第二十一章 开始考核

Having successfully drawn everyone's attention, the male disciple smiled in satisfaction. He looked toward He Tao, and after receiving his signal, said, "This is Inspector He from the Martial Pavilion in the provincial capital. Welcome, Inspector He!"

With that, he took the lead in applauding.

The female disciple and Huang Bai followed suit, and for a while, applause filled the room.

Seeing that the four of them had no reaction and were looking at them as if they were idiots, the applause gradually died down.

"Ahem, ahem." He Tao tried to break the awkward atmosphere. "Hall Master Huang, Hall Master Lin, Hall Master Chen, are all three of you here? Please step forward."

Huang Bai took a large stride forward and cupped his fists toward He Tao. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Huang Bai of Zhengxin Martial Arts Academy."

Lin Qi snapped to attention, startling everyone around him. Staring straight ahead, he said, "I am Lin Qi, the inaugural hall master of Inquiry Martial Arts Hall. These two are my younger sister, Lin Xue, and my classmate, Yan Jiajia."

"Chen Xu, Chen Martial Arts Academy." Chen Xu rose from the sofa. His gaze swept across the room. He was the tallest person present, and he liked the feeling of looking down on everyone else.

He Tao walked to the center of the assessment room. "I believe everyone already understands the assessment. It's very simple.

First, the hall master must last thirty seconds against a Martial Pavilion inspector.

Second, they must possess at least one non-basic martial art that can be taught.

Now, please have the three hall masters demonstrate the ranked martial arts you intend to teach.

Hall Master Huang is the eldest, so please begin."

Huang Bai cupped his fists to the room and slightly raised one leg.

"Zhengxin Martial Arts Academy's kicking technique, Shadows Follow Form."

He suddenly lifted his leg and unleashed dozens of consecutive kicks. His legs alternated through front kicks, side kicks, back kicks, axe kicks, hook kicks, spinning back kicks, push kicks, and a whole series of leg techniques.

"What a Shadows Follow Form. It truly is as swift as lightning." Having accepted the benefits, He Tao naturally did not hold back his praise.

"Next, Hall Master Lin, please."

"Inquiry Martial Arts Hall's Body Nourishing Fist."

Lin Qi began demonstrating it with meticulous seriousness.

"Pfft." The female disciple could not help laughing, quickly covering her mouth with her hand.

As for the male disciple, he had always considered himself superior to others, and his contempt was plain to see.

"You people!" Lin Xue's little face immediately fell. She hated people who looked down on her brother the most. Her brother was obviously amazing.

Yan Jiajia had never suffered a loss since childhood. Seeing the person she liked being mocked, how could she remain seated? "Inspector He selects people—does martial ability not matter, but neither does character?"

The male disciple had just been about to snap back when He Tao stopped him. "Miss Yan, my disciple behaved improperly. As his master, I apologize on his behalf."

Turning around, he saw that Lin Qi had already withdrawn his fists and stood still.

"Hall Master Lin's fist technique truly lives up to the name Body Nourishing Fist. Although it is somewhat lacking in offensive power, its effects in strengthening the body are enough to compensate for that flaw. It qualifies as a ranked martial art."

"Hall Master Chen, please." He Tao took several small steps back.

"Chen Tiger Howl Fist."

The moment he finished speaking, Chen Xu threw a fierce punch.

The observing male and female disciples could not help retreating several steps. A tiger's roar seemed to echo beside their ears, and they thought a ferocious tiger was pouncing on them.

He Tao closed his eyes for several seconds before slowly opening them and uttering three words. "Excellent fist technique."

A sharp gleam flashed in Huang Bai's eyes. Only someone versed in martial arts could appreciate the unique charm within that seemingly ordinary punch.

Yet he could not help feeling wave after wave of sorrow. "He's not even an adult, yet his strength already surpasses mine. This uncle has really been dealt a blow."

"Brother Chen, you're really strong."

