Tianhai Monthly Exam Begins

Over the next stretch of days, Lin Qi devoted himself wholeheartedly to martial arts training and improvement.

The lives of senior-year martial arts students were filled with monotony. Other than eating, they studied and trained.

Most of them spent more and more time training.

Ever since Lin Qi had thoroughly beaten Yang Lei, Yang Lei had become much more obedient and started trying to curry favor with Lin Qi. Just as Jiang Tao had said, he bullied the weak and feared the strong.

Teacher Zhang Cheng's attention toward him rose another level, and he gave Lin Qi pointers from time to time.

Besides training, Lin Qi occasionally went with Jiang Tao to Red Sky Martial Arts Hall to work as sparring partners.

What had supposedly been a part-time job had now turned into an exchange session with Guo Heng. Their sparring only lasted a brief while, and they spent the rest of the time directly entering the Crimson Realm Arena.

In the Crimson Realm Arena, he had already become an elite member. His points kept accumulating, and his ranking on the Red Rankings steadily climbed.

Everything was improving in an orderly fashion. Lin Qi could feel his strength growing at a visible pace every day, leaving him immensely fulfilled.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days passed.

Martial Arts Calendar 2045, October 8. Clear weather.

On the first day after the National Day holiday, senior-year students throughout Tianhai City welcomed their first monthly exam.

Tianhai No. 2 Middle School, Elite Class.

The cold air from the Air Conditioner blew over everyone, driving away the heat but unable to dispel the tension in their hearts.

Lin Qi sat by the wall. On his desk lay a folded exam paper and a huge answer sheet. Holding a pen, he focused on the paper and answered rapidly.

"What was the weight of an adult Tier 1 Disaster Beast, the Iron-Spike Boar?"

Lin Qi swept his gaze over the question and immediately had the answer—400 kilograms!

He moved on to the next question. Most of the entire paper consisted of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. They were far too easy for him, and he barely paused.

The Cultural Studies exam lasted one day, beginning at eight in the morning and ending at six in the evening, for a total of ten hours, with only one hour of rest in between.

For the other eight hours, they had to answer questions. It was a test for every student.

The exam covered Chinese, mathematics, geography, physics, biology, martial arts theory, Calamity Beast knowledge, and more...

Before they realized it, it was six in the evening. The exam was over!

"Students, get some good rest. Gather in the Martial Arts Classroom at seven to begin the martial arts assessment."

After collecting all the exam papers and answer sheets, homeroom teacher Yan Hong reminded them.

The exhausted students slowly left the classroom and headed for the cafeteria.

"Qi Ge, let's eat!"

Lin Qi and Jiang Tao headed to the cafeteria together. Lin Qi took a bottle of Spirit Refreshing Potion from his backpack and drank it.

A chilly sensation filled his brain, easing the fatigue caused by the depletion of his brain cells.

"Time really flies. It's already been over a month since school started."

"We've worked hard for a month, and we're about to test the results. It's time for me to make a run at the Top Ten in the grade."

Jiang Tao drank a bottle of Spirit Refreshing Potion as well. He looked excited, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

Lin Qi rubbed his temple. He was also curious to know where he currently ranked in No. 2 High School.

And even where he ranked in all of Tianhai City.

Principal's Office.

"Time really flies. It's time to test the results of my teaching."

Zhang Cheng sat on a leather sofa with one leg resting on the desk, maintaining a comfortable posture as he grinned.

"Indeed. I hope we'll see at least some progress."

Jiang Zhiguang felt rather uneasy as he used a watering can to water a flowerpot.

"I've seen you water that flowerpot several times already, but I haven't seen anything grow from it," Zhang Cheng teased.

"Soon, soon!" Jiang Zhiguang muttered.

After seven o'clock.

After a brief rest, all fifty students of the Elite Class gathered in the Martial Arts Classroom and warmed up their bodies.

They all wore different expressions. Some were completely unconcerned, while others laughed and chatted with their friends.

Others felt suffocating pressure, their palms turning cold and their expressions unnatural.

"Haha, looks like everyone is ready. The Punch Strength Tester and speed-testing track are all prepared!"

A burly figure walked in through the door, followed by a man and a woman.

The moment Zhang Cheng entered, intense pressure descended upon everyone, and the Martial Arts Classroom instantly fell silent.

Zhang Cheng strode over to the Punch Strength Tester, patted the machine, and began speaking.

"I won't waste words. You know whether you've worked hard, and your results will match your effort."

"Starting now, whoever I call will come up for testing."

"First, Chen Zichuan!"

Chen Zichuan stepped out from the crowd in the corner. He ranked fiftieth in the grade.

Yet his expression was resolute, and the aura around him became even sharper.

