At the First High School of Guanshan District, April Evaluation stands as the final large-scale city examination before the college entrance examinations.
But Li Yuan, as always, followed his routine, arriving at school around three in the morning to cultivate, and taking a shower before heading downstairs at seven. His cultivation habits were not easily altered.
"Are you really not coming back for the April Evaluation?" As Li Yuan passed the 4001 Martial Arts Classroom, he discreetly glanced inside, unintentionally slowing his steps. The electronic lock was new and dust-free, thanks to regular cleaning. Although Gu Qianghan had mentioned it half a month prior, these days, as the evaluation neared, for some reason, Li Yuan felt a hint of inexplicable anticipation in his heart.
"It seems I've overthought things." Li Yuan chuckled and shook his head, not taking it too seriously. Traveling from Blue Star to Flying Star was not a simple task, especially crossing the Starbridge. With Lin Lanyue's family background, it was clear she wouldn’t return just for the April Evaluation. The evaluation, while significant, ultimately wasn’t the real college entrance examination.
“Li Yuan.” Suddenly, a deep voice called out, and a sturdy young man waved from a distance.
“Dong Haifeng?” Li Yuan responded with a smile, recognizing him as the young man he had saved during their practical assessment.
Dong Haifeng had just exited the Martial Arts Classroom, his face beaming with a smile. Since his return from Jiangbei Martial University, his attitude towards Li Yuan had taken a complete turn, becoming quite enthusiastic, even showing a hint of… respect.
“Is Gu Qianghan not coming?” Li Yuan walked over with a smile. The door to 4003 Martial Arts Classroom was also closed, and the rubbish outside appeared just as it had the night before.
“He hasn't come to the Martial Arts Classroom this morning,” Dong Haifeng chuckled. “He’s often late even for the morning study sessions.”
Li Yuan was taken aback, suddenly realizing he hadn’t run into Gu Qianghan around six o'clock in the past six months. He usually saw him only in the afternoon.
“No wonder he’s making slow progress. If he can’t even be seen in Jiang City at four in the morning, how can he cultivate quickly?” Li Yuan laughed. “Let’s go, let’s head to the cafeteria for breakfast.”
Dong Haifeng paused for a moment, pondering over li Yuan's mention of Jiang City at four in the morning—something he had never experienced either!
“Gu Qiang is still progressing slowly? Is he really a big deal?” Dong Haifeng mused quietly.
In the cafeteria,
“Brother Yuan, you really aren’t in a rush, are you?” Yan Zhou spoke while munching on a bun, watching Li Yuan and Dong Haifeng saunter into the cafeteria.
“What’s the rush?” Li Yuan chuckled, plopping down beside his classmates to eat.
Zhou Qi had already bought breakfast for Li Yuan—a bowl of fried sauce noodles, beef noodles, a nutritious breakfast, along with two packs of soda and two servings of shaomai.
In fact, aside from the nutritious breakfast, consuming too many carbohydrates was of little help for martial arts cultivation and could even be harmful.
But Li Yuan didn’t mind. With his current physical constitution, he digested these foods very rapidly.
“Slurp!” Li Yuan dug into his fried sauce noodles, feeling quite satisfied. The noodles from the school might not be exceptional, but after so long, not having a meal felt uneasy for him, as these were foods from his childhood.
“Yan Zhou, aren’t you the one feeling anxious?” Zhou Qi teased while eating. “Last time you were in Room 21, and now you’re in Room 22? You’re about to fall into the same exam room as Brother Yuan.”
“Old Zhou, think you’re any better? You’re in the long-standing second position.” Yan Zhou shot back immediately.
During the last January evaluation, Yan Zhou’s cultural grades had been a bit weak, so his exam room number had fallen back a little this time. However, such fluctuations in positions were normal, hence Zhou Qi’s teasing.
“So what if I’m second?” Zhou Qi tilted his head. “That’s still the second position out of forty exam rooms!”
“I’m proud!”
Everyone burst into laughter.
Zhou Qi spoke the truth; with over a hundred students in Class 3, few could make it to the first two exam rooms.
“Brother Yuan, you won’t have gained another hundred points this time, will you?” Zhou Qi suddenly looked at Li Yuan, seemingly a bit worried. “If you gain another hundred points, your cultural score might almost catch up with mine.”
During the January evaluation, Li Yuan’s scores had improved by about a hundred points, moving from Room 29 to Room 24, already close to the middle of the grade ranking.
