B-level Contract

B-level Contract

"Level 6.9? He was only Level 6.0 more than three months ago? Level 6.5 a little over a month ago? His physical fitness improved that quickly?" Principal Tan Zhenlong was utterly astonished as well.

Because of Xu Bo's repeated recommendations, along with the special-admission materials on Li Yuan that had been compiled several weeks earlier,

Tan Zhenlong had a deep impression of Li Yuan.

He had merely expected Li Yuan's physical fitness to be around Level 6.6.

After all, under normal circumstances, the further one progressed in cultivation, the slower physical fitness improved.

"More than two months, from Level 6.0 to Level 6.5?"

"And in just over another month, another increase of 0.4 levels?" The vice principals and Martial Hall warriors were all shocked.

Physical fitness at Level 6.9 alone?

That was not enough to astonish anyone.

Among all those present, aside from Li Yuan and the few students, nearly everyone else was a warrior.

Even the weakest among the school leaders possessed physical fitness at Level 9.8.

In this era, warriors had a far greater chance of attaining high status than non-warriors.

Even compared to students, several students in the Senior Year Elite Class had physical fitness exceeding Level 7.0.

Lin Lanyue, the student with the strongest physical fitness, had already reached Level 8.5.

But what shocked everyone about Li Yuan was the speed of his improvement.

After all, everyone present knew that Li Yuan had not awakened Martial Arts Spirituality.

Could cultivating the Basic Cultivation Method improve physical fitness this quickly?

"Good." Xu Bo's eyes brightened slightly.

He often observed Li Yuan through surveillance and knew that Li Yuan's physical fitness had improved considerably.

But even he had not expected it to be this astounding.

"Li Yuan." Xu Bo's voice boomed like a great bell. "Continue with the other two tests. Focus."

"Yes." Li Yuan was no fool. From everyone's reactions, he could tell that he had performed well.

And Li Yuan also realized something.

No matter which Martial Hall this mysterious hall master came from, this was an opportunity for him.

Today should be the annual school inspection by the Martial Hall that I heard about before. The thought flashed through Li Yuan's mind. But in the past, they seemed to inspect only the Elite Class.

Teacher Xu secured this opportunity for me.

Many times, truly good opportunities only come once or twice.

Without thinking further,

Li Yuan had already arrived at the Fist Strength Testing Ground. He set his stance, adjusted his posture, then suddenly threw a powerful punch.

Bang! Accompanied by a dull explosion, his fist smashed fiercely into the enormous sensor sandbag.

In an instant.

The screen above the Fist Strength Testing Ground clearly displayed: "454 kilograms (movement qualified)."

After completing the fist strength test,

Li Yuan did not linger. After making a slight adjustment, he went to the entrance of the track.

A forty-meter testing track!

White light from above the classroom shone down upon the dark-red metal track.

"Whew!"

Li Yuan adjusted himself slightly, took a deep breath, and drove off with both legs, suddenly sprinting forward.

Whoosh!

Like a blurred shadow, Li Yuan shot across the track and crashed into the Buffer Wall at its end.

Beep!

Data had already appeared on the electronic display screen beside the end of the track—"15.1 meters per second."

"What a fast speed."

"Could the Life Blood Detection Instrument have measured it wrong?"

"How could Li Yuan's actual test data be so high?" Amid the hushed exchanges, the school leaders and five Martial Hall warriors were all somewhat startled.

Why were they surprised?

Because Li Yuan's fist strength and explosive speed had both exceeded the Level 7.0 physical fitness benchmark set by the Seven Star Alliance.

Level 7.0 benchmark: 15 meters per second, fist strength of 450 kilograms.

Normally, it was perfectly normal for any one actual measurement to be slightly higher or lower.

But someone like Li Yuan, with both measurements above the standard?

That was abnormal.

"Good." Xu Bo and Tan Zhenlong exchanged a glance, smiles appearing on both their faces.

"Teacher Xu, I've finished testing." Li Yuan walked back from the far end of the classroom to its center.

"Old Wan." Xu Bo looked at Hall Master Wan.

"Don't rush."

An inscrutable smile hung on Hall Master Wan's face as he looked toward the people behind him. "Instructor Xing, what do you think? Does he qualify?"

