A Stunning Debut

Ouyang Yu's selection spurred on the students who followed. Seeing Ouyang Yu leap over the dragon gate and become a Martial Artist trainee, the later students performed with even greater effort, and several genuinely promising candidates emerged.

Even Changfeng Martial Arts Academy recruited one student, but Raging Wind Martial Hall had remained quiet.

It was not until Meng Dong stepped up that Raging Wind Martial Hall's representative began to take notice.

Clearly, he had done his homework beforehand and had come specifically for Meng Dong.

Meng Dong's performance was dazzling enough as well. His punching speed was 5.7 punches per second, and his neural reaction was 0.091/s.

His best result was his punching power: 355 kg with his left fist and 403 kg with his right, stunning everyone present.

The Martial Artist realms were divided into Mortal Realm Triple Stage: Warrior Level, General Level, and God of War Level. Each stage was further divided into nine levels.

At the Warrior Level, the Three Physical Tests were the primary standard for classification.

Punching power, punching speed, and neural reaction—if all three exceeded a certain standard, one advanced. For example, the graduation examination threshold for punching power was 200 kg, which was already the standard for a Level Two Warrior.

Meng Dong's punching power alone had exceeded 400 kg, already meeting the standard of a Level Three Warrior. Although his other two results had not yet reached the mark, once they did, he would certainly be among the best of the Level Three Warriors, capable of fighting opponents above his level.

To compete for this talent, the representatives from Changfeng Martial Arts Academy and Dragon Slayer Martial Hall had nearly come to blows. Unfortunately, Meng Dong ultimately chose Raging Wind.

After Meng Dong, things became rather dull. No more astonishing geniuses appeared.

By the time the final student, Lin Zhen, came up, many Martial Hall representatives were already packing their things, intending to give the last person a casual glance before leaving.

Seeing Lin Zhen take the stage, Ouyang Yu, seated beside Dragon Slayer Martial Hall's representative, said, "Brother Li, this guy has a bit of a grudge against me. His results are passable enough to meet the standards of those smaller Martial Halls, but I hope his life turns out as miserable as possible."

Dragon Slayer's representative was surnamed Li. Since Zhang Huai from the Martial Hall had spoken to him beforehand, he knew Ouyang Yu's father was an official in the Base City and had been fairly attentive toward Ouyang Yu. Hearing this, he nodded. "Fine, it's a small matter. Isn't he just a trainee with a little potential? There are plenty like him. We'll see which Martial Hall takes him later, and I'll put in a word. Ordinary Martial Halls will still give Dragon Slayer some face."

"Done! Thanks, Brother Li. If you ever need anything at the Martial Hall in the future, just say the word!"

Ouyang Yu was secretly pleased. Looking at Lin Zhen as he stepped forward, he thought, No matter how well you perform, your fate has already been decided.

"Lin Zhen, begin the punching power test." After the proctor spoke, Lin Zhen stood before the Punch Power Tester.

"After three days of Mental Power cultivation, I can feel that my physique has improved to a certain degree, but I don't know exactly how much. Now is the time to verify it."

Previously, both of Lin Zhen's fists had exceeded 200 kg. His left was slightly over 200 kg, while his right was a little over 230 kg.

Taking a deep breath, he swung his left fist and threw a fierce punch.

"Buzz!"

The mercury column shot upward.

Just from the speed at which the mercury column rose, the Martial Hall representatives who had originally planned to merely take a quick look all cried out, "Huh?"

This kid had decent potential. Judging by that speed, the power behind this punch could not be low.

The electronic display showed the power of Lin Zhen's punch.

"298 kg!"

"Wow! Another one worth looking at! Even if he's left-handed, our Azure Sky Martial Hall will take him!"

Azure Sky Martial Hall's representative was the first to state his position. Under normal circumstances, if a student was not particularly exceptional, familiar Martial Halls would show some restraint toward one another. But when it came to outstanding students, there was no room for courtesy. Everyone would offer terms and compete for them.

In his previous life, Lin Zhen had joined Azure Sky Martial Hall. It was nationally ranked ninth, considered middle-tier.

"Hehe, hasn't Azure Sky already recruited someone? I looked over Lin Zhen's information. He isn't left-handed, and Changfeng doesn't mind taking one more student."

Changfeng Martial Arts Academy spoke up, and many of the other Martial Hall representatives fell silent. In terms of strength, they could not compete with Changfeng.

