The training field was bustling with servants bringing in stone stools, while the candidates received their respective numbers.
Chu Ning glanced at his own tag: 68.
A good omen.
Using numbers to replace names, the school's explanation was to prevent favoritism.
Chu Ning scoffed at this claim, well aware which numbers required special attention; the instructors knew all too well.
In the entire field, there were no fewer than two hundred candidates. Chu Ning had just stood in the field for a while, listening to the conversations among the candidates. He realized that about half were there just for the excitement.
These people seeking the thrill, just like Chu Ning, were a year or two shy of seventeen and had signed up only to experience the atmosphere and accumulate some knowledge.
Just like the college entrance examination, children of the wealthy could take the exam in their penultimate year of high school to get a feel for what it was like.
The school didn't charge a fee for registration, but each candidate was only allowed three attempts to enroll. If they failed to pass the assessment after three registrations, they were not permitted to sign up again, even if they were not yet seventeen.
Without this rule, it's feared that children under ten would come to register for the experience.
As the school servants finished arranging the stone stools, the instructors began dividing the candidates into groups by number. With more than two hundred people, each having three opportunities to lift the stone stools, the school arranged for multiple candidates to be assessed at the same time to speed up the process.
Chu Ning was placed in the fifth group, overseen by an instructor with pale skin and a goatee.
In Chu Ning's group, there were six people in total, and the five before him all failed—he was the last.
"Focus your mind, steady your breath, and don't let others disturb you,"
As he approached the stone stool, the instructor suddenly spoke up, which took Chu Ning by surprise; the instructor had been silent during the previous five candidates' assessments.
It seems the arrest officer's clout had an effect.
But just a few reminders won't help; I still can't lift a stone stool weighing two hundred pounds.
While pondering, Chu Ning bent down and gripped the handles on the upper part of the stone stool, then slowly exerted force. However, he could only lift the stool up to his waist and no further.
Chu Ning gritted his teeth, his veins bulging on his hands, but, in the end, he lacked the strength. The stone stool slipped from his grasp and dropped to the ground.
Bang!
The stone stool hit the floor and broke in half.
Chu Ning was stunned. Was this stone stool made of shoddy materials?
Was the bureaucracy of this era even more corrupt than in my previous life?
The goateed instructor's expression barely changed. He simply said to a servant standing to one side, "The stone stool is broken; bring another one."
The servant quickly lifted another stone stool, identical in size and appearance to the previous one, placing it before Chu Ning.
"Continue," the goateed instructor said coldly.
Chu Ning rubbed his arms, his hands gripping the handles of the stone stool once again. He gave it a light test. His expression first showed shock, then returned to normal, but his eyes sparkled with understanding.
So this is how the school cheats.
Damn, they really know how to play the game.
With the previous stone stool, no matter how lightly he exerted force, it wouldn't budge, but this stool moved when he applied just a bit of strength.
This meant that the new stone stool was much lighter than the previous one, and he could lift it.
Yet, both stone stools appeared identical from the outside.
When Chu Ning lifted the stone stool to his knees, he had a good idea of its weight. It should be around one hundred pounds, and his strength was about one hundred and twenty pounds. Lifting the stool would be no problem at all.
However, he chose not to lift it outright but instead pretended to struggle, lifting the stool to his waist before seeming unable to hold it any longer, deliberately letting go and forfeiting his second attempt.
The goateed instructor: ...
On the last attempt, Chu Ning finally managed to lift the stone stool above his head with his face turning red and his arms slightly trembling.
One breath, two breaths... five breaths...
"Passed!"
Upon hearing the instructor's remark, Chu Ning, whether from excitement or lack of strength, let the stone stool slip from his grasp and it fell from above his head, smashing to pieces once again.
The goateed instructor looked at Chu Ning with a meaningful gaze and said, "Go to the passed area and wait."
Chu Ning bowed to the instructor and then headed to the area for those who had passed.
A quarter of an hour later, all the candidates had finished their assessments. In total, only thirty-six had passed.
For those who did not pass, some bowed their heads in tears—these were the candidates who were already sixteen. Failing this time meant they had no more chances to join the school.
Others left with faces full of regret, those who could still try again next year.
Those candidates who failed were led away through the side door by the school's servants. At last, only the thirty-six successful candidates remained on the entire training field.
"First, congratulations to all of you for passing the assessment and becoming students of the academy. This year's candidates were quite impressive, with the strongest lifting three hundred and twenty catties, and seven others lifting over two hundred and fifty catties."
