"Xiaoxue's not going, so how about you, Sweet?"
Yang Fan chuckled, unfazed, and turned to look at Xiaoxue's deskmate.
The girl called Sweet completely ignored him.
"Sigh. You give me the cold shoulder today, but tomorrow..."
Just as Yang Fan was about to launch into his lament, a slender woman walked in through the doorway. She was dressed in professional attire, with an attractive face and a head of long, smooth, radiant hair.
"Everyone quiet down, class is starting. Today, we'll be reviewing the third chapter of the sophomore curriculum: the Blood Python Uprising..."
The woman on the dais glanced at the desks and spoke in a clear voice.
The hubbub in the classroom gradually died down, but it was still a bit noisy.
The woman paid it no mind and began her lecture.
"Everyone quiet down! The teacher is talking, can't you hear her?"
Just then, a slightly hoarse male voice slowly spoke up. It wasn't loud, but it carried a certain authority, and the entire classroom instantly fell silent.
The pretty teacher on the dais shot the speaker a grateful look and a sweet smile.
Yang Fan curled his lip and mouthed to Zhao Rui, "Show-off. All he knows is how to suck up to the teacher."
Zhao Rui shushed him and turned back to pay attention to the lecture.
This student was one of only two Fourth-level Martial Artists in the class. He came from a family with inherited Martial Arts and considerable power, and it was rumored they were even involved in some shady business.
That was why whenever he spoke up in class, basically no one ever objected.
No one saw any need to get on the bad side of a classmate like that.
Of course, the guy's character wasn't too bad; he didn't go out of his way to unreasonably bully the weak, so the class atmosphere was still pretty decent.
Right now, Zhao Rui's mind was completely focused on getting through his classes so he could go to the Martial Arts Hall and test out his panel's functions. He was in no mood to chat with Yang Fan about some ridiculous teacher-student romance.
The third year of high school was mainly review, and all the academic subjects had entered the mock exam phase.
Zhao Rui had only awakened the memories of his past life; his emotions and memories from this life hadn't disappeared. Now, with a wealth of experience and greater comprehension, he found that reviewing his textbooks came much more naturally, allowing him to grasp the material on a deeper level.
The morning was for academic classes, while the afternoon was reserved for specialized courses.
As one of the top ten schools in the city and a formerly top-tier institution, First High School still had pretty impressive faculty and facilities.
It was equipped with a professional Martial Arts Training Base, which included spacious training halls with a full range of equipment, as well as highly private and extremely secure Meditation Chambers.
It also boasted top-tier teachers who were graduates of higher education institutions or even came from professional competitions and the military.
These teachers were not only knowledgeable and worldly, but every one of them was also incredibly powerful.
The weakest among them was a Seventh Level Martial Artist.
When it came to Martial Arts, the Level system wasn't actually that strict. After all, every style of Martial Arts had its unique aspects, making a unified system impossible.
Besides, anyone who had trained their Martial Arts to a profound level would surely have an ace up their sleeve, right?
Level divisions were generally only used for Martial Artists whose Inner Strength had not yet achieved a Great Cycle and could not yet project Gang Qi externally.
Beyond that range, one could no longer be simply classified by Level. Instead, a comprehensive analysis was required, taking into account factors like their level of Inner Strength, the power of their Martial Arts, their combat skills, and so on.
Masters who reached this stage generally wouldn't let others figure out their techniques anyway.
Even in wuxia novels, the strength of a master is complex and multifaceted, let alone in reality.
In a nutshell: you never know how strong someone is until you fight them.
Of course, this only applied when comparing masters of a similar caliber. If an old master with sixty years of Power fought a young man with only ten, the young man wouldn't be able to beat him even if the old master just stood there. Not only would he be unable to win, but he might even be injured by the backlash from the master's Gang Qi.
That was a bit of a tangent. In short, these teachers were quite skilled.
This was especially true for those who became teachers; being knowledgeable and experienced were absolute prerequisites.
When the afternoon classes began, the students cultivating the Martial Dao all headed to the training halls.
After changing into their usual combat uniforms in the locker room, the students lined up in three rows in the Northwest corner of the training hall.
After shouting a few simple slogans, the supervising teachers for the afternoon led their respective students to their designated training areas.
Because the types of martial arts differed, so did the teachers: Fist and Palm styles, Leg Skills, Inner Strength, External Skill, Weapons (sabers, spears, swords, halberds, Hidden Weapons, etc.), Competitive Sparring, Comprehensive, and so on.
The schools of martial arts were numerous and their techniques complex, so naturally, there were many classifications.
What made a good school good?
Besides having powerful teachers who could teach real, practical skills, another reason was the sheer number of them, covering a wide variety of schools and classifications.
This allowed for more targeted and specialized instruction.
The main martial art Zhao Rui was learning at school was called Cyan Cloud Palm, a palm technique that cultivated both internal and external skills.
"The college entrance exams are getting closer and closer. Many of you still haven't met the standard for Inner Qi Cultivation. You need to train harder and stop playing on your computers at night..."
After this earnest lecture, the Fist and Palm teacher said no more and began the lesson for the day.
There were exercises for strengthening the body, for enhancing the circulation of Inner Qi, and for meditation to perceive one's nature...
And, of course, there was sparring practice.
Today, Zhao Rui voluntarily chose to spar. The reason was simple: he wanted to test his system.
"Zhao Rui, I'll spar with you in a bit, okay?"
Standing next to Zhao Rui in the line was a tall girl with ruby-red lips and pearly-white teeth.
Her tied-up ponytail radiated a youthful gentleness, making her look just like the sweet girl-next-door from one's childhood.
Zhao Rui's gaze fell on her ample chest, and an image of her fighting immediately popped into his head. Just like that, the "girl-next-door" feeling vanished without a trace.
This girl practiced Yong Chun Inquiry, a type of Martial Arts similar to the Yong Chun Boxing of his past life, which focused on speed and finesse.
The problem was, her stance involved clamping her legs and guarding her chest, with her hands constantly moving in front of her. If he sparred with her, the slightest distraction would earn him a beating.
And if he accidentally touched...
Sigh!
"I refuse. I'm afraid of getting beaten up!"
Zhao Rui refused decisively. He had no desire to get into trouble over nothing, especially when there was no advantage to be gained.
"Zhao Rui, Cui Jian!"
Just then, the instructor's voice rang out. Zhao Rui shrugged at the girl and vaulted onto the sparring platform.
The platform was similar to a boxing ring, and its protective features were quite good.
The combatants all wore simple protective gear to avoid serious injury.
The instructor stood by, watching the fight with intense focus, ready to intervene instantly if things took a dangerous turn.
Their reaction speed and ability to stop a fight were on a completely different level from the referees of his past life.
"In the college entrance exams, the practical combat portion isn't worth that many points. You should focus more of your energy on your specialized courses and academics..."
After a few more nagging words, the teacher had Zhao Rui and Cui Jian begin their match.
The two were classmates and knew each other well, so without any hesitation, they took their stances and began to fight.
Zhao Rui used the Cyan Cloud Palm taught at school. This martial art was fast and its movements were agile, focusing on swiftness and deft grappling.
Cui Jian practiced the Taihang Thirteen Palms. Each palm strike was packed with immense Force, and his every move was like a savage bear landing on the ground—his presence as deep as an abyss.