16: Chapter 16 The Shocked Principal, Gradually Reaching the Top

The male teacher standing at the summit looked at Student Lin Yuan walking towards him and widened his eyes in shock once more.

Lin Yuan's breathing was steady, his clothes neat, without a single bead of sweat on his forehead or temples; he even wore a smile as bright as sunshine.

"You are—Student Lin Yuan?" the male teacher asked.

"Yes," Lin Yuan nodded.

"You ran all the way here from the training camp?" the male teacher asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Teacher, is there a problem?" Lin Yuan frowned slightly.

"N-no problem. You performed very well. Chief Instructor Du has already arranged for you to return to the training camp early. You should come down from this side. There is a vehicle waiting for you at the foot of the mountain."

The male teacher pointed to the spot behind him. Seeing this, Lin Yuan nodded, said nothing more, and headed straight down the mountain.

The male teacher watched as Lin Yuan moved a few times, his figure shrinking into a small black dot and disappearing from sight, causing him to open his mouth slightly.

"Monster..."

This wasn't his first year being the responsible teacher at the summit, and he had seen many students called geniuses, but none were as monstrous as this one.

He himself was at the Body Tempering Peak cultivation level, and he felt that even he couldn't achieve what Lin Yuan had.

After Lin Yuan descended the mountain, he saw the black sedan parked at the foot. He got into the car, stated his identity, and the driver took him back to the training camp.

Upon returning to the training camp, the moment Lin Yuan got out of the car, Chief Instructor Du Feng walked over and nodded slightly at him.

"Lin Yuan, right? Come with me."

"Yes, Chief Instructor," Lin Yuan nodded and followed.

In an office, there were only three people: Principal, who was sitting on the sofa, and Du Feng, who walked over and sat down next to him.

Principal looked at Lin Yuan, smiled kindly at him, and pointed to the sofa beside him.

"Student Lin Yuan, please sit. Don't be constrained."

Lin Yuan walked straight over, leaned back on the sofa, picked up the teacup on the table, and took a sip of tea. His demeanor showed no sign of constraint...

It was just that Lin Yuan was genuinely thirsty, having run a long circuit without a single drop of water.

Principal did not get angry because of his casualness; instead, his smile deepened. Not bad, he has some mettle.

"Student Lin Yuan, we just observed your performance. It was excellent. Can you tell us about your specific combat power?"

Principal asked. It was extremely impolite to ask a Martial Artist about their specific combat power, but Lin Yuan's current status was that of an examinee, and they were teachers helping him advance, so it wasn't considered excessive.

Lin Yuan pondered for a moment, then stood up. He did not want to hide his strength; only by showing his potential could he obtain more resources.

Principal and Du Feng looked at the standing Lin Yuan with confusion. What did this kid mean?

"Chief Instructor, would you mind standing up and taking a punch from me?" Lin Yuan said calmly.

Du Feng raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, and without wasting words, he stood up.

Lin Yuan clenched his fist, took a step forward, and his fist turned into an afterimage, blasting towards Du Feng's chest.

The fist even created a sonic boom in the air. Seeing this, Du Feng's eyes contracted sharply, and he raised one arm to block Lin Yuan's punch.

Bang!

Du Feng's arm steadily blocked Lin Yuan's fist. Lin Yuan slowly retracted his fist and then sat back down on the sofa.

Principal looked at the wide-eyed Du Feng and asked:

"Director Du, how was it? Say something."

"Mar-Martial Artist, Martial Artist First Order Initial Stage, no, almost Middle Stage. This—how is this possible?" Du Feng exclaimed in shock.

Hearing this, Principal instantly jumped up and looked at Lin Yuan in shock.

"You—you are a First-Order Martial Artist?"

Principal asked in disbelief. He felt like his brain might not be working properly. He hadn't even taken the Martial Arts Examination yet at eighteen, and he was already a First-Order Martial Artist?

Was this world really this crazy?

Even an S-rank ability user wasn't this heaven-defying, let alone the fact that he was only F-rank?

"Principal, I am not a First-Order Martial Artist. I am still only at Body Tempering Peak right now," Lin Yuan shook his head.

"Body Tempering Peak? How is that possible? Director Du couldn't have misjudged. This isn't scientific!" Principal's brain stopped working.

"Principal, this kid is inherently unscientific. Fighting above one's level is not impossible. Lin Yuan, you must have a secret, right?" Du Feng looked at Lin Yuan.

Principal also looked towards Lin Yuan upon hearing this, but Lin Yuan just smiled and remained silent.

The two exchanged a look and stopped talking, returning to sit on the sofa.

"Lin Yuan, you performed very well this time. Originally, the reward for first place was the essence blood of a Third-Order Fierce Beast, but your performance truly shocked us.

How about this, I personally have essence blood from a Fifth-Order Fierce Beast. I will take it out now as your reward," Principal said with a smile.

Du Feng was also startled when he heard this. Fifth-Order Fierce Beast essence blood was incomparable to Third-Order. Anything above Third-Order was a Middle-Order Fierce Beast, only found in some large Void Rifts, and extremely difficult to hunt.

Thus, its value was extremely high. The Principal was truly spending a fortune this time.

"Thank you, Principal!"

Lin Yuan stood up and bowed deeply to Principal. He knew that Principal was genuinely offering something valuable.

"Hehe—Lin Yuan, don't disappoint me. Perform well in the Martial Arts Examination and strive for a good result!" Principal encouraged him.

"I will!"

"Alright, go wait for the others at the training ground. Once everyone arrives, I will announce the results and give you the reward then."

"Yes, Principal," Lin Yuan nodded and walked out of the office.

"Principal, our No. 6 High School has struck gold! This Lin Yuan—do you think he might become the national top scholar?" Du Feng said excitedly.

"Calm down, Director Du. He will likely secure the provincial top scholar, but the national top scholar might still be a stretch. Kyoto and Modu never lack geniuses..." Principal said with a faint smile. Obtaining the provincial top scholar already satisfied him, as his No. 6 High School had never produced such a powerful genius; he hadn't even dared to dream of a city top scholar before.

"Keep this matter confidential. Lin Yuan's specific strength must not be disclosed, lest other schools poach him," Principal said in a low voice.

"Yes!" Du Feng also looked serious and nodded heavily.

...About two hours later, everyone began arriving at the summit one after another. After Lin Yuan, the first to arrive was Hao Qiang, taking four hours, which was already considered quite good.

Behind him was Jiang Sheng, only five or six minutes behind him.

"Hao Qiang, you're still a cut above. You got first place this time. Next time, I will definitely surpass you!" Jiang Sheng said, his face gloomy, hands on his hips, breathing heavily.

"Heh heh—you're not bad either, not much slower than me. Second place is well-deserved. However, next time I will become even stronger; you are destined never to surpass me," Hao Qiang said confidently, tossing the sweat from his hair.

"Hmph! Then we'll see next time!" Jiang Sheng snorted coldly and stopped talking.

Over the next hour, the crowd arrived one after another. Except for the top few, everyone else collapsed on the ground, clearly exhausted.

"Huh? Where is Lin Yuan?"

Wang Qing scanned his surroundings but did not see Lin Yuan. His brow furrowed.

He couldn't believe Lin Yuan hadn't arrived. With Lin Yuan's strength, he should have been the first to arrive. Did something happen to him?

Once everyone had arrived, the male teacher in charge at the summit began to take attendance. After confirming the headcount was correct, he led the group down the mountain.

Around four in the afternoon, a bus drove into the training camp.

On the training ground of the training camp at this time stood not only several teachers, the Principal, and the Chief Instructor, but also one student—it was Lin Yuan, who had been waiting for over three hours...