Nobody Touch That Leg Bone Yet
The testing site was small in the early morning, with only three sections of track set up.
The first section started on flat ground, the second section had a sharp turn, and the third section had a change in elevation. In order to avoid turning the assessment into a formal competition, Qin Ming asked everyone not to use their super-limit Soul Skill, and to stop and record their joint and breathing conditions after each section.
Yu Feng looked at the third section. "What can be measured from this height?"
"You can tell me first, did your wing root hurt last night?" Qin Ming replied.
Yu Feng shut up.
Osler tightened his calf brace again. His old injury allowed him to walk and run normally, but it was still a bit tight when he suddenly changed direction. Ye Lingling placed two chairs between the two of them, the meaning was clear: whoever was uncomfortable could sit down, and it didn't matter if their score was invalidated.
"If I win the first round, then..." Yu Feng began to speak.
"It means nothing." Li Man took out the record sheet. "Look at the three segments separately. Also, the recovery speed."
Yu Tianheng stood on the sidelines as a witness, not using his captaincy to act as a referee. He and the Shi Brothers were responsible for marking the turning points, while Dong Jian, whose back was not fully recovered, only watched the movements and did not go down to the field to demonstrate for them.
Yu Feng went first. He didn't fully unleash his Martial Soul, but instead maintained enough wing force to aid his balance. He started lightly on flat ground, but when he made a sharp turn, he landed with his ankles tucked in too early, pulling his body back by his wing roots. He didn't lose much speed, but his shoulders and back visibly tensed.
"Stop," Qin Ming said.
"I can continue."
"Make a note of it first."
Yu Feng returned, Li Man asked him, "When you turn, do you first think about using your wings to cover the gap?"
"I'm used to it. Mid-air maneuvers are always like this."
"But the moment your feet touch the ground, the path beneath your body has already changed. If you then use your wings to forcefully pull your upper body back, your joints will have to engage in both directions simultaneously."
Yu Feng looked at his feet and remained silent for a long time.
Osler took to the track. He started a little slowly, but controlled the second leg more steadily. After changing direction twice in a row, his stride began to shorten, and he felt a slight pull on the back of his left leg, so he stopped on his own.
Qin Ming didn't urge him to speed up, "Do you know why we stopped?"
"Keep trying. You might pass on the third try, but the fourth is hard to say." Osler glanced back at Dong Jian. "Does that sound familiar?"
Dong Jian laughed, "You're smarter to stop now than I was back then."
I wasn't comparing myself to you.
Neither of them completed the third stage, but for different reasons. Yu Feng's problem was that his body chains were prone to strain during the transition between air and land, while Osler's problem was the accumulated load on his legs after high-speed consecutive changes of direction. Neither of these issues could be automatically resolved by a single "speed" leg bone.
Qin Ming had them sit down to recover, observing their breathing and the rebound of their calf muscles. Ye Lingling only performed external examinations, not including the treatment effects in the performance record. The testing area remained quiet for a long time until Yu Feng couldn't help but speak up, "Looking at it this way, neither of us is suitable?"
"I can't say right now," Qin Ming said, "But at least you know what questions to ask the experts."
Dong Jian took the results. "If a true Soul Bone enhances straight-line speed, both of you will need to train braking. If it leans towards short bursts, you'll have to be even more careful with sustained acceleration. Without detailed attributes, just comparing who runs faster can easily lead to a misunderstanding."
Yu Feng waved at him. "I know, you're Kung Fu at talking about braking."
"I used to always have trouble stopping," Dong Jian said.
At noon, the appraiser came to hear the report. After reviewing the two records, the appraiser suggested that a mild Soul Power test could be conducted after a longer recovery period, but this would have to be done voluntarily by both individuals, and the most dangerous directional loads would have to be excluded from the test that day.
Yu Feng asked, "What if both of them pass?"
"Let's discuss the price each of you is willing to pay."
Osler suddenly said, "I don't want you to think I don't deserve you every time we argue."
Yu Feng paused for a moment. "That's not what I thought either."
Last night you said you could fly far, I thought you meant I could only run on the ground.
"Then I misspoke." Yu Feng rubbed his nose. "What I really meant was that I want to perfect the take-off and landing step. It looked effortless to those guys from Godwind, but I only realized how different it was after I tried it."
"What I want to practice is continuous pursuit," Osler said. "I don't want to charge into a fight only to have my legs tell me to stop halfway through."
The two were silent for a moment. Yu Feng reached out his hand first. "Let's argue after the next test."
Osler grasped his hand. "Okay. If the test results show it's not suitable, no one should force themselves."
Before leaving in the afternoon, the appraiser did something seemingly ordinary: he asked Yu Feng and Osler to write down the worst possible outcome they could bear. Yu Feng wrote that if his legs and wings became unbalanced, he might need to relearn his familiar aerial footwork; Osler wrote that his old injuries would relapse due to repeated changes of direction, and his pursuit ability would decline for a period of time.
