22: Chapter 22 Martial Arts Assessment Begins

"Damn it, bad luck! Why did I draw the first batch?" Not far from Li Wen, Huang Yu complained to Wang Ruiming beside him with a bitter face.

"I just hope the virtual director will be kind later and not give me a close-up shot, otherwise, where will I put my face!"

"Heh~ Believe you? I'm a dog!" Wang Ruiming returned a middle finger without hesitation, clearly still bothered by Huang Yu's pretend to be a pig to eat the tiger during the last math exam. "Last midterm, your Martial Dao score was more than ten points higher than mine! Why are you acting like such a big-tailed wolf!"

"This time I'm really not lying to you!" Huang Yu's expression was unusually serious. "I was too nervous to sleep well last night, and now my hands are weak!"

"Hehe~" Wang Ruiming curled his lips, his face full of disbelief.

As a comrade who spent every afternoon in the Martial Dao classroom with him, he knew Huang Yu's capabilities very well.

Although he couldn't compare to the students in the class who were fully focused on the martial arts exam, among the few students who mainly focused on the academic exam, Huang Yu's skills could definitely be called outstanding. Last midterm, he even surpassed Li Wen, who specialized in Martial Dao.

Thinking of this, Wang Ruiming subconsciously turned his head, his gaze passing through the gaps in the crowd, landing on Li Wen, who was sitting there.

This figure, who had been silent for more than two years but had recently risen sharply as if he had suddenly understood something, was now slightly closing his eyes, seemingly recuperating.

His quiet demeanor formed a subtle contrast with the surrounding hustle and bustle.

"By the way," Wang Ruiming lowered his voice, "Which batch did Li Wen draw?"

"It seems to be... the second batch?" Huang Yu recalled the list. "Why are you asking? Concerned about a classmate?"

"Just asking casually," Wang Ruiming said vaguely. "You think, with his current Advanced Blade Technique Perfection Realm, does he have a chance to get into the top fifty in his grade this time?"

"Unlikely. I remember that around the midterm, nearly thirty people had already achieved Top-tier Technique - Entry." Huang Yu shook his head, his analysis very pragmatic.

"Half a semester has passed since then, so the number of people who have achieved Top-tier Entry has probably already exceeded fifty. If he can get into the top hundred, with a sharp jump in ranking, that would already be terrifying enough."

"What if..." A very bold thought flashed through Wang Ruiming's mind. "What if his Top-tier Saber Technique has also reached Entry?"

"Pfft!" Huang Yu almost choked. "Brother, are you awake? It's only been three days since the news of his Blade Technique Perfection came out! Three days! And yesterday was a solid day of academic exams, so where would he find the time? Top-tier Saber Technique isn't just common cabbage!"

"That's true..." Wang Ruiming nodded, also feeling that his idea was too far-fetched.

Although achieving Top-tier Saber Technique - Entry wasn't extremely difficult, three days? That was simply unheard of.

Xue Jun, the only one in the class who had achieved Top-tier Technique - Entry, also took more than ten days. The legendary Prodigy who was signed by the Four Great Factions with a b-rank contract in advance, seemed to have achieved Entry in only three days. Li Wen? He was too far behind.

Just then, a clear broadcast echoed across the plaza:

"Students participating in the first batch of the Martial Dao skill assessment, please note! There are still thirty minutes until the assessment begins. Please proceed immediately to the corresponding virtual rooms for preparation!"

Whoosh—nearly a quarter of the students rose in response, forming a human stream that surged towards a special area on the other side of the teaching building.

More than a dozen students from Class 21 also stood up, including the worried-looking Huang Yu, as well as the composed class first-place Xue Jun and second-place Deng Yuefei.

Deng Yuefei was the male student who first noticed Li Wen's change in state and spoke up on the day Li Wen's Blade Technique made a Breakthrough. He also practiced Blade Technique.

"What are you howling for, let's go!" Wang Ruiming pushed Huang Yu with a hint of schadenfreude.

Huang Yu sighed and grumbled as he quickly followed the group.

Li Wen slowly opened his eyes, his gaze lingering on Deng Yuefei's back for a moment, calm and unruffled.

Xue Jun and Deng Yuefei walked side by side.

"I heard... you also had a Breakthrough last night?" Xue Jun's tone was casual, as if discussing the weather.

"Tsk, that fatso Yue Ruijie sure talks fast!" Deng Yuefei reluctantly admitted, but the triumphant spirit of his Breakthrough was hard to hide from his brows. "I wanted to give you all a surprise."

"Oh?" Xue Jun raised an eyebrow slightly, a playful curve on his lips. "So, that kid Li Wen will have to work harder if he wants to snatch your second place in the class?"

"He only reached Perfection three days before me." Deng Yuefei waved his hand, his tone humble yet revealing confidence, clearly believing that as a latecomer, his momentum in catching up was strong.

"If you haven't entered the threshold of Top-tier, aren't we all essentially struggling in the same great Realm?"

"Exactly!" Xue Jun nodded in agreement, looking relaxed.

Top-tier Entry in three days? He thought it was a fantasy from the bottom of his heart. That was a story belonging to another level.

The crowd moved quickly.

Qingshi No. 3 Middle School's plaza was centrally located, indeed not far from the virtual rooms.

About ten minutes later, the huge screen in the center of the plaza hummed and suddenly lit up.

Hundreds of almost identical combat scenes instantly filled the screen, as if the same image had been copied countless times—that was the initial waiting area of the virtual space. However, this monotonous calm did not last long.

Just a few minutes later, the screen's layout suddenly changed.

In the central part of the screen, dozens of small screens, originally uniform in size, were suddenly magnified several times, forcefully occupying the main view, like spotlights on a stage, firmly locking onto the figures of the students who had first entered the assessment scene.

"The close-ups are here!"

"Public execution begins!"

"Hmph, now let's see who's slacking off!" A burst of excited whispers and discussions instantly erupted in the plaza, mixed with a little tension and even schadenfreude.

This live broadcast focus design, which countless students both loved and hated, was Qingshi No. 3 Middle School's most successful motivational tool in recent years, specifically for dealing with slacking and laziness—because you never knew if your embarrassing appearance would be magnified before all the teachers and students in the school the next second.

In the area around Li Wen, many students craned their necks, searching through the many screens of the first batch for familiar faces, especially... Huang Yu, who was still moving with difficulty among the crowd.

Li Wen closed his eyes again, the plaza's clamor seemingly cut off.

However, his hand on his knee unconsciously clenched slightly, his knuckles turning a little white.

His father Li Hong's violent cough, suppressed yet still audible with traces of blood, his pale face, and his back, straightened with all his might, replayed vividly in his mind from that morning.

The heavy financial pressure, the high cost of level 1 qi and blood potion, the huge consumption required to support the Minor Achievement Cultivation of the Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method, and the looming shadow of his father possibly losing his job due to severe illness...

All of this was like heavy chains.

Become stronger! Only by becoming stronger can he grasp that sliver of hope!

The qi and blood energy of the Splitting Edge Golden Fiend Method's Minor Achievement Realm subconsciously flowed more efficiently within his body, a trace of warmth dispelling the slight chill of the morning.

He knew that his own battlefield would soon begin.