Chapter 134

Eight o'clock in the morning.

The Upper City still hadn't turned on its lights.

The Inner Courtyard was quiet, the night still thick; a night of thunder and snoring gradually faded, and right now was the moment when the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters slept most soundly in the whole day.

Li Guishe woke up midway, and taking advantage of the brief lull when the thunder stopped, hurriedly burrowed back under the covers to enjoy his second sleep.

Feng Mu, on the other hand, suddenly opened his eyes at this time; he walked to the restroom, splashed cold water on his cheeks, then returned to the courtyard.

Perhaps because he had successfully expelled one-third of the corpse fluid from his body, or perhaps because his constitution had improved, Feng Mu felt that despite sleeping only two and a half hours, he did not feel particularly drowsy.

"That makes sense; a corpse's nature is to love sleep, while a living person's essence is to struggle desperately to stay awake a little longer."

Feng Mu puffed out his chest, let out a long breath of turbid air, and began cultivation.

Still that same position, that same single-minded rhythm, to the point that at breakfast the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters would caringly ask him if he hadn't slept last night.

While eating, Feng Mu sincerely responded to their concern: "Junior Brother slept very well last night, just habitually rises early."

After finishing breakfast, Li Guishe began fiddling with his smoke pipe, the whole process silent, only occasionally casting a strange glance at Feng Mu, making it impossible to guess what he was pondering.

Li Guishe tapped out the ash from his smoke pipe, gently blew a ring of smoke, then turned his gaze toward Li Bashan, who ate the most and slept the earliest.

He sighed and said: "Eighth Junior Brother's temperament, probably can't stay idle either. Since he wants to work at the Prison, Boss, you these two days seize the time, help Junior Brother get this matter settled as soon as possible."

Yuan Xidi was slightly disappointed; he still unwillingly persuaded:

"Junior Brother, why insist on going to the Prison? I'm telling you the Prison is closed and monotonous; better come with me to the Investigation Corps as a consultant. I'm telling you, some Boundary Lands behind Hidden Gates are quite interesting, you couldn't imagine in your wildest dreams how stimulating the inside can be."

Feng Mu cast an apologetic look at Yuan Xidi, thinking to himself: "Although I'm also very curious about the scenery behind Hidden Gates, but... you don't understand the fun of the Prison; it's precisely because it's closed and monotonous that I yearn for it."

Li Bashan observed the determined look on Feng Mu's face, then sped up his eating, in a few mouthfuls licking the rice grains in the wooden bucket clean.

Afterward, he stood up and said to Feng Mu: "Junior Brother, come with me."

Yuan Xidi let out a light sigh, while Gong Qi raised an eyebrow, his expression revealing a few points of curiosity and anticipation.

In the corner, Hong Ya slightly pouted, looking a bit wronged: "Didn't expect even Junior Brother found a proper job, yet I still have to guard Dou Qiong, sigh, but then again, I really can't bear to leave the Martial Arts Hall and my little Laboratory room."

Thinking this, Hong Ya's mood immediately brightened; she revealed a silly smile, carrying her rice bowl lightly hopping along, catching up to the departing Eldest Senior Brother and Junior Brother.

Dojo, Main Area.

Before a slightly sci-fi testing device, Feng Mu stood within the marked area, took a deep breath, muscles tensing all over, threw a fist heavily smashing into the sandbag hanging in front.

Bang!

The sandbag let out a heavy muffled sound, swung back violently, then was clamped tight by the steel cables above, like an octopus's tentacles, twisting and rotating, rebounding back with even greater force.

Feng Mu stood in place unmoving, waist twisting, facing the swinging returning sandbag, striking it again and again madly, cycling repeatedly.

With each of Feng Mu's punching movements, the five or six cameras around the testing device rapidly turned; they captured every subtle movement of his limbs from dead angles.

These cameras flashing red light were like dancing flies, covered in compound eyes, precisely recording every striking moment of Feng Mu into the system, missing no detail.

Several disciples who arrived earlier, wearing white training uniforms, turned their heads to look this way, but seeing Li Bashan standing to the side like a giant, they fearfully stopped their steps to watch.

They couldn't see the strings of jumping data on the display screen, only able to judge by the amplitude of the sandbag's swing and the volume of the striking sound, engaging in low-voiced discussion and guesses among themselves.

"It's that person recently accepted as a high-level member by the Martial Arts Hall."

"I caonima, the sandbag flew up; I tested before too, but even with all my strength the sandbag only shifted 1 centimeter."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... the sandbag's rebound speed is getting faster and faster, its swing trajectory constantly changing. Sigh, if I took that hit, I'd probably have been knocked flying long ago."

