"Congratulations!"
"You're already Mildly Fluent at this battle technique. Mr. Lu, you're definitely going to distinguish yourself in the contest!"
"You're among the top ten in the first place. With your physical sturdiness, few students in the Seven Star Stage can resist you!"
…
A few girls were enviously looking at the guy standing at the center of the school's Test Hall.
"You're flattering me…"
His hands in his back, Lu Zihan chuckled gracefully.
He had been terribly beaten up by Shen Zhe a couple of days before. However, he reflected on himself and cultivated during his treatment, allowing him to make consecutive breakthroughs!
His combat ability had also been significantly improved.
If he met Shen Zhe again, he was confident that he could more than easily brutalize him!
"Mr. Lu, I was told that you have to fight puppets in the test. Is it true?"
A girl looked at him curiously. They were all Lu Zihan's fans, just as others had fawned on Chen Feng in the past.
"The puppets are cast by sorcery. They're as strong as you, except that they are incapable of using battle techniques."
Lu Zihan nodded and continued, "Every puppet equals ten points. Generally speaking, those who are at the Beginner level of their battle techniques get ten points, and those who are Mildly Fluent get twenty points."
"So, have you defeated two puppets, Mr. Lu?"
Lu Zihan smiled proudly. "Not just that, I defeated them perfectly without suffering any injuries!"
Victories with injuries and without injuries were highly different.
"You're so good…"
"You're my idol. Do you have a girlfriend?"
Lu Zihan slightly shook her head with an amused gesture, showing that he was an expert.
"Mr. Lu, how can we be as good at battle techniques as you are?" asked one of the juniors.
"Firstly, you must have good grades. Only with great calculation abilities will you be able to figure out the best position, speed and strength in a battle. Therefore, bad students can't make progress in battle techniques."
Lu Zihan stood straight like a spear. He couldn't have looked more handsome with his white robe.
Everybody nodded.
"Secondly, perseverance is necessary. I spent almost all of my spare time practicing this battle technique. However, the hard work was worth it…"
Lu Zihan sighed and said with a wise tone, "Remember, you can't acquire anything without working hard, particularly not in battle techniques. You have to study hard without any sluggishness to reach my level…"
He frowned barely after he finished speaking.
Noticing the change on his face, the girls looked back and saw four young men.
They were exactly Shen Zhe and his friends.
"I know them. The one in the lead is Shen Zhe. He was in the last place of the ninth grade last semester!"
A girl in white said, "His pals are Zhao Chen, Wang Xiaofeng and Liu Pengyue. They are the last four places of the ninth grade. They formed a team for tomorrow's contest but were refused due to their poor ranking! They must be here to take this test and see if they can make it to the top hundred!"
Shen Zhe was quite famous in the school. Many people knew him.
"The top hundred in battle techniques?" Other people chuckled and added, "Are they here to make a fool of themselves? Battle techniques are more difficult than other subjects!"
"Of course!" the girl in white said, "Even a genius like Mr. Lu is only around the seventieth. They don't have any idea of what they're doing!"
"They're just idiots!"
The girls laughed. "They'll definitely run out in tears a moment later!"
"I think the puppets will beat them up!"
…
Lu Zihan looked at them coldly while his lips twitched. "Ignorant fools, let's see how you humiliate yourselves…"
The four young men did not notice them. They entered the test channel. Liu Pengyue walked in first and returned soon after.
Lu Zihan was stunned.
He had thought that the guy would be miserably beaten. However, even Liu Pengyue's clothes were still clean, as if he had done nothing but some shopping.
"Did he forfeit the test?" The girls were also confused. However, an announcement soon echoed in the hall.
"Liu Pengyue, thirty points. Ranking: 41st!"
"Thirty points?"
"Is he at the Familiar level in battle techniques?"
"Uninjured and passing it perfectly? How is it possible?"
…
The girls covered their mouths, their eyes popping out.
Thirty points… Was he even stronger than their idol Lu Zihan?
They all raised their heads and looked at Lu Zihan…
Didn't he say that you had to study hard to get good grades in order to pick up a battle technique?
Noticing their confusion, Lu Zihan felt like crying. "He was only lucky. I don't think the next one will be lucky again…"
He had barely said that when Zhao Chen walked in. He also returned quickly.
His clothes were also clean and intact.
The announcement continued. "Zhao Chen, thirty points. Ranking: 39th!"
The ranking for the same level was decided according to the time it took to defeat the puppets and whether or not there were injuries.
"The 39th?" Lu Zihan trembled, feeling dizzy.
"I became Mildly Fluent after working hard for two years. Those two were capable of nothing when I beat them up last time. Why are they so good after only three days?"
While he was stunned, Wang Xiaofeng had also returned.
"Wang Xiaofeng, thirty points. Ranking: 33rd!"
Lu Zihan held his chest while his eyes were reddening.
He was the 70th…
And still, the tailenders were between the 30th and the 40th. Why?
If they were truly that good at battle techniques, they couldn't have been dead last in the previous semester…
"I don't believe that Shen Zhe knows battle techniques!"
He gritted his teeth and looked at them again.
When he fought against Shen Zhe the other day, he noticed that he was only fighting with natural instincts. He didn't use any special moves.
He didn't believe that Shen Zhe could be stronger than him!
Under his watch, Shen Zhe walked into the room.
Actually, he didn't intend to take the test. However, his friends were very curious, and he also wanted to know how good he was at battle techniques.
The channel was long and narrow, blocking all the noises from the exterior.
"Register your name and measure your capabilities!"
He entered the first room and saw the line engraved next to a crystal ball.
Pressing his hand on the crystal ball, Shen Zhe asked, "Can I stay anonymous?"
He truly didn't want to attract too much attention right then.
Hum!
The crystal ball glittered, as if acknowledging his request.
The test room was maintained by sorcery; it didn't require a teacher to supervise.
Shen Zhe was relieved after seeing that his name was not demanded. He strode into the second room.
The moment he entered, he saw a row of puppets next to the wall.
Those puppets emitted intense sorcery waves and could match the strength that was measured in the first room.
Hu!
A puppet charged at him.
During the measurement, he intentionally hid the power of stage eight. So, the puppet was only at stage seven with six illuminated stars.
Knowing that the test was related to applying battle techniques, Shen Zhe simply fought back with the Falling Leaves Palm.
Crack!
The first puppet was easily crushed. Then, two more puppets appeared.
They were also crushed.
Another three!
Another four!
…
In a couple of minutes, eight puppets had shown up.
Shen Zhe flashed while performing Falling Leaves Palm, Millennial Punch, White Dragon Palm and Cloud Exertion, dashing around the room like a shadow.
While the puppets were aggressive, they were unable to deal much damage to him.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
The puppets were defeated.
He had never used the stage eight power of body polishing yet. All his attacks were based on battle techniques.
Just as he speculated, the more battle techniques he grasped, the better the control over his body and the power of the stars would be. All this would make him stronger.
Taking a long breath, Shen Zhe waited for a while, only to see that puppets stopped appearing. He then realized that all the puppets had been used up!
"This is probably enough…"
Shen Zhe shook his head and left the room.
"How about it?"
His friends approached him the moment he returned.
They knew his current abilities very well.
"Similar to yours…" Shen Zhe nodded casually.
His name was not registered anyway. Nobody would know the result as long as he didn't say anything.
"When I say I want to keep a low profile, I mean it…"
However, a sudden announcement broke Shen Zhe's illusion.
"A student who doesn't wish to reveal his name, eighty points. Ranking… First!"
"Shoot…"
The world turned dark before Shen Zhe's eyes.
The whole hall fell into absolute silence.