The “Stardust Formula” wasn’t very long, just a few thousand characters. He had the All-Heavens Ring display the entire text on a single page. Li Chuan stared at it, carefully memorizing every word. He spent five full minutes ensuring accuracy.
Afterward, he closed his eyes to recall it, then opened them and said, “Teacher, I’ve got it. Please teach me martial techniques.”
Shi Kuan stared at him. “With a personality like yours… how are you still alive? Back at Fuyao Academy, didn’t your classmates beat you up?”
Li Chuan laughed. “At Fuyao, the teachers were kind and gentle. The students helped each other. Who could bear to harm someone as kind and approachable as me?”
In truth, his classmates had all avoided him like the plague, afraid they’d be blamed if he dropped dead near them.
Li Chuan was being entirely honest, but Shi Kuan didn’t believe a word.
Shi Kuan cracked his knuckles and rolled his neck. “I wasn’t planning to teach you martial techniques today. If I did it right after you punched me, it’d seem like I was taking revenge through my lesson. But since you’re so sincere, I won’t hold back.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he lunged forward like an arrow. His fists rained down like a storm, each punch aimed at Li Chuan’s face.
Li Chuan couldn’t dodge, so he crossed his arms to shield his head and let Shi Kuan pound on them. Meanwhile, he carefully memorized every move.
He noticed that a faint white glow surrounded Shi Kuan’s fists, and every time they struck, a bit of that glow stuck to his arms.
In under a minute, his arms were covered in tiny white motes like fireflies.
Suddenly, Shi Kuan withdrew his fists, snapped his fingers, and shouted, “Detonate!”
The dust-like motes exploded all at once. Li Chuan’s upper body was engulfed in flickering white light.
Shi Kuan spoke cryptically, “Shattered Star, like stardust—small but abundant. It describes both the ordinary people in the main city and the power of a stardust-level warrior.
“Every strike carries a fragment of power, clinging to the enemy like dust. Once detonated together, it becomes a blaze of stars. This move is called Shattered Star, a basic application of the Stardust Formula.”
Seeing Li Chuan get hit by Shattered Star, Shi Kuan subconsciously rubbed his sore abdomen and thought, Finally, this teacher has reclaimed some dignity.
This move would obliterate an ordinary person’s upper body. But since Li Chuan had used Earth-Dragon Marrow Solution, it wouldn’t seriously injure him—though it’d leave him in a sorry state.
Even though Li Chuan had shielded his face, some motes had landed on it. His face would probably be swollen for days.
Let’s see how cold and aloof you act once you’re swollen like a pig’s head, Shi Kuan thought.
Just then, Li Chuan cheerfully said, “Nice move! Thanks, teacher. I’ve learned it.”
The white light faded. To Shi Kuan’s shock, Li Chuan’s face wasn’t swollen at all, and his arms looked as fair as ever.
The only damage was to his yellowed, short-sleeved shirt, which now had several holes in it. Otherwise, he was completely unharmed.
Shi Kuan stared. “How did you block it?”
Li Chuan replied seriously, “You taught me. When I knocked you into the wall earlier, the training hall’s shield flashed, and your back lit up at the same time.
“When you used Shattered Star, I noticed the glow was similar. So I tried using the starforce mentioned in the Stardust Formula to coat my arms. Sure enough, it blocked the explosion.
“Too bad it only protects the body, not the clothes. My shirt’s ruined.”
He sounded a little regretful. That shirt had belonged to Shen Nianxiang. He’d planned to wash it and return it.
“You—”
Shi Kuan was about to speak when Li Chuan suddenly darted up to him.
“Were you going to say I’m a once-in-a-lifetime genius?
“Were you going to say you’ve never seen a student use the Stardust Formula in battle so quickly?
“Were you going to say you’ll reconsider the Heavenly blade selection and nominate me?”
Shi Kuan ground his teeth.
Li Chuan looked at him with eager eyes. “Say it. Even if I already know what you’re thinking, I still want to hear it.”
Shi Kuan said, “You’re a talented student. But unfortunately, you have a mouth. I’m afraid you’ll get hated and beaten to death during the tryouts. For your safety, I’m not giving you the nomination.”
“Teacher, you can’t be so tsundere. Praising your students is your sacred duty!” Li Chuan protested.
Shi Kuan said with a blank face, “I preferred your cold arrogance when you challenged me. Please maintain that attitude in the next class. Class dismissed!”
With that final roar, he grabbed his jacket and zoomed out of the training hall, not wanting to stay a second longer.
“One compliment wouldn’t kill you…” Li Chuan muttered.
He grabbed his school uniform jacket and stepped outside, only to see Sheng Xin standing not far off, chin tilted up, eyes fixed on the training hall door.
Li Chuan waved and shouted, “Sheng Xin! Aren’t you exempt from this class? What are you doing here—waiting to use the hall? I’m done. You can go in.”
Sheng Xin scanned him quickly, his face twitching, then turned and walked away.
“Hey, why’re you leaving? The hall’s empty!” Li Chuan called after him.
At his words, Sheng Xin walked even faster, his legs producing afterimages.
“Walking posture, but faster than sprinting, that’s Lingbo Microstep,” Li Chuan commented, watching him go.
“That’s the Sheng clan’s teleportation technique ‘Shadowshift,’ but I agree, Lingbo sounds more poetic. It fits the Water Realm better. No wonder you’re ranked first, you’re so cultured,” said Mu Ge, who appeared beside Li Chuan.
Li Chuan asked, “You and Sheng Xin don’t have to take this class. So you were secretly watching me? Do you both care about me that much?”
Mu Ge furrowed his brows. “Couldn’t you let me say that line? You saying it yourself makes everyone awkward.”
“I’m not awkward,” Li Chuan replied seriously.
Mu Ge pointed at the torn shirt. “Can’t you at least put on your uniform?”
“I just exercised. I’m hot. I don’t want to wear a jacket,” Li Chuan said innocently.
Mu Ge stared at his deceptively cold and studious face, gritted his teeth, and turned away.
Li Chuan, being considerate, reluctantly put on his jacket. He sighed, “This shirt’s dirty now. If I put on the jacket, it’ll get dirty too. I only have this one uniform…”
Though he complained, he still wore it for Mu Ge’s sake. After all, he was an understanding person.
Just as he was mourning his uniform, a black undershirt dropped onto his head.
From a distance, Sheng Xin shouted, “It’s new. Wear it. Stop embarrassing yourself.”
Then he turned and walked off again, as if one more word with Li Chuan might kill him.
