Chapter 41: Mentor
Chen Chuan could believe that the upperclassmen in charge of Exam Site Four were affected, but not those at the other exam sites, unless someone from the university management deliberately spread the word.
Then, he recalled what had happened in the morning, and guessed certain things.
“If I’m being honest, the examinees who went after you owe you a favor,” Shen Shao continued.
Chen Chuan shook his head. “I was only doing what I wanted to do. They were the ones who chose to take the exam, and if they passed the follow-up exam, it was thanks to their own determination.”
Shen Shao looked at Chen Chuan, both intrigued and impressed with his junior.
If he had defeated someone like Zhong Wu in his follow-up exam, his ego would have grown the size of the sun, but Chen Chuan remained calm. Shen Shao thought that he was being overly modest, but that did not stop him from being impressed.
“Chen Chuan, if you want to go far on your journey as a martial artist, you need to pick a good mentor next,” Shu Han said seriously.
Chen Chuan nodded to show that he knew. He had come to understand from the booklet that Martial Valor University’s classes were divided into three types: public lectures, mentorship classes, and invitation-only classes.
First-class students and second-class students could attend the public lectures, while invitation-only classes were given to students with outstanding results and a good reputation outside campus. But circumstances for the invitation-only classes varied quite a lot. Sometimes they had certain restrictions.
The most variation, however, was in the mentorship classes.
The university assigned a mentor to each first-class student to guide them. This mentor played a huge role in the student’s development as a martial artist and marked one of the greatest differences between first-class students and second-class students.
Of course, sometimes, mentors had more than just one student. They could choose the students, just like how the students could choose their mentors. This mentor-mentee relationship was not fixed either. It was not strange for a student to switch to another mentor after some time. After all, they no longer upheld the tradition of having legacies passed down from masters to disciples. Martial artists needed to learn different styles to make use of one style’s strength to cover another’s weakness and integrate the best from all styles.
“I don’t quite know how to choose a mentor. Do you have any recommendations, Shu Han?” he asked.
No matter what, Shu Han was an upperclassman and the one in charge of helping him settle down. He had to know about the mentors more than he did.
“Of course. I know one particular lecturer who’s really good,” Shu Han said slowly and deliberately. “You should go to him. He’s—”
“Shu Han!” Shen Shao interrupted him.
Shu Han looked over and saw him leveling him with a stern look. Shen Shao said, “It’s up to Chen Chuan who he chooses. He doesn’t need us to tell him what to do. We should just tell him some details about each mentor.”
Shu Han sucked in a sharp breath. “You’re right. When it comes to mentors, I think three of them are pretty good.
“The first is Qiao Linhu. He’s currently employed at the Weapons Department.
“He’s the grand-disciple of the first chancellor, Cheng Yunbai, and fellow disciple of our current chancellor. But what he learned is mostly old martial arts, and he doesn’t fancy new martial arts. It’s also difficult to get his guidance. Even if you pick his lectures, his disciple teaches them. You can only receive his personal tutelage if you catch his eye. But I heard that he got a good student recently. So, even if the chances of getting him to teach you are low, they’re not zero. If you’re interested, you can try it.
“The second is Sun Yunchun. He’s a Sanshou lecturer. He’s really strong and is ranked among the top in the Sanshou Department. He’s skilled in various Sanshou fighting styles and has practically no weaknesses. Not only that, but he also has a real knack for training his students. Over the past decade, many outstanding first-class students graduated from under his mentorship. He’s also great at forming connections. So, even if he’s not suited as your mentor, you can still ask him to form connections for you.
“The third is Yan Xiaojing, the current chancellor’s grandson. He’s the admission department supervisor’s favorite student and is a great fighter in the Weapons Department. He’s especially skilled at using spears, but he’s also good at Sanshou and grappling. There’s not much of an age gap between us, and he’s not old-fashioned. It might be the easiest to get along with him.”
Then, he explained, “There are four major departments in the university: the Sanshou Department, the Takedown Department, the Grappling Department, and the Weapons Department. There are also minor departments, but let’s leave them for another day. The Takedown Department is currently experiencing the fastest growth. It has ample resources and attracts plenty of outstanding students every day. They’re strong too. Zhong Wu was from that department, so I don’t think you’ll go there.
“The Grappling Department focuses on locks and holds. It’s really popular among female students, just like the Weapons Department. The lecturers there are pretty good, but most of them specialize in certain areas and are not exactly well-rounded.
“Still, you should think about picking something suited for you. You can ask the dormitory supervisors for information about the lecturers. They have all of it and will give it to you.”
Shen Shao chimed in, “The two of us are currently learning under Chi Youfu of the Sanshou Department. This lecturer is a really upright person. If interested, we can recommend him to you. The Sanshou Department is rather laid-back, but it has the most members. Just so you know, the administrative department supervisor is a lecturer from the Sanshou Department.”
“Thanks for the information,” Chen Chuan said.
A waiter brought their food over. Each portion was huge, and each of them was given two extra packets of nutritional paste. They stopped talking and put their entire focus on eating.
After eating, Chen Chuan asked, “Do you know where the Medicine Department is located? I’d like to buy some First Training Powder for a friend.”
“You need your mentor to give you a permission slip to get medicine from the Medicine Department. You should pick a suitable mentor for yourself first,” Shu Han said.
“Why do you think we kept telling you how important mentors are? If your mentor has connections, they can get you plenty of dispatch missions, like the one you just went on. But if they’re not happy with you, they’ll hand over those missions to someone else. Either that, or they can have no resources and be unable to help you,” Shen Shao commented.
Chen Chuan nodded. “Got it.”
It seemed like he needed to get this settled as soon as possible.
After they left the cafeteria, the two brought Chen Chuan around the campus to familiarize him with the environment and how things worked around the place before they parted ways.
On the way to the training grounds, Shu Han suddenly said, “Don’t you think he’s like him?”
“No way. Have you lost your mind?” Shen Shao shot back immediately.
Shu Han immediately denied it. “I’m not! Honestly, after I heard about Chen Chuan and how some of the others compared him to him, I scoffed at the idea. But after talking to him, I thought that it was worth it waiting for him for an entire morning.”
Shen Shao shook his head. “He has his own path to take, and we shouldn’t worry about him. Chen Chuan is Chen Chuan, and he is him. They’re not the same. Quit getting worked up over nothing.”
Shu Han sighed. “I have to keep an eye on him. After all, we’ve only just gotten to know him, and we don’t know what he’s thinking.”
“If you have so much free time, you should find a girlfriend instead. You can even try to win over the heart of the one who rejected you—Oh wait, sorry. I meant to say, try winning the heart of the girl you rejected,” Shen Shao teased him.
Shu Han ground his teeth in anger and started rolling his sleeves up. “Looks like I’ll have to go through that part of the process with you as well.”
Chen Chuan did not have any classes in the afternoon because it was meant for the freshmen to get used to the campus grounds. After taking a walk around, he returned to the dormitory.
He went to the dormitory supervisor and asked for a list of all mentors before heading to his room. After putting away his things, he stopped in front of the floor-to-ceiling window to review everything.
Shu Han and Shen Shao had given him a detailed run-through of the mentor system. After some thinking, Chen Chuan decided to apply to a few lecturers. If he got accepted by one that did not suit him, he could change them later.
He went to his desk and filled up a few forms, then placed them in the internal mailbox outside. The dormitory supervisor would collect the forms later and send them to the lecturers. Chen Chuan just had to sit and wait for their decision.