Chapter 4: Stress in School

"The gang is here," a few students whispered as the school's most influential students walked into the classroom for Jon's first lesson of the day.

Although Jon had been from a powerful family, he was never a part of that gang. He did not like the way they treated the students who were not part of their group.

Members of the gang would get close to students they deemed useful and ditch them once they were no longer of value.

He also heard rumors that the people in the group would manipulate and backstab each other to gain the upper hand.

The group's dynamics was the epitome of survival of the fittest.

"Hey pipsqueak," Raphael, the gang's leader, rudely called. "I want to sit here today."

The student immediately packed her items and moved away.

Jon sighed and rolled his eyes. He always wondered how those people managed to gain the respect of other students in school.

However, he did not like to trouble himself with affairs related to them.

He preferred to concentrate on what was important to him—his family, his studies, his ambitions—you get the picture.

Just then, Jon's form teacher walked into the classroom. After the customary greetings, she made an announcement.

"There will be a theory test next week," the teacher clearly stated. "Please clarify any questions you may have before that."

The class collectively moaned.

"Why do we need to learn theory?" a student of the gang mumbled under his breath, thinking that his teacher could not hear him.

"We learn theory to help us understand manuscripts when we read them," the teacher quickly replied.

The class was shocked. They knew their teacher specialized in body transformation and training her senses but they did not realize the value of that power till now.

"Does anyone else have questions?" Jon's teacher asked in a friendly tone.

No one else in the class dared to make a sound.

"If not, turn to page 10 573," Jon's teacher calmly said as she wrote some notes on the whiteboard. "We will continue from where we left off."

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There were several types of cultivation arts. Jon's school offered all its students courses for the basic ones.

These courses included energy training, hand-to-hand combat, weaponry, and body transformation. They had theoretical and practical aspects.

If students wanted to learn a form of cultivation art that was not offered in the school, they would need to join another school or find a private teacher.

Many of his wealthier classmates had the support of pills, elixirs, weapons, and private teachers to advance their cultivation levels.

Jon, however, could not afford them, which meant that he needed to pump in at least twice the effort to keep up with his peers.

"Did you hear about the university's entrance test at the end of the year? I heard the requirements are raised again. They become higher every year," Jon overheard one of many such conversations.

Most of the students in his school regularly talked about university scholarship tests.

Needless to say, it was difficult to enter a university since the competition was stiff.

Since most of Jon's classmates could not see opportunities beyond conventional routes, they were trapped in a paper chase.

Despite his circumstance, Jon never complained and constantly encouraged himself to look on the bright side.

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Throughout the lesson, Jon tried his best to follow the teacher's explanation and conscientiously took notes. He also marked out the areas he did not understand.

Since his classmates gave him dirty looks when he asked questions during class, he usually asked them once lessons were over.

During pockets of time for individual work, Jon's form teacher frequently went to him to ask if he had any questions.

She knew he had family issues and was struggling to keep up with his lessons.

Jon was grateful to have such a caring and understanding form teacher.

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After the class ended, the students slowly strolled out of the classroom. The teacher greeted them and answered any questions they had.

Jon typically had to wait for his classmates to finish asking their questions before he could do so.

However, seeing that he was running late for his next lesson, he rushed to it without clarifying his doubts with his teacher.

"I will ask them tomorrow," he consoled himself.

---

Jon arrived just in time at the training room. His classmates who had been early had been practicing energy gathering on their own.

Moments later, Jon's trainer, Master Fu, appeared in the room. Next, all the students in the room gathered in front of him to greet him.

"This lesson, we will learn how to retrieve items from a distance," Master Fu said. "I will demonstrate it before giving all of you time to practice."

Every object had a connection with its owner. By drawing on that connection, owners were able to ensure their items were never lost.

The more powerful the owner and the longer the item was used, the stronger the connection.

Jon attentively observed Master Fu and tried his best to follow his teacher's explanation.

However, since his foundation of transferring energy was weak, he struggled to replicate his teacher's example.

As Master Fu walked around the training room, he gave students advice on how may improve their craft.

When he reached Jon, however, he shook his head and continued walking.

Jon never took Master Fu's treatment of him to heart and kept working hard.

---

At the end of the session, everyone was exhausted. Jon decided to take a toilet break before his next class.

While Jon was in the training room's loo, Melissa was on her way to her next lesson.

"Hey Melissa, let us have lunch together today," Raphael ran after her as she walked down the school's hallway.

"I cannot have lunch with you. I already asked someone to meet me for it," Melissa coldly replied.

"Oh, who is it?" Raphael raised his eyebrows. Not many people dare to reject him—especially not girls from his school.

"None of your business," Melissa shot him a frosty look.

"Hey, I am just concerned about you," Raphael smiled charmingly. "You can never truly tell if someone is a good or a bad person."

It was interesting that Raphael was the one to say it.

Melissa rolled her eyes and quickened her pace in a bid to shake off Raphael.

"You do not have to rush off so soon," he said as he blocked her path. "There are a couple more minutes before the next class starts."

Melissa could not help but show her irritation when she replied Raphael, "Do you not have your own friends to hang out with?"

"I do but I want to hang out with you," Raphael winked as he smiled charmingly.

Melissa resisted her urge to punch him. To shake him off for good, she ran away.

Raphael, however, followed closely behind.

In the meantime, Jon recently stepped out of the loo and was heading to his next lesson.

As he walked out of the training room, he coincidentally met Melissa and Raphael.

"Hey Mel," Jon cheerfully waved to Melissa when he saw her. "What are you doing here?"

"I am avoiding an irritating person who would not leave me alone," Melissa bluntly replied.

Just then, Raphael appeared in front of the two of them.

Jon immediately knew that the person Melissa was referring to was Raphael.