Complicated Thoughts

Zhang Qianru immediately lost interest. Working so hard and still getting bad grades—doesn't that just mean she's stupid?

Lu Shuyuan, however, asked with some confusion, "If your brother's martial arts are so strong, why does he still study so hard?"

"My brother's martial arts are strong?" Chen Xingyue's eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Haven't you noticed? The way he walks has this natural rhythm to it, just like our Martial Arts Teacher."

"How is that possible!" Before Chen Xingyue could react, Zhang Qianru had already voiced her thoughts.

Their class's Martial Arts Teacher was a genuine martial artist. Though he'd suffered an incurable hidden injury from sorcery while exploring another world and had to stay at school as an ordinary teacher, his actual strength was still nothing a Martial Apprentice could compare to.

For the first time, Chen Xingyue seriously studied Chen Shouyi, who was waiting in line ahead of her.

He had his hands on his hips, head lowered as if lost in thought, standing all loose and sloppy with no posture at all.

In the past, every time she saw that, she'd frown inwardly, disappointed that her brother wouldn't shape up. But now, for some reason—maybe it was her imagination—that same sloppy stance made her feel like a crouching leopard, ready to pounce at any moment.

Then it hit her. Not long ago, that wooden chopstick half-sunk into the wall. She'd thought it was a coincidence back then, but now...

"Brother!" Something stirred in her, and she called out.

She stared unblinkingly at his movements. Human martial arts forcibly override the body's natural force-generation habits, leveraging more muscle power and amplifying it through the body's levers.

Anyone who'd trained in martial arts force-generation would leave traces on their body—in their walk, or in...

Chen Shouyi, confused, turned his head. "What is it?"

Chen Xingyue snapped out of it and quickly said, "Nothing, just calling you."

"Weirdo," Chen Shouyi muttered inwardly.

"Did you see that?" Lu Shuyuan whispered, blushing. "When ordinary people look at something less than fifteen degrees to the side, they usually just turn their heads—it's the most efficient and convenient way. But seasoned Martial Apprentices or even martial artists are different. They move their entire spine, along with the hips, leg joints, and even a whole chain of muscles in coordinated motion.

Because in long-term force-generation practice, this has become their habit, ingrained to the bone."

"That doesn't prove his strength. It could be a coincidence." Chen Xingyue still found it hard to accept, her thoughts tangled.

"That's because you haven't watched him walk. If you had, you wouldn't say that. Every step he takes subtly follows the standard 'Basic Footwork,' with a faint sense of gliding through the air.

Either he became a Martial Apprentice a long time ago, or his Entering Tranquility to Refine the Self has nearly trained every muscle in his body."

"It really does seem that way. Xingyue, I feel like you don't know your brother very well," Zhang Qianru said, a little puzzled.

Chen Xingyue opened her mouth, but in the end said nothing, her thoughts a mess.

Once 8:30 passed, registration for the Martial Arts Assessment began.

The assessment had many events. Just the physical tests alone included the 100-meter sprint, bench press, clean and jerk, squats, followed by archery and the toughest of all, Cold Weapon Combat.

"Number 102, Chen Xingyue, 100-meter sprint, 10.11 seconds—Pass!"

"Number 102, Chen Xingyue, bench press, 155 kg—Pass!"

"Number 102, Chen Xingyue, squats, 265 kg—Pass!"

The physical test standards for female Martial Apprentices were much lower than for males. Chen Shouyi suddenly found some comfort in realizing that if he took the female test, he'd definitely pass too.

"Brother Shouyi, want some water?" Lu Shuyuan shyly handed him a bottle.

"Oh, thanks." Chen Shouyi took it, drank a sip, and casually asked, "Are you Xingyue's classmates?"

"Yeah, we're both in the martial arts class. She and I are deskmates," Lu Shuyuan said, acting demure.

"We're all close friends with Xingyue!" Zhang Qianru chimed in, not wanting to be outdone, pressing her lively body against Chen Shouyi's arm, seemingly on purpose or by accident.

The soft touch of the girl made Chen Shouyi go stiff all over.

Luckily, Chen Xingyue came back just then. Chen Shouyi sighed in relief and quickly said, "Ah, Xingyue passed all the physical tests!"

Chen Xingyue returned with a blank expression, not looking particularly excited. When she looked at Chen Shouyi, her expression was complicated and gloomy.

He was baffled but didn't dwell on it. "You should rest a bit before the archery test."

Chen Xingyue nodded without speaking, took the water from Lu Shuyuan, drank some, and sat down to rest with her eyes closed.

After about ten minutes, she stood up and walked to the archery assessment area to begin.

The archery test had two parts: fixed target and moving target, both with strict time limits.

Ten arrows in ten seconds meant firing one arrow per second.

The Bow was a modern recurve bow, powerful and precise.

Chen Xingyue passed this event easily too. Whether fixed or moving target, every arrow hit near the bullseye, heavy and forceful.

After passing, Chen Xingyue didn't relax. Instead, she grew more tense, her face tightening with a hint of coldness.

"Xingyue, your swordsmanship has always been the best. You've got this," Zhang Qianru encouraged.

"The teacher said you can do it too. He's a real martial artist!"

Chen Shouyi added a word of comfort, "Don't stress too much. If you don't pass this time, you can try again next time."

At her brother's Crows-like remark, Chen Xingyue shot him a glare, not wanting to talk, but she did feel a bit lighter.

They accompanied Chen Xingyue to rest for a full half hour before heading to the Cold Weapon Combat arena.

The combat test for Cold Weapon Combat was not against a person, but a testing robot. Calling it a robot, it bore no resemblance to a human form at all. It was fixed to the arena, its two mechanical arms holding a wooden sword and a spear about three meters long.

The condition to pass was simple: land enough strikes on its alloy body with a weapon.

At that moment, someone on the arena was about to take the test.

It was a middle-aged man in his thirties. His face solemn, he walked step by step to the arena.

A sensing zone was marked on the arena. As soon as he stepped into it, the robot would identify the examinee and begin the combat test.

The middle-aged man stopped before the sensing zone, hesitating to step forward.

Chen Shouyi noticed cold sweat beginning to bead on his forehead. He took several deep breaths, steeled himself for a few seconds, then resolutely stepped into the arena.

"Test begins!"

With a mechanical voice sounding from the robot, both mechanical arms began moving swiftly.

He let out a low shout, stepping with Basic Footwork, covering over two meters in one stride and instantly entering the robot's attack range. The robot's mechanical arms responded abruptly, moving at an astonishing speed.

In midair, the right mechanical arm holding the spear bent slightly at the joint, then thrust toward him like a bolt of lightning.

The middle-aged man's fundamentals were solid. He flicked his arm, deflecting the spear with his wooden sword, and riding the momentum, advanced several more steps, closing to within two meters of the robot.

But that was as far as he got. The left mechanical arm, which had been hanging low with the wooden sword, seemed to have been lying in wait. It suddenly shot out like a venomous snake, stabbing swiftly toward the middle-aged man's head.

Chen Shouyi nearly gasped.

Fortunately, the robot made no mistake, and no tragedy occurred. The wooden sword stopped abruptly less than an inch from the man's forehead.

"Test failed."

Whether shaken by the close call or crushed by the failure, the middle-aged man swayed, his face pale. After a few seconds, he came to his senses and stumbled off the arena.

The second examinee also failed.

The third, likewise.

A string of failures made Chen Xingyue increasingly nervous.

Chen Shouyi noticed that her hand, clenched too tightly, had gone white at the knuckles.