As the NPC's Blood Qi Value rapidly rose, the pressure on Lin Ye grew greater and greater.
With every clash, he was forced back—from retreating one or two steps to several, from being able to meet his opponent head-on to having no choice but to dodge. The situation was growing increasingly difficult.
Before overwhelming strength, the room for skillful evasion shrank to almost nothing.
His dodges were becoming difficult. Even so, despite being suppressed, his Rolling Stone Fist still flowed with the ease of a casual gesture. His moves didn't falter or twist out of shape, giving him a great deal of leeway to drag out the fight.
"Good composure."
One of the Reviewer Teachers remarked, "A lot of students lose their form as soon as they're put at a disadvantage. It's truly not easy for him to hold steady."
The fight reached a fever pitch. When the NPC's Blood Qi Value rose to 380, Lin Ye was completely suppressed. Still, he actively searched for openings—a deft sidestep to redirect the force, a precise counterattack beneath the ribs... Unfortunately, none of it helped much. His attacks only made the NPC's body tremble slightly and caused little damage, while he himself took considerable damage in the process.
"It's almost over."
Teacher Chen looked at the data. "The damage to his virtual body has already exceeded 60%. He won't last much longer."
Just then, the NPC's Blood Qi Value rose again, reaching 400. A heavy punch came crashing down like a meteor, striking toward Lin Ye.
Everyone thought Lin Ye would dodge or redirect the force of this blow, but he didn't.
On the screen, Lin Ye's gaze was resolute. He faced the incoming punch, gathered all his strength into his right fist, and threw the plainest, most unadorned straight punch imaginable!
"BOOM!!!"
The instant their fists collided, the entire Virtual Arena seemed to shudder.
On a data-analysis screen in the Observation Area, the figures went wild—the instantaneous explosive force of Candidate 123's punch had reached 205% of the theoretical limit of 218 Blood Qi Value!
"This..."
The Reviewer Teachers stared wide-eyed, unable to believe it.
At the same time, inside the virtual space, Lin Ye flew backward and slammed hard into the energy barrier. Several bones in his virtual body were broken, and his health plunged to the critical threshold before his body disintegrated.
[Fourth Trial, Challenge Failed]
Big red letters appeared before his eyes. The pod door slid open, and Lin Ye slowly sat up. He didn't get up right away. Instead, he replayed that last strike in his mind.
During that punch, he'd felt as if he had touched upon something. But now that he thought back on it, he couldn't quite grasp what it was.
The Observation Area fell into a brief silence.
"218 Blood Qi Value, taking a full-force blow from someone with 400 Blood Qi Value head-on."
Teacher Wang slowly spoke. "Even though he lost, that punch of his..."
"It showed an understanding of the realm beyond his level of cultivation."
Teacher Chen continued, impressed. "His final punch should have touched upon the essence of Rolling Stone Fist's 'Heavy as a Mountain.' If this had been the real world, that resolute momentum of his would have made the punch even more powerful."
"How should we score him, then?"
one of the Reviewer Teachers asked.
"How about 39 points?"
Teacher Wang spoke up. As the lead Reviewer Teacher, he felt that aside from the rules preventing Lin Ye from receiving full marks, they could give him as high a score as possible.
The other Reviewer Teachers considered it for a moment and agreed that Lead Reviewer Teacher Wang's reasoning was sound.
"Agreed."
Teacher Chen nodded. "A student like this deserves a high score."
Perhaps Li Weiwei's and Lin Ye's impressive performances had raised the Reviewer Teachers' standards. When they looked at the other candidates' performances in their pods, their brows couldn't help but furrow.
"This candidate has Proficient Grade boxing skills, so why are his movements so stiff? Can't he adapt? Low score."
"And this one has Mastery Grade boxing skills, but insists on keeping his distance. He could've settled it by standing his ground, but instead he kept circling. Then he made one careless move and lost. Low score."
"And this one too. You've got Mastery Grade boxing skills, so why not fight for your life? Take down the NPC before its Blood Qi Value goes up! How stupid. Low score."
It wasn't until they saw one particular student's performance that they finally found something worth watching.
Inside Pod 28, the young man with Candidate Number 138 moved as if every strike had been precisely calculated. The angle, timing, and force of each blow were exact to the point of rigidity.
In the third trial, he'd taken a full twelve moves to defeat the NPC—not because he lacked strength, but because he'd used every move to test, correct, and refine his technique.
"A theoretical martial artist."
Teacher Chen commented, "With the right mentor, a student like this could go far. But if he pursues perfection too single-mindedly, he'll struggle in actual combat."
Just as he'd said, when the young man faced an NPC whose Blood Qi Value kept rising in the fourth trial, he was clearly at a loss. His calculations couldn't keep up with the changes.
Fortunately, his Late Body Tempering Stage cultivation and Rolling Stone Fist, which was close to Great Success Grade, gave him the confidence to respond. On top of that, he brought out an Entry-Level Martial Art, and only then did he barely manage to defeat the NPC.
