Blood qi: 2.79!

As Lin Hao listened to Zhao Man and Wei Kun, he scoffed inwardly.

Trash?

After the assessment, let's see if they can still say that.

Just then, the examinee in front of the machine stepped down dejectedly.

Clutching his test results, he walked toward the door with frustration written all over his face, muttering over and over, "So close. Just 0.04 short..."

His blood qi result had been 3.01, just over the passing line.

But of his two combat power attempts, the highest had only been 2.96, just short of the standard for a one-star martial artist.

The specially appointed examiner picked up the registration sheet and called, "Next, Lin Hao."

His voice tightened slightly as he read the name. His gaze fell on Lin Hao, complicated, and he even seemed afraid to meet his eyes.

Lin Hao stepped forward and looked at the examiner with an equally complicated gaze.

Because this specially appointed examiner was none other than his practical combat teacher at No. 2 High School, Zhou Lie.

That day in the testing room, Zhou Lie had watched him deliver a combat power reading of 2.02.

Yet when the school expelled him, Zhou Lie had never once spoken up for him.

Still, he understood.

After all, he and Zhou Lie were neither relatives nor friends. Zhou Lie had no obligation to help him.

Lin Hao looked at Zhou Lie without speaking and handed over his ID card.

Zhou Lie took the card and began verifying his information.

At this point, the people from the Discipline Bureau and the Martial Arts Branch Bureau stepped forward to supervise according to procedure.

Smiling, Zhao Man greeted Zhou Lie. "Thank you for your hard work today, Mr. Zhou."

"Just doing my job, Captain Zhao." Zhou Lie hurriedly raised his head and replied with a smile. His gaze flicked toward Lin Hao before returning to the registration sheet.

Lin Hao immediately understood.

So Zhou Lie had known Zhao Man all along.

After verifying his identity, Zhou Lie handed back the card and smiled at Chen Jing, Wei Kun, and the other officials around him. "You're all busy. The industrial park's recruitment retest only requires a blood qi measurement. It'll be over quickly. Let's skip combat power so we don't waste everyone's time."

Chen Jing nodded, and Wei Kun waved a hand with a smile. "No problem. Just follow procedure."

Just then, Lin Hao took half a step forward. "Since we're already here, the combat power test is only two punches. How long could it take? Let's test that too."

Wei Kun paused, then smiled, taking it as nothing more than a young man trying to save face and put up a front.

Zhao Man sneered. "We were letting you keep some dignity, but you don't want it. I've never seen anyone volunteer to humiliate himself twice."

Lin Hao gave a derisive laugh and looked at Zhou Lie. "Really? Could it be that certain people don't want outsiders knowing my combat power?"

Zhou Lie's face immediately tightened. He looked up at Lin Hao, his tone a little urgent. "What are you looking at me for? Test it if you want.

"But if your blood qi doesn't meet the standard, you've already failed the security recruitment requirements. What's the point of testing your combat power?"

"Whether there's a point isn't for you to decide," Lin Hao replied flatly.

A flicker of surprise crossed Chen Jing's eyes. He smiled and smoothed things over. "Since Lin Hao wants to take it, let's test both. It won't take much effort.

"Speaking of which, Captain Lin Qing's combat power-to-blood qi ratio is famous throughout Jiang City. It reaches 1.7. Perhaps Lin Hao takes after his older cousin and has a strong talent for martial techniques too."

"So what if it's 1.7?" Zhao Man cut in, her tone still disdainful. "Even if his ratio really is 1.7, with 0.3 blood qi, his combat power would be 0.51 at most. What's that good for?"

At those words, Zhou Lie lowered his head even further. He cast a complicated glance at Lin Hao but said nothing.

He knew better than anyone present what kind of combat power Lin Hao could produce.

Lin Hao paid no further attention to their discussion. He took back his ID card, turned, and walked up to the blood qi testing machine.

The machine's heavy alloy casing gleamed coldly, and its sensor plate was slightly cool.

He took a deep breath and pressed his right palm against it.

The machine gave a faint hum. A weak pulling force slipped through his palm into his meridians, guiding the blood qi in his body to circulate naturally.

