35 Chapter 34: Challenge (1/2)

I stared at the test dummy in front of me.

Unsurprisingly, the battle puppet looked as disturbing and horrifying as ever. Even in the two months that I was gone, the design hadn't changed. They still retained their vaguely humanoid shape, but other than that, they resembled nothing like a human. Their cylindrical limbs resembled cudgels or clubs with spindly fingers instead of actual appendages, and their heads were a vertical, longish cylinder with a single glowing red lenses as their eyes. They reminded me of biomechanical aliens, but at least their color was a dull gray.

”Level 4 Test Program activated.” Above, built into the ceiling of the arena, Teacher Jiao's voice blared out. ”Are you ready, Student Fei Wu?”

Above, I spotted a crowd of students spectating from behind the reinforced glass screen. I didn't expect this many students to come to the arena to watch me. then again, I guess a significant number of my cohort must be curious as to how strong a One Star Constitution cultivator like me had become after spending a couple of months in the wilderness, trying to survive against powerful magical beasts and an unforgiving environment.

Just as I suspected, Qi Fu Ren was also there, flanked by his two ever-present cronies, Hu Shuo and Ba Dao. He wore that perpetual sneer on his face, looking upon me with disdain and obviously thinking I would fail this test.

Not far away from him were my friends. Zhu Jiao, Tong Xue and Ban Zhang were the closest to the window, cheering and shouting words of encouragement. I couldn't hear them through the soundproof wall, but I could at least see them, so I waved.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn't just Zhu Jiao, Tong Xue and Ban Zhang. Du Lang had also arrived, but as usual he kept his distance like the lone wolf he was, staying as far as he could while remaining within sight of the battle. On contrast, Feng Tian Yong and his group of friends joined Zhu Jiao and the rest, the red-haired guy waving at me.

There weren't as many girls, but I caught a glimpse of Tu Zi Yi at the back, as well as Qing Xin Xia. But while Qing Xin Xia was surreptitiously sneaking glances at the boisterous Zhu Jiao, she was in the company of Li Chun Long and the other Green Dragon Sect members. At least this time there were other girls accompanying her.

Wow, I didn't expect so many people to come watch. This is just a level test, isn't it? It's not that interesting.

Apparently, middle-school students were allowed to take level tests. While similar to the level test in the high school section, it was set at a lesser difficulty to take into account our youthful age and still undeveloped physiologies. But it would determine the amount of resources that we would have available to us.

Martial Academy operated on a meritocracy. The higher your level, the more resources – in the form of martial arts techniques, special privileges and access to specialized training facilities and equipment, increased stipends and funds, spirit armaments, weapons, armor and equipment, and more advanced spirit pills – you received. That was why everyone was striving to get as high a level as they could.

The numbered levels had nothing to do with the cultivation stages or realms, because most middle school students wouldn't get past the Qi Essence Stage. At most they would reach the peak of the Qi Essence Stage, and almost nobody got to the Flowing Qi Stage until they graduated and got into the high school section. Of course, the higher your level in whatever cultivation stage you were in the higher the level you could achieve for this temporary test.

Despite being so convoluted, the system was pretty simple. If you were strong enough to beat a training dummy that corresponded to a certain level, you would achieve that level. And with that level came corresponding privileges, resources and benefits.

For middle school students, the highest was level 5. It wasn't that it was the best we could reach during our time in middle school, but it was the highest amount of resources the academy could provide to a middle school student. So it would be deceptive if you judged the students according to these simplistic levels. Besides, the test itself was too rigid. It only tested one dimension of the student's abilities – combat strength and the ability to overpower his foe. It didn't account for the other strengths the student might possess, such as tactical nous or innovation or craftsmanship.

Well, there probably were other tests for that…

”Fei Wu?” Teacher Jiao prodded when I didn't reply for two seconds. Sorry, I just needed to perform an info dump so that the readers knew what was going on. Crude and boring, I know, but undeniably effective.

I nodded. ”Yeah.”

”All right, let's begin.”

There was a click over the speaker, and the test dummy's lens flared bright red. Within a millisecond, it had kicked off the ground and bounded toward me, crossing the distance in one leap. I almost didn't react in time as the test dummy delivered a kick that would have crushed my skull if I didn't dodge it.

