Fist Strength Test

"Xu Lei."

After school in the afternoon, an unexpected figure appeared at the classroom door.

Zhang Bailan, who was always proud and aloof, had a face full of smiles as she blocked the path of a refined and handsome boy who was just about to leave.

"Classmate Zhang Bailan, is there something you need?" Seeing the gazes of the surrounding students, Xu Lei frowned slightly, but still asked in a gentle tone.

Zhang Bailan felt a bit nervous, but thinking of what her father had told her that day, and knowing that the man before her was a crucial turning point that would determine her life's destiny, she braced herself and tried to make her smile even more captivating. "Classmate Xu Lei, I heard your math grades are excellent. I have many things I don't understand in math, and I was wondering if you could trouble yourself to teach me."

Most normal boys would find it hard to resist such a beautiful girl setting aside her pride to plead so pitifully, and although Xu Lei wasn't bewitched by Zhang Bailan's performance, he still found it difficult to handle.

"This..."

Xu Lei hesitated.

Just then, Ji Xuan walked out. Seeing her, Xu Lei's expression shifted slightly, and his tone immediately turned firm. "I'm sorry, Classmate Zhang Bailan, I have things to do. Let's talk about it when I have time later."

Xu Lei pushed past Zhang Bailan and walked out.

Watching Xu Lei's departing back, Zhang Bailan's expression shifted constantly. She suddenly turned her head to look at Ji Xuan, gritting her teeth.

Having been paying close attention to Xu Lei's expressions, how could she not know that it was only after Ji Xuan appeared that the wavering Xu Lei immediately refused her so resolutely?

"Ji Xuan, you woman, you've ruined my plans again!" Zhang Bailan hated Ji Xuan to the core.

At this moment, Ji Xuan had no idea she had unintentionally become a thorn in someone's side. She left the school with Lin Xiao and Chen Daolin, heading toward the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Yi'an District.

In a car behind them, Xu Lei watched Ji Xuan's disappearing back and silently rolled up the window.

They were people from two different worlds; let this romance that never began end just like this.

As the second young master of the Xu Family, a top-tier Huaxia family, Xu Lei knew he had no choice in marriage. So, even though he had liked the unique girl Ji Xuan at first sight, he had only stood silently in the distance, watching her until the end of their high school days.

Their family backgrounds destined them to never be together.

Soon, Chen Daolin and the others arrived at the entrance of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall. The Extreme Martial Arts Hall sat there like a massive beast; in terms of land area, it was larger than a high school. The main gate was wide enough for ten cars to enter side by side. Inside the courtyard stood three giant, silver-white buildings, shaped like three spaceships.

"Senior Sister!"

"Hello, Senior Sister!"

The students they encountered inside the hall showed expressions of respect upon seeing the senior student badge pinned to Ji Xuan's chest.

As intermediate students, Chen Daolin and Lin Xiao were completely relegated to the background.

Inside the hall, there were three giant buildings: the primary student teaching building, the intermediate student teaching building, and the senior student teaching building.

In the past, Ji Xuan would have parted ways with Chen Daolin and Lin Xiao here to head to the senior student teaching building alone, but now, before Ji Xuan had taken more than a few steps, she saw Chen Daolin following silently behind her.

"Hey, you're going the wrong way," Lin Xiao said in surprise.

"I'm not going the wrong way. I forgot to mention, I reached the strength of a senior student yesterday," Chen Daolin shrugged.

"Really? How long have you even been an intermediate student? You're already a senior student? You're bragging, right?" Lin Xiao didn't believe it.

She was the one who usually trained with Chen Daolin in the intermediate student building; if anyone knew Chen Daolin well, it was her, even more so than Ji Xuan.

Ji Xuan stood there, her clear eyes watching Chen Daolin quietly, and Chen Daolin looked back at her calmly.

Ji Xuan nodded. "I'll take you to test." She was straightforward; regardless of whether what Chen Daolin said was true or false, a test would reveal the truth.

Although her reason told her that Chen Daolin's strength couldn't have undergone such a heaven-defying change overnight unless he had violated the rules by using some kind of forbidden drug.

But such drugs were expensive, and ordinary people had no channels to access them, nor could they afford them.

Lin Xiao rolled her eyes and said with a grin, "I'm going too."

Ji Xuan didn't object; bringing her along wouldn't hurt.

According to the rules, only senior students and staff could enter the senior student teaching building, but rules were rigid while people were flexible; as long as someone they knew vouched for them, few would pursue the matter.

Thus, the three of them entered the senior student teaching building together. The first and second floors of the building were large teaching halls, each capable of holding thousands of people. The instructors of the hall gave their lectures in these halls. Ji Xuan led the two of them to the third floor, which was the area only senior students could enter.

On the third floor, in a large martial arts hall a hundred meters wide and long, there were already a dozen people.

After greeting them with a smile, Ji Xuan led them to a man in his thirties sitting in a corner drinking water. "Brother Luo, this is my classmate, Chen Daolin. He wants to test to become a senior student."

Seeing Chen Daolin, Brother Luo said in surprise, "Little Ji, you say he's your classmate? To have this kind of strength at such a young age, impressive."

Brother Luo didn't waste time; he led them directly to a machine. Next to the machine was a black punching target. He turned the machine on and looked back at Chen Daolin. "Use your maximum strength to throw a punch at it."

Chen Daolin was no stranger to the Punch Strength Testing Machine. Qualification tests for intermediate students, senior students, and even martial artists all required punch strength tests, and power was the most important link.

