Physical Fitness Level 6.5

Chapter 2: Physical Fitness Level 6.5

"Why are we going in reverse student-number order this time? Is Xu Ban targeting me?" Zhou Qi shrank his neck.

He had thought he would be tested last. By then, the other students probably would not be paying much attention, so he would not embarrass himself.

But it was actually reversed? Zhou Qi had the urge to die.

"Go on." Li Yuan patted Zhou Qi's shoulder and laughed. "A blade comes whether you stick your head out or pull it back."

Zhou Qi curled his lips. "Even if they're chopping my head off, they should at least give me time to wash my neck."

Though he grumbled, Zhou Qi's body was honest. Afraid that Teacher Xu Bo would reprimand him, he hurriedly carried his spear to the center of the classroom.

At the center of the classroom was a huge circle paved with silver metal, clearly distinct from the rest of the floor.

The silver circular floor was about twelve meters in diameter. At first glance, it looked like an arena.

Meanwhile, Li Yuan, Wan Xiao, and the other hundred-odd students tacitly stepped outside the silver-floor area.

"Management authorization." Teacher Xu suddenly spoke in a low voice. A device resembling a smart watch on his left wrist emitted a faint red glow. "Class 2, Grade 3. Martial Arts Technique assessment, physical fitness examination, record simultaneously!"

Immediately.

Whoosh~ The many inactive instruments above the classroom immediately began flashing white.

The white light shone down, perfectly enveloping the silver circular area.

"Hiss~" One of the instruments suddenly fired out two beams of red light. The red light spread, enveloping both Zhou Qi and Xu Bo.

Everyone was already used to this sight.

Just three seconds later.

Whoosh! The electronic screen at the back of the classroom suddenly lit up, displaying two highly conspicuous lines of white text—

"Zhou Qi (Student), Physical Fitness: Level 3.9 (Previous Test: Level 3.7)"

"Xu Bo (Teacher), Physical Fitness: Level 12.0 (Exceeds Detection Limit)"

"Huh, after not testing for so long, I actually improved by 0.2 levels?" A trace of secret delight appeared on Zhou Qi's face. "Looks like my hard work these past few months did some good."

"Your physical fitness still hasn't reached Level 4?" Xu Bo frowned slightly.

A physical fitness level of 3.9 was not bad among the millions of Grade 3 students across the province. It could even be considered average.

But Guanshan District No.1 High School was a key high school in the provincial capital. Here, this level of physical fitness was at the very bottom.

"Looks like Old Zhou talks about lying flat, but his body is still honest." Li Yuan could not help smiling.

At their age, physical fitness was in a stage of rapid growth. Yet improving by 0.2 levels in three months showed that Zhou Qi had still been working hard in private.

At this rate of progress, Zhou Qi had hope of reaching Level 4.5 physical fitness by the college entrance examination.

"It's just that the school's Life Blood Detection Instrument is still rather low-end. It can't calculate Teacher Xu's true physical fitness," Li Yuan thought to himself.

Life blood testing instruments were extremely common devices in this era, often found in schools and Martial Halls at every level.

Many households also had them. Their sensing principles were quite complex; they were specifically used to detect the intensity of a person's life blood and convert it into a corresponding physical fitness level.

Level 5.0 was the standard for a normal adult.

Level 10.0 was the threshold for becoming a ranked martial artist. Only ranked martial artists were true martial artists in the real sense, entitled to many benefits such as state subsidies.

Life blood testing instruments like the ones in schools mainly served students. Their usual detection limit was Level 12.0. They might seem low-end, but they were extremely stable and not easily damaged.

For instruments with such a high usage rate, durability was the most important thing.

Of course, the physical fitness assessment in the college entrance examination did not rely solely on instrument calculations. There would also be dedicated tests for speed, punching force, and many other aspects, with the final score determined through comprehensive evaluation.

"For this test, scores will be evaluated according to the college entrance examination standards. I will only use strength and speed at around Level 5.0. I hope you can demonstrate a standard of 300 points under the scoring system," Xu Bo said.

Martial Arts Technique was worth a total of 400 points. Scoring 300 points in this individual category was the threshold for entering a martial arts university.

Ten meters away, Zhou Qi's palms were already sweating.

Level 5?

That meant the speed and strength Xu Bo would use would both be far greater than his own.

"What are you waiting for? Attack." Xu Bo barked.

"Yes."

Holding his spear in a level stance, Zhou Qi suddenly stepped forward and charged. His burst of speed was astonishing, and he crossed ten meters in an instant. The two-meter spear in his hands darted forward, thrusting directly at Xu Bo.

The essence of spear technique lay in a single thrust.

Zhou Qi's physical fitness level might not look high, but his explosive punching force exceeded 150 kilograms.

He had also trained with the spear for two years. Even if his talent was ordinary and he was not particularly diligent, he still had the basic framework down.

At the very least, this thrust looked convincing.

That was also why students had to wear full-body protective gear during testing.

In cold-weapon combat, even if the weapons had not been sharpened, without protection, one would be injured or crippled.

Whoosh!

