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nAfter bidding farewell to his senior brother, Wang Bowen, Chen Yiming rode his bicycle home under the intense gaze of Shen Jia.

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nWearing the training robes of the Mantis Snake Sword School, he felt more at ease than he had ever felt before. Shen Jia’s flirtatious actions made him understand even more about the influence of the Mantis Snake Sword School.

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nBeing able to handle the reception duties at the headquarters of the school, Shen Jia was naturally a first-rate beauty. Her looks and figure were both top-notch, and her salary was much higher than that of ordinary jobs.

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nHowever, when dealing with an official martial arts trainee, she completely let go of her reservations.

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nOn the way home, he passed by the city park square again.

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nThe stage in the center of the square had already been demolished. The students participating in the competition had already left, and the square had once again become deserted.

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nAt the side of the road, a group of students had yet to leave and were still chatting.

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nThe bragging young man was also one of them. He was talking non-stop as he discussed the outcome of the matches with his classmates.

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nAs Chen Yiming rode past them on his bicycle, the golden sword emblem on his training robe attracted their attention and they raised their heads.

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nThe bragging young man was dumbstruck when he saw the golden sword emblem on Chen Yiming’s chest. His jaw dropped as he stared at him, his face an expression of disbelief.

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nThe others, unaware of the cause for his disbelief, just looked envious.

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nThis was their dream.

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nTo become a martial arts trainee, regardless of which martial arts school they entered, was what most high school students yearned to do.

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nWhen Chen Yiming’s figure disappeared from the end of the street, the students finally snapped out of their daze.

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nFrom the martial arts classes of East Lake City’s First, Second and Third High School, only a few talented students were able to become trainees every year. Occasionally, there would be batches of students with poor performance, and there would be none from Second and Third High.

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n“What are you being so cocky for? A newcomer who just joined the school will definitely not be as good as our Liu Qingqing,” the bragging youth said coldly.

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nHe was secretly jealous. A student who was not from the top three high schools could actually join the martial arts school, and even acted like he knew nothing in front of him earlier.

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nA short, fat youth beside him replied, “That’s true. Although he’s much stronger than us, our school’s Liu Qingqing joined the martial arts school several years earlier than him. He’s definitely no match for her.”

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nAfter some deliberation, he hesitated and said, “However, the Mantis Snake Sword School’s ranking is much higher than the Flowing Cloud Sword School’s. In a fight… What if it’s another rookie who’s like Jiang Jinshi?”

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nThe bragging young man’s face tightened in embarrassment as he said, “That’s only because Mantis Snake Sword School’s head is powerful. What has that got to do with a rookie like him? Besides, Jiang Jinshi only won against our Liu Qingqing because of the rules of the matches.”

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n“That’s true.”

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nThe bragging young man could only allow his goddess to be seen as the strongest, and continued, “Even if that rookie had dared to go on stage, the Mantis Snake Sword School doesn’t have the high defense style of the Tongbeiquan School. I think he would have been beaten to a pulp in less than three moves.”

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n…

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n“Dad, Mum, it’s me.”

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nChen Yiming parked his bicycle outside the house and knocked on the door.

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n“Coming, coming.”

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nThe sound of a key being inserted into a lock could be heard.

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nMother Chen opened the door, and he walked into the house in his training robe with the golden sword emblem.

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nMother Chen looked at her son’s brand new training robe and asked in a trembling voice, “This outfit is…”

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n“I passed. Of the eight applicants, I’m the only one who passed.” Chen Yiming puffed out his chest and proclaimed loudly.

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nAt this moment, he spoke with great confidence in a clear, loud voice. This was the benefit of having achieved a prestigious status.

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nHearing this, Mother Chen’s sniffled and said tearfully, “Son, you did well. I didn’t dote on you for nothing, I knew you’d be successful.”

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nFather Chen coughed and said in a low voice, “Didn’t you just say that our son definitely wouldn’t stand a chance? You’re bluffing if you say you had confidence in him. You were even discussing with me how we should comfort him.”