The five Martial Hall warriors looked at one another.

"Hall Master." Instructor Xing said in a low voice, "This kid does have decent physical talent... Becoming a warrior should not be difficult for him. But he has not awakened Martial Arts Spirituality. If we are to sign him early... I'm afraid we must deliberate further."

Instructor Xing could see that the hall master and Xu Bo had a close relationship, so he did not state things too bluntly.

Still, everyone present was shrewd. Naturally, they could hear Instructor Xing's true meaning—Li Yuan was still not qualified.

"Don't rush. Take another look."

Hall Master Wan smiled, then turned to Xu Bo. "Tie Ta, this student's greatest strength should be Martial Arts Technique... Let's test it and see."

"You saw through it?" Xu Bo smiled.

"The Life Blood Detection Instrument generally does not make mistakes." Hall Master Wan smiled. "Yet he can make his strength and explosive speed perform beyond their usual limits... That shows he has extremely high control over his body. His ability to mobilize force is likely close to perfection."

"Judging by the way he walks, his Basic Fist Technique should be nearing perfection as well."

"I estimate that his Martial Arts Technique is the strongest among all the students at your school." Hall Master Wan sounded casual. "And most likely, it is the kind that leads by a cliff-edge margin."

Xu Bo and Principal Tan exchanged a glance and could not help smiling.

"As expected of Old Wan. Your eye is still sharp as a thief's." Xu Bo laughed.

Xu Bo knew that Hall Master Wan had taken office less than a week ago.

If he had not looked into the previous records, he most likely did not yet know that Li Yuan had been selected for the Blue Star Youth Ranking.

"Li Yuan, take out your spear." Xu Bo looked at Li Yuan and shouted, "Come test your technique."

"Yes."

Li Yuan walked toward the weapons cabinet nearby. Xu Bo had instructed him at noon to prepare his weapon in this classroom.

At the same time,

Li Yuan could not help glancing again at the middle-aged man in the Tang suit. What terrifying insight.

Li Yuan had also heard Hall Master Wan's deduction.

With the great spear in hand, the Martial Arts Technique test began, and numerous instruments above the classroom activated.

Li Yuan held his great spear as he stood facing Xu Bo.

"Come. Attack me. Show your spear technique to your heart's content." Xu Bo held a long staff and spoke in a low voice.

"Yes." Li Yuan nodded. He knew that his teacher was deliberately giving him a chance to reveal his strength.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Boom! Li Yuan moved like lightning, stepping forward as he viciously thrust his spear.

Clang!

The long staff met the attack, striking the spearhead.

If this had been more than a month ago, Li Yuan likely would have found it difficult to endure even this single collision.

But now, his spear technique had advanced another step.

Whoosh! The spear shaft flowed downward with the momentum. His rear hand drew back, then his forward hand touched down again. With a shake of the spearhead, he traced a huge circle, and in an instant, it seemed as though dozens of spear shadows had appeared.

Teacher's physical fitness is being held at roughly Level 7. Attack. Li Yuan launched a fierce assault.

As the saying went, "A spear fears a shaking head."

It referred to how the wavering spear shaft made the spearhead unpredictable—and that was when a spear's attacks were at their most terrifying.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Spear after spear followed in an unending stream, flashing toward Xu Bo like lightning. Every thrust carried tremendous power, fast and precise.

This was another killing move Li Yuan had created only recently—Qunshan Wanxiang.

It was a spear technique of deceptive attacks, and it was also suited to group battles.

"Haha, not bad." Xu Bo smiled. Holding the staff in his left hand, he tapped out strike after strike, every one landing perfectly upon Li Yuan's spearhead.

It prevented Li Yuan from fully unleashing his strength.

In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of moves.

"Li Yuan, be careful." Xu Bo suddenly roared. His footwork shifted, and his long staff stabbed out like a spear in a bolt of lightning.

His timing was impeccable.

This staff thrust came precisely as Li Yuan's own thrust had failed to achieve anything and he was withdrawing his spear, releasing force.

Not good. Li Yuan's spear technique immediately changed from offense to defense. The fluency of his move transition drew surprise into the eyes of the warriors watching outside.