As soon as the head instructor had spoken, all the candidates, including Chu Ning, turned their gaze towards the two individuals at the front—a male and a female.
They had achieved the best results in the assessment.
The male had lifted three hundred and twenty catties, and the female student had also lifted three hundred catties.
"Starting from tomorrow, Instructors Chen and Liu will be teaching you martial arts. You may go home today and just need to arrive at the academy before Chen Time tomorrow."
After introducing the two instructors beside him, Chu Ning suddenly realized that the instructor with the goat beard was Liu Junshan—he wondered why the man had offered him advice.
Should he take the opportunity to give the note to Instructor Liu while everyone was dispersing?
Chu Ning didn't struggle with the decision for long. As he saw the candidates scattering and Liu Junshan about to leave, he hurriedly followed him.
"Student Chu Ning would like to thank Instructor Liu for the advice given just now." Chu Ning respectfully bowed to Instructor Liu.
Liu Junshan stopped in his tracks, "What's your true strength?"
Chu Ning was startled. Was he really being so direct?
But seeing that there was no one else around, he replied in a low voice, "My true strength is around one hundred and twenty catties."
A twitch appeared at the corner of Liu Junshan's mouth. Chu Ning's true strength was close to what he had surmised, which was precisely why he had instructed the servant to bring out a stone lock weighing one hundred and ten catties.
The phrase he told the servant was a code, understood only by the academy's people, referring to the one hundred and ten catty stone lock. Other weights had different terms.
"So you pretended to struggle?"
"I thought it would look more convincing, to avoid the suspicion of those with ulterior motives."
Liu Junshan fell silent. Despite his young age, he had considered things so thoroughly.
Seeing Liu Junshan's silence, Chu Ning took the note out of his sleeve, "Instructor Liu, this is from Uncle Huang for you."
After reading the note briefly, Liu Junshan put it away and spoke indifferently, "Since Director Huang asked me to look after you, if you have any questions about martial arts in the future, feel free to come to my yard and ask."
After saying this, Liu Junshan walked away, and Chu Ning was stunned.
Director Huang?
Wasn't he Arrest Officer Huang?
So had Arrest Officer Huang been promoted?
Had he gone from head of the station to director?
A few seconds later, Chu Ning began to smile wryly—Instructor Liu was giving him a hint.
The lie he had portrayed of being closely connected to Director Huang's family must have been seen through by the academy's instructors long ago.
If the relationship were truly close, how could he not know about Director Huang's promotion?
He couldn't blame his old auntie; how could an elderly woman be expected to know such things? It was good enough that she remembered Director Huang had once been colleagues with his cheap father.
...
...
Huang Residence.
"So he comes to express his gratitude immediately after passing the assessment?"
Hearing the butler's report, Huang Zhongtai also smiled.
"Yes, that Chu Ning said that you and his father had been good friends when his father was alive and that you are his elder. He naturally wanted to inform you, to share the joy with you. The Chu Family lives in the south of the city; judging by the time, I guess Chu Ning might have come straight here from the academy."
"The boy is quite clever, trying to solidify this 'uncle' relationship with me," remarked Huang Zhongtai.
"Master, Chu Ning seems aware of your current position. He also mentioned that you have been appointed as the Director of the Patrol," said the butler.
"Oh?"
Huang Zhongtai rhythmically tapped his fingers on the desk. If Chu Ning was clever, he would have referred to him as Arrest Officer Huang before the assessment. The academy's instructors were smart enough to deduce from Chu Ning's words that there was no deep connection between him and the Chu Family, and they would not reveal his current rank to Chu Ning.
That's because they were unsure why he had decided to help Chu Ning.
There was only one possibility—that Chu Ning's display of talent during the assessment had caught Liu Junshan's eye, who had taken a liking to his potential and decided to give him some advice.
"Since Old Liu has taken a liking to the boy, and Chu Ning seems grateful..." Huang Zhongtai pondered for a moment, "I am unwell and not fit to meet him. Go to the storeroom and take some nourishing medicinal ingredients to give to him, and tell him not to let Uncle Huang down."
The butler laughed upon hearing this, "Don't worry, master; I understand what to do."
A few minutes later, Chu Ning, carrying a large bundle of medicinal ingredients out of the Huang Residence, started to feel somewhat bemused by all of this.
They're all crafty indeed.
This was another reminder not to underestimate the people of this world, even with the vast advantage of information he had from the real world.