"Qi-ge, you broke through again? You're a real genius!"
The one who spoke was a tall boy with bronze skin and a handsome face.
"Don't joke around. I just got lucky with this breakthrough, I can't compare to you."
Lin Qi smiled and shook his head. He knew very well that in a key secondary school like No. 2 High, his talent couldn't be considered genius; at best, he was in the upper-middle tier.
And his best friend, Jiang Tao, also known by the nicknames Old Hei and Part-timer Bro...
He had grown up with him since childhood, attending the same elementary and middle schools, and they might even attend the same university in the future.
Jiang Tao's parents had sacrificed their lives when he was young, leaving only him and his younger sister to depend on each other.
He had grown up receiving government assistance, relying on his own desperate efforts at part-time jobs to support himself and his sister.
He was the real genius. Despite coming from a similarly poor family, he was able to consistently rank in the top 3 of the class and the top fifteen of the grade.
Parents deceased, a younger sister to care for, talented, and handsome—he had a full stack of protagonist buffs.
He was truly a protagonist-like figure.
Jiang Tao sidled over, looked at the departing Wu Kang, and pouted as he complained:
"Other than simple explanations, that Wu De rarely demonstrates or gives pointers during martial arts class. He just has everyone watch your demonstrations."
"He lets everyone come to you for advice so he can have an easy time."
Lin Qi smiled and explained:
"Teacher Wu's teaching ability is actually very strong. He ranks among the top of all martial arts teachers in our No. 2 High School. Just listening to his explanations is immensely beneficial."
"And the fact that our class's martial arts results have always been maintained in the top 3 of the grade proves it."
"That part is true!"
Jiang Tao had no choice but to nod in acknowledgment.
...
Ring! Ring! Ring!!
Along with the ringing of the bell, the one-hour martial arts class came to an end.
"Class dismissed!"
Wu Kang's resonant voice sounded, and everyone relaxed.
Lin Qi also stood up, feeling that time had passed quickly.
Lin Qi clenched his fists. To have a breakthrough in his Qi and Blood value on the first day of school was a good start.
Immediately after, he looked at a line of data on his panel.
[Template: None (99.8% + 0.1%)]
"The template progress has also reached 99.9%. I can definitely reach 100% today."
Lin Qi's eyes showed his anticipation. He wished he could train on the spot for another hour to max out the progress bar.
Just then, a faint voice came from behind him:
"Your body has already reached its limit due to prolonged, high-load training. If you continue to train so desperately, your body will collapse."
"You'd best go get some treatment!"
It was Wu Kang. He walked past Lin Qi and left after saying that one sentence.
Lin Qi's heart trembled. Looking at Wu Kang's departing back, the joy and anticipation in his heart instantly dissipated.
He couldn't help but clench his fists.
Had his body already reached its limit? No wonder he had been feeling unusually fatigued lately, and his muscles were aching incessantly.
A moment ago, the exhaustion had been washed away by the panel's progress, so he had thought nothing of it.
"So my body has already reached its limit?"
Lin Qi was very clear about the reason. Due to long-term desperate training, pushing his body to its brink without sufficient resources, and not getting proper recuperation.
This had led to today's result.
It wasn't that there were no ways to recover his body. Finding a professional masseuse to relax his muscles or going to the hospital for therapy with special equipment could solve it.
But every option required money. The cheapest was several hundred yuan, and it would require multiple sessions, costing at least several thousand yuan in total.
Thinking of the mere 66 yuan he had on him, Lin Qi instantly felt immense pressure.
At this moment, Jiang Tao came over, holding a piece of clothing and complaining:
"That Wu De, he runs off the second class is over, as if he's afraid of being delayed for even a second."
"The teachers from other classes will stay and give their students a few more pointers even after class is over."
"He's barely given us any pointers at all."
After complaining, Jiang Tao looked at Lin Qi and said, "Qi-ge, let's go. Time to wash up and head back to the classroom for our next lesson."
"Mmm~"
Lin Qi took a deep breath, adjusted his mindset, then turned to grab his clothes and take a shower.
