Chapter 24: Chapter 24: Purely Numerical Items
Back in the classroom, the morning reading session had already begun. The academic teachers never wasted a single second, and this one didn’t even ask where Yang Shen had been.
As soon as he sat down, Xu Bamboo leaned over. "I was on my phone until midnight last night. How was the tutoring gig?"
Yang Shen sincerely cupped his hands. "Zhuzi, you were a lifesaver this time! I’ll treat you to some Essence Liquid another day."
Xu Bamboo rolled her eyes playfully. "Treat *me* to Essence Liquid? You should be the one drinking mine. Tell me the details. Did Chen Beiwang give you the money?"
Yang Shen gave her a rough summary of what happened. Xu Bamboo wasn’t surprised to hear that he had pummeled an Innate master.
She was certainly more worldly than Yang Shen and already knew a bit about Chen Beiwang’s situation.
"I met him when I was little. He suddenly moved to Jinshui District last month. My mom took me to visit, and he offered to give me some pointers on my Martial Arts training."
"And then?"
"And then? Then I hit him with a whip kick, and he whimpered for two hours. It seems that was when he finally realized how pathetic he was and decided he needed a sparring partner to salvage the situation."
Xu Bamboo counted on her fingers. "This sparring partner had to be skilled, but not *too* skilled. He had to be a good fighter, but not *too* good. When you said you wanted to earn some money, I immediately thought of you!"
Yang Shen thought to himself, ’So this lucrative short-term gig was kicked into existence by one of Xu Bamboo’s whip kicks!’
’Xu Bamboo’s legs are amazing... Truly amazing!’
His deskmate was uncharacteristically excited. The young woman seemed to feel like she had helped a friend with something important and had become an adult in the process. Her usual nonchalant expression melted away into a smile.
Yang Shen looked at her against the light, her pretty face radiant and glowing.
After being stared at for a moment, Xu Bamboo turned her face away awkwardly, but her knees still pointed toward Yang Shen. "I’m just glad I could help."
Yang Shen asked, "How does your family know Chen Beiwang?"
Xu Bamboo thought for a moment. "I met him a few times when I was a kid... but I don’t really know him well. He seems to be a friend of my mom’s from when they were young."
Yang Shen added, "He said he’s friends with your dad, too."
"Is that so...?" Xu Bamboo’s expression became a little unnatural. "I guess so."
Unfortunately, the young man had always been bad at reading emotional cues.
Yang Shen just focused on the lesson, because the teacher had already shot him several sharp glances.
——————
During P.E. class that afternoon, Liu Yuankui did exactly as he’d said and changed Yang Shen’s training plan and standards.
Because the students’ skill levels varied so widely, P.E. class was conducted in groups. Xu Bamboo was in a league of her own, while the rest were divided into Skin Refining and Bone Training groups.
The Skin Refining students were generally called "Group B," while the Bone Training students were "Group A."
Today, Yang Shen appeared in the line-up for Group A, making many people curious.
They wanted to ask but hesitated. Good students don’t pay attention to the specific scores of poor students; they just know that they’re bad.
They had no impression of Yang Shen’s previous skill level, but now he was suddenly in Group A...
’Xu Bamboo must be loaded!’
As the strongest student in the whole school, everyone assumed Xu Bamboo’s family was immensely wealthy, but if you asked for specifics... the truth was, Xu Bamboo never flaunted her wealth.
But now she was showing it off, and it was all being lavished on Yang Shen!
Yang Shen met the many gazes with a blank expression. Xu Bamboo was part of his cover for his "rapid improvement." Let them be suspicious.
He only cared about what the first day’s curriculum for Group A would be.
He was on the shorter side for a boy, so when they lined up, he ended up right behind Zhao Mengmeng.
Zhao Mengmeng stood ramrod straight, but she felt a faint sense of crisis from behind her.
Yang Shen put a lot of pressure on her.
After their combat assessment the other day, she hadn’t noticed until she got home that night that she had five bluish-purple fingerprints on her body.
A veritable Six-Star Linked Pearls!
Although their positions in line didn’t mean they’d be paired up, she was genuinely afraid the teacher would make her spar with Yang Shen again.
Her slender calves kept fidgeting until she was standing pigeon-toed... so much so that a girl next to her curiously asked if she needed to go to the bathroom.
Fortunately, after everyone was lined up, Liu Yuankui announced the day’s lesson.
Today, they would be working on Subject Two: "Power."
In high school, the first year still had subjects like history and geography, but by the third year, everything was geared toward the exams.
The college entrance exam had a maximum score of 750 points. The "big three" academic subjects—Language, Math, and Physics—were worth 70 points each, for a total of 210.
Physical education, however, accounted for 540 points, or 72%—over seventy percent of the total score.
As Yanhua Country’s most comprehensive and authoritative selection exam, the 540 points for physical education obviously weren’t just lumped together and thrown at the students.
The physical education portion was divided into five main subjects.
Subject One: Speed and Neural Response, 100 points total.
The tests were a 100-meter dash, a 400-meter obstacle course, and Extreme Evasion.
This assessed a student’s ability to handle emergencies and high-risk environments, specifically their instantaneous explosive power, reaction speed, and ability to process complex situations in an instant.
