"6.9 level? Just over three months ago, he was at 6.0 level? A little over a month ago, he was at 6.5 level? His physical abilities have improved so quickly?" Principal Tan Zhenlong was also very surprised.
Thanks to Teacher Xu's repeated recommendations and the special information about Li Yuan gathered a few weeks ago, Principal Tan had a strong impression of him. However, he had expected Li Yuan's physical ability to reach only about 6.6 level. After all, normally, as one progresses in training, improvements in physical abilities come more slowly.
"Two months, from 6.0 to 6.5?"
"And in just a little over a month, he improved by another 0.4 level?" The vice principals and martial artists present were all shocked. A physical ability of 6.9 level alone wouldn’t be surprising. Among the many people present, except for a few students like Li Yuan, most were martial artists. The lowest physical ability among the school leaders was at least 9.8 level.
In this era, it was much more likely for martial artists to hold high positions than non-martial artists. Even compared to students, there were several in the elite class of the third year whose physical abilities exceeded 7.0 level. The strongest among them, Lin Lanyue, had already reached 8.5 level. But what shocked everyone about Li Yuan was his speed of improvement. After all, everyone knew that Li Yuan had not awakened his Martial Spirit. How could he improve his physical ability so quickly just by practicing the Basic Cultivation Method?
"Good." Xu Bo's eyes lit up. He often observed Li Yuan through surveillance and knew that Li Yuan had made significant progress, but he didn't expect it to be this remarkable.
"Li Yuan." Xu Bo's voice boomed, "Continue with the other two tests, and focus."
"Yes." Li Yuan wasn't foolish; he could tell from everyone's reactions that he was performing well. He also realized that no matter where this mysterious hall master came from, this was an opportunity for him.
"Today, I should have heard that the martial hall comes to the school for inspections once a year." A thought flashed through Li Yuan's mind. "But in the past, it seemed they only inspected the elite class."
"This opportunity was fought for by Teacher Xu for me."
"Often, good opportunities only come once or twice."
Without thinking much, Li Yuan arrived at the fist power testing area, got into position, adjusted his body posture, and then suddenly threw a powerful punch.
"Boom!" Accompanied by a deep, muffled sound, his fist struck the huge sensing sandbag hard.
Instantly, the screen above the testing area clearly displayed: "454 kilograms (action qualified)."
After finishing the fist power test, Li Yuan didn't linger. He made a slight adjustment and moved to the entrance of the running track.
A forty-meter long testing track! The white light above the classroom illuminated the dark red metal track.
"Whoosh!"
Li Yuan adjusted slightly, took a deep breath, powered his legs, and suddenly dashed forward.
Swish!
Like a fleeting shadow, Li Yuan had already crossed the track and slammed into the cushioning wall at the end.
Tick-tock!
On the electronic display screen at the end of the track, the data appeared—"15.1 meters/second."
"What incredible speed."
"Could the life energy testing device have made a mistake?"
"How could Li Yuan's actual data be so high?" There were murmurs of surprise among the school leaders and the five martial artists.
Why were they surprised? Because Li Yuan's fist power data and explosive speed data had already surpassed the 7.0 level physical ability standard set by the Seven Star Alliance.
The 7.0 level standard: 15 meters per second, 450 kilograms of fist power.
Normally, it's quite common for one of these actual data points to be slightly higher or lower. But for someone like Li Yuan, to have both points high? That was unusual.
"Good." Xu Bo and Tan Zhenlong exchanged glances, both smiling.
"Teacher Xu, I've finished my tests." Li Yuan walked back to the center of the classroom.
"Old Wan." Xu Bo looked at Hall Master Wan.
"Don't rush."
Hall Master Wan had a mysterious smile on his face as he looked at the people behind him. "Instructor Xing, what do you think? Does he qualify?"
The five martial artists exchanged glances.
"Hall Master," the instructor Xing said in a deep voice, "this kid has good physical talent... It shouldn't be hard for him to become a martial artist, but since he hasn't awakened his Martial Spirit, wanting to sign a contract early... I’m afraid we need to think it over."
Instructor Xing noticed the close relationship between Hall Master Wan and Xu Bo, so he didn't speak too definitively. However, everyone present was sharp enough to understand his true meaning—he wasn't yet qualified.
"Don't rush; just watch a bit longer."
Hall Master Wan smiled and then turned to Xu Bo. "Iron Tower, your student’s strongest point should be his martial arts skills, right? Let’s test that."
"You noticed?" Xu Bo smiled.
"The life energy testing device usually doesn’t make mistakes." Hall Master Wan smiled. "But he can unleash power and explosive speed beyond the norm... This shows he has a very high level of control over his body; his power mobilization must be nearly perfect."
"From his walking posture, his basic fist technique should be nearly perfected."
"I estimate that his martial arts skills are the strongest among the students in your school." Hall Master Wan said casually, "And very likely, he is leading by a significant margin."
Xu Bo and Principal Tan exchanged glances and couldn’t help but smile.
"Old Wan, you really have a sharp eye." Xu Bo laughed.
Xu Bo knew that Hall Master Wan had only been in his position for less than a week. If he hadn't checked the previous data, he probably wouldn't even know that Li Yuan was selected for the Blue Star Youth List.
"Li Yuan, take out your spear." Xu Bo looked at Li Yuan and said, "Let’s proceed with the skill test."
"Yes."
Li Yuan walked over to the weapon cabinet. He had already heard Xu Bo instructing him to prepare the weapon for this classroom earlier.
At the same time, Li Yuan couldn't help but glance at the middle-aged man in the Tang suit: "What incredible insight."
Li Yuan had also heard Hall Master Wan's speculation.
