"Forest Breeze" is the only defensive form in the Flowing Light Sword Technique. It cleverly uses the rotation of the sword's tip and edge to deflect enemy attacks, effectively dissipating the force...
Silence...
Outside the small martial arts room, the watching students were as if silenced by a mute spell, all struck dumb.
"Ethan actually withstood the third form of the Smooth Circle Staff Technique: 'Unerring Strike!'"
"Doesn't that mean his martial skill has reached the advanced beginner stage?!"
Class 3's monitor, William King, exclaimed. As the monitor, he thought he knew every student well. But Ethan's performance shocked him.
Is that how the famous turtle stew with goji berries works as nourishment? Advanced beginner stage! A skill level like that—even in the elite Hongzhi Class—would place him among the top! A dark horse! Absolutely a dark horse!
Ethan fought daily, risking life and death to protect the crystal and fend off monsters. His skill progression naturally couldn't be compared with ordinary students, even if his talent was average.
A few days after the senior first semester final exams, Ethan's sword skill broke through to the advanced beginner stage.
Using "Forest Breeze," he held the line against the fourth wave of monsters, which boosted his mental strength to level 5.
This mental strength increase not only enhanced his memory but also improved his body control, accelerating his martial skill progress.
Improving roughly 1% daily, he quickly reached 89%, then got stuck. The "complete" stage was truly difficult to break. Meanwhile, the fifth wave of monsters was even more brutal.
Ethan had been failing for a whole month.
Meanwhile, the training robots' martial skills also skyrocketed, soon hitting a terrifying number—70%!
Their staffs moved so fast they left multiple afterimages, feeling as if several staffs attacked at once. The whooshing sound of wind was sharper than ever.
Yet Ethan still performed "Forest Breeze," guiding the force of the robot's staff away, seemingly with plenty of energy left.
75%. Ethan showed no sign of defeat.
Seeing this, not only the watching students but even Ryan Ling found it hard to believe.
By his estimation, Ethan's limit was around 70%. Yet under the robot's 75% pressure, Ethan still moved with ease!
80%! Ethan still wasn't defeated and even held a slight advantage!
A genius like this in a regular class!
Ryan's gaze darkened. Ethan's performance far exceeded his expectations.
He wondered if Ethan could still surprise him and reach the "complete" beginner stage!
89%! Ethan's expression was serious. The force and speed the robot now unleashed matched his own almost exactly.
He decided to flawlessly execute the entire Flowing Light Sword Technique from beginning to end.
Perhaps under this pressure, he could figure out the fourth form—Azure Dragon Stab!
Ethan's eyes flickered. He suddenly stepped back and swung his sword:
First Form: Draw the Ground Prison!
Then a consecutive upward slash pushed back the robot's heavy strike.
Second Form: Golden Drum Reverberation!
Quickly and skillfully, he guided the sword's edge to deflect the robot's strongest continuous staff strikes.
Third Form: Forest Breeze!
So that's how it works!
Now Ethan's momentum surged. Under the robot's staff, he felt as if he had suddenly comprehended something—
Weapons!
The monsters inside the crystal space didn't use weapons, which made Ethan's combat style incomplete.
He always felt something was missing.
Now the metallic clang clang of clashing weapons and the vibration felt in his palm instantly revealed the truth.
That 89% skill rating suddenly loosened—a feeling of breakthrough!
The fourth form, Azure Dragon Stab, differed from normal sword techniques. It wasn't a slash but a thrust—like a spear jab, like a dagger, sudden and unexpected.
Got it!
If he could execute the entire Flowing Light Sword Technique again from the start...
Suddenly, the wind howled in Ethan's ears. A flurry of staff shadows appeared from nowhere, instantly cutting off all his retreat.
"Oh no! The fourth form of the Smooth Circle Staff Technique: Sweeping Army!"
Ethan swung his sword desperately to carve a path, but his strength wasn't enough and he was swept out of the arena.
90%!
The number above the robot's head marked Ethan's defeat and the test result.
89%! The advanced beginner stage limit.
After a brief silence, the crowd erupted.
"Oh my god, 89%! How did he do it? This score might even make the Blue Star Youth Leaderboard!"
"Waking from a dream, the dark horse is my brother!" Torey rhymed excitedly.
"218.05!" Henry Han quickly calculated Ethan's martial skill score. This number was definitely the highest score of today's test!
Not even the top two Hongzhi Class students could beat it!
Henry trained daily with a martial artist and knew exactly what Ethan's skill meant.
A genius! Absolutely a genius!
Now all classes had finished the test. The converted scores were announced.
Just when everyone thought Ethan would break into the Hongzhi Class as a dark horse, a twist appeared.
First place: Henry Han — Academic: 186, Martial Arts: 370.25, Total: 556.25
Second place: Ethan Chen — Academic: 144, Martial Arts: 410.95, Total: 554.95
Third place: ...
"Ethan's comeback failed! He lost by 1.3 points!"
No one expected this—not even Henry himself.
Ethan's martial skill score far outpaced everyone else, compensating for his weaker strength and speed tests.
Henry scored well on martial skill too, at 59%, but it wasn't enough.
What no one expected was Henry was a scholar! His academic score was a staggering 620 before conversion!
This score would rank high even in a liberal arts class, yet he came from a martial arts class! A total domination by dimensions!
If Henry had stayed in a liberal arts class, he might have scored 700.
Looking at his second-place result and the regretful expressions around him, Ethan felt little.
Maybe because life hadn't been smooth for him, failure was a constant. But the outcome wasn't bad.
Though his family wasn't wealthy, both brothers made their mark—one entering a top junior high, the other a top senior high.
Even with monthly mortgage and blood tonic expenses, his family never complained.
Though he failed to enter the Hongzhi Class this time, given the current score and remaining time, he still had a chance at one of the eight prestigious universities.
After the test ended, Ryan Ling returned to his private office.
"Wang, connect me to Lee Mook."
"Yes, master!"
The connection was fast. A middle-aged man's 3D image appeared above Ryan's smart bracelet.
"Principal, the tests have concluded."
Lee Mook was reviewing files on his computer but glanced at the 3D Ryan on the bracelet.
"Just send me the summary report. I'll sign it later. No need to report to me personally."
Then he turned back to his files.
Ryan smirked but said nothing. Instead, with a beep, he sent a file to Lee Mook.
Lee Mook glanced at it, ready to add it to his to-do list, but realized it wasn't the Hongzhi Class test summary.
It was a single student's score report.
"Senior Three Class 3, Ethan Chen?"
"The top scorer for this test?"
"Life Intensity 5.1?"
Frowning, he looked at the 3D figure.
"Ryan, you sent the wrong file!"