Chen Lie handed his assessment referral form to the staff member at the counter. After studying it, the staff member looked up at him.
"You're a Grade 12 student? This is your first time taking the Elite Class assessment, right?"
"Yeah." Chen Lie nodded.
"Then I suggest you go back and give yourself more time to develop before trying again.
A Blood Qi Value above 3 Ka doesn't guarantee you'll pass the Elite Student assessment.
Only students in the first half of Grade 11 can join the Elite Class with a Blood Qi Value above 3 Ka alone. By the second half of the year, even Grade 11 students have to meet the requirements for both blood qi and strength.
The younger the student, the more lenient the school is with its Elite Class assessment. A Grade 10 student could pass the Elite Student assessment with a Blood Qi Value of just 2.8 Ka.
The school is stricter with Grade 12 students now. It might even close the path to the Elite Class for them after winter break. You should come back when your Blood Qi Value is close to 5 Ka. You'd be almost certain to pass, and you wouldn't risk failing and losing confidence."
"Thanks for the advice, but I'd like to try."
The staff member shook their head, took Chen Lie's referral form, and gave him another form.
"Fill this out, then line up outside the assessment room."
Chen Lie took the form, borrowed a pen at the counter, and began filling it in.
About five minutes later, he finished, returned the pen, and joined the line at the examination room.
The people ahead of him went in one by one for their assessments. Soon, it was Chen Lie's turn.
Inside the assessment room, Chen Lie handed his completed form to the attendant and prepared to be tested.
"Chen Lie, right? Stand in the Strength Detector's scanning area and don't move."
The attendant glanced at his form and pointed him in the right direction.
Chen Lie turned and saw a Blood Essence Detector with separate components set up in the room. A square outlined in red marked its scanning area.
He stepped inside and waited.
The device beeped, and two beams of light swept down his body.
"Scan complete. Blood Qi Value: 6.73 Ka."
"Hm?"
Chen Lie's Blood Qi Value surprised the attendant.
"You waited until your Blood Qi Value was over 6 Ka to take the Elite Class assessment? You've got patience. You've already taken a medicinal bath, right?"
Chen Lie nodded, lost in thought.
It seemed each pound of the Raw Exotic Beast Meat he had eaten last night had raised his blood qi by around 0.2 Ka.
"All right. Go test your strength at the next station!"
The attendant recorded his Blood Qi Value on the form and handed it back.
Form in hand, Chen Lie walked over to the machine for the strength test.
As before, he gave his form to the attendant.
"Chen Lie, right? Hit the Strength Detector as hard as you can."
The attendant glanced at the form and gave him the instruction.
Chen Lie put all his strength into a punch and drove it into the Strength Detector.
Boom!
A thunderous impact rang out, and a set of figures appeared on the detector's display.
Strength: 20.33 jun (304.95 kg)
"Oh? Not bad. Even with a Blood Qi Value above 5 Ka, you've kept your strength-to-blood-qi ratio above three to one.
Looks like you haven't used many of those dubious supplements on the market. That's good. Your body's resistance to medicinal substances is low, so supplements should give your blood qi a huge boost in the future."
The attendant nodded, recorded the result on the form, and returned it to Chen Lie.
At the other end of the assessment room, an examiner called out loudly.
"Students who've finished both the blood qi and strength tests, gather over here!"
Chen Lie heard the call and walked over with his form.
The other students converged as well. Before long, a circle had formed around the examiner.
"Everyone, hand me your assessment forms. We're about to begin the final test: comprehension."
The examiner collected the students' forms one by one.
Chen Lie handed his over too.
The students waiting for the test formed a line and entered the Comprehension Test Hall on the second floor.
"Everyone, spread out in a row. In front of you is a holographic projector.
It's about to display a fist technique. Clear your minds and watch closely."
As soon as the examiner finished speaking, the lights on the second floor went out, plunging the hall into darkness.
A moment later, the projector cast the image of a person into the room. The figure immediately began demonstrating the technique.
Chen Lie glanced around. Including himself, fourteen people had come for the Elite Class assessment today.
Every student was watching the projected figure intently.
The figure demonstrated the fist technique three times in all.
After the third demonstration, the projection vanished.
The lights in the hall came back on.
"Students, the technique you just saw is called Cloud Body Fist. It's a C-grade martial art.
But the projector didn't show you the entire Cloud Body Fist. What you saw was a single move broken down into separate parts.
That move was divided into thirty-six sequences. Every sequence you just saw was incomplete. Your task is to fill in the missing parts of all thirty-six.
