The panel of examiners was large.
Besides Lin Yuan, Niu Gang, the principal of No. 3 Middle School, the vice principal, and seven or eight school administrators, there were officials from the Martial Suppression Department in black uniforms embroidered with silver trim, as well as generals of the Divine Guard Army wearing armor and carrying sabers!
As the group arrived, everyone waiting outside the examination hall seemed to feel an invisible pressure!
Especially from Niu Gang and that Divine Guard Army general.
One was like a raging savage bull, the other like a fierce tiger released from its cage. Their auras alone left the students trembling with fear!
While the students watched the examiners, the examiners were also sizing them up.
"Three at the Skin Grinding Seventh Stage, six or seven at the Skin Tempering Sixth Stage. No. 3 Middle School has quite a strong crop of martial arts students this year!"
The Martial Suppression Department official in the black uniform with silver trim was named Chen Rui. His eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, and just a few casual glances gave him a rough assessment of the students outside the examination hall.
"Strong, my ass. Apart from a few who pass muster, the rest are all mud that won't stick to a wall!"
Niu Gang spoke in a rumbling voice, his gaze sweeping over the bottom-ranked students, including Xu Yuan.
"Tch, that's just talk. I bet you're grinning from ear to ear inside."
Chen Rui curled his lip. "Two merit points for the Skin Grinding Seventh Stage, one for the Skin Tempering Sixth Stage. Once the assessment results are reported, those ten or so students alone will earn you over ten merit points. That's enough to exchange for a session of guidance from a Blood Exchange Realm expert."
The merit system was a reward mechanism Great Xia had established for divine martial artists.
Hunting Weird Beasts and Weird Plants, protecting the public, teaching outstanding students... all of these could earn merit points.
In monetary terms, one merit point was equivalent to a hundred thousand Great Xia Currency!
But merit points were actually worth more than money!
That was because many things money couldn't buy could be obtained with merit points at the Great Xia Martial Repository.
Moreover, resources exchanged for merit points were all priced at cost.
For example, Niu Gang was currently at Bone Tempering Perfection but couldn't find a path to break through to the Blood Exchange Realm. He could spend ten merit points to obtain a session of guidance from a Blood Exchange Realm expert.
Without merit points, if he tried to find a Blood Exchange Realm expert himself, never mind whether he could find one willing to teach him-even if he did, their fees would start at several million.
Hearing Chen Rui mention the merit rewards, Niu Gang couldn't help feeling rather pleased with himself.
On the surface, however, he looked dissatisfied. "Quit sounding so sour. You, Chen Rui, earn a lot more at the Martial Suppression Department than we do teaching students!"
As they spoke, the group had already reached the students.
"Hello, Director Niu!"
"Hello, Mr. Lin!"
"Hello, Principal!"
Amid the greetings, Niu Gang used his authorization as director of the martial arts department to open the examination hall doors.
However, he didn't let the students enter immediately. Instead, he said in a deep voice, "You have ten minutes to take care of any personal business. Once the blood tests are done, no one is allowed to leave the examination hall. Anyone who does will be considered to be cheating!"
Blood tests were a way of preventing examinees from cheating by taking temporary enhancement drugs.
That was because the realm assessment didn't award points directly based on cultivation realm. Instead, it tested the examinees' speed, strength, and reaction ability separately.
After all, not everyone practiced the Savage Bull Skin-Toughening Method. Some, for example, practiced the Skin Tempering section of the Thunder Tiger Vajra Body.
They gained more, but cultivation was also harder. Awarding points directly by realm would be unfair to them.
After speaking, Niu Gang paid no attention to whether the students stayed where they were waiting or did something else. He led the examiners into the examination hall first.
Some students waited where they were, while others headed toward the restrooms.
Zhang Baosheng finally dared to speak now. "Xu Yuan, once the assessment is over, I'll make you learn the consequences of laying hands on my family! Fatty won't be able to protect you either. You have my word!"
"Clown."
Xu Yuan couldn't be bothered with him. He tossed out that one word and headed toward the restroom.
The entire assessment would last four or five hours. Better to make a trip just to be safe.
Ten minutes later, Lin Yuan came out and ushered the students into the examination hall.
By now, all the equipment inside had been switched on.
The most eye-catching piece was the enormous martial skill testing chamber.
The chamber's interior alone covered over a hundred square meters, larger than some of the students' homes!
"Form up!"
As everyone entered, Niu Gang, who was already standing in the center of the hall, immediately shouted!
Everyone moved at his command, quickly gathering in the center of the hall and lining up.
