Chapter 58: Senior

Songyang High School.

The students from Class 1, Grade 10 entered the training ground one after another, ready for today's martial arts combat class.

Walking along, Bai Zhenzhen thought to herself: "What is Yu Zi up to? I can't reach him."

"And sick leave? High school students don't get sick leave."

"Could it be that he can't hold on?"

Just as Bai Zhenzhen was lost in thought, she suddenly noticed that in the training room, besides the martial arts teacher Lei Jun, a large group of people was already standing.

Looking at the students behind Lei Jun, especially the one with the largest build, Bai Zhenzhen's gaze suddenly sharpened: "Is that 'door plank guy'?"

Looking further at the students around 'door plank guy' Lan Ling, Bai Zhenzhen immediately recognized them—these were all Grade 11 students.

Having an extra year of cultivation, these Grade 11 students were almost all a size larger than the Grade 10 students, their secondary sexual characteristics had almost completely faded, and dense needle holes could be seen on their exposed arms...

And all these cultivation marks served to demonstrate the strength and diligence of these Grade 11 students.

Of course, Bai Zhenzhen was not the only one who recognized their identities.

Soon, students took the initiative to greet these Grade 11 students.

Zhao Tianxing first bowed to martial arts teacher Lei Jun in greeting, then honestly bowed to the Grade 11 students beside him, and said nervously, "Greetings, senior students!"

Zhao Tianxing, who originally weighed over three hundred jin, now stood before Lan Ling like a Corgi.

And only after seeing Lan Ling nod his chin did Zhao Tianxing carefully step back.

This is the "younger brother" status that lower-grade students have when facing upper-grade students in high school.

Because between Grade 10, Grade 11, and Grade 12... each grade is a full year apart in cultivation time, often resulting in an absolute gap in strength.

So much so that some people classify Grade 10, Grade 11, and Grade 12 as Qi Refining early stage, Qi Refining middle stage, and Qi Refining late stage, highlighting the differences among the three grades.

For example, at Songyang High School, junior students often have to greet senior students proactively; if the upper grades haven't sat down, the lower grades can't sit either; when meeting seniors in the restroom, they have to let them pee first; and when taking medicine shots in the same room, they have to let the seniors go first...

Things like this have become part of the daily habits of high school students.

Of course, Songyang High School is still more humane than the three top schools; it's said that at Bailong High School, upper-grade students can even make lower-grade students kneel and kowtow.

Fortunately, the course content differs greatly between grades, and the teaching venues are also different; coupled with academic pressure, the opportunities for juniors and seniors to meet on a regular basis are limited.

Truly a cause for celebration, truly a cause for celebration.

At this moment in the training ground, every student who entered would proactively bow and greet Lan Ling and the others.

And this only made one person's difference stand out even more.

Zhao Tianxing looked at Bai Zhenzhen, who had not greeted the seniors, and anxiously thought to himself: "What's wrong with A Zhen? This will get her noticed by the seniors."

He could already feel several Grade 11 seniors occasionally glancing at Bai Zhenzhen; just putting himself in her shoes, he felt a wave of embarrassment and tension.

After everyone from Class 1, Grade 10 had arrived, Lei Jun said to them, "Today, your seniors from Class 1, Grade 11 have specially taken out one class period to give you practical combat guidance. Everyone, applaud and welcome them!"

What? We're going to get beaten up by Grade 11 top students?

Hearing this, the students all excitedly applauded: "Thank you, seniors!"

Some top students were already grinning, thinking happily: "These are the Grade 11 demonstration class students; if you had to hire them outside for combat practice, wouldn't one class period cost over a thousand?"

Some students eager to improve their combat scores were already impatient, thinking to themselves: "Getting instructed by Grade 11 top students, even if I get an arm broken, it's worth it!"

Qian Shen's gaze was fixed tightly on the tallest one, the door-plank-like Lan Ling, thinking: "Lan Ling, last month's Grade 11 overall score second place, number one in individual sports, the ace of the Grade 11 sports competition team, but..."

"No fun." Qian Shen turned his head away: "Scores across grades have no comparative meaning; these demonstration class Grade 11 students have been cultivating for a year longer... Anyone of them is invincible to Grade 10 students, so to us, there's basically no difference."

He Dayou just smiled and nodded to those Grade 11 students as a greeting. After all, as the son of a school board member, he was acquainted with many top students from Grade 11 and Grade 12.

Lei Jun looked at the eager expressions of most students and was very satisfied with their mental state: "Very good, you all have spirit."

"Dao arts require spending money; the more you spend, the stronger you are."

"If we want to be strong in martial arts, we have to get hit; the more you're not afraid of losing, not afraid of being hit, not afraid of being abused, the faster your martial arts combat improves."

"Only by getting hit again and again, being abused again and again, getting up from the ground again and again, can you improve your practical combat experience."

Seeing that some students below had already raised their hands impatiently, Lei Jun was about to select people for paired practice when he saw Lan Ling lean over and whisper something in his ear.

Lei Jun nodded, shifting his gaze to Bai Zhenzhen, who was hiding behind the crowd, and called out, "Bai Zhenzhen, first have a match with the senior students to set an example for the other classmates."

"Lan Ling, this Bai Zhenzhen is the top freshman in practical combat. Guide her well."

