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nJiang Jinshi stood on the stage with both hands raised high. With one fight, he became famous across all the high schools of East Lake City.

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nHe was only considered average among the trainees of the Tongbeiquan School. Apart from his outstanding combat awareness, his strength, reaction, and stamina were not the highest of those in the same level.

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nHis grasp of martial arts was average as well, and he had yet to master the finishing moves in the Tongbeiquan Technique. In actual combat, he would still rely heavily on basic punches.

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nIf he did not happen to compete against a fighting style he could seal off, and his opponent was from a different martial arts school, he might not have won.

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nChen Yiming watched Jiang Jinshi who was on the stage, then looked at Liu Qingqing, who had found a shawl to cover her shoulders. He thought to himself, “This Liu Qingqing is too sensitive. According to the bragging young man, she has mastered many cultivation techniques. Why didn’t she try a few more? It’s impossible for her opponent to deal with all of the different techniques. In the end, I could only secretly learn the Phantom Sword Technique.”

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nHe felt a little dissatisfied. With his Level-1 swordsmanship talent, he wanted to enrich his knowledge of sword techniques as soon as possible. If he could master many different styles of swordsmanship, he would have many strategies to choose from when facing enemies in the future.

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nThe competition continued.

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nThe remaining contestants from First High gave their all when they faced off with contestants from Second High, especially when they competed against Jiang Jinshi.

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nAfter Jiang Jinshi won another round, he faced an opponent from First High who also specialized in fist fighting.

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nBecause he had already competed in two matches, he was at a disadvantage when it came to stamina. His opponent directly met his punches head on, and in the end, his stamina was depleted and he lost.

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nThis gave the students of First High a sense of relief. Jiang Jinshi was not really stronger than Liu Qingqing, he only found instant fame because of his luck.

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nChen Yiming watched the entirety of the competition for nearly two hours. Other than stealing Liu Qingqing’s Phantom Sword Technique, he had nothing to show for it.

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nThis was the true level of martial arts in high school. Most of them were at the level of learning basic moves.

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nThose who had mastered the basics and joined a martial art school had yet to master the school’s techniques, and could not use them in combat.

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nHe felt a sudden impulse to mask his face and find an opportunity to intercept Liu Qingqing as she went on her way.

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nHe could pretend to be a robber and pick a fight with her, then secretly learn her other sword techniques.

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nBut after careful consideration, this plan was too idealistic and difficult to execute successfully.

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nIf Liu Qingqing found that she was no match for him, she would definitely think of escaping instead of switching to another sword technique to fight him.

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nFurthermore, he didn’t really want to become a robber. When Liu Qingqing returned with reinforcements from her school, he wasn’t sure if he could leave no traces behind so that they wouldn’t be able to track him down.

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nAt this point, Chen Yiming lost interest in watching the competition.

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nAs he was about to leave, he noticed from the corner of his eye that a short man was trying to sneak over to his bicycle from beside the wall.

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n“You thief, stop right there.”

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nChen Yiming cursed and sprinted towards the man. He pulled out the wooden sword on his back in one smooth motion, and swore to finish off his opponent with one strike. He wanted to have a fight to his heart’s content as his first battle.

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nThe short man was very experienced. When he saw Chen Yiming charging at him, he turned and fled into the forested area in the park.

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nChen Yiming was forced to stop the chase when he reached the wall.

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nHe wasn’t familiar with the woods in this area. He didn’t have much confidence if he continued the chase, and the thief might not be alone. He could have an accomplice hidden in the crowd around him.

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nOnce he continued the chase, the accomplice could easily steal his bicycle.

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nIn his very first battle, he let the enemy escape.

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nChen Yiming mounted his bicycle in frustration and continued to head towards the registration venue.

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n…

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nChen Yiming arrived at the parking area at the side of the martial arts school.

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nThere were many more people than usual coming for the registration today. Other than the cars of the core disciples and the school’s head, there were also two unfamiliar cars.

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nA car was no longer something that an ordinary family could afford. It had returned to being a status symbol for the rich.

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nThere were already more than ten bicycles parked in the parking lot.

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nChen Yiming had been to Mantis Snake Sword School many times. He knew which vehicles belonged to the people from the martial arts school.

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nHe found an empty spot to park his bicycle and headed back to the main entrance.

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nThe moment he entered, he saw a few groups of people sitting on the sofa in the reception area. They were asking the female receptionist one question after another.

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nAll of them had come in with their whole family, and many people were talking at once. It was very noisy.

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nSeveral female receptionists were holding fliers in their hands, chatting non-stop and introducing the school to the families. They had no time to attend to new customers.

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nChen Yiming had no choice but to go over and wait at the side.

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nAfter waiting for nearly half an hour, one of the families finally left.

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nThe female receptionist Shen Jia headed over to attend to Chen Yiming without even taking a break for a sip of water.

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nShe led Chen Yiming to one of the sofas and smiled.

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n“Mr. Chen, you were here before. For today’s visit, have you made your decision?”

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nIf a customer came for the second time, the chance of making a transaction was very high. If she was lucky enough to seal the deal without spending much additional effort, it was as though she received a free commission.

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n“Yes. You don’t have to provide any more introductions. Just let me sign the contract.”

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nChen Yiming glanced at her and took out the envelope from his pocket.

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nThe envelope contained the registration fee for becoming a trainee. He had already found out the registration fee and the relevant requirements.

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n“Alright, sir, please wait a moment. After signing the contract, we will arrange for a standard test.”

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nSoon, Shen Jia returned with a blank contract.

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nAfter Chen Yiming signed the contract, Shen Jia led him to a room on the second floor.

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nThere were already a few youngsters waiting in the room. They were all prospective students who had already paid the registration fee.

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nThe day’s test was scheduled to happen around noon. Everyone waited silently. All of them were competitors and none of them spoke.

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nBefore the test started, several more people were brought in. Including those who were already in the room, a total of eight people had registered.

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nShortly after, a burly man entered the room. He looked at the prospective students and announced, “My name is Wang Bowen. All of you, follow me. The head is already waiting for you.”

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nThe burly man was nearly two meters tall, and he had bulging muscles all over his body. His loose training robes fit tightly around his muscles. This was completely different from the speed- and stealth-based style of the Mantis Snake Sword Technique that Chen Yiming knew of.

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nIf Chen Yiming hadn’t seen this burly man training with the head of the school previously, he would have thought that he had entered the wrong martial arts school.

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nAll of them followed Wang Bowen to a wide room.

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nIn the room, there were all kinds of long swords hanging on the wall. A white-clothed elder was leisurely sipping tea.

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nWang Bowen knocked on the door and walked over to the school head Wan Rong. Stopping in front of the head, he bowed.

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n“Master, the applicants from today are all here. When do you want to start the test?”

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nThe white-clothed elder looked at each of them and nodded.

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n“I’m sure all of you understand this already, but I’ll make it clear once more. Even if you don’t meet the requirements, the test fee cannot be refunded. It’s not too late for anyone to back out now.”

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n“We know. We understand this clearly,” Chen Yiming replied together with the other seven.

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nThe test fee was a total of 5,000 yuan. Just for demonstrating the basic sword moves in front of the school head and receiving feedback from him, it was quite expensive.

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