High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Tianhai University, Martial Arts Academy, Training Hall No. 3.

Today is Wednesday, 2 PM, and it's time for Professor Gu Changfeng's open class on swordsmanship.

Gu Changfeng, a fourth-level martial artist, is the second-ranked professor in the swordsmanship major at Tianhai University. The first-ranked professor is Han Zhongming.

However, Han Zhongming is getting old and rarely teaches in person, so Gu Changfeng is actually the most authoritative person in the field of swordsmanship.

Whenever he holds a class, the training hall is packed with people.

It's not just students majoring in swordsmanship who come; students specializing in supernatural abilities, physical skills, and even students from other schools come to audit the classes.

The reason is simple: Gu Changfeng's classes are useful.

What he teaches is not fancy or mysterious; every move and technique is honed in real combat. You can learn it and use it immediately, and you can make a living from it.

But Gu Changfeng hasn't been in a good mood these past few days.

He stood on the training platform in the center of the training hall, holding a wooden teaching sword in his hand, his face as dark as the sky before a storm.

More than two hundred students sat in the audience, some with notebooks, some with their phones recording, and some had already drawn their swords, ready to practice.

But Gu Changfeng didn't start lecturing. His gaze swept over the more than two hundred heads below the stage and landed on the entrance of the training hall, which was empty and no one came in.

"We won't start the lesson today."

"Before I begin my lecture, I'd like to ask a question."

The more than two hundred students in the audience looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.

Does anyone know if there's a student named Song Chen in this year's gifted class?

The audience immediately began to whisper among themselves.

Everyone at Tianhai University knows the name Song Chen.

He received the First-Class Combat Hero Medal, ranked first in the class placement assessment, was personally greeted by the principal, and was specially transported by spaceship.

But even though it's been so long since the start of the semester, no one has seen him in any class.

He has never attended a single lesson in swordsmanship, a single lesson in supernatural abilities, or a single lesson in theory.

He seemed to have vanished into thin air, only appearing once on the day of the class placement assessment, and then no one ever saw him again.

Gu Changfeng raised his hand to quiet the discussion, and the murmurs gradually subsided.

"He never attended a single class, not even once."

"He never attended my swordsmanship class (four sessions), Professor Han's advanced swordsmanship class (two sessions), and Professor Qin's supernatural ability class (two sessions)."

"He didn't attend a single class—theoretical, practical, or physical training classes."

"I know he has a first-class medal, I know he has special privileges, and I know the principal personally gave him the green light."

"But this is Tianhai University, not a hotel. You are a student, not a tourist. You are here to learn, not to register your name and then disappear."

No one in the audience spoke.

Some people lowered their heads, some exchanged glances, and some secretly took out their phones to send messages in the group chat.

Gu Changfeng took a deep breath, about to continue speaking, when a commotion suddenly broke out at the entrance of the training hall.

It wasn't a big commotion; just a few students sitting by the door turned to look outside at the same time, and then their expressions changed.

"Look outside! Isn't that Song Chen?"

Upon hearing the name, others rushed out of the windows like dominoes, row after row, piece after piece.

Song Chen was passing by the entrance of the training hall at this moment. He planned to go back to his apartment to rest for a while before going to receive the mission.

He was still wearing the combat suit he had worn for five days in the battle at Tianhai East Fortress. It showed signs of being torn by the claws of the alien beast and hastily sewn up, as well as charred holes corroded by the black cyclone.

His hair was longer than when he left, hanging loosely over his shoulders, the ends of which were knotted. His face was covered in dust and dried bloodstains.

The Heavenly Blade hung from his waist, its black scabbard gleaming with a restrained luster in the sunlight. The Thunderclap Blade was also slung across his back, its cracked hilt protruding from above his right shoulder like a tattered flag.

Gu Changfeng walked to the window and looked at the disheveled young man who was carrying two knives and looked like a wild man. He paused for three seconds and then called out, "Song Chen."

"Here," Song Chen answered subconsciously, just like when he was called on by his teacher in Anning City.

Someone in the audience couldn't help but laugh, but quickly suppressed it.

Gu Changfeng held the wooden sword in his hand, the tip pointing to the ground, walked up to Song Chen, looked him up and down, and could tell at a glance what he had been up to all this time.

A sense of admiration arose in my heart; he couldn't have done this much when he was young.

However, despite my admiration, I still need to say what needs to be said.

Gu Changfeng lowered his voice and coldly looked at Song Chen: "Do you know how many classes you've missed?"

Song Chen paused for a second. He didn't know; he had never looked at the class schedule before. He shook his head: "I don't know."

Gu Changfeng's lips twitched.

"Eleven classes in total: four of my classes, two of Professor Han's classes, two of Professor Qin's classes, two of the theory classes, and one of the practical classes. You haven't attended a single one of those eleven classes."

Song Chen looked at him without saying a word.

His thinking was simple: why bother with classes? Improving through kill points is much faster than attending classes.

These words, of course, cannot be spoken aloud.

"Where did you go?" Gu Changfeng asked.

"Tianhai East Fortress has accepted a combat mission to clear out the remnants of the beast tide."

Another commotion erupted from the audience. Tianhai East Fortress, the fortress that was ravaged by the beast tide, the fortress whose firing points were half destroyed, the fortress with more than 40% casualties? They really know how to choose.

Gu Changfeng's eyebrows twitched slightly, and his grip on the wooden sword loosened a little, but his voice remained firm:

"Doing practical missions is fine, but shouldn't you have reported it to the school? Talked to your teacher? Asked for leave from the academic affairs office? You left without a word, and you've been gone for so long without even a message. Do you know how many people thought something had happened to you?"

Song Chen paused for a moment, then bowed slightly.

"I'm sorry, Ms. Gu, I will ask for leave next time."

Gu Changfeng was stunned; he hadn't expected Song Chen to apologize.

He thought the young man would try to intimidate him with a first-class medal, or prove that he didn't need to attend classes by killing alien beasts at the Tianhai East Fortress.

But he didn't; he just apologized.

Gu Changfeng's anger deflated little by little, like a balloon with a hole punctured. He suddenly realized that his words, such as "This is Tianhai University, not a hotel" and "You are a student, not a tourist," were a bit excessive.

This young man wasn't there to play around; he was there to fight to the death. Every mark on his combat uniform was a testament to a battle.

Gu Changfeng took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

He didn't say it's okay, or that it's alright.

He is a teacher, and teachers cannot let students off too easily, otherwise the students will become more and more unruly in the future.

But he didn't continue criticizing; instead, he changed his approach.

"If apologies were enough, what would be the point of performance evaluations?"

"I don't know the current level of your swordsmanship. If you can master all the content of my lesson, I won't pursue it. If you can't..."

He twirled the wooden sword in his hand, the tip pointing towards the martial arts stage.

"Then you'll need to catch up on your studies."