CHAPTER 3: CHAPTER 3: ANCESTOR’S FRIEND

On the arena, Jiang Ye and Chen Zilu faced each other.

Around the arena, there were two camera-like devices suspended in mid-air, used for assessing real-time combat scores.

"Begin."

Chen Zilu assumed a fist stance, beckoning Jiang Ye with her hand.

"Yes."

Jiang Ye nodded, also adopting a fighting stance.

But just as he was about to make the first move, a prompt suddenly appeared before him.

[Warning! Warning!]

[Presence exceeding the limit detected!]

[New achievement unlocked: Sparring with Martial Arts Ancestor!]

"..."

Jiang Ye didn’t expect the system to pop up at this moment.

Upon seeing it clearly, he was utterly astonished.

Exceeded the limit again?

A Martial Arts Ancestor??

According to the system’s evaluation, Chen Zilu, a high school teacher, was deemed a Martial Arts Ancestor!?

Seeing this scene, Jiang Ye couldn’t help but feel a sense of incredulity.

Yet soon, he thought to himself, "If I complete this achievement, what kind of rewards might I receive?"

Sparring with Martial Arts Ancestor.

The rewards should be substantial, right?

Meanwhile, seeing Jiang Ye hesitate without attacking, Chen Zilu immediately chose to take the initiative.

Her long leg suddenly stepped forward, her form like lightning, a white delicate fist rushing straight toward Jiang Ye.

"Boom!"

An intense aura came rushing at him.

Jiang Ye felt a chill in his heart, knowing well that when a martial arts expert strikes, their moves are accompanied by their aura.

The higher the martial arts cultivation, the more intimidating this aura becomes.

Although Chen Zilu had suppressed her level to Entry Cultivation Technique, her presence still made one’s breath catch.

Jiang Ye immediately raised his left arm to block, while his right arm aimed an elbow strike at her.

"Bang!"

Chen Zilu seemed to anticipate this, seized his elbow, and nodded, "Elbow Strike? The force is decent, but your method of exerting strength is wrong."

In the Star Martial Cultivation Technique, fist technique is the most crucial part.

’Elbow Strike’ was a classic move among them.

"Legs, waist, shoulder, and elbow exert force together, forming a straight line, hitting the surface with a point!" Chen Zilu pointed out.

With those words.

She likewise performed an Elbow Strike, aiming at Jiang Ye’s elbow.

"Boom!"

The force of this strike was similar to Jiang Ye’s, but the effect was vastly different, leaving a muffled sound in the air.

Jiang Ye crossed his arms to protect himself in front.

"Thunk!"

He felt a primeval force, uncontrollably retreating several meters, almost stepping out of the arena.

"Huff!"

In a flash, Chen Zilu closed the distance again, a straight punch hammering down hard.

At this moment, Jiang Ye was already at the edge of the arena, with no chance of winning for an ordinary person.

"Whoosh~"

But the next moment, Jiang Ye’s figure slipped away like a loach, evading in an almost impossible posture, returning to the center of the arena.

"Luckily, I’ve undergone physical strengthening, my control over my body far exceeds before, otherwise I would have lost just now."

Jiang Ye slightly gasped, feeling pressure despite his relief.

Both having Entry Cultivation Technique.

Chen Zilu’s combat ability, fighting skill surpassed him by far.

Meanwhile.

Seeing Jiang Ye dodge, a look of surprise flashed in Chen Zilu’s eyes.

"Huff!"

She stepped forward again, attacking Jiang Ye.

"Bang bang bang!"

The punches such as seizing, pouncing, shaking, intercepting, etc., along with sharp fist shadows, enveloped Jiang Ye like a violent storm.

"So strong!"

Jiang Ye continuously dodged and blocked, his arms numb from the impact.

Soon, he was forced to the edge of the arena again.

This time, Jiang Ye couldn’t return to the center, getting hit by Chen Zilu, stepping out of the arena.

"Huff~"

Jiang Ye steadied himself and bowed to the stage, saying, "Thank you, Teacher, for your guidance."

This combat session indeed benefited Jiang Ye greatly, thanks to Chen Zilu’s guidance.

"Your practical combat skills have improved significantly from last semester. It seems you’ve worked hard during the winter break."

Chen Zilu smiled and said, "Not bad, keep it up."

As a teacher, she enjoyed having diligent students.

"Yes."

Jiang Ye nodded, turning back to his original spot.

Watching Jiang Ye’s back, Chen Zilu’s gaze flickered slightly.

She knew about this student, since the start of high school, his cultivation effort had been exceptionally rigorous.

