The hatch opened with a click until it was fully open, locking automatically to prevent sudden closure.
Then, a set of stairs slowly descended from the hatch, landing steadily on the playground.
A middle-aged man in a black martial arts outfit and a young man in a suit appeared at the hatch and stepped down the stairs.
"You must be Professor Ming, nice to meet you," the vice principal said, extending his hand.
The middle-aged man smiled politely, "Hello."
Then, his gaze turned to Xu Bo, who was standing nearby. "Xu Bo, long time no see."
"Senior Ming," Xu Bo replied respectfully, "I didn't expect you to come."
Xu Bo knew how impressive this middle-aged man was. Although he looked under forty, he was actually over eighty years old and a powerful source martial artist. He was a well-known professor at Jiangbei Martial Arts University, with a great reputation in the province. Xu Bo had met him once before.
Martial artists had strong memories; once they met someone, they usually wouldn’t forget them.
"Haha, why wouldn’t I come?" Senior Ming smiled. "I’m not here to see you, but to check out the future talents of Jiangbei Province."
The two spoke as if they were old friends.
"These should be the little ones your school is sending this year," Senior Ming said, looking at Li Yuan and the others, his eyes sparkling with interest.
Boom! Boom!
As his gaze swept over them, Li Yuan suddenly felt a powerful pressure hit him, making his heart race.
It was like a regular person walking in the wild and suddenly spotting a tiger crouched just three meters away, staring right at them.
It was terrifying!
Fortunately, Li Yuan’s spiritual power was already at level 15, and he had been honing his will in the Divine Palace day and night, making it incredibly resilient.
He remained calm!
In contrast, the other nine students, except for Lin Lanyue and Gu Qianghan, instinctively took a couple of steps back.
In fact, two students even let out a small yelp before realizing nothing was wrong and lowered their heads in embarrassment.
"Is this spiritual pressure?" Li Yuan thought to himself.
He had read about it in the "Basic Martial Arts Course." The book mentioned that beings with strong vital energy, mental strength, and willpower naturally created a biological magnetic field around them that could exert pressure on weaker beings nearby.
This was what ordinary people referred to as 'aura.'
"Not bad, all good seeds," Senior Ming said, his aura returning to normal, smiling.
"Senior Ming is too kind," the vice principal replied politely.
With a whoosh, Senior Ming stepped forward, his figure seeming to blur as he covered ten meters in an instant, standing in front of Lin Lanyue.
Immediately, everyone turned to look.
"Senior Ming," Lin Lanyue said respectfully.
"Lin Lanyue?" Senior Ming’s voice softened. "It seems the Lin family will produce another remarkable woman."
"Do you know me?" Lin Lanyue asked, a bit surprised.
"I do," Senior Ming smiled. "Many years ago, I worked with your father, and I have great respect for him."
Everyone around was shocked and couldn't help but stare at Lin Lanyue. They realized that her father seemed to be quite impressive.
"Senior Ming, you’re so friendly?" The vice principal and the grade director were surprised.
They really didn’t know Lin Lanyue's true family background.
Lin Lanyue's public 'family information' had been optimized.
"Thank you, Senior Ming," Lin Lanyue said, neither overly humble nor arrogant.
"Work hard," Senior Ming smiled.
Then he turned to Li Yuan, who was standing nearby. "What’s your name, student?"
Li Yuan replied respectfully, "Li Yuan."
"Li Yuan?" Senior Ming smiled. "I’ll remember that. If you don’t choose one of the five major schools for the college entrance exam, Jiangbei Martial Arts University’s 'Martial Artist Class' will always welcome you. I’ll keep a special training contract reserved for you."
"What?" Everyone around was shocked.
"Li Yuan is that strong?" Gu Qianghan stared at Li Yuan curiously.
The other students were equally astonished.
A spot in Jiangbei Martial Arts University’s Martial Artist Class? Most of the students present didn’t care.
After all, as top ten students in their grade, their goal was the five major schools.
But to have a special training contract reserved?
This meant that Senior Ming had high hopes for Li Yuan, believing he had great potential far beyond the other students present.
"Li Yuan, your total score in the January re-examination was clearly not higher than ours."
"Why does he favor Li Yuan so much?"
"Could it be that Li Yuan's strength has already far surpassed ours?" A few students exchanged glances, puzzled, but no one dared to voice their thoughts.
"For me? A reserved special training contract?" Li Yuan was also a bit confused.
Did Senior Ming think so highly of him?
Could it be that he could sense the uniqueness of Li Yuan’s spiritual power, just like Wan Xiao?
"Li Yuan, aren’t you going to thank Senior Ming?" Xu Bo whispered, urging him.
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Ming," Li Yuan said respectfully.
"Haha, no need to be so polite," Senior Ming laughed, then looked over all the students. "Students, I know your goal is the five major schools, but you can also consider Jiangbei Martial Arts University as a backup option."
"Also, there will be observers from the five major schools at this event."
"I hope everyone works hard during these five days."
"Alright, let’s board the aircraft."
…
As they watched the aircraft take off.
"Teacher Xu," the vice principal couldn’t help but ask, "Do you know who Lin Lanyue’s father is?"
"I’m not sure," Xu Bo shook his head.
