115: Chapter 115: The truth is out, my energy source is zero!

All eyes were on him.

Under the lens of tens of millions of live streams, Su Ming's name flashed on the giant screen.

His hands were still shoved in his pockets, his face expressionless, walking slowly onto the central arena like an old man out for a post-meal stroll.

Tens of thousands of gazes from the entire venue landed on him in unison, like spotlights.

Mocking, curious, expectant, schadenfreude-filled.

Ye Xiao was full of excitement, leaning forward, eyes wide open.

He was finally going to see just how strong this tough guy was!

In the observation seats, Principal Ma Aiguo's palms were already slick with sweat.

Associate Professor Zhou of Imperial Capital University adjusted his glasses and gave a soft huff.

He did not believe this lawless examinee would receive a high score.

Chu Yao watched with great interest, while Shen Qingci, standing beside her, had unknowingly clenched her hands into the corners of her clothes.

Zhao Kuo stood in the center of a group wearing dark red battle armor, arms crossed, a trace of undisguised mockery curling his lips.

His lackeys could no longer hold back, whispering to each other with unrestrained laughter.

"It's finally the trash's turn to step up."

Zhao Kuo didn't even bother to lower his voice.

Su Ming ignored the noise and barking around him.

He walked straight to the "Shield-7" robot on the main competition track.

The metal construct, over two meters tall, was covered in heavy armor, and the blue ring of the energy receiver on its chest rotated slowly.

He knew exactly where he stood.

Not to mention Source Energy, he couldn't even find a single Source Energy cell in his body.

A standard physical build playing a magic dungeon?

He just had to bite the bullet and try to bluff his way through for a second.

He imitated the previous examinees, his expression instantly becoming serious and solemn, as if he were brewing some earth-shattering ultimate move.

Then, under the breathless gaze of everyone, he slowly raised his right hand, and with a gesture full of ritual, he "slapped" it onto the cold energy receiver on the robot's chest.

Good! Step one complete!

Now all he had to do was count to ten, pull his hand away, and pretend the injection was finished to see how it reacted.

If he could bluff his way through, great; if not... he would just have to take a zero and leave!

It was all about the participation!

He maintained the pose with his hand on the receiver, his other hand even clenching into a fist, veins bulging, looking like he was outputting power with all his might.

He began to count silently in his heart: One, two, three...

The audience below looked on in confusion.

"What is he doing? Is he constipated?"

"Is this wind-up too long? Is he charging an ultimate move?"

Seven, eight, nine...

Ten seconds were almost up!

Su Ming felt a burst of joy and was just about to pull his hand back nonchalantly the next second, striking a calm "test complete" pose.

Just then—"Beep! Beep! Beep!"

Three sharp, urgent alarm sounds exploded from within the Shield-7 robot!

Immediately following, a cold, ruthless synthesized electronic voice was transmitted clearly to every corner of the martial arts arena through the amplification array.

"Warning, no Source Energy injection detected. Please inject Source Energy as soon as possible."

Su Ming's movements froze.

"Why the hell is there a voice broadcast?!"

He widened his eyes and looked at the receiver on the robot's chest; forget a green light, there wasn't even a fart of a reaction.

On the small screen to the side, the Source Energy injection bar remained completely still.

At the very bottom, a bright red, glaring number seemed to mock him in silence.

[0]

"Beep—Source Energy injection volume: Zero. Please inject Source Energy, otherwise the test will be judged as a failure."

The mechanical voice repeated over and over.

The entire martial arts arena fell into a deathly silence.

Time seemed to hit the pause button at this moment.

One second.

Two seconds.

"Pfft—"

It was unclear who in the stands couldn't hold it back first; a short, irrepressible laugh acted like a fuse.

Immediately after, boom!

Laughter exploded from all directions, instantly drowning out the entire martial arts arena.

The examinees pointed at the stage, laughing until they were doubled over; the ordinary audience in the stands was even less polite, with waves of roaring laughter rising higher and higher.

The live stream chat was first filled with confused "???" before being submerged by a mountain-shaking tsunami of ridicule.

"What's the situation? Source Energy injection volume 0?"

"Hahaha, am I seeing things? What is he doing? Posing?"

"Hilarious, the King of Posers got stuck at the tutorial level?"

"So... does he actually have Source Energy? An F-rank should have some, right? It can't be zero, surely?"

Zhao Kuo's lackeys were already laughing like pigs:

"Brother Kuo! Look! He's just standing there! Does he not know how to operate it?"

"Brother Kuo, why don't you go teach him? Putting your hand there is useless! You have to output Source Energy!"

Zhao Kuo's lips curled, revealing snow-white teeth, his eyes filled with smugness and mockery.

In the observation seats, Associate Professor Zhou's furrowed brows relaxed, even showing a hint of undisguised disdain as he adjusted his glasses.