“Don’t worry.” Li Yuan laughed, “I’ll aim for an improvement of 120 points, just enough to surpass you.”
“Come on, are you serious?” Zhou Qi exclaimed, rolling his eyes. “You’ve already outshone us in studying!”
But no one took Li Yuan’s words to heart; gaining an extra 120 points? How could that be!
“I’m done eating.”
“Let’s go, let’s get to the exam room early, and familiarize ourselves with the rows in front and behind, aiming for a united front.”
“I hope this time we can pass the key line.” A group of classmates chatted as they walked toward the exam room, most feeling relaxed.
Li Tianyou, however, remained quiet, trailing behind.
As they neared the exam building, others began to head upstairs one by one.
“Tianyou, wait a moment,” suddenly a low voice resonated beside him.
Li Tianyou jumped slightly, realizing that Li Yuan had appeared beside him without him noticing. “Li Yuan, is there something you need?”
He halted.
“Tianyou.” Li Yuan looked at Li Tianyou’s face and smiled, “Are you trying to lose weight lately?”
Li Tianyou stared blankly for a moment, subconsciously touching his own face.
It did seem like he had lost some weight.
“Maybe.” Li Tianyou forced a smile, not explaining further.
Just then, a notification pinged on Li Tianyou's smart wristband, vibrating slightly. He looked down and his pupils contracted upon seeing it was a transfer reminder—50,000 Blue Star Coins arrived.
The sender: Li Yuan.
At the same time, Li Yuan sent him a V-Comm message featuring a name and a V-Comm number.
“Li Yuan, what’s this?” Li Tianyou stared at Li Yuan in shock.
“With less than two months until the college entrance examination, I know your cultivation has been tough, but assistance through external resources is important. You should buy some vitality-enhancing elixirs to at least ensure you have nutritious meals three times a day. This person, Zhong Cheng, works in martial arts; go to him to buy the elixirs and mention you’re my classmate, and he’ll give you a discount,” Li Yuan said with a smile. “I should clarify, I’m also short on cash; this isn’t a gift for you, it’s a loan.”
“But I can’t pay it back,” Li Tianyou couldn't help but reply.
“I didn’t ask you to pay it back right now; which matters more, money or health? Are you really intent on losing weight?” Li Yuan joked, “Once you get accepted into Jiangbei Martial University, graduate, and land a good job, won’t you be able to repay it then? Remember, you owe me no later than ten years from now!”
Li Tianyou’s eyes turned red in an instant.
He understood all too well; this was merely Li Yuan’s way of helping him accept the aid.
Who lends money while emphasizing it must be returned within a decade?
“Li Yuan, I…” Li Tianyou’s voice caught in his throat.
“Tianyou, there are a lot of people around, watch it,” Li Yuan shook his head. “I have no feelings for you; don’t let others misunderstand.”
Li Tianyou was startled for a moment before breaking into a smile.
“Take it. Actually, given your grades, you have a very good chance of getting into Jiangbei Martial University, but don’t be too tense.”
“Martial cultivation is harder the more anxious one gets.”
“Stay calm,” Li Yuan grinned. “You need to believe me on this one.”
“Um.” Li Tianyou nodded; in his heart, he held Li Yuan in high regard for his martial cultivation wisdom. As Teacher Xu had publicly stated in class, with Li Yuan’s skills and cultivation, he could at least be a ‘Special Grade Martial Arts Instructor’.
“I’ll head up first.” Li Yuan waved. “See you later.”
“Fifty thousand Blue Star Coins…” Li Tianyou stared at his bank account, unable to help but glance up at Li Yuan’s departing figure.
He wanted to tell Li Yuan he didn’t need it, but he couldn’t move his legs.
Because he really did need it.
“Thank you,” Li Tianyou silently voiced in his heart.
Finding his seat number, Li Yuan just settled down when voices began to whisper around him.
“Li Yuan is in our exam room?”
“Isn’t this Room 24? He’s a martial artist, yet his cultural scores are so good?”
“Hehe, my exam number is in front of Li Yuan’s; looks like I'm better than him.”
“You really think so? Do you believe someone could knock your snot out with a punch?” Many students in the exam room were quietly discussing.
Since the start of this semester, especially after the invitations from Jiangbei Martial University, Li Yuan’s performance gradually spread among the seniors.
Along with the school’s deliberate publicity, Li Yuan’s reputation had risen to a level unmatched, even surpassing Lin Lanyue.
