“Mr Jiang seems very confident.” The chief instructor, Wu Tong, smiled, but his gaze still remained on Luo Feng. Almost everyone present was looking at Luo Feng, waiting for his assessment result.
Luo Feng stood in front of the punching target. He suddenly exerted force through his feet, his body slightly turning at the waist and hips as a powerful force burst out. The strength flowed through his body in layers and was instantly transmitted into his arm. His fist was like an arrow shot from a fully drawn bow, leaving a faint afterimage. With a loud thud, it struck the target.
After the punch, Luo Feng felt a hint of joy in his eyes. “That felt great. The force was fully released.” He looked at the display screen. It showed 1101 kg.
“Good.”
“Not bad.” Several martial artists present immediately praised him.
The chief instructor Wu Tong stroked his chin and nodded. “Good kid. He remembers to keep his centre of gravity stable when punching. If he only cared about maximum power and lost his balance, the punch might be stronger, but in a fight with monsters, losing your centre of gravity is suicide. Good, very good.”
“Haha, Luo Feng is very strong in actual combat,” instructor Jiang Nian laughed. “He once defeated three advanced students whose strength and speed were not inferior to his, and he did it cleanly and decisively.”
Hearing the praise from the chief instructor and instructor, Luo Feng felt a surge of satisfaction.
Ever since childhood, he had fainted twice, and his physical strength and speed had greatly increased. From then on, he set a goal to become a powerful martial artist. A strong martial artist must have excellent combat ability. Although he had not joined the Extreme Martial Arts Gym in his youth, he searched online for basic sword techniques and movement techniques and trained at home, slowly accumulating experience.
That was also the reason his combat ability was strong.
“He is a good seedling. Pass.” Chief instructor Wu Tong casually took an ID card and swiped it on the device. “Next, Bai Yang.”
Luo Feng returned to where the candidates stood.
“Not bad, Feng,” Yang Wu said in a low voice, surprised.
Luo Feng grinned.
……
Soon, all eight candidates completed the punching power test. Only one person was unlucky, scoring only 892 kg, just below the passing line, and was eliminated. For the next stage, the speed test, only seven remained.
Click. Chief instructor Wu Tong stood by the speed testing device and turned it on.
“One by one. In reverse order from before. First, Yang Wu,” he instructed. Yang Wu had been last in the punching test, so now he was first for speed.
Yang Wu took a deep breath.
He had taken this quasi martial artist assessment nearly ten times, and he always failed at the speed test.
“Brother Yang, good luck,” Luo Feng patted him lightly on the shoulder.
“Watch me,” Yang Wu adjusted his breathing and stepped onto the track.
Instructor Jiang Nian frowned as he watched. Yang Wu was also from Yi An district, but he had failed the speed test many times.
Bang.
Yang Wu pushed off the ground with a low sound, swinging his arms powerfully. His speed quickly accelerated to the limit. His face looked ferocious, veins bulging on his forehead as he gritted his teeth and ran desperately. As he passed through the speed test zone, he even let out a suppressed roar.
“Must pass!” Yang Wu thought as he stopped.
He turned nervously and looked at the screen. Luo Feng gave him a thumbs up, and Yang Wu felt as if he had suddenly reached heaven.
“Haha, Yang Wu, lucky you. You passed just barely,” instructor Jiang Nian laughed.
Yang Wu ran over and looked at the display. 25.1 m/s.
“Phew, that was close,” Yang Wu smiled. If he had been slightly off form, he would not have reached 25 m/s and would have failed again.
“Pass,” chief instructor Wu Tong said with a smile. “Next.”
One by one, they continued the tests. In the previous punching test, Luo Feng went second. In this speed test, he was second from last.
Soon it was Luo Feng’s turn.
“Luo Feng,” chief instructor Wu Tong called.
“Feng, good luck. We still need to go to the actual combat assessment together,” Yang Wu encouraged him.
Luo Feng nodded with a smile and stepped onto the track. He took a few light breaths and bounced slightly on the spot. Unlike Yang Wu’s brute force style, Luo Feng looked relaxed.
Whoosh.
