"Ye Qingzhou!"
"Hmm? And you are..."
"Heh heh heh, did I change my hairstyle so much that you can't recognize me?"
Ye Qingzhou searched his memory and finally recalled that the guy in front of him, standing with hands on hips and laughing slyly, was his desk mate, Huang Liwen, in the second year, class seven of Linjiang First High School.
The reason why Huang Liwen was called a "handsome dude" was that he was truly handsome, but also truly flashy.
With a truly striking appearance and a face that could be the leading role in a TV drama, he had a scheming heart, greedy and lustful, perfectly fitting the role of a side character villain—one that wouldn't survive more than three episodes.
"Don't worry, I'd recognize you even turned to ash, Brother Wen."
"Stop! You can call me by my full name or just call me Liwen, just don't call me Brother Wen. If you ruin my dazzling image, can you afford it?"
"Got it, Brother Wen, no problem, Brother Wen."
Huang Liwen: "..."
"By the way, I saw you coming out of the medical office earlier, got menstrual disorder?"
"..., I just got hit on the head by a soccer ball on the sidelines, got a mild concussion. Teacher Lei already helped me with some massage therapy."
"Hmm? Tell me more about the massage!"
Triggered by the keyword, Huang Liwen perked up instantly, looking at Ye Qingzhou with a face full of envy, jealousy, and hate: "You're so lucky, if I'd known, I would've taken that hit for you."
"Damn it, why wasn't I the one touched softly all over by Teacher Da Lei's gentle hands?"
"Stop!"
Ye Qingzhou glanced speechlessly at his desk mate, who was indulged in immoral fantasies, and retorted through gritted teeth: "I was getting my temples massaged, not a full-body massage to realign bones. Plus, let me warn you, don't be fooled by Teacher Lei's gentle demeanor; she might be strong enough to crush a coconut with her bare hands. Be careful, or she might twist off your head lightly."
"If I could die by Teacher Da Lei's hands, that'd be a beautiful thing."
"You're hopeless."
They had been in the same class in their first year, and after being assigned to new classes in the second year, they ended up as desk mates again, so they got along pretty well. Laughing and chatting, they soon dived into a discussion about the Martial Arts subject.
Todays youth on Blue Star must study martial arts as a compulsory subject starting in middle school, and by high school, it stands as a separate course alongside arts and sciences.
The martial arts course encompasses the four major subjects: inner cultivation, external training, weapons, and medical skill. Officially, it's said to aim at cultivating well-rounded new-age martial artists.
Honestly, it's just about nurturing a well-rounded group of workers who can be deployed without needing any logistical support, used for long periods of time.
After all, the countries of Blue Star are in desperate need of manpower to explore the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm. In such complex environments, mere strength isn't sufficient; reducing personal limitations as much as possible is the way to enhance survival chances in the ever-changing Grotto Heaven Secret Realm and eventually complete exploration tasks.
With a well-trained physique, refined true qi, a weapon in hand, and the ability to heal oneself anytime, a competent professional-level martial artist can play a huge role in secret realm exploration tasks. Hence, to cultivate such advanced workers, martial arts education in various countries pays special attention to these four fields.
After once again sorting through his fragmented memories, Ye Qingzhou was clearly quite curious about the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm.
As the source of martial arts on Blue Star, the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm is generally believed by East Pole Kingdom scholars to be the Immortal Cave Mansion from the Ancient Era, while scholars from Western Pole Kingdom and Europe consider it a fragment from Exotic Space-Time embedded into Blue Star.
Regardless of the truth, the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm is deemed a treasure trove, with its unique environments housing many rare birds and beasts with incredible abilities, and also being rich in all sorts of celestial material and earthly treasures.
For instance, Sharp Gold, light as a feather yet indestructible, is a magical metal now extensively used in aerospace fields, even aiding humanity in colonizing the Moon and establishing several research stations on Mars, marking the beginning of the spacefaring era.
