7: Chapter 7, the theory class? No, this is anatomy.

The next morning, sunlight streamed through the huge floor-to-ceiling windows of the Special Training Class, spilling onto the polished desks.

A holographic projection cast a complex blue human model into mid-air, with dense rows of various calculation formulas listed beside it.

On the podium, Teacher Wang Bo, wearing gold-rimmed glasses, was waving his pointer, spittle flying as he spoke.

"Students, please look at this formula—damage equals attack power minus defense value.

When your attack power is lower than the target's defense threshold, even if you land ten thousand attacks, the damage caused will only be judged by the System as a mandatory '1' point, or a completely ineffective '0'."

He tapped the blackboard twice heavily.

"This is the iron Law of this digitized world, an inviolable truth. In the face of an absolute data gap, any flashy technique is just tickling the monster."

A rustling sound of note-taking filled the room.

For these students who had only recently experienced Awakening, data was the oracle, the only Law they relied on to survive.

Except for Lin Qi in the corner.

He rested his chin on one hand, while his other hand tirelessly spun a piece of chalk.

The white chalk danced across his slender fingertips, sometimes weaving between his fingers, sometimes stopping to spin on his fingertip, as agile as if it had a mind of its own.

Although his gaze was directed forward, his focus had long since drifted; he was clearly lost in thought.

This so-called "data-based defense-breaking theory" seemed full of loopholes to him.

Reducing a living organism to a pile of data-stacked logs completely ignored muscle texture, skeletal gaps, nerve nodes, and visceral resonance frequencies.

This was the tragedy of this world; having a convenient System meant they had thrown away their brains.

"That student in the last row, Lin Qi."

Teacher Wang Bo pushed up his glasses, a cold light reflecting off the lenses:

"It seems you are quite disdainful of this formula? The way you spin that chalk in your hand is even more impressive than my lecture."

The entire class turned their gazes toward him in unison.

Li Shaobai, sitting in the front row, turned his head with a playful smirk on his face.

"Teacher, he is an 'expert' who instantly killed an Iron-Backed Pig, after all. Perhaps he has some unique Secret Manual and doesn't care for basic theories like ours at all."

A ripple of suppressed laughter broke out around them.

Teacher Wang Bo tapped the podium to signal for silence, then stared at Lin Qi:

"Since you are the only 'exception' in our Special Training Class, why don't you stand up and tell us what unique insights you have regarding the 'defense-breaking threshold'?"

Lin Qi's fingers stopped, and the chalk was held steadily between two fingers.

He stood up, his expression calm: "The formula you taught is correct on a macro level; when clashing head-on, one does indeed need to look at the data."

Teacher Wang Bo snorted coldly: "So you think there's a problem on a micro level?"

"What if the attack doesn't strike the armor, but acts directly on the interior?"

Lin Qi's tone was casual, as if he were discussing what to have for lunch:

"For example, Strike through an obstacle to hit the target, bypassing the skin's defense to shatter the internal organs directly. Or, using the principle of resonance to destroy blood vessel walls. In such a case, does the armor value still have any meaning?"

The classroom was silent for two seconds, then burst into laughter.

"Strike through an obstacle to hit the target? Have you been reading too many Wuxia novels?"

"This is reality! Data makes the rules! Do you think you're in a movie?"

Teacher Wang Bo was so amused he was angered, taking off his glasses to wipe them before putting them back on.

"Lin Qi, I know you have some cleverness and good luck. But this is a classroom, a place for science and data, not for you to tell Xuanhuan stories."

He pointed to the human model on the screen.

"The determination of armor value is all-encompassing; it is an energy force field generated by System rules.

As long as your attack power is insufficient, this force field can negate all impact; there is no such thing as 'passing through'."

Lin Qi shook his head:

"The force field can only protect the surface; it cannot lock down the fluid flow and energy conduction inside a living organism. As long as it is a living thing, it must breathe and have blood circulation; that is the weak point."

"Enough!"

Teacher Wang Bo slammed the table, clearly enraged.

To openly challenge academic authority, and with such an absurd theory, was simply insulting his profession.

"Since you are so confident, let's let the facts speak."

Teacher Wang Bo scanned the class: "Zhao Tie! Come up here!"

A boy with a physique as burly as a black bear stood up.

As he stood up, the chair behind him gave an overwhelmed creak.

Zhao Tie, who had Awakening class [Rock Guard], was the tank with the highest defense in the Special Training Class.

He strode onto the podium, each step on the floor emitting a dull thud.

"Teacher, what do I do?" Zhao Tie clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking, looking at Lin Qi with excitement.

Usually, it was Li Shaobai who stole the spotlight, but today it was finally his turn to show his face in front of the whole class.

"Activate your defense skill," Teacher Wang Bo ordered.

"Alright!"

Zhao Tie let out a low roar, spread his feet, and planted his stance.

A layer of grayish-white rock texture quickly covered his entire body, his skin becoming rough and hard, and he looked like a freshly finished granite sculpture.

A line of green data popped up above his head: [Armor Value: 50].

There was an exclamation from the audience.

"Holy crap, 50 armor points? That's almost catching up to a second-tier warrior, right?"

"This is too hard; an ordinary iron sword would probably have its edge rolled just by hacking at him."

"Lin Qi is done for now. Never mind Strike through an obstacle to hit the target, it's doubtful he can even leave a mark on Zhao Tie."

Teacher Wang Bo was very satisfied with this effect.

He pointed to Zhao Tie, who stood like a wall, and looked at Lin Qi:

"Come on, this is the 'Data Wall' you have to face.

Didn't you say you could bypass defense and strike the interior? I'll give you the chance."

Lin Qi looked at Zhao Tie on the podium without speaking.

Zhao Tie grinned, revealing two rows of white teeth, and patted his hard chest, producing a dull sound like metal striking stone.

"Lin Qi, don't be polite, hit me hard. If you bruise your hand, remember to ask Zhang Wei for some safflower oil."

Lin Qi laughed.

He didn't even bother to take the wooden sword placed by the desk; he just continued to hold that small piece of chalk and slowly left his seat.

Watching Lin Qi empty-handed, Li Shaobai couldn't help but sneer:

"What? Is he planning to draw a portrait of Zhao Tie with that chalk?"

"Perhaps he wants to write the character 'King' on Zhao Tie's face, pretending he's fighting a tiger."

The lackey beside him chimed in.

Lin Qi ignored them, walking up to the podium step by step and standing in front of Zhao Tie.

The size difference between the two was huge.

Zhao Tie was nearly 1.9 meters tall, his muscles knotted, and with the addition of his rock skin, he looked extremely oppressive.

While Lin Qi, standing in front of him, looked so frail that a gust of wind could blow him over.

"Teacher, do you really want me to hit him?" Lin Qi confirmed one last time.

"Hit him! Hit him with all your might!"

Teacher Wang Bo crossed his arms, sneering: "I'll take responsibility if anything happens; if he gets hurt, that's on me. I also want to see what kind of joke your 'Strike through an obstacle to hit the target' really is."