Bubble Basketball

After finishing the first day of exams, Zhou Leng went home early and once again took Big Yellow beneath the Frost Giant Tree to cultivate.

Early the next morning, Zhou Leng returned to Xiaoru Village, and several messages popped up on his phone.

There were several missed calls. When he opened them, the note read, "Jiang Yan, Deputy Team Leader."

Jiang Yan was Zhou Leng's direct superior at Pioneer Corporation, managing dozens of employees who cut up demonic beasts.

Zhou Leng opened the Martial Messenger App he used for chatting and saw Jiang Yan's messages.

"Zhou Leng, a huge shipment is arriving tonight. You must come!"

"Why aren't you answering your phone?"

Zhou Leng replied, "I was cultivating yesterday, so my phone was off."

Then Zhou Leng opened a message from his friend Hu Yi. Hu Yi had sent a voice message.

"Haha, this is killing me. That idiot Jiang Yan told me to go to work tonight. Did a donkey kick him in the head? I already told him it was the college entrance exam, the college entrance exam, but he said even if the sky came crashing down, I still had to go. I cursed him out and hung up. He'll probably make things difficult for me again."

Zhou Leng replied with a voice message, "Ignore him. The Martial Examination comes first. After it's over, we'll go back to the company."

Just as he finished speaking, Jiang Yan sent another message.

"Zhou Leng, when the company needs you, neither of you comes. How is the company supposed to cultivate you?"

Zhou Leng replied, "Team Leader Jiang, I'm taking the college entrance exams these days. I already requested leave in advance."

"I know, and I understand. But we were desperately short-handed yesterday. Couldn't you think about the company for once?"

"I'm taking the college entrance exams," Zhou Leng said.

"You and Hu Yi cutting demonic beasts at the company won't affect either of you. Maybe the exercise will even improve your scores. I won't say too much, but if you still want to work properly at the company, you need to follow company rules and regulations."

"Oh." Zhou Leng replied with a single word.

He ran all the way home.

Today was Saturday, and Li Linhan was off work.

When they headed for the examination venue, Li Linhan got into the car as well. In the back seat, Zhou Leng sat between Li Linhan and Zhang Meiqin.

Zhou Leng and Zhang Xinglie exchanged knowing looks and began chatting together.

After getting out of the car, Zhang Xinglie said quietly, "After today's exam, gather outside Passage Four. Let's stroll around the Martial Dao Mall, then get back in the car."

Zhou Leng nodded.

When he entered Examination Room Four again, everything before him was completely different from yesterday.

A curtain cut straight across Examination Room Four.

The curtain occasionally lifted, revealing rows of Demonic Marble Tables. At the far end of the Demonic Marble Tables, another curtain stretched across the room.

Zhou Leng had used Demonic Marble Tables at school before. Students in the advanced classes could practice every day, and some classmates even had them at home.

Each one cost more than fifty thousand.

When the first group was called, Zhou Leng was among them and entered with twenty other students.

Zhou Leng sat down.

Three sides of the marble table were blocked off. Directly in front of him was a white display screen, which was also the impact zone.

Black, red, and blue squares slowly appeared on the display screen, then vanished before slowly appearing again.

Each square was the size of a thumbnail.

Before Zhou Leng sat a large basket of frosted black, red, and blue marbles, each about the size of a soybean.

"Everyone has ten minutes to familiarize yourselves with the equipment. Please cherish the time."

Zhou Leng reached out and touched a marble. It was far easier to grip than a smooth bean.

With one red marble in one hand and one black marble in the other, Zhou Leng simultaneously flung them toward the display screen two meters away.

Clap...

The two marbles struck the display screen at the same time, seemingly producing only one sound.

The red marble precisely hit a red square, while the black marble landed on the edge of a black square.

No score appeared on the screen.

The force was insufficient, and the demonic power had not detected any trace of true qi.