Fast!

I wasn't sure what to expect. I had been dueling level 3 battle puppets before the fateful day of the practical training mission in Sen Lin Forest, and I had yet to win any of them. I had peaked at level 2, and only received resources at level 2, but I could never claw past level 3. As I said, the test was too one-dimensional. While I was unable to overpower my foe, I wasn't inferior in terms of speed and agility, and I could easily evade every attack the level 3 battle puppet threw at me.

This resulted in a stalemate that would drag on for hours. I couldn't defeat the battle puppet, but it was never able to land a hit on me either.

Unfortunately, a stalemate wasn't enough to pass the test and claim level 3.

Despite my failure in the past, today I had decided to jump straight to a level 4 test right upon my return to Wu Ling Academy after my two months in Sen Lin Forest.

The battle puppet didn't hesitate, twisting around to deliver another roundhouse kick. I could have dodged that, but I didn't. Instead, I raised my arms and parried the blow.

”Guh!”

What power!

Despite absorbing most of the blow with my forearms, I staggered to the side, almost unable to withstand the raw strength behind the kick. The battle puppet landed on the ground, its spindly fingers tapping the concrete, and it bounced back up with another kick. I crossed both my arms, but the tremendous blow sent me hurtling across the arena.

”Gah!”

Tumbling across the arena, I slammed my feet down on the ground, trying to regain my footing. Twin trails of broken concrete were left in my wake as I skidded across the battlefield, but I managed to force myself to a halt before I collided with the wall behind me.

The battle puppet was already moving, its artificial intelligence having already anticipated that.

”!”

This time I didn't bother to block. Stepping to the side in reflex, I just narrowly dodged the battle puppet's axe kick. Its slender, cylindrical leg flashed past the air a few millimeters in front of me, turning into a blur before obliterating the ground and destroying my footing.

”Whoa!”

Unable to balance myself, I used Tui and retreated. The battle puppet pursued me relentlessly, kicking off the ground and launching itself at me.

Damn, this thing might be even harder to handle than the magical beasts I've faced so far!

Honestly, it was nowhere near the level of a Shadow Leopard or a Diamondback Crocodile, but I didn't have the option of tricking two battle automatons into fighting each other and then taking advantage of them when they were damaged.

However, it was such a one-sided battle at the moment that it wasn't even funny. Gritting my teeth, I used Duo and evaded the battle puppet's next kick. Appearing behind it, I kicked it in the back with a devastating Shadow Kick that would have snapped the spine of a magical beast.

The battle automaton staggered forward, but it didn't break. Having already anticipated that because I knew how sturdy these things were built, I stomped forward and delivered a roundhouse kick that I learned from the Lunar Rabbit, cracking its head and sending it toppling over.

”That's…!”

Above, Tu Zi Yi's eyes widened when she recognized my kick. Of course I couldn't hear her, but I could piece everything together because of my protagonist's privilege. In any case, she seemed to have seen the resemblance between my kick and the Lunar Rabbit Sect's techniques.

It was only natural. Like me, the founder of the Lunar Rabbit Sect had created and based his kicking techniques off the movements and attacks of the legendary Lunar Rabbit.

Huh…well, the Lunar Rabbit isn't legendary, to be honest, but this wasn't the time to split hairs. I had to focus.

The test dummy was far from done. Grinding its hands into the concrete and actually crushing solid concrete with its fingers, it spun about in an inhuman maneuver than no human martial artist would be physically capable of, and tried to sweep my legs out from under me with a vicious, hooking kick, forcing me to jump.

”!”

The test dummy's lens flickered, almost as if it was giving the impression that it was blinking, while scanning the space in front of it with its optical device.

But I was no longer there.

Clink!

I landed on the test dummy's head, one foot placed neatly on what would be its bald scalp if it was a human.

Seismic Step!

The entire ground beneath the test dummy shattered and the battle puppet itself vanished in a shower of rubble, buried by the overwhelming destruction as I pulverized its head with the ultimate kick in Shadow Steps.

”Phew…”

I retreated a few steps and watched the destruction I had wrought, half-hoping that the decisive step had finished it off.

”…”