....

After the lesson ended, the school became extremely noisy.

The students from the different years walked out of their classrooms. They merged into human streams and surged towards the entrance of the school.

Arius went straight to the teachers' office instead. He was going there to look for his headteacher, Mr. Lee, to register for the martial arts exam.

The office was livelier than what Arius expected. The desks of the headteachers of the year three classes were even more so. They were surrounded by students, making the whole office appear crowded.

When Arius knocked on the door, he immediately attracted everyone's attention.

After all, Arius was quite famous in the year three cohort.

"Why is it him?"

"What is he doing here? Did he come to register?"

"The rich second generation wants to participate in the martial arts exam too? Has he even practiced martial arts before? Is he joking around?"

"Did he say that he had never practiced martial arts before?"

The sudden rhetorical question caused the people discussing in hushed voices to turn strangely quiet.

"Well~ he has never said that before."

"In that case, what are you all gossiping about?"

…

O((⊙_⊙))o

The conversation was put to an abrupt halt.

Then, everyone continued gathering around their headteachers and registered their names seriously. It felt as if nothing had happened.

"Arius!" Mr. Lee also noticed Arius. His tone carried obvious surprise. "You came to register too? Come in!"

As a professional headteacher, he clearly knew how many students in his class had chances of entering the martial arts course.

Arius was obviously not one of them.

Although Wang Teng's father occasionally gave him gifts, he still had his principles.

I will persuade this fellow later. The martial arts exam isn't something to play with.

Mr. Lee thought to himself secretly. Then, he continued, "Wait at the side for a moment. I will help them finish their registration first."

"Okay." Arius nodded.

His gaze landed on his classmates. There were a few people he was unfamiliar with. Then, there was Neal, who sat in front of him, and…

His table buddy and class monitor, Elaine!

Neal was fine. He had an uncle working in the Department of Education, so he had gotten some inside scoop a long time ago. He had more time to prepare as compared to other people. Thus, his confidence was explanatory.

As for Elaine, forgetting her ability first, the 'Five Years of Martial Arts Exam, Three Years of Mock Papers' was enough to let her suffer.

However, she came to register the next day after the announcement was released.

It should be known that many people were still hesitating. They couldn't decide within such a short time.

The martial arts exam was intersected with the regular SAT exams. If one applied for the martial arts exam, they wouldn't be able to take part in a few subjects of the standard university entrance exam.

It looked like Elaine's resolution was quite firm!

"Elaine, have you thought about this carefully?" Arius moved towards Elaine and asked in a low voice.

"That's right, Class Monitor. The martial arts exam isn't a child's play. There's even a death rate for the actual combat assessment. It's very dangerous."

Neal was in a dilemma just now. He didn't know how to start a conversation. Hence, when he heard Arius starting this topic, he jumped into the conversation and persuaded Elaine.

"I know. I have given it careful thought," Elaine nodded and replied.

"Your parents agreed?" Arius asked with a frown.

"My parents… I can make my own decision!" Elaine obviously hesitated for a second, but she still replied to them firmly.

The corner of Arius's mouth twitched. So, she didn't discuss it with her parents. Was this young lady so independent?

He wanted to dissuade her again, but when he saw her stubborn and pretty face, he swallowed the words back into his mouth.

"Sigh, forget it. Everyone has their right to make decisions. Since she has made up her mind, there's no point in me persuading her otherwise."

Neal saw that Arius had shut his mouth. It wasn't appropriate for him to continue speaking, either.

At this moment, all the other students had finished their registration. He walked forward and handed over his registration fee. Then, he filled in the registration form, and just like that, the registration process was done.

The process was surprisingly simple!

Neal left after he finished his registration. Mr. Lee took the water cup beside him and opened its lid. He blew the water in the cup.

With his sharp eyes, Arius noticed the wolfberries in the cup flipping their bodies naughtily.

─━_─━✧

Elaine tried her best to maintain the stern expression on her face.

Mr. Lee didn't sense their change in expression, though. He took a sip of his wopfberries tea and looked at the two people in front of him. His head was hurting slightly.

One was the top student in his year three class eight. She was one of the best talents in the year three cohort and had the potential to enter The First University.

But, this child wanted to participate in the martial arts exam.

He wasn't saying that the martial arts exam was bad; it was just a problem of suitability.

In terms of studies, Elaine was the best in the entire Whitebridge No. 1 High School. However, speaking of the martial arts exam, if she was really able to pass the exam, her results wouldn't be high. At least, it wouldn't be as high as her general papers.

Elaine had rushed over immediately after her lesson ended. He had persuaded her for a long time, but her mind was fixed. He couldn't convince him no matter how hard he tried. How could Mr. Lee's head not hurt?

As for the other person—Arius!

He was a rich second generation. His studies were extremely poor, and there was nothing that could be said about it. But, the martial arts exam wasn't an ordinary exam. Mr. Lee didn't want him to joke around with his life.

Thus, he said, "Arius, I've said before that the martial arts exam is dangerous. You didn't hear me, right?"

"Teacher, I heard you alright." Arius rolled his eyes. Why doesn't he trust me?

"You heard me… then why do you still want to register for it?" Mr. Lee was frustrated.

"Teacher, I understand that you're doing this for my sake, but I know what I'm doing. You don't have to worry." Arius noticed that his teacher still appeared unconvinced, so he revealed his trump card. "Also, my father agreed."

"Oh! Your father agreed!" Mr. Lee was slightly stunned. He wondered to himself, It looks like he has his ways. It's good to be wealthy…

Eventually, he nodded. "In that case, come over and register."

He handed the registration form to Arius.

Arius paid the fee and signed his name on the form. Done!

At the same time, Mr. Lee addressed Elaine again. "Elaine, I still hope that you will consider this again. The SAT examS is a huge turning point in life. You can't act on impulse."

"Teacher, I'm not acting on impulse. I've already thought about this very, very clearly," Elaine replied with a bitter smile.

She didn't expect her greatest obstacle to be her headteacher.

She knew that he was doing this for her sake, but she really wanted to take part in the martial arts exam. She was very determined, so determined that if she didn't participate, she would regret it for life.

"Teacher, even if I participate in the martial arts exam, I won't give up my general education ."

Elaine bit her lips and continued, "If I can't pass the martial arts exam this year, I will give up wholeheartedly. I will repeat my year and go for the normal university entrance exam."

Since she had already said this, Mr. Lee couldn't do anything more, no matter how unwilling he was. He just sighed and approved her application.

After the two of them left the office, a teacher at the side said to Mr. Lee, "Mr. Lee, that's the top student in your class, right? Are you letting her go just like this?"

"What else can I do? Her mind is set. Am I supposed to prevent her from registering?" Mr. Lee glanced sideways at the other party.

"Sigh, that's true. But, honestly speaking, the attractiveness of the martial arts path is really frightening. If I was a few years younger, I might have wanted to give it a try, too," said the teacher.

"Why can't you practice if you're older? You can still do light workouts ? After some modifications by the martial warriors, New workouts are now very suitable for old people to practice. Even if you are not a martial warrior, you can use it to strengthen your body."

Mr. Lee took a sip of his wolfberries tea as he spoke calmly.

"Oh? Mr. Lee, are you working out?" The teacher's eyes lit up.

"Haha, of course." Mr. Lee was a little proud. His interest was immediately perked up. "Let me tell you, working out is excellent for our health. After working out for a bit, my back doesn't hurt anymore, and I'm not balding. I'm very energetic at night too!"

"╰(*°▽°*)╯Mr. Lee, teach me when you're free (*^▽^*)."

"No problem. Let's meet in the park in the evening?"

"Sure, see you at the park!"