Martial Arts Space?

Li Qingshan took a deep breath, stepped out of the line, and stopped before the Light Wall.

After imagining it for so long, he was unexpectedly calm when the moment finally came.

Did the Body Tempering Eleventh Stage really exist? He would know after the test!

The thought flashed through his mind as he stomped down hard with his right foot.

Bang!

With a muffled boom, he shot forward like a bolt of lightning.

Power surged freely from his legs, while the wind howled past his ears.

But this was not the time to run recklessly.

In just a few strides, the Light Wall ahead was already within reach.

Li Qingshan planted one foot, forcibly halting his forward momentum as his sole twisted.

Power rose from the ground, traveled through his legs, passed his waist and hips, and turned through his spine!

In an instant, he turned around and charged out again.

He had no experience with this kind of shuttle-run test,

but whether it was Yu Lei's perfect demonstration or the many classmates' flawed examples, they were enough for Li Qingshan to understand, learn, and master it!

His body darted swiftly between the Light Walls, and each turn became more precise.

In the blink of an eye, he completed ten shuttles.

All the students craned their necks and stared at the Light Wall on the left.

They could not estimate Li Qingshan's exact score, but just from what they could see with their own eyes—

Fast! So fast! Incredibly fast!

Just then,

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Explosive sounds erupted one after another.

The crowd looked over in surprise. After completing the speed test, Li Qingshan had not paused at all and had rushed straight to the Punch Force Tester.

In the blink of an eye, he had thrown all ten punches.

Huff!

Li Qingshan let out a heavy breath. Every pore on his body opened, white vapor rose from him, and sweat suddenly poured from his forehead.

He wiped his right hand across it, scattering droplets of sweat.

Li Qingshan looked up at the screen above.

Punch force: 260 kilograms

He had not had time to check the speed test result just now,

but he did not need to look anymore.

"Brother Shan is awesome! I knew you'd be the strongest!"

Zhao Hongzhou shouted excitedly, his voice echoing through the gymnasium.

The surrounding students could not contain their excitement either.

"Speed: 11.3 meters per second, punch force: 260 kilograms. Another Body Tempering First Stage!"

"Not just Body Tempering First Stage. Li Qingshan is also first in the class!"

"Three Body Tempering First Stages. Whether in speed or strength, Li Qingshan beat Liang Mingyu and Hong Qian. He's absolutely number one in the class!"

The noisy discussion reached his ears, but Li Qingshan automatically filtered it out.

Things like surpassing Liang Mingyu and Hong Qian, or being first in the class, meant nothing to him.

Li Qingshan cared about only one thing.

His speed and strength had both crossed the threshold. He was a genuine Body Tempering First Stage!

Which meant...

Li Qingshan glanced at the panel, his expression excited.

There was no way the panel's progress bar could be wrong.

Since 9/100 was the Body Tempering First Stage, then the Body Tempering Tenth Stage would be 90/100, leaving ten percent of the progress bar unused.

The Body Tempering Eleventh Stage really existed!

Li Qingshan took several deep breaths and walked back.

By the time he reached the front of the line, his excitement had settled, and his expression had returned to calm.

Now that he had confirmed it, there was no need to overthink it.

That final ten percent was something to consider only after reaching the Body Tempering Tenth Stage.

The discussion ahead was loud, all about him being "first in the class," and quite a few people took the initiative to greet him.

Wan Keshan stood at the front of the line, his eyes fixed on him as well.

However, Li Qingshan knew Wan Keshan's twisted sense of humor, and Liang Mingyu's experience served as a warning. Without slowing down in the slightest, he walked right past him.

"Not bad!"

Wan Keshan's voice suddenly rang out, overpowering the surrounding chatter.

Everyone fell silent on their own and looked at Wan Keshan in surprise.

From the first student, Yu Lei, until the two Body Tempering First Stages, Liang Mingyu and Hong Qian, had appeared, Wan Keshan had not said a single word, not even offering a comment.

Why had he suddenly spoken now?

Was it because Li Qingshan was first in the class?

Li Qingshan also turned around in surprise and looked at Wan Keshan.

When he truly saw a hint of approval on Wan Keshan's face, he became even more confused.

Based on what he knew of Wan Keshan, it did not seem like the man would praise him over such a small achievement.

Among the crowd, Liang Mingyu frowned deeply, his expression darkening.

