Familiar restaurant, familiar private room.
Lu Chenzhou had booked a large table, and classmates from Second Year Class Two, along with some familiar First and Third Year students, all came. During the banquet, when Lu Chenzhou went to settle the bill, he found that Yuan Zhigang and a few other students were already paying. After some polite exchanges, Lu Chenzhou ended up paying for the meal himself—a bill just shy of ten thousand, not cheap but worth it. He was a lucky man; on the whole, his high school classmates were very kind and could be called friends.
He raised a toast with tea to all his friends:
"Thank you all for your help over the past year. I hope everyone gets into the Martial Arts University of their dreams. Let’s meet victoriously at Dragon City Martial Arts University!"
"Yes, it’s just a temporary farewell for a year and a half."
Liu Huan, who had finished dealing with family affairs, also said with a smile:
"If all goes well, I can follow you in six months."
He had already been confirmed as a Class A Martial Artist.
But it was still unknown whether he could maintain the Class A rating in this year’s summer exams.
Lu Chenzhou smiled and said:
"That’s great, Class President. You should come over quickly."
Second Year Class Two—Lu Chenzhou was most grateful to Liu Huan. He had truly exemplified the role of a class president and was a guide in his high school life.
Even more dedicated than a game NPC.
After dinner with his classmates, Lu Chenzhou returned to the dorm, hugging the Cross Training Robot to Hong Fu’s residence. Hong Fu laughed when he saw it:
"You should take it to university with you; I won’t need it."
"It must’ve been expensive."
"Not much money. I could buy one with a month’s salary..."
Hong Fu, as a Dragon City High School teacher, was well-compensated. Otherwise, these top Martial Artists wouldn’t come here to teach and delay their cultivation. Besides the salary, they also enjoyed various privileges at Martial Arts University, holding especially high status.
Respecting teachers and valuing the Dao is only right and proper.
Hong Fu really liked Lu Chenzhou as a student.
Now that he was leaving, Black Tiger felt a bit sentimental.
"Come on, show me the ’Tiger Supreme Fist’ and ’Tiger Spirit Divine Fist’ one last time. I’ll give you some pointers. When you get to university, remember to ask more questions... Right, the Three Extremes Saint, although he is good at using weapons, he is also a master of Tiger Form Fist. Let me put it this way, in the current Da Xia Tiger Form lineage, his strength is among the top. So when you get to Martial Arts University, be smart, show off a bit, and try to get the president to notice you. If he’s in a good mood, he’ll definitely be generous with his teachings, benefiting you for life!"
"Thank you, teacher, for your guidance."
Lu Chenzhou hadn’t expected the president to be so formidable; he had heard that his Three Extremes were "Knife Extreme, Sword Extreme, Spear Extreme." Now it seems his fists were also remarkable.
In Yu Zheng’s office.
"Chenzhou, pack up tomorrow and go to university to register. Here’s your ’Admission Notice.’ Once you get there, they will assign you to a class. Remember, the school’s assessment of Martial Arts talent is constantly changing. If you don’t work hard and perform poorly at some stage, your Class A talent status could be revoked. If you’re ambitious and make rapid progress, being a Special Martial Artist is not your limit! Don’t be complacent just because you got into the genius class and are studying with a group of Top Class ’root bone’ students. I once had a student who wasted his time in university like that."
Compared to Hong Fu, Yu Zheng liked to reason more and was more earnest. As a homeroom teacher, he hoped that each student would become a Martial Artist. Lu Chenzhou was one of the more unique students he had taught, and he would always remember him. In a few years, when new transfer students arrived here, he would still tell Lu Chenzhou’s story to everyone.
"Teacher, I will come to visit you guys often."
Lu Chenzhou felt a mixture of emotions, even though the distance was not great.
"Don’t come too often either. Stone Lake is full of masters nowadays, but it’s not absolutely safe. Your last encounter with Virtual Disaster might not have been so simple. When you get to university, do some safe tasks to earn some money, buy a protective suit to wear. You have a Cross Training Talent, and you can continue practicing Hard Qigong. Once you’ve achieved the ’Golden Buddha Arhat Body,’ you can calmly face threats from below a Martial Artist."
Lu Chenzhou talked with Yu Zheng for a long time. Yu Zheng shared all his college experiences, techniques, and insights with Lu Chenzhou without holding anything back.
After bidding farewell to teachers and classmates, Lu Chenzhou went back to sleep.
The next day was a day off.
He got up early and went to Tiger Garden to practice boxing.
"Big Tiger, I will come to visit you often."
That afternoon, Shi Ruyu drove over to help Lu Chenzhou with his luggage. High school students didn’t have much, and the only thing that took up space was the Cross Training Robot.
"Teacher Hong is really kind."
Upon hearing it was a gift from a teacher, Shi Ruyu commented emotionally.
"It’s because of people like these that the Martial Arts legacy can continue."
At that moment, he was holding a large box that Yu Zheng had given him—a million-dollar prize package from the Fangshan martial arts competition. Upon opening it, Lu Chenzhou was stunned.
In his heart, he murmured:
"10 boxes of Bright God No. 1, 10 boxes of Nourishing Organ No. 1, 10 boxes of Bone Strengthening No. 1, 50 boxes of Golden Jade Ointment, 10 bottles of Qi Returning and Body Correcting Pills, ’Tiger Form Fist Notes’..."
He counted several times; not including the notes, the total value of the medicine was 2.4 million, far from just a million... He thought perhaps the school had made a mistake and sent him someone else’s reward. He was about to call his homeroom teacher when he saw the notes.
"In the way of the Tiger, with me, invincible! — Hong Fu."
Lu Chenzhou looked back toward the Fangshan campus with moist eyes. The normally distributed million reward packages would definitely not include Golden Jade Ointment, a medicine needed for Qigong cultivation. Part of it must have been added by Yu Zheng and Hong Fu.
Shi Ruyu, who was driving, noticed his junior brother’s emotional change and asked:
"Junior brother, what’s wrong? Was the reward less than expected?"
"No, they gave more."
Lu Chenzhou shared his guess.
After listening, Shi Ruyu laughed and said:
"You’re really fortunate. Although most teachers in this world are good, it’s rare to see them willing to spend tens or hundreds of thousands when their students graduate."
Those willing to spend that much are usually True Inheritance teachers.
Lu Chenzhou then called Yu Zheng:
"Teacher, was there a mistake with my reward package?"
"Hmm, it’s a gesture of goodwill from me, Hong, and a few other teachers. Just accept it as it is; no need to be polite with me, we know about your family circumstances."
"Thank you, teacher. I will come to visit you all later."
Lu Chenzhou spoke softly, with sincere emotion.
"Let’s not talk anymore. Go and train hard at university. With the little savings you have, try a bit harder, and you should be able to afford a protective suit. This reward package from the school should be enough for your cultivation for a while... Oh, yeah, Teacher Hong wants to talk to you."
Yu Zheng handed the phone to Hong Fu.
The "Tiger Enthusiast" teacher laughed heartily:
"Chenzhou, just do it! If there’s anything you don’t know, take a taxi here to high school. I’m not bragging, but among university teachers, my Tiger Form skill ranks up there. Also, the Tiger Form teacher at Dragon City Martial Arts University was my teacher as well. So rest assured!
His level is much higher than mine."