At that moment…
"Rip!"
With a sudden burst, the always-retreating Brandon Hughes stepped forward, thrusting his staff with explosive force. Like a striking viper, the tip of his staff deflected Logan's spear with pinpoint accuracy, sending it flying.
"Thud!"
The staff struck down, lightly tapping the back of Logan's hand. A sharp pain shot through him, and by reflex, he released his grip.
Clang—his spear hit the ground.
The staff was already withdrawn.
The classroom fell into dead silence. Every student stared at the scene before them.
Brandon Hughes had only taken over their martial arts class last semester.
Yet, during the end-of-term martial assessment in their sophomore year, he hadn't demonstrated such astonishing footwork and precision in controlling his strikes.
"Is this Mr. Hughes' true strength?"
"His movements were so slow… I might even be faster than him, but his footwork—" The students were stunned. Many of them had physical attributes exceeding Level 5.0.
Throughout their training, they had known that Brandon Hughes was physically formidable and highly skilled in martial arts.
But when he instructed them, he had never used the speed and power of a Level 5 physique against them.
Training demonstrations and real combat were two entirely different things.
Many of them had seen incredible fight videos online.
But watching a battle on a screen was vastly different from witnessing one up close.
On the screen at the back of the classroom, a number appeared—"245 points."
The score was calculated through an algorithm that analyzed combat data, performance, and outcome.
In the actual college entrance exams, martial skill assessments would also include human evaluators.
"My score is actually lower than last semester's?" Logan Pierce muttered, though he didn't feel too embarrassed.
At the very least, he had managed to thrust his spear multiple times.
…One by one, the students took their turn based on their student numbers.
Most of them had physical attributes ranging from Level 4.5 to 5.5.
As for the martial skill assessment?
The duels played out almost identically to Logan's.
Each student would start on the offensive, only for Brandon Hughes to effortlessly evade every attack with his footwork. Then, with a single strike, the match would end.
Even those with superior speed and strength couldn't break past his defenses.
Most students failed to surpass 300 points.
Even Knox Xavier, ranked second in the class, had an impressive physical attribute rating of Level 6.0—far beyond Level 5.0 in terms of speed and power.
Yet, he lasted only three strikes.
In the end, his martial skill score was 322 points—the highest in the class so far and the only one to surpass 320.
"Knox, your score at the end of last semester was 329, right? How did it drop?"
"He didn't fall behind—the assessment standards have gotten much tougher. Didn't you notice that most of our class's scores went down?"
"Last semester's final exam followed the sophomore standard. This time, it's based on the martial entrance exam."
"Only Parker is left."
"I wonder how many strikes he can withstand from Mr. Hughes."
All eyes turned to Parker, even some of the girls showing eager anticipation.
In martial cultivation, Parker ranked among the top thirty in the entire grade, but in Class 3-2, he was the undisputed number one.
Excelling in both skill and character, it was only natural that he was well-liked.
During school years, people weren't as status-driven as they would be in society.
"Parker." A barely noticeable look of expectation flashed through Brandon Hughes' eyes.
"Mr. Hughes." Parker gripped his spear and stepped into the circular arena paved with silver metal.
Whoosh!
A streak of red light shot out, enveloping Parker's entire body.
Three seconds later.
The screen at the back of the classroom displayed the data…
"Jordan Parker (Student), Physical Strength: Level 6.5 (Previous Test: Level 6.0)"
"Am I seeing this correctly? Li Yuan's physical fitness has reached level 6.5? That's 0.5 higher than at the end-of-term exam in June?"
"In less than three months, he improved by 0.5?"
"Even Luna Evans, the current top martial arts student in our grade and a promising candidate for Xingkong University, isn't improving this fast."
"Could the device be malfunctioning?"
"The school keeps using it but never seems to repair it, so if it's broken, it wouldn't be surprising."
Over a hundred students were stunned, their gazes shifting between Parker and the screen.
Most of them knew deep down that the chances of the device malfunctioning were close to zero.
The real shock was Parker's astonishing rate of physical improvement.
Even in the Elite Class, where students with awakened martial spirit and wealthy backgrounds had access to the best resources, such rapid progress was unheard of.
"I've been training like crazy lately, spending my entire break in the cultivation room, consuming all sorts of supplements, and I barely managed to reach level 6.0. I thought I was closing the gap with Parker," thought Knox Xavier, who was built like a grizzly bear. "But now… the gap is even bigger?"
The two had a good relationship, and Knox had always set Parker as his goal, hoping to catch up.
"6.5! Parker, you're insane!" Logan Pierce couldn't help but shout, genuinely happy for him.
Ten meters away.
"6.5? How is Parker improving so fast?" Even Mr. Hughes found it hard to keep his composure.
He had felt a slight disappointment earlier when Parker's Martial Essence Test showed he hadn't awakened his martial spirit.
Knox awakening his martial spirit had been an unexpected joy.
But now, Parker's physical fitness level was the real surprise.
"If he had awakened his martial spirit and practiced an advanced cultivation technique, a 0.5 increase in less than three months wouldn't be too unusual… But he was just tested at noon, and he clearly hasn't awakened his martial spirit," Mr. Hughes thought, his mind racing. "Besides, he hasn't even had time to train."
As an initiate martial cultivator and someone who had honed his skills in the military, Mr. Hughes' insight far surpassed that of his students.
Within seconds, he considered multiple possibilities.
"Parker," Mr. Hughes said in a deep voice. "Before we test your martial skills, head to the track first. We'll assess your sprint speed and then measure your punching power again."
"Understood." Parker nodded, knowing exactly what Mr. Hughes was thinking.
The Vitality Assessment Device has an extremely low error margin, but there are still ways to bypass its detection system and manipulate the results.
There was a chance of manipulation.
However, a person's speed and strength—those were impossible to fake.
"A Comprehensive Test?"
"So even Mr. Hughes isn't completely certain."
"How fast do you think Parker can sprint?"
"Hard to say. The Vitality Assessment Device measures overall stats, but everyone has different strengths. Even at the same fitness level, some are faster, some hit harder, and some have better endurance."
The students murmured among themselves, their attention fully focused on Parker.
They were all curious.
If Parker's physical fitness was truly at level 6.5, how high would he rank in the grade's overall martial assessment?
"Granting authorization. Initiating sprint speed test and punching power test. Begin recording," Mr. Hughes commanded, his tone sharp. A faint red light flashed from his wrist.
A white beam projected down from the ceiling, illuminating a 40-meter-long track on the left side of the martial arts classroom, paved with dark red metal.
Faint lights flickered across its surface.
This was why the martial arts classroom occupied such a vast space.
The sheer number of high-tech devices used for physical assessments required a significant area.