Chapter 12: Test (Seek Follows)

He was drenched in sweat, his martial arts uniform soaked through and clinging tightly to his body.

Heat radiated from every pore, waves of warmth surging into his limbs and core, strength flowing endlessly, accompanied by a tingling numbness.

His body was undergoing profound transformation.

His entire fatigue was rapidly dissipating.

“Template fusion rate exceeded 2%—my talent has grown stronger again, helping my Tiger Form Fist break through.”

“My comprehension improved first, and now my body is transforming too; tomorrow, my efficiency in refining my flesh will rise further.”

Lin Qi clenched his fist, feeling power surge forth—mesmerizing—and turned to examine the data on his panel.

His Tiger Form Fist had now broken through to Great Completion, leaving only his blood qi value.

“With only one day left until the test, I have more than enough blood qi to break 6.0.”

Lin Qi murmured to himself, glanced at the nearly empty martial arts classroom, and began packing up to go home.

One hour later

Lin Family, Building 4, Unit 301

In the bathroom, Lin Qi stood before the sink, suddenly his throat convulsed.

“Puh~”

He spat out a clump of black-red fluid onto the sink, emitting a foul stench.

“This is my stagnant blood—accumulated over time, now expelled all at once.”

Looking at the black blood, Lin Qi recognized it.

Martial artists always carry some degree of internal injury or stagnant blood.

The wealthy regularly visit hospitals for treatment, but ordinary people have no money and can only endure it helplessly.

Lin Qi was no different—even knowing his body was overburdened, he trained relentlessly.

“All my external wounds have healed, and the stagnant blood has been purged.”

Lin Qi examined himself and found all remaining bruises had vanished; scrapes had scabbed over.

Waves of power surged through his body, leaving him refreshed and clear-headed, his muscle fatigue gone.

“Could increasing fusion rate not only enhance my talent, but also heal my injuries and cleanse my body?”

Lin Qi guessed—and felt he was nearly certain.

This effect was incredibly powerful, saving him both time and money on muscle relaxation and recovery—perfect for someone as poor as him.

Now he just had to wait for the test.

Lin Qi’s gaze hardened.

…

Martial Arts Year 2045, September 7th!

Time slipped by—another week had passed.

Students at Tianhai No. 2 High School faced their weekly minor test.

“The weekly minor test is a tradition at our school—each week we evaluate students’ martial arts progress.”

“For ordinary students, it’s just a routine test; but for us, it’s the key to entering the Elite Class.”

Someone spoke to classmates around him; the room echoed with sounds of punching, spear-wielding, sword-drawing…

In Class 3’s martial arts classroom, before 6 a.m., dozens of students had already arrived and begun training.

“Lei Ge, how prepared are you?”

Yang Lei stood confidently with arms crossed, clad in his martial arts uniform, chatting with a few companions.

“Of course—I, Yang Lei, will definitely enter the Elite Class. Just watch.”

Yang Lei basked in his classmates’ admiring glances, speaking with great confidence, then glanced at Lin Qi.

Lin Qi, alone, crouched in the corner, standing in a stable stance as if no one else were present, drenched in sweat.

Time passed slowly.

“Ding-ding-ding!”

As the class bell rang, Wu Kang appeared precisely at the door, holding a thermos, silently observing everyone.

Behind him followed two male teachers, serving as proctors.

“Today—minor test!”

Wu Kang stepped in, and his single sentence silenced the entire class; tension filled every corner of the martial arts classroom.

“Two of you, bring the fist power tester to the center. A few more of you, install the timing device.”

Wu Kang directed two students to carry a large, square black device to the center of the classroom.

In the middle was a red punching target; atop the device was an electronic screen.

Others nearby set up four pillar-like instruments, marking a 20-meter track; when activated, they emitted infrared beams.

This was the speed tester.

Surrounding students gradually gathered around; after finishing his stance, Lin Qi joined the crowd, and Jiang Tao also pushed his way through.

“Our school still uses this outdated method—calculating blood qi from fist power and speed.”

“I heard No. 1 High has already installed new scanners that measure blood qi directly with a body scan.”

Someone muttered quietly, drawing nods of agreement from many.

Lin Qi nodded—blood qi represented a person’s blood qi strength, vitality, and bodily magnetic field; it was nearly impossible to measure precisely with instruments, so they estimated it via fist power and speed, using a large-model formula with 90% accuracy.

But he was different—he could check his blood qi value anytime via his data panel.

“According to student ID numbers, I’ll call your name one by one to test.”

Wu Kang stood before the fist power tester, holding a tablet, and called the first student’s name.

“Zhou Ping!”

“Here!”

The first student was an ordinary-looking boy with a few acne spots on his face.

He clenched his fist and stepped forward; under everyone’s gaze, his blood qi surged as he delivered a sudden punch.

“Bang-bang!!”

His fist struck the target like a bullet.

!

As the target shook violently, numbers appeared on the screen—“512kg!”

“Only 512kg!”

Wu Kang shook his head upon seeing the result.

“Zhou Ping, after a holiday, your fist power increased by less than 30kg—what were you doing these past two months?”

Zhou Ping’s face flushed red with shame.

“Next, test your speed!”

Zhou Ping moved to the starting line of the track, facing the infrared beams.

“Swoosh~”

Like a gust of wind, he dashed forward like a runaway horse.

“Ding!”

In the blink of an eye, the machine beeped—he had crossed the finish line.

The screen at the end lit up: “11m/s!”

Wu Kang shook his head: “Next!”

Zhou Ping lowered his head and hurried back into the crowd.

“Fist power 500kg, speed 12m/s—blood qi roughly 5.1. No chance of entering the Elite Class.”

Someone sighed in disappointment.

In the Martial Arts Era, source energy surged from spatial rifts, transforming all plants and animals.

Humans consumed disaster beast meat, absorbed source energy, optimized their physiques, and dramatically enhanced their physical attributes.

Even high school students now surpassed Tyson and other past boxing champions in fist power.

“Wang Feng!”

“Li Shaodong!”

“...”

One by one, students called out stepped forward to test their fist power and speed.

“Fist power 605kg, speed 14m/s—my blood qi is definitely over 6.0.”

“Clearly, the blood qi pills I took this week and all my effort weren’t wasted.”

Round-faced Li Shaodong laughed heartily.

“What? Li Shaodong improved this fast?” someone exclaimed in disbelief.

Lin Qi’s heart skipped a beat—Li Shaodong, ranked 9th in class, had improved this dramatically?

“Qi Ge, many in class have been frantically consuming resources this week to boost blood qi.”

“Taking two blood qi capsules before the test to stir up your blood qi—that’s an unspoken rule now.”

Jiang Tao whispered beside him.

Lin Qi nodded—he planned to do the same. He had flexible ethics: if he could raise his score, why not?

…

"Punch strength: 645 kg, speed: 14.3 m/s"

"Yang Lei is amazing!"

"These stats are incredible—his blood qi must be over 6.0, definitely making Elite Class."

Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted.

Yang Lei tilted his head up, walked off the track with a smug grin, and shot a challenging glance at Lin Qi.

"Lin Qi!"

Wu Kang called out his name.

Jiang Tao said beside him: "Brother Qi, show everyone your strength."

Lin Qi nodded and stepped out from the crowd; many eyes turned to him with curiosity.

……

(End of Chapter)