To become a martial artist, there were three basic requirements for physical fitness: power, speed, and nerve reaction.

Power required a punch strength of 900 kilograms.

Speed required 25 meters per second.

Nerve reaction speed had to reach the minimum passing line for a martial artist.

Only by meeting the requirements in all three areas could one obtain a quasi-martial artist certificate and participate in the actual combat assessment; only after passing that would one be a true martial artist.

However, the standards for students were not that strict; one only needed to meet the standards for power and speed.

The standard for a senior student at the martial arts hall was a power of 700 kilograms and a speed of 22 meters per second.

Don't think this is easy. Even modern people, whose genes were strengthened by viruses after the Great Nirvana era, only reached the level of intermediate students after specialized training. Very few reached the senior student level, which was evident from the fact that out of five thousand students at Yi'an District No. 3 High School, only four could become senior students.

After nearly three years of grueling training, Chen Daolin had only just managed to reach the standard of an intermediate student, yet even this placed him among the minority in his school.

Before Chen Daolin could even walk up, Lin Xiao tugged at his sleeve and asked worriedly, "Can you actually do this? Don't fail and make a fool of yourself."

Chen Daolin rolled his eyes at her, too lazy to respond, and walked straight to the Punch Strength Testing Machine. He took a deep breath, centered his focus, stared straight ahead, and slowly assumed a proper punching stance. His entire body tensed like an arrow about to be released from a bow, with his fist acting as the arrowhead.

A thought stirred in Chen Daolin's mind.

King Kai Fist!

BOOM!

A massive surge of power erupted from within his body. He shuddered, and without a second thought, he unleashed his coiled strength into a heavy strike against the black punching target.

WHACK!

The target vibrated, and a moment later, the machine beeped, displaying a numerical value.

"1005kg."

"Holy crap!" Brother Luo, who had been indifferent until now, reacted the moment Chen Daolin threw his punch. When he saw the number on the screen of the Punch Strength Testing Machine, his eyes lit up with intense light, revealing his disbelief as a curse word slipped out.

There was no need to even mention Ji Xuan and Lin Xiao; upon seeing Chen Daolin's test results, both girls' beautiful eyes widened instantly, their mouths slightly agape in shock.

"Wait a second." Brother Luo grew excited and said to Chen Daolin. He fiddled with the machine and then looked at Chen Daolin with anticipation. "Test it again."

Chen Daolin didn't say a word and threw another punch. That last one hadn't even been his full strength.

Let's go with eighty percent power!

King Kai Fist!

BANG!

The target swayed.

"977kg."

"Hahaha!!!"

Brother Luo clapped his hands violently and walked up to Chen Daolin, looking at him with eyes as burning as if he were staring at a treasure, making him feel quite uncomfortable. "A talent! Our district has gained another talent! Little Chen, you're only eighteen this year, right?"

"I'll be eighteen in three months," Chen Daolin replied.

Brother Luo nodded, then grew excited again. "That means you're seventeen. A seventeen-year-old martial artist—how long has it been since we've seen one in our district? I have to go notify the instructor immediately."

"Brother Luo, I haven't tested my speed yet," Chen Daolin said calmly.

"Oh, oh, right, the speed test. Look at me, I got so excited I almost forgot." Brother Luo slapped his forehead, grabbed Chen Daolin, and rushed over to another track to turn on the speed tester.

The track was only sixty meters long. Chen Daolin activated the King Kai Fist state, and the moment he exerted force, he felt as though he had already dashed across.

"Snap!" Brother Luo even made a sound effect. Ji Xuan and Lin Xiao looked at him speechlessly; the usually steady Brother Luo was acting as excited as a child.

Chen Daolin walked over and looked at the number on the screen: "27.9m/s."

The passing mark for a martial artist's speed was 25m/s.

Chen Daolin nodded dismissively, not particularly surprised by the result. The King Kai Fist enhanced his overall physical fitness—strength, speed, reflexes, and defense. In other words, his base strength of over 500kg as an intermediate student could reach an explosive output of over 1000kg with the double-multiplier of the King Kai Fist, and the same applied to his speed.

Chen Daolin still hadn't used his full strength just now, yet his speed had already exceeded the passing mark for a martial artist.

The only regret was that the King Kai Fist state could not be maintained for long; it was an explosive technique that placed a massive burden on the body. If he pushed past his limits, it would lead to severe consequences.

However, Chen Daolin was already quite satisfied.

The rest was simple. Chen Daolin successfully obtained his advanced student certificate and met Jiang Nian, the "instructor" of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Yi'an District who had rushed over upon hearing the news. He was the most powerful figure in this branch, and even many martial artists had to respectfully address him as "Instructor" upon seeing him.

Jiang Nian didn't usually care much for average martial artists, but becoming one at eighteen was a different story. Such a martial artist clearly had more talent and a limitless future. Discovering such a talent in his own district would also make Jiang Nian's performance record look much better.

Chen Daolin had long since made up his mind to become a martial artist, so he agreed without hesitation when Jiang Nian urged him to participate in the quasi-martial artist assessment on July 1st after graduating high school.

Only Ji Xuan and Lin Xiao remained dazed and incredulous. Chen Daolin, who had been so ordinary just yesterday, was about to become a martial artist?

For reasons unknown, Instructor Jiang Nian immediately ordered that Chen Daolin's test results be kept confidential. Under the command of an instructor of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in Yi'an District, it was unlikely that anyone would dare to challenge an instructor's authority within the district.