Chapter 34: Remarkable Progress (Requesting Follow)

Lin Qi walked back into the crowd amid the murmurs, catching Jiang Tao’s thumb raised in praise.

“Brother Qi, you’ve already surpassed me!”

Jiang Tao offered lavish praise, reaching out to bump fists with Lin Qi.

“Nonsense—I still can’t match you.”

Lin Qi shook his head; during this time, not only had he progressed rapidly, but Jiang Tao had too.

He’d held his place in the top twenty of the grade with barely any resources.

“Jiang Tao!”

Soon after, Zhang Cheng called out.

“Go on, Taozi—let others see your strength,” Lin Qi pushed Jiang Tao forward.

“Watch me!”

Jiang Tao rolled up his sleeves; after a month of heavy resource consumption, he’d grown taller, now standing over one meter ninety.

His frame was bulkier, muscles carved like steel beneath his dark skin, radiating intense pressure.

“Boom! Boom!”

Jiang Tao’s fists slammed into the punching target like artillery rounds.

His explosive speed during sprints left only afterimages in the air.

“Punch power: 913.2 kg! Speed: 18.1 m/s.”

“Huh~”

Jiang Tao exhaled a thick breath, steam rising from his body, grinning at Lin Qi.

“Taozi, congratulations—you’ve cleared the hurdle to the top ten.”

Lin Qi offered his congratulations.

“Of course—I’m aiming for the top ten,” Jiang Tao laughed.

“Lin Qi and Jiang Tao—both of them are going to shock everyone in this monthly exam.”

Li Zhou watched the two from a distance, curiosity flickering in his eyes:

“Interesting.”

…

“Qi Yuelin, punch power: 960 kg.”

“Yu Jing, punch power: 980.1 kg!”

“Boom!”

“Li Zhou, punch power: 1035.9 kg!”

“Over a thousand kilograms!”

Everyone around stared at the digital display, stunned.

“It’s insane—once punch power exceeds 900 kg, further gains become incredibly difficult.”

“If students from the regular classes knew this, they’d be terrified—the gap is too wide.”

“Li Zhou is a monster!” Jiang Tao shook his head in awe.

“Could Li Zhou have already broken through the First Realm?” someone exclaimed.

“No—he just has a naturally superior physique and raw strength,” Zhu Yuqi replied.

Lin Qi was internally startled; punch power exceeding a thousand kilograms was a hallmark of the Second Realm, not the First.

Zhang Cheng also stared at Li Zhou with surprise.

“This kid is far superior to the others.”

Li Zhou continued testing his speed, but it didn’t exceed 20 m/s—that was the minimum for Second Realm martial artists.

“Quiet!”

Zhang Cheng spoke, and the noisy classroom fell silent instantly.

“Alright, the first round of tests is over.”

“It’s time to begin the weapon skills assessment.”

“Everyone, follow me!”

Zhang Cheng led the two teachers out of the classroom; the students followed, puzzled.

“Strange—aren’t we testing weapon skills?” someone wondered.

But no one could answer him.

Everyone passed through the corridor to the far end of the teaching building, where a metal door stood. Zhang Cheng entered a code and opened it.

He stepped inside first.

The others followed; Lin Qi stepped onto the floor and recognized it as custom-made tile.

“This is…”

Someone pointed in astonishment.

Lin Qi looked ahead—the room contained ten perfectly aligned egg-shaped devices. He recognized them instantly: virtual pods.

“I assume you all know what these are—holographic virtual pods!” Zhang Cheng slapped the side of one and announced.

“Starting today, all weapon skills assessments will be conducted in the virtual world.”

“And the accuracy is extremely high—I can finally take it easy.”

The students gathered around the pods; one asked curiously:

“Mr. Zhang, how do we test?” “Very simple!” Zhang Cheng pointed ahead as one of the teachers activated the projector.

A massive 3D projection appeared before everyone—images and text began to materialize.

“You all have ChiJie accounts, right? Log in the same way as usual.”

Search for ‘Tianhai Monthly Exam’ in the panel functions, enter your name, exam number, and the weapon scripture you’ve studied, then begin the test.”

Your task is to defeat the test opponent—the AI will evaluate your skill and convert it into a score.”

“So remember your exam number. Ten people per group—start from the last-ranked student and enter the virtual pod.”

A green projection screen displayed all the rules and each student’s exam number.

Zhang Cheng explained the rules.

Lin Qi and the other ten prepared to enter the pods, when he noticed Chen Zichuan’s odd behavior in the corner.

The boy stared at the virtual pods, looking curious and helpless, watching others operate them—just like Jiang Tao had when he first saw them.

!

“Taozi, Chen Zichuan has never used a virtual pod—go teach him.”

Lin Qi said.

“Got it!” Jiang Tao nodded and hurried over to Chen Zichuan.

He explained, nodding occasionally as Chen Zichuan listened.

Seeing this, Lin Qi finally relaxed and stepped into the virtual pod.

…

Meanwhile, martial arts students across all major high schools in Tianhai City were undergoing their weapon skills assessments.

Tianhai No. 1 High School, Weapon Skills Assessment Room

The spacious classroom exceeded a thousand square meters, filled with thirty brand-new virtual pods.

Around them stood groups of young men and women, their eyes sharp, expressions proud, radiating powerful aura.

The air buzzed with intense competition.

“Guo Heng, I heard you’re aiming for the top five in the grade this monthly exam?”

Someone asked Guo Heng in front of a virtual pod.

Guo Heng smirked slightly:

“Of course—my blade technique has broken into Rank Two; few in the class can match me.”

“I’m not just aiming for the top five in the grade—I’m targeting the top fifteen in all of Tianhai City.”

He clenched his fist inwardly: “I’ll catch up to my sister’s footsteps.”

He suddenly thought of Lin Qi and Jiang Tao—they were from No. 2 High.

I wonder where they’ll rank this month?

…

“Hum~”

Lin Qi’s body tingled; when he opened his eyes again, he stood in his familiar ChiJie personal space.

He opened the panel, searched for “Tianhai Monthly Exam,” and a new interface popped up.

【Please enter your name, scripture, and exam number!】

【Name: Lin Qi】

【Scripture: Collapse Mountain Spear Art】

【Exam Number: 20455060…】

…

Lin Qi clicked confirm. The next second, the space around him shifted.

The next instant, he stood inside a spacious room, its floor and walls made of hard white metal.

The walls were covered with countless weapon illustrations.

[Candidate Lin Qi, welcome to the Tianhai Monthly Exam Battlefield! Prepare for the Martial Arts Assessment!]

[Assessment Objective: Defeat the Assessor!]

[You have three minutes to prepare.]

Looking at the prompt on the panel, Lin Qi thought of the arena—it was nearly identical.

If the assessor is as rigid as the AI test dummy, how can my martial skill be properly tested?

As he pondered, he selected his weapon: the black great spear, the one he knew best.

The three minutes passed quickly.

“Swoosh~”

In the next instant, a figure appeared before Lin Qi.

He wore a white combat suit, a pure white mask, and held a silver long spear.

On his chest was clearly marked the number “1”.

[Assessment Preparation Begins!]

[Assessor: No. 1]

[3, 2, 1…]

[Assessment Officially Begins!]

In the air, the intelligent female voice announced the assessment had begun.

In the next instant, the assessor stepped forward and charged, swinging his silver spear with a motion like a dragon’s lunge.

…

(End of Chapter)