School Second

"Martial Apprentice Stage 8, and his Basic Strength is nearly 950 kilograms?"

Li Chengjun took a long while to come back to his senses, speaking in disbelief.

"Yeah, that's a strength many at Martial Apprentice Stage 9 would struggle to reach." Zhou An nodded in deep agreement.

"As far as I know, Zhao Longfei from your Class 1 is already at Martial Apprentice Stage 9, but his Basic Strength is only about 860 kilograms." Zhou An recalled.

Wang Tong said flatly from the side, "That might be because Zhao Longfei's foundation isn't solid enough."

So satisfying, shut him down again. Wang Tong was practically overjoyed inside.

He continued to feign calm, saying, "The path of a genius—how could you possibly understand it?"

Zhou An nodded, feeling a bit uncertain himself.

Li Chengjun didn't argue further, nor did he keep questioning whether Lu Chong had taken banned substances.

If taking drugs could yield such Basic Strength, he'd have his whole class popping pills without a second thought.

"Let's see what other stats Lu Chong has." Zhou An smoothed things over.

Soon, Lu Chong's third stat appeared on the screen.

Basic Speed: 23m/s — 92 points

As the data came out, the three fell silent again.

Clearly, this stat once again exceeded what a typical Martial Apprentice Stage 8 should have.

The Basic Speed for a true Martial Artist was 25m/s, and Lu Chong, still at Martial Apprentice Stage 8, was already close.

These results had completely shattered any suspicion that Lu Chong had used banned substances.

If anything, they showed that Lu Chong's foundation was far more solid than others at the same level.

It wasn't until the final stat, Neural Reaction, came out that the three breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"83 points. Good, he's normal. Otherwise, I'd want to take him back for research." Zhou An joked half-seriously.

Wang Tong, however, wasn't about to let the now-silent Li Chengjun off easily. He chuckled, "So, Chengjun, if Lu Chong were in your class, would he have these results?"

"Martial Apprentice Stage 6? You trying to make me die laughing?"

Li Chengjun snorted, then put on a smile for Wang Tong. "Still impressive, Old Squad Leader."

"But these basic stats are just one side of things. The real practical exam is what matters. Just hope he doesn't run into anyone from my class."

"After all, Class 1 has three at Martial Apprentice Stage 9 and nine at Stage 8."

"Besides, actual combat doesn't rely on rigid numbers like these, nor just on Martial Skills. It's more about mindset, willpower, and experience."

"This kid—has he ever seen blood? Has he ever faced a real Exotic Beast?" Li Chengjun asked with confidence.

"Hmph, then we'll see the truth in the practical exam." Wang Tong said, then turned and strode away with an air of pride.

Lu Chong indeed had no real combat experience—not the kind of student sparring matches they did in class, but actual life-or-death battles against Exotic Beasts.

Those who hadn't been through such combat couldn't imagine the gap.

In contrast, most of Class 1's students came from wealthy, well-connected families. They could, under the protection of family experts, face real Exotic Beasts and accumulate plenty of practical experience.

The real College Entrance Exam practical test would pit them against actual Exotic Beasts in the wild Hunting Grounds, not gentle sparring on a platform.

I wonder how much of the combat experience I've drilled into Lu Chong he's actually absorbed. Sigh... Wang Tong sighed, not expecting Lu Chong to achieve outstanding results in the practical exam.

"Come on, don't be sour grapes. Old Wang finally found a good seedling, and you want to knock him down?" Zhou An said with a grin, looking at Li Chengjun.

Li Chengjun laughed it off. "You know me, I just don't want Old Squad Leader wasting too much time on an ordinary class."

"I'm off. The practical exam starts this afternoon, and I still need to give those little brats some last-minute lessons."

After Li Chengjun left, Dean of Academic Affairs Zhou An took a long look at the testing room where Lu Chong was, then hurried away.

He was going to report Lu Chong's test results to the Old Principal. With the Old Principal's insight, he might be able to see something.

A moment later, Lu Chong walked out of the room, looking a bit distracted.

My Basic Strength and Speed are both above the level of Martial Apprentice Stage 8. That's probably because of the second tempering from the Qi Absorbing Art.

And also because the Golden Cicada Robe improved my overall physique. Lu Chong analyzed to himself.

But my Neural Reaction is relatively unremarkable.

That involves brain development, which really isn't easy to improve.

Lu Chong simply filed these numbers away in his mind, then returned to his class feeling light.

But when he met up with his classmates, he noticed everyone looking at him strangely.

"What's up?" Lu Chong asked Chen Yufei beside him.

"What else, Brother Chong? Everyone's results are out." Chen Yufei exclaimed in awe. "Your total Basic Score is 350. Do you know what rank you are?"

Lu Chong thought for a moment and said modestly, "Should be in the top ten of the whole school, right?"

He wasn't selling himself short. Though his cultivation hadn't reached Stage 9, his Strength and Speed had exceeded expectations, so making the top ten shouldn't be a problem.

Chen Yufei pursed his lips and gave a thumbs-up. "Not just the top ten, Brother Chong—you're School Second overall."

"Only Xiang Yueya beat you by five points. Everyone else, including Zhao Longfei and Huang Junyan, got crushed by you."

Even though Chen Yufei had known that Lu Chong had already reached Martial Apprentice Stage 8, seeing the school's rankings still left him dumbfounded.

Lu Chong hadn't been at Martial Apprentice Stage 8 for long, but Class 1 had nine students at Martial Apprentice Stage 8 and three at Martial Apprentice Stage 9.

Who could have guessed that Lu Chong, an Eighth Stage martial apprentice, would leave everyone in the dust on the basic score and climb all the way to School Second?

"Brother Chong, you've probably made the biggest improvement in the school's history. If the school doesn't give you an award, I'd say that's a travesty."

Chen Yufei still remembered that just over a month ago, in the test, he and Lu Chong had been neck and neck, ranking in the four-hundreds among all senior students.

And there were only a little over five hundred seniors at First High School.

Chen Yufei was stunned, let alone the students in Class 5 who hadn't known in advance.

Take Sun Ze, for example, who had been subdued by Lu Chong in two fights not long ago. Now, whenever he saw Lu Chong, his eyes darted away.

He was still stuck at Martial Apprentice Fifth Stage. Who could have imagined that the Lu Chong he used to bully had already reached such heights?

"Alright, the basic scores are out."

Just then, the Head Teacher walked over, beaming, and announced loudly, "For those who didn't do well, don't lose heart."

"This afternoon, the five-day Hunting Ground practical exam begins. Before that, I need to emphasize a few points."

Lu Chong perked up. This was indeed his first time participating in a real practical exam.

His former self had never had this opportunity—no conditions, no courage to go to the wild Hunting Ground and face those bloodthirsty Exotic Beasts.

This simulated combat was a chance.

And this stage was crucial to whether Lu Chong could take first place.