Without hesitation,

Li Yuan directly unleashed Bedrock Pillar. He became like an enormous boulder, desperately blocking Xu Bo's attacks.

Another several dozen exchanges of attack and defense followed.

Whoosh!

Xu Bo suddenly retreated, opening the distance between himself and Li Yuan. Smiling, he said, "Good. Stop there."

Only then did Li Yuan stop. His blood and vitality were faintly boiling throughout his body.

Too fierce.

Teacher Xu's attacks seemed slow, but they were in fact steady, accurate, and ruthless, beating him until he had no power to parry.

But at least I held out for this long. I've improved far more than last time. Li Yuan took a deep breath.

At that moment, Xu Bo flicked his Smart Ring Watch and said in a low voice, "Technique test complete."

Beep—

The screen at the back of the classroom displayed a score—"374 points (National College Entrance Examination standard)."

"374 points?"

"So high!"

"Over 370 points on the National College Entrance Examination standard?"

"I remember Lin Lanyue only got 361 points just now, right?"

"Last year, the top scorer in Martial Arts Technique for Jiang City only scored a little over 380 points in Martial Arts Technique." The vice principals were completely stunned.

Lin Lanyue had scored 361 points.

Li Yuan had scored 374 points.

The difference appeared to be only a dozen or so points, but Martial Arts Scores were unlike Cultural Course scores. Strong meant strong, weak meant weak; there were rarely cases of poor performance.

After surpassing 360 points,

let alone ten points, even a gap of five points represented a clear difference in Martial Arts Technique.

Ten points meant that if the two engaged in a Virtual War, the result would be almost without suspense.

Could our school produce a citywide top scorer in a single subject? There is still so long until the National College Entrance Examination.

The educational quality in our district has never been considered particularly strong within the city. The vice principals exchanged looks, all arriving at the same thought.

Especially the vice principal in charge of teaching—his smile was the brightest.

"Alright, Li Yuan, put the weapon back first." Xu Bo spoke.

Li Yuan obediently put away the great spear.

"Old Wan, what do you think?" Xu Bo tossed the long staff aside and walked over.

"Instructor Xing? What do you all think?" Hall Master Wan smiled, still not answering directly.

The Martial Hall warriors exchanged glances.

"If he could awaken Martial Arts Spirituality, he would meet the standards for a C-level Contract. But without awakened Martial Arts Spirituality, he falls far short. Still, he qualifies for a D-level Contract." After hesitating, Instructor Xing spoke.

In truth, in Instructor Xing's mind, Li Yuan even fell a little short of a D-level Contract.

High Martial Arts Technique?

Not having awakened Martial Arts Spirituality was a fatal flaw.

"A D-level Contract?"

Hall Master Wan nodded slightly, then turned and said, "Tie Ta, Principal Tan, I would like to speak with Li Yuan alone. Is that alright?"

Speak alone?

Principal Tan and Xu Bo exchanged a look, both deep in thought.

"Of course." Principal Tan did not refuse. Smiling, he said, "It is a good thing for Li Yuan that Hall Master Wan is willing to speak with him alone."

"We'll head out first." Principal Tan called to the school leaders and led them toward the classroom door.

"Speak alone?" Only Li Yuan, who had just walked over, was still somewhat bewildered.

What was going on?

"Li Yuan, this is Hall Master Wan of the Starfire Martial Hall Guanshan Branch. Speak well with him." Xu Bo gave him a quiet reminder.

The hall master of the Starfire Martial Hall Guanshan Branch? Li Yuan was startled inwardly, though he remained composed on the surface.

In his eyes, this was already a major figure.

Very quickly,

the school leaders, Martial Hall warriors, and three students all left the classroom, leaving only Li Yuan and Hall Master Wan behind.

The classroom door closed.

"Li Yuan, my name is Wan Qinghe," Hall Master Wan said with a smile.

"Hall Master Wan." Li Yuan felt uneasy, unsure of his intentions.

"I'd like to invite you to join Starfire Martial Hall and sign a contract in advance." Hall Master Wan smiled at Li Yuan. "A B-level Contract, with a passive upgrade clause."

"Once you awaken Martial Arts Spirituality, it will immediately be upgraded to an A-level Contract."

"What do you think?"

(End of chapter)