Whatever had happened outside the examination hall earlier, everyone had temporarily put it out of their minds.
"I won't waste words. You know better than I do how important this assessment is!"
With his hands clasped behind his back, Niu Gang swept his bull-like eyes across every student present:
"Only by passing can you stay and earn the right to train at the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Base for free!"
"Only by passing can you take the martial arts entrance examination in a few months, enter a martial arts university, and have a brighter future!"
"Only by passing can you truly see the world of divine martial artists!"
"So bring out all your strength and open my eyes! Open the eyes of our school administrators, Captain Chen of the Martial Suppression Department, and Commander Cao of the Divine Guard Army, too!"
Niu Gang gave this speech every year and had long since memorized it backward and forward. Coupled with his imposing presence, it set the boys and girls ablaze!
They couldn't help shouting in unison:
"Yes!!!"
"Very good! Now, I'll explain the assessment rules!"
Niu Gang's voice continued ringing out. "The assessment has two parts: realm and martial skills!"
"The realm assessment has three events: punching power, speed, and reaction. Those account for seventy percent of your total score. The remaining thirty percent depends on your martial skills!"
"Once the assessment is over, the top thirty in total score will stay. Those outside the top thirty can choose whether to take the regular college entrance examination or join the Divine Guard Army!"
"Any questions?"
"No!!!"
Everyone shouted in unison again!
These assessment rules had been used for years. Not just martial arts students-even ordinary people knew them.
"Good! Then let's begin the blood tests!"
The blood-testing process wasn't complicated.
There was a blood analyzer in the examination hall. All they had to do was put a drop of blood into the testing slot and wait about ten seconds, and the result would appear on the machine's display.
If it displayed [Passed], there was no problem.
If it displayed [xx substance detected], they were in serious trouble.
However, none of this year's examinees had been foolish. All seventy-two students in the class passed their blood tests in under twenty minutes.
"Very good. No idiots this year. Now, we'll officially begin the assessment!"
Niu Gang's voice rang out again. "Punching power first, then speed, and finally reaction and martial skills! Now gather in front of the punching power testing machine and come up one at a time in student-number order!"
"Remember, everyone gets three punches. Your last punch will count as your score!"
"If you feel you didn't perform well on your first punch, you can throw a second and a third. But if your second or third punch is worse than your first, you'll have to live with it!"
An accurate grasp of one's own condition was also an important quality for a divine martial artist.
If someone threw a punch and couldn't even tell how well they had performed, they deserved to miss out on a high score.
The line moved over and stopped before the punching power testing machine, which was three meters long, three meters wide, and about two meters tall. The examiners had already taken their seats behind a long table beside it, regarding the students with expressions ranging from smiles to indifference.
"Brother Yuan, I'm so nervous."
Fatty's palms were covered in sweat, and he couldn't stop rubbing them against his trouser legs.
In fact, it wasn't just Fatty. Most of those at the Skin Tempering Fourth Stage were terribly nervous.
Even standing near the edge of the line, Xu Yuan could hear the heavy breathing coming from within it.
"Will being nervous help you perform better?" Xu Yuan looked calmly at Fatty.
"Uh, probably not."
"Then what are you nervous for?"
Fatty froze. Something felt off, yet Brother Yuan seemed to have a point.
Yeah, being nervous is useless. What am I nervous for?
"Number one, Zhou Ling!"
As they spoke, a martial arts teacher standing beside the testing machine had already begun calling names from a list.
Hearing his name, Zhou Ling stepped forward and stood before the punching power testing machine.
Without needing further instructions, he planted himself firmly in a horse stance and blasted an utterly ferocious punch at the machine!
Boom!!!
His fist struck the machine's punching target, and a deafening explosion immediately rang throughout the examination hall!
A number flickered rapidly on the machine's display before finally stopping at 1892.
Punching power: 1,892 jin!
An uproar erupted!
Like cold water poured into hot oil, the students instantly exploded:
"Holy shit! Almost nineteen hundred jin! I probably don't even have half his power!"
"Good lord, those of us practicing the Savage Bull Skin-Toughening Method would need to reach the Skin Tempering Ninth Stage to punch that hard, right?"
"He's already this strong. How strong will he be after another few months training at the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Base?"
Aside from Zhang Juye and Liu Yin, the two other experts at the Skin Grinding Seventh Stage, everyone was exclaiming in amazement.
The examiners beside them also nodded, very satisfied with Zhou Ling's performance.
"Principal Zhou, you've raised a fine son. His future prospects are limitless!"
Chen Rui turned to Principal Zhou Tai and congratulated him.
