A whole morning of tests slowly passed. Some students were exhilarated whilst others worried.
Even eating in the canteen was not on their minds, because in the afternoon there was an even more important trial – the physical examinations.
In exams 200 years ago, people only looked at the written examination score. Now it was the completely opposite, as only with a strong life force would one be able to take on various jobs. People with weak life forces couldn’t even travel in space.
“Jiang Li, how did you go?”
Whilst eating in the canteen, Guo Meng came up to Jiang Li and asked. Jiang Li was drinking a nutrition serum, to which Guo Meng responded with envy.
“To think you’d drink Green God Nutrition Serums so casually! It’s a thousand star coins per bottle, did you make a lot of money or something?”
“Come have one as well to recharge your stamina. In the afternoon examinations try do well.” Jiang Li casually handed his friend a bottle.
Guo Meng gripped it tightly, in disbelief of his good fortune. “Really?”
“Why would I trick you?” Jiang Li shook his head, “Hurry up and drink it.”
“Don’t tell me it’s fake,” Guo Meng ripped the cap open and drank it in one gulp. He immediately felt invigorated. “Sure is a luxury good. I think my stamina has increased considerably.”
“That’s just an illusion. This type of nutrition serum can only help you if you drink it for long periods of time whilst exercise frequently,” Jiang Li smiled. “Oh yeah, are you prepared for the afternoon examinations?”
“I’m fucked. Everything is up to fortune. I mean, Astral University is definitely out of my reach right?” Guo Meng smacked his lips together. “I’m the type of guy that’s at the bottom of the class, a frame for the talented to flaunt their power. You look really prepared however, so be sure to kill it and get a good score! When you become famous don’t forget your bro!”
“Don’t worry man, you already know what kind of character I am,” Jiang Li slapped his friend on the back.
“Good luck to you,” Guo Meng left hurriedly to adjust his emotional state in preparation for the exam.
Jiang Li was rather calm, because he knew his powers.
The two hour break passed really quickly.
At the time of the examinations, together with other students Jiang Li entered a massive sports stadium that was more than 10,000 meters squared. In the middle were rows and rows of machines that tested different stats, including running, punching, kicking…
“Start!”
A student in front of Jiang Li went up to a machine, and after the signal dashed out. 1 second, 2 seconds… The hundred meter sprint took 8 seconds.
He rested for a bit, and started to punch, a continuous stream of a hundred fists. Sweating like crazy, a number finally appeared on the machine: an average punching force of 0.36 tons.
He went on to other tests like kicking, deep squat and weight bearing.
After the series of tests, a line of numbers appeared on a machine, and a robotic voice boomed.
“Overall score, life force of 0.85. Please enter the combat room for the final test.”
“Fuckkkk, still couldn’t get 0.9! Hopefully I can wrestle some points back in the last test, otherwise receiving attention from the school will be impossible.” The student was a bit deflated.
In the end there was the combat test.
This test measured the reflexes of people. If you do well, you could gain points, however if you do bad, you might also lose points.
“Next up, Jiang Li…”
Jiang Li walked up to a giant machine the size of a thirty odd meter squared room.
There were many transaction belts on the machine, used for running. There was also a target for punching.
“Let’s see how strong I am!” Taking a deep breath, Jiang Li did a series of movements, mirroring stances in the [Spiritual Emperor Seal]. Immediately he felt himself reach his peak condition, with every cell breathing heavily.
“May the student please start…”
The voice from the machine ushered. Jiang Li stepped on the conveyer belt and the signal to start went off. He dashed out, his footsteps creating the smell of burnt rubber on the belt.
1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds, 4 seconds, 5 seconds.
Beeeep… His hundred meter sprint time for 4.8 seconds!
“What? 4.8 seconds?”
Many teachers saw the result, and came to watch near the machines, speculating that perhaps the machine has malfunctioned.
But Jiang Li cared not of the attention. Resting for a bit, he started the punching test.
He was within the machine, and so no one could enter. They could only watch him run and exert himself from the outside.
