Stop at the Right Point

In an instant, a veteran like Devil Yan, who had once braved life and death, caught a familiar yet intense scent of killing intent.

"Bang bang bang bang bang bang!"

The submachine gun's roar battered everyone's eardrums like a violent storm.

But the storm came quickly and went just as quickly. By the time the students stared over in stunned disbelief, the gunfire had already ceased.

Meng Chao skillfully disassembled the magazine, opened the chamber, and let the equally stunned proctor inspect it.

His score did not appear on the big screen for a long time.

He did not care. Flexing his fingers, he turned and stepped down.

"Meng Chao, how was it?"

The students hurriedly crowded around him.

"Very good."

Meng Chao thought for a moment. "Within the limits of my own ability, it was flawless."

The students were speechless.

If he was nervous, then he was nervous. If his mentality had collapsed, then it had collapsed. Why was he still acting like a dead duck with a stubborn beak?

Zuo Haoran shook his head in disdain, as though reproaching himself for bothering to argue with such a braggart.

Just then, Meng Chao's score arrived belatedly.

"Class 6, Meng Chao. Firearms test score: 588 points. Total score: 1,434 points. Currently eighth in the entire school!"

The enormous indoor shooting range instantly fell silent as a grave.

Even the gunfire drifting over from the neighboring testing rooms seemed muffled.

It was as though the air had become immensely sticky, firmly gluing down sound, oxygen, and everyone's thoughts alike.

"588 points? Zuo Haoran got 515 just now, right?"

"Meng Chao's firearms score beat Zuo Haoran's by seventy-three points. He erased the gap in speed and strength in one stroke, and his total score surpassed Zuo Haoran's by more than twenty points?"

"How is that possible? He clearly missed the target so many times, and he even used a submachine gun on moving targets. How did he get such a high score? Could there have been a mistake?"

Everyone looked at one another. It seemed, perhaps, probably, that there had been a mistake.

Zuo Haoran was even more dumbfounded. "Did you mix up my score with Meng Chao's?"

The proctor frowned and pulled up Meng Chao's targets.

There was no problem with the earlier ones.

Until the final golden target.

Zuo Haoran's golden target had been spotlessly clean just now, without even a pinprick on it.

Meng Chao's golden target, however, was covered in a full thirteen bullet holes. Six of them had struck within the eighth ring, nearly blasting the tiny golden target to pieces.

The golden target was worth the most. The points from that target alone were enough to crush Zuo Haoran.

Silence fell.

From the proctor to their classmates, everyone wore dazed expressions.

"Did you get lucky, or did you aim?" After a long while, someone finally asked in disbelief.

No one was testing now, so whether they could speak was entirely up to the proctor. Judging from his expression, he was clearly curious about the same question.

"Of course I aimed," Meng Chao said. "I've repeatedly said for the past week that my marksmanship is pretty good. Why didn't any of you believe me?"

The students could not help saying, "But you assembled your gun so slowly just now!"

Nothing like Zuo Haoran, who had moved as smoothly as flowing clouds and as swiftly as lightning.

Meng Chao smiled. "Assembling a gun isn't an acrobatic performance. What's the point of doing it that fast? Do you expect my hands to turn into a cloud of gray mist?

"The purpose of assembling a gun is, first, maintenance; second, to carefully feel every component, understand its wear and deformation, and thereby deduce the firing parameters of the whole weapon.

"You should know that even brand-new guns fresh from the factory have slight differences in their firing parameters. Not to mention that this batch of guns has been handled by countless examinees. Their shooting habits all differ, and many people have the wrong posture and firing rhythm, leaving the rifling and components in a complete mess—if you don't clearly sense every detail, how can you shoot accurately?"

"So you had planned to shoot the golden target from the beginning?"

Someone suddenly understood. "Then why did you use a submachine gun instead of a Semi-Automatic Rifle?"

Meng Chao shrugged. "The golden target vanishes in the blink of an eye, and you can only use one gun. A submachine gun has thirty rounds, while a Semi-Automatic Rifle only has twenty."

The students could hardly believe their ears. "But a Semi-Automatic Rifle is more accurate!"

Meng Chao thought for a moment. "To me, they're the same."

"..."

The students were speechless again.

They only wanted to throw back their heads and howl at the heavens.

Someone ground their teeth and asked, "Then why did you miss so many times when you first used the submachine gun on the moving targets?"

"Test-firing it."

Since it would help his classmates with their upcoming exams, Meng Chao did not hide anything. "Although I assembled the submachine gun as closely as possible to suit my own shooting habits, the wear on the components and rifling meant I still couldn't fully grasp its characteristics. So I needed a few bullets to correct the trajectory. Only then could I pierce a willow leaf from a hundred paces."

The students looked at each other. "So from the very beginning, you went all in and bet all your hopes on the golden target?"

Meng Chao froze for a moment, his gaze drifting as though they had asked an incomprehensible question.

"I didn't 'go all in.'"

Blowing up the Ghost Eye Golden Winged Flame Beetle last time—that had been going all in, wagering his final bullet.

Today, he had merely solved a problem with tedious steps and complicated calculations, but no great difficulty. That was all.

As he spoke, Meng Chao high-fived Chu Feixiong, who was lined up behind him, and headed outside.