But that approach failed in the fifth trial. Against an NPC with Great Success Grade Rolling Stone Fist, he failed to combine Rolling Stone Fist and his other Entry-Level Martial Art effectively. After several exchanges, he lost with regret.
"His fighting style needs more refinement."
Watching the young man's virtual form disintegrate, Lead Reviewer Teacher Wang gave his assessment.
Inside the examination hall, Lin Ye sat in his pod and thought things over for a while. Then a staff member reminded him, "Student, please go wait in the Rest Area over there. You can leave only after everyone in this batch has finished testing."
Lin Ye nodded and followed the staff member's directions toward the Rest Area. There were already more than twenty people sitting there, most of them students who had tested in the same batch.
Wang Tao was among them. As soon as he saw Lin Ye, he waved. "Brother Night, over here."
Lin Ye went over and sat beside him.
"How'd it go? How'd it go?" Wang Tao lowered his voice, barely able to contain his impatience. "Brother Night, which trial did you reach?"
"The fourth."
Lin Ye answered simply.
"Damn, I got knocked out in the second..." Wang Tao sighed. "The more I fought, the worse it felt. My opponent just kept getting stronger. I couldn't hold out at all."
"Same here."
Lin Ye nodded. He was just about to say something when Zhang Zhen appeared at the entrance to the Rest Room. His gaze swept over the crowd. When he spotted Lin Ye, his eyes lit up, and he walked over to the two of them.
"How'd it go?"
Lin Ye asked.
"Not bad, I guess." Zhang Zhen sat down in the empty seat beside them and smiled ruefully. "The NPC in the fifth trial was too strong. I couldn't last more than a few moves against him."
"The fifth trial?"
Wang Tao's eyes widened. "Brother Zhang, you're incredible! The fifth trial!"
"It's not as impressive as you imagine. If your Blood Qi Value were over 400 and your boxing skills had reached Mastery Grade, you could probably make it to the fifth trial too."
"But once you get there, you'll find your opponent's strength has gone up another level. Great Success Grade Rolling Stone Fist is just too strong. I'm still not quite there yet."
Zhang Zhen shook his head. "And the NPC was pretty nimble too. My fighting style was countered by his, so all I could do was defend."
"That's still better than me."
"One made it to the fourth trial, the other to the fifth."
Wang Tao said quietly, his voice full of envy.
Zhang Zhen looked at Lin Ye thoughtfully. "What was the fourth trial like?"
"Hard!"
Lin Ye thought about how to put it. "At first, I could still fight. The farther I got, the more pressure I felt. In the end, I couldn't hold out."
Hearing Lin Ye say that, Zhang Zhen guessed, "Looks like the NPC's Blood Qi Value increases dynamically, adjusting the difficulty based on how the candidate performs."
"No wonder."
The three of them chatted. Just then, Li Weiwei appeared in the doorway. She seemed more relaxed than Zhang Zhen, with only a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead.
"Sis Weiwei!"
A delighted shout drew everyone's attention. Zhou Qian came running over from the other side, her bouncing figure quite eye-catching. She lowered her voice and asked, "Which trial did you reach?"
"The fifth."
Li Weiwei glanced around, then sat beside Lin Ye and the others. "The NPC in the fifth trial was too nimble. I was just a little short."
"The fifth trial, and you were just a little short?"
Zhou Qian exclaimed under her breath, her eyes shining with admiration. "As expected of our class monitor! Then your score should be really high, Sis Weiwei."
"That depends on how the Reviewer Teachers judge it."
Li Weiwei replied with a smile. She looked at Lin Ye and Zhang Zhen. "What about you?"
"The fourth trial."
"The fifth."
Li Weiwei nodded without asking for details. Then she took a bottle of mineral water from nearby and drank in small sips to replenish her strength.
The group chatted idly as they waited for time to pass.
Before long, the Rest Area grew more crowded. Ten minutes later, every student in the third batch had finished testing, and the indicator lights on all the Virtual Pods in the Examination Area turned yellow, indicating standby mode.
A staff member walked to the front of the Rest Area. "All students in the third batch have completed their tests. You may leave now. Also, students who cleared the third trial this afternoon will receive new candidate numbers tonight. Remember to log in with your new numbers tomorrow."
At that, the crowd began to move.
Lin Ye stood up as well and headed for the door.
"Back to the classroom?"
Wang Tao asked when he saw Lin Ye heading out.
"No, I'm going to the Martial Arts Hall."
Lin Ye smiled.
"You're still going to practice? Aren't you going to rest today?"
Wang Tao looked shocked.
"I'm used to it."
Wang Tao shook his head. "You really are..."
Zhang Zhen nodded. "I'll go with you. After that practical test, I realized there are a few things I need to verify."
Li Weiwei stood up. "I'll go too. There were a few things I felt during the fight that I want to look into again."
"Then I'm coming too."
Zhou Qian joined them, tagging along for the fun.
Wang Tao stared at the scene in shock, his jaw hanging open, yet he couldn't help feeling a little envious.
Martial Dao was wonderful!
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