Ping ping ping…
His body arched like a bow ready to shoot, with every bone rattling and focusing power on one point, Jiang Li performed the strongest C rank martial technique [Shattering Bone Penetration]!
It was as if the target was hit by a typhoon, shaking left and right. A series of numbers appeared on the screen. Every student had a set amount of time to strike the target a hundred times. This event not only tested punching power but also stamina. Punching a hundred times at full power was very taxing on the body.
Some people couldn’t even keep their breath up with the pace they punch at.
Though tired, Jiang Li wasn’t huffing and puffing heavily after a hundred strikes.
“An average punching force of 1 ton! Please move on to the other tests…” The holographic computer displayed the data.
This wasn’t a test of one punch, but rather the average of a hundred punches. If Jiang Li only had to punch once, the power would be even greater.
The average power of a hundred punches was far from one explosive punch. A typical martial expert would be exhausted after more than ten punches at full power.
“What! Average punching force of 1 ton? This student actually broke the threshold! I wonder how strong he is. He even has a sprint time of 4.8 seconds.”
“What’s his overall score?”
“Dayum, this is a miracle of the examinations.”
“An unexpected contestant.”
“Call the principal.”
The nearby teachers were in an uproar, because a potential candidate for Astral University had been found.
Miss Blade and Lazy Long were also present. They looked at each other and nodded, as if such results were expected.
A short while later, Jiang Li’s kicking, deep squat and weight bearing scores were out. The holographic computer gave judgment, “The early estimate of the score for this exam is a life force of 1. Now, please enter the combat room to start the next phase.”
“Sure enough my life force has reached 1.” Jiang Li let a smile come across his face after looking at the results. He did not use his full power in the tests in order to conserve energy for the following combat test. If he failed that, he might get penalized, reducing his life force to 0.99.
The combat tests were carried out in the holographic combat rooms.
This type of place was just like where Zhen Wenbing and Lara Luo trained. After entering, artificial scenery would appear, followed by a person that represented a martial expert. One would fight with him to test their combat prowess.
The fake martial expert was extremely strong, an amalgamation of energy that functioned like a real person. In the short time period of its manifestation, it would have all the attributes of a real person such as breathing, heartbeat, pulse…
This type of technology was extrapolated from the army, and was very advanced. But the energy consumption was great, and only organizations like schools could afford such equipment. However they would only use them during examination periods due to the high costs of maintenance.
Using it for the normal study curriculum was unrealistic.
It was said that the school was spending up 100,000 star coins per hour in the short period of time of the examinations.
“Student Jiang Li, student number…”
Jiang Li entered the pitch black combat room. He couldn’t even see his fingers. Only a voice resonated in the room, “The test starts now. Martial Expert initiated, energy levels sufficient.”
Sou!
A ray of light converged, and the scenery changed. Jiang Li found himself in a great grassy plain with trees and flowers everywhere. In the centre of the place stood a man with ancient clothing and a white beard. He even had a long braid. He was not an imposing figure, but rather seemed a bit small and lanky.
But, the old man exuded an indescribable aura that rang with depth.
“Come!”
The old man waved at Jiang Li, as if he was a real ancient martial expert reborn in the current era.
The test had officially begun.
Jiang Li tread carefully, and dared not to move brashly. Circling the martial expert, he came to the backside of the man and leaped out to grab the man’s braids, his hands hissing like snakes in the air.
The braid was a weak point.
But, just as his fingers reached the braids, a hand appeared near his wrists and lightly nudged.
The movement was gentle.
Hong! Jiang Li felt like as if he had stepped into the eye of the storm, his movements swayed by a great force. He body spun like an uncoiled spring, his bodily meridians played like the wires of a string instrument.
His ligaments were like a lute. A light touch from the old man made him lose all his combat power.
This was the power of a martial expert.
[Lute Play] of Tai Chi!
Jiang Li didn’t even see how the old man had struck him, for his stance gave off not a single flaw. There seemed to be a great and mysterious power within the old man, like the ancient ‘qi’.
