Punching Strength Test

The next day.

Today was the day of the punching strength test. Chen Yan knew full well that today was a huge opportunity, so he arrived at school early.

[Saint Breaking Realm: Level One (2/3)]

[Saint Breaking Fruit:

Strength: (54/100)

Blood: (9/100)]

Sitting in his seat, Chen Yan pondered. Yesterday, he had told Wang Yang about the red light he'd unleashed with his punch.

Wang Yang had only let out a sigh.

He understood the meaning behind that sigh.

But he had the Saint Breaking Tree—maybe that could change something.

Right then.

Students filed into the classroom one after another. Head Teacher Wang Yang was already standing at the podium, waiting:

"Once Class One and Class Two are done, our class will start the punching strength test. As long as you pass, not only can you participate in the upcoming Town Martial Bonus selection.

The school will also directly reward everyone with fifteen hundred yuan."

Wang Yang spoke, and cheers instantly erupted within the classroom.

"Don't get too excited just yet. Class One has already finished testing—only seven people passed in total." Wang Yang spoke again, and the cheers in the classroom died down.

"All tests require years of accumulation. A single test is enough to show who's been slacking off and who's been putting in the effort."

Wang Yang's voice grew louder. In the classroom, aside from a handful of students, everyone else lowered their heads.

"Brother Hu, you got this?"

In front of Chen Yan, Hu Yuan's deskmate asked him.

Hu Yuan was tall and sturdy, and his test results had always been pretty good.

"One hundred sixty kilograms... naturally, I can do it." Hu Yuan spoke with confidence. His strong physique made him stand out sharply in the class.

"Class Three, prepare to begin the punching strength test!"

The voice of Principal Zhang Yue came through the broadcast.

Wang Yang waved his hand, and the entire class left the classroom and headed to the training room.

The training room was very spacious. As soon as Chen Yan entered, he spotted several lines of writing on the blackboard at the front.

[Punching Strength Results]

[First Place: Class One, Yu Zhiwen — 563 kg]

[Second Place: Class Two, Wang Yu — 385 kg]

[Fifth Place: Class Three, Zhang Qingsi — 257 kg]

A wave of surprised murmurs instantly rippled through the Class Three students.

"Director Xia Tong already took Zhang Qingsi to test."

Wang Yang spoke:

"Zhang Qingsi only just awakened his Blood Qi. He's not used to it yet. Once he adapts, his punching strength will get stronger and stronger."

Chen Yan looked at the first-place spot, his gaze trembling.

Yu Zhiwen, 563 kilograms of punching strength—far ahead of second-place Wang Yu.

The key point was that Yu Zhiwen was a girl. Chen Yan had seen her around on ordinary days; she looked very gentle and refined. He never imagined her strength was this terrifying.

One punch like that could probably kill a cow.

As for second-place Wang Yu, he hadn't awakened his Blood Qi and walked the Body Tempering Path.

To achieve such terrifying punching strength relying solely on physical body power, his physique and punching technique must be exceptional.

"Class Three, let's begin. Follow your seat order."

Inside the training room, a female teacher stood in front of a machine taller than herself and spoke.

That was the Force Tester. One punch, and it would display the punching strength.

Each person had three attempts.

Soon, a student walked up to the Force Tester with a nervous expression.

"Focus on your power output." Wang Yang spoke.

"Okay, teacher." The boy took a deep breath and threw a punch.

Bang.

At the very center of the Force Tester, the sensor wrapped in a soft membrane trembled violently.

"Wang Xueyuan, one hundred thirty-five kilograms."

The female teacher recorded the score as she read it aloud. The male student named Wang Xueyuan's face turned ugly, and he walked away directly.

"Two more tries," the female teacher said.

"I'm done. The gap's too big," Wang Xueyuan replied, hanging his head in dejection.

"Next," the female teacher said without offering comfort.

Chen Yan's seat wasn't near the front, so he had to wait a while.

"Yucheng, one hundred twenty-four kilograms."

"Zhao Xi, one hundred thirty kilograms."

"Zhang Wei, best of three tries: one hundred fifty-eight kilograms. Close."

Measuring punching power didn't take long, and soon nearly twenty people had gone.

"I told you to work hard every day. What's the point of crying now?" Head Teacher Wang Yang's face darkened.

Some of the boys who had been full of confidence were already starting to tear up.

Reality was far too different from what they'd imagined.

Class Three's results were far worse than Class One and Class Two. Out of the whole class of sixty students, not even a third had passed.

"Hu Yuan," the female teacher called.

Hearing his name, Hu Yuan clenched his fists. A trace of nervousness flickered in his eyes as he stepped forward.

"Hu Yuan, remember to use your whole body!" Wang Yang instructed. Hu Yuan was one of the students he had high hopes for.

At the same time, the other students began to cheer him on.