...
In the breezy classroom of Class 3, Grade 12 at No. 2 High, the heat was driven away.
Eye-catching slogans of various colors were posted on the walls.
"Strive for a year of spring and autumn, fight for a life without regrets!"
"Don't fall behind like a beast of burden, fight like a wild dog!"
"..."
The students of Class 3, having finished their martial arts practice, began their homeroom meeting.
The homeroom teacher, Yan Hong, was in her early thirties, wore glasses, was dressed in a black suit, and had a pretty face.
She walked among the students, her voice crisp and her expression stern. Wherever her gaze fell, no one dared to sleep.
"You have already entered your third year of high school. This is the most crucial year. Whether you become a worm or a dragon will be decided this year."
"Since you chose to practice martial arts and came to No. 2 High, then your goal is to get into a better martial arts university."
"Our No. 2 High is one of the key secondary schools in Tianhai City. The probability of martial arts students getting into a martial arts university each year is 70%."
"Each year, our number of third-year martial arts students is around 500. Only about 350 can get into a martial arts university, while the remaining 150 or so will all fail to make the cut."
"Martial arts students do not have the opportunity to repeat a grade. You either change your major, join the army, or choose to enter society as a full-time martial artist."
"If you don't get into a martial arts university, you can only remain at the bottom of the martial arts world for the rest of your life. You'll be cannon fodder against Disaster Beasts, working yourself to death for less than what others earn in a moment."
"The gap that defines a lifetime is created in the third year of high school."
"These are your results from last semester. Look at your scores and your grade ranking. If you don't want to fail, then go train desperately!"
As soon as homeroom teacher Yan Hong's voice fell, a suffocating pressure crashed down on everyone like a giant wave.
The heavy pressure was starkly stripped bare and placed before everyone.
Many people's faces turned pale, because they were the ones ranked at the bottom of the grade, members of the pre-elimination group.
All eyes were focused on the light screen.
It was a report card, with the 50 students ranked according to their results. The top ten were marked in gold.
"After a summer of hard work, my strength has improved by a huge margin. There's definitely a spot for me in the top ten."
"I just didn't perform well last semester."
Looking at the report card, waves of chatter rose and fell in the quiet classroom.
"Qi-ge, we are definitely stronger now than we were last semester," Jiang Tao whispered from the side.
Lin Qi also looked towards the report card:
[First Place: Yu Jing]
[Second Place: Zhu Yuqi]
[Third Place: Jiang Tao]
[...]
Finally, he saw his own ranking at tenth place:
[Name: Lin Qi]
[Class Rank: 10]
[Grade Rank: 101]
...
Lin Qi saw his name, positioned exactly as the last one marked in gold.
And Jiang Tao's name was in the third position in the entire class.
Lin Qi clenched his fists, sighing inwardly that his talent was still not strong enough.
Both he and Jiang Tao had ordinary family backgrounds, but the other had always been in the top three of the class, and his talent was ranked among the very top of the entire grade.
He also trained just as desperately, but his own efficiency was completely inferior to Jiang Tao's.
...
"One more thing!"
Yan Hong returned to the podium, switched the light screen, and projected a form.
"Every year in the third grade, our No. 2 High will establish an elite class, gathering the 50 most outstanding students from the entire grade into one class."
"We will utilize the school's most outstanding teaching staff to cultivate them."
"Besides the teaching staff, there are also various benefits. Students who are interested can come to me for an application form."
"A test will be held in one week. The focus will be on martial arts results, Qi and Blood value, and fist techniques. The top fifty in the grade will become members of the elite class in the future."
The moment Yan Hong's voice fell, the entire class instantly broke into an uproar.
"They're really holding an elite class! The strongest teaching staff, and all the classmates will be geniuses from the top fifty of the grade."
"In that kind of environment, it's hard to imagine how much one could improve," a round-faced boy daydreamed.
"Li Shaodong, stop daydreaming. You're ranked past 90th in the grade, you have no chance at all," a girl with a bit of baby fat sneered.