You have one hour to work it out. After that, you'll come up one at a time and demonstrate your results."
As soon as the examiner finished, the students erupted into an uproar.
"I'm done for. I barely remember the technique even after seeing it three times. How am I supposed to fill in the gaps?"
"Damn it, I was so nervous I've forgotten everything. What do I do?"
The dozen or so students reacted in two ways. Some did nothing but bemoan their luck, while the others immediately began practicing what they had seen, hoping to find the missing parts.
Nearly ten minutes passed before the students who had been complaining stopped and joined the others in practicing.
The hour flew by.
An announcement sounded through the hall.
"Students, the comprehension test will now begin.
When your name is called, come up, introduce yourself, then demonstrate the technique you've completed. We'll begin."
"Wu Yunyang, come up and demonstrate."
A boy hurried onto the Martial Practice Platform and bowed to the examiners seated before the Mist Rain Platform.
"Hello, teachers. My name is Wu Yunyang, and I'm from Grade 12 Martial Arts Ordinary Class 6."
After speaking, Wu Yunyang stood still, apparently trying to recall the technique.
Seeing this, an examiner in front of the platform said at once, "Start your demonstration. Don't waste everyone's time!"
Pressed by the examiner, Wu Yunyang's mind went blank. He could not recall a single part of what he had worked out. With the examiner urging him on, he had no choice but to perform the technique as it had appeared in the projection.
Five minutes later, his demonstration ended, and another announcement sounded through the hall.
"Wu Yunyang of Grade 12 Martial Arts Ordinary Class 6: comprehension, poor."
"Wu Yunyang of Grade 12 Martial Arts Ordinary Class 6: overall assessment score, 73. Blood Qi Value: 3.93 Ka, 51 points. Strength: 10.14 jun (152.1 kg), 17 points. Comprehension: poor, 5 points.
This score does not meet the standard. Elite Student assessment: failed."
Dejected, Wu Yunyang stepped down from the Martial Practice Platform and left the second-floor test hall.
Before long, another announcement sounded.
"Zhou Yingying, come up and demonstrate."
A girl emerged from the crowd and quickly climbed onto the Martial Practice Platform.
"Hello, teachers. I'm Zhou Yingying from Grade 11 Martial Arts Key Class 2."
Zhou Yingying steadied her breathing and began demonstrating the technique she had completed.
Her movements were somewhat unfamiliar, but the overall performance was respectable. She had indeed filled in several sequences, drawing repeated nods from the examiners.
Five minutes later, her demonstration ended, and the announcement sounded.
"Zhou Yingying of Grade 11 Martial Arts Key Class 2: comprehension, average."
"Zhou Yingying of Grade 11 Martial Arts Key Class 2: overall assessment score, 83. Blood Qi Value: 3.03 Ka, 42 points. Strength: 9.21 jun (136.35 kg), 21 points. Comprehension: average, 20 points.
This score meets the standard. Elite Student assessment: passed. Please wait in the first-floor lobby. Once all assessments are complete, you may collect your Elite Student certificate."
"Yes! I passed! Yes!"
Hearing that she had passed, Zhou Yingying beamed and jumped down from the Martial Practice Platform.
One by one, the remaining students went up to demonstrate. Soon, the announcement called Chen Lie's name.
"Chen Lie, come up and demonstrate."
At the sound of his name, Chen Lie stepped out from the back of the crowd and onto the Martial Practice Platform.
"Chen Lie, Grade 12 Martial Arts Class 16."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Lie began demonstrating the technique.
To Chen Lie, the technique shown by the holographic projector had been riddled with flaws. He had corrected only the most obvious ones.
His fists cut through the air like the wind. He moved several times faster than the students before him, leaving the examiners struggling to follow.
"This student's good. He's worked out that Cloud Body Fist move almost perfectly!"
One examiner could not help praising him.
Chen Lie moved so quickly that he finished all thirty-six sequences in just two minutes.
Not even half his allotted time had passed.
The examiners in front of the Martial Practice Platform stared in astonishment at his demonstration.
They soon recovered, scored his performance, and announced the results.
"Chen Lie of Grade 12 Martial Arts Class 16: comprehension, excellent."
"Chen Lie of Grade 12 Martial Arts Class 16: overall assessment score, 150. Blood Qi Value: 6.73 Ka, 70 points. Strength: 20.33 jun (304.95 kg), 30 points. Comprehension: excellent, 50 points.
This score meets the standard. Elite Student assessment: passed. Please wait in the first-floor lobby and collect your Elite Student certificate once all assessments are complete."
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