Moreover, items like the life-extending Pill Wood and Spirit-Nourishing Ganoderma have nearly doubled the human lifespan. As soon as they were unveiled, they garnered feverish enthusiasm from the rich and powerful, with their prices now inflated to 5.5 million per gram, a thousand times that of gold.
This shows the immense value in exploring the Grotto Heaven Secret Realm.
To explore these secret realms, teleportation arrays are necessary. However, human technological weapons suffer great limitations here, difficult to transport and deploy. Even carrying ordinary firearms proves weak in sustained combat without supplies, less effective than a nimble and flexible professional martial artist.
This broad scenario compelled countries on Blue Star to competitively lower the threshold for cultivating martial artists, kickstarting a "human-oriented" new arms race by cultivating new-age martial artists with comprehensive skills and excellent capabilities.
For ambitious individuals like Ye Qingzhou, striving for the pinnacle of martial arts, this truly was the best of times.
"Qingzhou, you've been silent for a while; what're you thinking about?"
"I'm contemplating how to become the number one in Linjiang."
"Having aspirations is good for young people, but as your desk mate, I advise you to give up sooner."
"Why?"
"Because the number one handsome in Linjiang will always be me, Huang Liwen, hahaha~"
Huang Liwen lifted his chin, brimming with confidence, as sunlight descended and draped him in a golden glow.
Ye Qingzhou grinned: "With your handsome looks, you must have found a girlfriend, right?"
Those words struck a heavy blow to Huang Liwen, who clutched his chest with a pained expression: "Don't mention that; we're still good friends!"
Actually, with his handsome looks and sweet-talking charm, Huang Liwen was quite popular among girls.
Unfortunately, his family background was unremarkable, so truly attractive girls were uninterested in him, while those interested in him didn't impress him. Thus, he ended up empty-handed with nothing to gain.
However, Huang Liwen wasn't discouraged: "Hmph, things will work out in the end. I refuse to believe that with my charismatic and dashing self, I won't find a stunningly beautiful girlfriend."
Uninterested in hearing Huang Liwen boast, Ye Qingzhou took steps toward their second year classroom, moving on.
Realizing his listener had left, Huang Liwen quickly chased after: "Hey, wait up!"
Upon returning to the classroom and settling in, their homeroom teacher, Zhu Hanwen, led a tall, elegantly spirited young lady to the podium.
"Everyone, eyes on me, I have an announcement!"
"This is our new substitute P.E. teacher for Class Seven. With Teacher Wang Jian taking a break to recover from an injury, it'll be Teacher Xu Lan temporarily teaching your P.E. and Weapons class."
"Now, let's give her a warm welcome!"
In the midst of Class Seven's enthusiastic applause, Xu Lan, outfitted in fitted sportswear and bearing a radiant smile, stepped onto the podium: "Hello, students. I'm Xu Lan, and from today, I'll be handling your P.E. and Weapons classes. I'm proficient in inner cultivation and weapons, and I've already passed the Martial Third Rank exam."
Upon hearing Martial Third Rank, Class Seven erupted with excitement.
The professional-level examination for martial artists, ranging from First Rank to Ninth Rank, gradewise escalates in difficulty.
Just graduating from college, Xu Lan had managed to earn a Professional Third Rank at such a young age. A superstar among stars, she effortlessly crossed hurdles that many martial artists find insurmountable their whole lives, with a future undeniably bright.
On top of that, she was easy on the eyes!
Linjiang First High School truly hit the jackpot inviting such an exceptional martial arts teacher.
Like the other boys in class, Ye Qingzhou admired Xu Lan with bright eyes, yet his interest lay elsewhere: 'Sharp gaze, strong qi and blood, agile moves, seemingly an excellent opponent in swordsmanship. I'd love to spar with her.'
Sitting next to Ye Qingzhou, Huang Liwen—usually lazy—suddenly felt a surge in his martial arts enthusiasm, striking an eager-to-try pose: "Qingzhou, what's on your mind now?"
"Really want to go three hundred rounds against her."
"Whoa, you're pretty daring! But wait, isn't your goddess Yun Shanshan?"
"Yun Shanshan? Who's that?"
"Ugh, you fickle scumbag."