Final Assessment

One hour later.

A middle-aged man dressed in a black martial arts uniform strode into the Martial Arts classroom of Class Nine.

"The assessment is about to begin. Get ready."

The middle-aged man's voice was low and stern.

The students perked up. They stopped training and regrouped.

"Is he the grade director of the Martial Arts Class?" Jiang Ye looked at the middle-aged man.

Two lines of information appeared above the man's head.

[Physique: Mortal Body (Class A Lower)]

[Talent: Nascent]

"Class A Lower?"

Jiang Ye was slightly surprised. Grades B, C, and D only had one tier each.

Apparently, Class A was divided into upper, middle, and lower tiers.

Still, this was the highest-grade physique he had seen so far.

The grade director of the school's Martial Arts Class was almost the strongest expert there, apart from the principal. It was only natural that he had such a high grade.

"But what exactly is the difference between talent and physique? Both seem to determine cultivation speed."

Jiang Ye was a little puzzled.

He still had Primitive Talent, yet his cultivation speed was already no slower than that of the Nascent Talent students in the Key Class.

This world placed so much importance on talent. Surely it had other uses, too.

While Jiang Ye was pondering this, the assessment had already begun.

"The Martial Arts Four Trials. First event: begin now."

Director Zhang Jianwu spoke in a low, stern voice.

The Martial Arts Four Trials consisted of the Punch Force Assessment, Speed Assessment, Arena Combat Assessment, and Virtual Starry Sky Combat Assessment.

They were the same events as in the college entrance exams.

As Zhang Jianwu finished speaking,

a Punch Force Tester rose from the center of the classroom.

"First up, Xu Sisi," Zhang Jianwu called.

A slender girl with long legs stepped onto the platform.

As Zhang Jianwu watched the examinees take their turns, a glint flashed in his eyes.

"I heard Class Nine has a promising student."

Zhang Jianwu wondered, Miss Chen praised someone so highly. I'm curious which student it is.

Boom!

By then, the first examinee, Xu Sisi, had received her result.

"603 kilograms?"

Zhang Jianwu nodded slightly. "Breaking through to Great Accomplishment in an Ordinary Class by their second year. Not bad."

The standard for reaching Great Accomplishment in the Star Martial Cultivation Method was 500 kilograms.

But to Zhang Jianwu, this level was still nowhere near what he would call "promising."

Xu Sisi returned to her seat, a hint of excitement hidden in her delicate, oval face. "My punch force has improved again. I wonder if I can take first place this time?"

She had always ranked second in martial arts in her class.

Not long after Li Zhichao broke through to Great Accomplishment in the Cultivation Method, she had followed suit.

This time, her punch force had exceeded 600 kilograms—a breakthrough like never before. Perhaps she had a chance at first place!

As one student after another stepped up to be tested, the rankings on the electronic blackboard kept changing.

But Zhang Jianwu still hadn't seen a student who made his eyes light up.

Just then, a boy with a pointed head walked onto the platform.

Boom!

Li Zhichao's punch landed, and the number on the force display shot upward.

732 kilograms!

"Whoa!"

The number left the whole class amazed.

"Seven hundred and thirty-two kilograms? That's terrifying!"

"I'm barely over four hundred kilograms. How does this guy even train?"

In the crowd, Xu Sisi saw the result and let out a sigh. "Looks like I'll have to settle for second place."

Li Zhichao had improved far faster than she'd imagined.

"One semester, and his punch force went up by three hundred kilograms?"

Wen Yuehui's pupils contracted. He marveled, "Li Zhichao really is a monster!"

He glanced at Jiang Ye, who sat beside him, calm as still water, and asked in confusion, "A Ye, why aren't you surprised at all?"

"What's there to be surprised about?"

Jiang Ye shook his head. "He trains hard, and he takes his supplements seriously. Isn't this kind of improvement only natural?"

"..."

Wen Yuehui nodded. "That makes a lot of sense."

On the platform, a glint flashed in Zhang Jianwu's eyes.

"Li Zhichao? Not bad, I suppose. But both his parents are Martial Arts Experts, and their assets are worth tens of millions?"

