonsense!" another neighbor quickly said, seeing Li Xiufen's expression change.

The Qin couple were good people, but life was hard for them, especially since Qin Dahe was in poor health.

Recently, they had both been delighted because Qin Chen had received his Body Tempering certification, and all the nearby neighbors knew it.

If something happened to Qin Dahe's already frail health because of Qin Chen now, that would be troublesome.

"What nonsense am I talking?" Zhou Yi said unhappily. "Over in Yang City, a classmate of the son of my friend's older brother was selected for the Genius Training Camp in a previous year, but he was eliminated that very day."

Zhou Yi didn't care about Qin Dahe and Li Xiufen's feelings. He had originally been the person the nearby households envied.

But some time ago, Qin Dahe and Li Xiufen had brought out Qin Chen's Early Body Tempering certificate, and everyone had started drawing close to the couple. They no longer treated him as they once had, and that had made him uncomfortable these past few days.

"Even if Qin Chen was eliminated, he's still a genius!" a neighbor said in Li Xiufen's defense.

"I know, but Xiao Chen might be feeling down right now and not want the adults to know. I'm only telling Sister Xiufen the truth so she can go comfort him. He shouldn't have to bear it alone. That wouldn't be good," Zhou Yi said, putting on a show of concern.

Inwardly, however, he was delighted. Although Qin Chen was still a genius even after being kicked out, such a sudden reversal would surely mean the neighbors no longer envied Li Xiufen and Qin Dahe as much as before.

"Thank you, Zhou Yi!" Li Xiufen was simple-minded and didn't know what Zhou Yi was thinking. After thanking him, she hurried home.

Just then, however, a horn sounded. Everyone turned in surprise to see a luxury car slowly approaching.

"Who's that, driving a car all the way in here?"

The residential complex was densely populated. People with cars parked them in the parking lot and weren't allowed to drive inside, unless they were special vehicles.

"That's... a Martial Arts Association car!" someone exclaimed upon seeing the character for "martial" written on its body.

Everyone looked over in surprise. Ordinary people though they were, they knew what the Martial Arts Association represented.

It was the place in a city dedicated to serving and managing martial artists, and it could be said to be the most powerful institution in a city.

"Out of the way!" Zhou Yi hurriedly shouted when he saw the car approaching. He was probably the person here who knew the most about the Martial Arts Association. They absolutely couldn't come into conflict with these people, or they wouldn't even know how they died.

The car suddenly stopped in front of the crowd, leaving everyone puzzled.

Soon, the car door opened, and a man stepped out.

"Director Xu!" Zhou Yi shuddered.

But he was even more shocked a moment later. After getting out, Xu Hua hurried to the other side of the car and slowly opened the door.

"This..."

Zhou Yi was stunned to see Xu Hua open the door himself.

Then he saw an elderly man in a long robe get out, while Xu Hua stood respectfully to one side.

"President, this is the place!" Xu Hua said to the elderly man.

Hearing Xu Hua, Zhou Yi stared at the elderly man with wide eyes, unable to believe it.

"The president of the Martial Arts Association! He... why would he come to a little place like this?"