"Chen Zichuan has always been a loner. Looks like he's going to be eliminated and kicked out of the Elite Class," someone whispered mockingly.

Lin Qi revealed a disdainful smile when he heard that. Chen Zichuan would definitely exceed everyone's expectations.

A few seconds later.

Bang! Bang!

Chen Zichuan's fists struck the punching target in rapid succession, and numbers appeared on the electronic display.

"722.3 kilograms!"

"719.5 kilograms!"

"His Punch Force actually exceeded 700 kilograms!"

Once the results came out, quite a few people looked surprised.

The person who had spoken earlier felt his face burn with embarrassment.

After the speed test ended, Zhang Cheng nodded in satisfaction. As expected, he had not been wrong—Chen Zichuan was a promising talent as well.

"Not bad!"

Chen Zichuan clenched his fists. As he stepped down, he saw Lin Qi and Jiang Tao giving him a thumbs-up.

A smile immediately appeared on his resolute face.

"Punch Force: 672 kilograms!"

"Liu Yiheng, what have you been doing this past month?"

Zhang Cheng criticized him. Liu Yiheng's face immediately drained of color. When he went to test his speed, he performed abnormally poorly, and his face turned even paler.

Zhang Cheng shook his head and said nothing more.

"Punch Force: 685 kilograms!"

"Wei Qing, you've improved!"

"Punch Force: 690.2 kilograms!"

"Yang Lei, after a month, this is all the progress you've made?"

Zhang Cheng commented on every student after their test. The atmosphere grew increasingly suffocating, as if they were facing a trial of life and death.

"Next, Lin Qi!"

When Zhang Cheng called Lin Qi's name, it aroused the curiosity of most of the class.

"Go on, Qi Ge. Show the whole class what you can do." Jiang Tao grinned expectantly.

Lin Qi nodded and stepped out of the crowd, brushing past Yang Lei as he came down.

Countless people were curious. What level of strength did someone who had beaten Yang Lei so thoroughly half a month ago and received Zhang Cheng's special attention truly possess?

"Huff~"

Lin Qi stood before the punching target and exhaled, thoroughly relaxing his body.

The next moment, his eyes narrowed, and his entire aura surged forth. With a thought, the muscles throughout his body began exerting force.

His terrifying aura was like a tiger descending the mountain. His Dragon Form spine arched, force rising from his feet. He used his breath to drive his strength, which traveled through his waist and up his arm link by link like a chain.

He clenched his fist. The muscles in his arm bulged with veins as his blood and vitality gathered there, power flowing into his fist.

His sandbag-sized fist shot out and smashed heavily into the punching target.

Bang~~

The punching target shook violently, kicking up a Strong Wind. At the same time, a string of numbers appeared on the electronic display—"840.8 kg!"

Lin Qi remained calm after seeing the number on the screen.

But the expressions of everyone watching were entirely different.

"840 kilograms of Punch Force?!"

"Damn, Qi Ge is that fierce now?" Jiang Tao was the first to be shocked.

He knew Qi Ge's strength had been improving quickly, but he had never expected it to be this fast!

The others also erupted into an uproar.

"Over 800 kilograms of Punch Force. No wonder he could crush Yang Lei. Now it makes sense."

"Yang Lei challenging him was like carrying a lantern into a latrine—looking for death!" someone said.

"Not bad!"

Zhang Cheng praised him, a smile finally appearing on his face as he quickly recorded the result.

Lin Qi nodded without changing expression, then walked to the side to test his speed.

Once the Infrared Speed Tester activated, he burst forward like an unbridled wild horse.

His blood and vitality erupted, his muscles fully activated, and the muscles in his thighs moved frantically.

Those nearby only felt a Gale sweep past them, accompanied by a figure as agile as a leopard.

Whoosh~

Lin Qi crossed the finish line, gradually slowing to a stop.

The electronic display at the finish line refreshed rapidly, revealing a string of numbers—"16.2 m/s."

"Punch Force: 840 kilograms. Speed: 16.2 m/s."

"With numbers like that, his blood and vitality should have already broken through 8.0."

"That puts him in the upper-middle range of the entire class." Someone exclaimed.

"Lin Qi is this strong already?" Kang Feiyue said in surprise.

Qi Yuelin watched Lin Qi with interest, while Zhu Yuqi looked astonished.

Li Zhou, the top student in the grade, folded his arms and smiled after seeing this. "Interesting. He's a genius too."

"Yu Jing, he used to be in the same class as you. Are you familiar with him?"

Yu Jing shook his head. "Not really. So what if his Punch Force has broken 800 kilograms?"

The others continued discussing among themselves.

Yang Lei watched the scene from afar with a complicated expression, feeling that everything he had done before had made him look like a clown.