Yet Zhou Leng still did not use true qi. Unhurried and unruffled, he flicked marbles of every color, his accuracy steadily rising.

Three minutes later, Zhou Leng sent qi into all ten fingers. Pinching two marbles between his hands, he gave them a light flick, and the pair flew together.

Clap!

The marbles struck squares of their corresponding colors dead center, fell onto the table, and slid back into the basket.

+1, +1...

At that moment, dense crackling rebounds began sounding from the other marble tables.

Zhou Leng remained unhurried, slowly sensing and observing his true qi, the marbles, the display screen, his own force, and every other detail, committing them to memory bit by bit.

By then, dozens of squares often appeared on the screen at once, disappearing one after another before reappearing one after another.

Seven minutes later, Zhou Leng's gaze suddenly sharpened. His hands turned into afterimages as he continuously grabbed marbles, thrust out his hands, and flicked them toward the display screen.

Zhou Leng no longer lowered his head to look at the basket. His eyes remained fixed solely on the display screen ahead.

Whenever his hands rose, he caught from the corner of his eye what color marbles they had taken, then flicked them toward squares of the same color.

This not only saved the time spent looking down, but also saved the time needed to initially decide which color marble to pick up.

This method placed extremely high demands on reaction speed and true qi.

At first, Zhou Leng still occasionally flicked a marble at the wrong target, but from the ninth minute onward, every shot struck a square of the corresponding color.

Before the large surveillance monitor, Wang Boxiong, Deputy Director Lu, and the others stared intently at the multi-angle footage of Zhou Leng alone.

"This kid has some skill."

"His internal cultivation teacher was probably telling the truth. Having endured great hardship, he tempered his will and took another step forward. Such things are common."

Before long, the five-minute marble examination officially began.

At the instant the "1" in the on-screen countdown disappeared, Zhou Leng's hands dropped like lightning and fired two small marbles like a gale. Then, the display screen ahead rang with the dense patter of sudden rain battering a window.

Clap clap clap clap...

"+1" continuously appeared in the upper-left corner of the screen. His speed was so fast that dozens of "+1"s were lined up on the screen at once.

Zhou Leng stared at the screen, observing the marbles in his hands from the corner of his eye. His hands formed afterimages as they continuously flicked marbles out.

After one minute, Zhou Leng's speed increased again.

He plucked marbles as effortlessly as picking flowers, and the marbles flew from his fingers like thunderbolts.

When the five minutes ended, everyone in the monitoring room let out a sigh of relief.

"Converted to a hundred-point scale, this score should be a perfect 100."

"Let's watch the second true qi control test."

Everyone waited quietly.

After a long while, the second true qi control examination began.

The examiner said, "This round of Bubble Basketball mainly tests the delicacy, lightness, and accuracy of true qi. Everyone has ten large bubbles for trial practice. Please enter according to your examination numbers."

The second curtain lifted, revealing a row of ten standard basketball hoops.

Soon, it was Zhou Leng's turn.

Zhou Leng and nine others stepped forward and stood at the free-throw lines before the basketball hoops.

In front of the free-throw lines stood demonic bubble machines, resembling small plastic cannon turrets and standing more than half a person tall.

At the examiner's command, each bubble machine sprayed out a large bubble the size of a basketball, which drifted lightly toward its student.

Pop...

"Ah..."

The instant one candidate reached out and touched the large bubble, it burst.

The candidates behind him felt a chill run through their hearts. Bubble Basketball was one of the hardest among the many Martial Examination events.

Watching the large bubble drift toward him, Zhou Leng circulated his true qi and sent it straight to his palm.

He extended his palm beneath the large bubble. His true qi pulsed and withdrew as he deftly used techniques such as redirecting force to touch the bubble, then lifted upward, sending it slowly into the air.

Like a hand supporting mist.

As it passed over his head, Zhou Leng stretched out his hand as though spiking a volleyball. Yet at an extremely slow speed, his qi-covered right hand gently tapped it.

