Chapter 29: Practical Examination

Inside the massive training grounds, the students participating in the exam stood in lines, looking up at the proctors ahead.

The middle-aged, burly man with a scarred face and a menacing aura was none other than Lei Jun, the martial arts instructor for Zhang Yu and the others.

If the five major subjects of the high school immortal path were categorized by their roles—where Dao Heart, Mana, and Physical Education provided the foundation—then Martial Arts and Dao Arts were primarily the specific methods of applying immortal technology.

As for whether martial arts or Dao arts were stronger or more useful... cultivators held varying perspectives.

Zhang Yu still remembered a radical claim made by Lei Jun during their very first class.

"Martial arts have great utility in this world; Dao arts are useless."

"To practice one Dao art is to become poor in one area. The more you practice, the poorer you get, until all your money has been earned by corporations and you've become a pauper."

"Martial arts, however, cost less and are cheaper, yet they are highly effective. Therefore, only by practicing inexpensive martial arts can one build wealth and become richer the more they practice."

This was Lei Jun's martial arts philosophy.

As today's proctor, Lei Jun likewise did not utilize any Dao arts.

His arrangement for the monthly exams was always to have students with similar scores from the previous month draw lots for one-on-one combat.

The two sides would fight three rounds, with each round lasting three minutes. A round ended if someone was knocked down or pushed out of bounds within those three minutes.

After all three rounds were completed, the instructor would assign scores based on the performance of both parties during the combat.

This was actually quite similar to the martial arts practical exam in the College Entrance Examination, except that during the actual entrance exam, students fought against Yellow Turban Lieutenants rather than against each other.

But since this was merely a monthly exam, it was impossible to adopt the full standards of the entrance exam—especially since not hiring Yellow Turban Lieutenants could save the school a significant amount of money.

As Lei Jun finished explaining the rules of the martial arts practical exam, the large screen above flickered. As names began to appear, the drawing of lots commenced.

Once the drawing was finished, the results were sent to each student's mobile phone, instructing them to head to their designated locations to begin the practical exam.

At this moment, the entire training ground had been divided into small squares of about ten square meters each using white lines; each small square served as a ring.

Following the results of the draw, Zhang Yu walked into Square No. 12, where he saw that He Dayou was already waiting.

Seeing He Dayou nod at him with a polite smile, Zhang Yu nodded back.

"Finally, here he comes." Suppressing the violent emotions in his heart, He Dayou slowly walked into the square.

In order to have a legitimate excuse to teach Zhang Yu a lesson, He Dayou had slightly exercised his privilege as the son of a school board member, drawing Zhang Yu—who ranked 10th in last month's exam—as his opponent, despite He Dayou being ranked 3rd.

Of course, according to the rules of the draw, the two could be considered to have close total scores from the last exam, so few would question it.

"But over this past month, aside from his Mana class, his progress in all other subjects has long since fallen behind, hasn't it? His actual ranking should be somewhere between 20th and 30th."

He Dayou believed that not only had he maintained his top-three status in total score, but his Unarmed Combat (Sanhous) had also reached Level 2 half a month ago, and he had recently mastered a new martial art in a cram school.

"But I won't need the new martial art. To deal with this pauper, Level 2 Unarmed Combat is enough."

"The question now is... do I injure his hand? Or his leg?"

While lost in thought, He Dayou reached the center of the square alongside Zhang Yu, and they stood facing each other with a distance of just over one meter.

He Dayou's gaze began to roam over Zhang Yu, considering how he would strike a heavy blow in a moment.

Outside the square, an assistant teacher took out a phone to begin video recording.

After the exam concluded, Lei Jun and the other first-year martial arts instructors would watch all the combat videos in sequence to determine the scores.

"Are you two ready?"

Hearing the assistant teacher's question, Zhang Yu and He Dayou both nodded.

"Then, Zhang Yu and He Dayou from the Demonstration Class, first round of practical combat..."

"3, 2, 1, start!"

Upon the assistant teacher's command, He Dayou suddenly struck. His right arm transformed into a blur nearly invisible to the naked eye, slicing a palm strike toward Zhang Yu's neck.

Simultaneously, he had already envisioned Zhang Yu's potential counterattacks in his mind.

As a "rich second generation," he had enough time and money to hire people for daily combat training.

He had already experienced, trained for, and learned how to counter various reactions an opponent might have following such a palm strike.

This was the effect of combat experience.

Level 2 Unarmed Combat, combined with much richer combat experience, gave He Dayou absolute confidence in defeating his opponent.

"Then... let's aim for the hands."

The mana within He Dayou's body surged violently toward his palm...

*Bang!*

A loud thud erupted from He Dayou's abdomen.

Immediately after, he felt his vision swing wildly, followed by the sensation of hard ground and pain radiating through his entire body.

It took several full seconds for He Dayou to gradually regain his senses.

He had been sent flying by a single move from Zhang Yu and was lying on the ground.

"I was one-shotted?"

He Dayou's face suddenly turned a deep crimson. "How is this possible?"

Seeing He Dayou's agitated state, the assistant teacher, seeking to avoid trouble, played back the recorded combat footage right in front of him and Zhang Yu.

