Chapter 11: Chapter 11: Knocking the Ripple Out
Yang Shen was the only one left on the field, but the proctor was in a bind.
The practical combat exam wasn’t just about winning or losing. Otherwise, there’d be no need for scoring; they could have just held an elimination tournament.
The exam required a systematic evaluation of a student’s practical combat ability and mastery of Martial Arts. The scoring sheet had over twenty items, plus opportunities for bonus points and credit for exceeding the curriculum.
In that last exchange, Huang Gang had been there and gone, like a flash of light.
He’d won, alright. It was a complete blowout.
But how was she supposed to score it?
Staring at the empty scoring sheet in her hand... Huang Gang’s score was easy enough. She could just give him a 30. The fight had lasted a grand total of two seconds.
The opening was decent, at least. He had charged in quite ferociously, after all.
As for Yang Shen... that was the tricky part.
The female teacher told Yang Shen to wait where he was and went to ask Liu Yuankui for instructions.
Liu Yuankui was the head of the physical education curriculum group and also Class 6’s main teacher. He was the one who had to make the call.
From a distance, Yang Shen watched the female teacher speak with Liu Yuankui, who glanced over at him from time to time.
’It’s a bit unnerving,’ he thought, ’knowing there’s something wrong with that guy.’
But... this was school. Liu Yuankui couldn’t do anything to him here. If he tried, the dean and the principal would have his head.
’If I’d really gotten that much stronger, it might be worth hiding my abilities to guard against Liu Yuankui. But the thing is, I don’t think I’m that strong... My Qi and Blood Value only went up by 5 points. I haven’t even reached Bone Training yet.’
’So far, I still think it’s just because Huang Gang was too weak... I just reacted instinctively without really thinking. It feels like Huang Gang got hurt mostly because he charged in too hard and took the full brunt of the recoil.’
’This just goes to show that Martial Artists need a proper education. Huang Gang must have never passed a physics class in his life.’
’I need to figure out where I actually stand. And for a student, what better way to test your own strength than an exam?’
’Hide my strength? I’d need to have some impressive strength to hide in the first place. For now, there’s no need.’
The female teacher walked back over. "We’re adding an extra match for you. Otherwise, it’s impossible to give you a score. Wait until everyone else is done with their tests, and we’ll find you an uninjured opponent of a suitable level."
Yang Shen simply nodded, stepping off the field to continue his warm-up.
He wouldn’t practice Cultivation at school. For one, Cultivation required stillness, not activity. With everyone else pumping iron, him sitting there meditating would be a little too conspicuous.
More importantly, Cultivation could replace sleep. If he practiced during the day, he would still have to sleep at night! It wasn’t worth it!
This time, he waited a full half hour. Only after all the other groups had finished did the female teacher find him a suitable opponent.
Zhao Mengmeng, ranked 30th in the class, early-stage Bone Training.
She was basically the "median" of Class 6—or, you could say, the "cutoff line."
Anyone weaker than her had basically no hope of even getting into a Martial Arts College. As for a real university... they could try delivering food there. At least they’d get to set foot on campus.
She was a petite girl, but with an incredible figure that boasted a D-cup. Of course, it would be a mistake to underestimate her because of it. Zhao Mengmeng specialized in speed. Her Power might be slightly weaker than others at her stage, but she was extremely fast, which was why the female teacher had carefully chosen her.
In the teacher’s opinion, having Zhao Mengmeng hold back a bit would be perfect for evaluating Yang Shen.
Everyone else had finished their matches, so they all gathered to watch this "overtime" round. Even Liu Yuankui came over.
In the crowd, Xu Bamboo frowned slightly. She had easily won her own match earlier and hadn’t been paying attention to Yang Shen’s situation, so she didn’t know what was going on.
In her opinion, there was no way Yang Shen could be a match for Zhao Mengmeng...
So, before Zhao Mengmeng went onto the field, Xu Bamboo pulled her aside and whispered, "Go easy on him."
Xu Bamboo had a lot of prestige in the class... no, in the entire school. This was especially true among the younger girls, most of whom idolized the cool and heroic beauty. Zhao Mengmeng immediately nodded. "Okay, Bamboo. I won’t be too serious."
At some point, a pale-faced Huang Gang had also returned to the field.
It was just a little blood. You get used to coughing it up after a while. He insisted on coming back to watch.
He wanted to see Yang Shen get wrecked!
Like a curious gossip, Huang Gang asked around to find out what was happening. When he learned that Yang Shen was up against Zhao Mengmeng, a gleeful smile spread across his face. "Heh, he’s courting death! Zhao Mengmeng, beat him senseless for me! Beat him until he’s coughing up blood!"
Zhao Mengmeng shot him a disdainful look. "Who do you think you are? You think I’m going to listen to you? Are you looking for a beating?"
Huang Gang: "..."
Good students could really do whatever they wanted, because the poor students genuinely couldn’t beat them.
The high school food chain was just that blatant. Sometimes, even the class delinquents would get cornered and beaten up in the bathroom by the honor roll students.
