82 Chapter 81: Level 6 Tes (1/2)

”Hey!”

The next morning, Tong Xue was hammering on my door, rudely jolting me awake. I blinked, bleary-eyed and confused, as I tried to make sense of what was going on.

”If you don't wake up soon, you'll be late for school! Hurry up! Don't you have a level 6 test today or something?!”

”…ah!”

That was right! I immediately jumped out of bed, doing a double take when I saw the time. Gosh, but I overslept by nearly an hour!

Rushing to the bathroom, I began to wash up and brush my teeth, and then I quickly donned some clothing and rushed out of my apartment. Tong Xue was smiling wryly as he watched me stumble around, and shook his head.

”If I didn't wake you up, you would have overslept and completely missed the whole thing, wouldn't you?”

”I am embarrassed,” I murmured and bowed my head gratefully.

We met up with Tang Qi Hong, who was already waiting on her personalized Phoenix Express bus, and she gestured for us to board.

”You just made it in time!”

”Thanks to Tong Xue,” I nodded at my friend. He merely beamed.

”Nah, I didn't do much. Besides, I'm looking forward to see you fight.”

I groaned at that, even as I stepped into the bus and flopped down onto one of those luxurious, comfortable seats.

”Prepare to be disappointed.”

”Eh? No way!” Tong Xue scoffed. ”I haven't seen you fight in years. I wonder how you've assimilated all that qi you've absorbed from the poor bastards of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect. and if you've learned any new skills.”

”Not really.” And even if I did, I wasn't going to reveal them. Not when the first high school tournament was only four months away.

”Well, make sure to take the level 7 and 8 tests after this,” Tang Qi Hong reminded me as she sat beside Lian Rou. Most of them were level 7, with only Tang Qi Hong being level 8. Apparently she had high expectations of me.

Needless to say, Bai Ning Xue was level 9. Zhu Jiao was level 8, but he hadn't taken the level 9 test yet. Perhaps he wasn't confident enough. I bet that would change with time, though.

Well, right now I should worry more about myself than about others…

Swallowing, I made my way toward the coliseum. Teacher Jiao had sent me an email, telling me to meet him there. Obviously the staff were getting the test dummy ready, making sure the right program for the appropriate level was in place. Too low, and it wouldn't count. Too high, and I might end up as a bloody corpse on the floor.

To my not surprise, there was already a decent-sized crowd gathered in the coliseum. It wasn't unusual for students to watch the level tests of their schoolmates, mostly because they wanted to learn and keep track of who used what techniques. A battle wasn't won solely through brute strength, after all. Intelligence was a key strategy in achieving victory, and like me, most of them had an eye on the school tournament at the end of summer.

On the other hand, because I kept a low profile, there weren't as many schoolmates as I thought there would be. Of course, I wasn't expecting a lot – for the more famous students such as Bai Ning Xue, the coliseum would be packed full of students, all trying to spectate and watch her amazing moves and techniques. While on one level, they were trying to learn her moves and analyze her techniques, on the other level there was nothing more satisfying than watching her utterly crush the battle puppets in less than half a minute.

Bai Ning Xue belonged to a different realm entirely. She was a true prodigy, one that surpassed even Tang Qi Hong. At least Qi Hong could engrave spirit engravings and be a master blacksmith, but in terms of combat, Bai Ning Xue outclassed everyone except Zhu Jiao.

Speaking of which, Zhu Jiao was another person who would draw a full crowd. Tang Qi Hong too, as well as many of the Four Star Constitution students, most of whom were in the upper echelons of the academy, achieving level 8, or at least level 7.

As for me, someone who hardly anyone had heard about (especially after almost two years of inactivity), I was amazed that the coliseum was filled to half capacity. Groups of students clustered about, chattering excitedly to each other. I had the feeling that many of them were here to socialize more than to spectate.

That was fine by me. I didn't intend to reveal my techniques this early in the game. Undoubtedly there would be some among them who were keen-eyed and attentive, and would even watch replays to analyze my techniques and spread them over the Internet. Already there were webpages dedicated to analyzing and explaining the martial arts techniques of almost every student in the academy. While I wasn't there…yet, that might change after today.

Got to keep my cards close to my chest.

Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself and pushed past the crowd. None of the students who had gathered here thought to glance in my direction. It was as if they didn't recognize who I was. Not surprising, given how I kept a low profile. But all matches should have attached a photograph of the participants in the website.

Goes to show that some people were more interested in the opportunity to socialize and hang out than the actual match or test itself. Well, I was pretty relieved about that. It meant I could continue to keep a low profile.

”Good luck!”

Zhu Jiao slapped my back, almost taking me by surprise. I was so lost in thought that I didn't realize him sneaking up on behind me. Turning around, I saw him and Ban Zhang grinning encouragingly at me.

”Do your best,” Ban Zhang told me. As usual, he was a man of few words.

”Come on, it's Fei Wu we're talking about here.” Tong Xue was fighting his way through the crowd to reach us. ”There's nothing to worry about.”

”I agree, but the test dummy isn't something to be underestimated.” Zhu Jiao winced. ”I made that mistake the first time I fought against it.”