The atmosphere in the class instantly became lively.
Li Shaodong yelled loudly, "Can't I even think about it?"
He then sat down and sighed, "Our class has the 3rd ranked in the grade, and 6 people in the top 50 of the grade."
"Yu Jing, Zhu Yuqi, Jiang Tao, Kang Feiyue, Du Lin, and Yang Lei."
"The top 5 in our class are pretty much guaranteed a spot. The top 8 have some hope. As for the others, they'd just be going to make up the numbers."
Others also joined the discussion.
"Yu Jing and Zhu Yuqi will probably be at the very top even after entering the elite class. They have no pressure at all," a girl said with admiration.
The others who heard this also revealed envious expressions.
At this moment, a handsome boy in the front row heard the discussion, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
A girl not far from him, as if she hadn't heard anything, took out a book and started reading.
...
"Qi-ge, check your phone."
Jiang Tao nudged Lin Qi's shoulder.
Lin Qi took out his phone and saw a WeiXun transfer notification.
[You have received a transfer of 3000 Xia Country Yuan from "Taozi"!]
"This is your pay from the last few days of part-time work," Jiang Tao grinned.
Lin Qi was confused. "Wasn't it 2000 yuan? Why is there an extra 1000 yuan?"
Jiang Tao didn't answer, but instead said to himself, "I heard what Wu De said."
"Take this money and get your body recovered properly. We still have to go to the elite class together."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qi was instantly moved.
Jiang Tao's family wasn't well-off either. Not only did he bring him along to do part-time work, but he also transferred money without a second thought.
1000 Xia Country Yuan, to someone like him, was a huge sum of money.
"Thanks!"
Lin Qi could only reply with those two words, silently tucking the gratitude away in his heart.
...
Ring! Ring! Ring!~
"Class dismissed~"
The evening self-study session ended. The teacher left quietly, and the students departed one by one.
After chatting with Jiang Tao for a few sentences, Lin Qi parted ways with him, got on his bicycle, and left No. 2 High, riding along the brightly lit streets.
He felt the fatigue and soreness in his body.
"My body has really reached its limit. The fatigue is always with me, and it has even affected my state during classes," Lin Qi sighed inwardly.
Ten-plus minutes later.
Under the night sky, Lin Qi opened the door and walked into his home.
In the living room, besides his burly father Lin Zhen, there was also a graceful and dignified woman who was thin and had skin so fair it was almost luminous.
"Little Qi!" The woman smiled and greeted Lin Qi when she saw him.
Lin Qi's eyes lit up, and he walked quickly into the living room.
"Mom, how are you feeling now?"
Fang Huiyi smiled weakly and shook her head. "I've already recovered. You don't need to worry about me."
"Your mom is just a little weak right now. She needs to rest quietly for a while," Lin Zhen explained with a smile from the side.
"Little Qi, why did you come back so early today?" Fang Huiyi asked curiously.
"Mom, since you came back today, I came back early to see you," Lin Qi answered with a smile.
After chatting for a few minutes, Lin Qi returned to his own bedroom.
He turned on the electric fan, listening to the whirring sound drive away the heat from his body.
Looking at the over 3000 Xia Country Yuan on his phone, then feeling the fatigue in his body, he fell into a dilemma.
"There's not much money left at home."
"Mom's health is getting worse and worse. Now she has to go to the hospital for treatment every month, and it's a huge expense each time."
"The family is already heavily in debt. Dad works desperately every day just to barely cover the family's expenses."
"There's no more money to squeeze out to buy resources for me. I have to find a way myself."
"I can only place my hopes on the panel."
Lin Qi clenched his fists and thought to himself.
With that, he looked at his panel.
[Template: None (99.9%)]
Just a little bit more, and it would reach 100%.
Lin Qi put away his antique phone with its cracked screen, stood in the middle of the room, on the cement floor that was covered with footprints.
Lin Qi stepped his feet into the footprints and began to practice the Hunyuan Stance.
...
(End of this chapter)