May 1. Today was the day people across the country had their Vital Blood checked—and the day parents called their children's chance to leap over the dragon gate.
Lu Hao and the others had been told to get up early and circulate their Vital Blood at the hotel so they'd be ready to perform when the time came. Lu Hao merely swung his blade a few times and didn't do much else.
After all, with his Vital Blood, even if he didn't perform well, taking first place wouldn't be a problem.
At eight, they boarded a bus. It didn't take long to reach the Magic City No. 1 Physical Examination Center.
Outside the building, five student groups stood distinctly apart.
They were all students from Magic City who had chosen to take the Martial Arts Exam.
Magic City was divided into six districts: Beiding District in the north, Nanfeng District in the south, Xijiang District in the west, Dongpu District in the east, and Wanhui District, the commercial center.
The sixth was the area along the southeastern coast, which had been specially designated as a university town. Magic City Martial Arts University and several other martial arts universities were located there.
As soon as Lu Hao and the others arrived, they got off the bus, assembled, and waited.
The students around them chattered excitedly.
Even Lu Hao's classmates were discussing whose Vital Blood was strongest.
Under normal circumstances, Wanhui District was the strongest of Magic City's five districts. It was not only a commercial center but also a hub for foreign trade, so its martial artists generally weren't short of money. With resources readily available, it was easy for them to achieve good results.
"Are those students from Wanhui District?"
"I heard they treat pills like spare change. They use Blood Vitality Pills every day to restore their Vital Blood and temper their bones."
"Wanhui District will probably take first place again this year. They have way too many resources over there."
The students around them talked most about those from Wanhui District. The district had won the championship repeatedly in past years, so it was only natural that everyone was curious about them.
After waiting a while, they were finally allowed into the examination center. The five groups began their tests at the same time.
Lu Hao followed the group to begin his examination.
The external examination checked for serious scars, to prevent large wounds from causing Vital Blood to rupture during a breakthrough and leading to serious consequences.
Lu Hao didn't have any major scars, but he had plenty of small ones. They had all been inflicted by his opponents in the Duel Arena.
The examining doctor didn't comment on Lu Hao's many small scars. Minor scars were normal for martial artists. They had to compete, so fights between them were commonplace.
Next came the Vital Blood test.
Everyone lined up to enter a Vitality Chamber. Inside, they would stimulate their Vital Blood to its maximum, allowing the machine to measure its level.
"Number 01, Xijiang No. 1 High School, Ke Jincheng, ID 20083451280."
"Number 02, Dongpu No. 1 High School, Shi Yuelan, ID 20083462530."
As the staff in the testing area called out the names, students began entering the Vitality Chamber one after another.
Not long afterward—
"Number 76, Wanhui No. 1 High School, Zhao Lei, ID 20083462764."
"That's Zhao Lei. I heard he's the best student at Wanhui No. 1 High School. Apparently, he's already reached the mid stage of first rank."
"Yeah, I heard he's always been unbeatable at his school. Looks like this year's Magic City top scorer will be Zhao Lei."
Hearing the students around him, Lu Hao watched as a boy with an unremarkable appearance but an exceptionally determined expression stepped forward.
Mid-stage first rank. Interesting. And he'd tempered his bones twice. He seemed like a genius, too.
As time passed, more and more students went to the Vitality Chamber for testing. At last, Lu Hao heard his name.
Following the staff's directions, Lu Hao entered the Vitality Chamber. There was nothing particularly special about it.
Without giving it much thought, Lu Hao unleashed his Vital Blood. A powerful surge burst outward, but the Vitality Chamber held it back.
In the control room,
"Inspector Zhang, could you take a look? Is something wrong with this Vitality Chamber? The reading says Lu Hao's Vital Blood has reached 292. That's already second rank."
"292? We haven't seen a genius reach second rank before the Martial Arts Exam in a long time, have we?"
"Looks like this year's national top scorer will come from Magic City. We'll be able to get one over on the Capital City this time."
The people watching nearby commented.
As soon as Inspector Zhang heard the number, he went straight to the screen and carefully checked it. There was nothing wrong.
Then he turned to the principals from the various schools who were present.
"Which of you has Lu Hao as a student?"
"Inspector Zhang, Lu Hao is a student at Beiding No. 1 High School. We reported this semester that he'd tempered his bones twice, and he's been training at home."
Principal Liao Jinghui of Beiding No. 1 High School answered. He hadn't expected Lu Hao to give him such a huge surprise. He'd thought Lu Hao was just an ordinary student who had tempered his bones twice, but his Vital Blood had actually reached 292.
"Tempered his bones twice? According to the data, Lu Hao is still first rank. He hasn't finished tempering the bones in his lower body, so he's at the high stage of first rank. With Vital Blood that high, he must have tempered his bones three times."
Inspector Zhang wasn't careless. From the state of Lu Hao's bone tempering, he had immediately deduced Lu Hao's rank and that he'd tempered his bones three times.
"Three times?"
"Principal Liao, it looks like you're about to take off. A three-time bone tempering at such a young age—who knows how far he'll go in the future?"
"Three-time bone tempering and already at the high stage of first rank. Looks like this year's top scorer is all but guaranteed."
Listening to the other principals congratulate him, Liao Jinghui couldn't contain his smile.
"Pull up Lu Hao's information. I'm rather curious about him."
Inspector Zhang spoke from beside them.
Before long, a staff member brought over Lu Hao's file. It showed his family's basic information, but didn't say when he had tempered his bones three times.
Inspector Zhang did, however, notice three unbelievable entries at the bottom. They showed that Lu Hao had started taking assignments for the Detective Bureau in mid-April. In just half a month, he'd completed three missions, one of which involved a peak first-rank target.
Now that was a genius—a true genius, not one of those frauds who had high Vital Blood but no fighting ability. The principals standing nearby were astonished as well.
"None of you are to leak anything about Lu Hao."
Inspector Zhang addressed everyone present.
"Understood. We know."
After unleashing his Vital Blood, Lu Hao left the Vitality Chamber. They wouldn't know the results until the day after tomorrow, when they'd also find out the Ministry of Education's Vital Blood cutoff.
After completing a few other, less important checks, Lu Hao and the others returned to the bus to wait. Once their classmates were back, they could head to the hotel.
"Lu Hao, how did you do? I'm so nervous. I don't even know if I performed well."
A classmate who got along fairly well with Lu Hao asked him.
"Not bad. I performed fine. We'll know the results the day after tomorrow."
"Ugh, if I don't make the Vital Blood cutoff, I'll have to go back and study liberal arts. But I don't want to study liberal arts."
Lu Hao comforted him a few words, then said nothing more. Magic City had excellent educational resources, but there were still students who couldn't meet the Vital Blood cutoff. They made up about half the students there.
They had come here for a three-day trip, and after three days, they'd be eliminated.
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