Tai Viet Private School, high-end dormitories.
Just after seeing off his God of Wealth, Young Master Vuong, little Lam immediately and seriously connected a call with another young master:
“Young Master Trinh, I wonder what you’re looking for me for?”
His attitude was neither haughty nor humble, handled just right, making it very difficult for anyone to find fault or feel annoyed.
Playboy Hieu was quite satisfied with his attitude and immediately smiled, getting straight to the point:
“Lam Phong, I know you intentionally threw the match to Vuong Minh.
Let’s make a deal, how about it?”
“Young Master Trinh, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Lam Phong was an AI genius; his brain wasn’t stupid.
How could he possibly admit to such a thing?
Playboy Hieu didn’t care, simply continuing to tempt him:
“Brother Lam, you can rest assured, if anything happens, the Trinh family will take the heat for you.
In addition, I can also give you a grand gift that I’m confident will satisfy you.”
After a few seconds of silence, a synthesized electronic voice rang out from the other end of the line:
“Young Master Trinh, I wonder how grand this gift is?”
Playboy Hieu stared speechlessly at his phone.
Where is the basic trust between people?
Is it really necessary to use an electronic voice to talk to me?
Even though I am actually recording this, is this a matter of recording?
Isn’t this just basic communication etiquette?
He sulked for a few breaths before gritting his teeth and speaking:
“Three spirit stones.
As long as you publicly testify that the match was fixed, I will give you three Low-grade spirit stones.
Once the matter is settled, I can also give you another 500,000 Stellar Credits as a congratulatory gift for your admission to Hidden Dragon.
How about it?”
…..
Not how about it at all.
Over on the other side, Young Master Vuong hadn’t even blinked before throwing out the equivalent of over a hundred Low-grade spirit stones.
You’re offering three stones, and you want this Lam to sell out his reputation?
Even double that wouldn’t be enough.
Although out of Vuong Minh’s hundred-stone budget he might only net three or four stones for himself, as long as he brought that massive custom order with him upon enrollment, he would quickly be able to network with senior students, teachers, and high-level research labs.
This was something money couldn’t buy.
Therefore, evaluating it internally, Lam Phong felt it had to be at least four times that amount; anything less wasn’t worth discussing.
Since Playboy Hieu wasn’t very generous, Lam Phong couldn’t be bothered to entertain him anymore:
“Beep beep, bzzt…
Young Master Trinh, I don’t understand what you’re saying.
Sorry, I have things to do, hanging up now.”
“Beep…
beep…
beep…”
That cold and dismissive attitude naturally made Young Master Trinh furious, his face turning purple with rage.
“Young Master Trinh, what do we do now?
He used encrypted chat, the recording can’t be used as evidence.” Sharp-beak was also incredibly regretful.
Lam Phong was too careful; they had no options.
But surprisingly, Playboy Hieu didn’t lash out.
Instead, he laughed:
“Hehe, it doesn’t matter.
We didn’t get the evidence, but at least this confirms that Gay Minh bought the match.
For many things, you don’t actually need evidence to act on them.”
His eyes darted around as his cunning mind conjured up all sorts of schemes to make Vuong Minh swallow his own bitter fruit.
“Come, we’re going back!
We need to let those First High School scrubs know that this Young Master has made his King’s Return!” Young Master Trinh was no longer afraid.
High-spirited and arrogant, he waved his hand, determined to go back and reclaim his face.
Of course, Young Master Vuong was completely unaware of all this.
He was currently sitting obediently in school, acting as a model student, studying diligently, and greedily absorbing the knowledge he had missed out on for the past 300 years.
…..
Quang Binh City, First High School.
As the bell rang, the students of Martial Arts Class 1, who had been as numb as zombies, seemed to hear heavenly music.
Who knows if they went to find a cool spot to play games or to grab food to recharge, but the entire building became chaotic.
Naturally, Vuong Minh wasn’t among them.
He didn’t find the class dry or boring at all.
In fact, he was listening very seriously, immersing himself in an ocean of unfamiliar knowledge.