”They are tough, indeed.” Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou had finally joined us, managing to weave their way through the crowd without as much difficulty as Tong Xue. Probably because they were girls, so the guys automatically made way for them to pass through. However, Tang Qi Hong smiled. ”But I'm sure Wu will do fine. He's my assistant, after all.”

”Assistant in what?” Zhu Jiao asked, puzzled.

”Blacksmithing,” Tong Xue told him.

”Ah, right.” Ban Zhang nodded. ”I heard that you joined the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. was it for blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving?”

Actually, it wasn't. I randomly obeyed Elder Zhao's suggestion and ended up passing the entrance examination even though I didn't expect myself to, and eventually I went with the flow. Qi Hong might have chosen me to be her assistant, but that wasn't the reason why I joined the sect. I actually didn't have any reason to join the sect other than because Elder Zhao told me to, and I didn't want to disappoint my beloved Qi Hong.

However, it was too complicated to explain everything, and I just didn't have the time and energy to do so, so I merely nodded.

”Oh, you had best hurry,” Qi Hong reminded me. ”Teacher Jiao should be waiting for you in the preparation room.”

”All right. See you guys later then.”

Waving at my friends, I proceeded to the preparation room. Indeed, Teacher Jiao was standing there, waiting for me.

”You ready?”

”Yeah.” I nodded. Teacher Jiao smiled.

”Then you may enter the coliseum and begin the test.”

There was nothing more to say, and I didn't want to waste any more time, so I complied. Stepping past Teacher Jiao, I entered the coliseum and placed my foot on the big stage. As always, despite being an enclosed space that was surrounded by reinforced titanium and armored walls, the coliseum was almost as vast as a cavern.

The test dummy was waiting for me, its inert form slumped over. Apparently the staff were waiting for me to arrive on stage before they switched the power on from remote. I swallowed as I studied its creepy shape, still not used to its humanoid yet utterly alien appearance.

The red light blinked on and the test dummy jerked up unsteadily, its movements rough and somewhat clumsy. Then it transitioned smoothly into a stance and stayed still, as if waiting for some sort of signal.

I exhaled. Clearly the match had begun.

”Level 6 test, start!”

Teacher Cai Pan's voice echoed throughout the coliseum, and I was sure it rang through the spectator area as well. As usual, Teacher Cai Pan was responsible for officiating the match, but in recent years several students took on the role of commentating.

Fortunately, there was no commentary for level tests. Probably in personal matches and duels between students, and most definitely the school tournaments, but the test-takers had complained in the past that the commentary was distracting, so the academy put a stop to that. However, duels and tournaments were clearly classified differently from tests, so we had no choice but to listen to the commentators babble on and on as if they had the faintest clue of what was happening in the match. Fortunately, I didn't have to listen to any commentary today.

I focused all my attention on my opponent before me.

The red light in the lens that served as the test dummy's eye seemed to flare up brighter than before, then it dashed at me at blinding speed.

”!”

I twisted to the side, just narrowly avoiding its punch, and then kicked it in the midriff. Despite packing my Shadow Kick with as much power as I could, all I managed to achieve was causing the test dummy to stagger back a few steps.

How sturdy!

Cursing, I ducked under the level 6 test dummy's counterattack, the mechanical puppet swinging its deceptively slender arm at my head. The vicious hook would have knocked me unconscious if I hadn't dodged it. I could still feel the sonic boom blasting from it, and the waves of artificial qi violently wreathing the strike.

Counterattacking with a kick to its midriff, I then executed Tui to retreat several meters away. The test dummy recoiled, but then straightened and slowly turned toward me with that glowing red lens built into its head.

There was something creepy about the way it moved and looked. I knew it wasn't human, yet for some reason I was reminded of a baby trying to take its first steps.

”Hu…”

I exhaled again and waited as the test dummy corrected its stance. I didn't have to wait long. The test dummy immediately flung itself toward me on all fours, its movements unrestrained by the lack of flesh. As always, the way it moved was disturbing. I couldn't help but shudder as it moved toward me with inhuman motions, almost like a mechanical…bug.

”Kuh!”

I just barely managed to sidestep the test dummy in time, spinning around just as one of its limbs grazed my temple, leaving a trail of blood. Muttering a curse under my breath, I countered with a kick, but the level 6 test dummy arched its back to soften the blow, then leaped up as high as the ceiling and plastered its hands and feet on the surface. Its head whirred and twisted mechanically to look at me with that creepy red lens.

Oh, wow…its fighting style is completely different from any human martial artist! It's like a monster!

I swallowed and stepped back. Just in time too. The test dummy had launched itself off the ceiling to strike at me, and I flipped myself away right before it hit the ground.

Boom!

”Whoa!”

Crossing my arms to defend myself from debris, I watched with wide eyes as the test dummy's landing smashed a large crater into the reinforced concrete (which made me wonder why they even bothered to reinforce the material – though, to be fair, if the floor wasn't reinforced, the test dummy would have drilled past the first level and into the basement, opening up a new gaping hole in the ground). The test dummy didn't seem to feel the impact, the mechanical contraption straightening up and plantints its limbs on the ground before rearing to its full height.

Are they seriously trying to test our skills with such a monster?

More like torture us…I had never seen a martial artist fight like that.