“[Twisting Bone Attack]!”
Jiang Li knew he was in trouble, and riding on top of his spinning momentum he performed [Boneless Jiujitsu]. He angled to the side, and with his hands like knives, slashed towards the neck of the old man.
If it was anyone else that had not learnt [Boneless Jiujitsu], the single move [Lute Play] would have defeated them. But Jiang Li’s physical temperament was impressive, and after the battle with Illusory Fox, his battle instincts had also been brought out. After receiving the [Lute Play], he immediately retaliated.
The attack was ferocious and fast, the highest level of combat power Jiang Li could muster.
But the martial expert was faster than him, and shaking his hands as if playing with an invisible spear, he drew an arc in the air upon Jiang Li’s hands. The moment they touched, Jiang Li’s hands shaked and creaked, as if put into a meat grinder that would break his bones.
[Cloud Palm] of Tai Chi!
Ping!
Jiang Li leaped up and viciously kicked at the martial expert’s ankle joint in an attempt to save himself.
It was as if there were eyes on the martial expert’s legs. They formed a straight posture and kicked back at Jiang Li.
Trapped in both the upper and lower body, Jiang Li fell into a difficult position. If he had no surprises left he would be sent flying with broken ligaments and bones, a tragic outcome.
At this moment, his routine training came into fruition. Twisting his body like snakes and dragons, he dodged ongoing attacks and made an exit in the confrontation.
“[Boneless Dragon Snake Dance]!”
The martial technique saved his life, successfully pulling himself out of the miserable predicament. The old man was like a metal wall with a deep grasp of martial arts. In comparison Jiang Li was leagues behind.
Jiang Li continued to trace backwards, fearful of getting close to the martial expert.
Unfortunately the martial expert was not thrown off so easily. With light and graceful footwork he chased after Jiang Li. Just as Jiang Li had made a progress of more than 10 meters he caught up in one step, a fist already in motion.
The fist was fierce like towering giants, as if it was unstoppable. It completely transformed the figure of an old man into an adult in his prime.
[Tiger Killing Bow] of Tai Chi!
Without even looking Jiang Li knew he could not stop the attack, and chose to evade to the side.
Hai!
The martial expert breathed in deeply and threw another fist, even fiercer than before, blocking all of Jiang Li’s escape paths. It was like iron chains across a river, forcing boats to come to a standstill.
“I cannot take it, what do I do? [Boneless Jiujitsu] is no match. If I take it head on I’ll be sent flying and lose all my combat ability!”
Looking at the oncoming fist, Jiang Li’s sixth sense predicted the outcome.
At this crucial moment, his heart ascended a state of peace with oneself, and his hands moved like the wind to perform a hand sign of the [Spiritual Emperor Seal]. It was like the wind and clouds, dragons and tigers.
The martial expert’s fists came crashing down on his arms, and his hand seal caved inwards on reflex, defusing a lot of the power.
The old man took another step forward, his face expressionless. From his pubic region came a long shriek and he swung another fist!
This fist was completely different to the others. The fierce nature of previous ones became ghastly and ghoul like, disappearing then reappearing. It looked slow, but in fact broke the limits of speed and pounded through Jiang Li’s defense and onto his chest.
B rank martial technique [Phantom Entity Punch]!
The three punches were at the limits of mortal power.
Finally, Jiang Li’s defense became futile and he was sent flying, stars appearing before his vision. He could not move a single part of his body.
“Beeeep…” The holographic computer signaled for the trial to stop. “Combat test over. Combat experience sufficient. Overall life force of 1!”
The martial expert disappeared.
Every minute of its manifestation was of great cost. The school didn’t want to waste a single moment.
“Phew…”
Having heard the announcement, Jiang Li let out a sigh of relief. Though he had lost against the fight with the martial expert, and was sent flying, he passed the overall grade and was not deducted points.
His life force had reached 1.
Translated by XianXiaWorld