Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 25: Chapter 24: Top Student

Strangely, ever since Wan Ze had sensed someone spying on him that Thursday, the person seemed to have vanished.

The weather had started to cool as autumn set in.

But Wan Ze was still just wearing a thin T-shirt. If he weren’t trying to avoid attracting attention, he couldn’t even be bothered to bring a jacket.

Zhou Xianchuan, sitting next to him, was in a heated discussion with a few boys in front of them. It wasn’t until he called out to Wan Ze several times that he snapped him out of his thoughts.

”Ah Ze! Ah Ze!”

”What’s up?”

”The Chaos Empire detained diplomatic personnel from the Slavic Kingdom under the pretext of cracking down on a transnational criminal organization! I’m telling you, Chaos is doing it on purpose, using the detention as an excuse to launch a military invasion...”

”Invasion?” Wan Ze snapped back to reality. He remembered the Chaos Empire was across the ocean and had immense military power, even stronger than his own East Sea Federation. ”What’s happened now?”

”They’re saying the Slavic Kingdom recently excavated a large ruin. The Chaos Empire is probably just using it as a pretext again.” Zhou Xianchuan sounded a bit hesitant as he spoke.

But a curly-haired boy in the front row put on a mysterious air and said, ”You’re on the right track, but that’s not the whole story.”

Wan Ze looked over.

The boy’s name was Guan Ye, and he came from a good family. If Fatty Zhou’s family was just a little rich, then Guan Ye’s family dabbled in both wealth and power. However, Guan Ye wasn’t arrogant at all. He came across as a happy-go-lucky, second-generation rich kid whose only real vice was making friends with pretty girls.

Zhou Xianchuan’s eyes lit up. ”You know something?”

”I really do,” Guan Ye said with a playful, showy grin.

Hearing this, Zhou Xianchuan immediately grabbed the boy’s arm and begged, ”Spill it, spill it! Don’t make me beg you!”

”Haha.” Guan Ye was amused and stopped teasing him. He lowered his voice and said, ”The Slavic Kingdom really did excavate a large ruin, but this ruin records the legacy of a Martial Dao Secret Technique that can break through the current limits. Whether it’s complete or not, who knows.”

Zhou Xianchuan sucked in a sharp breath and couldn’t help but look at Wan Ze.

Wan Ze confirmed again, ”A Secret Technique legacy?”

”Right.” Guan Ye had heard that Wan Ze and Zhou Xianchuan both went to the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall for Cultivation, but he hadn’t thought much of it, assuming the two were just training for fitness. He nodded and said, ”I heard from my family that the current Martial Dao only has three gates, something about Body Refining?”

”The Three Body Refining Gates. The peak is Grandmaster,” Zhou Xianchuan said eagerly.

Guan Ye didn’t quite get it, but it sounded about right. ”Stories about Qi Refiners used to be just legends. It seems this ruin in the Slavic Kingdom is the first time there’s a written record of them.”

”Holy shit! Doesn’t that mean Qi Refiners really exist in this world?” Zhou Xianchuan was stunned.

He hurriedly looked at Wan Ze.

Wan Ze fell silent, his mind on the mysterious tomb buried deep beneath Black Mountain. ’It’s certainly intriguing that the government still hasn’t released any related news about it,’ he thought.

”I remember history books saying Emperor Ying once sent tens of thousands of people to search for Immortals... so are there really Immortals in this world?” Zhou Xianchuan asked, his expression excited.

Wan Ze’s expression also grew a little strange.

Guan Ye, however, was amused. ”What are you thinking? How could there be Immortals in this world? My elders say they’re Cultivators at most... The first three gates of the Martial Dao are all Body Refining. Isn’t Body Refining about the limits of the human body? Maybe many years ago, the Martial Dao could take you much, much further, which is where the name ’Immortal’ came from.”

”You’ve got a point there, Old Guan,” Zhou Xianchuan said, deeply convinced.

But Guan Ye just chuckled. ”Don’t you two go to a martial arts hall? You must know more about the Martial Dao than I do.”

”I’m just a lowly student, what the hell would I know? But Ah Ze’s different. The people he knows are real Martial Artists,” Zhou Xianchuan bragged, raising his eyebrows.

Guan Ye looked over, stunned.

He knew about Wan Ze’s family situation—they were just ordinary people with no Martial Artists in their lineage. That’s why he was so surprised to hear Zhou Xianchuan say that.

