Chapter 12: Test (Please keep reading)

He was drenched in sweat, his martial arts uniform soaked through and clinging tightly to his body.

Steam rose from his frame as waves of heat surged through his limbs and bones. Strength poured out of him continuously, accompanied by a tingling sensation.

His body was undergoing a profound transformation.

The exhaustion that had permeated his entire being was rapidly dissipating.

"The template fusion rate has broken through 2%. My talent has become even stronger, which in turn helped my Tiger Form Fist achieve a breakthrough."

"My comprehension was the first to improve, and my body is also transforming. By tomorrow, the efficiency of my body tempering will increase even further."

Lin Qi clenched his fists, feeling the surge of power—it was intoxicating. He looked at the various data points on his panel.

Now, his Tiger Form Fist had reached the Great Success stage; only his Blood Qi value remained.

"There is one day left until the test. I am fully capable of pushing my Blood Qi value past 6.0."

Lin Qi thought to himself. Seeing that only a few people remained in the martial arts classroom, he packed his things, ready to head home.

One hour later.

Lin residence, Room 301, Building 4.

In the bathroom, Lin Qi stood at the sink when his throat suddenly moved.

"Pfft—"

He opened his mouth and spat out a glob of black-red liquid into the sink, which emitted a foul stench.

"This is the stagnant blood from inside my body. It had accumulated, and now it’s all been expelled at once."

Looking at the black blood, Lin Qi recognized it.

Those who practice martial arts inevitably harbor hidden injuries or stagnant blood within their bodies to some degree.

The wealthy go to hospitals for regular therapy, while ordinary people without money have no choice but to endure it.

Lin Qi was one such person; even knowing the toll it took on his body, he had trained desperately.

"All the external injuries on my body have healed, and the stagnant blood has been forced out."

Lin Qi observed himself and found that the remaining bruises on his body had completely faded, and the abrasions had already scabbed over.

Waves of strength surged into his body, leaving him feeling refreshed and clear-headed, the fatigue in his muscles gone.

"Could it be that increasing the fusion rate doesn't just boost my talent, but also heals my injuries and cleanses my body?"

Lin Qi guessed, feeling that he was likely spot on.

This effect was truly powerful. It saved him the money and time required for muscle relaxation and therapy—it was perfect for a poor person like him.

Now, all that was left was to wait for the test.

Lin Qi’s gaze became firm.

...

Martial Era, September 7th, 2045!

Time flew by, and a week had passed.

The students of Tianhai No. 2 High School welcomed their weekly minor assessment.

"The weekly minor assessment is a tradition at our school, used to evaluate the students' martial arts progress every week."

"For ordinary students, it’s just a routine test, but for us, it is the key to entering the elite class."

Someone said to the students around them. Various sounds filled the air—the thud of punches, the swishing of spears and swords...

In the Class 3 martial arts classroom, it wasn't even 6:00 AM, yet dozens of people had already arrived and begun training.

"Lei-ge, how are you prepared?"

Yang Lei stood with his hands on his hips, wearing his martial arts uniform with confidence, chatting with a few people standing nearby.

"That goes without saying. I, Yang Lei, will definitely make it into the elite class. Just you wait and see."

Yang Lei enjoyed the worshipful gazes of his classmates and spoke with great confidence, while simultaneously glancing at Lin Qi.

Lin Qi, however, was alone in the corner, standing in a horse stance as if no one else existed, sweat pouring off him.

Time passed slowly.

"Ding-a-ling!"

As the class bell rang, Wu Kang appeared at the door right on time. He carried a thermos cup and watched everyone quietly.

Behind him followed two male teachers, acting as proctors.

"Today, minor assessment!"

Wu Kang stepped inside. A single sentence silenced the entire class, and a tense atmosphere enveloped every corner of the martial arts classroom.

"Two of you, move the punch force detector to the center. A few more, go set up the timer."

Wu Kang directed two students to move a massive, square black instrument to the middle of the room.

In the center was a red punching target, and at the top of the instrument was an electronic screen.

