「Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.」
The day for the intensive training class's second resource allocation and ranking challenge had arrived.
Inside Training Hall One, the atmosphere was even more tense than the first time.
After half a month of arduous training and skewed resource distribution, everyone's strength had changed. An invisible spark of competition filled the air.
The two teachers, Zhou Yun and Wang Wenhai, stood at the front. Before them sat the communal Life Energy Level Tester.
"Same rules as last time. First, we'll test your current Life Energy Levels. This will be an important reference for resource allocation and the challenges." Zhou Yun's voice was cool and clear as her gaze swept over the twenty-four young, tense faces below. "Come up one by one, according to the previous ranking."
"First place, Zeng Bonan," Wang Wenhai called out.
Zeng Bonan walked out of the line with a calm expression and placed his palm on the sensor plate.
The device hummed, numbers flickered, and finally settled.
[Life Energy Level: 11.1]
A wave of hushed gasps rippled through the students below.
An Energy Level of 11.1!
Zeng Bonan had really broken through to Level 11, and he'd even improved slightly after stabilizing his power!
"Second place, Hu Haobo."
Hu Haobo strode forward, his eyes sharp, and pressed his palm down.
[Life Energy Level: 10.9]
Only a single step away from Level 11!
His progress was just as astounding. Clearly, he hadn't slacked off at all in the past half a month.
"Third place, Xu Wuyi."
Everyone's gaze instantly focused on him. Xu Wuyi's performance in the last combat assessment was shocking, but his Life Energy Level was his weak point. After half a month, how much could he have improved?
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Xu Wuyi walked forward, his expression still composed. He placed his palm against the sensor plate.
WHIRRR—
The numbers flickered for a few seconds before a clear figure appeared.
[Life Energy Level: 11.0]
"11.0?!"
"He's at Level 11 too?!"
"It's only been half a month... From 10.2 to 11.0? How did he do that?"
The students below instantly erupted, a cacophony of gasps and disbelieving murmurs rising and falling.
Students like Shi Yi, who had advanced from the regular classes, were especially dumbfounded.
They had given their all just to raise their Energy Level by 0.3 or 0.4 in half a month, which was already a difficult feat. Yet Xu Wuyi had directly jumped by 0.8, crossing the threshold of Level 11 in a single leap!
'Just how in the world does this guy train?'
Zeng Bonan looked at Xu Wuyi, a flicker of surprise in his eyes that quickly transformed into even stronger fighting spirit.
Hu Haobo stood with his arms crossed, his brow slightly furrowed. His eyes revealed a hint of helplessness, which was soon replaced by a trace of acceptance.
But in the crowd, the person with the most complicated expression was none other than Liu Jing. She had trained as if her life depended on it for the past half a month.
Relying on a fierce determination born from her previous defeat, as well as support from her family, her Life Energy Level had risen from 10.4 to 10.7. In her own eyes, this pace was already extremely fast.
She had originally held onto a sliver of hope, intending to challenge Xu Wuyi again during the combat challenge to avenge her previous humiliation.
But when she saw that glaring "11.0", the flame that had just been kindled in her heart felt as if it had been doused by a bucket of ice water poured over her head.
Level 11.
It was a qualitative change.
10.9 and 11.0 might only seem to be a 0.1 difference, but they represented two completely different tiers.
The difference in physical conditioning brought by a higher Life Energy Level was all-encompassing—strength, speed, reflexes, total Qi and Blood, and recovery speed...
In the virtual arena, the system would simulate real-world physical stats.
This meant that if she were to challenge Xu Wuyi now, she would be facing an opponent whose physical conditioning completely crushed hers.
Before, she could still rely on the subtlety of her Spirit Finger to try and find an opening. But now, faced with an absolute gap in strength and speed, the effectiveness of technique was drastically compressed.
Even if Xu Wuyi only performed at his previous level, relying solely on the advantage of his Life Energy Level, she would have almost no chance of winning.
That profound sense of powerlessness once again washed over her.
She looked at the calm Xu Wuyi on the platform, her lips moved, but in the end, she said nothing. She just silently lowered her head, trying to calm her turbulent emotions.
'The path of Martial Arts is long; it's not about speed... it's not about speed... But surely no one can be both far-reaching and fast, right?'
'Impossible, impossible!'
Zhou Yun took in all the reactions from the students, especially Liu Jing's expression, and understood what was happening.
She calmly announced, "Xu Wuyi, Life Energy Level 11.0. Recorded."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the entire hall with a hint of admonishment. "It seems that in this past half-month, some have made lightning-fast progress, while others have advanced steadily."
"But remember, Life Energy Level is not the sole measure of strength, but it is the foundation for all other standards. I hope you will all guard against arrogance and impatience, and continue to work hard."
The testing continued.
Fourth place, Liu Jing, with an Energy Level of 10.7.
Fifth place...
The subsequent students mostly hovered between Energy Levels 10.3 and 10.6, a clear gap having formed between them and the top three—especially Zeng Bonan and Xu Wuyi, who had stepped into Level 11.
However, with the school's funding, the number of students in the intensive training class who had reached Level 10.0 now exceeded twenty. Only a scattered few remained below Level 10.
With a little less than half a year left until the college entrance exams, reaching Level 10 meant that a student could get into a decent Martial Arts University.
Once the testing was complete, Wang Wenhai stepped forward and announced in a booming voice, "The Life Energy Level test is over. Next up is the ranking challenge segment."
"The rules are the same as before. Anyone who wishes to issue a challenge may begin now."
The hall fell silent for a moment.
Many eyes swept over the top-ranked students, lingering for a moment on Xu Wuyi and Zeng Bonan in particular, but they all eventually moved away.
A Life Energy Level of 11 was like an invisible chasm, daunting the vast majority of them.
Hu Haobo's gaze flickered a few times, but in the end, he didn't speak up.
He was confident that his combat skills were second to none, but challenging Zeng Bonan or Xu Wuyi when there was such a significant gap in their Life Energy Levels was not a wise move.
He needed to break through to Level 11 first.
Liu Jing, for her part, kept her head down the entire time, not saying a word.
After a brief silence, the challenges finally began. Regardless of the odds, there were always people willing to fight for a higher tier of resources.
Even Hu Haobo and Liu Jing were challenged, but the results were a foregone conclusion. Their combat abilities were not to be underestimated.
Only Zeng Bonan and Xu Wuyi seemed to be detached from the proceedings, as no one dared to challenge them.
Xu Wuyi quietly watched the matches in the hall, his heart calm. He had never thought that a temporary improvement meant much.
Practicing Martial Arts was like rowing a boat upstream; the moment you slacked off, you would be overtaken. Even if you never slacked off, there was no guarantee that some genius wouldn't catch up.
He couldn't control others' progress. All he could do was work hard, and then work harder.
The challenge segment neared its end in a somewhat subdued atmosphere.
"Since there are no new challenges, then this time's rankings..." Wang Wenhai's booming voice rang out as he prepared to announce the results.
"Wait a moment."
Zhou Yun's cool voice interrupted him.
She took a step forward, her calm gaze sweeping over the students before finally landing on Xu Wuyi and Hu Haobo.
"A change needs to be made regarding the second and third-place rankings," Zhou Yun said in a calm tone. "Xu Wuyi's Life Energy Level is 11.0; Hu Haobo's is 10.9. Although in principle, the results are determined by combat, Level 11 is a threshold. Therefore, Xu Wuyi should be ranked second, and Hu Haobo third."
She then looked at Hu Haobo and said, "Hu Haobo, if you disagree, you may issue a challenge from the third-place position."