In the blink of an eye, more than half a month passed.

First-Year Elite Class 1 faced the day of their challenge against Second-Year’s strongest regular Class 6.

The match was scheduled for 8 a.m. on Saturday, in the school gymnasium.

Lin Zichen and Shen Qinghan woke up early, leaving home before 6 a.m. to arrive an hour early for warm-up.

Since it was so early, their parents hadn’t made breakfast, so the two stopped at a roadside breakfast shop for bowls of pork and offal congee.

While eating, Shen Qinghan tapped Lin Zichen and pointed toward a corner of the shop, “Xiao Chen, isn’t that boy Zhang Kai’s cousin?”

“Zhang Kai’s cousin?”

Lin Zichen looked and indeed saw the familiar blond-haired youth, sitting with an older man who looked like his father.

Lin Zichen didn’t pay much attention, but couldn’t avoid overhearing their conversation.

“Dad, I want to buy a motorcycle.”

“Buy what? Your cousin just broke his leg in a crash, had it amputated and can’t afford prosthetics. He’ll be in a wheelchair for life. Did you already forget?”

“Then I won’t buy one…”

‘Zhang Kai lost a leg?’

Lin Zichen was surprised. Life was truly unpredictable.

* * *

At Shanhai High School’s gymnasium.

When they arrived at 7 a.m. both classes were already present, doing warm-ups under their teachers’ supervision.

At 7:40, Han Yuanfeng called out, “Zichen, He Yu, Lu Gang and Shujie, come here.”

When they gathered, he explained their strategy.

“One-on-one, their top fighters aren’t as good as ours. But they have more top fighters overall, giving them the advantage in numbers. They’ll likely drag out matches, using a war of attrition to wear you down. When it’s your turn, don’t waste energy stalling. End it quickly. Understood?”

““Understood.””

He then addressed the rest of the class.

“Listen up. To let everyone participate, weaker ones will go first. That way, stronger ones don’t clear the stage too fast. And remember, even if we’re younger, we’re an elite class. Don’t lose confidence.”

““Understood!”” the class shouted together.

* * *

Meanwhile, Class 6’s teacher gave his own pep talk, telling them the elite students might have talent but had one less year of training. The second-years responded with fiery enthusiasm.

* * *

At 8 a.m. the matches began.

The competition was set up as a ring battle. Lose and the next teammate steps up. Win and you stay on to defend.

For the first round, Lin Zichen leapt onto the stage before Han Yuanfeng could stop him.

He wanted to complete his Natural Selection achievement, which meant defeating as many as possible. The sooner he started, the better.

Class 6 sent out a petite senior girl—their weakest.

“Teacher, how am I supposed to fight their strongest right away?” she asked bitterly.

Class 6’s teacher frowned at Han Yuanfeng, “Why send your strongest first? That’s against the usual rules.”

Realizing, Han Yuanfeng quickly called out, “Zichen, get down. Let the weaker students go first.”

Lin Zichen stepped down with an embarrassed smile.

“Yuntong, you go first,” Han Yuanfeng said, calling a short girl.

“Me?” She pointed to herself in shock. Normally, the weakest should go first—and that was Shen Qinghan.

She was upset, thinking, ‘Why me? I’m not the weakest.’

But Han Yuanfeng, not wanting to embarrass Shen Qinghan in front of the class, deliberately spared her to stay in Lin Zichen’s good graces.

Shen Qinghan, however, felt uneasy. She timidly volunteered, “Teacher Han, I’m the weakest. I should go first…”

Since being exposed as a “connections student,” she had been extra cautious, afraid of being disliked.

Lin Zichen, watching, felt pained. He wanted to change her situation, but realized that aside from helping her train harder, he could do little else.