10: Why is Chapter 10 still going up?

The first person to be tested was Zou Zhiwu from Luo City First High School, who was a pure Ascetic Martial Artist.

"Combat power of 1,600, not bad at all."

Zhuo Jida glanced at Zou Zhiwu's combat power and said dismissively.

"Principal Liu, what exactly is this 'combat power' thing?"

"Do we actually have sci-fi gadgets like combat power testers here?"

Chen Mo had been curious about this earlier, wondering what the standard for combat power actually was.

"Calling it 'combat power' is really just to make it easier for the general public to understand."

Principal Liu Zhifeng didn't find Chen Mo annoying and explained it openly.

"It's actually an estimation of overall combat ability, combining four aspects: offense, defense, flexibility, and combat mindset."

"Then, a person's comprehensive combat ability is determined through simulated combat."

"Hiss, I forgot that I haven't filled you in on the concept of combat mindset yet."

Principal Liu Zhifeng slapped his forehead hard; how could he have forgotten that?

Was it because he saw Chen Mo's offensive capabilities were so strong that he felt combat mindset wouldn't be of much use to him?

"Alright, it's my turn."

Zhuo Jida patted the two daggers at his waist and tilted his chin at Chen Mo and Wang Jun, looking extremely provocative.

"Is there something wrong with him?"

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, not knowing why this guy was provoking him for no reason.

"No, he's just showing off in front of you."

Wang Jun shook his head, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the hilt of his blade.

"Don't worry, I'll win back the reputation for our Third High School."

Twenty minutes later, Wang Jun's face turned grim as he looked at Zhuo Jida's combat power of 2,300.

"You don't need to pay him any mind; he doesn't mean any harm, he's just too competitive."

Su Qingyue wanted to explain something, but in the end, she just sighed and walked into the simulation room.

"What kind of talent does Su Qingyue have?"

Only now did Chen Mo realize that Su Qingyue hadn't seemed to mention what type of talent she possessed.

"Sister Qingyue?"

Zhuo Jida, who had just received his First-Grade Martial Artist certificate, sat down and leaned his head against the back of the sofa.

"Sister Qingyue has a Rule-based Talent; it's not something that Elemental or Physical types can compare to."

"Hiss!"

Wang Jun, who had been maintaining his composure, finally lost it and couldn't help but gasp.

The lounge suddenly fell silent, and even Principal Liu Zhifeng's expression became extremely serious.

Compared to Zhuo Jida, Su Qingyue's certification took much longer; she was inside for a full half hour before coming out.

Looking at Su Qingyue's combat power of 3,900, Wang Jun completely gave up on the idea of taking first place in the City-level Joint Exam.

Regardless of what the Rule-based Talent was, it was simply not something that an Elemental type could compare to.

"I'm going in."

Wang Jun stood up and tightened his grip on the long blade at his waist.

"Go on, relax. We're just here for certification, not a competition."

Principal Liu Zhifeng offered a word of comfort, but Wang Jun was in no mood to listen to such things now.

"Chen Mo, you need to keep a level head in a moment; don't be nervous."

"Everything in the simulated combat is fake. The scanner will set a Health Value based on your physical strength and stamina, and the simulation will end when your Health Value reaches zero."

"You won't get hurt, so just let loose and fight."

Chen Mo clenched his fists, wondering if his Health Bar would be the same in his normal state versus his Muscle Compression Technique state.

Twenty-five minutes later, a grim-faced Wang Jun walked out.

"How did it go?"

Principal Liu Zhifeng stood up and asked with some anticipation.

Wang Jun didn't speak, he just shook his head.

Principal Liu Zhifeng took the combat power assessment report and smiled when he saw the combat power of 2,750 on it.

"Isn't this quite strong? Don't lose heart."

"Elemental types can rival Rule-based types once they reach the Sixth Grade."

"But that's only rivaling the trashiest batch of Rule-based types. I know clearly that this is a fundamental gap."

Wang Jun sighed; he was relatively satisfied with the result, but comparing goods makes you want to throw them away, and comparing people only leads to misery.

"Principal Liu, I'm heading in."

Chen Mo stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked into the simulation room with his ID card.

The moment the door closed, all external sounds were cut off. Chen Mo could only see Principal Liu opening his mouth, but couldn't hear what he was saying.

"You're the last one for today, right?"

The girl sitting in front of the recorder nodded at Chen Mo and took the ID card from his hand.

"Go stand over there; we're checking your blood-qi volume now."

The certification process was actually very simple, especially for martial arts proficiency, which relied mostly on subjective judgment.

After completing the two most basic steps, Chen Mo walked into a room that was at least 1,000 square meters.

"Student Chen Mo, there's no need to be nervous."

"Everything that follows is simulated; you just need to eliminate as many enemies as possible."

After saying that, the originally dim room instantly lit up, and rows upon rows of combat robots rose from the ground.

A blue light scanned Chen Mo's body, and a Health Bar made of particle projection appeared above his head.

"Hmm?"

The staff member in charge of this simulation battle was stunned for a moment, then rubbed their eyes hard.

"That's not right, is this thing broken?"

"It feels like there are several extra zeros?"

Chen Mo looked up and felt somewhat disappointed when he saw a Health Value of only 129,000.

It seemed his body was still too weak, not even reaching a million in Health Value.

But what he didn't know was that a normal First-Grade Martial Artist only had a Health Value of 800...

After running self-diagnostics several times and finally confirming that the instrument really wasn't broken, the staff member, with a bewildered expression, started the First-Grade Martial Artist simulation battle.

The robots moved almost simultaneously, which immediately put Chen Mo on high alert.

He instantly activated the Muscle Compression Technique. Chen Mo, who was originally 2.4 meters tall and 1.4 meters wide, instantly slimmed down, his skin glowing with a metallic luster.

Suddenly, the Health Value number above Chen Mo's head jumped wildly, shooting straight from 129,000 to 229,000!

"What the hell!?"

"Why is it still rising!?"

Watching the suddenly skyrocketing Health Value, the staff member felt as if their worldview had been shattered.