Chapter 16: Private Martial Arts Room For the past half month,
Aside from his intense training, Li Yuan had been closely following the war in Beijiang Province.
After all, his uncle was there building defense facilities.
According to the news, the human coalition forces were achieving successive victories, inflicting significant damage on the star realm creatures.
However, Li Yuan sensed something was off.
"Battle reports can be deceptive, but the battle lines cannot," Li Yuan thought as he ate, glancing at the news on the electronic screen.
"Based on past experiences, if our human civilization truly held the advantage, after the first wave of attacks, they would quickly organize large armies and martial artist groups to penetrate deep into the star realm..." Li Yuan's science grades were average, but his humanities grades were quite good.
He was particularly good in history and geography.
Especially modern history.
"This time, the battle in the Luo Bu Sea Star Realm has been ongoing for half a month, with the front lines seemingly locked in a constant tug-of-war at several key entry points into the star realm," Li Yuan's eyes were filled with worry.
What does this indicate?
The human coalition has been unable to push back!
The battle is likely very fierce.
"I hope Uncle can come back safely," Li Yuan thought. Over the past few days, his uncle occasionally called or sent messages to reassure him not to worry.
Phew!
"Old Zhou, Yan Zhou, I'm leaving first," Li Yuan said as he picked up his lunch tray, preparing to head to the tray return station.
"Yuan, wait for us to go to the martial arts classroom together," Zhou Qi called out. "We're almost done."
"I'm going to the elite building, not the same way," Li Yuan said quietly.
Guanshan District No. 1 High School covers a large area, with separate buildings for cultural studies, martial arts, administration, and the elite.
The so-called elite building comprises three large martial arts classrooms and dozens of private martial arts rooms.
The elite building is specifically for the three elite classes from grades one to three, accommodating fewer than two hundred students in total.
"Going to the elite building?" Zhou Qi and Yan Zhou didn't quite grasp it immediately.
"Looking for someone? Wan Xiao?" Yan Zhou asked, puzzled.
"I'll be training there from now on," Li Yuan explained after a moment of thought. "The school has assigned me a private martial arts room, so I'll be doing my martial arts self-study there."
Martial arts classes with Teacher Xu only happened every other day.
Scholarships weren't publicly announced, so no one knew, and Li Yuan wouldn't mention it to draw attention.
But a private martial arts room? It was there, and word would get out sooner or later, so Li Yuan decided to mention it early.
"A private martial arts room? Whoa!"
"Yuan's got one?"
"It must have been approved by Teacher Xu!"
"Yuan is awesome!" Yan Zhou, Zhou Qi, and the other ten or so boys exclaimed excitedly.
Their shouts quickly attracted the attention of many nearby students.
"Keep it low-key. I'm only telling you guys, so don't spread it around," Li Yuan said quietly.
"Got it."
"Yuan, we want to check it out. I've never been inside a private martial arts room before."
"A private martial arts room, huh? I never even dared to dream of that." The group of boys lowered their voices, but they remained curious.
They didn't envy Li Yuan. Even if some had thoughts about it, they wouldn't be foolish enough to show it.
After all, their small group of about a dozen boys somewhat looked up to Li Yuan as their leader.
Besides, they all knew that Li Yuan's martial arts scores were excellent, and his raw scores had already placed him in the top ten in the grade.
"I haven't been there either," more of them chimed in.
"Alright, I'll take you there sometime," Li Yuan said with a smile. "But not today. It's my first time going, so I need to get familiar with it first."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
...
The elite building and the senior year martial arts building are separated by a small playground and must be crossed over the office building, making them relatively independent.
Therefore, this area is very quiet.
The road is lined with green trees, and the breeze blowing against one's body is quite refreshing.
"The Elite Building." Li Yuan soon arrived in front of the building, taking in its rather antique decoration.
In front of the building stood a statue.
"Dongfang Ji." Li Yuan immediately recognized the statue.
