Chen Mo took a deep breath and walked into the testing area. Once he was in position, he closed his eyes and regulated his breathing. His high Mental Strength came into play at that moment. Even with his eyes shut, the subtle changes in the air currents and the sounds of the machinery gave him a clear sense of his surroundings.
"Begin!"
In the first wave, two small balls shot toward him simultaneously from the left and right. Chen Mo turned sideways, smacked the ball on his right away with his left palm, and knocked the one on his left aside with his right elbow. His movements were clean and precise.
His [Body Tempering Fist Lv. 3] proficiency gave him far greater control over his body than before. Every movement was precise and perfectly executed.
The balls sped up and came in greater numbers. Chen Mo's awareness expanded in every direction, and the accelerated thinking brought by his high Mental Strength began to show its effects. In his eyes, the balls' trajectories seemed to grow clear and distinct.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Three balls shot toward him in a triangular formation. Chen Mo shifted his footing and glided like a fish through water, throwing punches and kicks to knock them all away.
At the 20-second mark, he had knocked away 21 balls without being hit. People in the audience began to take notice of the student who usually went unnoticed.
At 25 seconds, the speed increased to 28 meters per second. Five balls shot at him from different directions at once! Chen Mo twisted his body to the limit and knocked away four, but the fifth grazed his ribs as it flew past. It counted as a hit.
In the final five seconds, the balls reached their maximum speed of 30 meters per second. Chen Mo focused completely. The steady stance he had gained from [Black Tiger Stance Lv. 3] let him quickly shift his center of gravity within a very small space.
"Time!"
Chen Mo stopped moving and breathed lightly.
"Twenty-three balls knocked away, one hit. Score: 68 points."
This score was second only to Li Haoran and Zhao Peng in Class Seven, and ranked in the upper-middle range across the whole grade. The proctor gave Chen Mo a few extra looks and wrote something on the record sheet.
"Brother Mo, you were amazing!" Zhang Shun said excitedly. "Those moves just now were so cool!"
Chen Mo smiled without answering. He had noticed where he fell short: in the final stage, when the attacks reached their maximum density and speed, his physical reactions still lagged a little behind his perception.
Song Yunliang's Reaction Test was even more impressive.
As soon as he stepped into the testing area, his entire presence changed. When the balls shot toward him, he barely needed to move. A slight turn of his body, a tilt of his head, or a raised hand was enough to knock each one away with pinpoint accuracy.
Even more astonishingly, when six balls shot toward him simultaneously from different angles, Song Yunliang used both fists and feet and knocked every one away!
"Twenty-nine balls knocked away, one hit. Score: 96 points!"
"That's incredible! His reaction speed is insane!"
"I heard his Martial Artist parents have trained him since he was little. His reflexes have been honed for years."
"Too bad about his Cultural Class..."
Chen Mo watched Song Yunliang's movements closely and noticed that the way he generated force was unusual. Each strike seemed to carry a unique rhythm. It was probably a characteristic of his family's martial arts.
The Combat Test area drew the most attention, and the atmosphere there was tense. A dark Iron Puppet stood on each platform, with the number 100 displayed on its chest.
After the proctors carefully explained the rules, the test officially began.
Most of the first group of students performed poorly. Against Iron Puppets with a Qi and Blood Value of 100 that used perfected Body Tempering Fist attacks, most students could only last 30 to 60 seconds and handle a dozen or two moves. Their scores ranged from 40 to 80 points.
Li Haoran put on a steady performance when his turn came. He had clearly studied Body Tempering Fist in depth and could anticipate some of the puppet's moves, using skill to deflect its attacks.
He lasted 65 seconds, or 1 minute and 35 seconds, and handled 31 moves before a [Black Tiger Steals Heart] struck him in the stomach and knocked him down. He conceded.
Score: 95×0.5+38×2=32.5+62=123.5 points.
"Good score!" the proctor said, nodding.
Zhao Peng did slightly worse. He lasted 1 minute and 27 seconds, handled 36 moves, and scored 115.5 points.
When it was Chen Mo's turn, he walked onto the platform and stood opposite the Iron Puppet. He regulated his breathing and assumed the opening stance of Black Tiger Stance. Although it wasn't a combat stance, it helped him get into the right state as quickly as possible.
The red light on the Iron Puppet lit up.
"Begin!"
The Iron Puppet moved, driving a [Fierce Tiger Descends Mountain] straight at Chen Mo's face! Chen Mo dodged to the side instead of trying to block it head-on.
His [Body Tempering Fist Lv. 3] proficiency gave him an instinctive familiarity with the puppet's moves. When it changed its technique, Chen Mo could often anticipate it.
But a perfected Body Tempering Fist was no easy opponent. The puppet's attacks came like a storm, one move following another. Chen Mo barely held on, relying on the perception and foresight his high Mental Strength gave him, along with the foundation he had built by diligently practicing his stances.
At 30 seconds, sweat appeared on Chen Mo's forehead. He tried to counterattack, but his punches against the puppet were like blows against a steel plate.
At 45 seconds, a [Fierce Tiger Swishes Tail] swept into Chen Mo's side. He staggered several steps, and the sharp pain made his vision go dark.
I can't fall... He gritted his teeth and steadied himself. The solid stance he had developed through Black Tiger Stance proved crucial at that moment.
At 50 seconds, Chen Mo was already gasping for breath. His clothes were soaked with sweat, and pain throbbed from several places on his body. Still, he kept going, his mind racing as he analyzed the puppet's attack patterns.
At the one-minute mark, Chen Mo noticed a pattern. The puppet's moves varied widely, but about every ten moves, its rhythm shifted for the briefest moment. That discovery let him hold on for another dozen seconds.
At 1 minute and 10 seconds, Chen Mo was nearing his limit. A [Black Tiger Steals Heart] shot straight at his chest. He barely managed to block it, but the tremendous force sent him stumbling backward.
He had no strength left to dodge the next move. A sweeping kick struck his supporting leg, and he crashed to the ground.
"Five, four, three..." The proctor began counting down.
Chen Mo struggled to get back up, but the pain in his leg kept him from putting any weight on it.
"...Two, one. Test over."
Chen Mo lay on the platform, gasping for breath.
"Time lasted: 88 seconds. Effective moves handled: 32. Score: 88×0.5+32×2=44+64=108 points."
Murmurs rose from the audience.
"108 points? Chen Mo has improved so much!"
"Didn't he score only a little over 80 in the last mock test?"
"Looks like he really has come into his own."
Chen Mo struggled to stand and limped off the platform. Zhang Shun hurried over to support him. "Brother Mo, 108 points! You're third in our class so far!"
Chen Mo gave a bitter smile and shook his head. He knew that this was a good score at Sixth Middle School, but across the whole city, it was only upper-middle.
Xu Yunjing was next. As one of the Martial Arts geniuses recognized across Sixth Middle School, everyone was eager to see how she would do.
Xu Yunjing stepped onto the platform, her expression calm. As soon as the test began, she lived up to expectations. She held her own against the Iron Puppet's attacks, trading moves with it without falling behind!
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