At three in the afternoon, Ian Song walked out of the boxing gym, and as he recalled Zoe Zhao’s stunned expression, he couldn’t help but smile smugly. Of course, what made him even happier was that he had just acquired two major techniques: the Ninefold Breath Technique and the Tiger-Leap Step.
After learning the Tiger-Leap Step, his movement had become far more agile and versatile—even his speed had improved significantly.
As for the Ninefold Breath Technique, although he had mastered the training method, he would still need long-term practice to produce true inner force.
He had a sudden thought and pulled up his system interface, eyes landing on the Fame Points section—the number had already broken past one thousand, reaching 1,003.
Suddenly, the system sprite Meow-Meow popped out.
“Host, the system has detected that you’ve learned the Ninefold Breath Technique and the Tiger-Leap Step. Spend 500 Fame Points to instantly perfect Ninefold Breath Technique, and 100 Fame Points to fuse Tiger-Leap Step into Intermediate Combat Arts. Would you like to upgrade and fuse them now?”
Reminded by Meow-Meow, Ian was briefly stunned, then overjoyed. He quickly said, “Upgrade Ninefold Breath Technique to perfection, and fuse Tiger-Leap Step into Intermediate Combat Arts.”
“Beginning upgrade.”
“Beginning fusion.”
Ian felt as if he’d been hit by a jolt of electricity, his whole body shivering. Then he noticed a compact, explosive ball of energy forming in his dantian—he knew this was the inner force created by the Ninefold Breath Technique.
At the same time, a sense of clarity rose in his mind, giving him a deep, intuitive understanding of how to use inner force.
He glanced at the system interface again, noticing even more changes:
Host: Ian Song
Level: 1
Physical Strength: 500
Mental Power: 75
Skills: Peak Intermediate Combat Arts, Inner Force (Beginner), Piano Mastery
Special Abilities: Photographic Memory, Mastery Insight
Fame Points: 403
Looking at the mere 403 Fame Points he had left, Ian couldn’t help but sigh—it really didn’t take much to spend them all.
In the blink of an eye, it was the next day. Today, the monthly exam results would be announced. Ian was pretty excited—first, he could make William Yan apologize in front of the whole class, and second, once the scores came out, he’d be able to collect more Fame Points.
Morning self-study was English class. The lovely Hannah Han walked in, heels clicking, with a stack of exam papers in her arms. Even without her saying a word, the classroom immediately fell silent.
“The results and rankings for this monthly exam are out—they’re right here in my hand.” Hannah Han smiled, waving the score sheet.
“Miss Han, hurry up and announce them! We can’t wait any longer!” a male student called out.
Hannah Han was gentle and kind, and becoming the homeroom teacher hadn’t changed her much. That’s why the students of Class 9 adored her, but weren’t afraid of her.
Hannah Han gave a sweet smile and read from the sheet: “Guy Wei, first in class, thirteenth in the grade, total score: 632.”
No one was surprised that Guy Wei took first place—he was the class monitor, a bit scholarly, and when he felt everyone’s gaze, he gave a shy smile.
Hannah Han’s voice was full of encouragement: “Guy Wei, I hope you’ll keep working hard and break into the top ten next time.”
“Miss Han, I will!” Guy Wei quickly stood up and replied.
Hannah Han motioned for him to sit down and continued reading: “Ian Song, second in class, fourteenth in the grade, total score: 631.”
“What?”
Second place was actually Ian Song. And he got a perfect score in Chinese—wasn’t that just insane?
When Hannah Han announced the rankings, nearly all the students in Class 9 looked stunned, especially Zhang Ziran, who was not only shocked but also deeply jealous.
Hannah Han’s voice continued: “Ian Song made huge progress this time, especially in Chinese—it was the only perfect score in the whole monthly exam. His English also improved a lot, with a score of 128. But your math is still pretty bad, only 80, and your liberal arts composite is 273. If you can bring your math up to passing, your overall score could easily break into the top ten in the grade.”
“I understand, Miss Han. I’ll work hard to improve my math,” Ian said, meeting her gaze.
Hannah Han nodded. “Good, let’s continue. Zhang Ziran, third in class, twentieth in the grade, total score: 625.”
…………
While Hannah Han was announcing scores, Ian pulled up his system interface again. To his surprise, his Fame Points had increased by a full 50, reaching 453.
“Meow-Meow, why did my Fame Points go up so much?” Ian asked in his mind.
Meow-Meow replied, “For different events, the same person can generate Fame Points more than once. For example, last time your classmates admired your bravery when you got a public commendation. This time, they admire your academic performance.
If you show them another ability and they start to admire or respect you for it, you can earn a fresh batch of Fame Points.”
“Thanks, Meow-Meow. Got it.”
Ian was pretty excited. He’d originally thought each person could only give him Fame Points once, but it turned out they could be triggered again—collecting Fame Points would be a lot easier now.
Soon it was second period—Chinese class. Ian was really looking forward to it.
But when class started, it wasn’t William Yan who walked in—it was Ethan Li.
Ethan Li stood at the podium and addressed the confused class: “Hello, everyone. I’m Ethan Li. Your teacher, Mr. Yan, is out sick, so I’ll be filling in for your Chinese lessons until he recovers!”
“Damn!”
Ian couldn’t help cursing—William Yan was really shameless, faking illness just to dodge the bet.
“Ian, you’re something else! You scared Old Yan so bad he won’t even come to school,” Leo Li joked.
“Get lost!”
He’d originally planned to farm Fame Points from William Yan’s public apology, but now it looked like that chance was gone.
Soon it was lunchtime. On the way to the cafeteria, Ian pulled up his system panel again. When he looked at the Fame Points section, he froze—his Fame Points had shot up to 838.
“Meow-Meow, how did my Fame Points jump so much all at once?”
“Host, your monthly exam composition got a perfect score, and several Chinese teachers from other classes liked it so much they promoted it as a model essay. That’s why you indirectly gained a ton of Fame Points.”
“Seriously?”
Ian couldn’t help but laugh.
“Ian, what are you grinning about?” Leo Li nudged him.
“Nothing,” Ian said, quickly wiping the smile off his face.
Dragonforce Martial Arts Gym.
The bald youth stood before Jason Xu and reported, “Master, I’ve figured out the background of the kid who ruined our plans. He’s a senior at Saint Night High School, no parents, currently living with his uncle Stephen Song. Stephen’s an official—a deputy director at the Education Bureau.”
Jason Xu sneered, “A deputy director at the Education Bureau is nothing. If he were a deputy at the police bureau, that’d be trouble. Anyway, bring a few more men—I want his legs broken. Do it cleanly, and don’t leave any loose ends!”
The bald youth patted his chest and grinned darkly. “Don’t worry, Master. I’ve already got a plan—there won’t be any loose ends.”