Mentors like Lang Qingyun and Tie Moshan looked at each other, their faces filled with the expression of "is this kid an idiot?".

Awkwardness upon awkwardness.

Su Ming withdrew his hand without changing his expression, turned around, and faced the dark, dense crowd and countless gazes below.

There was no embarrassment on his face; he even brushed off non-existent dust from his hands and glanced at the direction of Zhao Kuo, who was laughing the loudest.

"What's the rush?"

He spoke calmly, his voice transmitting flatly through the battle armor's built-in speaker.

"I was just testing the feel, is that not allowed?"

He curled his lips, his tone filled with impatient perfunctoriness:

"All of you, just barking like dogs."

"Your mom..."

The smile on Zhao Kuo's face stiffened.

He'd hit the wall, yet he was still being stubborn as hell?!

Just as he was about to get angry, Chief Examiner Li Feng spoke up with a frown.

He strode to the center of the main podium, his bell-like voice suppressing all the noise:

"Examinee Su Ming! Complete the energy injection immediately! Assessment time is limited; do not deliberately delay or disrupt order! If effective Source Energy is not injected within the time limit, this round will be considered an abstention, and the score will be zero."

The laughter in the venue subsided slightly, but more eyes focused on Su Ming, turning into an anticipation of watching a show.

Abstention? Zero points? This was also quite interesting!

The haters and trolls in the live stream were having a field day, and countless vicious comments flooded the screen.

Only Shen Qingci kept her beautiful eyes fixed on Su Ming's back.

However, right in the center of this vortex of insults and mockery, Su Ming himself seemed to be an outsider.

The bit of playfulness on his face gradually faded.

It wasn't fear, it wasn't anger.

It was just that he couldn't be bothered to act anymore.

As a humanoid behemoth like him, was there any need to explain to ants?

Su Ming straightened his body and turned to signal Chief Examiner Li Feng:

"Chief Examiner."

Li Feng furrowed his brows, waiting for his explanation or plea for mercy.

"In my body... there really is no Source Energy."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole venue was in an uproar!

"No Source Energy? Really?"

"Isn't he an F-rank Enhancement Type? Even the trashiest talent has Source Energy fluctuations, right?"

"Bullshit! Absolute bullshit! This guy is just acting like a big shot, right?"

Zhao Kuo took a sudden step forward, the Tier 2 fire-type Source Energy in his body surging, his shrill voice ringing out:

"Hahahaha! Trash is trash! You're even lying to yourself? No Source Energy? Do you think everyone here is an idiot? With that F-rank talent of yours, I'm afraid you can't even condense the most basic Source Energy! You don't even have the qualifications to be an Awakened!"

In the live stream, the haters went wild.

"As expected! I said his tearing of the paper this morning was out of guilt!"

"Zero Source Energy? Why are you still participating in the martial arts exam? Go home and farm!"

"The video of him killing the Source Beast before was definitely photoshopped! The military never claimed it!"

"Tearing the paper to act like a big shot, only to be pure trash! His face is swollen from the slapping today!"

Countless ridicules, abuses, and doubts were like a tsunami.

Su Ming stood in the center of the storm, his face neither happy nor sad.

His gaze swept across those mocking, disdainful, or schadenfreude-filled faces, and finally landed back on Li Feng.

"Therefore, I apply—in the upcoming tests, to completely abandon the Source Energy segment. I want to complete this round of assessment solely with my Physical Body strength and intensity."

Physical Body strength?

Li Feng was completely stunned, his mouth slightly agape, for a moment not knowing how to respond.

The audience below was silent at first, and then an even greater uproar of discussion erupted:

"Physical Body? With that small frame of his?"

"Hahaha, hilarious. Does he want to go hit the Shield, or carry the heavy hammer?"

Su Ming's tone was calm, even carrying a condescending, preachy tone:

"Those who rely on Source Energy will eventually be trapped by Source Energy. You spend your whole life borrowing the power of heaven and earth to Cultivate, appearing to rise step by step, but from the very beginning, you have been living under someone else's roof."

His gaze swept over the examinees who were still agitating their Source Energy, his voice unhurried:

"Relying on talent, relying on sequences. Anything that relies on external objects is a crooked path. Cultivating the Physical Body, without resorting to external objects, and pushing through everything with pure Physical Body strength—this is the only true path for human evolution."

His gaze seemed to penetrate the dome of the martial arts arena, looking toward some unknown distance.

In that instant, there were no Source Energy fluctuations around him, no light effects, yet a primitive sense of oppression spread silently.

The few examinees closest to him stumbled at the same time, and some even subconsciously took a step back.

They couldn't say what that feeling was, only that just now, the ground beneath their feet suddenly became heavier.

"A true powerhouse Cultivates only themselves!"

He paused, his lips slightly upturned:

"And what I, Su Ming, pursue, is... sanctification through the Physical Body!"

The entire venue was silent.