The strongest individual in human civilization, the strongest in Xia Country, the founder of the Xinghuo Martial Hall... also the first martial artist to walk out alive from the epicenter of a nuclear explosion.
He was Li Yuan's most admired idol.
"Martial arts is me." Li Yuan approached the statue, where that famous quote was inscribed at the base.
At one o'clock in the afternoon, it was time to return to the martial arts classroom for self-study, so there were quite a few students coming and going.
However, no one paid much attention to Li Yuan.
Freshmen assumed Li Yuan was a sophomore or junior, while juniors thought he was a sophomore.
Perhaps Li Yuan was somewhat well-known in the senior year, but that was limited to his name being recognized.
Except for his classmates, students from other classes rarely knew him.
Suddenly, "Li Yuan," a slightly surprised voice called out. Li Yuan turned to look.
A tall, burly figure, resembling a bear, dressed in martial arts attire, was walking up the steps.
"Wan Xiao, long time no see," Li Yuan smiled and waved.
The person was Wan Xiao, who had transferred to the elite class after awakening his martial arts aptitude.
"Yes, it has been a while," Wan Xiao replied with a smile.
Though they were in the same school, being in different classes made it difficult for them to run into each other.
"How's the elite class?" Li Yuan asked with a smile.
"It's alright," Wan Xiao nodded. "The advanced cultivation methods are indeed exceptional, and the classmates are all very skilled. Sparring with each other is quite effective..."
"You better work hard, or I might surpass you in the next exam," Wan Xiao joked half-seriously.
"I'm looking forward to it," Li Yuan said with a smile, knowing their good relationship meant there was no offense taken.
"By the way, I haven't asked you yet, what brings you to the elite building?" Wan Xiao asked curiously. "Looking for someone?"
"Looking for a classroom," Li Yuan replied with a smile. "How do I get to Martial Arts Room 4011?"
"4011?" Wan Xiao was taken aback. "The fourth floor? That's for the senior year's private martial arts rooms, but Room 11 isn't open, right? There's no one there."
"There wasn't anyone until now," Li Yuan said with a smile. "Now that I'm here, there will be."
Wan Xiao's eyes widened slightly. He wasn't slow-witted and couldn't help but ask, "Your own private martial arts room?"
Li Yuan nodded with a smile. "It's my first time here. Can you show me the way?"
...
On the fourth floor, in front of Private Martial Arts Room 4011.
Watching Li Yuan unlock the martial arts room door through "facial recognition," Wan Xiao finally believed that what Li Yuan had said was true.
His face still showed unmistakable shock.
"Impressive. Did Teacher Xu approve this?" Wan Xiao said, standing at the entrance of the martial arts room, feeling a sense of admiration.
Li Yuan smiled.
"Indeed," Wan Xiao continued. "Apart from not awakening martial arts aptitude, based on your raw scores, you certainly deserve to be here."
Deep down, Wan Xiao admired Li Yuan.
Standing inside the martial arts room, Li Yuan looked around. The room was about 150 square meters and meticulously clean.
He drew back the curtains.
Sunlight streamed in, brightening the space.
The room was equipped with a punching power test area, a life and blood vitality detector, a projector, a camera, and even a virtual network pod.
Aside from lacking a speed test track due to space constraints, it had all the advanced technological equipment one could need.
"From today onwards, this will be my private martial arts room?" A trace of joy appeared deep in Li Yuan's eyes.
With a private martial arts room, free from disturbances, his training efficiency would naturally be higher.
Wan Xiao stood at the entrance of the martial arts room, a hint of envy in his eyes.
A private martial arts room? He didn't really care about that!
The martial arts room at his home was just as good, if not better, than the school's private martial arts room.
What Wan Xiao cared about was the honor associated with it.
Suddenly, "Wan Xiao, what are you doing here? Who gave you permission to open the door to Room 4011?" a cold voice echoed from the end of the hallway.