...
After taking the spear, the martial arts skill test was initiated, and many instruments above the classroom powered on.
Li Yuan held the spear and stood facing Xu Bo.
"Come, attack me and showcase your spear techniques." Xu Bo held a long staff and said in a deep voice.
"Yes." Li Yuan nodded, knowing that the teacher intended for him to show his strength.
Without hesitation.
"Boom!" Li Yuan moved like lightning, having made great progress, and fiercely thrust the spear forward.
"Clang!"
The long staff met the spear head, crashing against it.
If it had been just over a month ago, this single collision would have been hard for Li Yuan to bear.
But now, his spear techniques had advanced significantly.
"Whoosh~" The spear shaft came down smoothly, and he quickly pulled back, then thrust again, creating a large circle with the spear head, instantly appearing to create dozens of spear shadows.
"Teacher's physical ability seems to be around level 7, attack." Li Yuan pressed forward fiercely.
As the saying goes, "A spear fears a shaking head."
This means that during the shaking of the spear body, the spear head becomes unpredictable, making it the most terrifying time for spear attacks.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
One thrust after another, continuously and rapidly aimed at Xu Bo, each strike powerful, fast, and accurate.
This was Li Yuan's new killing move—"Mountains and All Things."
It was a deceptive attack technique suitable for group battles.
"Haha, not bad." Xu Bo laughed, holding the staff in his left hand, striking precisely at Li Yuan's spear head each time, preventing Li Yuan from fully unleashing his strength.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of moves.
"Li Yuan, be careful." Xu Bo suddenly shouted, then changed his steps, thrusting the long staff like a spear.
The timing was perfect.
This thrust came just as Li Yuan had thrust his spear without success and was retracting it.
"Not good."
Li Yuan's spear technique immediately changed from offense to defense, and his skillful transition surprised the martial artists watching from outside.
Without hesitation, Li Yuan directly unleashed "Rock Foundation," turning himself into a massive rock, fiercely resisting Xu Bo's attacks.
Another dozen moves of offense and defense passed.
Whoosh!
Xu Bo suddenly stepped back, creating distance from Li Yuan, and smiled, "Good, let’s stop here."
Li Yuan finally halted, feeling his energy and blood surging.
That was intense.
Teacher Xu's attacks seemed slow, but they were actually steady, precise, and powerful, leaving him with no way to counter.
"But at least I defended for so long; I’ve improved a lot since last time." Li Yuan took a deep breath.
At this moment, Xu Bo had tapped on his smart wristband and said in a low voice, "Skill test completed."
Beep—
On the screen at the back of the classroom, the score appeared—"374 points (college entrance exam standard)."
"374 points?"
"That's so high!"
"Exceeding 370 points for the college entrance exam standard?"
"I remember Lin Lanyue just had 361 points, right?"
"Last year, the martial arts skill top scorer in Jiang City was just over 380 points." The vice principals were completely shocked.
Lin Lanyue had 361 points.
Li Yuan had 374 points.
The difference seemed to be just over ten points, but martial arts scores are different from academic scores; strong is strong, and weak is weak, with very few cases of underperformance.
Once you exceed 360 points, even a 5-point difference represents a clear gap in martial arts skills.
A 10-point difference means that if they were to engage in a virtual battle, the outcome would be almost certain.
"Could it be that our school can produce a city-level top scorer? And there's still so much time until the college entrance exam?"
"Our district's education quality has never been considered good in the city." The vice principals exchanged glances, all thinking the same thing.
Especially the vice principal responsible for 'teaching,' whose smile was the brightest.
"Alright, Li Yuan, put the weapon back." Xu Bo said.
Li Yuan obediently returned the spear.
"Old Wan, what do you think?" Xu Bo walked over, leaving the long staff aside.
"Instructor Xing, what do you think?" Hall Master Wan smiled, still not giving a direct answer.
The martial artists exchanged glances.
"If he can awaken his Martial Spirit, he meets the C-level contract standard; but without awakening it, he falls short by quite a bit, but it's enough for a D-level contract," Instructor Xing hesitated before saying.
In reality, in Instructor Xing's mind, Li Yuan was still a bit short of even the D-level contract.
High martial arts skills?
Not having awakened his Martial Spirit was a hard limitation.
"D-level contract?"
Hall Master Wan nodded slightly and turned to Xu Bo and Principal Tan. "I’d like to have a private chat with Li Yuan, is that okay?"
A private chat?
Principal Tan and Xu Bo exchanged glances, both pondering.
"Sure." Principal Tan did not refuse, smiling, "It's a good thing that Hall Master Wan wants to talk to Li Yuan alone."
"We'll step out first." Principal Tan signaled for the school leaders to walk out of the classroom.
"Private discussion?" Only Li Yuan, who had just walked over, felt a bit confused.
What was going on?
"Li Yuan, this is Hall Master Wan from the Starfire Martial Hall, have a good talk." Xu Bo quietly instructed.
Hall Master Wan from the Starfire Martial Hall? Li Yuan felt a bit startled but maintained his composure.
In his eyes, this was already a big shot.
Soon, the school leaders, martial artists, and three students left the classroom, leaving only Li Yuan and Hall Master Wan.
The classroom door closed.
"Li Yuan, I am Wan Qinghe." Hall Master Wan smiled.
"Hall Master Wan." Li Yuan felt anxious inside, unsure of the other party's intentions.
"I want to invite you to join the Starfire Martial Hall and sign a contract early." Hall Master Wan smiled at Li Yuan, "A B-level contract, with passive upgrades."
"Once you awaken your Martial Spirit, it will immediately upgrade to an A-level contract."
"What do you think?"
(End of Chapter)