Practical Exam

Practical Exam

Inside the enormous Training Field, the students taking the exam stood in lines, looking up at the proctor ahead.

This middle-aged, powerfully built man with a knife scar across his face and Killing Intent rolling off his body was none other than Zhang Yu's Martial Arts Class teacher, Lei Jun.

If Dao Heart, Magical Power, and physical education were the foundation among the five major Immortal Dao subjects in high school, then Martial Dao and Dao Arts were chiefly methods for the practical application of Immortal Dao Technique.

As for whether Martial Arts or Dao Arts were stronger, and which was more useful... Immortal Cultivators all had their own views.

Zhang Yu still remembered the outrageous remarks Lei Jun had made during the first class.

"Martial Arts are immensely useful in this world. Dao Arts are useless."

"Learn one Dao Art, go broke from one Dao Art. The more you learn, the poorer you become. In the end, all your money goes into the companies' pockets, and everyone becomes a pauper."

"Martial Arts cost less and are cheaper, yet they are also highly useful. Only by practicing cheap Martial Arts can you get rich. The more you practice, the more money you make."

That was Lei Jun's Martial Dao philosophy.

And as today's proctor, Lei Jun likewise did not rely on any Dao Arts.

His arrangement for the Monthly Exam had always been to have students with similar scores from the previous month draw lots, then engage in one-on-one practical combat.

The two sides would fight three consecutive rounds, each lasting three minutes. If someone was knocked down or stepped out of bounds within those three minutes, that round would end.

After all three rounds were over, the teachers would score them according to both sides' performances during those three practical bouts.

This was actually very similar to the Martial Dao Practical Exam in the Gaokao, except Gaokao students fought Yellow Turban Warriors rather than one another.

But this was only a Monthly Exam after all. They could not possibly use Gaokao standards, especially when not hiring Yellow Turban Warriors could save the school a considerable sum.

So after Lei Jun finished explaining the rules for the Martial Dao Practical Exam, the huge screen above flickered. Names appeared one after another, and the drawing began.

Once the drawing ended, the results were sent to every student's phone, instructing them to head to their designated locations for the practical exam.

At this moment, the entire Training Field had been divided by white lines into small squares of more than ten square meters each. Every small square was effectively an arena.

Following his drawing result, Zhang Yu walked into Square No. 12 and saw He Dayou already waiting there.

Seeing He Dayou politely smile and nod at him, Zhang Yu nodded back.

"You're finally here." He Dayou suppressed the violent emotions in his heart and slowly walked into the square.

In order to teach Zhang Yu a lesson openly and aboveboard, He Dayou had made slight use of his privilege as the son of a school board member, drawing Zhang Yu—who had ranked tenth in last month's Monthly Exam—as the opponent for himself, who had ranked third.

Of course, according to the drawing rules, the two could barely be considered close in total score last month, so no one was likely to question it.

"But over the past month, aside from Magical Power Class, the rate of his improvement in every other subject has long since fallen behind, right? His true ranking should be somewhere around twentieth to thirtieth."

He Dayou believed that not only had he maintained a top-three overall score, but he had also raised his Freehand Fighting to Level 2 half a month ago and recently mastered a new Martial Art at a cram school.

"But I won't need that new Martial Art. Level 2 Freehand Fighting will be enough to deal with this poor bastard."

"The question now is... should I hurt his hands? Or his legs?"

As he pondered, He Dayou and Zhang Yu had already walked to the center of the square and stopped more than a meter apart.

He Dayou's gaze began to roam over Zhang Yu's body as he considered where to strike him hard in a moment.

Outside the square, an assistant teacher took out a phone and began recording video.

After the exam ended, Lei Jun and several other Martial Arts Class teachers from the first-year grade would watch all the combat footage in turn and assign scores.

"Are you two ready?"

Hearing the assistant teacher's question, Zhang Yu and He Dayou nodded together.

"Then Zhang Yu and He Dayou from the Demonstration Class, first practical round..."

"3, 2, 1, begin!"

The instant the assistant teacher gave the order, He Dayou suddenly attacked. His right arm turned into a blur almost too fast for the naked eye as he chopped a palm toward Zhang Yu's neck.

At the same time, he had already considered Zhang Yu's possible counterattacks.

After all, as a rich second-generation heir, he had enough time and money to hire people for practical combat training every day.

He had experienced, trained against, and devised counters for every possible reaction an opponent might make after that palm strike.

That was the effect of practical combat experience.

Level 2 Freehand Fighting, combined with richer combat experience, gave He Dayou absolute confidence that he could defeat his opponent.

"Then... I'll hit his hand."

Magical Power surged wildly through He Dayou's body toward his palm...

Bang!

A tremendous impact burst from He Dayou's abdomen.

Then he felt his vision shaking wildly, the hard ground, and pain throughout his body.

Only after several full seconds did He Dayou gradually come back to his senses.

Zhang Yu had sent him flying with a single move, and he was lying on the ground.

I was instantly defeated?

He Dayou's face suddenly flushed crimson. "How is that possible?"

Seeing how agitated He Dayou was, the assistant teacher played back the combat footage directly in front of both him and Zhang Yu to avoid trouble.

In the video, He Dayou had barely thrown out his palm when Zhang Yu moved later but arrived first. While ducking beneath the strike, Zhang Yu slammed into him and took him down in a bear-hug throw out of bounds.

