A Heart as Small as Grass

Chen Feng ignored the astonishment of the crowd. With a flick of his wrist, he grabbed the black marker and swiftly began writing on the whiteboard.

He was listing everyone's initial rankings based on the information Zhao Hanhai had provided.

As expected, Zhou Xiaoguang ranked first.

Zheng Shaoyang was in eighth place.

The biggest surprise to Shen Qian was Huo Ling'er—she was actually ranked fourth.

"That means she's probably close to becoming a quasi-martial artist," Shen Qian speculated.

The student ranked second had just admitted earlier that he had reached the benchmark for a quasi-martial artist and was attempting a breakthrough.

As for Shen Qian, he was ranked twelfth. The only one ranked lower than him was Qian Enbo, a slightly chubby boy who, as it turned out, was a year younger than him.

In other words, he was the weakest one here.

Not that he cared much. Aside from Zhou Xiaoguang, whose strength was unknown, the others all seemed to fall within the range of 140 to 149 in terms of power. The difference wasn't that significant—at least, not in Shen Qian's eyes.

"This ranking will be updated next week, and the first round of rewards will be distributed then. However…" Chen Feng's voice was cold. "The bottom three will receive no rewards."

Everyone immediately understood the true significance of these rankings.

The rewards didn't matter as much—it was the embarrassment of ranking at the bottom that stung.

Especially for those who had been praised and hyped up their entire lives.

"The training method I'll be teaching you over the next two months is simple in principle: constantly pushing your potential to the limit. This is the fastest way for you to improve in the short term. The ranking system is just another way to facilitate this."

With that, Chen Feng stepped aside, allowing Zhao Hanhai to take over.

"Starting today, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school, everyone will gather here. Each training session will last about three hours. Make sure to manage your time wisely. If you need to take a leave of absence, inform Class Leader Chen in advance."

Hearing this, Shen Qian let out a sigh of relief. Only three days a week—it wouldn't take up too much of his personal time.

After adding everyone to a group chat using her wristband, Huo Ling'er announced their dismissal. And just like that, the "Seventh High Martial Arts Youth Crazy Group" had officially held its first gathering.

The embarrassingly cringe-worthy name was something Huo Ling'er had painstakingly come up with. Zhou Xiaoguang's objections were overruled, leaving the rest with no choice but to silently accept it.

Shen Qian clearly noticed Chen Feng's usually expressionless face twitch slightly at the corners of his mouth.

…

As Shen Qian walked out of the old fitness testing center, he ran into Liu Simin, who was rushing toward him.

"Shen Qian, how did it go? Did Director Zhao give you a hard time?" Liu Simin hurried up to him, looking concerned when she saw he was alone.

"I'm fine." Seeing Liu Simin's anxious expression, Shen Qian felt a bit touched.

Regardless of her teaching ability, Liu Simin was undeniably a good teacher.

"He didn't deduct your conduct points?" Liu Simin asked in surprise.

He actually added ten points…

"No, he just formed a special martial arts training class and called me out for that. Liu, please keep it a secret. I don't want the other students to know." Shen Qian decided to tell the truth after a brief hesitation.

"As long as he didn't penalize you, that's good. But you need to be more careful in the future." Liu Simin nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, it's a little embarrassing, but I won't tell anyone."

…Wait. Liu, did you misunderstand something?

Shen Qian opened his mouth to explain, but before he could, Liu Simin waved him off. "Alright, hurry back to class. I still have to pick up my kid."

Watching her walk away in a rush, Shen Qian could only shake his head helplessly.

…

For the rest of the day, Shen Qian was immersed in a sea of knowledge.

Thanks to Zhou Xu's big mouth, the entire class soon knew that Shen Qian had "given up" on the martial arts path and was now focusing solely on academics.

Seeing his newfound diligence, Lin Xiaoqian and the other class representatives even gifted him a collection of study notes from the top students—a token of encouragement.

During the last period in the afternoon, Shen Qian's wristband suddenly vibrated.

As he reached into his pocket to retrieve it, he hesitated for a moment, feeling a bit lost.

Ding Yi was gone now. There was no longer any need for him to pretend to be poor. He could openly wear his wristband on his wrist.

The wristband was still vibrating. It was from an unknown number. Normally, Shen Qian wouldn't have answered, but the caller was persistent.

Glancing at Zhou Xu, Shen Qian saw him nod in understanding and hand over his wireless earphones.

After connecting the call, Shen Qian slightly tilted his head and answered.

"Xiao Qian, it's me." The voice on the other end was deep and familiar, laced with exhaustion.

"Dad?" Shen Qian was taken aback. It was Shen Liang.

"I'm at Jingcheng Central Hospital. Your mother has been admitted." Shen Liang's voice was calm, but there was a noticeable hoarseness to it.

Shen Qian's heart clenched. "What happened?"

"Kidney failure… She might need surgery. If you can, come over now." Shen Liang hesitated slightly before saying it.

"Okay."

Shen Qian hung up the phone. He didn't bother asking for permission to leave. The moment his chemistry teacher turned to write on the board, he slipped out through the back door.

…

Jingcheng Central Hospital—an old-style medical facility.

The newer hospitals, supposedly staffed with powerful martial artists, could treat most illnesses. But the cost was something most people couldn't afford.

Shen Qian sprinted the entire way and found Shen Liang sitting outside the inpatient ward on the third floor.

It had only been a day, but Shen Liang looked much older. More gray hair had crept into his temples. But when he saw Shen Qian, he still forced a smile.

"Dad." Shen Qian called out, then quickly asked, "What happened? Mom was taking her medicine—how did it suddenly get this bad?"

Back when their family fled from Lucheng, an accident had left Wang Xiaojun exposed in a danger zone for hours. Ever since, her health had been deteriorating.

She had to take special medicine regularly to slow the degeneration of her organs.

"She's inside. The doctors are still discussing her case. We'll have to wait a bit."

Shen Liang gestured toward the hospital room. Then, with a bitter expression, he answered Shen Qian's question. "She switched her medication two weeks ago. I just found out."

"Switched?" Shen Qian was stunned.

"I don't know where she saw the ad, but she found a cheaper alternative—only about a thousand per month…"

"That doesn't make sense! Mom isn't someone who would fall for that. She knew the original medicine cost four or five thousand per month. Why would she believe such a drastic price drop?"

Shen Qian couldn't believe it. His mother had always been sharp and meticulous—how could she make such a reckless decision?

"She… she didn't want you to suffer in the military. She was trying to save money… hoping to convince you to go to a normal academic university instead."

Shen Liang's voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was almost inaudible.

Shen Qian froze.