He burst forward like a leopard, incredibly fast, cutting through the speed test area like a gust of wind. It was obvious to the naked eye that his speed was higher than the others.
“Feels alright,” Luo Feng thought as he turned his head and saw Yang Wu giving him a thumbs up. Even chief instructor Wu Tong and instructor Jiang Nian nodded in approval.
He walked over and looked at the screen.
28.6 m/s.
“Very good speed, much higher than the passing line,” chief instructor Wu Tong said with a smile. “Last one, Tong Guan.”
……
After completing both the punching power and speed tests, one person was eliminated in the strength test and two in the speed test. Only five remained. The third test was the neural reaction speed assessment.
“Follow me,” chief instructor Wu Tong said, leading the group of martial artists and the remaining five candidates to the neural reaction testing room connected to the training hall.
It was a spacious room of about one hundred square metres.
Compared to the vast training hall of several thousand square metres, this room was much smaller. In the centre stood a large expensive device. At the front of it were multiple firing ports, like a Gatling gun, but with far more barrels, dozens in total.
“First, Tong Guan,” Wu Tong said.
A burly man with a beard immediately stood in the three point six metre diameter circle in front of the device.
Click. The switch was turned on.
A faint red light rose from the edge of the circle, forming a glowing barrier. Inside, the tester was surrounded by a red mist-like field.
“Remember, you must not leave the circle. If you leave, you fail. Touching the red light will deduct points,” Wu Tong said. He then adjusted the difficulty level on the machine. The settings had different grades.
The lowest was for intermediate student assessment.
The highest was for top level martial artists.
“Begin,” Wu Tong pressed the red button.
Buzz, buzz. The machine began rotating rapidly. Dozens of barrels fired red light shots at varying speeds and angles, chaotic and unpredictable, shooting into the circle.
The bearded man stared forward and quickly dodged in all directions, weaving through the gaps.
Thud, thud. He was hit twice.
These “bullets” were rubber tipped, low in power and not painful.
Time passed quickly.
He continued dodging desperately for a full minute.
Buzz. The machine slowed and stopped. The screen displayed results.
“Within 60 seconds, hit 57 times, touched red light 3 times. Fail, eliminated,” Wu Tong said, handing back the ID card.
“Just a little short,” the man muttered and walked out.
“Next, Luo Feng,” Wu Tong said.
Luo Feng and Yang Wu exchanged a fist bump, then he stepped into the circle.
Standing inside, he faced the device. He took a deep breath. Before joining the martial arts gym, he often trained his movement techniques at home. This was his strongest area.
“Before university exams, I was usually hit 50 to 55 times in 60 seconds. Now my physical ability has improved, my reaction should be better. Passing should not be a problem.”
“Remember, do not step out of the circle. That is an instant fail. Touching the red light also deducts points,” Wu Tong said, then pressed the button.
Buzz, buzz.
The machine accelerated rapidly, spinning at high speed. Dozens of barrels instantly fired red shots in all directions.
Luo Feng’s eyes locked in, calculating trajectories. His body moved like a flexible cat, dodging left, right, forward and back. He avoided many shots, though some unavoidable ones still hit him.
Around him, the observing martial artists began discussing.
“This young man is good. His reaction speed is even better.”
“Yes, very fast. His movement technique is solid. Look at his footwork. It is like a cat’s paw pads, always maintaining balance and allowing instant direction changes. Without years of training, this level is impossible.”
They were all impressed.
Physical strength can be trained, but movement skills require experience.
Buzz. The machine slowed and stopped.
“Within 60 seconds, hit 28 times, no contact with red light. Excellent,” Wu Tong said with a smile. “Luo Feng, congratulations. Once your official documents are issued and your identity is registered, you will be a quasi martial artist.”
Luo Feng clenched his fist tightly. “Finally, I succeeded.”
He had finally become a quasi martial artist.
“Luo Feng, on 1st August, martial artist combat assessment. Assemble at the Extreme Martial Arts Gym in the morning. You will go outside the human base city with other candidates to hunt monsters. If you pass that assessment, you will become a true martial artist,” instructor Jiang Nian said with a smile.