Shocking Progress

Lin Qi walked back into the crowd amid everyone's discussion and saw Jiang Tao's thumbs-up.

"Qi Ge, you've already surpassed me!"

Jiang Tao did not hold back his praise as he reached out to bump fists with Lin Qi.

"Bullshit. I still can't compare to you."

Lin Qi shook his head. It was not just him who had been improving rapidly lately; Jiang Tao had been as well.

Despite lacking many resources, he had still firmly secured a spot in the top twenty of the grade. He was a true genius.

"Jiang Tao!"

Not long after, Zhang Cheng called out a name.

"Go on, Tao Zi. Let everyone else see what you can do too." Lin Qi gave Jiang Tao a shove.

"Watch me!"

Jiang Tao cracked his knuckles. After a month of consuming huge amounts of resources, he had grown taller again, breaking past 1.9 meters.

He had become even more muscular. The blade-carved muscles beneath his dark skin radiated an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Boom! Boom!

Jiang Tao's fists blasted out like cannons, striking the punching target.

His explosive power while running was astonishing, leaving others able to see only an afterimage.

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

"Whew~"

Jiang Tao exhaled a breath of stale air, steam rising from his entire body as he grinned at Lin Qi.

"Tao Zi, congratulations. A place in the top ten of the grade is no longer a problem for you."

Lin Qi congratulated him.

"Of course. I'm determined to make the top ten." Jiang Tao laughed as well.

"Lin Qi and Jiang Tao... It looks like both of them will get incredible results in this Monthly Exam."

Li Zhou, standing some distance away, looked at the two of them curiously.

"Interesting!"

"Qi Yuelin, punching force: 960 kg."

"Yu Jing, punching force: 980.1 kg!"

Boom!

"Li Zhou, punching force: 1,035.9 kg!"

"He broke a thousand kilograms!"

Seeing the number on the electronic screen, everyone around them was stunned.

"This is insane. Once punching force exceeds 900 kilograms, it becomes incredibly difficult to improve further."

"If the people in the ordinary classes found out, they'd probably be scared to death. The gap is far too huge."

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

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

"Probably not. Li Zhou was simply born with a better physique and greater strength than the others," Zhu Yuqi said, shaking her head.

Lin Qi was secretly astonished as well. A punching force above a thousand kilograms was usually a trait of 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 seems far more outstanding than the others."

Li Zhou continued with the speed test, but his speed did not exceed 20 m/s, because that was the minimum speed of a Second Realm martial artist.

"Quiet!"

As soon as Zhang Cheng spoke, the noisy class instantly fell silent.

"Alright, the First Round of testing has ended."

"It's time to begin the weapon technique test."

"Everyone, follow me!"

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

"Strange, isn't this supposed to be a weapon technique test?" someone asked doubtfully.

But no one could answer his question.

Everyone crossed the corridor and arrived at the far end of the other side of the teaching building. There was a metal door there, which Zhang Cheng opened after entering a password.

He stepped inside first.

The others followed him in. When Lin Qi stepped onto the floor, he discovered that it was covered in custom-made tiles.

"This is..."

Someone pointed ahead in surprise.

Lin Qi looked over and saw ten egg-shaped mechanical devices arranged neatly in the room. He recognized them at a glance—they were Virtual Cabins.

"I'm sure everyone recognizes these: Holographic Virtual Cabins!" Zhang Cheng introduced them, placing one hand on a cabin door.

"Starting today, all future weapon technique assessments will be conducted in the Virtual World."

"And the accuracy is extremely high, so I can slack off a little too."

Everyone gathered around the Virtual Cabins. Someone asked curiously,

"Teacher Zhang, how are we supposed to take the test?"

"It's simple!" Zhang Cheng pointed ahead as one of the teachers switched on the projector.

A massive 3D projection appeared before everyone, with images and text emerging across it.

"You all have Red Realm accounts, right? Log in like you normally do."

Search for Tianhai Monthly Exam in the panel functions. After entering, input your name, exam number, and the weapon manual you study, and you can begin the test.

All you need to do is defeat the examiner. The AI will assess your strength and convert it into a score.

"So remember your exam number now. You'll enter the Virtual Cabins in groups of ten, starting from the last-ranked student."

The green projection screen displayed all the rules, along with everyone's exam number.

Zhang Cheng explained the rules.

Lin Qi and the other nine prepared to enter the Virtual Cabins, but at that moment, he noticed something unusual about Chen Zichuan in the corner.

Chen Zichuan stared at the Virtual Cabins with curiosity, watching others operate them with an at-a-loss expression. He looked exactly like Jiang Tao had when he first saw a Virtual Cabin.

"Tao Zi, Chen Zichuan seems like he's never used a Virtual Cabin. Go teach him."

Lin Qi said.

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

After explaining it to him, Jiang Tao occasionally nodded.

Seeing this, Lin Qi finally felt at ease and entered a Virtual Cabin.

Meanwhile, martial arts students at the major middle schools across Tianhai City were all undergoing their martial arts assessments.

Tianhai No. 1 Middle School, Martial Arts Assessment Classroom

The spacious classroom covered more than a thousand square meters, with thirty brand-new Virtual Cabins placed inside.

A group of young men and women stood around them. Their eyes shone brightly, their expressions were proud, and powerful auras emanated from their bodies.

The air was thick with competition.

"Guo Heng, I heard you're going to compete for a place in the top five of the grade in this Monthly Exam?"

Someone standing before a Virtual Cabin asked Guo Heng curiously.

Guo Heng's lips curled upward slightly.

"Of course. My saber technique has already broken through to the Second Order. There are only a handful of people in the class stronger than me."

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

He clenched his fists and thought, I want to catch up to my sister.

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

He wondered what ranks they would achieve in this Monthly Exam.

"Buzz~"

Lin Qi's body went numb for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, he had already entered the familiar Red Realm Personal Space.

He opened the panel and searched for Tianhai Monthly Exam. A new panel popped up.

[Please enter your name, martial arts manual, and exam number!]

[Name: Lin Qi]

[Manual: Mountain Shattering Spear Technique]

[Exam Number: 20455060...]

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

The following second, he found himself inside a spacious room. The floor and walls were made of hard white metal.

Countless weapon illustrations were painted across the walls.

[Candidate Lin Qi, welcome to the Tianhai Monthly Exam Battlefield. Prepare for the martial arts assessment!]

[Assessment objective: Defeat the examiner!]

[You have three minutes to prepare.]

Seeing the notice on the panel, Lin Qi thought of the Arena. It was almost exactly the same.

If the examiner was as stiff as those in the Man-Machine Test, how could his martial arts be tested?

As he pondered this, he selected his weapon—the black great spear he was most familiar with.

Three minutes passed quickly.

Whoosh~

The next instant, a figure appeared before Lin Qi.

It was a man dressed in a white Combat Suit, wearing a pure white mask, and holding a Silver Spear.

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

[Assessment preparations complete!]

[Examiner: Number 1]

[3, 2, 1...]

[Assessment officially begins!]

A female AI voice announced the official start of the assessment.

The next instant, the examiner charged forward, his Silver Spear sweeping out as the spear shot forth like a dragon.