Change a Tool Person

As a newcomer among the advanced students, he naturally didn't go to the advanced student teaching building to show off. Instead, he went to observe the talent and diligence of the martial arts hall's advanced students to see if any were worth binding as his "tools."

Truth be told, it was a bit frustrating but entirely expected that the system clearly categorized both advanced and intermediate students as "sub-par," so this upgrade didn't trigger any changes in the system.

Tang Ping estimated that the system might only upgrade once he officially became a martial artist.

After all, the number of bindable tools and already-bound tools displayed on the system panel were both preceded by the word "current," so it was certain the system could be upgraded; he just hadn't figured out the conditions yet.

He suspected the system would upgrade as he did, especially since the "lying flat" Tang Ping had already caused the system to give up on issuing him missions.

Since the system hadn't upgraded, the number of bindable tools remained at ten, but according to his previous experiments, he could unbind existing tools and rebind others.

Therefore, he decided to observe the advanced students at the martial arts hall carefully; if he found anyone with talent and diligence significantly superior to his current tools, he would swap them out.

Of course, if they were about the same, he wouldn't bother, because Tang Ping had noticed that over the past few days, the tools he had set to the minimum distribution ratio had also gradually realized their training results were improving and had become much more diligent.

If he changed tools frequently, on one hand, it would be a waste of time as the new tools would have to go through the process of becoming more diligent all over again.

On the other hand, the original tools had just happily realized their talent had improved and were working hard to better themselves; if their talent suddenly vanished after a few days, they might just fall into despair.

Without sufficiently tempting benefits, Tang Ping was certainly unwilling to do something that might ruin someone's life.

The reason he had the idea of swapping tools wasn't just because there might be more talented and diligent individuals among the advanced students; more importantly, Tang Ping realized he had misjudged his initial choices.

Among the ten tools he had previously bound, aside from his four brothers, the other six were chosen based on talent and diligence.

As it turned out, after a few days, he discovered that two of the six were merely pretending to work hard while actually slacking off.

One of them was slightly better, having become much more diligent once he noticed his own talent seemed to have improved.

As for the other, whether he hadn't realized his training results had improved or simply refused to work hard despite noticing, he provided Tang Ping with very little gain, so Tang Ping was determined to replace him today.

The number of advanced students was significantly lower than that of intermediate students, so Tang Ping finished his rounds in no time and gained a general understanding of what could be seen on the surface.

"Wow, I never would have guessed. Zhang Liu is so weak, yet he seems to be the most talented among these advanced students. Plus, his family is well-off; why is he training at the Limit Martial Arts Hall?"

After completing his rounds and making a comprehensive comparison, Tang Ping discovered that the person most suitable to be his tool was actually Zhang Liu, someone he didn't get along with and had disciplined several times.

To be honest, he hadn't expected to run into Zhang Liu here, because someone with Zhang Liu's family background usually had a private training room at home. He hadn't even seen the other advanced student from their school here.

As for why Zhang Liu was the most talented, it was easy to understand. Jianyi Middle School was the best high school in the entire Jianyi District, and as one of the only two advanced students in their school, even if his family background played a part, his talent was undeniable.

"Forget it. Even though we don't get along, he's always the one who ends up unlucky anyway, and he isn't actually a bad person, just a bit unpleasant. I'll grant him this stroke of fortune."

After a moment of hesitation, Tang Ping decided to give him a chance.

On the other side, in the spacious training room, Zhang Liu naturally saw Tang Ping the moment Tang Ping spotted him.

However, Tang Ping had been able to beat him black and blue even before breaking through to become an advanced student. Now that Tang Ping was here, he had clearly become an advanced student as well, making him even harder to defeat.

He had no choice but to choose the path of least resistance and pretend he didn't see him.

I'll just focus on my own training and act like you aren't here. You can't just come over and beat me up for no reason, Zhang Liu thought to himself.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. He didn't want to provoke Tang Ping, but Tang Ping walked straight toward him anyway.

"Hey! Young Master Zhang, you don't even greet an old classmate when you see one?" Tang Ping tapped the shoulder of Zhang Liu, who was pretending to train hard and ignoring his surroundings, and casually teased him while simultaneously binding him as a tool.

"Hmph! We aren't that close. And don't think becoming an advanced student makes you special; I'll definitely become a Quasi-Martial Artist before you do." Even though he was intimidated inside, he couldn't lose face.

"Alright, then good luck." Tang Ping left him with that, leaving a bewildered Zhang Liu standing there alone.

"Well, I'll keep observing that other slacker. If it really doesn't work out, I'll swap him later." Aside from Zhang Liu, Tang Ping hadn't found anyone particularly gifted among the advanced students, so he decided not to make any more changes for now.

Actually, it was no surprise; the number of advanced students was relatively small, and most had reached that level through age and accumulation, so their talent wasn't necessarily much higher than that of intermediate students.

Having completely lost the desire to rely on his own training, Tang Ping didn't want to stay in the training room any longer once his business was done, so he headed straight home.

The days of training were dull and tedious, but the days of "lying flat" were leisurely and comfortable. Especially after the system update, Tang Ping could grow stronger just by lying flat, making him even more content.

In the blink of an eye, two months passed. Tang Ping's "tool" brothers had finally all reached the level of Quasi-Martial Artists, and they agreed to participate in the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment on June 1st.

As for Tang Ping himself, he had reached the Quasi-Martial Artist level over twenty days ago. This was only because he had adjusted the distribution ratios to the maximum to look after his brothers; otherwise, they would have needed at least another month to reach that level.

"Mom, Dad, I'm heading to the Limit Pavilion in the city center. I won't be back for lunch today. Wait for my good news; I'll call you as soon as I pass the assessment." After finishing breakfast, Tang Ping stood up, ready to head out and meet his brothers.

During this time, Tang Ping had found an opportunity to tell his family that his training speed had improved by leaps and bounds and that he was preparing for the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment. His family was overjoyed at the news.

For a family at the bottom of society like theirs, having a martial artist in the family was the most effective and fastest way to turn their lives around.

After leaving home, Tang Ping first met up with his brothers at the agreed-upon location, and then they took the subway together to the headquarters of the Limit Martial Arts Hall in Hong City, South China Base City—the Limit Pavilion.