In the video, just as He Dayou threw his palm, Zhang Yu had moved faster. While ducking to avoid the strike, Zhang Yu's entire body slammed into He Dayou, executing a hip throw that sent him out of bounds.

The entire process took less than a second; it looked as if He Dayou had intentionally cooperated with Zhang Yu to be thrown out.

Watching this, He Dayou felt increasingly indignant. He clearly hadn't used his full strength, and he clearly hadn't even used his newly learned martial art. Just one moment of negligence and...

"I underestimated this Zhang Yu too much. I actually let my mind wander while fighting him..."

Thinking of this, He Dayou felt an even deeper sense of frustration.

But he knew that whether it was due to carelessness or distraction, any further unnecessary excuses would only make him look more foolish.

Thus, he took a deep breath and nodded to Zhang Yu. "Good fight. Let's continue."

The assistant teacher asked He Dayou if he was physically alright, and after confirming he was, allowed the two to re-enter the square.

The two stood facing each other again, separated by one meter.

Zhang Yu looked at He Dayou with a smile, thinking to himself, "My practical score should be very high this time."

The effect of Level 3 Unarmed Combat was even better than he had anticipated.

Although Zhang Yu estimated that his combat experience might not be as vast as that of the wealthy He Dayou, his Level 3 Unarmed Combat made him intimately familiar with the fifteen moves of the style.

In the previous fight, almost the instant He Dayou had moved, Zhang Yu already knew what the opponent intended to do and where the opening in the technique would appear.

The moment the thought surfaced in his mind, his body had already moved. He charged forward, channeled mana into his arms, and used the momentum to throw the opponent.

"In a first-year Unarmed Combat duel, as long as the opponent's level is below Level 3, their combat reaction will likely be a step slower than mine."

"Plus, my physical strength is quite high now. In an Unarmed Combat duel among all first-year students in the school... I don't think I'll lose."

Meanwhile, on the other side, He Dayou's expression was solemn, no longer possessing the nonchalance of the previous round.

He decided to focus entirely on this second round, putting forth his full strength to decisively defeat Zhang Yu.

This time, he would not give the opponent even a shred of opportunity.

"Zhang Yu and He Dayou, second round."

"3, 2, 1, start!"

As soon as the assistant teacher finished speaking, He Dayou instantly exploded with full power. His right fist, charged with surging mana, lunged fiercely toward Zhang Yu's face.

*Boom!*

Another loud thud rang out.

Once again, there was the familiar sensation of a swinging vision, the hard, cold ground, and pain throughout his body.

He Dayou scrambled up, somewhat dazed.

He had been one-shotted again?

He watched the video recorded by the assistant teacher once more.

In the video, at the same moment he threw his punch, Zhang Yu had already kicked him in the chest, sending him flying.

Because both parties moved so quickly, it looked as if He Dayou had used his own chest to collide with Zhang Yu's extended foot.

The third round began.

This time, He Dayou did not rush to strike with full force. Instead, he took a defensive stance, cautiously observing Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu thought to himself, "He's started being careful after being one-shotted twice in a row?"

The reason he had been able to one-shot the opponent instantly just now was that, at the moment the opponent moved, he had used his familiarity with Unarmed Combat to predict the movement and trajectory, and then... actively met the opponent's opening on the path of their full-force attack.

One could say he had utilized the additive effect of both parties' speeds, causing He Dayou to lose before he could even react.

But once He Dayou became cautious and stopped attacking with full force immediately, Zhang Yu could no longer replicate those two instant victories.

However, Zhang Yu had his own tactical preparations for such a situation.

Whether in terms of mana or physical strength, Zhang Yu's rapidly advancing power meant he was confident that he was on par with the grade's third-ranked student, He Dayou.

Even from the perspective of physical power, the opponent's development was as balanced as his own, rather than following a heavy-set strength route.

Since the opponent was unwilling to take the initiative to attack, Zhang Yu would take the initiative to strike.

He channeled his mana and struck out with a palm toward He Dayou's chest.

"Here it comes!" A sharp light flashed in He Dayou's eyes. He likewise threw a punch to block the move.

Then, he saw Zhang Yu strike again with the exact same palm technique.

"The same move? What is this?"

After blocking three consecutive palms from Zhang Yu, He Dayou felt a wave of numbness in his arms, and the mana within his body surged repeatedly.

The sheer abundance of Zhang Yu's mana and the ferocity of his physical strength were beyond his expectations.

Furthermore, the opponent's tactic was extremely simple: to engage in direct, head-on confrontation.

Zhang Yu's Level 3 Unarmed Combat meant he was not just more familiar with the moves; the same technique in his hands could explode with greater physical power and more abundant mana.

This gave him a massive advantage in a direct clash.

He Dayou quickly realized this, but a smile couldn't help but curl at the corner of his mouth.

"You want to go head-to-head with me?"

"Then let's clash and see who is actually harder."

He channeled his newly learned martial art, the "Small Heavenly Star Palm." The mana in his dantian instantly transformed into a chilling palm force, which he drove fiercely toward Zhang Yu through his palm.