“Talking about me?” Li Yuan overheard the whispers but didn’t pay them much mind.
He was instead pondering over Li Tianyou.
“I hope this money can help him out a bit,” Li Yuan sighed inwardly.
Among all his classmates, the only one he truly admired was Li Tianyou.
Sometimes, Li Yuan even wondered if Li Tianyou could awaken the talent of the Divine Spiritual Palace; even if he didn’t surpass Li Yuan, he would certainly shine brilliantly.
People have self-awareness.
“Opportunities and luck can sometimes outbalance effort,” Li Yuan mused.
Earlier, he wanted to help Li Tianyou, but he lacked the means.
Why give only 50,000 Blue Star Coins? Why insist on calling it a loan?
Firstly, Li Yuan understood Li Tianyou’s character, which was incredibly resilient and proud, making it unlikely he would accept help without feeling burdened.
Secondly, this sum of money was, in truth, a gift, without any expectations of repayment.
Thirdly, and most importantly,
“I’m still growing; cultivation expenses are quite hefty.” Li Yuan sighed again, “I hope this aids him a bit, allowing him to get into Jiangbei Martial University.”
Once he succeeded, it would be a turning point in Li Tianyou’s life.
Ding, ding, ding~ The bell rang.
The proctor entered the classroom, and everyone set their smart wristbands at the front of the class.
The April Evaluation officially began.
A day and a half of cultural examinations, Li Yuan could only say he did his best.
“The score shouldn’t be worse than last time,” Li Yuan thought. “Normally, the difficulty of the April Evaluation is lower.”
The difficulty of the January evaluation was high, intended to curb student pride.
But the April Evaluation often had lower difficulty to encourage the students.
The following afternoon was for martial spirit testing.
The test document in Li Yuan's hand, as usual, stated ‘unawakened,’ which was fully within his expectations.
According to Dean Li’s words, with the physical and mental talents Li Yuan had shown, if he could match any high-level cultivation method, it would have shown long ago.
“No one in class seems to fit either,” Li Yuan swept his gaze.
During the entirety of the third year, only Wan Xiao and Zhou Qi had reached the requisites for high-level cultivation method compatibility.
“Everyone has a spirit.”
“Only that it cannot be awakened.”
“The seven high-level cultivation methods of today were created by generations of martial artists.” Li Yuan silently reflected, “In the future, if I become a Sky-Reaching Warrior, perhaps I can join in this grand process of civilization.”
…
The third day was for practical martial tests.
Nearly a month had Passed since Jiangbei Martial University's invitation event.
Li Yuan finally stopped concealing his physical abilities, displaying them fully.
Testing the explosive speed over 40 meters.
“21.8 meters/second.”
“Whoa!”
All students present were shocked, unable to believe their eyes at the sight.
“Brother Yuan is…”
“Unbelievable!”
“Is Brother Yuan about to become a true martial artist?” Zhou Qi, Yan Zhou, and Li Tianyou were all astonished; after all, he was a martial artist!
Even the three proctor teachers seemed taken aback.
Such explosive speed was infinitely close to the 10.0 grade standard.
Understandably, this class was just an ordinary class.
“Why is this surprising?”
“Shouldn’t Li Yuan have such results?” Dong Haifeng and the top ten students in the grade were not too amazed.
In their eyes, after obtaining a sweeping victory at the ‘practical assessment’ gathering elite martial students across Jiangbei Province, how could it be strange that his physical abilities were nearing level 10 after a month?
In the subsequent series of physical ability tests, every public examination left both the students and examiners astounded.
…
Large-scale exams like these had rapid score aggregation and grading.
That very night, at Guanshan District High School, Principal Tan Zhenlong awaited in his office.
“Ding—” The smart assistant voice chimed: “Master, Education Bureau’s Director Wang is video calling you.”
“Director Wang?” Tan Zhenlong exclaimed, immediately replying, “Answer, in visitor mode.”
Whoosh~
The lighting in the office adjusted, subtly changing the atmosphere. The projection materialized, revealing a young man in a shirt, about thirty years old.
“Principal Tan, congratulations,” the young man smiled amicably.
“Director Wang, for what?” Tan Zhenlong scratched his head in confusion.
“For the April Evaluation.”
“Your school has produced two city-level toppers in individual subjects.” The young man grinned. “Isn’t that worth congratulating?”
(End of Chapter)