The level of dedication even surpasses that of the top ten students in the class.

"What a pity..."

Chen Zilu sighed inwardly.

"If this child’s talent were stronger, perhaps they would have a chance to get into the Twenty-Five Schools Alliance... Such diligence, yet hindered by talent."

With lower talent, getting into a regular Martial Arts University is already extremely outstanding.

As for the Twenty-Five Schools Alliance?

Nearly impossible.

...

In the classroom, the surrounding classmates were very surprised.

This time in actual combat, Jiang Ye managed to last in the ring for as long as the top ten in the class!

It’s important to know that every one of the top ten has already broken through to Minor Success of the Cultivation Technique for half a year.

And Jiang Ye is only at the Entry level of the Cultivation Technique.

Having this level of actual combat is truly unbelievable.

Meanwhile, at the back of the classroom, the electronic board displayed Jiang Ye’s practical combat results.

"Rank 20: Jiang Ye."

Seeing this ranking, Jiang Ye wasn’t surprised.

The practical combat ranking is a comprehensive ranking based on his combat skills, combat awareness, and physical fitness, among other aspects.

He just managed to dodge multiple times to hold out for so long.

But his combat skills are actually far inferior to the top ten in the class.

"Ranked twentieth in actual combat? Ye, you guy... really hiding your strength, aren’t you?"

Beside him, Wen Yuehui remarked repeatedly.

Jiang Ye shook his head and said, "You’ve also made not a small improvement this time, moving from tenth to eighth place, are you saying you’re slacking off while secretly cultivating?"

"I never do such things," Wen Yuehui denied.

Jiang Ye didn’t pay him any more attention because a system message had appeared before his eyes.

[You have unlocked a new achievement: Sparring with the Martial Arts Ancestor, maintaining composure despite a significant disparity in strength!]

[Title Unlocked: Ancestor’s Friend]

[Reward: Martial Arts Ancestor goes easy on you, and while she imparts martial arts, perception increases by 30%]

——

"..."

Looking at the prompt on the panel.

Jiang Ye’s face darkened slightly.

Was this saying that just now, Chen Zilu went easy on him in the sparring?

It wasn’t going easy at all; clearly, Chen Zilu purposefully restrained her strength!

This stupid system...

"Forget it, this system can even get the worldview wrong, so it’s not surprising it got this wrong."

Jiang Ye quickly let it go.

Then his eyes lit up slightly.

"Perception increased by 30%!?"

In martial arts cultivation, talent is essential, and perception is another key element.

Perception is critically important, and some people, even with average talent, can achieve greatness in Starry Sky martial arts with exceptional perception.

A 30% increase in perception is definitely substantial.

As for the prerequisite ’while she imparts martial arts’?

Just right, Chen Zilu is originally the martial arts teacher of Class Nine, and she teaches every class.

This afternoon, there’s her Martial Arts class.

"We’ll see exactly how this goes this afternoon," Jiang Ye thought with some anticipation.

At this moment, the mock examinations were all over.

The electronic board showed the comprehensive rankings of this semester’s opening exam.

[Rank 25: Jiang Ye, 206 points]

"Rank 25?" Jiang Ye saw his ranking and nodded slightly, not surprised.

By logic, he shouldn’t have even made it into the top 30.

Enhancing his physique significantly improved his level.

In the arena, Chen Zilu surveyed everyone with her bright eyes.

"For this mock exam, I want to especially commend Jiang Ye for rising from 40th place last semester to 25th place,"

Chen Zilu said calmly, "He is just like you, with an average talent! This kind of improvement can’t happen without diligent cultivation and perseverance..."

As Chen Zilu continued, many people quietly glanced at Jiang Ye.

Jiang Ye remained calm.

Compared to the final exams last semester, he has indeed improved significantly.

This improvement is partly due to physique enhancement.

However, the main reason is his persistence and effort.

"If I hadn’t worked hard enough during this winter break, I wouldn’t have activated the system this time, let alone increased my ranking by so many places," Jiang Ye thought to himself.

On the platform, Chen Zilu finally said, "This afternoon, I will teach the advanced version of the Cultivation Technique."

"Remember to come to the classroom early after lunch," she said and then turned to leave.

"Yes."

The students all stood up and rushed out of the classroom as it was lunchtime.

Jiang Ye also followed them out, his mind recalling what Chen Zilu had just said.

"Advanced version technique?" his eyes were filled with expectation.

Previously, the teacher had never taught this, and it’s the first time.

Just right, he wanted to see how much the perception increase would help him.