Xu Bo, broad and powerful and wearing no protective gear, seemingly shifted one step to the left at random. He was not fast, yet he easily evaded Zhou Qi's rather fierce thrust.

The spearhead seemed only a hair's breadth from his body.

At first glance, it looked extremely dangerous.

"That footwork?" Li Yuan's eyes outside the field brightened slightly. He saw the brilliance of Xu Bo's step.

Not one fraction too much, not one fraction too little.

It conserved stamina to the greatest extent possible.

This was absolute control over one's own body, coupled with an exact prediction of the enemy's attack. There was no room for even the slightest error.

"He dodged it?" Zhou Qi, in the field, immediately pulled back his spear. Then, following the spearhead as it turned, he shook out a flourish and thrust at Xu Bo again.

Yet Xu Bo merely took one step back, once more seemingly narrowly evading it.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Zhou Qi swung his spear with all his strength, thrusting, chopping, sweeping sideways—but before Xu Bo's exquisite footwork, every attack missed.

"Just a little more, just a little more." Zhou Qi gritted his teeth.

"It's not just a little short. He's far too far away," Li Yuan sighed inwardly from outside the field.

He saw it clearly. It was not that Zhou Qi's spear technique was too poor, but that Xu Bo's footwork was too exquisite.

His movements were clearly not fast, yet they were frighteningly precise. He had already calculated every possible trajectory of Zhou Qi's spear.

And after swinging the spear more than ten times in succession, Zhou Qi was under immense strain as well. His arms began to weaken, and his spear momentum slowed.

At that very moment.

Rip!

With the sound of air tearing apart, Xu Bo, who had been evading all along, suddenly stepped forward. The staff in his left hand shot out with a bang, its tip like a venomous snake. In an instant, it knocked aside Zhou Qi's blocking spear and sent one end of the spear flying up.

Bang~

The staff tip sliced downward and lightly tapped Zhou Qi's hand, sending pain through it. He instinctively released the spear.

Clang~ The spear fell to the ground.

The staff had already been withdrawn.

The classroom was silent. Every student stared at the scene.

Xu Bo had only taken over their class's martial arts instruction last semester.

Yet during the technique assessment at the end of Grade 2, Xu Bo had not displayed such astonishing footwork or control over his strength.

"So this is Xu Ban's true strength?"

"Clearly, Xu Ban's speed is very slow—probably not even as fast as mine—but his footwork..." The hundred-odd students were all shocked. Many of them had physical fitness above Level 5.0.

During past lessons, these students had known that Xu Bo's physical fitness was extremely formidable and that his Martial Arts Technique was highly accomplished.

But when teaching them, Xu Bo had never sparred with them using Level 5 physical fitness speed and strength.

Teaching demonstrations and actual combat were two different things.

Perhaps many students had seen far more impressive combat videos online.

But watching a video and seeing it up close had entirely different impacts.

Beep!

A number had already appeared on the screen at the back of the classroom—"245 points."

The score was calculated and assessed by the program through a comprehensive analysis of data, the combat process, and the result.

During the college entrance examination, each student's technique assessment would also include a manual evaluation.

"My score is actually even lower than last semester?" Zhou Qi muttered inwardly, though he did not feel too embarrassed.

At least he had thrust out so many times.

...Following student-number order.

One student after another underwent testing. Most had physical fitness levels between 4.5 and 5.5.

As for the Martial Arts Technique assessment?

Most of the matches unfolded exactly like Zhou Qi's.

The students attacked first, while Xu Bo easily evaded attack after attack through footwork alone. In the end, one strike of his staff sent them flying. Even though many students demonstrated superior speed and strength, they still could not block it.

Most scores could not exceed 300 points.

Even Wan Xiao, whose student number was 2, had tested at an impressive Level 6.0 physical fitness. The speed and strength he unleashed were far beyond Level 5.0.

But he had only managed to withstand three strikes from Xu Bo.

In the end, Wan Xiao's technique score was 322 points.

He was also the only person in the class so far to surpass 320 points.

"Wan Xiao scored 329 points at the end of last semester, right? How did he regress?"

"It's not that he regressed. The assessment standard has become much higher. Didn't you notice that most of our class's scores dropped?"

"The final exam last semester used Grade 2 standards. This assessment uses college entrance examination standards."

"Only Li Yuan is left."

"I wonder how many strikes from Xu Ban he can withstand." Every student's gaze had already focused on Li Yuan, and many of the girls were especially expectant.

In martial arts grades, Li Yuan ranked in the top thirty of the entire grade, but within Class 2, Grade 3, he was the undisputed number one.

Good grades and a decent personality naturally made someone more popular.

During their student days, most people were not as snobbish as those in society.

"Li Yuan." A trace of expectation that was difficult to detect flashed through Xu Bo's eyes.

"Teacher Xu." Li Yuan gripped his spear and walked into the circular field paved with silver metal.

Whoosh!

A beam of red light shot over, enveloping Li Yuan's entire body.

Three seconds later.

Data appeared on the screen at the back of the classroom—"Li Yuan (Student), Physical Fitness: Level 6.5 (Previous Test: Level 6.0)"

(End of Chapter)