Chapter 34: Astonishing Progress (Please keep reading)

Amidst the murmurs of the crowd, Lin Qi walked back into the group and saw Jiang Tao giving him a thumbs-up.

"Brother Qi, you've surpassed me!"

Jiang Tao was not stingy with his praise, reaching out to fist-bump Lin Qi.

"Nonsense, I still can't compare to you yet."

Lin Qi shook his head. During this period, it wasn't just him making rapid progress; Jiang Tao was doing the same.

Despite having very few resources, Jiang Tao was a genius who had forcefully maintained a position in the top twenty of his grade.

"Jiang Tao!"

A short while later, Zhang Cheng called out.

"Go on, Taozi, show them what you're made of," Lin Qi said, giving Jiang Tao a nudge.

"Watch me!"

Jiang Tao rubbed his hands together in anticipation. In one month, after consuming a large amount of resources, he had grown taller, already breaking the 1.9-meter mark.

His physique was even more robust; muscles that looked as if they were carved by a knife radiated an intense sense of pressure beneath his dark skin.

*Bang! Bang!!*

Jiang Tao's fists struck the punching bag like heavy cannons firing.

His explosive power while running was staggering, leaving people seeing nothing but a blur.

"Punching force: 913.2kg! Speed: 18.1m/s!"

"Phew~"

Jiang Tao exhaled a breath of turbid air, his body steaming, and grinned at Lin Qi.

"Taozi, congratulations. Breaking into the top ten of the grade won't be a problem for you at all," Lin Qi offered his congratulations.

"Of course. The top ten is my goal," Jiang Tao laughed as well.

"Lin Qi and Jiang Tao... it looks like both of their results in this monthly exam will be extraordinary."

Not far away, Li Zhou watched the two of them with curiosity.

"Interesting!"

...

"Qi Yuelin, punching force: 960kg."

"Yu Jing, punching force: 980.1kg!"

*Bang!*

"Li Zhou, punching force: 1035.9kg!"

"He broke a thousand kilograms!"

Looking at the numbers on the electronic screen, the surrounding crowd fell into shock.

"That's too exaggerated. Once punching force passes 900kg, it becomes incredibly difficult to keep improving."

"If the people in the ordinary classes found out, they'd probably die of shock. The gap is too large."

"Li Zhou is a freak!" Jiang Tao shook his head in admiration.

"Could Li Zhou have already broken through to the First Realm?" someone asked in shock.

"Probably not. It's just that Li Zhou has a naturally superior physique; his strength is just higher than others," Zhu Yuqi said, shaking her head.

Lin Qi was also secretly startled. A punching force exceeding 1,000kg was a characteristic typically seen only in those who had broken through the First Realm and reached the Second Realm.

Zhang Cheng also looked at Li Zhou with some surprise.

"This kid... it seems he is far more outstanding than the others."

Li Zhou continued to test his speed, though he did not exceed 20m/s, as that was the minimum speed for a Second Realm martial artist.

"Quiet!"

Zhang Cheng spoke, and the noisy classroom instantly fell silent.

"Alright, the first round of testing is over."

"It is time to begin the weapon skill testing."

"Everyone, follow me!"

After speaking, Zhang Cheng led two teachers out of the classroom, with the other students following behind in confusion.

"Strange, isn't it a weapon skill test?" someone wondered.

But no one could answer his question.

Everyone walked through the corridor to the far end of the other side of the teaching building. At the entrance was a metal door, which Zhang Cheng opened by entering a password.

He stepped inside first.

The crowd followed. As Lin Qi stepped onto the floor, he realized it was made of custom tiles.

"This is..."

Someone pointed forward in surprise.

Lin Qi looked. Inside the room, ten egg-shaped machine devices were arranged neatly. He recognized them at a glance: they were virtual pods.

"I believe you all recognize them—holographic virtual pods!" Zhang Cheng introduced, patting the door of a pod with his hand.

"From today onwards, all weapon skill assessments will be conducted in a virtual world."

"Furthermore, the accuracy is extremely high, which means I can slack off a bit too."