Neither piece of paper stated "guaranteed speed increase." After exchanging them, Yu Feng realized that Osler's biggest worry was that obtaining the Soul Bone would cause his injuries to recur, even losing his original ability to rely on his legs for survival. Osler also understood that Yu Feng's past ability to flexibly change positions in the air did not mean he was invincible when landing. Neither of them guaranteed the other's safety. They folded the papers and tucked them into the same evaluation document for future reference during the actual fitting process.
Qin Ming confirmed that both of their leg recovery periods would continue, so he canceled tomorrow's speed competition ahead of schedule. Yu Feng didn't haggle and voluntarily put the protective gear back in the box.
In the evening, the nine people entered the meeting room again. This time, Teacher Zhao was not present. Qin Ming read out the discussion resolution, and everyone could modify the wording.
The skull has been added to Li Man's priority candidate list for adaptation, but she herself requests that absorption be discussed only after her mental state has fully recovered. The speed leg bone is awaiting a second evaluation by Yu Feng and Osler, and neither of them will claim to have obtained it first. The flame arm bone remains sealed and may not be lent out or used for exchange without authorization.
"Does this mean we got nothing at all?" Shi Mo asked.
Yu Tianheng said, "At least someone won't be forced to say thank you tomorrow while holding a bone that doesn't fit."
Dugu Yan signed her name on the sealed record. Dong Jian paused while writing, his back still a little stiff, and Li Man held the paper down to hold the corners down for him. After he finished writing, he handed the pen to her, without writing in her column.
Li Man added a note next to her name: "Candidate status does not imply consent to immediate admission."
Ye Lingling carefully reviewed the document before signing her name. Before signing, Shi Mo reminded everyone to check the seal number later, so that the agreement wouldn't just be a piece of paper. Qin Ming sent someone to retrieve the original register, and the nine people took turns checking the box's number, weight record, and the location of the storage cabinet. They didn't open the Soul Bone, nor did they skip the verification process to show trust.
Yu Tianheng folded the form with the candidates' names on it into the sealed receipt, requesting that the time and people present be recorded for any future retests. Teacher Zhao only brought back a copy of the resolution to the academy that night; the three Soul Bone remained in the original locked cabinet. Only after all these things were done did Yu Feng let out a long sigh, saying that this day had been more mentally taxing than running ten laps around the training field.
After the nine people took turns signing, Qin Ming and the Education Commission, as custodians and witnesses, signed separately, clearly stating their rights and obligations.
Teacher Zhao came to pick up the results that evening. After reviewing them, he didn't mention "immediately announcing the allocation list" again, only saying that he needed to submit it to the Education Commission for review. Qin Ming sealed the three cabinet keys according to regulations and handed one of them over to the college for safekeeping.
"So the reward is still with the academy?" Yu Feng asked.
"It's available for now," Qin Ming said. "We'll have to follow the agreement when we want to use it again."
Yu Feng glanced at Osler, but neither of them touched the cabinet door.
Before dinner, new invitations arrived. The Heaven Dou Imperial Family will be holding a formal victory celebration banquet in a few days, and they specifically requested that the nine members of the Imperial Fighting Team attend if possible. The invitations included complete etiquette guidelines, and even suggested clothing colors.
Dugu Yan glanced at it, then frowned. "This is even more troublesome than fighting Elephant Armor."
Yu Tianheng took the invitation. "I'll go with you."
Is your arm feeling better?
"Holding a cup is no problem. Thunderstorms are another matter."
After everyone dispersed, Li Man passed by the small hut where the Soul Bone were stored. Two guards stood watch as required, and the door remained closed. Inside the cabinet were things that could change the future of many people, yet the nine people had only written a few more pages today.
She returned to the courtyard and saw Dong Jian slowly stretching his back while leaning against the railing. In the distance, a banquet invitation lay on the stone table, a corner of it lifted by the evening breeze.
"What are you planning to wear?" she asked.
"Teacher Qin told me to stop wearing my training clothes."
It's rare to hear anyone trying to control you.
Dong Jian looked at her. "Are you going too?"
"I'll go. But I won't agree to any routes arranged for me at the banquet."
Dong Jian turned around, leaning against the railing. "What a coincidence, me too."
As they were talking, someone from the Education Commission came to confirm that the Crown Prince would also be attending. Li Man's gaze fell on the invitation stamp, then quickly looked away. She remembered that time Xue Qinghe had casually mentioned the bone fragments on the back of the Dark Gold Earth Vein Bear.
She had already decided to check the flow of Soul Power on Dong Jian's back for the clothes he would wear tomorrow. Clothes could cover the surface, but they couldn't simply block the already formed carrying lines.