Chapter 485: Chapter 235: Showdown, Battle

Evidently, opinions on Wang Lu were worlds apart between the male and female students.

The boys couldn’t stand Wang Lu. They thought that while he was talented, he was also an arrogant show-off. The girls, however, mostly held a special fondness for him.

Li Chang’an had just finished processing all the memories, so he finally understood his current situation.

It was widely accepted in the Star Sea World that the golden age for learning the Martial Dao was between the ages of fourteen and sixteen. During this period, virtually all schools taught their students a wide variety of Martial Dao courses.

There were theory classes, combat practice, cultivation sessions, and so on...

And right now, Li Chang’an was in one such combined theory and practice class.

The teacher on the stage, responsible for the lecture, was named Wu Yong. He was a special instructor for the Martial Dao course, hired specifically for Li Chang’an’s grade.

Rumor had it that Wu Yong was a veteran who had retired from the front lines of interstellar Exploration. He had extensive combat experience, having personally fought monsters on the battlefield, and the gruesome scars covering his body were proof enough.

He was the new star instructor hired by Morse City’s Third Martial Arts Middle School.

As for the boy named Wang Lu, he was the acknowledged top student of his grade at Third Martial Arts Middle School.

At only sixteen, his Qi and Blood Value had already surpassed 6.8, and all his combat scores were excellent. If all went according to plan, he was guaranteed a spot in Lion’s Fang Star’s Martial Dao College Entrance Exam this year.

Having processed all the memories, Li Chang’an couldn’t help but look around again.

’Honestly,’ he thought, ’in a world capable of long-distance interstellar travel, even if I could just get my hands on some of its technology, it’d be a surefire win.’

However, whether by coincidence or just bad luck...

As Li Chang’an glanced around, Wu Yong, who was on the stage, happened to spot him.

Sensing the student’s inattentiveness, Wu Yong frowned and called out, "You, over there. What were you just doing? Don’t you know you’re supposed to pay attention in class?"

At first, Li Chang’an didn’t realize the teacher was talking to him. He was still glancing around, hoping to spot some impressive new technology.

Finally, his deskmate, Zhao Zi, couldn’t take it anymore. He nudged Li Chang’an and whispered, "Teacher Wu is calling you! He’s about to blow a gasket. What are you doing?"

Only then did it click for Li Chang’an. He turned his head and, sure enough, saw Wu Yong glaring at him, his tone furious. "Even in the Star Sea Era, the Martial Dao is the foundation for our generation! If any of you want to make something of yourselves, becoming a ’Martial Artist’ is the first step. Are you so distracted in my class because you plan on working double shifts in a factory after graduation?"

Wu Yong’s words were harsh, but his tone held a hint of frustrated disappointment.

But Li Chang’an didn’t feel offended.

After all, he knew Wu Yong was right; the stern criticism was just to help him avoid pitfalls in the future.

In the Star Sea Era, technology was so advanced that machines had replaced humans for most labor. On many resource-rich planets, citizens sold off their resources, automated their factories, and settled into comfortable lives of leisure, free from want or work.

But technologically backward, resource-poor, Third-class Planets like Lion’s Fang Star obviously weren’t so lucky.

For the vast majority of young people on such planets, a future of mind-numbing factory work was the most likely outcome after they came of age.

Only a tiny fraction—the privileged elite or the best and brightest of the younger generation—had a chance to change their fate through the annual Martial Dao College Entrance Exam.

This wasn’t just the case on Lion’s Fang Star.

All resource-poor planets that had failed to keep pace with the technological development of interstellar society faced a similar plight. They could only serve as outsourced manufacturing hubs for higher-class planets, producing heavily polluting, low-profit goods. Their own industries stood no chance of competing with the powerful conglomerates from the Big Planets that controlled technology and capital.

To survive in the margins, Lion’s Fang Star had taken on numerous outsourced contracts in recent years—orders that were time-consuming and labor-intensive, yet offered minimal profit. This was the main reason the planet was covered in such factories.

Seeing that Li Chang’an wasn’t talking back, Wu Yong paused. He took a moment to pull up Li Chang’an’s profile on the school’s internal system before continuing, "Chang’an, on your last test, your Qi and Blood Value was barely 2.5. That’s not even average. And you’re still slacking off during combat practice?"

As he spoke, his gaze shifted to Wang Lu, who stood nearby with a mocking expression. Wu Yong’s brow furrowed as he said sternly, "Good. Today, I’ll let you see for yourself just how wide the gap is between you and the best of your peers. Get up here and have a sparring match with Wang Lu. If you can last just thirty seconds, I’ll give you an ’excellent’ for this training session!"

When they heard Wu Yong call Li Chang’an up for combat practice, the surrounding students all put on looks of gloating delight, eager for the show. Even Zhao Zi, his deskmate and good friend, shot Li Chang’an a quiet look that said, ’You’re on your own, buddy.’

’Of course,’ he thought. ’When it rains, it pours.’

’He had no idea what he’d done to deserve this. Normally, mediocre students like him and Zhao Zi were practically invisible in class. Forget being called up for a sparring match—it was a toss-up whether the teachers even remembered their names.’

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