Zhou Ling was none other than Zhou Tai's son.
"You flatter him, Captain Chen."
Zhou Tai's expression was indifferent, as though he wasn't particularly satisfied with his son's performance.
Chen Rui clicked his tongue, thinking that Principal Zhou really did set high standards for his son, but he failed to notice the flash of jealousy in Zhou Tai's eyes.
Zhou Ling chose not to throw a second punch. Upon seeing his result of 1,892 jin, he stepped back in satisfaction.
His face was filled with pride!
Next came number two, Zhang Juye, who likewise threw only one punch.
1,876 jin!
It drew another round of startled cries!
Then came number three, Huang Yun: 1,762 jin.
Number four, Liu Yin: 1,831 jin.
Number five...
Whether influenced by those before them or because everyone thought their first punch was their best, not a single person afterward threw a second or third punch, making the first event proceed particularly quickly.
In less than half an hour, it was Fatty's turn, third from last.
"Brother Yuan, I'm up."
Fatty spoke and walked forward with a grave expression.
Xu Yuan was speechless. It wasn't as though he was heading to the execution grounds. Why was Fatty so dramatic?
"Huh? There's another one at the Skin Tempering Fourth Stage?"
Seeing Fatty, Niu Gang, and the other Bone Forging experts were all a little surprised.
After all, the martial arts class's student numbers were assigned more or less according to talent.
The better the talent, the earlier the number.
As a result, the later the assessment progressed, the weaker the students taking the stage became.
Before Fatty, a whole string of students at the Skin Grinding Third Stage had appeared. Then, when his turn came, it suddenly jumped back up to the Skin Tempering Fourth Stage. It really was a pleasant little surprise.
Standing before the testing machine, Fatty took a deep breath, and his skin immediately took on a faint bluish tinge.
Then...
Boom!!!
A chubby fist abruptly smashed into the machine's punching target.
The speed of that punch was nothing like what one would expect from a fat guy!
1,124 jin!
When a four-digit number appeared on the machine's screen, the examination hall, which had been quiet for twenty minutes, erupted once more.
At the Skin Tempering Fourth Stage, punching power was generally eight or nine hundred jin, yet Fatty's punch had actually reached 1,124!
"Damn, doesn't Fatty practice the Savage Bull Skin-Toughening Method too? How can he have that much strength at the Skin Tempering Fourth Stage?"
"We're screwed. I get the feeling this fatty is going to take one of the spots for passing the assessment."
In front of the testing machine, Fatty looked at the number on the screen, then at his fist, wearing an expression that said, I didn't know I was this badass either.
Only when the teacher calling names reminded him to step down if he wasn't throwing a second punch did he scratch his head and return to the line.
After Fatty came Sun Hao.
As one of only two students in the class at the Skin Tempering Second Tier, Sun Hao's appearance immediately drew a wave of quiet laughter.
Sun Hao thought nothing of it. He punched a score of 431 jin, then walked back with a calm expression.
"Don't be so quick to laugh at me. There's something even funnier coming up!" Sun Hao said nonchalantly.
Xu Yuan was also at the Skin Tempering Second Tier, and he was injured to boot. He probably couldn't even manage three hundred jin.
Once Xu Yuan finished his punch, these people wouldn't be laughing at Sun Hao anymore.
"Last student, number seventy-two, Xu Yuan," the teacher calling names announced.
Xu Yuan exhaled a stale breath and calmly walked toward the punching power testing machine.
He didn't know whether it was the Martial God's brain at work, but after watching so many people take the test, he vaguely felt he had gained a little insight.
Perhaps he could deliver a punch far beyond his own realm...
With that thought, Xu Yuan had already stepped up to the testing machine. Without hesitation, he slammed a fist into the punching target.
312 jin.
Everyone froze.
That low?
Then they could hardly keep themselves from laughing.
But before anyone could laugh out loud, Xu Yuan adjusted his stance and threw another punch.
324 jin.
"Pfft, hahahaha..."
They could no longer hold it in.
A roar of laughter rang through the examination hall.
At the invigilators' table, Niu Gang's and Lin Yuan's faces darkened.
Three hundred jin of punching force-this had to be the lowest record in this year's martial arts class assessment in Yang City, right?
What a fucking disgrace!
"See? I told you there was something even funnier coming!" Sun Hao said smugly from the line of examinees.
But just then, a deep, explosive boom suddenly blasted in everyone's ears!
BOOM!!!
Sun Hao shuddered all over, the expression on his face instantly freezing.
His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets!
Xu Yuan's third punch: 1,003 jin!