Elite Student Assessment

Chen Lie watched his mother leave, then closed the door. He went to the table, opened the container of Exotic Beast Meat, and began eating slowly.

As the first piece dissolved in his stomach, a surge of violent energy welled up inside him. Instead of slowing down, he ate faster.

The more Exotic Beast Meat he ate, the more that violent energy filled his body. His blood vessels throbbed, and his pulse pounded erratically.

The moment he swallowed the last piece, Chen Lie left his room and headed to the Practice Room at home.

His blood vessels felt painfully swollen. He hurriedly began practicing the Basic Body Tempering Technique from Taia Star Province.

The energy inside him was so immense and violent that he started directly with the third form of the Basic Body Tempering Technique.

Unlike the first two forms, the third consisted of forty-two movements. Performed in sequence, they drove the blood and qi through the body, turning energy into nutrients it could absorb.

By the seventh movement, Chen Lie could feel his blood and qi stirring, ravenously devouring the violent energy from the Exotic Beast Meat.

Over two hours passed. Chen Lie repeated all forty-two movements of the third form ten times.

By then, his cells had devoured almost all the violent energy in his body, and his blood and qi had grown several times stronger.

To avoid draining his body of nutrients again by training too hard, Chen Lie stopped there.

He sent out a thread of Mental Power to examine his body and found that his blood and qi were much stronger than before. He would need an instrument to measure the exact value.

I wonder how much my Blood Qi Value has risen. It's at least doubled since earlier.

Chen Lie left the Practice Room, returned to his bedroom, and changed clothes. Then he sat cross-legged on the bed and began practicing the Star Constellation Visualization Method from the Lingguang Divine Refining Chapter.

He had already awakened Divine Sense and cultivated Mental Power in his Sea of Consciousness. Because his Mental Power was far stronger than an ordinary person's, he could now go more than ten days without sleep and not feel the slightest fatigue.

Without the Spirit Nourishing Flower to help him, however, his Mental Power cultivation progressed much more slowly.

The night passed, and he failed to light even one star in Gui Constellation, the second of the seven constellations.

In the morning, Chen Lie got out of bed, washed up, and left for school.

His school was Dongchuan Province Key High School. Martial Arts Students had mandatory classes on Mondays and Thursdays; the rest of their time was theirs to arrange.

Chen Lie entered his classroom, Grade 12 Martial Arts Class 16, and sat down in his usual seat.

His memories of his classmates were hazy, so he did not speak to anyone.

Before long, their instructor, Ren Hongguang, arrived.

The classroom fell silent as soon as Ren Hongguang entered. Chen Lie alone stood up and walked straight to the front of the room, stopping before him.

"What are you doing? Didn't you hear the bell? Get back to your seat."

Ren Hongguang reprimanded him the moment he stepped up to the lectern.

"Mr. Ren, my Blood Qi Value has passed 3. I'd like to advance to the Elite Class. Could you approve a form for me?"

"You? Your Blood Qi Value passed 3?"

Ren Hongguang stared at Chen Lie in confusion. "Didn't you just have it tested a few days ago? It was 0.93 then. How did it suddenly pass 3?"

"My Blood Qi Value passed 3 a while ago. I just kept it hidden. I had someone else take the last test in my place."

"Hm?"

Ren Hongguang stepped forward, took Chen Lie's wrist, and felt his pulse carefully.

His pulse is strong, and his blood and qi flow steadily. His Blood Qi Value is at least 3.

Ren Hongguang released his wrist and nodded kindly. "It seems you really have been hiding your strength. I won't ask why.

"But you're in your final year now. The review for advancing to the Elite Class is much stricter than it is for first- and second-year Martial Arts Students. They'll test not just your Blood Qi Value, but your physical strength and aptitude too.

"I'd advise you to spend a little more time preparing. Failing the Elite Class assessment could be a blow to your confidence."

Chen Lie nodded. "I understand. Thanks for the advice, sir, but I've prepared long enough. Please approve the form."

"All right. Come with me to the office."

Ren Hongguang had felt that Chen Lie's Blood Qi Value was no lower than 3, and he also believed the boy had spent time building a solid foundation. He agreed.

Chen Lie followed Ren Hongguang out of the classroom and into the office.

At his desk, Ren Hongguang opened a drawer and took out an Elite Student Promotion Assessment Recommendation Form. He wrote his name in the recommending instructor field.

"Fill in your personal information. I'll enter it into the Superbrain system. Be at the Elite Student Assessment Center at noon sharp for your assessment."

With that, Ren Hongguang handed him the form.

Chen Lie took it. "Sorry for the trouble, sir."

He then turned and left the office.

He remembered that the Elite Student Assessment Center was beside the Elite Campus. After grabbing a quick bite at the cafeteria, he headed there.

Dongchuan Province Key High School was a large school with over fifty thousand students, more than thirty thousand of whom were Martial Arts Students.

Of those thirty thousand-plus Martial Arts Students, fewer than two thousand were in the Elite Class—not even a tenth of the total.

Elite Students received preferential access to the school's martial arts resources.

According to figures released by the school, every Elite Student received at least twenty thousand Star Dollars in resource subsidies each month.

Chen Lie had no reason not to compete for that monthly subsidy.

He arrived at the Elite Student Assessment Center and went straight inside.

Many people were already waiting in the first-floor lobby. Chen Lie found a seat in the waiting area and sat down.

Nearly all of its hundred-odd seats were occupied. It wasn't that so many students were applying for promotion; each student waiting for the Elite Class assessment had parents with them.

Chen Lie wasn't surprised. Students who advanced to the Elite Class were almost certain to enter a top martial arts university. For many families, it was a major event, and having parents accompany their children on assessment day was common.

Beside Chen Lie, a young mother encouraged her child, a girl with short hair.

"Nini, don't be nervous. You're only in your second year, so the Elite Class assessment won't be that strict. Just stay calm. Your Blood Qi Value has passed 3, so you've met the requirement. If you perform as you normally do, you'll pass!"

"Okay, Mom, I know!" The short-haired girl nodded vigorously.

In the seats ahead of Chen Lie, both parents of another family were encouraging their son.

"Son, stay calm. You didn't pass the Elite assessment last time, but you've been eating Exotic Beast Meat for a whole month, and your Blood Qi Value has passed 4.

"You're well above the requirement now. No matter how strict the assessment is for final-year students, you'll pass!"

"Your mother is right," his father said. "I'll fill out your form in a moment, and she can help you settle your nerves. You'll pass this time!"

Chen Lie tuned out everything around him and waited for noon.

Before noon arrived, the school staff responsible for assessing Elite Students began taking their places at the counter.

The parents waiting in the lobby lined up there.

Chen Lie glanced over and saw that everyone in line was a parent. There wasn't a single student.

Seeing the long queue, Chen Lie stayed where he was. Only after all the parents had left the counter did he stroll over.