"Alright, let's go for a walk..."
Su Chen nodded, and the two of them headed to the riverside.
The breeze by the river was gentle, and the grass swayed leisurely. The environment in Linjiang City was quite good. Just like its name, it was a city by the river.
"Yaoyao, how did you know I was in trouble?"
Su Chen curiously looked at Meng Yao's pure and beautiful profile.
"This forest is right next to the school, so I often come here to practice. I like to train alone in peace. This morning, when I wanted to enter the forest again, I happened to see you, so..."
At this point, Meng Yao suddenly stopped. Her eyes flashed with a worried look as she spoke to Su Chen.
"I've also heard about Zhang Weidong. The Zhang Group is quite influential in Linjiang City. Since you've provoked him, you need to be very careful. After all, I can't always be by your side, and it seems we haven't seen each other for a long time."
Saying this, Meng Yao gently bit her lip and slowly lowered her face.
"Thank you for helping me today, Yaoyao."
Su Chen looked at Meng Yao's gentle demeanor, wanting to reach out and touch her long hair but refrained.
Based on his memories, Su Chen knew that Meng Yao and the host of this body used to be childhood sweethearts, secretly in love with each other. In high school, they often studied and ate together. Even though they never confessed their feelings, it seemed they both understood each other's hearts.
"...We've just been in less contact, but we haven't grown apart. Besides, I know our current differences, so I don't want to hold you back."
Su Chen's tone was calm because he was no longer who he used to be. There were things he could let go of.
"No...I'm still me, and you're still you, Su Chen."
Meng Yao quickly shook her head, looking at Su Chen with eyes full of guilt yet sincerity.
"Moreover, I heard...your score in yesterday's potential test was 688, which earned you an A++ grade. That's already very impressive. In the entire academy, only Fang Hao has a higher potential score than you, besides me..."
Su Chen nodded and looked at the vast blue sky, saying.
"Hmm...but I am well aware that there's still a significant gap between A++ and S rank. You've already become a true martial artist and should soon be guaranteed a place at the Imperial Capital First Martial Arts Academy. The dean has high expectations for you, so I won't disturb your training. I'll head back to the academy first, and we can get in touch when we have time."
After saying this, Su Chen left straight away.
"Hey..."
Watching the handsome young man's departing figure, Meng Yao couldn't help wanting to say something but didn't know how to begin.
Perhaps...some people, once distanced, can never return to the way things were.
.........
After returning to the academy, Su Chen was also pondering. Even before he became stronger, Meng Yao never looked down on him. It seemed like he was the one avoiding her.
"Forget it, I'll wait until I become stronger to talk about it."
Su Chen thought to himself. Through today's battle with the prospective martial artist, he had already identified his problem.
That problem was his lack of combat experience.
However, combat experience needs to be gradually accumulated and cannot be acquired all at once through short-term training.
"But all of this can be accomplished through the cultivation simulator. After all, spending tens of thousands of years in the cultivation world is only a blink of an eye...I wonder how the subsequent story in the cultivation world will unfold?"
This was something Su Chen truly could not predict.
Upon reaching the classroom for the upper martial arts theory course, Su Chen clearly felt that the way his classmates looked at him had changed.
At least they wouldn't look at him with mockery and sarcasm as before.
While some classmates would still whisper, Su Chen no longer cared about such things.
Zhang Weidong naturally didn't appear in the classroom. Such a clown, Su Chen didn't take too seriously, though he was secretly relieved. It was a good thing that Meng Yao stepped in to teach that black-clad prospective martial artist bodyguard a lesson. Otherwise, even if he had beaten that black-clad martial artist bodyguard, it would have definitely caused trouble for his family.
Su Chen's parents were just ordinary workers. He was unsure about his sister Susan's current situation.
Even if he knew, it probably wouldn't matter. His sister Susan rarely showed concern or spoke about anything other than occasionally sending some money home.
At this moment, the bell for class rang.
Following that, an instructor wearing glasses entered to teach. The lecture mainly covered training methods and the classification and grading of martial arts cultivation techniques.
To Su Chen, these topics were quite unfamiliar, so he listened attentively during the class.
It turns out that on this planet called Blue Star Five, there are numerous powerful martial artists who have established cultivation techniques known collectively as martial arts cultivation techniques.
Among these techniques, there are cultivation techniques used to refine genetic potential and develop inner energy.
There are also attack cultivation techniques that can alter the properties and forms of the inner energy within the human body, such as defense cultivation techniques and secret skills in body technique.
Regarding cultivation techniques, different stages have different cultivation methods.
For instance, before becoming a prospective martial artist, students generally practice the most basic breathing and meditative exercises, as the energy in their bodies has not yet condensed into True Qi, making it impossible to project inner strength externally.