Doubts

Inside the virtual space, the examinee had vanished, leaving only Chen Mochuan, panting heavily.

He held his fist out in a striking pose. His right fist trembled slightly, and his arm muscles throbbed with a tearing ache. Beads of sweat the size of peas rolled down his forehead.

That burst of Clear Force, unleashed three times in a row at his limit, had nearly drained him of all his strength and focus.

This examinee, who possessed Fifth-Rank strength, was far stronger than most of the opponents Chen Mochuan had faced on the Heaven Martial Battle Net. Defeating him had been an extraordinarily difficult struggle.

[Beep...]

[You have successfully defeated a Fifth-Rank examinee!]

[Simulated Combat Assessment complete. Evaluating your overall combat performance...]

[Evaluation complete. Calculating final score...]

The system's cold electronic voice rang out at just the right moment, announcing his victory in the grueling battle.

While the system calculated his score, Chen Mochuan looked toward the Golden Light Screen.

[You faced a formidable opponent and claimed victory after a hard-fought battle. You gained a deeper understanding of Foundation Building Fist and Tiger Fiend Fist.]

[Foundation Building Fist: Great Completion (82%) → Great Completion (83%)]

[Tiger Fiend Fist: Mastery (2%) → Mastery (5%)]

Fighting such an intense battle against an examinee who was also skilled in Tiger Fiend Fist had given Chen Mochuan greater insight into the technique and helped him improve. He had gained even more from this fight than from sparring with Zhang Mingcheng the night before.

Soon, the Assessment System calculated his final score.

[Simulated Combat: 488 points]

Chen Mochuan was a little surprised when he saw the score.

The Simulated Combat Assessment had a maximum score of 1,000. Based on a martial artist's strength, the Assessment System divided the range from First Rank to Tenth Rank into tiers, with every 100 points representing one rank.

The current top score in this category among the key class students belonged to Jiang Hao, who had scored 720. That meant the system judged his combat ability to be at the level of an Eighth Rank Martial Artist, even though his Blood-Qi Value was still at Seventh Rank.

By the usual standards, Fourth-Rank Martial Artists scored between 301 and 400, while Fifth-Rank Martial Artists scored between 401 and 500.

Chen Mochuan's score of 488 made it clear that the system recognized his strength as firmly within the Fifth Rank—and among its best, bringing him very close to the threshold of Sixth Rank.

He didn't linger in the Virtual World. As soon as the assessment ended, he chose to leave.

The moment Chen Mochuan stepped out of the Virtual Pod, he felt as if he had become the center of attention in the entire examination hall.

After one shock after another, most of the students had grown somewhat "immune" to Chen Mochuan's impressive performance. Even so, they couldn't help looking his way.

Chen Mochuan was used to it by now. He calmly made his way back to Li Biao despite the complicated looks everyone gave him.

His close friend immediately pointed at the giant projection screen in the center of the Martial Arts Arena. Barely able to contain his excitement, he praised him:

"Brother Chuan, you were insanely awesome today! Your Simulated Combat score shot straight up to twenty-fifth place, just above that Lu Ren guy. His Blood-Qi Value's so much higher than yours, and you still overtook him. He's probably about ready to burst a lung with rage."

Chen Mochuan looked up at the giant projection screen and quickly found his name on the Simulated Combat rankings.

[25] Chen Mochuan: 488 points

[26] Lu Ren: 479 points

He shook his head with a smile, unconcerned. "I just did my best to show what I can do. What other people think has nothing to do with me."

Just then, the last student finished the assessment and stepped out of the Virtual Pod.

Once all the students had returned to their places, Han Zhen checked the time. It was already six thirty. Remembering the municipal government's call for a curfew, he was about to announce that the exam was over and send everyone home early.

But at that moment, a discordant voice suddenly rang out. "Teacher, I think there's something wrong with Chen Mochuan's exam score!"

Han Zhen turned toward the voice and saw Lu Ren. His brow furrowed.

As a teacher who nurtured and taught students, he was supposed to treat everyone equally. But deep down, he disliked this student. Lu Ren had repeatedly driven wedges between classmates, and had even caused two students to get into a fight at school, earning both of them disciplinary records.

And as far as Han Zhen knew, that was far from the only incident of its kind—a clear sign that Lu Ren was crooked in character.

On top of that, not long ago, Han Zhen had seen Lu Ren associating closely with a group of drifters outside school. He had repeatedly tried to talk some sense into him afterward, but Lu Ren hadn't cared and continued doing as he pleased. That only made Han Zhen dislike him more.

Now, seeing him cause a scene at such an inappropriate time, delaying everyone's departure, made Han Zhen even more displeased.

Still, he suppressed his irritation and asked as evenly as he could, "Lu Ren, what's your concern?"

In truth, Lu Ren had regretted speaking up the moment the words left his mouth. Li Biao hadn't bothered to lower his voice, and his words had reached Lu Ren's ears, needling him like a pin. He'd taken them as deliberate mockery and a personal attack.

A wave of anger surged into his head, and in a moment of impulse, he blurted out his doubts.

But now, in front of the whole class and their teacher, there was no way back. And knowing that Han Zhen had always held a grudge against him, he decided to throw caution to the wind and put the issue on the table.

"My Blood-Qi Value is 5.67, and my Fist Strength is 500 kilograms, yet I only scored 479! No matter how high Chen Mochuan's Body Control Degree is, or how much his abilities exceed his rank, I still don't believe he could score nearly as high as Sixth Rank just by defeating a Fourth-Rank examinee with the same Blood-Qi Value! It doesn't make sense!"

Before Han Zhen could respond, Li Biao shouted from the crowd, "Heh... you're a real piece of work. Just because you can't do it doesn't mean no one else can. What a frog in a well!"

Lu Ren glared at Li Biao but didn't argue with him. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Chen Mochuan and challenged him, "Chen Mochuan! Do you dare to fight me right here and now?"

Li Biao was once again the first to speak, his words rattling off like a string of firecrackers:

"Lu Ren, you've got some nerve! You took the second round of the assessment and have already had more than an hour to rest. You've completely recovered by now. Now you want to challenge someone who's just finished his assessment and is mentally exhausted. You're just trying to take advantage of him, aren't you? How do you even have the gall to say that?"

Li Biao's words hit the mark. Although the Simulated Combat Assessment took place in the Virtual World and used little of the body's physical strength, intense combat inevitably took a toll on the mind and left the examinee fatigued.

Lu Ren stiffened, but quickly recovered and tried to backtrack. "I can wait until he's recovered before we—"

"Enough!" Han Zhen cut him off, his voice icy and commanding. "Lu Ren, are you questioning the accuracy and fairness of the Assessment System issued by the Ministry of Education?"