Zhang Jianwu looked over the student information on his tablet.

He shook his head inwardly.

In his view, results like these were nothing surprising for someone from such a family.

They were far from exceptional.

Most of the students had already been tested, but Zhang Jianwu still hadn't seen anyone who made his eyes light up. He felt a little disappointed.

"Next, Jiang Ye."

At the call, a handsome young man strode onto the platform.

"Hmm? This student..."

Zhang Jianwu had a keen eye. At a glance, he could tell there was something different about the young man.

Jiang Ye walked up to the Punch Force Tester.

Crack, crack!

His muscles surged, and his bones rattled.

As he raised his right fist, the muscles in his shoulders, waist, and hips bulged slightly. A primordial force surged upward from below.

Boom!!

His fist slammed forward.

The number on the force display surged.

200 kilograms.

400 kilograms.

600 kilograms.

A second later, it stopped at exactly 610 kilograms.

"610 kilograms?"

Jiang Ye was a little surprised by the result. After all, he had only just broken through to Great Accomplishment.

As expected, a stronger physique means greater strength to match.

Jiang Ye thought, If I didn't have a B-grade physique, my punch force would probably only be a little over five hundred kilograms.

At the same level, the better the physique, the stronger the combat power!

Jiang Ye had already suspected as much during the preliminary assessment.

Today had confirmed it.

Though he had only just broken through to Great Accomplishment, his B-grade physique gave him extraordinary combat power!

Jiang Ye cupped his hands to Zhang Jianwu, then walked off the platform by himself.

The classroom erupted again.

Quite a few students stared at Jiang Ye in surprise.

Xu Sisi looked at him, unwilling to accept it.

She had thought she could hold on to second place and fight for first, but she hadn't even managed to keep second!

"Jiang Ye? Didn't he only score 245 kilograms in the preliminary assessment?"

Xu Sisi muttered, "He improved by nearly four hundred kilograms in one semester?! More than Li Zhichao did? How?"

Elsewhere,

Wen Yuehui's eyes widened. "Six hundred and sixty-six—this is so unbelievable, even the salt can't make it salty anymore!"

"Bro, where'd you buy your cheat? Can you sell me one?"

Jiang Ye shook his head and sighed. "I told you, it's all about perseverance and hard work."

Wen Yuehui grumbled, "The rich rely on technology, the poor on mutation! You definitely mutated."

"Maybe." Jiang Ye smiled. In a way, he really had mutated.

At the same time, Zhang Jianwu looked toward Jiang Ye on the platform.

That's the one, he thought.

He had already checked Jiang Ye's records.

An ordinary family, an ordinary background.

Most important of all was how quickly the student had improved!

At the end of last semester, he had ranked 40th.

At the opening assessment this semester, he had ranked 25th.

And this time? He had shot straight up to second place.

"It seems Miss Chen was right." Zhang Jianwu gave an almost imperceptible nod. "Class Nine has a promising student."

Of course, to him, Jiang Ye was only promising.

As the grade director of the Martial Arts Class, Zhang Jianwu knew very well where the limits of Primitive Talent lay.

Rapid improvement in the second year of high school wasn't rare. But usually, that momentum gradually slowed in the third year.

Before long, the Punch Force Assessment was over.

Li Zhichao, Jiang Ye, and Xu Sisi took the top three places, respectively.

Wen Yuehui had also made a solid improvement, reaching sixth place.

Standing on the platform, Zhang Jianwu said in a low, stern voice, "The second event, the Speed Assessment, begins now!"

"First up, Xu Sisi!"

Xu Sisi took a deep breath when she heard her name.

From the corner of her eye, she glanced at Jiang Ye. A competitive glint flashed across her fair, oval face.

Punch force wasn't her strong suit.

As a girl, speed was what she had worked hard to improve this semester.

I have to make up the difference in the Speed Assessment.

Xu Sisi thought, If I can beat Jiang Ye in the Speed Assessment and the upcoming combat assessment, I can still hold on to second place.

Surpass Jiang Ye and catch up to Li Zhichao!

That was the goal she had set for herself.

Xu Sisi took a deep breath, then stepped onto the platform.