12: Chapter 12: The whole class was dumbfounded. This is a D-level?!

Wang Teng sat in the front row, staring fixedly at his ink-stained hands, his teeth grinding audibly.

Lin Fan.

Must die.

Just then, the classroom door was pushed open.

Old Zhang, the class advisor, walked in with his lesson plans under his arm, a serious expression on his face.

"Quiet, everyone. Go back to your seats."

Old Zhang tapped on the blackboard, his gaze scanning the class, finally lingering on Lin Fan and the fatty for a second, his brow furrowing slightly.

"I have an announcement."

Old Zhang cleared his throat. "To prepare for the upcoming college entrance exam registration, the school has decided to conduct a preliminary assessment. Everyone is to gather at the Martial Arts Hall at 2:00 PM today."

"This test isn't just about measuring blood qi values; there's also a practical combat drill. The results will be recorded directly into your files and will determine which level of Martial Arts University you can apply for."

"Especially those students who have awakened low-rank talents."

Old Zhang looked pointedly toward the corner. "Don't think that just because you've awakened, everything is fine. If your practical combat ability is too poor, you'll still be eliminated. If you don't want to end up hauling bricks at a construction site, give it your all this afternoon!"

The class erupted into an uproar.

Practical combat test.

This was the perfect stage to showcase strength and slap faces.

Many students who felt confident in their strength were already rubbing their hands together, casting unfriendly looks at classmates they had issues with.

2:00 PM, the sun was scorching like fire.

Inside the Jianghai No. 3 Middle School Martial Arts Hall, the air was as hot as a giant steamer, thick with the smell of sweat and hormones from hundreds of students.

Twenty brand-new Black Gold Series Punching Power Testing Machines were lined up, with the indicator lights on the nearby Blood Qi Sensors flashing wildly.

"Listen up, everyone!"

Old Zhang, the class advisor, held the class roster, his voice loud enough to drown out the cicadas. "There is only one standard for this test: the passing line is 0.8 Blood Qi and 400 kilograms of punching power! Those who can't reach these numbers should hurry up and transfer to the Liberal Arts Class; don't waste resources in the Martial Arts Class!"

A commotion broke out in the crowd.

For many students who had awakened F-Rank Talents, a blood qi value of 0.8 was an insurmountable chasm.

"First up, Wang Teng!"

As soon as Old Zhang's voice fell, the crowd automatically parted to form a path.

Wang Teng took off his school uniform jacket and tossed it casually to a nearby lackey. Underneath, he wore a tight-fitting sports tank top, revealing well-defined muscle contours.

Although the band-aid on his face ruined the aesthetic a bit, it didn't stop him from walking with the arrogant stride of someone patrolling his own territory.

He walked up to the testing machine but wasn't in a hurry to start.

He rotated his wrists and cracked his neck.

His knuckles let out sharp popping sounds.

"Whew."

Exhaling, Wang Teng's legs suddenly pushed off the ground, his whole body tensing like a fully drawn bow.

Bang!

A dull thud echoed through the hall.

The padded surface of the testing machine dented deeply, and the numbers on the display screen jumped frantically before finally settling.

[Punching Power: 652kg]

Immediately after, he pressed his hand onto the nearby Blood Qi meter.

[blood qi value: 0.95]

"Wow!"

An uncontrollable burst of screams erupted from the group of girls.

"650 kilograms? That's almost at the level of a Martial Apprentice, right?"

"0.95 Blood Qi! He's only 0.05 away from breaking through to Martial Apprentice First Grade! As expected of Young Master Wang, these stats are simply crushing."

"I told you Young Master Wang is the top student in our class. How can some clown who only knows how to run a street stall even compare?"

Praises surged like a tide.

Wang Teng enjoyed being the center of attention; even the band-aid on the corner of his mouth seemed much more tolerable now.

He turned around, his gaze cutting through the crowd to land precisely on Lin Fan and the fatty in the corner. He tilted his chin up slightly and gave a thumbs-down gesture.

Provocation.

Blatant provocation.

"Next, Zhang Hao!"

Old Zhang called out the fatty's name.

The previously lively atmosphere instantly turned strange.

A few snickers came from the crowd.

The Sports Representative was a tall, thin boy who usually hung around Wang Teng. At this moment, he shouted sarcastically, "Fatty, hit it gently. Don't let the grease on your hands smear the machine. This is new equipment, it's hard to clean!"