His hand was like cotton wool, his qi like a faint breeze.

The intact large bubble slowly flew toward the hoop.

The top of the bubble brushed past beneath the hoop and failed to enter it.

Even so, the candidates behind him all turned in unison to stare at Zhou Leng's back.

Because among the other nine bubbles, the best result was one bursting a meter away from the hoop.

Zhou Leng continued trying. From the fifth bubble onward, he could successfully score, though the bubbles burst after touching the hoop.

With the tenth, the bubble fell precisely and intact through the hoop.

Like a full moon dropping into a well.

In the monitoring room, the many high-ranking martial artists nodded one after another.

"This kid..."

The official examination began.

Zhou Leng sent one large bubble after another precisely and intact through the hoop, where each fell without suffering the slightest damage.

Only on the eighth shot did one drift slightly off course during its descent and burst as it passed through the hoop.

The ninth and tenth both passed perfectly through the hoop and fell.

The examiners in the monitoring room nodded one after another.

"His overall true qi control score should be 99. No one in Ru City's history has received full marks, and there have been fewer than twenty scores of 99."

"After failing the eighth one, he still landed the next two perfectly. That willpower and mentality are even more worthy of praise."

"To be safe, we should conduct a separate second inspection. After all, it has already been reported, and the higher-ups have agreed. What do you think, Captain Wang?" Deputy Director Lu looked toward Wang Boxiong.

Wang Boxiong looked back at Deputy Director Lu and remained silent for a long time.

Deputy Director Lu wore a smile.

Wang Boxiong slowly said, "Deputy Director Lu, you are the chief examiner. I am only responsible for guarding the examination venue's safety. Personally, I see no need for a second inspection, but if the chief examiner insists, I will follow discipline and raise no objection."

"Good, then we'll conduct a second inspection." Deputy Director Lu smiled warmly.

Zhou Leng let out a long breath, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and walked out through the rear door of Examination Room Four.

The college entrance exams were completely over...

More than a dozen examiners stood ahead, like an impenetrable wall.

Deputy Director Lu wore a friendly smile as he held his identification before Zhou Leng.

"Hello, student Zhou Leng. I am Lu Qiming, Deputy Director of the Ru City Education Bureau and chief examiner at the Ru City University examination venue. We discovered an unusual rise in your ranking. With approval from higher authorities, we will conduct a second verification. We hope you can cooperate."

Zhou Leng did his utmost to suppress his suddenly racing heartbeat and quietly looked at Lu Qiming.

Lu Qiming put away his identification, still smiling.

"Student Zhou Leng, don't be nervous. Relax. We don't believe there is a problem with you either. It is only because your scores improved too dramatically that we are carrying out a routine review. Rest assured, we will not wrong you. Personally, I believe your results are fully deserved, but national law cannot be violated, right?"

Lu Qiming's voice was kind and his tone gentle.

The other examiners remained silent.

Zhou Leng nodded and said, "Then does the highest-ranking officer of the Martial Guard Department here need to guarantee that it is lawful?"

Lu Qiming smiled. "All right, I'll contact him now."

Lu Qiming took out his phone and contacted Wang Boxiong in front of everyone.

"Captain Wang Boxiong said he can come forward and participate in supervising the examination."

"Thank you," Zhou Leng said.

Soon, Wang Boxiong walked over. He carefully looked Zhou Leng over, then slowly said, "I am the highest-ranking Martial Guard at this examination venue. I am willing to cooperate with you and guarantee that the inspection process is lawful, compliant, and reasonable."

"Thank you, Senior." Zhou Leng slightly lowered his head in salute.

Wang Boxiong nodded.

Zhou Leng followed the group of examiners into a backup examination room. Beneath even more cameras, he began a complete retake of the Martial Examination, starting with the measurement of his total true qi...

Outside Passage Four.

Zhang Xinglie looked doubtfully toward Passage Four, then toward the security guard at the entrance.