Subject Two: Absolute Power and Core Power, 100 points total.
The test involved a series of fixed machines, with scores based on the weight a student could handle.
It evaluated the maximum load capacity and stability of the skeletal and muscular systems.
Subject Three: Endurance and Stamina, 90 points total.
The test was a weighted ruck march.
This assessed a candidate’s long-term energy expenditure potential, cardiopulmonary capacity, and metabolic regulation.
These first three subjects were all purely "stat-based" scoring systems. Every second counted, every kilogram counted, with no room for ambiguity.
This was the part Xu Bamboo had mentioned before—even if Yang Shen was strong in combat, he still wouldn’t get a high score if his realm didn’t improve.
Subject Four: Cultivation Technique Mastery and Application, 100 points total.
It was divided into a written exam and a practical test. The former involved answering questions on a test paper, while the latter required performing the "Sixth Set of Initial Realm Body Refining Fist" in a room full of cameras and sensors.
The goal was to test a candidate’s cognitive and practical understanding of core Body Forging abilities, human biomechanics, and energy conversion models.
Yang Shen was somewhat confident about this one, but since grasping Fist Intent, he hadn’t faced this type of test yet. It was explained during P.E. class, but never graded.
Subject Five: Combat Proficiency, worth 150 points.
This was already mentioned before.
These five major subjects, also known as the "Five Great Gates of Martial Arts," were something every student had to go through.
When his Uncle was alive, he had said that the college entrance exam in his day was more "comprehensive." Purely stat-based subjects accounted for less than half the score, and they even tested miscellaneous topics like "Martial Arts and Morality," which were worth a few points.
But as society developed and competition grew more intense, Yanhua’s college entrance exam became more and more extreme.
It only cared about scores, nothing else.
’Morality? Go tell it to the Gantry Crane!’
If you understood it as "one point of spending for one point of return," you could also say that it tested "financial power" and "the efficiency of converting that financial power."
Either you outspent others, or you were better at spending than others.
No money? How are you supposed to practice Martial Arts with no money?
’You think this is Cultivation?!’
Today was the first time Yang Shen participated in P.E. class as a "Bone Training realm" practitioner.
The content wasn’t much different from Group B’s; the main difference was the assessment standard.
Liu Yuankui assigned training goals to each student, but in reality, everyone already knew their "current level" and "short-term goals." They didn’t need the teacher to watch over them; they just had to pair up to prevent injuries.
And Yang Shen was paired with none other than Zhao Mengmeng.
Zhao Mengmeng was torn. She felt like she was being targeted because she’d been buying fewer Supplements from Liu Yuankui lately.
In fact, she was right!
Of course, if you were to use "pedagogical language," you could call it: ’Using shame to spur motivation. The teacher is just doing this for your own good!’
Clearly, Yang Shen was someone who could give Zhao Mengmeng "score anxiety," which might just stimulate some consumption.
Zhao Mengmeng took a deep breath and walked up to Yang Shen. "Teacher Liu said it’s your first time in Group A and that you’ve improved a lot recently. He wants me to help you test your baseline stats today..."
Yang Shen nodded. "Thanks. Sorry to hold up your training."
Zhao Mengmeng shook her head. "It’s nothing, just one class. Besides, I’m exhausted from my weekend tutoring sessions and have a few minor strains."
"But why are you crossing your arms while talking to me?"
Zhao Mengmeng warily took a step back. For some reason, whenever she faced Yang Shen head-on, she felt as if she wasn’t wearing any clothes...
"Um... I’m a little cold."
Yang Shen glanced at the glaring sun but didn’t say anything more.
’The greater the surface area, the more heat dissipation. Perfectly logical.’
Zhao Mengmeng actually had a good personality. Once the teacher assigned a task, she diligently carried it out. She led Yang Shen toward the equipment area.
"Let’s test your weighted back squat first. What was your previous level? Should we add weight little by little?"
Yang Shen shook his head. "You’ll hit exhaustion after just a few reps with that thing. Adding weight incrementally will give an inaccurate reading. Let’s just start with the standard for the initial stage of Bone Training."
About an hour later, all of Yang Shen’s current stats had been tested.
Weighted Squat: 490 kg
Deadlift: 510 kg
Bench Press: 612 kg
Lat Pulldown: 390 kg
Farmer’s Walk: 450 kg
These were the five minor events for Subject Two. After completing them all consecutively, pushing himself to his absolute limit, Yang Shen was thoroughly exhausted.
During the actual college entrance exam, candidates would often gamble by choosing a weight beyond their capabilities, resulting in injury or improper form.
Every year, a few idiots who ended up with high-level paraplegia would make the news, right alongside the ones who forgot their exam admission tickets.
Liu Yuankui came by midway through and had Yang Shen do the 100-meter dash for Subject One as well.
And so, another baseline stat was obtained:
100-Meter Dash: 9.38
In a corner of the athletic field, Yang Shen sat under the shade of a tree, panting with exhaustion.
Meanwhile, Zhao Mengmeng, with her petite and charming figure, was scribbling down notes nearby. After looking them over for a long while, she said:
"Yang Shen, your stats... are just barely a passing grade."
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