After memorizing the last few lines of text, Vuong Minh finally stood up with satisfaction and packed his things.
The next period was the combat practice class that the martial arts students loved the most; he needed to head to the training room behind the school.
At the same time, Class Monitor Tran Dieu Linh, seemingly coincidentally, also stood up and walked out the door right beside him:
“Vuong Minh, you really made our class look good yesterday.
Right now, all of Quang Binh City is talking about you.”
Vuong Minh chuckled.
The effort Uncle Binh put into recording and the money spent hiring internet trolls to hype it up wasn’t for nothing.
He merely shook his head modestly:
“It’s nothing much.
After all, Lam Phong isn’t a martial arts major.
Using my strengths to beat his weaknesses isn’t exactly glorious.”
Tran Dieu Linh’s eyes flashed with a strange light.
She felt that Vuong Minh had changed, becoming more mature and charming.
Her eyes rippled like water:
“You can’t say that.
Tai Viet’s teaching is also famous.
They temper their students to be more disciplined and more willing to fight and risk their lives than we are.
Lam Phong is a genius they heavily focused on cultivating; the fact that you beat him so easily proves a lot.”
“Haha, thanks for the praise, Class Monitor!”
Seeing that Vuong Minh wasn’t continuing the conversation, Tran Dieu Linh took the initiative again:
“Vuong Minh, how do you cultivate?
Do you have any insights on breaking through to the Mid Stage?
I’ve reached the peak of the Third Stage, but I still haven’t found the opportunity to break through anywhere.”
…..
Looking at Tran Dieu Linh—oval face, snow-white skin, looking delicate and moving; in the past, she would have been more than qualified to be a model or a hot influencer—but Vuong Minh wasn’t moved in the slightest.
His heart was currently set solely on martial arts.
He had played around enough with those things in his previous life and had long lost any major interest.
Now, as Great Emperor Vuong, he didn’t want to get entangled in romantic feelings.
Of course…
if there were no feelings involved, occasionally having a “friendly match” was still acceptable.
It was just that Class Monitor Tran definitely wouldn’t agree to that idea.
Vuong Minh wasn’t too willing to ruin a high school classmate either, so he coolly brushed past her coy expression and answered properly:
“Try using a Spirit Gathering Formation to stimulate the spirit qi in a Low-grade spirit stone, turning it into spirit energy mist inside your room.
I did the same thing at home and then luckily found the right moment to successfully break through.”
Without pills or the insights gained from life-and-death combat, this was the most optimal way to break through.
The problem is, my family doesn’t have a Spirit Gathering Formation, nor do we have spirit stones.
If I could just borrow yours…
then that would be great.
Tran Dieu Linh blinked her round eyes, nodding to show she was taking his advice to heart.
But before she could open her mouth to say anything else, Vuong Minh had already walked briskly away:
“Class Monitor, there’s still a whole month before the preliminary exams.
I believe you’ll break through in time and successfully get into the Top Ten Academies.
Good luck!”
Watching that guy’s long legs quickly carry him to the training room, Tran Dieu Linh frowned, biting her lip tightly.
But she didn’t call out to stop him, merely stomping her foot in annoyance before quickly chasing after him.
By the time the two of them arrived, the room was already packed and noisy.
Homeroom teacher Ly Manh Hung, looking like the friendly middle-aged uncle from next door, was laughing heartily as he called them to sit properly.
…..
Quang Binh City First High School.
After the school-shaking exchange match, the learning atmosphere in Martial Arts Class 1 seemed to have been pushed to a new height.
Thus, as soon as the bell rang, the entire class had eagerly gathered in Training Room 1, waiting and ready.
Teacher Ly Manh Hung stood in the middle of the room.
At this moment, he had dropped his usual kind, smiling demeanor and appeared exceptionally strict.
His gaze swept over the students, lingering for a moment on Vuong Minh before he cleared his throat:
“Although Vuong Minh regained our honor today, the two consecutive losses by the 10th and 11th grades still made the Principal and the school board very angry.
At the meeting this morning, Principal Ngo demanded that we increase combat practice classes to temper your fighting skills.
