After nearly two hours on the high-speed rail, Ye Qingzhou finally arrived in Star City and got off at the South Station.
"Hey, Teacher Xu, I’m in Star City now."
"Have someone come to pick me up? No need, I’ll just take a cab myself."
"Don’t worry, you know my strength. If I encounter any bad guys, what you should worry about is whether they can come out in one piece."
Ye Qingzhou hung up the phone, declining Xu Lan’s kind offer to have someone pick him up. He mainly didn’t like being restrained or indulging in useless social interactions.
Instead of owing someone a favor just for showing him the way, he’d rather take a taxi himself. It doesn’t cost much; why bother a stranger?
Outside the station, Ye Qingzhou took out his phone and hailed a car using a ride-hailing app.
The car came quickly; through the car window, Ye Qingzhou saw two pretty girls sitting in the back seat. They were both young, and from their attire, it was clear they were naive high school students.
Ye Qingzhou glanced at them and didn’t pay much attention. He was in a hurry and didn’t mind sharing the ride, so he clutched his sword bag and sat directly in the front passenger seat.
One of the girls seemed to recognize him and tentatively asked with a hint of doubt, "Ye Qingzhou?"
Hearing this, Ye Qingzhou turned around with a surprised expression: "And you are?"
"I’m Lii Yan’er! We were classmates for three years in middle school; you haven’t forgotten me, have you?"
Lii Yan’er pouted slightly, speaking with a touch of complaint, but her eyebrows arched gracefully, and her face was still beaming with a smile, clearly not genuinely upset.
"Ah, I remember now, you are Lii Yan’er."
Ye Qingzhou nodded seriously, indeed finding a familiar figure from the original owner’s memories.
But his distant and unfamiliar attitude made Lii Yan’er’s pretty eyes glance sideways with a hint of irritation as she mumbled, "Oh wow, you really forgot about me."
She couldn’t help but take a few more looks at Ye Qingzhou, astonished as she said, "You’ve changed a lot, I almost didn’t recognize you."
Ye Qingzhou shamelessly bragged, insincerely complimenting Lii Yan’er, "You’ve become much prettier than before, that’s why I didn’t recognize you."
"Hmph, I think you’ve just forgotten down to the last detail about this old classmate of yours!"
Lii Yan’er obviously didn’t believe Ye Qingzhou’s nonsense.
Lii Yan’er then introduced her friend to Ye Qingzhou: "This is my classmate, Lu Jingyao."
"Hi there, handsome."
Lu Jingyao greeted Ye Qingzhou warmly; she was enthusiastic and cheerful, her sweet smile filled with youthful charm.
Ye Qingzhou nodded slightly toward her, "Hello."
Lii Yan’er glanced at the sword bag Ye Qingzhou was holding and was surprised, "Able to carry a sword on the high-speed rail, have you also become an Apprentice Martial Artist?"
In the Dongji Kingdom, Professional Level Martial Artists enjoy various social benefits, including free rides on public transport like planes, high-speed trains, and buses.
Besides that, getting treated at hospitals is free, entirely covered by the state. Even when buying property, bank loans, household registration, and many other hidden perks are hard to count, showing just how supportive the authorities are of Martial Artists.
While Apprentice Martial Artists can’t enjoy the same social benefits as Professional Level Martial Artists, they do have many privileges, such as carrying their Weapons through security when flying or using the high-speed rail.
This is because, in the early days, cases occurred where Martial Artists were attacked when their Weapons were being transported by courier.
Moreover, many Martial Artists’ weapons got lost during shipping for various reasons.
It’s important to know that a Martial Artist’s personal Weapons are custom-made, with precious materials. Once lost, even with insurance compensation, it’s hard to replace them with identical ones.
The financial loss is the least of concerns; the key issue is, without a familiar Weapon, who’s going to take responsibility for a lost competition?
So, after much consideration, the country decided to relax the restrictions.
After all, there’s no point in prohibiting Martial Artists from carrying Weapons on public transport.
Against ordinary people, a Martial Artist doesn’t even need a weapon to wreak havoc and dismantle someone.
Rather than that, it’s better just to lift the restrictions.
Ye Qingzhou nodded in response, "Yes, martial arts cultivation is quite interesting."
Lu Jingyao jumped into the conversation with a sweet smile and asked, "Ye Qingzhou, what level are you at now? Lii Yan’er is at the Elite Level now, nearly got selected as a new martial arts talent for Mingde; she’s really strong."
Ye Qingzhou was full of questions. In Lingyun Grotto Heaven, even the weakest were at the Genius Level, so he considered ordinary Genius Level as mediocre.
He had almost forgotten there even was such a level.
Having not met for over a year, Lii Yan’er knew nothing about Ye Qingzhou’s current status: "What, are you also at the Elite Level now?"
Ye Qingzhou shook his head, "I’m not at the Elite Level."
Right now, he was clearly beyond what normal levels could measure, an unrivaled prodigy.
Simply put, Ye Qingzhou was in a league of his own; other Martial Arts Apprentices followed a different grading system.
Apprentice Martial Artists, or Martial Arts Apprentices, have four levels in total. Besides the highest Genius Level, there are Apprentice Level, Entry Level, and Elite Level.
The Apprentice Level is the foundational stage, where even mastering the stance of an Initial Tier Martial Technique would classify one as at the Apprentice Level. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