Chen Chuan considered the matter. He could believe that Examination Ground 4 had been affected at the time, but the other grounds might not have been. Higher-ups in the school were likely pushing this deliberately.
Connecting this with what had happened earlier that morning, he could infer a few things.
Shen Shao remarked, "If you ask me, every candidate who tested after you owes you a debt of gratitude."
Chen Chuan shook his head. "I only did what I wanted to do. That they stood their ground was their own choice, and that they passed the re-examination came from their own perseverance."
Hearing this, Shen Shao looked at him with keen interest, feeling genuine admiration for this junior.
Truth be told, had Shen Shao done something like that, his head would have swelled instantly. Yet Chen Chuan remained calm and grounded. Though Shen Shao thought him a bit too modest, it did not diminish his respect.
Shu Han thought for a moment before speaking seriously. "Chen Chuan, if you want to go far on the path of combat, you should focus next on choosing a good advising instructor."
Chen Chuan nodded to show he understood. He had already learned from the booklet earlier that courses at Wuyi College were broadly divided into three types: open courses, guided courses, and invitation courses.
Open courses were available to both Class A and Class B students. Invitation courses were extended only to students of outstanding academic standing or notable reputation, though the conditions varied—sometimes restricted, sometimes not.
Guided courses, however, were entirely different.
The academy assigned each Class A student an advising instructor who took personal charge of guiding them. How far a student could progress had a great deal to do with their advising instructor, which was also one of the fundamental differences between Class A and Class B students.
Of course, an instructor often took more than one student. Instructors could select students, and students could select instructors. It was not a fixed, binding relationship, and switching instructors after a period was not uncommon. After all, combat today was no longer the master-disciple lineage system of the past; it required drawing on different strengths and learning broadly.
Chen Chuan asked, "Senior Shu, I don't know much about the advising instructors. Do you have any recommendations?"
Shu Han was an upperclassman and the senior assigned to orient him, so he naturally knew far more about the matter.
Shu Han began slowly, "Certainly. I know one teacher who is exceptionally good. You should seek him out. Right now, he's at..."
Shen Shao cut in, "Shu Han!"
Shu Han looked over and saw Shen Shao's expression turn serious. Shen Shao said, "How Junior Chen chooses is his own business. We shouldn't be dictating anything to him. We just need to give him the background on the instructors."
Shu Han took a breath. "You're right." He thought it over. "Speaking of instructors, there are three I personally consider quite good.
"The first is Teacher Qiao Linhu, currently appointed to the Weapons Division.
"He's a disciple's disciple of our founding principal, Cheng Yunbai, and a martial brother of our current Principal Yan. However, his teachings lean heavily toward old martial arts, and he doesn't think much of the new martial arts. Gaining his personal guidance is extremely difficult. Even if you enroll in his course, his disciples are usually the ones teaching. Unless he takes a personal liking to you, there's little chance of entering his inner circle. I recently heard he found a promising student, so while the odds of receiving his direct tutelage are slim, it's not entirely out of the question. If you're interested, you could give it a try.
"The second instructor is Sun Yunchun, a lecturer in the Sanshou Division. He possesses formidable personal skill, ranks very high within the division, and is proficient in all kinds of combat techniques with practically no weaknesses. On top of that, he is very skilled at nurturing students. Over the past decade, many outstanding Class A students have come out of his tutelage. He is also very adept at building connections, so even if things don't work out with him, you can weave a broad network of contacts through him.
"The third instructor is Yan Xiaojing, Principal Yan's grandson and the prized student of Supervisor Gao from the Admissions Preparation Office. He's an expert in the Weapons Division, especially adept with the great spear, and is also highly skilled in sanshou and joint locks. He's close to our age and open-minded, so he might be the easiest to get along with."
At this point, he addressed Chen Chuan directly. "The academy has four major divisions: Sanshou, Grappling, Joint-Locking, and Weapons. Setting aside the minor branches for now, the Grappling Division currently has the strongest momentum. For various reasons, they're heavily resourced, recruit many excellent students each year, and possess formidable strength. Zhong Wu was one of the Grappling Division's star students, so I imagine you probably won't choose them.
"As for the Joint-Locking Division, they focus primarily on submission locks. Like the Weapons Division, it's the top choice among female students. The instructors there are actually quite good, but most specialize in specific areas rather than offering a well-rounded foundation. Still, whatever suits you best is what's right for you. In any case, you can ask the dormitory managers for files on every instructor, and they'll provide them."
Shen Shao added, "The two of us currently study under Teacher Chi Youfu of the Sanshou Division. He's a very decent, generous man. If you'd like, we can put in a good word. And while the Sanshou Division is rather loosely organized, it has the largest numbers in all of Wuyi. The head of the Administrative Office also came from our Sanshou Division."
Chen Chuan considered this, then said, "Thank you, Seniors."
By this time, their food arrived from the kitchen, served in massive portions, with two tubes of nutritional paste included for each of them. The three fell silent and ate with dedicated focus.
Once they finished eating, Chen Chuan asked, "By the way, Seniors, where is the academy's pharmacy warehouse? I'd like to buy some Initiation Powder for a friend."
Shu Han replied, "Under the current rules, obtaining any medicine from the academy pharmacy requires an approval slip from an advising instructor. So, Junior, you still need to find a suitable instructor first."
Shen Shao said with a grin, "See why advising instructors matter? Take commissioned tasks, for example. If your instructor has good connections, they can secure plenty for you. If you choose poorly, they might pass tasks to someone else if they're unhappy, or they might simply lack the resources to help you at all."
Chen Chuan nodded. "Understood." He mused that resolving this matter quickly would have to be his next step.
Leaving the dining hall, the two upperclassmen led him on a loop around the grounds to familiarize him with the campus layout and various facilities before parting ways.
On the way back to the training arena, Shu Han suddenly asked, "Don't you think he's a lot like Senior?"
"Like him how?" Shen Shao said. "I think you've gone mad."
"No, I haven't," Shu Han countered. "Honestly, when I first heard about this junior and people compared him to Senior, I didn't think much of it. But after spending time with him today, I feel waiting all morning was actually worth it."
Shen Shao shook his head. "He has his own path. Why borrow trouble? He is who he is, and Senior is Senior. They aren't the same person at all, so stop working yourself into a frenzy."
Shu Han sighed. "We'll still have to see. After all, we've only just met him. We don't know what's really on his mind yet."
Shen Shao teased, "If you have this much free time, you'd be better off finding another girlfriend. Or go win back the girl who rejected you—oh, right, the one you rejected."
Shu Han gritted his teeth and began rolling up his sleeves. "Looks like we have to go through the routine today after all."
Since there were no afternoon classes, the time was reserved for students to get acquainted with the campus. Chen Chuan walked around a bit more before returning to the Upper Dormitory building.
He found the dormitory manager, requested a complete list of advising instructors, and took the elevator back up to his room. After unpacking and arranging his belongings, he stood by the French window, slowly thumbing through the sheets.
Shu Han and Shen Shao had explained things thoroughly. Chen Chuan weighed his options and decided to apply to a few first; if things didn't work out, he could always switch later.
Returning to the desk, he filled out several application slips with his pen. He then stepped outside to the internal dispatch box and dropped them inside. Soon, the dormitory staff would collect them and deliver them to the respective advising instructors, leaving Chen Chuan to await their decisions.
Chapter 41