Ninth Rank Intermediate Martial Artist

"That sophomore girl is quite a promising talent as well."

Huang Tao chuckled. "She just turned sixteen, but she's not far from reaching the threshold of a Quasi-Martial Artist. Among the girls in our school, aside from Ding Yi, she's the strongest. Or perhaps, she might even surpass Ding Yi one day."

"That won't be easy." Liu Changqing shook his head. "You might not know this, but back then, our teacher once considered taking that little girl from the Ding family as a disciple..."

"Is that true?" Huang Tao was visibly surprised.

"There are some hidden details, but yes, it's true." Liu Changqing confirmed.

"I see..." Huang Tao's expression shifted as if many things suddenly made sense. He muttered with regret, "Had I known, I wouldn't have let North Martial take her away so easily."

"There was no stopping it." Liu Changqing sighed, hesitating before adding, "Unless the teacher himself..."

"Forget it. It's too late to change anything now."

Huang Tao turned his gaze back to the field, his eyes landing on a delicate-looking girl with straight bangs and bright, expressive eyes. He exhaled, "Her name is Huo Ling'er."

"Huo?" Liu Changqing raised an eyebrow, sensing something unusual about the surname. A moment later, realization dawned. "A descendant of the Pioneer Martial Artists?"

Huang Tao nodded but then frowned. "There's one more person I'm unsure about."

"Who?" Liu Changqing asked casually.

"That plain-looking boy with a buzz cut, wearing a school uniform with the word '忍' (Nin) on the sleeve. His name is Shen Qian."

Following Huang Tao's gaze, Liu Changqing easily spotted Shen Qian.

The hastily drawn "忍" character in blue ink stood out, exuding a childish, chuunibyou (self-styled edgy) vibe. Liu Changqing twitched his lips before nodding. "He does seem ordinary... well, except for his fair skin. What's special about him?"

"That's exactly the strange part. Though I may not be the most diligent principal, I still oversee the annual evaluations from the Local Martial Arts Bureau. I have a rough idea of the talents in our school."

Huang Tao shook his head. "But this Shen Qian... I have no recollection of him whatsoever."

"What do you mean?" Liu Changqing frowned, confused.

"I checked his previous martial arts test records. They were... average, at best. At the end-of-year evaluation last year, his strength was below 100 kilograms, and his sprint speed fluctuated between twelve to thirteen seconds."

"But in this recent assessment, his strength suddenly jumped to 140 kilograms, and his sprint time broke the eleven-second mark."

"Oh?" Liu Changqing raised an eyebrow. "Could it be a falsified result?"

"When they entered earlier, Chen Feng already tested them. If there were any irregularities, he wouldn't still be standing here." Huang Tao shook his head.

"Hmm... From the end of last year until now, that's four months. Such improvement is... acceptable. Some people are late bloomers."

Liu Changqing didn't think much of it and simply rubbed his temples.

"I just hope at least one or two of them are actually worth watching. I can't bring myself to tell them what they're about to face... And I really don't want to lock myself away at the base of the tower for another self-reflection session. Damn it."

---

On the field, the "plain-looking" Shen Qian was facing an awkward realization.

The name-exchange session was meant for introductions, but in reality, everyone here already knew or had at least heard of each other—except for him.

For instance, one person would say, "Oh, we worked together on that mission last year," and another would immediately respond, "Right, right! Do you remember that guy? He was there too!"

However, Shen Qian wasn't the only outsider. The sophomore girl seemed just as out of place.

Clearly, she wasn't part of this social circle either.

As a result, the two unconsciously gravitated toward each other, as if standing closer together would make the situation less awkward.

Now that they were up close, Shen Qian noticed something—despite not wearing any makeup, her skin was flawless and incredibly pleasing to the eye.

"Senior year, Class 109. Shen Qian."

"Huo Ling'er." The girl extended her hand confidently.

Her palm was a little rough, but the back of her hand was smooth and delicate.

Shen Qian made a mental note of this detail before curiously asking, "Why is a sophomore like you in the training camp? Are you taking the college entrance exams this year too?"

"Of course not, my exams are next year." Huo Ling'er looked at him as if he were an idiot. "Who said this training camp is only for seniors?"

The way she looked at him felt like an insult, but Shen Qian couldn't find any proof to refute it. Fortunately, at that moment, Zheng Shaoyang appeared out of nowhere.

"Shen Qian, you've been keeping a low profile, huh? Need me to introduce you to everyone?"

Before Shen Qian could even respond, Zheng Shaoyang threw an arm around his shoulders and started dragging him into the social circle.

"This is Zhou Xiaoguang, Class 110. You definitely know him. He's currently the strongest fighter in our school... Rumor has it, he's already broken through to the Martial Artist realm."

Zheng Shaoyang lowered his voice at the last part.

The young man standing before Shen Qian was someone he had never interacted with, but he had certainly heard the name before. If he remembered correctly, Zhou Xiaoguang was ranked among the top twenty in the Kyushu Martial Arts Hall.

Zhou Xiaoguang was fairly handsome, but his expression was cold. He simply nodded at Shen Qian as a greeting.

Shen Qian didn't mind. People who had been praised and idolized for years tended to be aloof. So, he simply nodded back.

After making the rounds, Shen Qian roughly remembered everyone's names, though it would take some time to fully match them to faces.

At that moment, Zhao Hanhai clapped his hands to gather everyone's attention.

"Let me introduce the class leader of this training camp. His name is Chen Feng. He comes from a military background and was once a student at our school. You can call him Class Leader Chen or Senior Brother Chen. For the next two months, he'll be in charge of your training."

Zhao Hanhai gestured toward a cold, silent young man who had been standing nearby.

"I'm Chen Feng."

His voice carried a deep weight, and his self-introduction was as brief as possible.

Hearing this voice, Shen Qian immediately recognized him—this was the man who had been standing in the shadows, secretly assessing everyone's strength.

"What's Senior Brother Chen's level?" Huo Ling'er raised her hand and asked the question on everyone's mind.

"Intermediate Martial Artist, Ninth Rank."

Chen Feng answered plainly.

A murmur rippled through the group. Even the usually aloof Zhou Xiaoguang showed a hint of surprise.

Judging by Chen Feng's age, he wasn't much older than them—definitely under twenty-five. A Ninth Rank Intermediate Martial Artist, just one step away from an Advanced Martial Artist... He was undeniably a genius.

"Chen Feng is on leave right now. The principal personally invited him to be here. Back in his school days, he was quite the legend."

Zhao Hanhai smiled, but his tone quickly turned serious.

"This training camp will have rankings, updated weekly. I hope you all perform well. At the end of the camp, the top-ranked participants will receive extremely generous rewards."

"What kind of rewards?" Huo Ling'er bluntly asked again.

Zhao Hanhai simply smiled and gestured to Chen Feng.

Chen Feng extended his hand and made a grasping motion in the air.

A sudden gust of wind howled, followed by a sharp screeching sound. In the far corner of the spacious hall, a whiteboard was abruptly torn from its stand and pulled into Chen Feng's grasp.

"Vital Energy."

Shen Qian's eyes gleamed.

The resurgence of spiritual energy had made cultivation possible. The defining difference between an Initial Martial Artist and a true Martial Artist was the ability to condense Vital Energy.

It was a qualitative transformation—the very source of a Martial Artist's immense destructive power.