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nBeing exposed by Father Chen, Mother Chen was very angry and shouted,

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n“Damn old man, why did you have to say that? It wasn’t easy for our son to become successful. Who talks like that? Hurry and book a table at a restaurant, we should celebrate tonight.”

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n“Okay, Son, rest. Leave the rest to me.” Father Chen slipped out of the house after he spoke.

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nChen Yingying stood quietly by the side and waited for everyone to finish before she spoke.

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n“Brother, you’re amazing.”

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nShe had been an obedient girl since she was young. She had never competed with Chen Yiming, and she had always given in to her family.

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n“Ha ha! I may not be good at studying, but I might be good at martial arts. Before this, I was just laying the foundation,” Chen Yiming said cheerfully.

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nSince a young age, his body’s owner had hardly ever been praised. Not only was his academic performance poor, but he was also unwilling to help out with household chores. It was a rare situation for him to be praised in front of his family, and it made him very happy.

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n…

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nIn the evening, a banner hung above the main entrance of the East Lake Hotel.

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nIt read, “Congratulations to Chen Yiming for becoming a trainee at the Mantis Snake Sword School.”

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nThis hotel was the largest in East Lake City and belonged to a subsidiary of Dahe Group.

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nDahe Group was one of the 23 companies hiring martial artists in East Lake City, and they had always been on good terms with all the martial arts schools. When the restaurant manager heard that a banquet was being hosted for a new trainee at the Mantis Snake Sword School, he generously gave them a huge discount.

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nNearly three tables of people had come to the private room on the second floor. There were two tables for Father Chen and Mother Chen’s relatives and friends, and one for Chen Yiming and Chen Yingying’s classmates.

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nSecond uncle Chen Zhipeng stuffed a red packet into Father Chen’s hand and raised his wine glass.

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n“Big Brother, you’ve taught him well. The Chen family has made a name for themselves. In the future, everyone can rely on Yiming to take care of them.”

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nChen Zhipeng worked in the department that managed the city’s archives. He often attended social gatherings and drinking parties, and had a broad outlook. He had always been the announcer for the Chen family.

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n“No, no. It’s all the child’s own effort. We didn’t help much.” Father Chen also raised his glass and dismissed the claim.

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nChgen Zhipeng clinked glasses with Father Chen and continued, “Brother, you’re being humble. We watched Yiming grow up. Since he was young, we could tell that he was different from the other children.”

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nChen Zhipeng continued to drink and told Chen Yiming that everyone thought highly of him.

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nChen Yiming, who was sitting at another table, frowned when he heard his second uncle’s words.

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n“This body’s owner is outstanding? Second Uncle sure knows how to talk big.”

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nFrom his memories, he learned that after his body’s owner dropped out of school, his relatives were unwilling to let their children interact with him. They were afraid that he would lead them astray.

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nSecond aunt Li Qingping also raised her glass and said to Mother Chen, “Yiming is really capable. If our Shaojie had a tenth of Yiming’s ability, we would be satisfied.”

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nLi Qingping was an accountant in a company and often attended functions with Chen Zhipeng. She naturally understood the importance of connections and drew Mother Chen into her family’s affairs as if they were biological sisters.

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nCompared to the tables with the Chen family’s friends and relatives, Chen Yiming’s table was much quieter.

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nChen Yiming’s high school classmates ate in silence. No one knew what to say, so they merely exchanged a few awkward words with each other as they handed over red packets.

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nAfter dropping out of school for more than a year, he had already drifted apart from his former classmates. They were only classmates from the memories of his body’s owner.

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nThis time, they came over for the celebration mostly because of their parents.

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nOn the other hand, his younger sister’s two middle school classmates were sitting in a corner with Chen Yingying. They were whispering about topics between girls.

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nChen Yiming had joined the martial arts school, so he was already a big shot to them. However, they were Chen Yingying’s classmates, so they didn’t have any direct relation with Chen Yiming. Thus, they didn’t feel awkward.

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