He brushed past Zuo Haoran, but did not spare the devastated class monitor a glance, nor did he mention the challenge from a week ago in front of the Principal and the dean of students.

But Zuo Haoran himself fell into a trap of confusion, terror, and shame, as though the entire world were collapsing down upon him.

The smile that had been brimming with certainty moments ago froze on his face, like the mark left by a vicious slap from Meng Chao.

"Haoran—"

The dean of students pinched him hard at the waist. "You did very well. Go rest and calm down."

The proctor also said sternly, "Observe examination discipline. Students who have finished testing, please leave!"

Their homeroom teacher hurried over. "Meng Chao, Zuo Haoran, return to the classroom first. Remember... both of you, calm down. Don't get carried away."

The examination was still ongoing, so naturally the two could not clash here.

Meng Chao nodded and waved. "Good luck. I hope everyone hits the mark every time and gets great scores!"

He turned and left the testing room.

Zuo Haoran followed behind him with a dark expression.

Only after leaving the Testing Center Building did Meng Chao finally raise his fist and pump it hard.

He was one step closer to his dream. This feeling of constantly changing his fate was truly wonderful!

To Zuo Haoran's eyes, this scene was undoubtedly a provocation.

"Meng Chao, you got lucky today. Like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse, you beat me in total score. Naturally, I no longer have the face to remain class monitor. But no matter what, I refuse to accept your actual combat ability!"

Through gritted teeth, he said, "Limit Fist Strength, the hundred-meter dash, and those shooting games at the range cannot represent true combat power at all. Since you've recovered to your peak, do you have the guts to fight me?"

Meng Chao turned back and looked at Zuo Haoran with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Here it came, just as in his previous life.

Only, in his previous life, the class monitor had held every advantage. With just a few words, he had enraged Meng Chao and made him obediently jump into his trap.

In this life, however, Meng Chao would let him taste the fruit of reaping what he had sown.

"Fine," Meng Chao said calmly.

Behind Ninth High School's cafeteria was a dense patch of woods.

Within the woods was a stretch of soft, sandy ground.

This was where students usually settled their disputes.

Dragon City was an iron-blooded world, where martial customs flourished among the people. Even eighty-year-old grandmothers could play with shotguns, let alone hot-blooded teenagers.

The school usually turned a blind eye. It even encouraged students with conflicts to go to the training rooms and resolve them openly under a teacher's supervision.

If someone preferred to fight privately deep in the woods, so long as no serious consequences resulted, they generally would not be severely punished.

Looking at the dancing shadows of the trees before him, Meng Chao was filled with emotion.

This was the place.

In his previous life, this was where Zuo Haoran had schemed against him, causing him to fail the National College Entrance Examination.

"Class monitor, we both need to get into university. This time, we stop at the right point. No matter who wins or loses, let all past grudges be wiped clean. How about it?" After stopping in the center of the woods, Meng Chao hesitated for a moment before speaking.

Zuo Haoran's eyes shifted. "Naturally. We'll stop at the right point, and wipe everything clean!"

"Good. I hope you keep your word. Otherwise..." Meng Chao's brows drew together as he stepped forward and launched the attack.

Ripples appeared beneath his feet, pushing the sand into ring after ring of waves. Borrowing the strength of the earth, he unleashed power like crashing tides.

Zuo Haoran retreated at high speed, his figure blurring. He was using Ripple Force as well.

"Meng Chao, over the past year, you've only learned Ripple Force. But I've mastered both Ripple Force and Raging Bull Force, balancing hardness and softness. You're no match for me. Admit defeat!" Zuo Haoran deliberately provoked him.

"This time, I won't lose again!" Meng Chao's power rose wave upon wave, gradually losing the essence of Ripple Force.

The two tangled and shoved against each other like twin waves, moving faster and faster. Flying sand and rolling stones filled the air, the woods rustled, and many leaves were swept down by the wind of their fists.

Meng Chao seemed to have only just recovered from a serious illness. Unable to endure a prolonged fight, he was anxious for a quick victory.

Zuo Haoran clearly knew his weakness. He remained unhurried, slowly wearing him down.

In barely more than a minute, Meng Chao's school uniform was soaked through with sweat, and his footsteps gradually became disorderly.

Suddenly, Zuo Haoran let out a thunderous roar and instantly changed his combat style, seamlessly switching from Ripple Force to Raging Bull Force.

Smack!

As though utterly unprepared for his abruptly changing style, Meng Chao hesitated for an instant and was struck squarely in the face. Blood immediately spurted from his nose like an arrow, and his lips split open.

"Ah!"

His face covered in blood, Meng Chao was enraged by the pain. He stomped heavily with both legs and charged forward without regard for anything else.

"Good!"

Savagery exploded in Zuo Haoran's eyes.

This useless trash has finally taken the bait.

Hehe, do you think I've truly only mastered Ripple Force and Raging Bull Force?

Do you even think I only know the three major force techniques?

The three major force techniques are merely the foundation. Without real killing techniques added to them, they're like unsharpened blades and swords—they can't kill anyone at all.

So-called "good seedlings" like you can only receive compulsory education at school. You don't understand real combat at all.

But I began receiving guidance from my father and powerful figures in society long ago. I learned killing arts that one can only encounter in an Undergraduate Program.

Meng Chao, witness my Heart Crushing Hammer!