The facilities in the Martial Arts Room were extremely luxurious, far beyond what Ethan Chen had imagined. Not only were there various weapons and computer equipment, but there was even a swimming pool! Was this really the treatment for students in the Hongzhi Class!? Ethan, who had only known that each student had their own Martial Arts Room before, was completely surprised by the high-end setup. He sighed in amazement as he walked over to the bed, plopped down, and lay back.
Originally, he had planned to use his lunch break to buy some Vitality Medicine from the pharmacy, but after having lunch with the mayor, he completely forgot about it. The mental training from the Ruins Immortal Visualization Technique left Ethan feeling mentally drained. This time, he didn't have to count sheep before falling asleep and quickly drifted off.
When he opened his eyes again, the endless pale mist and towering blue crystals appeared as usual — the Crystal Space! Every time he fell asleep, Ethan would come to this place to fight monsters and hone his martial skills. Upon waking, he would do extensive basic training outside, repeating this cycle. Over the past two and a half years, he had barely stopped to truly rest.
"I still have classes this afternoon; can't waste too much time here," Ethan murmured. Time inside Crystal Space flowed in sync with reality. He didn't want to miss the first class in the Hongzhi Class.
After two and a half years of exploration, Ethan was already very familiar with the rules inside Crystal Space. As long as he protected the crystals, no matter if he successfully killed monsters or how quickly he died, he would wake up full of energy.
Just as Ethan was about to accept a knockout, he suddenly felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. Thump! Thump! Thump! The sound grew louder, and the ground began to shake.
Confused, Ethan wondered, "Shouldn't the first wave of monsters, the Vexfang Wolves, appear now? Why such a heavy tremor?"
As if hearing his question, a moment later, a group of giants appeared in his sight. They marched forward like walking mountains, overwhelming and powerful.
Sixth Wave Monsters: Greenfire Giants (LV6.2)
Seeing the marks above their heads, Ethan suddenly realized that the monsters were not appearing in strict order from the first wave. Instead, the waves were grouped in stages of five. He was now facing monsters from waves six through ten, corresponding to the defense progress: 5/10 (incomplete).
"Well, since they're here, might as well try to kill one!" Ethan took a deep breath, gripped his weapon tightly, and charged toward the giants.
...
At 2:20 PM, Ethan arrived ten minutes early at Liang City No. 1 High School's Senior 3 Class 1. Upon entering, he was surprised to find no desk or chair assigned to him! This confused him greatly. After all, from elementary school to high school, everyone had fixed desks labeled with their name and seat number, and the drawers could only be opened by the owner's fingerprint or iris scan.
"No way, still using the old 'new student bullying' tricks?" Ethan thought to himself, his first impression of the Hongzhi Class instantly soured.
At that moment, a hand quietly patted his shoulder, and a somewhat familiar voice said, "You're Ethan Chen, right? We met this morning."
Ethan turned and saw Moret smiling. He was surprised; this guy could sneak up on him without a sound! When they were together earlier, Ethan hadn't noticed how formidable he was. Moret's Vitality Level was at least two levels higher than his!
"Don't overthink it. The Hongzhi Class doesn't single anyone out," Moret said coolly after seeing Ethan's puzzled look. Then he pointed to the desks: "Look closely — including you, there are 31 students, but only 20 desks."
Ethan looked and confirmed it was true. Earlier, he had checked desk locations via his smart band and hadn't noticed the discrepancy in quantity.
Moret went on to explain: "Strength in the Hongzhi Class is determined by your seat number."
"There's a monthly 'Seat Number Ranking Battle' held in real combat to decide the order."
"There are only 20 desks. The bottom 10 in ranking must stand for the entire month."
Pausing briefly as if recalling something, he continued, "But now it's already the 11th."
"Last week's Seat Number Ranking Battle just finished."
"Later, you and the newcomer Han Yiming will compete in a challenge to fight for a seat number."
"If you beat someone ranked 20th or higher, you get to sit in class!"
"Also, the higher your seat number rank, the better your monthly resource allowance!"
Moret finished and walked straight to the front row, sitting in the desk labeled number one.
Ethan's Martial Skill level was 89% of Beginner Level One, which both surprised and made Moret envious. Though Moret's family was worth billions, his martial talent was average. Apart from martial skill, he surpassed Ethan in all other aspects.
He didn't deny that Ethan could get a good result, even a top ten placement, in the Hundred Cities Championship a month later. But regarding the Seat Number Ranking Battle, he wasn't optimistic. This battle measured overall strength, not just pure martial skill.
Though unaware of Ethan's exact Vitality Level, Moret sensed it was definitely below 5.5. This was a huge disadvantage in a Hongzhi Class where everyone started at at least 6.0 Vitality Level.
The fierce competition in the Hongzhi Class shocked Ethan. For people like Moret, the resources might not be as important—they cared more about their class ranking. But Ethan's family couldn't afford that luxury.
He didn't care if he had no seat in class, but he wanted to get as high a seat rank as possible. Resources! Even holding two hundred thousand wasn't enough—he knew that to spend properly, twenty thousand or even two million wouldn't cut it!
Soon, Han Yiming arrived. Though it was his first time in the Hongzhi Class, he knew more than Ethan. He told Ethan that the first Martial Method class would be supervised by Ryan Ling and that the challenges would start then.
More students from the Hongzhi Class arrived gradually. Most nodded at Ethan and Han Yiming, giving Ethan a slightly better impression of these rich second-generation students.
At exactly 2:30 PM, Ryan Ling entered the classroom punctually. Seeing Ethan standing at the back, he felt some hope. But since Ethan's Vitality Level was low, Ryan guessed Ethan would have to stand for at least a month before he could reach the top 20.
After a brief welcome, everyone went to the adjacent real-combat room. As the name implies, it was for real fights, about two and a half basketball courts in size.
Private fights were strictly forbidden, and every match had to be supervised by a Martial Artist teacher. Any student caught fighting privately would be expelled without exception!
The Seat Number Ranking Battle was a 1v1 format. Han Yiming, who ranked first in yesterday's test, went first.
After putting on his protective gear, Ethan stepped aside.
"The challenger may issue up to three challenges. I will assign your seat number based on your combat performance," Ryan Ling said calmly.
"I want to challenge number 25!" Han Yiming, unfamiliar with the Hongzhi Class's strength distribution, chose a seat in the lower middle tier to test.
Ryan Ling nodded and said to a student watching nearby, "Frank Fang, suit up and enter the arena!"