"More than knocked flying, just that muffled sound makes one's heart pound. If I were hit by such a strike, suan bu hao I'd really be sent straight to the Incineration Plant."

"I heard his name that day, he's called Feng Mu."

"He looks lean and thin, not tall and burly either, even less like those perverts who've trained into muscle men, how can his strength be so great?"

"Judging from the sandbag's swing amplitude, at least, fist force should be Grade Three Martial Artist and above."

"Wow, don't you think little brother is a bit handsome? Different from that imposing handsome beside him, it's a more cold, abstinent kind of handsome."

The final commenters were two female disciples; their figures appeared even more curvaceous against the training uniforms, exquisite features and styling revealing their care.

They giggled and whispered a few words, voices low but enough to draw others' attention.

The surrounding male disciples, just now discussing animatedly, now seemed frozen by magic, one after another shutting their mouths, losing interest in continuing discussion.

Their eyes flashed with unwillingness and jealous fire, truly hating to replace the figure in the test zone and take his place.

However, these thoughts were ultimately just fleeting fantasies.

The male disciples soon realized such yearning was just a fool's dream; they lacked this bone quality, and even more lacked this ability.

So they one after another lost interest, scattered away, each finding a corner in the open space, venting their dissatisfaction and resentment against those motionless apparatuses, seeking a trace of solace in sweat.

The venue instantly cooled, only a few female disciples remaining in place; they exchanged glances, yet none chose to leave.

On the contrary, their gazes grew even more fervent, tightly staring at the figure in the arena, until... Hong Ya hummed, tiptoeing with her petite body to block their "choosing people to devour" line of sight.

Feng Mu paid no attention to the surroundings; even if he noticed he wouldn't care.

"That's enough, Junior Brother."

Li Bashan stepped into the test zone, lightly touched the whistling sandbag, and the sandbag instantly became like an enraged bull that had its balls cut off, immediately turning listless and still, not moving an inch.

The jumping data on the screen finally solidified into:

Fist Force: 11.2 Level

Attack Speed 7.3 Frequency

Technique 5.1 Segment

"Level Four Fist Force, Level Three Attack Speed, Level Three Technique; if rated only by this, Junior Brother counts as a 3.5 level Martial Artist, half-step Level Four, actually already caught up to me?"

Hong Ya's mouth slightly opened in an O shape, then she quickly stepped forward, printed out a test sheet, then carefully deleted all the stored data inside the instrument.

Of course, Martial Artist Rating has other things, like cultivation method grade and quantity, real combat assessment scores, etc., but stripping those away, just using the crudest three data points to judge, Junior Brother has indeed already stepped one foot into the Fourth Rank Martial Artist threshold.

Hong Ya was shocked in her heart, and what she didn't know was, this was still Feng Mu holding back a trump card; if he activated Bone Transformation Form, and triggered some Buff Bonuses, his values could rise another tier.

Hong Ya's expression was quite grave, not from jealousy, just feeling her dignity as a Senior Sister had been provoked; she made a painful determination: "Tonight I must train harder, can't keep binge-watching dramas."

Feng Mu looked at the display screen flashing a few times, then the data being erased, similarly staring blankly.

"I remember the last test was the final mock exam at school, and my average seemed to be barely one point."

In his Nao Hai, the classroom explanations were vividly before his eyes, and the division of Martial Artist grades was as clear as yesterday in his Memory.

If his Memory was correct, the grades of Martial Artists had clear boundaries:

Below value 2 is Unranked.

Values 2-3 are the First Grade range;

Values 3-5 are the Second Grade range;

Values 5-10 are the Third Grade range;

Values 10-50 are the Fourth Grade range;

Values 50-100 are the Fifth Grade range;

Values 100-1000 are the Sixth Grade range;

Above Sixth Grade one enters the true High Grade ranks, and it seems they can no longer be evaluated by simple values.

(ps: The values here refer to the lowest value among the three dimensions of Fist Force, Attack Speed, and Technique)

"And now, after my unremitting efforts during this period, I've actually reached Half-Step Fourth Grade."

"This must be 'Heaven does not betray the diligent, the Heavenly Dao rewards diligence'."

Feng Mu's eyes flickered with a faint light, his eye sockets slightly moist; even though his heart was like iron and stone, at this moment he could not help but be moved by his own efforts and Perseverance, and feel proud of them.

"Fine, with this value evaluation, Little Junior Brother will have no problem entering Prison." Li Bashan said in a muffled voice.

…….

When he came to this world, Sleeping Beauty had not yet been born, the Little Mermaid had not yet met the Prince; the tea party behind the Rabbit Hole had not welcomed a girl named Alice. Then he came—the magician of miracles and wishes. 【Fairy Tale World, all stories are on one continent】

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Chapter End