"Hahahaha!"

The whole class roared with laughter.

In their impression, Zhang Hao was just a mascot made of fat who had awakened a D-Rank Earth-element Talent. Having him test his punching power was as ridiculous as asking a pig to climb a tree.

The fatty didn't laugh.

He walked slowly out from the back of the crowd, his usual playful expression gone. He rolled up his sleeves, revealing two arms that were excessively thick.

"Laughing? In a moment, you'll be crying so hard you won't even find the tune."

The fatty snorted in his heart and stood before the testing machine.

He didn't perform any fancy warm-up moves like Wang Teng. He simply took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Inside his body, that power—awakened just last night yet as wild as a stallion—began to surge at his command.

Buzz!

A low vibration seemed to ripple through the air.

The next second, a scene that everyone would remember for the rest of their lives occurred.

The fatty's originally fair and flabby skin suddenly turned grayish-black at a speed visible to the naked eye. Rough, hard, and full of texture, they looked like two stone pillars just quarried from granite!

[Talent Skill: Hardened Skin]

The smile on the Sports Representative's face froze, his mouth hanging open wide enough to fit a duck egg.

This is a D-Rank Earth-element Talent?

Whose D-Rank Talent has this kind of visual impact?

"Break... for me!"

The fatty's eyes snapped open as he let out a thunderous shout.

That rock-like arm swung in a wide arc, accompanied by the shrill sound of whistling wind. No technique, just pure, violent, unreasonable brute force!

Boom!

This sound was twice as loud as Wang Teng's punch earlier.

The massive impact caused the entire testing machine to shake violently, its base screeching against the floor.

The padded surface didn't just dent; it was nearly blown apart.

The numbers on the display didn't just jump; they soared straight to the peak.

[Punching Power: 882kg]

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Those who were laughing at the fatty just now were now like roosters with their necks throttled, faces flushed red but unable to make a sound.

Even the roster in Old Zhang's hand fell to the ground.

882 kilograms?

What kind of concept was this?

A normal adult's punching power is only 150-300 kilograms. A trained Quasi-Martial Apprentice hitting 400 kilograms is considered passing. Someone at the peak of Quasi-Martial Apprentice like Wang Teng could only hit 650 kilograms even with maximum effort.

880 kilograms... that was a stat for a Martial Apprentice First Grade, or even close to Second Grade!

Before everyone could recover from the shock, the fatty pressed his giant stone hand onto the Blood Qi meter.

Beep.

[blood qi value: 1.2]

Martial Apprentice First Grade!

A genuine Martial Apprentice First Grade!

"This... this is impossible!"

Wang Teng lunged forward, staring fixedly at the numbers on the screen, his eyes nearly popping out of his head. "The machine is broken! The machine must be broken! How can a D-Rank trash like him have these stats?"

He didn't believe it.

He had spent hundreds of thousands of his family's money on potions and trained in the gravity room every day just to barely reach 0.95.

This damn fatty was saying yesterday he was going to haul bricks at a construction site, and today he's a Martial Apprentice First Grade?

"Broken my ass!"

The fatty turned around, the grayish-black keratin layer on his arm slowly receding as it returned to its harmless-looking state.

He blew on his slightly reddened fist and shook his head with a look of regret. "Aiya, I messed up. I ate too much BBQ last night, it affected my performance. Only 882? Tsk tsk, embarrassing. I've really shamed Brother Fan."

Humblebragging.

Top-tier humblebragging.

These words were like an invisible slap, fiercely striking the faces of everyone in the class. Especially those who had mocked him most severely; their faces were twitching from the "pain."

Now this is how you show off!

Compared to the fatty's move, Wang Teng's earlier act of taking off his jacket to show off his muscles was simply tacky.

"Zhang... Student Zhang Hao."

Old Zhang picked up the roster, his voice trembling slightly. "You... you've broken through?"

"Yep."

The fatty scratched his head and grinned. "Just lucky. I opened a blind box last night, practiced a bit, and then I broke through."

blind box.

As soon as those two words came out, the eyes of everyone in the class instantly turned burning hot.

If the rumors about the blind boxes were questionable before, now Zhang Hao was living proof!

A ten-thousand-yuan blind box could truly turn a piece of trash into a genius overnight!

Countless gazes bypassed the fatty and focused intensely on the youth who had been standing in the corner, as quiet as a shadow.

Lin Fan.

The instigator of it all.