15: Chapter 15 One Punch to Godhood, Advancing to Second Rank
The Shencheng No. 1 High School gymnasium was packed to the brim today.
People.
People everywhere.
The rows of heads in the stands were like lotus leaves crowded together in a summer pond, leaving no room for air.
Students, teachers, parents who had heard the news, and even reporters from several local media outlets, carrying their cameras and equipment, squeezed into the best spots.
The entire gymnasium was buzzing with noise.
Thousands upon thousands of gazes converged into a tangible pressure, all focused on the center of the venue.
Only one person stood there.
Wang Pingan.
He was wearing a clean school uniform, his figure upright, with no expression on his face.
He stood there quietly, letting those gazes—mixed with curiosity, scrutiny, suspicion, and schadenfreude—repeatedly slice him from head to toe.
In the first row of the stands, Dean Zhang Jianmin's face looked terrible; he kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, his eyes darting around, not daring to meet the gaze of the stern-faced experts sitting beside him who were wearing the uniforms of the Municipal Martial Arts Association.
In the student section, Gao Fei crossed his arms, his leg shaking uncontrollably—not from nervousness, but from excitement.
He looked at Wang Pingan in the arena with eyes that were no different from someone looking at a corpse about to be dissected.
He leaned over to Li Moran's ear and lowered his voice, but the smugness in his tone could not be hidden.
"Brother Li, did you see that? It's being broadcast to the whole school; tens of thousands of eyes are watching. He's done for. Even Jesus can't save him, I said it!"
Li Moran did not speak.
He just watched quietly, his handsome face still wearing that calm expression, as if this trial before him, which was enough to decide a person's fate, were nothing more than a boring farce.
But if anyone could look closely, they would find that his knuckles, resting on his knees, were slightly white from the force.
He did not believe Wang Pingan was innocent.
He could not accept being trampled underfoot by a pill-popper.
Today, he wanted to watch with his own eyes as this country bumpkin was nailed to the pillar of shame, never to rise again.
In the center of the venue, an elderly expert from the Municipal Martial Arts Association with graying hair walked up to Wang Pingan.
His expression was very serious, devoid of any personal emotion.
"Student Wang Pingan, according to the procedure, we must first conduct a drug test on you."
"Please extend your arm."
Wang Pingan complied.
A cold blood collection needle pierced his skin, and a tube of crimson blood was drawn.
Subsequently, another, more precise instrument was pushed over, and several probes were attached to his temples and chest.
"Qi and blood fluctuation test beginning."
Everyone's eyes were locked onto the giant holographic screen in the center of the gymnasium.
The entire venue fell silent at this moment.
Only the sound of everyone's nervous breathing could be heard.
Time passed, second by second.
On the screen, complex data streams representing blood analysis and Qi and blood fluctuations were scrolling rapidly.
Every second was a torment for those in the stands.
Gao Fei's breathing almost stopped; he stared fixedly at the screen, muttering to himself.
"There is! There must be! Come out! Come out!"
Zhang Jianmin's sweat flowed even faster.
He asked for nothing else now, only that they could detect even the slightest issue, even if it was just a borderline case.
Otherwise, his time as Dean would truly be over.
Finally, amidst the almost frozen breathing of everyone, the rapidly scrolling data stream on the screen stopped.
The final test report was generated.
A line of striking, bold, golden text appeared in the very center of the screen.
【Blood sample test result: No known prohibited drug components detected.】
【Qi and blood fluctuation test result: Qi and blood are pure, activity is extremely high, vital signs are vigorous, far exceeding the average level of Martial Artists of the same age.】
【Comprehensive judgment: No signs of drug assistance.】
These few lines of text, every single word, were like a loud slap in the face. They struck hard across the face of every doubter.
They struck Zhang Jianmin's face. They struck Gao Fei's face. And they struck even harder at Li Moran's heart.
The entire venue was silent for a full three seconds.
Then, "Whoa!"
The sound of discussion, like a volcanic eruption, instantly drowned out the entire gymnasium!
"Damn! No drugs? How is that possible!"
"Far exceeding the average level of Martial Artists of the same age? Did this report make a mistake?"
"Then that score of his... 370 kilograms... did he really achieve that on his own?"
"A monster! This is a fucking monster!"
The smile on Gao Fei's face froze completely. He stared at those lines on the screen, his eyes wide as saucers, his mouth open wide enough to fit a fist.
"No... impossible... this is absolutely impossible! The instrument must be broken! Yes! That's it!"
He could not accept this fact.
Zhang Jianmin's face turned deathly pale in an instant. He felt his legs go weak; if not for holding onto the chair, he might have collapsed to the ground.
It was over. Completely over.
The elderly expert retracted the instrument and nodded at Wang Pingan. For the first time, a faint, approving smile appeared on his face, which had been serious the entire time.
"Student Wang Pingan, congratulations. Your body is very clean and very healthy."
He turned around, picked up the microphone, and announced to the entire arena.
"I guarantee with the reputation of an appraisal expert from the Municipal Martial Arts Association that the results of this test are true and valid!"
"Now, proceeding to the second item: strength re-test!"
