May 20th, Tuesday, a very auspicious number if we were in peaceful times. A day when businesses and hotels would be bustling. And in about a month, hospitals would start getting busy. But for now, it's just an ordinary day. School goes on as usual.
The gates of Chu State No.33 Middle School are wide open!
When Wang Zhan arrives at school, he sees Deng Chaofan and his group from a distance.
"Little Fan!"
Wang Zhan shouts at once. He was already in a bad mood last night. He didn't know what his older sister was up to or where she was going. With Wang Qi's personality, she wouldn't have answered even if he asked. She might even get violent. Wang Zhan didn't want to ask for trouble.
So he didn't sleep well. At this moment, seeing Deng Chaofan avoiding him made Wang Zhan furious. He approached briskly, walked up to Deng Chaofan, and smacked him on the head: "Little Fan, you're something, huh? You even dare to avoid me now."
"No, no. How could I?" Deng Chaofan replied with an awkward smile, his face filled with defiance and resentment, completely humiliated. Don't I care about my dignity? I'm at least a famed figure at No.33. This is like slapping a lackey. How am I supposed to carry on?
"Yo, everyone's here, huh." Wang Zhan looked at Lin Qiang and the others with a menacing expression.
Lin Qiang was quick, reaching into his pocket and taking out two hundred yuan: "Boss, this is mine!"
"And you guys? You waiting for me to come to each of you separately?" Wang Zhan raised an eyebrow.
A thousand yuan in hand, Wang Zhan felt much better. He patted Deng Chaofan on the shoulder: "Little Fan, why even bother? Your face looks so gloomy, try to smile more. It's the same day whether you cry or laugh. Be optimistic, stay positive. Even if the beasts haven't been defeated, we can't lose hope!"
However, as Wang Zhan put the money in his pants pocket, a property suddenly jumped in his mind: Charm +1. Wang Zhan directly ignored this. He didn't even think it would increase his charm.
"Keep it up!"
Watching Wang Zhan walk away, Deng Chaofan gritted his teeth in hatred. Lin Qiang let out a sigh of relief: "Thank goodness. Didn't get beaten!"
"He wouldn't dare, would he?" Deng Chaofan said with disdain, his voice cold: "I won't let this slide. Just wait and see!"
...
Upon entering the classroom, the atmosphere became increasingly joyous. The study atmosphere was virtually nonexistent. Feeling the College Entrance Examination vibe wasn't there. None of these concerned No.33 Middle School.
No.33 Middle School is one of the lowest-ranking schools in the entire Chu State. It's consistently competing with No.19 for the last place.
Generally, middle schools in the slums rarely have students taking exams to get into Martial Arts Academies. Producing someone like Wang Qi at No.33 was already a breakthrough. Thanks to Wang Qi, resources at No.33 have increased a lot over the years. The student intake has improved significantly too.
However, most resources were concentrated in the Hidden Dragon Class. Those with excellent liberal arts scores were in the Phoenix Cry Class. Clearly, Wang Zhan's abilities were just average. Otherwise, he wouldn't be mingling in a regular class!
"Wang Zhan, you haven't had breakfast yet, right? I brought you some." A girl about 170 cm tall, with fairly exquisite looks, stood up immediately.
"How could I accept this, Yao Yao!" Wang Zhan appeared polite, but his hands were quick, neatly taking the lunchbox.
The pink lunchbox was quite exquisite, the arrangement inside meticulously done. The snacks couldn't just be described as exquisite. They were perfect. As usual, there was also a heart-shaped fried egg. This was from a level 1 Furious Sunny Chicken Beast. For the wealthy and martial artists, it was cheap. But in the slums, it was rare. Wang Zhan courteously said, "Thanks a lot."
"Oh, no need to be so polite. We're all classmates, after all. Isn't this normal?" Yao Yao replied playfully.
This little coy act immediately gave Wang Zhan goosebumps. This girl is fine everywhere. Her looks are above average too. But she just can't act coy. No matter how you look at it, it seems a bit forced. It's better to be more natural.
"Yao Yao, we're all classmates, why haven't you brought me a love-infused breakfast?" A guy leaning against the wall on the right side teased.
Yao Yao immediately shed her previously demure image in front of Wang Zhan, putting her hands on her hips, eyebrows raised: "Li Jianhao, who do you think you are? Shut up. Do you want a beating?"
That's more like Yao Yao. Much more comfortable to watch. Wang Zhan leisurely ate his breakfast, while his tablemate Fang Jie smiled and said: "Boss Wang! Still planning to take the Martial Arts Academy entrance?"
"Of course!" Wang Zhan just bit into half of the heart-shaped fried egg. He confidently said: "Of course. With my abilities, not going to the Martial Arts Academy would be a loss for humanity."
This boast, if he were so great, why not go to the Hidden Dragon Class? He seemed to sense what everyone was thinking. Wang Zhan remarked frankly: "Don't talk about the Hidden Dragon Class, in the past, we didn't have it at No.33. My sister didn't have it either. I'm not saying this to anyone in particular, not to any of you here, the entire No.33, even No.19, and any middle school throughout Chu State, in my eyes, every single one of them is trash!"
"Wang Zhan is so charismatic!" a girl whispered.