A smile spread across Lin Qi's face. After only a few words since meeting him, he had already classified Chen Xu as an ordinary friend. Seeing a friend perform so brilliantly made him even more excited than if it were himself.

"Since it has been confirmed that all three of you possess ranked martial arts, let us officially begin." He Tao stepped onto the circular martial arts arena.

"The order will be the same as before. Hall Master Huang, please."

Huang Bai stepped onto the martial arts arena. Once the two had exchanged formalities, the male disciple announced the start.

"Ha!"

Huang Bai seized the initiative and charged forward. His fighting style relied on drowning his opponent beneath an endless stream of kicks—otherwise, how could it be called Shadows Follow Form?

His offensive was fierce, yet He Tao showed no sign of being flustered. He dealt with it easily and gracefully.

After all, Huang Bai's strength was somewhere between 0.8 Chang Wei and 1.2 Chang Wei. To put it bluntly, if he were truly strong enough, why would he need to grovel and offer gifts?

Under He Tao's defensive fighting style, Huang Bai attacked continuously for nearly thirty seconds. After weathering several symbolic attacks from He Tao, he passed the test.

When Huang Bai left, he was as happy as a forty-something child.

Lin Qi leaped onto the arena and earnestly warned, "My Body Nourishing Fist is very powerful. Please be careful, Inspector."

After the two exchanged several moves, He Tao felt his muscles growing slightly sore.

It felt like when he had been young and foolish, often training himself to exhaustion.

"Something is wrong with his fist techniques." He Tao had not expected to misjudge someone. This guy's Body Nourishing Fist did not merely nourish the body; its killing power was not lacking either.

Although his barehanded strength was not even thirty percent of his usual level, considering that he was only a sixteen-year-old student, he was already among the absolute best of his peers. He might not lack the chance to reach that level in the future.

Thirty seconds passed in the blink of an eye. There was no surprise in the result—Lin Qi successfully earned the right to establish a martial arts academy.

He still had homework to rush back and finish, so he did not stay long. After greeting Chen Xu, he called his sister and left.

"Hall Master Chen, Deputy Pavilion Master Xu has praised you highly. Now that I have met you today, you truly are extraordinary." Several traces of a smile once again appeared on He Tao's icy face. Chen Xu was unlike the previous two—not only in strength, but also in how much profit he might bring in the future.

"Deputy Pavilion Master Xu?" Chen Xu nearly laughed aloud. They had never even met, yet he already praised him so highly? If they actually met, would they not immediately become sworn brothers of the opposite sex and regret not meeting sooner?

They did not seek to be born on the same year, month, and day, but only to die on the same year, month, and day.

Chen Xu had somewhat guessed He Tao's purpose. It was nothing more than persuading him to stay away from Deputy Pavilion Master Ling, or simply asking him to join Deputy Pavilion Master Xu's faction.

Sure enough, He Tao was in no hurry to begin the assessment. He first lavishly praised Deputy Pavilion Master Xu, then casually let slip that he was very likely to become the next pavilion master.

In short, Deputy Pavilion Master Ling was a dumb brute with low intelligence, useless at everything except eating; while Deputy Pavilion Master Xu was one of Jinning Commandery's Ten Outstanding Talents, one of its Ten Most Inspiring Figures, and...

He was strong, handsome, and rich. If you did not follow him, who would you follow? Once he became pavilion master, you would become the brightest star in Jinning's martial arts academy world.

The flattery came one after another, but Chen Xu did not buy any of it. He was already planning to find an opportunity to head to Abyss Capital and gather resources. He had no interest in getting involved in the petty schemes of this small commandery city.

What was more, he had already learned that their county could recommend only two people to Great Abyss National University. The pavilion master had not recommended anyone for several years; basically, each of the two deputy pavilion masters recommended one person.

Unfortunately, Deputy Pavilion Master Xu already had a candidate—an outstanding member of the Xu family. There was absolutely no way he would give that spot to an outsider like Chen Xu.

That point alone eliminated any possibility of Chen Xu spending his days in Xu's faction.