Assessment Two (Seeking Further Reads)

Perhaps after seeing that person's miserable state, Hu Qi barely made another move for the rest of the matches.

Anyone who faced Hu Qi chose to concede in advance.

One other person received the same treatment—Sims from Class Three.

However, compared to Hu Qi, he was far more ruthless when he attacked.

Earlier, one trainee had conceded too slowly and was knocked unconscious by a single close-range punch.

Fortunately, a coach had been nearby, so nothing serious happened.

"Too weak!"

Sims crossed his arms over his chest, his gaze sweeping over everyone present before lingering on Hu Qi.

Thinking of the string of numbers he had seen in the strength-testing room earlier,

his eyes narrowed.

Could it be you?

Before long, the internal battles in each class came to an end.

As for Li Yi, he had only practiced the Comprehensive Combat Technique for two days. He could not even hold the most basic stance properly, so naturally, he could not participate.

Not long after, the results for Class Two were announced.

Hu Qi, Song Jian, Chen Chang, and a girl named Ye Li advanced.

Ye Li had an ordinary face with a slight baby-fat roundness, the sort of girl who leaned toward cute.

Her skin was a healthy wheat color, carrying a faint sheen beneath the lights.

What drew the eye most were her long legs. Her thighs were slightly thick, while the muscles in her calves were firm and subtly defined.

The taut lines of muscle flowed smoothly down her legs, brimming with strength.

If Hu Qi and Song Jian's advancement had been expected,

then Chen Chang's performance had at least made his promotion understandable. But Ye Li's advancement truly came as a surprise.

After all, her earlier performance could only be described as utterly mediocre.

Seemingly noticing Hu Qi's gaze, Ye Li tilted her head slightly to look over and gave him a small nod.

Had she been hiding her strength before?

Hu Qi smiled, withdrew his gaze, and came to that conclusion.

Besides that, since everyone who encountered Hu Qi chose to surrender, he had been rather idle and had time to observe the other classes.

From the bursts of startled cries that rang out from time to time, along with the shocked looks on the people around him,

it was clear that quite a few people were playing the pig to eat the tiger.

Every last one of them was an old schemer.

That was all Hu Qi could say.

Soon, the other classes also selected their four strongest members in turn.

Five classes, twenty people in total.

As for those who had been eliminated, they had completely lost their chance.

"Don't lose heart over this failure. Work harder next year, and you might still have another chance.

Of course, the prerequisite is that you must be under twenty-eight. Once you pass that age, there will be no more opportunities."

The buzz-cut young man explained this to the dejected trainees.

After speaking, he paid them no further attention and turned his gaze toward the remaining twenty people.

"Next, we continue. Two matches per person. We'll directly determine the five Core Class spots."

As soon as he finished speaking, several people's expressions changed slightly, Song Jian among them.

That meant there would be no revival round. If he ran into Hu Qi or Sims right from the start, it would probably be over for him immediately.

The others had the same thought, but given the oppressive aura emanating from the young man, no one dared say anything.

The buzz-cut young man took in everyone's expressions and chuckled.

"I know you have objections, but the Core Class only accepts true powerhouses. As it happens, in my view, luck is also part of strength."

Naturally, everyone could only nod in agreement.

Soon, everyone went up to draw paper slips. Since there were exactly twenty people, everyone had an opponent.

Hu Qi's opponent was a tall, somewhat overweight young man. Standing there, he resembled a small mountain.

Hu Qi remembered that he seemed to be a trainee from Class One, apparently named Hong Shan.

The instant the match began, he let out a low roar, drove his legs forward, and charged straight at Hu Qi.

Like a speeding car, his feet pounded the ground with heavy thuds.

Hu Qi, meanwhile, stood where he was without making any move to dodge.

"Chen Wu, isn't your trainee being a little too arrogant? You should know that even I would find it difficult to block Hong Shan's move head-on."

To one side,

Class One's coach was a blonde white woman in her thirties.

Seeing this scene, a faint smile appeared on her face.

"You can't even block a trainee's attack, and you still have the nerve to talk here? How embarrassing!"

Chen Wu sneered. Ignoring her darkened expression, his gaze did not shift in the slightest.

In the arena, seeing that Hu Qi did not dodge,

Arrogant!

Hong Shan snorted inwardly.

The moment he came within one meter of Hu Qi, his shoulder sank slightly. His right arm guarded his ribs tightly, his left arm bent with the elbow pointing outward, and he drove forward with a Mountain Collision.

In that instant, even the air seemed to be crushed beneath his momentum.

It let out a whooshing roar.

Mountain Collision was a move within the Comprehensive Combat Technique. It was renowned for its simple yet fierce form, its short range and dangerous momentum, its explosive rise and heavy fall, its hard openings and direct strikes, and its savage practicality in combat.

Once struck by it, being sent flying was the least of it—torn tendons and broken bones were entirely possible.

Looking at the figure close at hand, Hu Qi remained calm.

He spread his legs, bent his knees, lowered his center of gravity, raised his arms and bent them, sank his shoulders and elbows, and used the same Mountain Collision.

The only difference was that Hong Shan charged directly at him, while Hu Qi stood still.

"How laughable. You actually dare clash with me head-on!"

A cold gleam flashed through Hong Shan's eyes, followed by a savage grin.

His foot stamped fiercely against the ground, power traveling from his waist and hips to his shoulder as his speed increased another notch.

Bang!

In an instant,

the two collided!

A dull explosive boom rang out across the arena, drawing everyone's attention.

The fine dust on the ground trembled and scattered. Visible to the naked eye, ripples like waves spread across the skin of their colliding arms.

The savage grin on Hong Shan's face froze. The scene he had imagined, of Hu Qi being smashed flying, did not appear.

Instead, he felt as though he had rammed into a solid, immovable mountain rock.

Violent shock and pain surged from his shoulder, and his expression changed drastically.

The next moment, a vast force came from his opponent, jolting his entire body back several steps in succession.

"Damn it!" Hong Shan's face twisted with shock and fury.

Suddenly, a black shadow descended upon him. When he looked up, Hu Qi, who had been several meters away just moments ago, had somehow arrived before him.

The next moment,

Hu Qi lifted his right heel, leaving only the ball of his foot touching the ground.

In an instant, the muscles beneath his trouser leg contracted sharply, as though every muscle fiber had awakened at that moment, twisting tight and drawing taut.

Clear muscle lines stood out sharply, full of the texture of power.

From thigh to calf, every muscle group tightened in an instant, like a wound-up spring.

Whoosh!

Hu Qi suddenly raised his leg. His right leg became a black shadow that flashed past Hong Shan's eyes.

Hong Shan only felt his face go numb, with no time to make any reaction at all.

Then, his body involuntarily soared into the air, both feet leaving the ground.

Like a dead leaf swept up by a hurricane, he traced an uncontrolled arc through the air.

His body completely lost balance, his limbs flailing helplessly as he tried to grasp something to steady himself, but it was all futile.

At last, he crashed heavily onto the ground with a dull thud and lay motionless.

Hu Qi withdrew his leg and remained standing where he was.

The arena fell silent.