Chapter 56: I Want To Join Red Flag High School

In the wake of the explosive popularity, netizens transformed into detectives.

Some analyzed Your Grandpa based on his attire. Others scrutinized his accent and examined his physique. Of course, the most reliable method was to analyze his martial arts techniques. But despite numerous analyses, no one could come up with a definitive answer.

None of the well-known high school geniuses had a combat style or martial arts lineage that matched what Your Grandpa displayed in battle. The only certainty was that Your Grandpa was undoubtedly a practitioner of ancient martial arts—a successor of the Great Xia martial lineage.

Many elders and enthusiasts of ancient martial arts were overjoyed. For years, more and more high school students had chosen new martial arts, and more schools had begun teaching these new methods. The once-glorious Great Xia martial lineage had seen fewer practitioners and was facing the looming threat of a broken heritage.

A simple example highlighted this issue. In last year's High School War God League, only three of the top thirty students in the individual battles were ancient martial artists, and they had all ranked near the bottom. The new martial arts had dominated the top ranks of the league for fifteen consecutive years. This was a worrying trend.

If this continued, in another thirty or fifty years, wouldn't everyone only know the new martial arts and forget the Great Xia martial lineage? Many people hoped that Your Grandpa's sudden rise could show young students the allure of ancient martial arts and inspire them to inherit the legacy of the Saints. The Great Xia martial lineage was truly timeless.

Your Grandpa quickly became a sensation as various forces promoted him. In stark contrast, Red Flag High School, often seen as a negative example, was inevitably dragged into the spotlight for criticism once again.

Red Flag High School, get out of Liuhe.

This underperforming high school rose to the top of the trending searches once again. The students of Red Flag High School were furious. They knew what was going on. Senior Yan Chiyu's injuries had not fully healed, which prevented her from engaging in intense combat. If she had fought out of a sense of rivalry, her injuries might have worsened, delaying her return and affecting more matches in the High School War God League.

Even the janitors at Red Flag High School knew that Yan Chiyu's biggest hope this year was to secure a good ranking for the school in the upcoming league, regardless of the cost. So, she had to endure. She would wait until her injuries were fully healed and then make a strong comeback.

Many students took to the internet to defend Yan Chiyu. Some even provided proof of her injuries but it was all in vain. How many students were there in Red Flag High School? How could they compete with hundreds of thousands of netizens? Even if they stopped eating, drinking, sleeping, and attending classes to post rebuttals every second of the day, it was meaningless. They were quickly drowned out by the overwhelming criticism.

"Aren't you supposed to be cultivating?" asked Yan Chiyu, appearing in front of everyone. Her expression was very calm, as if nothing had happened. Everyone looked at her, their faces filled with concern.

"Keep a clear mind, and the sky falling won't faze you," Yan Chiyu said calmly. "Cultivating ancient martial arts primarily requires a stable mind."

Her gaze was stern as she pinned everyone with a reprimanding look. "If you can't handle this little disturbance, how will you withstand the daily grind and challenges on the path of martial arts?"

She commanded great respect among the students. They all hung their heads in shame.

"Go and cultivate," Yan Chiyu said calmly. "Prove everything with your strength."

So, everyone returned to their classrooms and redoubled their efforts in cultivation.

In the distance, Principal Chen Fei and Grandpa Qin watched the scene unfold, smiles spreading across their faces. They were delighted. Yan Chiyu was undoubtedly a genius. Whether in dealing with people or in cultivation talent, she was among the top tier in Liuhe Base City. Having such a student was an honor for Red Flag High School and a source of pride for its teachers.

These days, Chen Fei and Grandpa Qin often shared secret smiles. They had brought a boy from the slums, who turned out to be a genius among geniuses. Now, everyone outside was praising Your Grandpa while criticizing Red Flag High School. If the news got out that Your Grandpa was a student of Red Flag High School, the thought of shock on everyone's faces alone was amusing.

However, they knew this was a time to be discreet. Li Xiaofei's challenge to Mizutani Hikaru had clearly been to defend Red Flag High School's honor. Since he hadn't revealed his identity, Chen Fei and Grandpa Qin naturally wouldn't expose it themselves. They eagerly anticipated the day when the truth would come out and wondered how many people would be mortified.

What a moment that would be!

***

In the city, at the state guesthouse, in the foreign guests' building.

"So, the light-network super account of that monster is called Your Grandpa." A busty, black-haired girl said as she set down her portable light core. Her white teeth bit into her plump, red lips in frustration. She was Mizutani Hikaru. That was her appearance in real life.

Next to her stood a tall, heroic, and elegant girl who said calmly, "Geniuses always have some strange hobbies. Your defeat this time was not undeserved. I reviewed the match ten times, and the more I analyzed it, the more terrifying this person seemed. Even I cannot guarantee victory in a match."

The girl that spoke was Tsukiha Yaiba, currently ranked second on the ranking points leaderboard and even stronger than Mizutani Hikaru.

"No way?" Mizutani Hikaru exclaimed, her eyes wide with surprise. Tsukiha Yaiba was one of the top 100 high school students in the Jiepeng Empire. She had achieved the rank without undergoing new martial arts surgery, which made her incredibly impressive.

Top prestigious schools across the empire were eager to recruit her, offering extremely generous conditions such as full scholarships, SS-grade cultivation resources, the choice of esteemed mentors, and the use of expensive individual cultivation pods. Any request she had could be met. She was the absolute superstar among high school students.

However, despite the enthusiastic recruitment efforts, Tsukiha Yaiba ignored them all. For some unknown reason, she was most interested in the Great Xia martial lineage. That was why she had joined the Sanshang Group's medical exchange team and braved the perilous sea journey to the Great Xia Republic. She had been eager to compete with the geniuses of Great Xia martial arts.

Mizutani Hikaru was a huge fan of Tsukiha Yaiba. She believed her idol could easily dominate the high school scene in Liuhe Base City. But to her surprise, they encountered a formidable opponent soon after arriving.

"The imperial media said that the Great Xia martial lineage had declined and was no longer as glorious as it once was. How is it that we've already encountered someone even you can't defeat in just two days? Is this the true face of Great Xia?" said Mizutani Hikaru as her large eyes filled with surprise.

A bead of sweat appeared on Tsukiha Yaiba's forehead. "Idiot," she retorted, "I just said I'm not confident of guaranteeing victory."

"Not being able to guarantee victory means there's a chance of losing," Mizutani Hikaru argued convincingly.

Tsukiha Yaiba was speechless.

Just then—

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and an elderly man with silver hair walked in.

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"Mr. Kuramaki."

The two girls stood up and respectfully greeted him. Kuramaki Kazuki, the deputy head of the medical exchange team, was also a senior figure in the Sanshang Group, one of the empire's top ten financial conglomerates. Known for his diligence and tact, he always had a friendly, smiling demeanor.

"Young ladies, your request to attend a high school in Great Xia has been arranged," Kuramaki Kazuki said kindly, bowing and handing over a paper list with both hands. "You can choose from any of the high schools listed here."

Tsukiha Yaiba took the list and glanced through it. They were all top high schools in Liuhe Base City, and they could enroll at any time.

"Why isn't Red Flag High School on the list?" she asked.

Kuramaki Kazuki's smile froze. "Miss Tsukiha, you want to attend Red Flag High School?" He asked, astonished.