Lan Ling, while practicing with a barbell in his right hand, slowly walked down to the field and said gently to Bai Zhenzhen, "Junior sister, how about a sparring match?" Bai Zhenzhen's face darkened, and amidst the envious gazes of the crowd, she slowly walked up, cursing the door panel guy up and down in her mind.

"Damned shrimp-headed guy, clearly up to no good—using the contract as an excuse to find a chance to hit on a junior sister, right?"

She guessed that the upcoming fight would be far more than just a simple spar; he would take the opportunity to teach her a lesson.

Strike first!

As soon as she stepped onto the field, Bai Zhenzhen shot forward with a whoosh, aiming a kick at the vital point of Lan Ling's dantian in his lower abdomen.

But the other party didn't even dodge, letting her kick land with a boom.

Although Lan Ling had been kicked in a vital spot, his expression remained unchanged, and he didn't retreat a single step—as if nothing had happened.

Instead, Bai Zhenzhen felt as if she had kicked a block of granite; it felt like her foot bones were about to crack.

"Is the gap between me and a sophomore this huge?"

Just as Bai Zhenzhen tried to pull back, she felt her ankle grabbed by a hand that was like an iron clamp.

Holding Bai Zhenzhen's ankle, Lan Ling smiled and said, "Junior sister, you seem to have underestimated me."

While the two were fighting, Lei Jun was also commenting from the sidelines to the students.

"Nice sneak attack! Remember, in real combat, ambushes are a great skill—the best choice for overcoming a stronger opponent with a weaker one."

"!"

"But Bai Zhenzhen knows too little about Lan Ling."

"Lan Ling has already undergone a 'complete' sterilization surgery; not only does he no longer have any gender characteristics and is unaffected by hormones, but he also has lost many conventional weaknesses..."

"Now Bai Zhenzhen is locked by Lan Ling. Though she's kicking and hitting, trying to break free, Lan Ling's physical strength is above Grade 6, while Bai Zhenzhen's physical strength is only around Grade 1.4, right? Once locked, it's over..."

Halfway through his commentary, a bang suddenly erupted beneath Lei Jun's feet, and his figure shot out like a bolt of lightning.

At the same time, a thunderous explosion sounded in the air.

Under everyone's shocked gaze, Bai Zhenzhen was sent flying by Lan Ling, crashing through the air with a series of afterimages toward the wall of the training ground.

But just as Bai Zhenzhen's head was about to hit, Lei Jun appeared behind her, and the two crashed through the wall together with a boom, landing outside the training ground.

After a moment, Lei Jun returned to the training ground with a limping Bai Zhenzhen, his expression grim as he looked at Lan Ling: "That was a bit too rough, wasn't it?"

Bai Zhenzhen was one of the freshmen with the best martial arts performance; if she got seriously injured, that would mean a decline in Lei Jun's performance metrics.

Lan Ling smiled gently: "I trusted that you, teacher, would be on the field, so I knew she’d be fine."

"This was a good chance to teach the junior sister a lesson about underestimating an opponent in real combat."

With that, he turned to Bai Zhenzhen and said, "Junior sister, have you committed that real combat lesson to memory? Shall we continue?"

Facing his renewed invitation, Bai Zhenzhen's eyes showed anger, and a hidden power within her stirred restlessly, as if about to break through its cocoon.

She thought to herself: "No, I can't reveal it. If I expose it here, it's over..."

Just as Lei Jun was about to stop them, Lan Ling pinned him with a look and said, "Teacher, I'll be careful about the intensity from now on."

Lei Jun had suspected something before, but at this moment he was finally certain.

Thinking back to the earlier request from the student council that Bai Zhenzhen and Zhang Yu not participate in the martial arts competition, he understood that today’s events were also orchestrated by the student council.

And recalling the student council of Songyang High School, he could only sigh and warn, "This is my class. Don't go too far."

Lan Ling smiled and said, "Don't worry, teacher. Bai Zhenzhen is an important high-value student of the school; I definitely won't let her get seriously injured."

At this point, the other freshmen around also sensed the strange atmosphere, but still didn't understand what was happening.

He Dayou's eyes flickered. As the son of a school board member, he had already realized this was an attempt to suppress Bai Zhenzhen. Was there a problem with the contract signing? Trying to lower Bai Zhenzhen's price?

Thinking this, he felt a bit regretful that Zhang Yu wasn't here today; otherwise, he might have seen that poor guy's awkwardness.

Just then, a male voice came from the direction of the training ground entrance.

"Hey, are you bullying my intern?"

Under the surprised and incredulous gazes of the crowd, Zhang Yu walked in from outside the door. As he spoke, he raised his right hand, and his fingertip swiftly traced across the black-and-white talisman book.

Detainment Talisman — Activate!

The next instant, countless golden specks of light flickered around Lan Ling, transforming into golden giant palms that grabbed at him.

Just as Lan Ling was about to move, his head, shoulders, arms, legs, waist, and abdomen had already been seized by nine golden giant palms.

"Detainment Talisman?"

"That pauper Zhang Yu... where did he get a talisman book to cast the Detainment Talisman?"

Feeling the nine giant palms pressing him down firmly, even trying to force him to the ground bit by bit, Lan Ling grew furious.