Chapter Ten

"W-wait, be gentle..."

Xu Xin cried out in pain and shot an annoyed glance at Xu Ai, who was sitting on her back.

Xu Ai was pressing both hands against Xu Xin's smooth back and rubbing it all over!

Bah! She was giving her a massage!

"Bear with it. This is an authentic massage technique. You'll feel better in a bit."

As she spoke, Xu Ai pressed a little harder, making Xu Xin cry out in pain again.

It was already the evening of June 29. Tomorrow, Xu Xin would go to the martial arts hall to be certified as an Advanced Student, and the day after, July 1, she could take the Quasi-Warrior Assessment.

After a month—no, nearly twenty days—of nonstop, brutal training, Xu Xin had finally reached Quasi-Martial Artist physical standards that very day.

So that evening, Xu Ai decided to reward Xu Xin. She would use the massage techniques she'd been learning for over a week to help her relax.

She'd tried these techniques herself, after all!

Well, Xu Ai had tested them on Hen Ren...

A long while later...

By the time Xu Ai finished the massage, Xu Xin had fallen asleep, feeling wonderfully relaxed.

"I miscalculated. I was hoping my sister would learn too, so she could give me a massage..."

What a shame. She'd have to wait until next time.

Xu Ai got up quietly and went to the Gravity Chamber.

Hen Ren had finished training and was carrying a bathrobe, ready to go take a bath, so Xu Ai could work out.

Since Xu Xin had begun her hellish training, Xu Ai naturally had too. After nearly twenty days of brutal training, her physical fitness had long since reached Low-level War General standards.

Her full stats were: punch strength—'kg', speed—'121m/s', neural response—'???'

She was working hard to advance to Intermediate War General level.

She planned to use the Jade Marrow on July 1, after Xu Xin finished the Quasi-Warrior Assessment, to speed up her progress.

Sitting on Hen Ren, Xu Ai thought silently...

Two days wasn't a long time, and before long, July 1 had arrived.

Xu Ai took Xu Xin by the hand, with Xu Gang following behind them, and headed to Mingyue Residential Quarter.

"Why are we taking the Quasi-Warrior Assessment at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall?"

As Xu Ai led her along, Xu Xin looked at the entrance to Mingyue Residential Quarter, puzzled.

Xu Gang was just as confused. He was supposed to oversee the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. What were they doing at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall?

"My master told me to bring my sister here. I don't know either."

Xu Ai gave them both the all-purpose answer.

Huh? Why were they going to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall?

Obviously, it was for fun! Xu Xin competing against Luo Feng would be so entertaining!

And why had she brought Xu Gang along?

To make sure Luo Feng didn't sneak off with her sister, of course. She needed a safety lock!

After showing the guard their specially prepared passes, the three entered Mingyue Residential Quarter.

Xu Ai and the others had arrived fairly early. Only two muscular men were sitting on the sofas in the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's first-floor lobby.

"Oh? Two girls are taking the assessment this time?"

"And at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, no less. You don't see that often."

The two men looked curiously at Xu Ai and Xu Xin, barely noticing Xu Gang.

Female Martial Artists were rare. Most took their assessments through the HR Alliance, so it was uncommon to see them tested by one of the other three major forces.

Xu Ai and the others didn't know the two men. They gave them a slight nod and ignored them.

The two muscular men took the hint. When Xu Ai and Xu Xin didn't engage with them, they said no more.

Xu Gang, on the other hand, was quite sociable. He quickly hit it off with the two men.

The Advanced Students taking the assessment arrived one after another. Luo Feng was among the later arrivals.

When he saw Xu Xin, he froze, clearly not expecting to run into the girl he had a crush on here.

By the time everyone had arrived, there were thirteen students taking the assessment, including Xu Xin.

Before long, a middle-aged man came over and barked at them, cutting off their conversation.

"Come on. Follow me upstairs. You'll take the Quasi-Warrior Assessment right away. Remember to behave once we're upstairs. The chief instructor of Yangzhou City has an old friend visiting today, so don't cause any trouble."

"Yes!"

Everyone replied in unison.

"Oh? There are two girls here, too."

Only then did the middle-aged man notice Xu Ai and Xu Xin.

It was extremely rare for girls to take the Quasi-Warrior Assessment at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. Aside from a few who were set on joining the Extreme Martial Arts Hall and kept retaking the assessment after failing, there were usually only two or three each year.

"I've already passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. I'm just here with my sister."

Xu Ai explained. Xu Gang hurriedly added, "I'm here with my younger sister, too."

"All right."

The middle-aged man nodded, then led the thirteen students to the elevator. They went up to the sixth floor in two groups.

The sixth floor was a huge Martial Arts Hall. A dozen or so Martial Artists stood inside. As soon as they heard the elevator, they all turned to look.

"There are two girls taking the assessment this time?"

One of them spotted Xu Xin and Xu Ai right away and blurted it out. Wu Tong shot him a glare.

They could act however they wanted in private, but shouldn't they maintain their instructor image in front of the students? And "girls," at that...