The next second, the numbers on the machine's screen began to jump.

0.46!

0.90!

1.01!

1.58!

2.13!

2.47!

The number kept climbing until, before everyone's eyes, it finally settled at...

2.79!

The entire examination hall fell deathly silent.

The first to break the silence was an examinee in the line, his voice cracking. "2.79! His blood qi is 2.79!"

That shout was like a ladle of cold water poured into boiling oil. The entire hall erupted.

"Holy shit? Eighteen years old? Blood qi of 2.79? He's a fucking genius!"

"With that strength, he's already booked first place in Jiang City's Martial Artist Examination this year!"

"Forget first place in Jiang City. He could probably even get into Capital Martial University. How many years has it been since anyone from Jiang City got in?"

"2.79 at eighteen? Give him another six months, and he'll definitely be a one-star martial artist! Why would he need backdoor connections to snatch a security job at the industrial park? He could get into the General Bureau with his eyes closed!"

"..."

Chen Jing stared at the machine's screen, his face filled with shock. He blurted, "It really is 2.79!"

Wei Kun was so startled that his body trembled. His expression froze, and he looked as though he had turned to stone.

Zhao Man froze completely. Her pupils contracted sharply, and her breathing grew increasingly rapid.

Her mind went blank, leaving only that glaring 2.79.

She knew perfectly well what that number meant.

Eighteen years old, with blood qi of 2.79!

With that potential, never mind someone at the two-star middle stage like her-even Lin Qing, a two-star peak martial artist, had been nowhere near this level at his age!

This was no trash relying on his older cousin's connections. This was an exceptional genius the entire Jiang City martial arts community would scramble to recruit!

The registration sheet in Zhou Lie's hands fell to the floor with a rustle, papers scattering everywhere.

His throat tightened as though an invisible hand had seized it. Even breathing brought a painful constriction.

He had known when Lin Hao was expelled from school that day.

In the testing room, he had watched with his own eyes as Lin Hao produced a combat power reading of 2.02.

But he had been afraid-afraid of offending Zhao Man, afraid of displeasing the school. In the end, he had chosen to keep his mouth firmly shut and say nothing on Lin Hao's behalf.

He had thought he had chosen the safest path.

He had never imagined that the person he had pushed away with his own hands, and perhaps even offended, was an exceptional genius who could shake the entire Jiang City martial arts community.

Eighteen years old, with blood qi of 2.79!

At that age, with that reading, there was no second example to be found-not just at Jiangcheng No. 2 High School, but in the past thirty years of Jiang City's martial arts history.

"The machine... is the machine working properly?"

Chen Jing was the first to recover. He strode up to the machine, tapped the reading on the screen, then lowered his head to check its calibration records again. His Adam's apple bobbed hard.

He turned around. As he looked at Lin Hao, not a trace of perfunctory politeness remained in his eyes, only genuine seriousness. "Lin Hao, with blood qi like yours, never mind a security position at the industrial park-you more than qualify to enter our Jiang City Martial Arts General Bureau's reserve talent pool directly. What happened earlier was due to shortcomings in our verification work. We've caused you considerable offense."

At those words, Wei Kun immediately reacted. He hurried over in a few strides, his face piled with enthusiastic smiles. "Lin Hao, your older cousin has always dared to fight and give her all at the bureau. She's excellent material! You two cousins really are each more accomplished than the other!"

Remembering that the man before him was his older cousin Lin Qing's superior, Lin Hao still nodded. "You're too kind, Director Wei."

His lukewarm reply made the smile on Wei Kun's face stiffen, but he showed not the slightest displeasure. Instead, he stepped back half a pace to make room for Lin Hao.

By the seats beside the machine, Zhao Man remained rooted to the spot.

The blood throughout her body seemed to have frozen. A chill ran from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, and her hands and feet tingled with numbness.

The examinees' deafening cries of amazement filled her ears, yet she could make out none of them. All she could see was that glaring 2.79 on the screen.

Remembering everything she had said to Lin Hao earlier made her face burn painfully.