Chapter 18: The Martial Arts Mentor

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After Xia Yuan finished discussing the matter, he departed with satisfaction. Watching his retreating figure, Shi Yu asked with curiosity, "Principal Song, it seems that Senior Xia is quite familiar with the situation at Yali!"

"Of course," Song Yunwei nodded. "Yali and Tianheng have had a cooperative relationship for over sixty years."

"In fact, many members of Tianheng’s branch in Star City are alumni of Yali."

"Correspondingly, many children of Tianheng martial artists also study at Yali."

Song Yunwei glanced at Shi Yu with a meaningful look. "There is a classmate in your grade who is a junior relative of Xia Yuan."

Shi Yu immediately caught on. "Xia Yu?"

"Yes! Xia Yuan is her second uncle."

"No wonder…" Shi Yu suddenly understood. "I always thought she was different from the other students—being chauffeured by sports cars to and from school. Turns out she has an extraordinary martial artist uncle."

Song Yunwei observed Shi Yu’s calm expression and felt a stir in her heart. She asked, "Aren’t you envious of her?"

Shi Yu paused, puzzled. "Why would I be?"

"Xia Yu’s second uncle is an extraordinary martial artist, but that’s not the same as being her."

Shi Yu chuckled and patted his chest with great confidence, saying, "I believe that under your wise leadership, Principal Song, I will become an extraordinary martial artist myself, so there’s nothing to envy."

He gave a subtle compliment, and sure enough, Song Yunwei nodded slightly, her eyes softening into a smile.

"Alright, now that you are my martial arts student, when we are alone, you don’t have to call me 'Principal.'"

Song Yunwei leaned back in her chair and glanced at Shi Yu.

"Understood, Teacher Song!"

Song Yunwei shook her head, apparently displeased with the title.

"Uh?"

Shi Yu didn’t quite understand the beautiful teacher’s thoughts.

He blinked and wondered what he should call her instead—he dared not call her anything casually.

Aunt Song? Grandma Song?!

He did not dare to ask about Principal Song’s age.

He truly had no idea how old his mentor was; he should have asked Teacher Lin beforehand.

After all, once a martial artist enters the extraordinary realm, their lifespan greatly extends—at least three hundred years!

And for a master-level martial artist, their outward appearance remains almost unchanged, maintaining the youthful look from the time of their breakthrough, aging very slowly.

Shi Yu dared to scrutinize Song Yunwei’s breathtakingly beautiful face carefully.

Judging by appearance alone, she looked no older than her early thirties.

"Aunt Song?" Shi Yu cautiously tried.

The moment those words left his mouth, the temperature in the room plummeted sharply.

Shi Yu shuddered all over. In that critical moment, inspiration struck him.

"Sister Song!"

"Sis!"

Shi Yu called out sincerely.

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Song Yunwei nodded in satisfaction and smiled gently, the warmth in the room returning like spring.

Shi Yu secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Luckily, even extraordinary martial artists have their mundane sides.

He guessed to himself that Principal Song’s intention was clearly to bring them closer.

What she cared about was not the current him, but the future Shi Master who would enter the extraordinary realm.

Song Yunwei spoke earnestly, "When no one’s around, you can call me ‘Sis.’"

"But in front of others at school, you must still use the original title. Understand?"

Shi Yu solemnly promised.

"Alright, let’s get down to business."

After the light-hearted moment, Song Yunwei gestured for Shi Yu to sit, pulling up a chair across from him.

"You heard earlier—I managed to secure 500,000 yuan from Tianheng."

"Adding the school’s 100,000 yuan scholarship, that makes 600,000 yuan."

"Additionally, the school has applied to the district and city education bureaus. From past experience, they usually allocate 150,000 and 250,000 yuan respectively."

"In other words, your training fund totals one million yuan."

"Though not a large sum, it should suffice to support your cultivation for the coming year."

Listening to Song Yunwei, Shi Yu was amazed.

One million yuan might be modest in the eyes of extraordinary martial artists.

After all, his aunt Sun Lan had worked for over a decade and might not have saved that much.

Martial cultivation requires not only personal effort but also financial backing.

Technique, companion, wealth, and base—none can be lacking.

"Have you thought about how to spend this one million?" Song Yunwei asked.

Shi Yu thought for a moment, then shook his head and answered honestly, "I don’t know. Please, Principal Song... no, Sister, guide me."

He understood that this money was fought for by Song Yunwei on his behalf, so naturally he should heed her advice.

Moreover, the insight and experience of an extraordinary realm martial artist far surpass his own as a novice, ensuring the resources are best used.

And Song Yunwei was now his martial arts mentor, so he must listen to her.

Song Yunwei pondered, "Our goal is to reach the Heavenly Ranking, so let’s use its standards to identify and fill the gaps."

"First, the soul."

"Your soul level is already outstanding among your peers, and its quality is excellent."

"When practicing the Five Mountains Primordial Gathering Technique, your soul will also be nourished to some extent."

"Plus, the soul cabin will assist in consolidating your training."

"Your soul will be your greatest strength; no problem there."

"Next, cultivation level."

"I believe by the college entrance exam, you will have advanced to the tenth layer of the Nascent Yuan Realm!"

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Song Yunwei was very confident in this assessment. Without reaching the tenth layer of the Nascent Yuan Realm, there was no point even dreaming of the Heavenly Ranking.

"After the tenth layer of the Nascent Yuan Realm..." She hesitated, as if wanting to say something more.

Shi Yu waited patiently and curiously asked, "Sister Song?"

In the short time since he had started calling her 'Sister,' it felt quite natural.

"Nothing, just some thoughts," Song Yunwei returned to normal. "Let’s continue."

"You should know that the martial cultivation standard for registering for the college entrance exam is the Nascent Yuan Realm."

"Of course," Shi Yu nodded. That was common knowledge.

Song Yunwei smiled meaningfully. "Do you know how the review department verifies the cultivation level of candidates?"

"Ah?" Shi Yu was confused. Was this something a student should know? Besides, what did it have to do with how to spend the one million?

Song Yunwei pulled a form from her desk drawer. "This is the student information we submit to the higher education authorities about half a month before each college entrance exam."

"It contains comprehensive data on each student—their soul, physique, martial cultivation, weapon techniques, and performance over the three years of high school, among other things."

"After gathering data on the 25 million third-year high school students nationwide, the Daxia Education Department performs unified verification."

"Due to the massive volume, an AI system conducts rapid approvals."

"If there’s any issue with the data, the system flags it, and then staff from the Ministry of Education conduct a manual review."

"In short, this document is the final basis for evaluation during the entrance exam."

Song Yunwei handed the form to Shi Yu.

Shi Yu skimmed it from top to bottom; it was a perfectly normal document.

He looked up, his innocent eyes blinking at Sister Song—what did she mean?

It wasn’t surprising that Shi Yu couldn’t understand; the gap in information between them was immense—one stood atop the mountain, the other was still climbing from the foothills.

What they saw and heard was completely different.

In such circumstances, those below could hardly grasp the full picture or guess the thoughts of those above.

This is how the mysterious and formidable image of the superior is established.

Song Yunwei reminded him, "Pay attention to the timing of when this data is collected."

Shi Yu lowered his head. What about the timing?

Time...

After a few moments, a sudden thought flashed through his mind like lightning!

He abruptly looked up at Song Yunwei, his eyes filled with surprise.