109: Chapter 109 One-Handed Attack on Three Tons: The Sickly One is the Real Monster! (Part 1)

The test officially began.

The first to step up was a tall, burly man whose class was [Berserker].

He let out a roar, his muscles bulging as he slammed a punch hard against the sensor plate.

Bang!

A loud boom echoed through the hall.

The numbers on the force-measuring machine's screen jumped wildly before finally settling at "2150 kg."

Instructor Zhou Tong took a glance and recorded it expressionlessly.

"Strength: 2150 kg."

"Control Rating: Fail."

"Next."

The burly man scratched his head, looking somewhat puzzled.

He had clearly produced strength far exceeding that of his peers; how could he have failed?

Instructor Zhou Tong spoke coldly.

"The range I gave was 1400 to 1500 kg."

"Exceeding the range by 650 kg—are you trying to explode the enemy's head and take your teammate's head with it?"

"Strength is not brute force; it is a weapon!"

"An uncontrollable weapon will only harm your own people!"

The burly man flushed red from the scolding and slunk away dejectedly.

Most of the next dozen or so people were strength-type class users.

Each of them exerted their full effort, but the results were either insufficient strength or exceeding the range by too much.

Very few could precisely control their strength within a 100 kg margin of error.

As the booms continued one after another in the hall, Instructor Zhou Tong's expression grew increasingly grim.

Just then, Li Qingxuan stepped forward in a leisurely manner.

His appearance immediately drew everyone's attention.

"Look, it's Li Qingxuan!"

"He has an S-rank talent; he'll definitely have no problem."

Li Qingxuan walked up to the machine, but he didn't strike a pose like the others.

He simply extended his right hand casually, fingers spread, hovering an inch in front of the sensor plate.

"What is he doing? Isn't he going to hit it?"

"This is the ability of the [Hand of the Void]!"

The air between Li Qingxuan's palm and the sensor plate began to show a subtle distortion.

He didn't use his fist; instead, he used invisible [Space Power] to gently press against the sensor plate.

The numbers on the screen began to rise steadily.

1000... 1200... 1400...

Ultimately, the number stopped precisely at "1500 kg."

Neither more nor less—a perfect pass.

The entire hall erupted in gasps and applause.

"Holy crap! That's incredible!"

"Is this the true value of an S-rank talent? That control over power is practically an art form!"

"Compared to him, those guys using brute force earlier are just barbarians."

Li Qingxuan withdrew his hand, basking in the admiring gazes of the crowd.

He pointedly turned his head, his gaze sweeping over the crowd to land on that sickly figure in the corner.

The provocation and contempt in his eyes were completely undisguised.

It was as if he were saying: Do you see? This is a true Genius.

And you are nothing but a clown relying on self-harm to get attention.

"Next!"

Instructor Zhou Tong's voice rang out again.

Another student with the [Berserker] class stepped up, clearly provoked by Li Qingxuan.

"Roar!"

His eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles expanded by a full size as he threw a punch with all his might.

BOOM!!!

This sound was louder than any before.

The numbers on the screen instantly surged to the "3000 kg" red line.

Then.

Crack!

A sharp, ear-piercing snap came from inside the machine.

The massive hydraulic force-measuring machine shuddered violently, the screen went black, and wisps of black smoke rose from the seams of the casing.

"Oh no!"

Instructor Zhou Tong's expression changed drastically as he rushed over.

This custom-made machine cost millions and was military-grade equipment; it had actually been broken.

He inspected it and found that the core hydraulic bearing had been shattered by the sudden violent impact.

"Teacher, I... I didn't mean to." The student who caused the trouble turned pale with fright.

"Enough, step down for now."

Instructor Zhou Tong waved him away irritably and immediately contacted the equipment maintenance department.

A few minutes later, a maintenance technician in coveralls arrived.

He tapped around the machine and finally shook his head.

"Instructor Zhou, the bearing is cracked; it needs to be replaced."

"But this machine is too heavy. I have to lift it entirely off its base to take it apart and fix it."

"Where's the crane?" Instructor Zhou Tong asked.

"Bad timing. The biology building next door is hoisting experimental equipment. The crane moved over there; it'll take at least an hour to get back."

Instructor Zhou Tong didn't want to delay the class progress.

He scanned the room and called out the students with the highest strength attributes.

"You few, come over here."

"Work together to lift this machine and move it to the maintenance table next to it."

The four or five students called were all warrior-class users around Lv. 15, each with a sturdy build.

They walked to the machine, found their positions, and took a deep breath.

"One, two, three, lift!"

Their faces turned crimson from the strain, and veins popped out on their arms.

However, that black behemoth didn't budge an inch.

"It's no good, Teacher! This thing is too heavy!"

"It feels like something is sucking it down!"

The maintenance technician explained from the side, "For stability, the bottom of the machine is equipped with powerful electromagnetic suction cups. When powered, it grips the metal base firmly."

"Cutting the power won't help; there's a backup power supply inside."

"Unless your instantaneous explosive force exceeds five tons, it's impossible to pull it off the base."

Five tons?

The students looked at each other, seeing only helplessness in each other's eyes.

Their individual limit was only a bit over a ton; even combined, it wasn't nearly enough.

The atmosphere in the hall became somewhat awkward for a moment.

Li Qingxuan also frowned. His spatial abilities were good for cutting and binding, but he was powerless when it came to this kind of pure 'tug-of-war'.

Instructor Zhou Tong looked around, his gaze sweeping over every student.

Finally, his eyes settled on Lin Qi, who had been leaning against the corner as if he were about to fall asleep.

Although rumors outside said Lin Qi was already crippled...

Instructor Zhou Tong couldn't forget the scene in the forging room where this youth had swung a sledgehammer with one hand, smashing S-rank Meteoric Iron into a pancake.

That kind of strength was definitely not something data could measure.

"Lin Qi."

Instructor Zhou Tong's voice wasn't loud, yet it instantly silenced the noisy hall.

Everyone's gaze focused on that corner.

"You come and try."

Under the watch of hundreds of eyes, Lin Qi slowly opened his eyes.

Looking as if he hadn't fully woken up, he coughed twice before slowly walking out with Zhang Wei's support.

A wave of suppressed laughter immediately broke out around them.

"Let him do it? Is this a joke?"

"With that frail body, he might throw his back out in a second and we'll have to call an ambulance."

Li Qingxuan simply shook his head and said to Instructor Zhou Tong.

"Teacher, don't make things difficult for a sick person."

"I think we should just wait for the crane."

Lin Qi ignored the idle gossip.

He walked up to the smoking behemoth.

With one hand in his pocket...

He only extended a pale, slender left hand.