Tremendous Improvement

As they spoke, two more people finished testing up ahead.

"Su Kuang, your turn." Coach Yang called another name, and the burly youth at the front of the line stepped forward.

"Su Kuang is one of our Martial Hall's Top Ten. He'll definitely meet the standard!" someone immediately said below.

Qin Heng watched with great interest.

The so-called "Top Ten of the Martial Hall" referred to the ten people, including Qin Heng, who had the best chance of passing the assessment.

Qin Heng was the youngest among them. His strength had previously been relatively weak, placing him ninth.

Su Kuang, meanwhile, ranked eighth and had always tested slightly stronger than him.

The man lived up to his name. He was somewhat arrogant.

Instead of testing immediately after stepping up, he loudly declared, "Qin Heng, I heard you tested at 544 kilograms yesterday. Let me congratulate you first. Then take a look at this punch of mine and see whether you can withstand it."

With that, he let out a low shout and drove a fist into the testing machine.

Bang!

The testing machine emitted a deep, muffled boom.

Coach Yang widened his eyes, looked at the number on the machine, and announced, "First strike, 619 kilograms!"

"What?!"

"619 kilograms!"

"My God!"

Everyone below was stunned.

"Didn't Su Kuang only test at a little over 450 kilograms last time? How did he suddenly soar so much?"

"Last time... wasn't that six months ago? He hadn't tested at all, keeping his head down and training hard just to make one cry that would startle the world!"

"More than 600 kilograms means he'll definitely pass the assessment! And he'll be fought over by the Four Great Martial Halls after passing the First Assessment with outstanding results!"

Even Qin Heng was surprised. He had not expected Su Kuang, who had always been more or less evenly matched with him, to have pulled so far ahead.

Su Kuang chuckled. "This isn't even my limit."

"What? This isn't your limit?"

Everyone was even more shocked. Even Coach Yang was somewhat startled as he asked, "How high can you go, then?"

Su Kuang said, "Coach, watch closely."

As soon as he finished speaking, he struck again, smashing out two punches three seconds apart.

"Second strike, 633 kilograms!"

"Third strike, 655 kilograms!"

Su Kuang's punches grew heavier one after another, leaving the entire hall deathly silent.

Qin Heng could hardly believe it. This guy had increased his punching power by a full 205 kilograms in just six months, from 450 kilograms!

One had to know that once strength reached a certain level, every additional kilogram became incomparably difficult to gain!

Going from 450 to 655 was several times harder than going from 50 to 255!

"Su Kuang passing the assessment is already as certain as a nail driven into a board," everyone realized.

Su Kuang stepped down from the platform with a calm, confident expression.

He walked over to Qin Heng's side and said coolly, "I'll be waiting to watch your performance, pretty boy."

Qin Heng frowned slightly.

Pretty boy...

He was referring to Fang Lingxue earning money to support him.

This was no secret. Quite a few old Martial Hall students knew about it.

Some envied Qin Heng because of it, while others were jealous.

Su Kuang belonged to the latter group.

"If you want to watch, then stand to the side and watch. Did you need to specifically tell me?" Qin Heng replied indifferently.

No matter how strong Su Kuang was, it had nothing to do with him.

It would neither affect his admission into a Martial Hall nor his relationship with Fang Lingxue.

"Hmph."

Hearing such a response, Su Kuang felt that he had been looked down upon. Somewhat displeased, he stepped aside to wait for a good show.

"Who do you think is stronger—Su Kuang, Qin Heng, or Chen Yuan?"

"Obviously Su Kuang. Are you blind? 655 kilograms! Do you even need to guess?"

"Chen Yuan should be around 530 kilograms, about the same as Qin Heng. He won't surpass Su Kuang."

The surrounding students discussed among themselves.

Su Kuang, Qin Heng, and Chen Yuan had entered the Martial Hall at around the same time. This year was their First Assessment, so they were often compared with one another.

The other Seven Elites were all veterans. They had fallen just short in last year's assessment, and this year they were basically guaranteed to pass, so they generally were not brought up for comparison.

Moreover, those seven would not come to the Martial Hall to test their punching power. They were all very confident.

The testing up ahead continued. Students, regardless of how long they had trained, went up one by one to give it a try.

Some were crestfallen, while others beamed with joy.

Very soon, it was Qin Heng's turn.

He walked up to the testing machine and respectfully said, "Coach Yang."

"Mm. Did you practice a little after returning home last night?" Coach Yang Huai'an nodded at him.

Qin Heng said, "I did. It felt very good, like extreme sports. I had the feeling of being reborn and remade."

Yang Huai'an said with satisfaction, "Being able to feel that means your talent is excellent. It seems your improvement should be considerable. Today, your punching power will be at least 20 kilograms stronger than yesterday."