"What about Li Yuan?" the grade director asked curiously. "In terms of grades, even without adjustments, Li Yuan shouldn’t be better than Lin Lanyue. Why does Senior Ming favor him?"
"Maybe he wants to adopt Li Yuan as his godson," Xu Bo chuckled.
The grade director was speechless.
…
Inside the aircraft, besides Senior Ming and a few teachers from Jiangbei Martial Arts University, there were already a dozen students seated.
Looking at their school badges, they were all from other schools in Guanshan District.
"It seems like they’re from First High School."
"There are so many of them; our school only has two spots."
"Stop complaining. The tenth place from their school probably has better grades than your first place."
Students from other schools whispered among themselves.
"Sit in order and fasten your seatbelts," the young man in a suit instructed.
Lin Lanyue, Li Yuan, Gu Qianghan, and the others sat down in two rows based on their grades.
Li Yuan, ranked sixth in total score, happened to sit directly across from Lin Lanyue.
"Thanks for yesterday," Li Yuan said quietly to Lin Lanyue.
"It was nothing," Lin Lanyue nodded.
Gu Qianghan felt curious. "Sis, what happened between you and Li Yuan yesterday?"
"Sit tight and shut up," Lin Lanyue replied coldly.
Gu Qianghan dared not ask further.
"Li Yuan, have you awakened your Martial Spirit?" a short-haired, strong young man in the middle asked, looking at Li Yuan with curiosity and a hint of competitive spirit.
The other students also looked at Li Yuan with curiosity.
They all remembered how Senior Ming treated Li Yuan differently just now.
"No," Li Yuan shook his head.
"You haven’t awakened?" The short-haired young man was puzzled. "Then what about Senior Ming earlier?"
"I don’t know," Li Yuan replied, shaking his head.
The short-haired young man frowned, about to ask more.
"Dong Haifeng," Lin Lanyue suddenly spoke coldly. "Hasn’t anyone taught you? Don’t pry into others' privacy."
"Dong Haifeng, is that what you call him?" Gu Qianghan said, displeased. "Use his full name."
Dong Haifeng was taken aback as he looked at Lin Lanyue, who had closed her eyes, clearly unwilling to engage with him.
"Got it," Dong Haifeng muttered.
Then, his gaze flickered to Li Yuan, a hint of barely noticeable disdain flashing in his eyes.
But he didn’t say anything more.
When someone dislikes you, there’s no need for words.
"Dong Haifeng?" Li Yuan, with his strong spiritual power, sensed the shift in his emotions.
Dong Haifeng often ranked in the top three for martial arts scores, similar to Gu Qianghan.
Li Yuan didn’t know why he disliked him, but he didn’t care.
"I’m not Blue Star Coins; not everyone can like me," Li Yuan lightly shook his head. "Even Blue Star Coins have people who say they’re the source of all evil."
…
At Jiangbei Martial Arts University, the most central area was a massive steel fortress over three hundred meters tall, filled with a sense of technology.
From a distance, it looked like a sci-fi steel city.
Inside the steel city, in a small conference room, more than ten men and women in matching uniforms sat in a circle.
Their uniforms had a badge on the chest, all engraved with a majestic mountain pattern.
"The students participating in the invitation event will arrive at the school in the afternoon."
"These eighty-eight students are our main targets for this trip. We aim to get them to apply to Kunlun Martial Arts University," said a bald, burly man in his fifties, sitting in the main seat. His voice was strong. "I’ve quickly gone through the materials just now, and the corresponding targets have been assigned to you."
"S-Class targets, three."
"A-Class targets, thirteen."
"B-Class targets, seventy-two."
"Prepare detailed evaluation reports. For anyone deemed B-Class, conduct interviews and sign contracts immediately. Is that clear?" the bald man said in a low voice.
"Understood," everyone replied in unison.
"Is there anything else to add?" the bald man asked.
"Director Li," a gentle voice suddenly spoke up. "I’d like to add another evaluation target."
Swish! Swish! Everyone turned to look.
"Old Fan?" the bald man glanced over.
The speaker was an inconspicuous elder, around sixty years old, who was a teacher at Kunlun Martial Arts University.
"Who?" the bald man asked.
"Li Yuan," the elder Fan Jin said.
"Li Yuan?" The bald man thought for a moment. "The student from First High School in Guanshan District, Li Yuan?"
"Yes," Fan Jin nodded.
"His martial arts skills are good, meeting A-Class standards, but he’s average in other areas, so overall he doesn’t meet B-Class standards," the bald man shook his head directly.
He was very familiar with the materials of the thousands of students attending the invitation event.
"The information is incomplete," Fan Jin said directly. "Let me add two points."
"First, his skills are top-notch, having entered the top one thousand of the Blue Star Youth Ranking. In terms of skills, he has reached the S-Class standard."
"Second, his spiritual power talent is extremely strong, comparable to a level 15 martial artist," Fan Jin added.
The other teachers present showed surprise.
"Is the information reliable?" The bald man’s eyes lit up as he asked.
"Reliable. Last October, he signed a B-Class contract with Starfire Martial Hall," Fan Jin said seriously.
"Alright, temporarily listed as A-Class for key evaluation," the bald man said, looking at Fan Jin. "Old Fan, you’ll be in charge."
"In five days, I want to see a detailed evaluation report on him."
(End of Chapter)