’I thought Zhou Xianchuan’s family had connections at the martial arts hall, making him the leader of their little duo, but it seems that’s not the case.’

Wan Ze shook his head. ”I don’t know much either. But there’s no need to think so far ahead right now. It’s already impressive enough to successfully pass through the Three Body Refining Gates.”

”You’ve got a point there, too, Ah Ze,” Zhou Xianchuan said, once again deeply convinced.

”The homeroom teacher’s here!”

Someone shouted from the doorway, and the classroom instantly descended into chaos as everyone scrambled for their seats.

Sun Mingde wasn’t tall, but you could tell he worked out. The muscles on his arms were intimidating. He slammed a stack of tests onto the desk. ”This entire hallway, and your class is the loudest! I could hear you all the way from my office...”

The classroom fell silent in an instant.

But Wan Ze felt the homeroom teacher, Sun Mingde’s, gaze land on him, intentionally or not. ’The test scores must be out,’ he thought.

Sure enough, the class president, Liu Yu, appeared with a pile of tests and began handing them out under Sun Mingde’s direction.

”Damn, I only got a 47! Are you kidding me?”

”You loser, I got a 48! One point higher than you!”

”Get lost! What about you, Zhou Xianchuan? Don’t cover it, I saw it! A 91—holy shit? Oh, wait, a 16. Damn, you scared me!”

”Fuck! That’s only because I didn’t study! Otherwise, I’d have you all on your knees calling me ’Daddy’!” Zhou Xianchuan’s face was red with anger, but he flinched and backed down when he looked up and caught a glare from Sun Mingde.

”Wan Ze, your test.” Suddenly, a pleasant voice came from his side. It was the class president, Liu Yu. She was tall with long, slender legs, and her long black hair hung down, giving her a uniquely well-behaved air. On top of that, she was smart—a top student.

Normally, she rarely interacted with Wan Ze, nor did she have the opportunity.

This time, however, Wan Ze’s score was significantly higher than hers. This top student, who had long been without a rival in Class 1-3, was finally taking real notice of Wan Ze.

”Thanks.”

Wan Ze said his thanks and glanced at the score on the test, but his face showed little joy.

’If Special Level mathematics couldn’t solve simple first-year high school math problems, then I’ve been living my life for nothing.’

”Wan Ze, only ten people in the entire grade scored above 90 on the math test. In our class, besides Liu Yu, it was just you. And you were the only one who got a perfect score!” The girl behind Liu Yu was blunt, all but spelling out the words, ’How did you cheat?’

”Is that so?” Wan Ze replied with three words.

The other girl was speechless and pursed her lips at Liu Yu.

Zhao Hexiang had scored a 78 this time and was ecstatic. He craned his neck, scanning the room, and saw no one with a higher score, his confidence soaring. That is, until his head reached Wan Ze... and he stumbled, nearly falling into Wan Ze’s lap.

”Holy shit! A perfect score?”

He yelled it so loudly that nearly everyone stopped what they were doing and whipped their heads around to look.

Wan Ze unhurriedly folded his test. ”Sharp eyes.”

”No, seriously, man, how’d you do it? Liu Yu wasn’t even sitting near you this time...” Zhao Hexiang was dumbfounded. His first instinct was that Wan Ze had pulled some trick during the exam, but the problem was, he was the *only one* in the entire grade with a perfect score. Who could you even copy from to get a perfect score?

He wracked his brain but couldn’t figure it out.

Until...

The scores for the other subjects were announced one after another. Wan Ze claimed first place in the grade with a massive lead, and Class 1-3 absolutely erupted!

The most surprised person of all had to be Fatty Zhou. He had joked with Wan Ze about the exams before, but he never expected Wan Ze to actually be serious about it.

”Seriously, man, you’re actually a top student?”

”That’s all there is to it.”

”...Bro, I was wrong. I really should have sat next to you! Please, you have to give me another chance next time!”

”...”

Wan Ze suddenly became a celebrity. Even classmates who rarely spoke to him started gathering around.

After school that afternoon, on the way to the martial arts hall with Wan Ze, Zhou Xianchuan couldn’t hold it in any longer. ”Ah Ze, what’s it really feel like to be a top student?”

”It’s nothing special. Pretty boring, actually.”

”...Damn.”