Stop Pretending, Let's See What You Do Later!

Lunatic!

Fang Shuwen watched Guo Ziming leave with his head held high, looking as if he had just won a great battle, and was left speechless.

How could this guy, a wealthy young master, still act like a child who hadn't grown up?

But on second thought, The guy really was just a child who hadn't grown up.

Fine, there was no need to lower himself to this kid's level.

He shook his head and turned his focus back to his meal.

Time flew by until the afternoon, When the physical examination began in the center of the school playground.

"The standards for this afternoon's physical examination are quite high!"

When Fang Shuwen arrived, he found that many people were already on the playground.

The boys were gathered in twos and threes near the stone lock area, competing against each other.

The girls mostly stood in the shade of the trees at the edge of the playground, some stretching their legs, others whispering to each other.

Under the awning on the east side of the playground, a row of long tables was set up, covered with brand-new blue cloth and topped with rosters and tea.

Sitting in the middle was the principal, Qian Jun, with the vice-principal, Liu Wei'an, and the dean of students, Zhou Changping, on his left and right.

At the very end sat another person, wearing a navy blue martial arts uniform with a crossed double-sword emblem embroidered on his chest.

His expression was cold and stern, his eyes scanning the students in the field like a hawk.

Fang Shuwen had never seen this man before, but judging by the mark on his chest, he should be from the Xikou County Town Martial Arts Hall.

"It's just a routine physical exam, why would the Martial Arts Hall send someone over personally?"

Fang Shuwen felt a flicker of curiosity.

At the founding of the Great Flame New Kingdom, the Central National Martial Arts Hall Sports Institute—now known as the Central National Martial Arts Hall—was established in the Divine Capital City.

Over the past dozen years, the influence of the Martial Arts Hall had spread from the Divine Capital like vines.

First, they established branches in provincial capitals, then expanded down to every prefecture and county.

The Xikou County Town Martial Arts Hall had only been registered three years ago.

Nominally, the duty of the Martial Arts Hall was to "develop national martial arts and revitalize the national physique."

But in reality, it was to control the teaching of martial arts everywhere.

If local martial arts schools wanted to continue operating and taking on students, they had to register with the Martial Arts Hall, submit their sect's techniques and manuals, and only after approval could they continue business.

Those who refused to register were sealed off under the charge of "concealing martial arts and endangering public security."

In the first few years, several large martial arts schools in the south joined forces to resist, leading to several bloody incidents.

Later, the head of the Shenghai National Martial Arts Hall went south personally.

In a single night, he challenged seven major martial arts schools, severely injuring all seven masters, two of whom died from their wounds.

Since then, no one dared to openly oppose the Martial Arts Hall.

The martial arts world of Jiangnan gradually fell entirely under the rule of the Martial Arts Hall.

Although the Xikou County Town Martial Arts Hall was only a county-level branch, It was said that the master was transferred from the Shenghai headquarters and possessed immense strength, being a Great Martial Artist in the late stage of Dark Energy.

In these three years, Three of the five original martial arts schools in Xikou County Town had closed down, and the remaining two had changed their signs, hanging up plaques that read "Designated Teaching Point of the Xikou County Town Martial Arts Hall."

They paid thirty percent of their monthly revenue to the Martial Arts Hall as a management fee.

The martial arts school where his predecessor had trained for half a month was one of those that had been restructured.

"Students, quiet!"

Dean of students Zhou Changping walked out from under the awning, holding a roster, his voice amplified by a metal megaphone across the entire playground.

He pushed up his round-rimmed glasses and scanned all the students present.

"This physical examination will be supervised throughout by Instructor Meng Zhen, a special inspector from the Xikou County Town Martial Arts Hall."

"The examination results will be counted toward the total score for advancement, accounting for fifty percent, with academic subjects making up the other fifty percent. Anyone who fails the physical examination will be expelled without exception."

As soon as he finished speaking, the playground erupted in chaos.

"Fifty percent? Didn't they say it was thirty percent before?"

"Going from thirty to fifty percent, isn't that going to kill us?"

"It's over, it's over. I can rank in the top three for academics, but I'm afraid I won't even make the top twenty in physical education..."

Zhou Changping raised his hand to press down, signaling for silence, and continued: "There is only one examination item. Stone lock lifting."

"Alright, time is limited, so let's skip the small talk."

"For the stone lock clean and jerk, the starting weight for boys is sixty jin, and forty jin for girls. Holding it for three breaths counts as a pass. Every additional ten jin adds ten points to the score."

"Next, when your name is called, step forward!"

As Zhou Changping's voice faded, the assessment began.

Several rows of stone locks were arranged in the center of the playground, allowing ten people to be tested simultaneously.

The smallest of these stone locks weighed thirty jin, while the largest one sat at the very edge; its dusty surface was engraved with the characters "Three Hundred," and it was a full circle larger than a human head.

Most of the boys stopped at weights between forty and eighty jin.

Occasionally, someone would lift a stone lock weighing over a hundred jin, drawing a chorus of gasps.

The girls' side was even more dismal, with many unable to even lift forty jin.

There was no helping it; those individuals were eliminated on the spot.

Under the sunshade, Meng Zhen, an inspector from the National Martial Arts Hall, tapped the lid of his teacup, the rhythm growing faster and faster.

"Xikou County Public Middle School is supposed to be the best school in the county, yet this is all the quality you have?" he said in a flat tone.

Principal Qian Jun coughed twice, his face showing some embarrassment, and he did not respond.

In previous years, even during assessments, physical education had never been treated with such importance.

Therefore, PE classes were mostly just for show.

Who could have known what had gotten into the National Martial Arts Hall this year? They hadn't even issued a notice.

They had simply shown up, changed the school's assessment plan, and elevated the previously ignored physical education curriculum to the same level as academic subjects.

At this moment, Turning to the next page of the roster, Zhou Changping raised his voice: "Fang Shuwen!"

A stir immediately rippled through the crowd.

"That Fang Shuwen who failed six out of seven subjects?"

"His PE was barely passing before. Looking at how scrawny he is, I doubt he can even lift forty jin."

Guo Ziming crossed his arms over his chest and sneered: "He used to follow behind me and couldn't even carry a bucket of water steadily. If he can lift forty jin, I'll write my surname backward."

A ripple of low laughter spread around them.

Fang Shuwen walked out from behind the crowd, pausing as he passed Guo Ziming: "Classmate Guo, if I lift more than forty jin, you don't need to write your name backward—just give me fifty silver dollars!"

"Fine, it's a bet! You think I'm afraid of you?" Guo Ziming was a super rich second-generation heir in Xikou County Town.

With a light provocation from Fang Shuwen, Guo Ziming had agreed.

Fang Shuwen smiled, then walked straight toward the stone lock area without even looking back.

Guo Ziming's face flushed red, his teeth grinding audibly.

This kid really thought he had him cornered!

With Fang Shuwen's scrawny frame, he probably wouldn't even meet the minimum standard, let alone anything else.

Under the sunshade, Meng Zhen sat up slightly: "This student walks with a steady center of gravity, his spine like a bow; he actually has some skill."

Fang Shuwen did not stop at the eighty-jin stone lock, nor did he look at the hundred-jin one.

He walked past the hundred, past the hundred and twenty, and stopped in front of the hundred and fifty-jin stone lock.

The surrounding laughter gradually died down.

"What is he doing? That's a hundred and fifty-jin stone lock!"

"Without the strength to make one's bones crack, it's impossible to lift that."

On the other side, Guo Ziming watched the scene, sneering:

"Putting on a show, he'll just have to slink back in a moment."