The entire process had taken less than a second. It looked as though He Dayou had deliberately cooperated with Zhang Yu and let himself be thrown out.

Watching this, He Dayou grew even more indignant. He clearly had not attacked at full strength yet, and he still had a newly learned Martial Art he had not used. It had only been a momentary lapse... I underestimated Zhang Yu too much. I was actually distracted by other thoughts while fighting him...

Thinking of that, He Dayou felt even more unwilling to accept it.

But he knew that whether he had been careless or negligent, any further explanation now would only make him lose even more face.

So he took a deep breath and nodded to Zhang Yu. "Well fought. Let's continue."

The assistant teacher beside them asked whether there was any problem with He Dayou's physical condition. After confirming there was none, he had the two enter the square again.

Once more, they stood facing each other a meter apart.

Zhang Yu smiled at He Dayou before him and thought, My practical combat score should be pretty high this time, right?

The effect of Level 3 Freehand Fighting was even better than he had expected.

Zhang Yu estimated that his practical combat experience was probably inferior to that of a rich second-generation heir like He Dayou.

But Level 3 Freehand Fighting had made him exceedingly familiar with all fifteen moves of Freehand Fighting.

In the previous bout, almost the instant He Dayou made his move, Zhang Yu already knew what he intended to do and where the flaw in his technique would appear.

At the moment the thought emerged in his mind, his body had already moved. He charged forward, channeled Magical Power into both arms, and used the momentum to throw his opponent out.

"In a first-year Freehand Fighting match, as long as my opponent's Freehand Fighting is below Level 3, their combat reactions will probably be a beat slower than mine."

"On top of that, my Physical Strength isn't low anymore. In Freehand Fighting matches against all the first-year students in the school... I don't think I'll lose to anyone."

Meanwhile, He Dayou's expression had turned grave, and none of the calm ease from the previous round remained.

He decided that in this second round, he would focus completely and use his full strength to crush Zhang Yu before him.

This time, he would never give Zhang Yu even the slightest opening.

"Second round for Zhang Yu and He Dayou."

"3, 2, 1, begin!"

The moment the assistant teacher finished speaking, He Dayou erupted with his full strength. His right fist carried surging Magical Power as it smashed viciously toward Zhang Yu's face.

Boom!

Another tremendous impact rang out.

Again came the familiar shaking vision, the hard, icy ground, and pain all over his body.

He Dayou climbed to his feet in a daze.

He had been instantly defeated again?

When he watched the footage recorded by the assistant teacher again,

he saw that at the same moment he threw his punch, Zhang Yu had already kicked him in the chest and sent him flying.

Because both sides had moved so quickly, it looked as though He Dayou had rammed his own chest into Zhang Yu's outstretched foot.

The third round began.

This time, He Dayou did not seize the initiative and attack at full strength. Instead, he adopted a defensive stance and cautiously observed Zhang Yu.

Zhang Yu thought, After being instantly defeated twice in a row, he's starting to be careful?

The reason Zhang Yu had been able to instantly defeat him twice just now was that, the moment He Dayou made a move, Zhang Yu had relied on his familiarity with Freehand Fighting to predict his movements and trajectory, then... actively met the flaw in the path of He Dayou's full-force attack.

It could be said that he had exploited the combined speed of both sides, making He Dayou lose before he could even react.

But once He Dayou became cautious and stopped attacking at full strength from the outset, Zhang Yu could no longer replicate those two instant defeats.

Still, Zhang Yu had his own tactical preparation for such a situation.

Whether in Magical Power or Physical Strength, Zhang Yu's strength had now advanced by leaps and bounds. He was confident that he was not far behind He Dayou, the third-ranked student in the grade.

Even in terms of physical power, He Dayou had developed in a balanced manner like him, rather than following the brute-force path of a hulking giant.

Since He Dayou was unwilling to take the initiative, Zhang Yu would attack first.

He channeled Magical Power and slapped a palm toward He Dayou's chest.

"Here it comes!" A sharp glint flashed through He Dayou's eyes. He threw out a fist as well, blocking the move.

Then he saw Zhang Yu send the same palm strike at him again.

"The same move? What is he doing?"

After receiving three of Zhang Yu's palms in succession, He Dayou felt his arms go numb and sore, while Magical Power churned relentlessly within him.

The sheer depth of Zhang Yu's Magical Power and the ferocity of his physical strength had both exceeded his expectations.

And Zhang Yu's tactic was extremely simple: he was actively meeting him head-on.

Level 3 Freehand Fighting did not merely make Zhang Yu more familiar with the moves. The very same move could unleash greater physical power and more abundant Magical Power in his hands.

That gave him a massive advantage in a head-on clash.

He Dayou quickly realized this, but a smile still crept onto his lips.

"You want to meet me head-on?"

"Then let's clash and see whose bones are harder."

He activated the newly mastered Martial Art, Little Heavenly Star Palm. The Magical Power in his dantian instantly transformed into a stream of Yin-Cold Palm Power, blasting viciously toward Zhang Yu through his palm.

An early update today. Please keep reading into the new week. The next chapter will still update at noon tomorrow.

Thanks to "Memory Scavenger Forever" for the ten-thousand reward.

(End of Chapter)