Yesterday, Zhang Qingsi had originally treated everyone to barbecue, but Hu Yuan had paid the bill himself and later bought drinks for the group, which had quickly boosted his standing.

"I can definitely do it!" Hu Yuan muttered under his breath. He stepped up to the Force Tester, his tension fading as confidence returned.

His father had told him to suck up to Zhang Qingsi, but who didn't want to rely on themselves?

Bam.

With a violent shudder from the Sensor, a string of numbers appeared on the Force Tester's Display Screen.

"One hundred fifty-seven kilograms. Close."

The female teacher announced.

Hu Yuan's expression faltered, and he quickly said:

"Teacher, second try."

"Mm."

Hu Yuan took a deep breath and struck again.

Bam.

"Teacher, I—"

"Third try, get ready."

Hu Yuan returned to his class's spot with a face like death. The classmates around him exchanged glances, their expressions complicated.

They made comforting gestures, but a hint of mockery couldn't help but surface in their eyes.

One hundred fifty-nine kilograms—that was Hu Yuan's best result.

Just one kilogram short of passing.

If the gap had been bigger, Hu Yuan wouldn't have felt so awful. But to have fifteen hundred slip through his fingers like this...

Hu Yuan slumped to the ground in defeat. In his ears rang Wang Yang's sigh and the female teacher's voice.

"Chen Yan."

"Good." The voice he hated sounded. Hu Yuan wanted to witness the other guy get eliminated, but thinking of his own failure, he couldn't even be bothered to lift his head.

Tears welled up in his eyes.

"Hu Yuan, you were just one point off. Why not try one more time..."

A classmate's suggestion reached his ears. Hu Yuan froze, caught in hesitation.

But remembering how close he'd been to passing, Hu Yuan looked at Wang Yang with hope and said:

"Teacher Wang, I want to try one more—"

Bam.

The sound of a fist hitting the Force Tester rang out.

In an instant, the entire Class Three erupted in cheers.

"Chen Yan, one hundred sixty-seven kilograms."

All thoughts in Hu Yuan's brain came to a halt as he stared blankly ahead.

"Chen Yan, do you need to test a second time?" the Female Teacher asked with a smile, surprise flickering in her eyes.

His form was clearly poor, yet one punch had passed the test.

That meant the student himself had considerable strength.

"No need."

Chen Yan smiled.

"Passing the test is enough."

"Chen Yan, not bad!"

Head Teacher Wang Yang hadn't expected Chen Yan to pass either—after all, Chen Yan had a year-long gap, and a year of bed rest would surely have degraded his physical condition.

Wang Yang gave a thumbs-up and patted Chen Yan on the shoulder.

"Go to the Next Classroom to collect your reward, then you're free for the rest of the time."

Wang Yang then turned his gaze to Hu Yuan, having naturally heard what Hu Yuan said earlier.

"No, Hu Yuan. Three tries is school policy."

"Ah?" Hu Yuan's mouth fell open, but his peripheral vision caught Chen Yan walking past him, and his expression soured even more.

In the Next Classroom, Principal Zhang Yue was seated upright, having naturally heard the noise from the training room.

"Chen Yan, Class Three, a reward of fifteen hundred. There are only a few months left until the College Entrance Exam—work hard!"

Zhang Yue smiled warmly at Chen Yan. He knew Chen Yan's situation and was quite surprised by his current performance.

Remembering something, Zhang Yue continued, "I wanted to tell you yesterday, Chen Yan. That red light you punched out yesterday—that's a sign of awakening."

Chen Yan fell silent as Zhang Yue went on.

"I think it failed, but it shows you've worked hard enough. It's just that your talent isn't there.

Your physique is quite good. I think you'd do much better taking the Body Tempering Path."

Chen Yan took the Red Packet, his expression shifting slightly. Now he understood why Wang Yang had sighed.

But he wasn't willing to give up.

He had the Saint Breaking Realm. He felt there was still a chance.

Zhang Yue looked at Chen Yan. He had been through it himself and naturally knew Chen Yan was unwilling to accept it.

But what use was unwillingness?

Better to switch tracks early and achieve results on a different path.

Still, he wouldn't say more. This was something Chen Yan would have to realize on his own.

With the prize money in hand, Chen Yan went straight home.

His family's Noodle Shop wasn't far from the school, and he could already hear a commotion.

"What, you can pay back others but make me wait?"

"You think Hu Zeyuan is easy to bully? Don't talk to me about family—my sister is already dead."

"You don't dare go to the Inner Qingshan, your shop's about to be gone, how are you going to make money in the future?"

"Pathetic. Pah!"

That was Hu Zeyuan's voice. Chen Yan saw passersby stopping to watch the spectacle, and the Shopkeeper's wife from the clothing store next door was staring at him oddly.

