Practicing the Ape Form, Seeking the Ape Spirit

Ping'an Middle School Martial Arts Arena.

The sophomore martial arts students were all warming up in the arena, stretching their muscles and joints, striving to achieve a good score later.

"Hey, have you guys heard? It seems like some freshmen are taking the exam with us this time."

"Is it that guy named Zong Ping? He's a genius; he reached the third Qi-Blood Pass when he just started his freshman year, unlike us."

"Well, geniuses get special treatment everywhere. It's normal."

"It's not just Zong Ping; there's also someone named Meng Chuan taking the exam. Do you guys know him?"

The crowd showed curious expressions one after another. The sophomore martial arts students were all busy training, and few cared about such gossip within the school.

"I heard from my freshman cousin that this Meng Chuan has decent aptitude, but he practices Guoyi Fist every single day and refuses to touch any other style. Letting him take the exam—are they trying to have us brothers knock some sense into him?"

Just as the crowd burst into laughter, a person with a broad back and a thick waist, wearing a white training uniform, walked over. His youthful face looked out of place with his sturdy physique.

He exuded an imposing aura like a fierce tiger, walking over to stand beside those who were discussing.

"Stop chatting for a second, Qi Fei is here."

"I heard you guys talking about some freshman genius. I'd like to see exactly how much he's worth."

The person who had been talking hurriedly said:

"No matter what, he's just a freshman kid. How could he possibly compare to our boss, Qi Fei?"

The surrounding students all recognized this burly student; he was the top-ranked student in the grade, Qi Fei. At this moment, they all chimed in:

"That's right, boss Qi Fei is the best!"

Qi Fei's face was full of smiles, clearly enjoying the feeling of being flattered.

"Yo, Qi Fei, what kind of show are you putting on here again?"

As the voice fell, two young men with buzz cuts walked out from behind.

The two looked very similar. Although their builds were relatively short, their arms were particularly eye-catching; they were exceptionally thick and long enough to hang down near their knees.

The two were the Hu Brothers, who practiced the Ape Style. The taller one was the older brother, Hu Jiaxiang, and the shorter one was the younger brother, Hu Jiarui.

Hearing the Hu Brothers mocking him, a flash of annoyance crossed Qi Fei's eyes:

"Looks like you two didn't get beaten up enough by me last time?"

"Little tiger, we'll see what you're really made of in a bit."

The Hu Brothers had never gotten along with Qi Fei. The two sides had sparred in private many times before. If taken individually, neither of the Hu Brothers was a match for Qi Fei, but they wouldn't be at a disadvantage if they fought together.

At this moment, the director of the sophomore martial arts department walked in with two people, pushing open the doors to the martial arts arena.

"Quiet down, everyone. Let me introduce you to two of your juniors. They will be taking the exam with you all today. Let's give them a round of applause."

Scattered applause rang out in the surroundings. Everyone looked curiously at the two juniors behind the director, wanting to see what kind of big shots they were.

"They look pretty average. The one with the dyed yellow hair is Zong Ping, and the one with the buzz cut standing next to him must be that Meng Chuan we were just talking about, right?"

Someone who was unconvinced as to why a freshman could participate in the sophomore exam couldn't help but tease:

"Meng Chuan, why aren't you off practicing your Wawa Fist? Why are you coming here to join in the fun?"

Hearing someone mocking him, Meng Chuan secretly remembered the other person's face.

If he happened to run into him on the ring later, he would use Guoyi Fist to teach him how to speak properly.

Ping'an Middle School was not a specialized martial arts high school, so there were no professional Qi-Blood chambers on campus. Whenever there was a martial arts exam, they had to borrow Qi-Blood testing equipment from nearby martial arts halls.

Just then, two men in black training uniforms walked over, pulling a piece of Qi-Blood testing equipment. On their chests was a drawing of a white ape beating its chest.

Seeing this, the director stepped aside to make room and then said in a loud voice:

"Thanks to the Yuanshen Martial Arts Hall for providing the Qi-Blood testing equipment. Practice Ape Style, find Yuanshen. Yuanshen Martial Arts Hall is the only path you must take to become a Martial Artist."

Meng Chuan was a bit speechless.

"They even have product placement? If I had known, I would have asked my master to provide it..."

Immediately after, the director spoke again:

"The equipment still needs time to be calibrated. Let me first explain today's exam rules."

"The first item is the Qi-Blood test. Since there are many people testing, everyone should adjust their state in advance; just throw one punch with all your might."

"The test results might have a fluctuation of about 0.2, but it won't have much of an impact."

"The second item is the ring tournament, which will be personally supervised and overseen by our Principal Zong later."

"The old rules still apply: fists and feet have no eyes. Students below the third Qi-Blood Pass will not participate."

"Alright, students, line up first. Once the equipment is installed, we will test Qi-Blood."

This was also Meng Chuan's first time participating in a school martial arts exam, and he was listening very carefully to the director explaining the rules.

"Let's go, Meng Chuan, let's go line up too."

Zong Ping extended an invitation to Meng Chuan; his uncle, the principal, had told him that this Meng Chuan was quite impressive, and he wanted to see exactly how much weight the guy really carried.

Meng Chuan stood at the end of the line with Zong Ping. Since it only took one punch to get a test result, the testing process moved very quickly.

Meanwhile, the front of the line was incredibly lively.

"Damn it, this machine isn't accurate, is it, Teacher? 3.81, I was so close. If it had fluctuated up by 0.2, I would have cleared the third gate."

"Get lost, get lost. If you're trash, just practice more instead of blaming the machine. Watch me."

[Qi-Blood value 3.12, second gate cleared]

"..."

When it was the Hu Brothers' turn to test, the results drew continuous exclamations of admiration from the crowd.

"The Hu Brothers are still strong. The older one is 6.41, the younger one is 6.05. I reckon only Brother Fei can surpass them."

Seeing the test results, the Hu Brothers were also very happy; if they kept this up, Yong'an Martial Arts University was a sure thing.

Their family was not wealthy; they came from humble backgrounds and had to support two young Martial Practitioners.

To achieve what they had today, aside from talent and hard work, they also had the appreciation of the Yuanshen Martial Arts Hall master, who had kindly given the brothers a 50% discount on their tuition fees.

The Hu Brothers, filled with gratitude, took off the sensor devices and shouted loudly to everyone around:

"Classmates, if you want to learn boxing and practice martial arts, it has to be our Yuanshen Martial Arts Hall!"

The martial arts hall staff member next to the Qi-Blood Tester clapped in affirmation, thinking to himself with a sigh:

"Good kids, they know how to repay kindness."

There were nearly 200 martial arts students in the second year, and the Qi-Blood testing continued.

Meng Chuan was actually quite vengeful.

At this moment, he had been observing from the back, watching the person who had just said he practiced Wawa Fist and was only here to join in the fun.

As it turned out, that person's Qi-Blood hadn't even reached the third gate, so he wasn't qualified to get on the ring later.

Regarding this, he could only secretly sigh that it was a pity.

Qi Fei had been at the Wooden Dummy area nearby, hitting the dummy to find his rhythm and prepare for the upcoming ring competition; he hadn't been waiting in line.

He was confident and unruffled, planning to make his appearance as the grand finale.

As the line for the Qi-Blood test gradually grew shorter, leaving only Meng Chuan and Zong Ping, Qi Fei walked over.

The first-year students should make way for him. Qi Fei stepped forward, wearing what he considered to be a kind, fake smile, and said:

"Let me go first, you two. You should settle down a bit more."