The next few classes performed much the same. The fastest finished in around 11.30 seconds, while even the slowest came in under 12.50. Though Sixth Middle School was an ordinary high school, its students had undergone systematic training, so their overall physical fitness surpassed that of their peers in the world Chen Mo had come from.
"Third group, Class Seven, get ready!"
Chen Mo took his place in the third lane and drew a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment and summoned the muscle memory throughout his body. The coordination he'd gained from [Body Tempering Fist Lv.3] came into play.
"On your marks—get set—"
The gun went off!
Chen Mo drove off the ground and burst forward. He could feel how much stronger he was than a month ago; his explosive power off the starting line had improved significantly. As he ran, he consciously controlled his breathing and kept his lower body steady, as he'd learned from Black Tiger Stance, doing his best to maintain his speed.
As he crossed the finish line, he heard his time called: "Third lane, 11.89 seconds."
That put him third in Class Seven and around the upper middle of his grade. Panting, Chen Mo returned to the group, mostly satisfied with his result. It was already far better than his previous record, which had been over 13 seconds.
Zhang Shun clocked 12.34 seconds, putting him in the lower middle of the class. He hung his head dejectedly. "Sigh, same as always."
"It's fine. We've still got other events." Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder.
Chen Mo ran the 400 meters in 58.76 seconds, again placing in the upper middle. He noticed that his endurance was still lacking; his speed dropped off noticeably in the second half.
"Look! Song Yunliang's up!"
Someone shouted, and every eye turned toward the track. A tall, dark-skinned boy stepped up to the starting line. He was none other than the martial arts prodigy everyone at Sixth Middle School knew, Song Yunliang.
The instant the gun went off, Song Yunliang shot forward like a cheetah, getting off the line noticeably faster than the others! His strides were long and powerful, and he accelerated smoothly, as if his whole body were brimming with explosive strength.
"10.98 seconds!"
The crowd erupted!
"10.98! That's close to First-Class Athlete level!"
"Song Yunliang really is impressive. I heard both his parents are Third-Rank Martial Artists, and they used medicinal treatments to build his foundation from a young age."
"Too bad his Cultural Class scores are so poor. Otherwise, he'd have gone to First Middle School already."
Chen Mo was shaken. A time of 10.98 seconds was unquestionably top-tier at Sixth Middle School, and even rivaled students at some key high schools. Song Yunliang's 400-meter time was just as astonishing—51.23 seconds, easily taking first place.
Is this the gap between talent and resources? Chen Mo wondered. But he wasn't discouraged. If anything, he was more determined than ever to catch up.
At the strength testing area, students took turns testing their punching and kicking power.
Most students could punch with 130 to 180 kilograms of force and kick with 250 to 350 kilograms. That was already comparable to the strength of professional athletes in Chen Mo's old world.
Li Haoran drew quite a bit of attention when he stepped up. He wasn't especially bulky, but his muscles were well defined, clearly the result of systematic training. He stood before the testing machine, took a deep breath, and threw a punch!
"Punching power: 192 kilograms! Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency: 85%! Overall score: 84!"
"Kicking power: 365 kilograms! Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency: 83%! Overall score: 86!"
Those were solid results, putting him among the best at Sixth Middle School.
Zhao Peng performed slightly worse, with punching power of 188 kilograms and kicking power of 358 kilograms. His Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency was only 78%, putting his overall score at around 84.
When it was Chen Mo's turn, he stood before the testing machine without rushing to throw a punch. He closed his eyes and recalled the principles of generating force in Black Tiger Stance: power began at the ground and flowed through the body, joint by joint.
His mastery of [Body Tempering Fist Lv.3] stirred his body's muscle memory. He drew a deep breath, imagining himself as a bow pulled to its limit.
He threw a punch!
The machine shook, and the numbers flashed: 187 kilograms.
"Punching power: 187 kilograms, Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency: 79%, overall score: 78."
The proctor nodded. "Good technique. You've still got room to improve your strength."
For the kicking test, Chen Mo adjusted his stance and whipped a roundhouse kick into the target.
342 kilograms.
"Kicking power: 342 kilograms, Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency: 81%, overall score: 80."
That put him in the upper middle of Class Seven and around the middle of his grade. Chen Mo silently noted his shortcomings: he definitely needed to work on his basic strength.
When Song Yunliang stepped up to the testing platform, the crowd grew excited again.
He didn't throw a punch right away. Instead, he lowered his hips into a horse stance, and the muscles throughout his body swelled slightly. Chen Mo could keenly sense that Song Yunliang's Qi and Blood seemed much more abundant than an ordinary person's.
"Ha!"
Song Yunliang threw a punch. The machine let out a dull thud, and the numbers on the display leaped wildly!
245 kilograms!
"Punching power: 245 kilograms! Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency: 89%! Overall score: 95!"
Next came the kicking test. Song Yunliang delivered a powerful side kick, and the machine let out an even louder bang.
432 kilograms!
"Kicking power: 432 kilograms! Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency: 88%! Overall score: 94!"
Gasps of amazement rippled through the crowd.
"That's incredible! His strength must already surpass that of a lot of students at key high schools, right?"
"I heard Song Yunliang's been tempering his body with medicinal baths since he was little. He's got an exceptionally solid foundation."
"Too bad his Cultural Class scores are so poor. Otherwise..."
Looking at Song Yunliang's results, Chen Mo felt both stunned and clear-eyed. Punching power of 245 kilograms and kicking power of 432 kilograms were already on par with professional boxers and martial artists. But he noticed that although Song Yunliang's Qi and Blood Mobilization Efficiency was high, it still hadn't reached 90 percent, meaning there was room to improve his force-generation technique.
I still have a chance to catch up, Chen Mo thought. The system gave him a rate of improvement beyond that of ordinary people. As long as he kept at it, he might yet catch up to, or even surpass, these prodigies.
At the reaction testing area, the students watched the three hemispherical machines riddled with launch holes, their expressions tense.
The proctor explained the rules sternly. "...Each machine will randomly fire 30 rubber balls over the course of 30 seconds, with their speed gradually increasing from 10 meters per second to 30 meters per second. You'll get 3 points for every ball you knock away and lose 1 point each time you're hit. The maximum score is 100."
"Be warned: getting hit by a ball traveling at 30 meters per second will hurt. Anyone with a Qi and Blood Value below 80 can request an easier setting."
Many students went pale. For ordinary high schoolers, this test was definitely a challenge.
The first group of students performed only moderately well. Most could knock away only 15 to 20 balls, scoring between 40 and 60 points.
Li Haoran did quite well when he stepped up. He moved nimbly and reacted quickly, darting around the testing area and using both his fists and feet.
"25 balls knocked away, hit 4 times, score: 71."
The spectators applauded. That was already an excellent score at Sixth Middle School.
Zhao Peng managed to knock away only 24 balls and was hit twice, scoring 70. He stepped off the testing area, looking a little disappointed.
Zhang Shun did even worse. He lasted only 22 seconds before losing control. In the end, he knocked away just 13 balls, was hit 9 times, and scored 30. He came down with his head hanging.
"Chen Mo, get ready." The teacher called his name.
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