Ouyang Yu's expression became incomparably ugly, because he saw that Brother Li beside him was also beginning to stir.

"Damn it, how did Lin Zhen's strength improve so much? The power of one punch actually surpassed mine. He was clearly much poorer than me before!"

Lin Zhen completely ignored the commotion around him. Gathering his strength, he threw another fierce punch with his right fist.

"368 kg!"

Though it was still weaker than Meng Dong's Heavenly Strength, it was already the second-highest result in the entire school. Seeing that number, the eyes of the Martial Hall representatives lit up even more.

Some had even taken out their phones and begun contacting the people in charge of their Martial Halls, ready to report Lin Zhen's situation at any time. If his next two tests were also outstanding, they would need to consider what kind of contract to offer in order to recruit him.

Changfeng might be powerful, but that did not necessarily mean it was determined to recruit him. As long as they offered a high enough price, surely Lin Zhen would be tempted.

The proctor seemed equally shocked by Lin Zhen's result. After pausing for a moment, he continued, "The punching power test is over. Next is the punching speed test. Lin Zhen, punch at full speed for one second. Remember, don't hold back."

Lin Zhen nodded, secretly delighted. Mental Power truly had a considerable effect on improving strength, and power was not even the most important aspect. The most important thing was neural reaction. He was looking forward to the next test.

Taking a deep breath, Lin Zhen threw lightning-fast punches at the target, first with his left hand, then his right.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang!!!!"

A rapid string of impacts rang out, and a series of numbers flashed by.

"266 kg, 311 kg, 251 kg, 309 kg, 255 kg, 320 kg, 267 kg!!"

"The test is over. 7.6 punches per second, all valid!"

As soon as the proctor finished speaking, the Martial Hall representatives below could no longer sit still.

Although his punching power was inferior to Meng Dong's, his punching speed completely surpassed it. This showed that Lin Zhen leaned more toward agility, while his strength was also quite impressive. This was another near-genius.

Nearly every representative began contacting their superiors. Only the representatives from Raging Wind and Dragon Slayer had yet to make a move.

Brother Li from Dragon Slayer hesitated again and again. Although he had his connection with Zhang Huai, discovering talent was his duty and affected his own income. He could not help but be tempted.

"Let's keep watching. We'll decide after seeing his neural reaction." Representative Li ultimately decided to hold back for now.

The Raging Wind representative's eyes glimmered faintly, though no one knew what he was thinking. Beside him, Meng Dong said excitedly, "Brother Zhao, Lin Zhen is my buddy. Recruit him into Raging Wind too. I really like being around him."

The man surnamed Zhao nodded almost imperceptibly, his thoughts unreadable.

"Lin Zhen, begin the neural reaction speed test."

Lin Zhen stood inside the fully enclosed testing chamber as countless infrared beams began flashing around him.

Holding his breath, the first red beam suddenly shot toward him.

This test completely simulated the speed of bullets. As long as a student could make an effective evasive movement, it counted as a success. Evasion was extremely important. In battles against Mutated Beasts, only those agile enough could survive longer. Those who only knew how to charge in and fight head-on were usually short-lived.

Martial Halls spent enormous resources training Martial Artists, naturally not to produce short-lived fools. That was why neural reaction was so crucial.

Lin Zhen had taken this kind of neural reaction test before, but back then he had been almost completely unable to make effective evasions. Today, however, felt different.

He seemed able to sense the trajectory of the bullets. It was difficult to dodge them, but not completely impossible.

By a hair's breadth, Lin Zhen suddenly tilted his head, and the red beam grazed past him!

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!"

Red beams appeared one after another like a spiderweb. Lin Zhen twisted and moved with all his might. Sometimes he managed to react, while other times he was hit.

No! I can't perform too outstandingly in this test, or people might notice the secret of my being a Mind Power Master. At my current stage, it's better to keep some secrets.

Of course, he would not perform too poorly either. Under Lin Zhen's deliberate control, one minute quickly passed.

"Sixty bullets in one minute. Thirty-three effective hits, twenty-seven successful evasions, fifty effective dodging movements, neural reaction 0.064/s!"

As the proctor announced that number in disbelief, every representative erupted into excitement!

Some representatives who had come prepared even rushed over at once, waving contracts in their hands. In an instant, they surrounded Lin Zhen at the center!