School Second

"Martial Apprentice Stage 8, with basic strength approaching 950 kilograms? How is that possible?"

Li Chengjun took a long time to recover, then said in disbelief.

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

"As far as I know, Zhao Longfei from your Class 1 is already a Martial Apprentice Stage 9, but his basic strength seems to be only 860 kilograms." Zhou An recalled.

Wang Tong said coolly from the side, "Maybe Zhao Longfei's foundation isn't solid enough."

That felt great. I got the better of him again. Wang Tong was practically beaming inside.

He continued, feigning composure. "You wouldn't understand the path of a genius."

Zhou An nodded. He wasn't sure what to make of it anymore.

Li Chengjun didn't argue further or keep questioning whether Lu Chong had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

If drugs could give someone basic strength like that, he'd immediately tell the students in his class to start taking them.

"Let's see how Lu Chong did on the rest of the tests," Zhou An said, smoothing things over.

Before long, Lu Chong's third score appeared on the screen.

Basic speed: 23 m/s — 92 points

The three of them fell silent again as soon as the results came up.

Clearly, this result was once again beyond the speed expected of an ordinary Martial Apprentice Stage 8.

The basic speed of someone who had truly become a Martial Artist was 25 m/s. Lu Chong was only a Martial Apprentice Stage 8, yet he was already close to that.

These results had completely dispelled the suspicion that Lu Chong had taken performance-enhancing drugs.

His foundation was, in fact, far more solid than that of others at the same stage.

When the score for the final test, neural reaction, appeared, the three of them finally relaxed a little.

"Eighty-three points. Good, he's normal after all. Otherwise, I'd be tempted to take him back for research," Zhou An joked.

Wang Tong had no intention of letting the now-silent Li Chengjun off so easily. Grinning, he said, "Well, Chengjun? If Lu Chong were in your class, would he have gotten these scores?"

"Martial Apprentice Stage 6? Who are you trying to make laugh?"

Li Chengjun gave a chuckle, then turned to Wang Tong with a smile. "The Old Squad Leader is still the best."

"But these basic stats are only one part of it. The real test is the Combat Assessment. Let's hope he doesn't run into anyone from our class."

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

"Besides, actual combat isn't about these rigid stats. It's not just about Martial Skills, either. Temperament, willpower, and experience matter more."

"Has that kid ever seen blood? Has he ever faced a real Exotic Beast?" Li Chengjun asked confidently.

"Hmph. We'll see how things stand in the Combat Assessment." Wang Tong finished speaking, then swept away with an air of arrogance.

Lu Chong had indeed never experienced real combat—not the sparring matches between students he had in his daily life, but an actual fight to the death against an Exotic Beast.

It was hard for someone who had never experienced such combat to imagine the difference.

By contrast, most of the students in Class 1 came from wealthy families with powerful connections. They could face real Exotic Beasts under the protection of expert family members and build up a wealth of combat experience.

The actual College Entrance Exam Combat Assessment would pit them against real Exotic Beasts in wilderness Hunting Grounds. It wouldn't be the gentle sparring of the ring anymore.

"I wonder how much of the combat experience I've been drilling into Lu Chong has actually sunk in. Sigh..."

Wang Tong sighed. He didn't think Lu Chong would get an outstanding result in the Combat Assessment.

"Come on, don't be bitter just because you can't have what someone else has. Old Wang finally found a promising student, and you still want to put him down?" Zhou An said with a smile, looking at Li Chengjun.

Li Chengjun laughed awkwardly. "You know me. I just don't want the Old Squad Leader wasting too much time in an ordinary class."

"I'm off. The Combat Assessment starts this afternoon, and I still need to give those brats a refresher."

After Li Chengjun left, the academic affairs director, Zhou An, took a long look at the room where Lu Chong had taken the test, then hurried away.

He wanted to report Lu Chong's test results to the Old Principal. With the Old Principal's insight, he should be able to see something in them.

A little while later, Lu Chong finally emerged from the room, looking somewhat distracted.

"My basic strength and speed are both above the Martial Apprentice Stage 8 level. That's probably because the Qi Absorbing Art tempered me a second time."

"The Golden Cicada Robe also raised my overall constitution," Lu Chong analyzed to himself.

"But my neural reaction isn't particularly impressive by comparison."

"That involves brain development, so it really isn't easy to improve."

Lu Chong committed the results to memory, then returned to class feeling relaxed.

But when he rejoined his classmates, he noticed that everyone was looking at him strangely.

"What's going on?" Lu Chong asked Chen Yufei, who was standing nearby.

"What do you think, Brother Chong? Everyone's scores have been announced." Chen Yufei exclaimed, "Your basic score was 350. Do you know what rank you got?"

Lu Chong thought it over and gave a measured answer. "I should be in the top ten in the whole school, right?"

He wasn't putting himself down. Although he hadn't reached Stage 9 in cultivation, his strength and speed had both exceeded expectations, so making the top ten shouldn't be a problem.

Chen Yufei pressed his lips together and gave a thumbs-up. "Not just the top ten. You came in second in the whole school, Brother Chong!"

"Only Xiang Yueya scored five points higher than you. You beat everyone else, including Zhao Longfei and Huang Junyan."

Even though Chen Yufei had known that Lu Chong had reached Martial Apprentice Stage 8, he was still stunned when he saw the school rankings.

Lu Chong had only recently broken through to Martial Apprentice Stage 8, while Class 1 had nine students at Stage 8 and three at Stage 9.

Who could have imagined that Lu Chong, a Martial Apprentice Stage 8, would shoot straight to second place in the whole school based on his basic scores?

"Brother Chong, you might be the student with the biggest improvement in the school's history. If they don't give you an award, I'll be outraged."

Chen Yufei still remembered the test a little over a month ago. He and Lu Chong had been neck and neck, both ranking somewhere in the four hundreds among all the school's senior-year students.

And First High School had only a little over five hundred senior-year students in total.

Chen Yufei had been shocked, and so had the Class 5 students who hadn't known about Lu Chong's progress beforehand.

Sun Ze, for example, had been beaten into submission by Lu Chong in two fights not long ago. Now, whenever he saw Lu Chong, he couldn't meet his eyes.

He was still a Martial Apprentice Stage 5. Who could have imagined that Lu Chong, the person he used to bully, would already have reached such heights?

"All right, the basic scores are out."

Just then, their Head Teacher walked over, beaming, and called out, "If you didn't do well, don't be discouraged."

"The five-day Hunting Ground Combat Assessment starts this afternoon. Before that, I have a few things to emphasize."

Lu Chong perked up. This really was his first time taking part in a genuine Combat Assessment.

In his previous life, the original owner had never had the chance—or the means or the courage—to go into the wilderness Hunting Grounds and see those bloodthirsty Exotic Beasts.

This simulated combat was an opportunity.

And this round would be crucial to whether Lu Chong could take first place.