Chapter 10: Chapter 10: Grit Your Teeth! Don’t Cry
Sure enough, Liu Yuankui’s massive, door-panel-like figure appeared outside the classroom that afternoon.
Without him even needing to say a word, the literature teacher took the hint, packed up their books, and came down with a sudden illness.
Liu Yuankui walked to the podium and scanned the students. From Yang Shen’s perspective, the man’s head was almost scraping the ceiling fan.
’I wonder if this whole "Cultivation in the left hand, Martial Arts in the right" thing can make me any taller... My standards aren’t high. Two meters would be just fine.’
Liu Yuankui impassively announced that today, they would have a practical combat test.
"Time is tight, and we have a lot to get through! Everyone on your feet, now! Form a line and head downstairs!"
Xu Bamboo and Yang Shen stood up. The girl glanced at Yang Shen, who was standing beside her. "Have you gotten a little taller?"
Yang Shen was overjoyed. "Really?"
Xu Bamboo stretched her strong, graceful frame. "Sorry, my mistake. I wasn’t standing up straight just now."
Yang Shen: ...
’If we weren’t such good friends, your dear mother would have just gone flying.’
Xu Bamboo patted Yang Shen’s shoulder.
"Don’t worry. As long as you break through to the Innate Realm, your body will go through a second growth spurt and reach its theoretical genetic optimum. That’s also the origin of the word ’Innate.’"
"Besides, Horizontal Martial Arts Training does wonders for your physique. Look at Liu Yuankui. He said it himself yesterday—in high school, he wasn’t even 1.8 meters tall and was super skinny. Martial Arts doesn’t just make you taller, it makes you *bigger*!"
Yang Shen finally felt a bit better. ’Once I get to college,’ he thought, ’I’m definitely taking up some form of Horizontal Martial Arts Training.’
’Being strong is temporary, but being big is for life.’
The entire class lined up and went downstairs to the sports field, where a few other P.E. teachers were waiting to help with the test.
Practical Combat was a major subject for the college entrance exams, worth a total of 150 points, and was also one of the areas where the biggest score gaps appeared.
In the official exams, students sparred directly with examiners. The entire process was recorded, and a panel of ten experts—all with Martial Arts levels far beyond the students’—would later conduct a comprehensive evaluation.
Of course, a class test wasn’t nearly as formal. Today, Liu Yuankui would pair up students of similar skill levels to spar, with the P.E. teachers acting only as observers—not participants—to provide a score estimate.
Yang Shen was matched with an opponent of comparable skill: the third-to-last-ranked student in the class.
Huang Gang.
’Oh, right...’ he mused. ’Liu Wei dropped out, so both our ranks shifted up one spot. He must be second-to-last now.’
The two were old rivals. Since their ranks were so close, every test was a case of two scrubs pecking at each other. Sometimes Yang Shen won, sometimes Huang Gang did.
While warming up, Huang Gang said, "Lao Yang, Liu Yuankui said we’re going bare-knuckle today. Let’s just go through the motions, alright? No need to draw blood."
Yang Shen was also stretching diligently. He hesitated for a moment at Huang Gang’s words before saying, "How about... we actually fight seriously?"
Huang Gang sneered, "What level do you think we are? It makes no difference whether we’re serious or not. Even if you win, I still might not pass. What’s the point?"
Yang Shen shook his head. He had no personal problem with Huang Gang; he just genuinely wanted to test his own abilities and get a good score.
’Progress,’ he thought, ’needs to be verified, not just fantasized about.’
Seeing Yang Shen’s insistence, Huang Gang’s expression soured. "Heh, you’re asking for it. I might be at the bottom of the rankings, but my combat skills are a cut above. In all our past spars, you’ve lost way more than you’ve won."
Yang Shen replied, "Winning or losing doesn’t matter. It’s not like I get a prize for beating you. I just want to take the test seriously."
Huang Gang shot back, "Heh. If you can beat me, I’ll eat shit right here, right now!"
A nearby P.E. teacher yelled, "Hurry it up! Get on the field when you’re ready!"
