12: Battle of Hundred Cities

At exactly 8:00, Xu Gaoming, the Martial Arts teacher and homeroom teacher, stood on the podium.

“Class, before we begin today, I have an announcement.”

“It’s regrettable, but today’s Martial Arts class will be Chen Du’s last in Class (3)!”

“What?!”

“Is Chen Du being expelled or transferring?”

“What nonsense are you spouting? He’s probably just changing classes. Old Xu loves to start things this way!”

Everyone started discussing, one after another.

Tuo Lei, sitting behind Chen Du, nudged him:

“Damn, you’re in such bad shape today. You’re not really getting expelled, are you?!”

Several crows seemed to fly over Chen Du’s head.

His poor complexion was entirely due to the Void Immortal Contemplation Method!

In the early hours of the morning, Chen Du had stubbornly endured the mental tempering of that super giant, pushing his Mental Energy from Level 6 to Level 6.3.

Although the effect was excellent, the feeling was more unbearable than death!

No wonder this method was only recommended for use after becoming a Martial Artist; even if you had great Mental Energy talent, it was useless.

Without extraordinary perseverance, determination, and endurance, it would only lead to more suffering.

“Quiet!”

Xu Gaoming preferred a lively class atmosphere and always used such rhetoric to liven things up.

Unfortunately… last night… shocking… in reality, he was talking about trivial matters that didn't really matter.

Sure enough, after the class quieted down, Xu Gaoming took out a document from his briefcase:

“Congratulations to Chen Du for transferring from Senior Year Class (3) to Senior Year Class (1)!”

After a brief silence, the entire class erupted.

“Holy crap! Brother Du made it into the Hongzhi Class!”

“I already guessed yesterday that Chen Du might be an exception this time, after all, his Martial Skill level is too high!”

Tuo Lei gave Chen Du a thumbs-up, with a look that said, ‘A father knows his son best.’

“Quiet!”

Xu Gaoming took control of the situation again, looking at Chen Du, who was sitting in the middle row:

“Although you were second in yesterday’s test, your Martial Skill level reached 89% of the First Stage.”

“The principal deliberated repeatedly and decided to make an exception, recruiting the 31st student for the Hongzhi Class.”

He actually got in… Chen Du mumbled to himself. When Ling Yun called his father, Chen Juncai, yesterday, he had a faint suspicion.

“Chen Du, after class, go to the principal’s office. You don’t need to attend the next three classes.”

“Report directly to the Hongzhi Class this afternoon,” Xu Gaoming said with a smile.

The principal wants to see me?

Chen Du nodded without asking further. The next three classes were cultural subjects, so attending them or not wouldn't significantly affect him.

After class, Chen Du received blessings from most of his classmates.

As someone who achieved results through hard work, Chen Du had good relationships with most people in his class… At 9:17, Chen Du arrived at the principal’s office, guided by his smart wristband.

This was his first time here since he enrolled.

After knocking, he pushed the door open upon hearing a “Please come in.”

Hmm?

Upon entering, Chen Du noticed that besides the principal, there were also two other students.

And he recognized one of them.

The NO.1 of the Hongzhi Class, and also the student with the strongest overall ability among all third-year students in Liang City.

Moreit!

The other person was surprisingly wearing a No. 2 High School uniform, and Chen Du didn't know why he was there.

Of course, neither of them recognized him.

“Hello, Principal!” Chen Du said respectfully.

Li Mu nodded, looking at the three assembled students, and first briefly introduced their situations.

Then he revealed the reason for their visit:

“The district wants to hold a Hundred Cities Championship. I’m not clear on the specific rules.”

“I’ll take you to see Mayor Wang shortly, and then you’ll understand what’s going on.”

After Li Mu finished speaking, he habitually took a sip of tea.

Mayor Wang?

Hundred Cities Championship?

From these two terms, Chen Du vaguely guessed something.

It seemed that his influence from entering the top one ten-thousandth of the Blue Star Youth Ranking was far greater than he had imagined.

He had originally thought it was just a ranking and didn't signify much.

Now, it seemed he had clearly underestimated the prestige of this list.

His entry into the Hongzhi Class and the upcoming meeting with Mayor Wang were likely inseparable from this ranking.

At exactly 10:00, the four people exited the principal’s Maybach and walked into the mayor’s office.

Mayor Wang first praised Li Mu and the three students.

He acknowledged their efforts and abilities.

Then he got to the main point:

“The one hundred cities under the jurisdiction of our Ziyun District are preparing to hold a competition for third-year Gaokao students.”

“Each city will send the top three third-year students based on their Martial Skill ranking, with the ranking determined as of 6:00 PM last night.”

“Led by a Martial Artist of Level 15 or above.”

“Participating in a three-day Hundred Cities Championship, located at Hai City No. 1 High School, from March 17th to March 19th.”

“That’s one month from now. The student who takes first place will receive 30 bonus points for the Gaokao and a reward of 1 million.”

“Second place gets 25 points and 500,000, third place gets 20 points and 200,000, and fourth to tenth places each get 10 points and 100,000.”

“Are you willing to participate?” Mayor Wang asked with a smile.

“Mayor Wang, may I ask a question first?” Moreit, perhaps because his family was wealthy or he was used to big occasions, boldly spoke up when facing a figure like the mayor.

Seeing Mayor Wang nod, he continued:

“Since it’s based on Martial Skill ranking, why isn’t this competition using a virtual combat format?”

This was also what Chen Du and Liu Bo wanted to know, but both were from ordinary families.

It was their first time meeting such an important figure as the mayor, so they were inevitably a bit timid.

“This is a district-level decision.”

“But don’t worry about safety; there will be Martial Artists on the field responsible for safety.”

“We won’t let anything happen to you.”

“During the competition, you will wear special uniforms and fight with the same Life Strength.”

He took a sip of tea and continued: “Compared to virtual combat, the district leaders unanimously believe that actual combat is more effective.”

“Firstly, your current Life Strength is still weak, so if things go awry, we can intervene at any time.”

“Secondly, the number of participants is small, only 300 people, making the competition relatively easy to organize.”

“Furthermore, it allows students from Hai City No. 1 High School to observe firsthand, which also serves as an inspiration for them.”

“Based on the above reasons, this Hundred Cities Championship will use actual combat.”

He paused, then added: “Don’t be discouraged; even if you don’t make it into the top ten, you can use this opportunity to understand the level of your peers.”

The three had no further objections and no one refused to participate.

Only Chen Du silently pondered whether he could make it into the top three.

His ranking was seventh in Ziyun District, although this ranking had a certain element of luck.

But even with an error, Chen Du believed his Martial Skill level was within the top twenty in Ziyun District.

Coupled with his rapid progress, the top three was not impossible.

The bonus points and money might not be important to Moreit, who was ranked first, but they were crucial to Chen Du!

Either one would significantly impact his chances of getting into one of the Eight Famous Schools… After having lunch with Mayor Wang, Chen Du returned to school.

He usually took a nap in the classroom, but now that he had a Martial Arts Room, he naturally didn't need to sleep with a group of people in the classroom.

He used his smart wristband to navigate to Martial Arts Room 1.

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