This was exactly what he had wanted before.

He had clearly been the first Body Tempering First Stage. Li Qingshan's score was only a little higher than his, so why did he receive Wan Keshan's special attention?

"That's obviously favoritism!"

Liu Jingya muttered as she held Liang Mingyu's arm.

Suddenly, an icy gaze swept over them, almost tangible.

Liang Mingyu and Liu Jingya's breathing stalled, and their faces turned pale.

"Heh heh!"

Wan Keshan curled his lips and swept his gaze around the room. His booming voice echoed through the gymnasium.

"In this assessment test, Li Qingshan is the only one in whom I saw even the slightest possibility of going to New Continent!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted.

The Martial Arts Class was their final ticket to New Continent.

Although they all knew it would be difficult, they had not expected it to be this absurd.

Even Li Qingshan, first in the class, had only the slightest possibility?

For a moment, everyone present found it hard to believe.

Liang Mingyu and Hong Qian clenched their fists, unable to accept it.

Yu Lei stared at Li Qingshan, her expression unreadable.

Did she know the reason?

Li Qingshan was baffled by her stare. He also had no idea what Wan Keshan's conclusion was based on.

But none of that mattered.

What did a slight chance matter?

With the panel, his goal had never been merely New Continent!

What he wanted was the sea of stars!

"I know it's hard for you to believe. Once you've attended my first lesson, I'll naturally tell you why."

Wan Keshan tapped twice on his Communicator, then crossed his arms and said meaningfully,

"Of course, that is assuming you can seize the opportunity!"

An opportunity?

Everyone was stunned.

But someone soon recalled the first thing Wan Keshan had said after introducing himself.

"If there is an opportunity, I will be your martial arts teacher for the next year."

Li Qingshan considered those words carefully and understood.

This "opportunity" did not refer to Wan Keshan, but to the students themselves.

So Wan Keshan really intended to kick people out?

Rumble... rumble...

Under everyone's curious gazes, a square crate was pushed into the gymnasium.

The crate was huge, with sides measuring a full two meters. It was tightly covered by a black cloth.

The young man pushing the cart was tall and powerfully built, clearly an upperclassman from the Martial Arts Class.

Wan Keshan walked to the center of the gymnasium and turned off the Light Walls.

After the young man pushed the crate beside him, Wan Keshan waved for him to leave.

"Enter the Martial Arts Class, get into New Continent Martial Arts University, and go to New Continent to witness the true Interstellar Era."

Wan Keshan paced slowly, sighing softly.

"What a beautiful vision!"

"But..." Wan Keshan changed his tone, his eyes blazing.

"The stars have never been synonymous with beauty!"

"The universe is vast. Besides humanity, there are countless alien races, Feral Beasts, and inscrutable, terrifying Evil Gods."

"Of course, you have learned all this from your textbooks before."

"But I want to ask you..."

Wan Keshan stopped and faced the students, his voice grave.

"Do you truly dare raise a blade against them?"

All the students fell silent, their eyes fixed on the covered crate.

Vaguely, they had already guessed what lay beneath the black cloth.

Swish!

The black cloth was violently torn away, revealing the crate beneath.

No, it was not a crate, but an alloy cage.

A machete lay across the cage, its spine thick and its blade sharp.

Inside the cage was a wolf-like Feral Beast, its massive body nearly filling the entire cage.

The Feral Beast had no fur. Beneath its dark-red skin, blood vessels writhed and twisted.

Four sharp canine teeth interlocked above and below, gleaming coldly.

All four of the Feral Beast's limbs were secured to the steel plate at the bottom of the cage. Even its neck was fitted with an iron collar, with a chain connecting the collar to the top railing.

The Feral Beast's eyes were shut, and it did not move at all, like a sculpture.

Even so, facing a Feral Beast for the first time made quite a few students instinctively step back.

And as the crowd retreated,

one figure suddenly stepped forward, standing out sharply.

Hmm?

Wan Keshan looked over in surprise.

Li Qingshan withdrew his foot, his face expressionless.

His back prickled as if pierced by needles. He could feel many gazes gathering on him.

But Li Qingshan did not care. His eyes remained fixed on the final line of the panel.

[Function: Martial Arts Space] (Locked)

At the instant the black cloth had been pulled away,

that line of text had suddenly flickered.