The field was divided into several sections. As a Nanliang Master, Liu Yuankui naturally went to watch the top students spar. The proctor for Yang Shen’s match was an unfamiliar face, apparently a P.E. teacher from a lower grade.
Yang Shen and Huang Gang stepped into the designated area, each shrugging off their school uniform jacket.
The proctor said coolly, "You start on the first whistle. When you hear it again, you must stop immediately, no matter what’s happening. Violators get a zero."
They both nodded.
"Begin!"
The next instant, Huang Gang kicked off the ground and shot forward with incredible speed!
A wild glint appeared in his eyes.
’I don’t know what’s gotten into Yang Shen today,’ he thought, ’but if he’s asking for a beating, I’m not going to hold back!’
’My grades are trash, and my Martial Arts Realm is only the late stage of Skin Refining. I’ve got no stamina to back up my power, and no brains to back up my stamina.’
’But my reaction speed is way faster than the average loser’s! I was born with it!’
’If the other bottom-feeders are trash, then I’m at least the high-density kind!’
’I’ve got some weight to me!’
’Yang Shen’s overall rank is only close to mine because of his academic scores. I, on the other hand, can proudly declare that I’ve never passed a single academic class in my life.’
’Which means my Martial Arts level is definitely higher than Yang Shen’s. Plus, I’m fast!’
He, too, had once dreamed of Martial Arts glory—of reaching the pinnacle of his life, winning over a rich and beautiful girl. He’d even given himself a nickname in his younger days:
The Yellow Flash!
But a lack of both talent and funds had forced him to give up on that dream back in the first semester of his senior year, leading to his current apathetic, just-get-by attitude.
But since someone was asking for it, he didn’t mind putting on a little show.
Huang Gang was incredibly fast, a joyful grin spreading across his face as he charged. "Grit your teeth and try not to cry!"
The next moment, he launched a flying roundhouse kick.
CRACK! THUD! BAM!
Huang Gang flew backward at roughly the same speed he’d charged forward, a perfect example of "easy come, easy go."
He rolled head over heels three or four times before landing on the grass, sitting there in a daze—in a W-sit, no less.
"Huh? ...It hurts! What just happened?!"
’Pain! So much pain! My leg, my chest, my ass—everything hurts!’
Across from him, Yang Shen seemed equally surprised. "How... are you so weak?"
He hadn’t really processed it himself. ’Who would’ve thought that an opponent who used to be my equal couldn’t even take one hit now?’
’Did I even hit him? I think I did... A hit, of sorts.’
Huang Gang’s pale face flushed bright red.
Yang Shen said in all seriousness, "Sorry. But you don’t have to eat shit. Really. A person shouldn’t have to..."
Huang Gang couldn’t take it anymore and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Talk about twisting the knife!
The nearby proctor finally snapped out of it, blew her whistle, and ended the match.
"Match over! Both contestants, bow... on second thought, never mind the bowing. Someone get him to the infirmary..."
As for the blood... that wasn’t exactly rare in a high school like this. What Martial Arts practitioner hadn’t coughed up some blood? She’d even seen students spit out fragments of their internal organs before.
Huang Gang was carried away on a stretcher, still shouting, "I don’t want your pity! I’m going to eat the shit! I’m going to eat it!"
Students nearby who hadn’t been paying attention all turned to look. ’Did he get his brains scrambled?’ they wondered.
Even Liu Yuankui, who was some distance away, glanced over.
’Such valor,’ he thought wryly. ’And who might this valiant warrior be?’
Meanwhile, the younger P.E. teacher who had proctored the match was looking at Yang Shen with a mixture of shock and suspicion...
Huang Gang might have been too dazed to see what happened, but the teacher wasn’t. In that brief instant of exchange, Yang Shen had first twisted aside to dodge the kick, then followed up with a heart-strike elbow that landed squarely on his opponent’s chest.
As Huang Gang was sent flying, Yang Shen had added a final palm thrust that connected solidly with his chin.
Huang Gang probably hadn’t had time to react, but it was more likely the impact had given him a spot of amnesia. He probably didn’t even realize his teeth were now loose...
But the problem was...
Yang Shen’s movements hadn’t been particularly fast... and his power hadn’t seemed all that strong.
So why was the result so utterly devastating?
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