Hearing this, Zhang Jianmin seemed to grab onto the last straw. He stood up abruptly, snatched the microphone from a nearby staff member, and shouted in a trembling voice.
"Yes! Strength re-test! Starting now!"
"Not taking drugs doesn't mean you didn't use other methods! If you have the ability, hit another 370 kilograms!"
He was already somewhat hysterical. He hoped that Wang Pingan's drug effects just hadn't fully worn off yet, which was why they weren't detected. As long as he couldn't hit that score this time, he would still have a glimmer of hope!
Under the gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, Wang Pingan walked calmly, step by step, toward the strength testing instrument brought by the Municipal Martial Arts Association, which was more precise and sturdier.
He didn't look at anyone. Nor did he pay attention to Zhang Jianmin's near-manic clamoring.
He walked to the testing instrument and stood still. Then, he did something that no one expected.
He closed his eyes.
The entire world fell silent instantly. The outside clamor, those doubts, those exclamations, those vicious curses—at this moment, they all drifted away from him.
All he could feel was himself.
He felt the First-Rank Peak Qi and blood surging like a river within his body. He felt the massive power lurking in his Dantian, ready to stir.
He could feel the invisible, sturdy barrier separating the First-Rank and Second-Rank.
That barrier—he had touched it countless times over the past two days without relying on the System. He was just one kick away.
Today. The gaze of tens of thousands of eyes, this trial concerning his reputation and future, this unprecedented immense pressure.
It did not become the straw that broke him. Instead, it became the tiny, crucial spark that ignited the powder keg within his body!
Right now! Wang Pingan opened his eyes abruptly!
In that instant, it was as if lightning burst from the depths of his eyes!
An Aura far exceeding anything before erupted from his not-so-sturdy body with a boom!
He poured all the boiling Qi and blood in his body, along with that determined, do-or-die will to break through the shackles, into his right fist!
No fancy moves, no unnecessary charging. Just a simple, straight punch.
Boom! This punch produced a dull and terrifying boom that surpassed any previous attempt!
The entire gymnasium floor seemed to shake along with it!
The testing instrument, made of special alloy and claimed to be able to withstand the full blow of a Third-Rank Martial Artist, emitted a piercing, overwhelmed buzzing sound!
The numbers on the screen went crazy! It didn't jump from zero, one hundred by one hundred, like before. Instead, it soared directly in a way that was almost like teleportation!
Hum! 100! 200! 248!
The moment the number broke Li Moran's record, Li Moran in the stands trembled violently, his face turning as white as paper!
But the climb of the numbers did not pause in the slightest!
300! The moment this number popped up, the elderly expert from the Municipal Martial Arts Association stood up abruptly from his seat, his face full of disbelief!
300 kilograms! This was an absolute barrier in the classification of Martial Artist Ranks!
Once Qi and blood break 300, and force condenses and releases, this is no longer in the realm of the First-Rank!
However, this was not the end! The number was still surging upwards frantically in an unstoppable posture!
350! 400! Hum!
Finally, in the dead silence where the whole world seemed to have been pressed with a pause button, that string of numbers that caused everyone's thinking to freeze finally, slowly, settled.
420 kilograms!
The entire gymnasium was terrifyingly quiet. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone widened their eyes, opened their mouths, and stared blankly at that glaring number, their minds completely blank.
They even forgot how to breathe.
The color drained from Gao Fei's face at a speed visible to the naked eye. He pointed at Wang Pingan in the arena, his lips trembling, wanting to say something, but unable to utter a single word.
Zhang Jianmin was already slumped in his chair, his eyes devoid of spirit, his face ashen.
Li Moran looked as if he had been struck by lightning. He watched that number, watched that figure calmly retracting his fist, and felt his world collapse in that moment.
Just then, the elderly expert from the Municipal Martial Arts Association, on that face that had flushed red from extreme shock, erupted with a joyful, almost uncomposed exclamation!
"Qi and blood broke 300! Force is condensed! This is not First-Rank Peak!"
"This is Second-Rank! This is a real Second-Rank Martial Artist!"
"My God! He... he actually broke through on the spot under the gaze of the entire school!"
Breaking through on the spot! Second-Rank Martial Artist! These words were like one blockbuster bomb after another, exploding in everyone's minds!
A high school senior! During a public re-test with everyone watching, under immense pressure, he broke through on the spot and was promoted to Second-Rank!
This was no longer just an ordinary Genius! This was a Prodigy! A top-tier Prodigy that could be counted on the fingers of one hand across the entire Galaxy Star!
The deathly silence was broken. I don't know who it was, but someone stood up first and clapped vigorously.
Then, a second, a third...
Thunderous applause and cheers, like a landslide and tsunami, instantly swept through the entire gymnasium!
The students who had been questioning and cursing just moments ago all stood up now, using all their strength to offer their most fervent tribute to the miracle they had witnessed with their own eyes!
"Big news! Absolute front-page headline! Shencheng No. 1 High School has given birth to its third Second-Rank high school student Martial Artist!"
In the stands, Gao Fei looked at the figure in the arena surrounded by countless cheers and applause, feeling only the world spinning, and his vision went black.
He rolled his eyes back, fell straight backward, and fainted from sheer anger.