"Holy crap! You walk without making a sound!" Qin Ze jumped in fright.
"A clear conscience fears no ghosts knocking at the door," Number Three said. "Or did you do something to trouble yours, Qin Ze?"
Qin Ze raised his eyebrows. "I'm a law-abiding young man. Don't forget, the law card doesn't even work on me."
It would have been better not to bring that up.
The mention brought back Number Three's unpleasant memories of last night.
"I came to tell you I've got a lead on the investigation into the exotic beast at the psychiatric hospital. You're no longer a suspect for the time being." Number Three looked Qin Ze in the eye.
Unfortunately, Qin Ze showed little change in emotion.
"You actually suspected that I, a student too weak to truss a chicken, killed the exotic beast?"
"You've got to be kidding."
Qin Ze looked utterly harmless.
Number Three changed the subject. "The college entrance exams are coming up. Don't wander around at night unless you have to. There's a serial killer on the streets."
"Thanks for the warning. I'm going to be late, so let's talk next time." Qin Ze turned and walked toward the school.
"Hater Circus!" Number Three suddenly shouted.
Qin Ze didn't react at all and kept walking.
Number Three frowned slightly. "Was I wrong?"
Those smug bastards last night had given Number Three the same feeling Qin Ze did.
He had wanted to test whether Qin Ze had any connection to the circus, but the result left him a little disappointed.
"Was he possessed by Sherlock Holmes? He even managed to trace it back to me," Qin Ze muttered as he entered the school building.
I'll have to make Brother Devour lie low for a while.
We can act again once the heat dies down.
"Brother Ze, He Guang got out yesterday."
Qin Ze had just sat down beside the trash can when the fatty beside him immediately leaned over.
"That fast?"
Qin Ze had thought He Guang would be locked up for at least ten days to half a month.
He had been released after only a week.
"I heard He Bi's eldest brother used all his military merits to get He Guang released," the fatty whispered.
"Brother Ze, why don't you stay at my place for the next couple of days?"
The fatty was worried He Guang would come after him.
Qin Ze shook his head. "Registration for the martial exam is today. I'll officially be a martial exam candidate soon. He Guang won't lay a hand on me unless he has a death wish."
The fatty was still a little uneasy. "If things don't look right, hurry over to my place."
Qin Ze was a little touched.
Although the world had changed dramatically, his brother by his side hadn't changed one bit.
"After all, if anything happened to you, I wouldn't be able to explain it to Sister Yu when she got back," the fatty muttered.
Qin Ze raised a hand and smacked him on the head.
After the class bell rang, their homeroom teacher entered the classroom.
"Students who want to register for the martial exam, line up in the hallway right now. Come with me to the sports field for a vitality test."
The college entrance exam was divided into the academic exam and the martial exam.
Students with insufficient vitality and no talent for martial arts only took the martial exam and applied to ordinary universities.
Students who passed the vitality test not only had to take the academic exam, but the martial exam that followed was even more important.
There were forty-five students in the class altogether. Thirty of them were taking the martial exam and followed their homeroom teacher downstairs to have their vitality tested.
The vitality testing machine was the same as the one at the martial arts gym: all they had to do was punch it with all their strength.
The threshold was one hundred. Only those who met it could take the martial exam.
That threshold was easy for students who had begun preparing for the martial exam three years ago.
"741!"
"He's almost a level-one martial artist!"
"How terrifying!"
"This year's top scorer in the martial exam is bound to be him."
Cries of astonishment suddenly erupted from the line for Class One next door.
Someone had scored a vitality value of 741, nearly the highest in the exam's history.
He was a handsome guy with a cocky air, and he took the astonished cries around him in stride.
"Fang Songhua comes from a martial arts family and has had abundant resources since childhood. It's only natural that his vitality is high."
"As long as you get into a martial arts university, the school will reward you with abundant resources. By then, the gap between you and those born into major families will keep shrinking."
Their homeroom teacher clapped his hands and encouraged the class.
Qin Ze found it somewhat laughable.
Shrink the gap?
It'll probably only get wider.
"Qin Ze, you're first."
After learning from Teacher Yao that Qin Ze had cultivated the first level of the Fate Reversal Technique to perfection, their homeroom teacher had placed great hopes in him.
Hearing his name called, Qin Ze walked up to the testing machine and casually threw a punch.
"Three hundred and twenty-seven, pass. Next."
The staff member beside the machine called out the result.
When their homeroom teacher saw it, a hint of disappointment appeared on his face.
For someone who had cultivated the first level of the Fate Reversal Technique, a vitality value of three hundred and twenty-seven was far too mediocre.
Seeing this, He Bi became arrogant again.
And here he had thought Qin Ze was so impressive.
That's it?
Now open your dog eyes wide and take a good look at the progress this young master has made lately.
He Bi focused his mind and gathered his energy, the vitality throughout his body boiling.
Boom-
With an explosive bang, the number on the testing machine shot up before finally settling at 690.
"Six hundred and ninety, pass. Next."
The staff member said in disbelief, "Second High really is producing one talent after another this year."
In previous years, the highest vitality value hadn't exceeded five hundred, but today two people had already broken past it so quickly.
Back in the class line, He Bi gave Qin Ze a provocative look.
"A mudleg will always be a mudleg."
"Without a mountain of resources to back you, what good is talent?"
He Bi was smug, convinced he had left Qin Ze in the dust.
Qin Ze yawned.
Don't you know you're supposed to lie low and develop?
On the day of the martial exam, Brother Ze will show you what it means to amaze the world with a single feat.
After an entire morning, the vitality tests for the whole school were complete.
A total of 321 students at Second High had taken the test, and 290 had passed.
Twenty-one of them had vitality values above five hundred, with Fang Songhua scoring the highest.
This year's average vitality value was much higher than in previous years, and apparently First High next door had done even better.
Back in the classroom, their homeroom teacher made another announcement.
"Those of you who passed the test should get a good rest. Tomorrow, the school will take you into the otherworld for a trial."
The otherworld is open to the public?
Qin Ze had looked it up online. Normally, an otherworld wouldn't be opened to the public until the authorities had explored it for a month.
Less than ten days had passed.
Something's strange.
"Now I'll read out the group assignments."
"Teacher Yao's group: Qin Ze, **, ***, **, and **."
"Teacher Wang's group..."
The fatty nudged Qin Ze, grinning. "You get to go with Teacher Yao tomorrow. Nice!"
The other students also cast envious glances at those in Teacher Yao's group.
Teacher Yao taught the body-forging class that afternoon.
While guiding Qin Ze, Teacher Yao suddenly asked:
"I saw law enforcement stop you at the school gate this morning. Did something happen?"
Qin Ze smiled. "That was my distant cousin. He was bringing me a key."
Teacher Yao nodded and said no more on the subject.
"The Fate Reversal Technique and vitality complement each other."
"Your cultivation of the Fate Reversal Technique has now reached a bottleneck. If you want to keep improving, you must raise your vitality."
Qin Ze replied, "I understand. Thank you, Teacher Yao."
That evening, Qin Ze prepared to go home and gnaw on steamed buns.
With what little money he had left, he couldn't even afford steamed buns for many more meals.
Just as Qin Ze was sighing and lamenting, Ma Yan suddenly called.