Wu Tong glanced at Xu Ai and the others. He'd already been informed that Xu Ai and Xu Gang were only here to observe. Xu Xin was the only one taking the assessment.

"Prepare for testing."

Even with two extra observers, the assessment proceeded smoothly.

"Hey, eighteen years old? Jiang, where'd this genius come from in Yi'an District?"

Wu Tong looked at Luo Feng's information, surprised.

"Come on, you know Yi'an District is a hotbed of talent."

Jiang Nian pretended to sigh, but before long he couldn't help laughing. He pointed at Xu Xin, who was standing at the very back of the line.

"By the way, that girl over there is from Yi'an District, too."

Xu Xin went to school in Yi'an District, so she was naturally registered as a martial arts hall student there.

"Hey, Jiang Nian, you've got quite a few people from Yi'an District taking the assessment this time. There's even a girl."

A middle-aged man with one hand missing nudged Jiang Nian with his shoulder and teased him.

"Maybe the two of them came together to watch."

"Hah? You'll see whether they're geniuses soon enough."

The instructors were chatting away, but Wu Tong kept working. He called Luo Feng over to take his test.

Luo Feng answered and went to the Punch Strength Tester. He gathered his strength and threw a punch, landing it hard on the target.

The display flickered, then settled at 1,135 kg.

"Very good. You kept your balance when you punched. No wonder Old Jiang calls you a genius."

Wu Tong smiled. Jiang Nian had been talking up Luo Feng nonstop lately. An eighteen-year-old Quasi-Martial Artist was certainly worth bragging about.

Jiang Nian patted the chubby old man who'd just suggested they'd come to watch and gave him a smug look.

"All right, all right. You win. You're impressive."

The chubby old man laughed and brushed his hand away.

The assessment continued at a steady pace...

"Last one, Xu Xin."

Wu Tong looked at the identification information on the machine and called out.

Xu Xin walked over to the Punch Strength Tester. She gathered her strength, took a heavy step forward, and punched the target.

The target gave a dull thud, and the display lit up.

"909 kilograms? Jiang, your Yi'an District really does have a lot of geniuses."

Wu Tong looked at Jiang Nian, greatly surprised.

Xu Xin was seventeen, a little younger than Luo Feng, yet her punch strength already met the standard. Unless something went wrong, she should meet the standards for speed and neural response too. Another genius.

She'd kept her balance throughout the punch, never losing her footing.

Luo Feng and Yang Wu were also very surprised. Xu Xin rarely appeared at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. They knew who she was, but not how good she was.

Two people failed the punch strength test and were sent away by their instructors.

"Next, we'll test your speed."

Wu Tong waved his hand, bringing them back to the present. The remaining eight people followed him a few steps over to the Speed Tester.

"We'll do it in reverse order this time. Xu Xin, you're first."

Wu Tong took Xu Xin's ID and swiped it through the machine.

Xu Xin stepped forward and stood in the running track's starting area. She bent her knees slightly, then sprang forward, shooting off like an arrow.

"So fast!"

Luo Feng's eyes narrowed. He'd been a little pleased with himself for reaching such a high level at eighteen, but now he saw that the girl he liked was even more talented. He immediately got his head on straight.

After all, he'd improved his physical fitness through his "coma illness" and "cheating," while Xu Xin had trained for real!

Ahem. Luo Feng had no idea that Xu Xin had been cheating by taking pills too...

"25.8m/s. Very good!"

After being surprised by her punch strength, Wu Tong wasn't particularly astonished this time. He nodded, then swiped the next ID.

"Yang Wu!"

"My turn."

"Come on, Brother Yang!"

Luo Feng patted Yang Wu on the shoulder and encouraged him.

Yang Wu nodded. He took several deep breaths, then went to the starting area and drove his foot hard into the floor, speeding off. Each stride landed with tremendous force.

Using the distance in the starting area to build up speed, he quickly reached his limit and charged through the testing zone, his face contorted with effort.

"25.3m/s. Very good."

Wu Tong smiled. Yang Wu had taken the assessment many times, always falling short on the speed test. This time, he'd not only passed but exceeded the standard.

"Yang Wu, nicely done."

Seeing Yang Wu pass, Jiang Nian let out a hearty laugh.

Luo Feng congratulated him, too.

"Great job, Brother Yang!"

"Haha, that's great!"

Yang Wu laughed loudly. If there hadn't still been the neural response test, he would probably have been jumping up and down with excitement by now.

"If I remember right, Yang Wu has taken the Quasi-Warrior Assessment almost ten times. He's failed on speed every single time, which means..."

Xu Ai looked at Yang Wu, who was about twenty-five.

"His physical fitness hasn't improved at all in the past eight or nine months. He has terrible talent for becoming a Martial Artist..."

It was a tragic situation, and the biggest obstacle to the rise of Martial Artists on Earth!

Xu Ai was glad her own talent was pretty good. If she'd been like Yang Wu, even with so much Vegetation Spirit to draw on, it would have taken at least another year or two to become a Martial Artist.

A few more people went, then it was Luo Feng's turn.

His speed test result was 29.7m/s.