Thanks to the boost from Mr. Du, Yu Fei was once again on the fast track with his training.
Every evening, he would go to the dojo to practice his forms and spar, exchanging insights with the others.
It had to be said that even though Gao Yunxiang had been around the block, he hadn't truly mastered any of the Six Harmonies Killing Fist's forms.
At least for now, when it came to the Single-Line Pierce and Yin Stream Shattered Jade, Yu Fei was basically the one teaching, and the other two were the ones learning.
In the process, Yu Fei actually deepened his own understanding of the fist techniques.
Gao Yunxiang knew Yu Fei was a freak of nature, but he still found it hard to comprehend.
After every sparring session, he could feel that Yu Fei's mastery of the fist techniques had grown even deeper. It was simply incredible.
In Mr. Gao's simple worldview, martial arts required painstaking practice, day in and day out. You had to polish every single move, constantly accumulating experience, just to make any progress.
But not Yu Fei. He seemed to skip the polishing process entirely and only reaped the rewards.
It made Gao Yunxiang gnash his teeth in frustration and filled Du Mingxuan with sour envy.
It was primarily because his Superb Comprehension talent allowed him to grasp the faintest spark of inspiration. Then, his Super Speed Reaction talent slowed the process down many times over. The combination of the two increased the effectiveness of his training by several dozen times.
When he had free time, Yu Fei would often wander around with the Fate Reversing Pearl's marking vision active. Once, he saw a purple-quality bird. In his excitement, he chased it for two blocks before losing it.
From his observations during this period, Yu Fei noticed that very few animals possessed talents, whereas the rate among humans was as high as fifty percent.
Among animals, the smaller their size and the lower their intelligence, the lower the probability of them having a talent.
As for insects, he had yet to find a single one with a talent.
Yu Fei changed his strategy. Every weekend morning, he started taking a stroll through the farmers' market. However, after several visits, the most talented creature he'd found was merely a green-quality old soft-shelled turtle.
One day, Yan Sea called Yu Fei over to tell him something.
"There's a martial arts tournament during winter break. Interested in going to get some experience? A little hands-on practice?"
The late November air grew steadily colder. Yu Fei had already switched to long sleeves, but Yan Sea was still wearing just a thin martial arts uniform.
"What kind of tournament? Can I enter?"
Yu Fei's interest was immediately piqued.
'The competitors will all have some real skill, so their talents should be decent. If the right opportunity comes up, I could expand my talent library.'
As Yan Sea explained, Yu Fei learned about the annual event.
The tournament's full name was the "X City Youth Martial Arts Exchange Tournament."
This was the tournament's fifteenth year.
The top three finishers would get a chance to compete at the provincial level. Placing in the provincial tournament would earn them bonus points on their college entrance exams.
Participants were limited to high school students. Just making it to the main event earned a medicinal reward, and the top five finishers would receive even more generous prizes.
In reality, the tournament was mainly aimed at high school seniors. The top students at that level were typically hovering around the third gate, meaning they had completed the tempering of their skin, flesh, and sinews.
Passing these three gates had always been the admission threshold for Martial Arts Universities. As long as a student completed the tempering of their skin, flesh, and sinews, and their grades in other subjects weren't terrible, admission to a Martial Arts University was practically guaranteed.
As for top-tier schools like the "Big Seven," the minimum requirement was the fourth gate, and applicants needed exceptionally high marks in their other subjects.
The majority of students admitted to the Big Seven were second-realm Martial Artists who had passed the fifth gate. Over the years, some exceptional students were even third-realm Martial Artists by the time they enrolled.
Yu Fei didn't let his thoughts stray that far. Not many people from Y City made it into the Big Seven each year. At best, he was considered a somebody at Nanguan Second Middle School; he still had a long way to go.
In truth, Yu Fei was very interested in the tournament. His practical combat ability far exceeded his cultivation level. Even an old hand like Gao Yunxiang couldn't gain an advantage over him, to say nothing of inexperienced students.
More importantly, winter break was still over a month away. He had recently discovered that the Fate Reversing Pearl's talent-copying ability could be saved up.
By then, he would be able to save up two uses of the copy ability.
Yan Sea hadn't originally planned on having Yu Fei compete. But he later looked into Yu Fei and ended up witnessing him spar with Gao Yunxiang. To be honest, he was utterly shocked.
After a period of observation, he confirmed that Yu Fei was exceptionally gifted and had no ties to any illegal organizations. That was why he decided to have him start preparing early.
He believed Yu Fei's time to truly shine would be next year's winter break. This year, Yu Fei could just get some exposure and snag some resources.
Yan Sea felt that as long as Yu Fei performed well, he had a chance of making it to the main event, despite his low cultivation level.
Yan Sea felt that if any of the seniors from their own school who were selected for the tournament were careless against Yu Fei, they could very well lose.
Yu Fei was the student he currently had the highest hopes for. He just didn't know if the boy would get his chance.
'I'll wait and see. If it's possible, I'll give him a chance. It'll be a way to settle things, too.'
Yan Sea thought to himself. He was tired of waiting.
...
The first snow of the year 836 in the New Calendar came a bit late, as if it were in a hurry.
Normally, the first snow of winter would just be a light dusting, not enough to paint the world white.
But this year's first snow was heavy, falling for three straight days.
The snow on the ground was at least twenty centimeters deep.
Even with his new winter gear, Yu Fei couldn't withstand the sudden cold snap.
Within a day or two, winter clothes were nearly sold out in all the major department stores in the county town.
The shop owners' frenzied clearance sales brought a little warmth to the cold early winter.
Some people always thought they could get another year out of last winter's padded jacket. But when the snow started to fall, they'd pull it from the closet only to find it had a strange smell or was hopelessly wrinkled. They'd force themselves to put it on, only to stick a hand in a pocket and discover it was torn.
All in all, it just felt off, so they'd decisively go get a new one.
This year, Mr. Yu bought new padded jackets for both of his children. Yu Fei hadn't wanted one, but seeing the resolute look on his father's face, he accepted it.
He didn't tell Mr. Yu that the membership card from Mr. Du was worth millions. That would have been too much of a shock to his father's way of life.
Yu Fei firmly believed it wouldn't be long before he could improve his family's life. Even without the Fate Reversing Pearl, the worst that could happen was that he wouldn't be able to walk the path of martial arts. He was still confident he could improve their living situation. He might not make them fabulously wealthy, but he could at least ensure a comfortable, middle-class life.
Yu Wei was thrilled. Some of her clothes were still hand-me-downs from her older sister, Yu Miao. In truth, while Yu Wei seemed carefree and casual, she was very sensible. When she wanted something, she wouldn't ask her parents for it directly. Instead, she'd tell Yu Fei first.
If Yu Fei thought it was reasonable, he would ask Mr. Yu for the money. If he didn't, Yu Wei wouldn't make a fuss.
The days grew colder, and the end of the semester drew nearer.
The preliminary class assignments for the martial arts track were completed, seeming to signify a shift in everyone's life trajectory. After Yan Sea announced the placements for Class 2-6, no one questioned his decisions; everyone was well aware of each other's abilities.
Some were smug, some secretly resolved to work harder, some were filled with resentment, and some were as happy as a goofy husky.
That's right, the goofy husky was Xiaoqiang. He hadn't been selected for the advanced track and was placed in a regular class, and he couldn't have been happier.