Run When You See Me

A "Level Six Martial Artist" at such a young age could no longer be described as merely catching up.

People like that were dragons and phoenixes among men, blessed with extraordinary talent—at the very least, outstanding students ranked in the top two of a county-level school.

Yang Fan sheepishly shut his mouth. Saying any more would only be asking for humiliation.

"Level Six?"

Zhao Rui smiled without saying anything. Instead, he picked up his phone and began browsing the web.

At this point, nothing he said would matter. If he fell short, he fell short; arguing with words would only make him seem all the more guilty.

How could he possibly feel guilty now? With the system panel, even a pig would not stop at Level Six!

So there was no need to fuss over it at all!

The handsome boy was slightly taken aback. He had not expected Zhao Rui to remain so calm and unruffled, and the corners of his mouth rose into his usual smile.

"Interesting!"

After saying that, the boy spoke no further and closed his eyes to rest.

Yang Fan turned his head and rolled his eyes. He hated people who acted so pretentious, but the other guy's level was simply too high—he pulled it off so well that no one could refute him.

"Zhao Rui! Hou Ping! Zhang Lei..."

A staff member poked his head out from the doorway and called into the corridor.

"Here!"

Zhao Rui stood and walked toward the door.

"Good luck!"

Yang Fan cheered him on from behind.

Zhao Rui gave a quiet acknowledgment and followed the staff member into the room.

At the same time, the student beside the boy who had been chatting earlier also got up and followed them inside.

Martial arts testing was quite complicated and involved many different categories.

They included Internal Energy level tests, physical fitness tests for different martial arts, martial cultivation tests, combat technique assessments, on-the-spot reaction tests, and a whole series of other examinations.

All told, there were no fewer than eighteen items.

By this point in its development, martial arts had developed a relatively complete set of rating standards and methods.

They could directly and fairly accurately reflect a Martial Arts Student's true strength.

Of course, that strength was on the surface—a basic measure, not one for life-and-death combat.

It was like a character's base level in a game. As long as your physical ability and fighting skill surpassed that line, it meant you had met the standard.

As for actual combat capability, that could only be determined through matches or life-and-death battles.

"Test subject, please stand before the testing instrument and face the pendulum..."

Zhao Rui took a deep breath, quietly circulated the breathing method from the Taihang Thirteen Palms, transformed his palm into a fist, and threw a punch.

The massive pendulum shot backward with a boom, releasing a dull thud.

The value on the display climbed rapidly—1000, 1500, 2000—before finally stopping at 2150.

2150 pounds of force. That already far exceeded the striking power of the most elite boxers from his previous life.

Converted into kilograms of force, it was a full thousand jin of strength.

And that was with Zhao Rui not even using Internal Energy, yet he could still unleash such explosive power.

With martial arts proficiency at the Mastery level, many vital points for palm techniques had already been opened, and Internal Energy naturally improved bodily functions.

Strength at this level was nothing unusual.

That was one reason martial arts were so highly revered in this world: individual combat power was truly off the charts.

Even if an ordinary person had a gun, before they could pull the trigger, a Level Five Martial Artist could change position in an instant and take their life with a small stone.

For those who trained in hard-body techniques, smashing a concrete wall with one palm was as easy as turning over one's hand.

Not to mention martial artists above Level Ten who could release protective aura beyond their bodies.

Of course, beyond that, the life-prolonging effects of certain martial arts were another reason.

"Good!"

After reading the number, the supervisor at the side gave him a rating of good.

Zhao Rui shook his head. Good thing he had learned Cui Jian's Taihang Thirteen Palms through the panel. Otherwise, relying solely on the Cloud Hand Plucks Stars he had learned himself, his force would probably only have been between 1600 and 1800.

Barely passing!

It would be great if I could learn the Dragon Subduing Palm someday.

Zhao Rui quietly mused. The Dragon Subduing Palm existed in this world, but he had never seen it and had no idea whether it resembled the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms from his previous life.

According to hearsay, it was an astonishingly powerful palm technique. Once mastered, challenging opponents above one's level would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

"Next!"

As Zhao Rui left the testing platform, the contestants below began taking their tests one after another.

Zhao Rui watched two of them. Their strength levels were roughly similar to his, around 2000.

For an ordinary Level Five Martial Artist, 1800 in base strength counted as passing, while 2000 was considered good.

To be rated excellent, one needed more than 2200.

After watching for a while, Zhao Rui stopped paying attention and followed the guide to another testing venue.

Two hours later, the doors to the testing hall of the assessment center slowly opened, and Zhao Rui emerged with the other test-takers in a steady stream.

Yang Fan hurried over and asked eagerly, "Did you make it?"

"Yeah!"

Zhao Rui smiled and nodded.

"That's great! Come on, lunch is on me!"

Yang Fan said happily, as though he were the one who had passed Level Four.

"Didn't we agree that I'd treat?"

"I'll still be counting on you to look after me in the future! Come on, let's go!"

Yang Fan grinned and pulled Zhao Rui outside.

"Heh, I'll be waiting for you at Level Six!"

Just then, the handsome boy from earlier raised his right hand in a six gesture, then flashed Zhao Rui a provocative smile.

After saying that, he left with the student beside him. With both hands shoved into their pockets, the two of them looked as pretentious as could be.

Yang Fan cursed at their retreating backs, "Fuck, acting tough will get you struck by lightning!"

"Forget it. We don't even know him. He can say whatever he wants. What are we eating?"

"A new barbecue place opened recently. Let's eat there."

After saying that, Yang Fan grinned again. "Once the Gaokao is over, your big brother will take you to the Entertainment City for some fun!"

Entertainment City?

Information about the Entertainment City immediately surfaced in Zhao Rui's mind.

Thanks to martial arts flourishing in this world, the forces of the underworld were far more rampant than they had been in his previous life.

The Entertainment City was one such place run by those forces, specifically for people to indulge themselves and seek amusement.

It was somewhat like Ao Ao's gambling city.

But it offered more activities than Ao Ao's gambling city, and it was far more unrestrained.

"You haven't been there already, have you?"

Zhao Rui immediately gave Yang Fan a meaningful look.

"Heh heh, of course I have! Let me tell you, the girls in there—tsk, tsk—they're prettier than Bai Xuening and Luo Min!"

"Stop there. Just say they're pretty; no need to compare them. I'm afraid you'll get beaten up!"

"Heh heh, I heard there are even high-ranking martial artists there to accompany guests..."

"It's just a little expensive!"

Yang Fan excitedly recounted his experiences there, and before long, they reached the parking lot.

"Fuck, who's so shameless that they knocked over my motorcycle?"

While he was still in high spirits, Yang Fan spotted his beloved bike lying on the ground at a glance, and his anger instantly flared.

"Oh, it's your bike? I was wondering why it looked so familiar!"

Before Yang Fan could finish speaking, the window of a Mercedes-Benz sedan nearby rolled down. A boy with a hooked nose whistled at Yang Fan and said teasingly.

"Fuck..."

Yang Fan muttered under his breath, silently lifted his motorcycle upright, then got on without saying a word.

"Let's go!"

Seeing this, Zhao Rui did not ask any questions. He climbed onto the back seat, and the motorcycle rumbled to life as it drove out of the parking lot.

"Yang Fan, you're such a coward... Don't forget to run whenever you see me from now on!"

The hooked-nosed boy's arrogant voice drifted over from behind in broken fragments.

End of this chapter