"Whoa! What's going on?""1300 jin of punching force? And from a Level 5.1 Life Strength?!"The students outside lost their minds as they stared at the updated leaderboard, eyes wide in disbelief."Which class is this Ethan Chen from? That strong? How come his name wasn't in the top 50 last year?" Some students were shocked, others doubtful.
The students in Class 3 exchanged glances, equally stunned. To them, Ethan was a top-ten student in their class, doing well in both academics and martial arts, ranking among the upper tier. Last semester's final exam placed him tied for 59th in the grade with a student from Class 7. Not even close to the top 50—those spots were all taken by Hongzhi Class students. The regular classes mostly ranged from 31st to 50th place. It wasn't that Ethan wasn't outstanding, but today's result far exceeded his previous performance.
"Damn! This guy might really get into Hongzhi Class!""I'm just saying," Toby Ray exclaimed in shock.
Most students here treated this test as a pre-college entrance exam baseline, not expecting miracles. Even Ryan Ling, who had been expressionless, stroked his chin thoughtfully."A Life Strength of 5.1 usually corresponds to about 1000 jin of punching force. But he's hitting 1300.""That means he's tapped into 30% more of his body's potential power.""No one in Hongzhi Class can do that, and he's from a regular class?""Could it be his Martial Skill...?"
To be safe, Ryan reviewed the replay silently, confirmed no foul play, then hit confirm next to Ethan's name. Score approved."Phew, score confirmed!" Ethan's name changed from black to green, signaling official approval, dispelling some doubts. Ethan felt a surge of happiness. He knew this top spot wouldn't last long, but it was still nice to be first temporarily.
Although he unlocked more internal strength, he understood the basics: to get high marks in Strength and Speed tests, Life Strength was key. The higher the Life Strength, the greater the power and speed. His record would soon be surpassed by wealthy, resource-rich students. Despite drinking two packs of Vitality Milk daily, his financial background couldn't compare.
Soon, the explosive power test for Class 3 concluded. Ethan was lucky to keep first place for now. Toby Ray scored 60 points, just passing."You did great, kid," Toby patted Ethan's shoulder, wearing a "just as I thought" look."Was it all expected?" Ethan teased."Exactly to the decimal!" Toby replied firmly.
Several classmates gathered, asking if Ethan's family suddenly got rich—eating expensive turtle stew with goji berries every meal and hiring a private Martial Artist coach for daily training! Ethan had been steadily improving since starting high school, climbing from the bottom to the upper ranks, but this leap surprised everyone.
"Ethan, what year are those turtles from? I want my dad to get me some!" joked class monitor William Shouren seriously.Ethan had no reply.
Next was the continuous power test, where Ethan shone again with first place. Other classes finished in turn, surpassing his scores.First place: Han Yiming: Explosive Power 80 points, Continuous Power 81 points, weighted score 112.7Second: Leonard Chester: Explosive Power 79 points, Continuous Power 75 points, weighted 107.8Third: Bruce Cooper: Explosive Power 76 points, Continuous Power 74 points, weighted 105Ethan's scores: 71 and 66, weighted 95.9, ranked 8th.
Leonard and Bruce's Life Strength were 5.9 and 5.8 respectively, while Han Yiming's was an impressive 6.1—enough for Hongzhi Class admission. Even if the school hadn't held this test, no one would object. A 0.1 difference in Life Strength meant a noticeable gap, let alone a full 1.0—an absolute domination.
Many students had thought if only they had Han Yiming's family background, they'd be stronger. But no "ifs" exist—he's him, you're you.
After the Strength tests came Speed tests, divided into Sprint and Agility. To keep fatigue levels consistent, Class 2's first group started again.
Ethan ranked 9th in speed, causing his overall total to drop two places to 10th. The top three remained Han Yiming, Leonard Chester, and Bruce Cooper. But Ethan was unfazed.
He was familiar with this kind of comeback story. When he first entered Liang City No.1 High School, he ranked 44th out of 45. Thanks to brutal battles in the Crystal Space and improved mental control from surviving, he steadily improved. By last semester's final exam, he was top ten in class.
"You may be stronger now, but I will surpass you!" Ethan wasn't empty boasting—it was confidence born from continuously pushing his limits. He trained daily with no slack: brutal basics by day, fighting monsters in Crystal Space by night. Every time he died, he woke up refreshed to train harder—ripped apart, studied, won with difficulty, and grew stronger. His entire last two and a half years of high school were 24/7 training with zero rest. Ethan called himself a "hardworking genius."
Ryan Ling watched Ethan seriously. Even top-ranked Han Yiming got little attention from him. Checking Ethan's file during the break shocked him:Ethan entered with Life Strength 2.1 in freshman year; now 5.1. A 3-level increase in two and a half years was slow by Hongzhi Class standards. His family clearly wasn't well-off; despite effort, improvement was modest.
What shocked Ryan most was Ethan's Martial Skill—a method to unlock latent body power. Training only starts in freshman year because too early damages the body. All freshmen choose one basic Martial Skill for free; Ethan chose Flowing Light Sword Technique. At last semester's final, Ethan reached 55% of the Beginner Level!
Martial Skill has five ranks: Beginner (1%-29%), Intermediate (30%-59%), Advanced (60%-89%), Mastery (90%-99%), and Limit (100%). The final exam was two months ago; based on Ethan's recent tests, Ryan suspected he had already reached Advanced Beginner Level—a stunning feat for a regular class student. Only two students in Hongzhi Class had reached Advanced Beginner.
Ryan's anticipation grew. After confirming all scores, he announced:"Martial Skill assessment, begin!"