The crowd gathered around the pods, and someone asked curiously

"Teacher Zhang, how do we conduct the test?"

"It's simple!" Zhang Cheng pointed forward, and a teacher turned on a projector.

A massive 3D projection appeared before everyone, with images and text beginning to emerge.

"You should all have accounts for the Red Realm, right? Log in just like usual."

"Search for 'Tianhai Monthly Exam' in the panel functions. Once you enter, input your name, examination permit number, and the weapon manual you have learned, and you can begin the test."

"What you need to do is defeat the testers. The AI will examine your strength and convert it into a score."

"So, remember your permit number for now. You will be in groups of ten, entering the virtual pods starting from the last-ranked student."

The rules and everyone's permit numbers appeared on the green projection screen.

As Zhang Cheng explained the rules, Lin Qi and the other nine prepared to enter the pods. Just then, he noticed something unusual about Chen Zichuan in the corner.

The other boy was looking at the virtual pods with a curious expression, watching others' operations with a sense of helplessness, looking much like Jiang Tao had when he first saw a virtual pod.

"Taozi, Chen Zichuan doesn't seem to have used a virtual pod before. Go teach him," Lin Qi said.

"Got it!" Jiang Tao nodded and quickly walked toward Chen Zichuan.

After some explanation, Chen Zichuan began nodding occasionally.

Seeing this, Lin Qi felt at ease and entered his virtual pod.

...

At the same time, martial arts students from various middle schools in Tianhai City were undergoing their weapon skill assessments.

Tianhai No. 1 High School, Weapon Skill Assessment Classroom.

The spacious classroom exceeded a thousand square meters, with thirty brand-new virtual pods arranged within it.

A group of young men and women stood around, their eyes bright and their expressions proud, radiating powerful auras.

A thick atmosphere of competition permeated the air.

"Guo Heng, I heard you're aiming for the top five in the grade this monthly exam?"

In front of a virtual pod, someone asked Guo Heng curiously.

The corners of Guo Heng's mouth curled up slightly as he said

"Naturally. My saber techniques have already broken through to the second stage; those in the class stronger than me can be counted on one hand."

"I'm not just aiming for the top five in the grade; I'm also aiming for the top fifteen in the Tianhai City overall rankings."

He clenched his fist, thinking to himself, *I must catch up to my sister's footsteps.*

He suddenly thought of Lin Qi and Jiang Tao from No. 2 High School.

He wondered what rank they would achieve in this monthly exam.

...

*Hum~*

Lin Qi felt a wave of numbness through his body. When he opened his eyes again, he had entered his familiar Red Realm personal space.

He opened the panel and searched for "Tianhai Monthly Exam," which triggered a new panel.

【Please enter your name, manual, and examination permit number!】

【Name: Lin Qi】

【Manual: Mountain-Crushing Spear Technique】

【Permit Number: 20455060...】

...

Lin Qi clicked confirm, and in the next second, the surrounding space shifted.

He suddenly appeared inside a spacious room. The floor and walls were made of hard, white metal.

Countless illustrations of weapons were drawn on the walls.

【Candidate Lin Qi, welcome to the Tianhai Monthly Exam battlefield. Prepare for your weapon skill assessment!】

【Assessment Content: Defeat the tester!】

【You have three minutes of preparation time.】

Looking at the prompt on the panel, Lin Qi thought of the arena; it was almost identical.

If the testers were as rigid as the combat bots used in machine testing, how could they test his actual skills?

While thinking, he also selected his weapon: his most familiar large black spear.

The three minutes passed quickly.

*Whoosh~*

In the next instant, a figure materialized in front of Lin Qi.

It was a man wearing a white combat suit and a pure white mask, wielding a silver long spear.

The number "1" was clearly marked on his chest.

【Assessment preparation beginning!】

【Tester: No. 1】

【3, 2, 1...】

【Assessment officially begins!】

An intelligent female voice announced the start of the assessment in the air.

In the next instant, the tester lunged forward, swinging the silver spear like a dragon.

...

(End of Chapter)