Therefore, today I will help you review the foundation of all Alliance martial artists: The Alliance Twelve Stances.
Do not look down on these stances.
Even if you reach the Meridian Opening, Core Condensation, or Divine Soul realms in the future, the principles of force generation and spirit energy manipulation hidden within are still the roots.”
Ly Manh Hung began to demonstrate.
Every one of his movements carried a low, tearing sound of wind:
“The first stance: One-Inch Punch!
Pay attention, spirit energy doesn’t just gather in the fist.
It must start from the soles of your feet, travel through your waist, channel up your spine, and only then erupt.
When a strike is thrown, it must carry the momentum of thunder striking the ears!”
Boom!
A punch thrown into empty air generated a visible shockwave, causing the students standing nearby to stagger.
Next was the Divine Ape Stance with the agility of a monkey, then the Giant Turtle Stance—lowering the center of gravity while circulating spirit energy around the body like an invisible armor.
Teacher Hung explained in extreme detail, from breathing techniques to the angle of wrist rotation, making even the habitually lazy kids listen attentively.
…..
“Now, pair up for sparring!”
Teacher Hung shouted, then suddenly waved his hand toward Vuong Minh:
“Vuong Minh, come out here.
The two of us are a pair!”
The whole class gasped in admiration.
But it couldn’t be helped; Young Master Vuong was already entirely in a league of his own.
As the only one in the Mid Stage of the Spirit Channeling Realm, who else in the class could possibly spar with him?
Vuong Minh smiled, stepped into the center of the arena, and cupped his fists in greeting: “Please instruct me, Teacher.”
“Come!”
As soon as the match started, Ly Manh Hung closed the distance with the speed of a Sixth Stage martial artist.
However, he didn’t use his cultivation base to suppress Vuong Minh; instead, he actively fed him moves, using technique to guide him.
“Your offensive momentum is very strong, but the transition between stances is stiff!”
Ly Manh Hung shouted softly.
A mid-level sweeping kick from the Spirit Crane Stance forced Vuong Minh to retreat.
During the exchange, Teacher Hung continuously used spirit energy voice transmission to teach him small technical details:
“When using the One-Inch Punch, don’t just think about smashing your opponent to pieces.
Think about vibrating your spirit energy to shatter their protective armor…
When using Wind-Chasing Steps, feel the air currents around your body and ride them…”
…..
Vuong Minh was like a dry sponge meeting water, frantically absorbing actual combat experience from a veteran teacher.
The tricks Teacher Hung taught—like how to hide your sleeve when launching a strike, or how to use your shoulder to take an impact instead of your chest—were things absolutely not found in any textbook.
Not only did he listen and learn attentively, but he also perfectly utilized the Purple Crystal to burn faith value, helping him analyze every single word and action of his teacher.
After more than half an hour of sparring, Vuong Minh went from being purely defensive to being able to counterattack evenly within the scope of basic techniques.
The seamless transitions between the Alliance Twelve Stances became increasingly natural, fluid, and precise.
This made Ly Manh Hung even more fired up to teach, growing increasingly passionate and thrilled.
By the time the bell rang, both of them stopped, still craving more.
Vuong Minh was dripping with sweat, but his eyes shone brightly with the joy of harvesting knowledge.
Teacher Hung patted his shoulder in admiration and laughed loudly:
“Not bad!
Keep up this form, and the Top Ten Academies won’t be your final destination!”
Vuong Minh let out a breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead, not forgetting to bow respectfully:
“Thank you, Teacher, for your dedicated guidance.”
This attitude of respecting teachers and valuing the Dao, being modest and polite, made Ly Manh Hung even more satisfied.
Right now, let alone the fact that the Vuong family frequently sent him gifts; even if they didn’t, he was determined to teach this student properly until he became a master.
In the future, this kid will definitely become a gem!
— I, Ly Manh Hung, confirm this with my fiery golden eyes!
He might even become the pride and joy of my educational resume.
Of course, if Old Vuong and Mom Vuong continue sending gifts, that would be even better.
— Teacher Ly thought blissfully.