Others nearby set up four pillar-like instruments to partition off a 20-meter track. When turned on, the pillars emitted infrared beams.

This was the speed detector.

The surrounding students gathered around one after another. Lin Qi finished his horse stance and followed the crowd, and Jiang Tao also squeezed over.

"Our school still uses this old-fashioned method of calculating Blood Qi value based on punch force and speed."

"I heard that No. 1 High School has already started equipping new testing instruments; they can calculate Blood Qi value just by scanning the body."

Someone muttered quietly, drawing nods of agreement from many.

Lin Qi nodded as well. Blood Qi value represented a person's blood strength, life force, and human magnetic field...

It was difficult to measure precisely with instruments; one could only calculate it using punch force and speed metrics, then apply a large-model formula to estimate the Blood Qi value. The accuracy rate was as high as 90%.

But he was different; with his data panel, he could check his Blood Qi value at any time.

"According to student ID numbers, I will call names to come up and test."

Wu Kang held a tablet, stood in front of the punch force detector, and called the first student's name.

"Zhou Ping!"

"Here!"

The first student was a boy with an ordinary appearance and a few pimples on his face.

He clenched his fists and walked out. Under everyone's gaze, his Blood Qi surged, and he threw a punch with all his might.

"Bang! Bang!!"

His fist struck the target like a bullet.

As the target shook violently, a string of numbers appeared on the electronic screen—"512kg!"

"Only 512kg!"

Wu Kang shook his head upon seeing the result.

"Zhou Ping, after a whole vacation, your punch force has improved by less than 30 kilograms. What have you been doing for the past two months?"

Zhou Ping’s face flushed red, showing a look of shame.

"Next, test your speed!"

Zhou Ping went to the starting line of the track, the infrared beams in front of him.

"Whoosh—"

Like a gust of wind, Zhou Ping bolted out like a wild horse released from its reins.

"Ding!"

In the blink of an eye, the machine sounded, and he had already crossed the finish line.

The electronic screen at the finish line lit up with the number—"11m/s!"

Wu Kang shook his head: "Next!"

Zhou Ping lowered his head and quickly retreated into the crowd.

"Punch force 512kg! Speed 11m/s, his Blood Qi value is estimated to be around 5.1. No chance of getting into the elite class."

Someone shook their head and sighed.

In the Martial Era, source energy poured out from spatial rifts, and the world's plants and animals had changed.

Humans ate disaster beast meat and absorbed source energy, optimizing their constitutions and significantly improving their physical fitness.

Even high school students had punch forces that exceeded the boxing champions of the previous era, like Tyson.

"Wang Feng!"

"Li Shaodong!"

"..."

One by one, the students called began testing their punch force and speed.

"Punch force 605kg, speed 14m/s. My Blood Qi value has definitely passed 6.0."

"Sure enough, the Blood Qi pills I took this week and my hard work didn't go to waste."

The round-faced Li Shaodong laughed out loud.

"What? Li Shaodong improved so fast?" Someone exclaimed, finding it absurd.

Lin Qi’s heart skipped a beat. Li Shaodong, who was ranked 9th in the class, had actually improved this quickly?

"Qi-ge, many people in the class have been frantically consuming all sorts of resources this week to boost their Blood Qi values."

"Taking two Blood Qi capsules before the test to get the blood boiling so you can perform better—that’s an unspoken rule."

Jiang Tao whispered a reminder from the side.

Lin Qi nodded. He planned to do the same in a moment. He had flexible bottom lines; if he could get a higher score, why wouldn't he?

...

"Punch force 645kg, speed 14.3m/s."

"Yang Lei is amazing!"

"These stats are very strong. His Blood Qi value has definitely passed 6.0. He’s a lock for the elite class."

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

Yang Lei held his head high, walked off the track triumphantly, and cast a provocative glance at Lin Qi.

"Lin Qi!"

Wu Kang called his name.

Jiang Tao said from the side: "Qi-ge, show everyone your strength."

Lin Qi nodded and walked out of the crowd. Many people looked at him with curious expressions.

...

(End of chapter)