Then, his uncle Hu Zeyuan walked out of the shop with a cold face.

Chen Yan's expression turned icy. Hadn't they just come to collect debts yesterday?

Seeing Chen Yan, Hu Zeyuan paused, didn't ask a thing, snorted, and left directly.

"Dad, what happened?"

Chen Yan walked into the shop and saw Chen Yuxu sitting dejectedly in a chair.

"Hm?" Chen Yuxu was startled. Seeing Chen Yan back, the dejection on his face vanished instantly. He asked in surprise, "Why are you back so early today?"

"Dad, how much debt do we still owe?" Chen Yan didn't answer, asking directly instead.

Chen Yuxu's expression shifted. He waved his hand and said, "Kids shouldn't worry about this. No way I'm letting you be concerned about anything."

With a slap, Chen Yuxu saw a Red Packet appear in Chen Yan's hand. Just as he was about to ask, he saw Chen Yan pull out a few hundred-yuan notes from it.

"You... where did you get so much money?"

Chen Yuxu asked, stunned.

"I passed the Punching Strength Test, the school gave me fifteen hundred." Chen Yan finished counting the money, stuffed the remaining five hundred into a Red Packet, and handed it to Chen Yuxu.

"We owe their family a thousand, right?" Chen Yan asked.

"This..." Chen Yuxu was at a loss for words, but still nodded.

"Is there an IOU?"

"There is."

Chen Yan shoved the thousand into his pocket and ran off directly, leaving Chen Yuxu standing frozen in the shop.

Staring at the Red Packet in his hand, Chen Yuxu clenched it tightly and slowly sat down.

"Ha..."

He opened his mouth and let out a laugh.

"Hahaha." Chen Yuxu's face twisted with a tangle of complex emotions and laughter, a mix of bitter and sweet.

"My son really has promise."

Chen Yan ran out and saw Hu Zeyuan about to enter the Barbecue Shop.

"The usual?" the barbecue shop owner said with a smile. Hu Zeyuan was about to answer when he spotted Chen Yan rushing over, glancing at him sidelong.

"I'm here to pay back the money." Chen Yan ran up to Hu Zeyuan and pulled the thousand from his pocket.

"Pay back the money?" Hu Zeyuan frowned, then laughed. "I told you your family still had cash."

But Chen Yan said calmly, "The IOU."

Hu Zeyuan was taken aback, then said coldly, "Is that how you talk to me?"

"Then I won't pay it back." Chen Yan turned around, completely ignoring Hu Zeyuan.

"Wait!" Hu Zeyuan barked, squinting at Chen Yan, then pulled a slip of paper from his pocket.

Chen Yan looked at the handwriting. Hu Zeyuan carried it on him, intending to make his father settle the debt today.

Chen Yan took back the IOU, handed the thousand to Hu Zeyuan, and was about to leave when—

"Hold on."

Hu Zeyuan spoke coldly, "What if some of it's fake?"

He rubbed the marks on the bills with one hand, inspecting them very carefully.

But Chen Yan didn't stop and walked away.

"You'll vouch for me, right? If there's any fake, we'll check it together!" Hu Zeyuan said to the barbecue shop owner beside him.

"Come on, you're all relatives." The shop owner couldn't stand it anymore and tried to mediate.

"Let me tell you, relatives are the ones you have to watch out for," Hu Zeyuan said as he kept checking, only stuffing the money into his pocket after confirming none were counterfeit. "Add a Roast Pork Leg today."

Just as he said that, Hu Zeyuan saw his own son trudging past the roadside with a dejected look.

"Ahem!" Hu Zeyuan coughed dryly, but found his son hadn't noticed him. He ran over, grabbed Hu Yuan's arm, and asked, "Why are you back so early this morning?"

As soon as he said it, he saw Hu Yuan looking at him with a tearful face. "Dad, I didn't pass the Punching Strength Test."

Hu Zeyuan froze. Slap! He smacked Hu Yuan on the forehead. "How could you not pass? I feed you meat every meal, and you still didn't pass?"

"Dad... only two people in our class passed." Fear crept into Hu Yuan's eyes as he defended himself.

"Only two." Hu Zeyuan's expression softened slightly. "Who were they?"

"Zhang Qingsi." Hu Yuan spat out two words.

"Mm." Hu Zeyuan's face no longer looked grim. Zhang Qingsi had already Awakened Blood Qi, so of course he could pass.

"And who else?"

But beside him, Hu Yuan hesitated, his face a mess of complicated emotions.

Hu Zeyuan smacked Hu Yuan on the forehead again, glaring fiercely at his son.

Fear deepened in Hu Yuan's eyes, and he forced out two words as if they were hard to utter.

"Chen Yan."

Hu Zeyuan nodded.

"Huh?"

His body stiffened, frozen in place.