A student standing behind them asked curiously, "Coach, what are you talking about? What practice?"

Coach Yang did not hide it and openly explained, "Global Martial Hall has a rule: as long as your tested punching power reaches 500 kilograms, you may be granted the cultivation method for the Innate Fetal Breathing Art. Su Kuang's excellent results are partly because he truly has worked extremely hard and tested at 520 kilograms a month ago. The other reason is that he has spent this past month cultivating the Innate Fetal Breathing Art, which is why he could advance by leaps and bounds."

"Ah? So that's why!"

"In one month, from 520 kilograms to 655 kilograms?"

"This Innate Fetal Breathing Art is too powerful!"

All the students were stunned.

Qin Heng was also somewhat dumbfounded. "Coach Yang, you didn't tell me yesterday that the Innate Fetal Breathing Art was this powerful."

Coach Yang smiled. "What's there to say? It's a fact universally acknowledged by all martial artists."

Qin Heng was speechless.

What martial artists universally acknowledged was not something everyone in the Slum District could know.

The poor and martial artists were practically people from two different worlds. Whether in strength, power, social status, or common sense, the gap between them was simply too vast.

"Su Kuang improved so much in a month... I learned this cultivation method too. I wonder how much force I can hit today!" Fire lit up in Qin Heng's eyes.

No one failed to thirst for strength.

Becoming powerful and becoming wealthy were the shared dreams of all the students!

Hearing his mutter, Coach Yang smiled. "Why not try and find out?"

"All right!" Qin Heng did not waste words. He planted his feet where he stood, took a deep breath, poured his strength into his right arm, and smashed a fist viciously into the testing machine.

Boom!

The next second, a number appeared on the testing device's display screen.

Coach Yang stared dumbly, then said in astonishment, "The... first strike, 784... kilograms."

784 kilograms!

Qin Heng's eyes widened.

Everyone below froze.

That number was wrong!

How could it be so high?

Su Kuang, who had been standing in the corner with his arms folded, waiting to watch a good show, was completely dumbfounded at that moment.

"Coach, is this machine broken?" Qin Heng asked quietly, feeling that this was even more outrageous than he had expected.

He had only felt that he had improved. He had estimated that he might be 30 to 50 kilograms stronger than yesterday, similar to Coach Yang's first time practicing it.

He had not expected that this test... would directly show an increase of 240 kilograms over yesterday!

This was an improvement he could not achieve even after an entire year of grueling training in the past!

"Good heavens..." Coach Yang looked over the testing device and patted it twice, wanting to see whether it was broken.

Yet everything was perfectly normal.

He looked at Qin Heng, his breathing growing uneven. He swallowed hard and said, "Try another one."

"All right."

Qin Heng was excited. He looked at the result of 784 kilograms and adjusted his condition slightly.

Then he punched again.

Boom!

Test result: 779 kilograms!

The number fluctuated, but it still exceeded 700 kilograms!

No one could accept such a result.

"Impossible! Didn't they say he was only at 544 kilograms yesterday?"

"He gained 240 kilograms overnight? Who are you trying to fool? That's not scientific!"

"Have you gone crazy, Qin Heng? Did you cheat?"

Coach Yang seemed to understand something and urged, "Continue!"

"All right!"

Qin Heng also seemed to understand.

The results of cultivating the Innate Fetal Breathing Art were related to one's individual physique.

His meridians were clear and unobstructed. That was the fundamental reason he had advanced by leaps and bounds overnight!

Bang!

Third punch test result: 785 kilograms!

The values from all three punches had been revealed. The lowest was 779 kilograms, and the highest was 785 kilograms. There was no error or malfunction whatsoever.

The entire training ground was silent as a graveyard.

Su Kuang fell silent. His earlier swaggering posture had vanished without a trace, replaced by disbelief.

Coach Yang's gaze at Qin Heng gradually changed from astonishment to appreciation, then to delight.

He patted Qin Heng on the shoulder and said, "Good lad. With talent this astonishing, you may have the potential to become a Martial God! Go wait for me in my office. I have some things to discuss with you."

"Uh, all right, Coach." Qin Heng's feelings were complicated at the moment. He was both happy and worried.

He was happy because of his strength and talent, but worried that... if his talent was too high, would it bring trouble?

As the saying went, the tree that rises above the forest will surely be toppled by the wind. He was only a child from the Slum District. He feared...

Qin Heng left the training ground and went to Coach Yang's office.

Yang Huai'an called out, "Su Kuang, come help everyone test. I'm stepping out for a bit." Then he directly dumped the responsibility and ran off.

Su Kuang wore a gloomy expression. "Got it..." He walked over with great reluctance to take over.