“Teacher, I won’t choose either.”
“I want to continue studying Martial Science.”
Two weeks ago, when that young man had stood in his office and spoken those words calmly yet firmly, his expression—and those incomparably resolute eyes—suddenly surfaced in his mind again with perfect clarity.
Chen Meng sighed softly in his heart.
He finally understood where that faint sense of tension had come from.
In this kid, he saw the shadow of his former self.
Was this not the very road he himself had once walked?
His family circumstances had been poor as well. He had no illustrious background, let alone inexhaustible resources.
To reach where he was today, what he had relied on was a Martial Dao heart that had never wavered in the slightest, and day after day, year after year, painstaking effort that bordered on self-torture.
Over these past two weeks, Lin Ye must also have paid a price in hardship and sweat that ordinary people could hardly imagine.
But the cruel truth was that the tests for qi-blood and life index were tests of one’s foundation. There were no tricks to speak of. Everything came down to the coldest, most objective numbers.
If you could make it, you could make it. If you couldn’t, you couldn’t.
Judging from the astonishing punching force Lin Ye had previously displayed, enough to rival the top students, Chen Meng was ninety percent certain that his qi-blood index had most likely met the standard. There might even be quite a pleasant surprise.
What he was truly most worried about was Lin Ye’s life index.
This was the most fundamental thing for a martial artist, the most direct reflection of a person’s talent and potential.
To a certain extent, a person’s talent was basically determined at birth.
There were methods to alter it later in life.
But without question, that required piling up massive amounts of resources—either soaking in medicinal baths brewed from all kinds of heavenly treasures since childhood, or, after deciding to apply for Martial Science, continuously taking gene optimization fluids and pills.
With Lin Ye’s ordinary family background, this was clearly impossible.
If, in the end, Lin Ye failed only because his life index did not meet the standard, and as long as the gap was not too large...
Chen Meng had already silently made up his mind. He would see if he could use some connections to help Lin Ye fight for a chance to apply.
“Beep—”
Just as his thoughts were racing, a crisp notification tone pulled Chen Meng back to reality.
On the light screen, the first piece of data from Lin Ye’s test results slowly appeared:
“Qi-Blood Index: 22.01”!
In that instant, Chen Meng felt his vision blur.
Li Jun was even more directly dumbfounded.
He had imagined that Lin Ye’s qi-blood value might have improved greatly, perhaps even surpassing 15 points, but he had never, ever imagined it would be exaggerated to such an inconceivable degree!
Only two weeks ago, Lin Ye’s qi-blood value had been just 10.8!
How could it possibly have more than doubled in such a short time?
Not far away, Zhang Yuqing had not moved her gaze from that screen ever since Lin Ye entered the testing chamber.
At this moment, when the qi-blood value of 22.01 appeared, her face did not reveal much shock.
Because she was the only one who had personally witnessed Lin Ye’s almost perverse training method in the gravity room.
That kind of frenzied squeezing of his own physical limits had made even her feel somewhat inferior.
Was it not only natural for him to possess a qi-blood value of this level?
What she truly felt puzzled about was why such an outstanding, such hardworking student had been placed by the school in an ordinary class like Class Seven.
With his strength and level of effort, he should at least have been in Class Two. He was even qualified to be in the same class as her.
Just then, the proctor in charge of the punching force test once again strode forward. Pointing at the glaring data on the screen, as if his occupational habit had flared up again, he seemed about to say something.
Without question, in his system of understanding, this was yet another abnormal data point that needed to be marked and reviewed.
But this time, before he could speak, Chen Meng’s burly figure had already taken a step forward. Like an iron tower, he blocked him directly.
His eyes were cold as blades, filled with undisguised warning.
Without question, if this blind fool dared to publicly demand a retest one more time...
Chen Meng would absolutely erupt on the spot and let him know exactly why the flowers were so red.
At that very moment, another examiner beside them, who looked to be in his fifties and had far deeper experience, was quick-eyed and quick-handed. He grabbed the hotheaded proctor by the arm and yanked him away.
Then he dragged him to the side, lowered his voice, and berated him beside his ear, “Do you have a death wish? You dare provoke Mad Tiger? Is this your first day proctoring at No. 1 High?”
That proctor was clearly a hotheaded rookie who had not been working for long. He still wanted to stiffen his neck and insist on handling things according to the rules and procedures.
But that veteran, who had long since become a seasoned old hand, woke him up with a single sentence: “For a five-thousand-a-month job, why are you risking your life against someone like him?”
The hotheaded proctor suddenly understood.
In the end, he nodded and said nothing more.
Time passed, minute by minute, second by second.
But Lin Ye’s second data point, which was also the most crucial one, still had not been calculated.
The screen only displayed the words “Analyzing data...”
Just when even Chen Meng began muttering inwardly that this time, perhaps there really was something wrong with the equipment...
Finally, amid the anticipation of countless eyes, Lin Ye’s second crucial assessment value slowly appeared.
【Life Index: 14.67】!
Whoa—!!!
Among the students and teachers of Dongjiang No. 1 High standing in the very front row, those who could clearly see that line of numbers collectively erupted into an incredulous uproar!
They were close, so naturally they saw it most clearly, and they understood even better what that number represented.
The students behind them, whose view was blocked by the wall of people in front, did not know what had happened and kept asking, “What is it? What happened?”
Then, one number began spreading from mouth to mouth among everyone present.
“Holy shit, his life index is 14.67!”
“No way. How can it be that high?!”
Chen Meng finally lost some of his composure.
He rushed forward and once again confirmed the final value displayed outside the qi-blood testing chamber.
After confirming there was no mistake, countless questions surged into his mind like a flood breaking through a dam.
How was this possible?
A rapid increase in qi-blood value over a short period of time, while rare, was ultimately still possible.
After all, boys and girls of this age were at the peak of physical development. There would always be special cases with accumulated potential finally bursting forth, whose strength erupted explosively at a certain stage.
But life index... How could it, how could it possibly increase this much in just two short weeks?
Could it be...
His Martial Dao spirituality had awakened?
In Chen Meng’s mind, this single reasonable explanation flashed past in an instant.