"Yeah, it's just a pity that we're ultimately not the same kind of people as him. In a few years, maybe he will be a martial arts star in the Federation. And we'll just be getting married and having kids."
Yao Yao immediately rolled her eyes at the girl. With some disdain and some pride, she said, "Of course, how could this girl pick the wrong person!"
"Yao Yao, you're really bold. I wouldn't even dare to talk to him."
Yao Yao didn't continue the topic. She just looked at the girl indifferently. Still dare to talk, not afraid of me hitting you?
"Nonsense!" A cold snort suddenly came from the door. A tall and incredibly handsome boy walked in.
"Who is he? Why is he coming to our class?"
"Isn't this Zhao Xu from the Hidden Dragon Class?"
"Zhao Xu? He's the strongest in No. 33 Middle School. I heard his strength is already 700 kilograms."
"I heard Zhao Xu's brother is already a Warrior. Really impressive!"
The class was buzzing, and Wang Zhan half-squinted his eyes. This guy is a bit annoying. If my attributes weren't stuck, I'd really want to beat this guy up. What's he showing off for? Just because he has talent? Just because his family suddenly has a brother who's a level 1 Warrior? What's the big deal?
Most of these characters from the Hidden Dragon Class have relatives or elders who are Martial Students or Martial Artists. While they might not have huge privileges, they do have more resources, like Wang Zhan. If it weren't for my sister, it would be really hard to get meat from a level 5 beast.
In this era, martial artists are supreme. A large amount of resources are exclusive to martial arts. These are the main force of human resistance against beasts. Moreover, martial arts resources are always scarce. Once used by oneself, there's even less for ordinary people.
Since Wang Qi appeared, No. 33 Middle School has attracted many such people. However, these people rely on their so-called superior backgrounds and look down on matters in other ordinary classes. They have always been solitary and overbearing!
"Let me put it this way, the college entrance exam rules for Martial Arts Academy admissions this year are not that simple." Zhao Xu coldly reprimanded.
He glanced around and said, "First of all, they added a political examination process."
"Political examination? Isn't it said that only Military Martial Arts Academies have that?" someone asked with curiosity.
"What a joke!" Zhao Xu looked disdainful, as if he was basically saying, 'you ignorant peasants.' He continued, "In this century of beast rampages, human martial artists have those who selflessly sacrifice themselves and those who heroically die. But look at how many degenerates there have been. So this year, the system has changed. They have to review family backgrounds, and those involved in crimes will never pass the review. The destructive power of martial artists is huge. If the academy's resources are concentrated on someone with bad character, it would be a loss for the academy, the Federation, and all of humanity."
For once, Wang Zhan didn't retort. With what his sister said yesterday and the news he heard, Wang Zhan felt a bit uneasy. Is there a change above?
Wang Zhan has always believed in his intuition. He's relied on his agility and intuition to be so flamboyant and yet remain unscathed.
"Furthermore, I heard that the top ten key high schools in each city had already distributed the cultivation guide a month ago! If I had known, I shouldn't have come to this school. If I had pulled some strings, I could have gotten into No.7 Middle School. A classmate of mine is there. I heard they already have someone who has broken through the Martial Student Realm. Chu State Middle School probably has even more. That's the place where elites gather, where geniuses run rampant."
"Moreover, this time I heard it's no longer about measuring strength and reaction. Instead, it's about measuring internal energy."
"Finally, there's wisdom. I heard there's a new assessment related to wisdom this year. I don't know exactly how wisdom is evaluated and assessed, but do you still think they're trash?" Zhao Xu said disdainfully.
He wanted to laugh, wondering how this guy could feel so good about it. Aren't these big words too much? Daring to say everyone else is trash!
Cultivation guide!
Wang Zhan had heard Wang Qi talk about it. It's something everyone in martial arts needs to learn. It's the basic principle of cultivation. Before this, the high school stage was all about honing skills. Wang Zhan vaguely guessed what internal energy meant. It should be greatly related to strength and physique. He wasn't afraid of this, nor was he afraid of the cultivation guide. It's just a month or so earlier, after all. Nothing substantial. But Wang Zhan became more certain that there were enormous changes above; otherwise, why would they extend the learning of the cultivation guide to high school?
But wisdom deeply stimulated Wang Zhan.
However, Wang Zhan raised his eyebrows and said, "What wouldn't I dare to say? Boss Wang said so. I'm telling you, people like you shouldn't be in our school. You have no sense of honor, and now you regret it—if you regret it, you can get lost. Even if you go to Chu State Middle School, you'd still be trash!"
"Zhao Xu, right? Boss Wang here, I don't have any other habits, but I really can't stand people like you who are self-righteous, full of superiority, yet don't know gratitude. It seems like you being here is a favor to us, but who the hell begged you? If you have skills, go to another school. If No. 33 Middle School is as bad as you say, then why are you here?" Wang Zhan sharply criticized Zhao Xu.
Then he hooked his finger, "Don't like me? Come hit me. Dare to bet? Settle it in the ring! However big you want to play, Boss Wang will accompany you."
"Wang Zhan, you're looking for death!" Zhao Xu's face darkened. He immediately shouted in anger. Then Zhao Xu pulled out a card: "This is the 100,000 yuan my brother gave me yesterday! Dare to bet?"