Xu Bamboo patted Zhao Mengmeng’s head. The height difference between them was considerable, giving Xu Bamboo the air of a protective older sister. "Meng Meng, don’t go too easy on him either. This is for a score, after all. Don’t get careless and lose."
Before Zhao Mengmeng could say anything, Huang Gang chimed in, disgruntled, "Yang Shen beat Zhao Mengmeng? If that happens, I’ll eat shit upside down!"
Xu Bamboo gave Huang Gang a sidelong glance. "You were just yelling about eating shit earlier, and now you’re making the same bet again. Are you just trying to scam a free meal around here?"
’Scam a free meal...?’
Huang Gang nearly spat out another mouthful of blood.
A moment later, the overtime match officially began!
Yang Shen walked slowly onto the field. This time, the entire class and even four or five P.E. teachers were gathered to watch.
The referee was still the same young female teacher. "The match starts on my whistle and stops on the next. Understood?"
"Understood," they both replied.
As the whistle blew, both of them assumed a ready stance, but neither made the first move.
Yang Shen held back out of caution, Zhao Mengmeng out of confidence.
The girl was much shorter than Xu Bamboo, but she was well-proportioned and didn’t look stubby in the slightest. At most, certain... assets... were overflowing, making it hard for one’s gaze to find a focal point, as if one’s internal auto-aim system was malfunctioning.
Most high school students had well-proportioned physiques, a result of long-term Martial Arts practice.
If you saw someone wearing glasses, they were guaranteed to be a poor student.
There wasn’t a trace of nervousness on Zhao Mengmeng’s face. She had an air about her that said, ’Go ahead and try whatever you want. I’ll call you impressive if you can even make me grunt.’
But the stalemate didn’t last long. A moment later, Zhao Mengmeng made the first move, again, out of confidence.
She was also very fast—much faster than Huang Gang—but it wasn’t the kind of reckless charge where your body flies forward and your brain is left trying to catch up.
Her legs, while not particularly long, took short, rapid steps, meaning she had the ability to adjust her direction and angle on the fly!
Yang Shen had been at the bottom of the class since he started practicing Martial Arts, so facing Zhao Mengmeng, this "median" student, put a fair amount of pressure on him.
He instinctively stepped forward, using a Drilling Heart Elbow to block her path—offense as the best defense, the same method he’d used against Huang Gang.
As expected, Zhao Mengmeng changed direction, shifting to attack from the side. Yang Shen was still fighting on instinct, not thinking too much.
Pivoting on the ball of his foot, he took half a step back, his left hand already shooting out from his chest.
It shot out toward his opponent’s chest...
THUMP! With a muffled sound, a powerful elasticity met his palm. Zhao Mengmeng’s D-cup figure had suffered a devastating blow.
Yang Shen’s palm could even feel the power of the "ripples"...
Zhao Mengmeng pulled away, her face instantly flushing red—it was hard to tell if it was from pain or embarrassment. "Yang Shen! You pervert!"
Yang Shen quickly waved his hands. "Ah... it wasn’t an accident... I mean, it was intentional..."
The onlookers roared with laughter. Only Xu Bamboo bit her lip and glanced down at her own chest...
Liu Yuankui bellowed, "What’s so funny?! Do you think Martial Artists in real combat need to worry about the differences between men and women?! The heart is a fatal weak point! You’re thinking about things like that during an exam?!"
Zhao Mengmeng’s expression darkened. He was right. Even setting aside teenage sensibilities, being grab—squeez—hit in the chest with a single strike was an absolute failure.
If Yang Shen were at a higher stage, or if he had a weapon, she might already be dead.
Zhao Mengmeng suddenly became much more serious and pressed forward again, Xu Bamboo’s instructions completely forgotten.
She had to completely crush Yang Shen now, so her classmates wouldn’t laugh at her later.
There was no personal grudge; she was just a girl who was thin-skinned and had flown into a rage!
The two clashed again, but the crowd soon discovered something...
Yang Shen and Zhao Mengmeng were actually evenly matched!
A slacker at Mid-stage Skin Refining was fighting toe-to-toe with a "good student" in the early stage of Bone Training!
Yang Shen was clearly slower than Zhao Mengmeng, and his Power was weaker too. If he had any advantage at all, it was his slightly greater height.
His punches and kicks weren’t fast enough to leave afterimages; on the contrary, they were completely in line with the physical fitness of someone at Mid-stage Skin Refining. And yet, every single move was exquisitely timed, always neutralizing Zhao Mengmeng’s attacks. His own strikes were like an antelope hanging by its horns—traceless and natural, always landing in the most unexpected yet perfectly logical places.
It had the sublime beauty of techniques flying ahead, with the mind just following along.
The longer they fought, the quieter the onlookers became. Eventually, many of them turned to look at Liu Yuankui, hoping the renowned teacher might offer some explanation.
Because they truly couldn’t understand what they were seeing, nor could they figure it out.
Liu Yuankui, however, was frowning slightly. His wide, imposing eyes were fixed on the fight, not missing a single detail.
His hands, crossed over his chest, continuously rubbed his own thick knuckles.
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