High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 268: Chapter 268: Ninth in the Tenth Institute

”Let the test begin!”

”First up: Guan Shan!” Instructor Lu Wei’s clear voice called out.

The next moment, the lean and sharp Guan Shan strode out from the crowd and stepped into the Qi and Blood Tester.

He spread his arms, lowered his center of gravity, and gripped the black metal handles, abruptly exerting his strength.

”HAH!!”

With a loud shout, his eyes widened, veins bulged on his arms as his Qi and Blood surged, and a wave of energy radiated outward.

An infrared light scanned his body, and the result instantly appeared on the electronic screen.

[Examinee: Guan Shan, Qi and Blood Value: 65.2]

”Damn, that’s high!”

”That’s almost 20 points higher than my Qi and Blood Value. Is the gap really that big?”

”As expected of a top-level expert from our Sixth Institute!”

A wave of gasps rippled through the surrounding crowd.

Guan Shan saw his score, stepped out, and a smile appeared on his face.

”Next, Guo Heng!” Lu Wei announced with a nod.

All eyes turned to the burly and robust Guo Heng as he stepped forward. He gripped the metal handles and unleashed his power, his muscles, seemingly carved from stone, swelling as a fierce aura erupted from him.

”BEEP!!”

Data instantly appeared on the electronic screen:

[Examinee: Guo Heng, Qi and Blood Value: 66.9]

”Aheng is incredible!” Jiangtao couldn’t help but exclaim.

”Guan Shan, you’ve been surpassed!”

”Guo Heng has shot up out of nowhere. Looks like he’s making a play for second place!”

Amidst the crowd’s chatter, Guo Heng walked out, clenching his fists with an excited smile. He was clearly very satisfied with his Qi and Blood Value.

”Next, Jiangtao!” Lu Wei continued.

”Everyone, watch closely!”

The tall and powerful Jiangtao declared, rubbing his hands together as he emerged from the crowd.

After stepping into the machine, he gripped the metal handles with his large hands, took a deep breath, and suddenly unleashed his strength. A terrifying power erupted from his muscles in an instant.

His Qi and Blood surged wildly, gathering his power and stirring up gusts of wind around him.

It was as if a frenzied Vajra Ape had awakened.

[Examinee: Jiangtao, Qi and Blood Value: 70.1]

Another uproar swept through the crowd.

”Jiangtao is amazing! His Qi and Blood Value actually broke 70!”

As soon as the value appeared, the expressions on Guan Shan and Guo Heng’s faces changed.

”Jiangtao’s strength is the real deal now. He’s pretty much secured his spot as number two in our Sixth Institute.”

Someone lamented.

Jiangtao also revealed an excited smile and strode out confidently.

”Brother Qi, how was that? I didn’t embarrass you, did I?” he asked with a grin.

Lin Qi gave him a thumbs-up and nodded. ”Taozi, you’re impressive!”

Nearby, Lu Wei was inwardly shocked. ’A Qi and Blood Value over 70... that’s a score only an Institute Head should have!’

’Is our Sixth Institute about to produce another S-class genius?’

’Scoring an S-class genius for free... this is a huge win.’

After calming herself, she spoke again.

”Next, Lin Qi!”

”Lin Qi?!”

The moment the name was called, even students from other classes who heard it quickly gathered around.

They formed a tight circle, three layers deep, completely surrounding the Qi and Blood Tester. Everyone was curious about the Qi and Blood Value of Lin Qi, their Institute Head.

”Brother Qi is up! I’m so excited! What do you think his Qi and Blood Value will be?”

”We haven’t tested our Qi and Blood Values since the start of the semester. No one knows what Brother Qi’s is. I’m guessing it’s almost 80, right?”

”Isn’t that too high? It should be around 78, I think?” The crowd chattered excitedly.

Jiangtao also watched Lin Qi’s back, filled with curiosity.

’With Brother Qi’s strength, he’s definitely much higher than me. Could it be 80?’

As the supervising instructor, Lu Wei was also exceptionally curious.

With a calm expression, Lin Qi stepped into the Qi and Blood Tester under everyone’s watchful eyes. He reached out and firmly gripped the black metal handles.

In the next instant, an intangible aura emanated from him.

”BOOM!!”

Lin Qi’s eyes narrowed as his body instantly exploded with power. Veins popped, the lines of his muscles showed through his clothes, and his Qi and Blood surged wildly.

”THUMP! THUMP!!”

His heart pounded violently, his blood accelerating like the roaring waters of the Yellow River.

”ROAR~”

The onlookers around him seemed to hear a tiger’s roar as an invisible wave of energy spread out from his body.

”BEEP! BEEP!!”

At the same time, the tester’s infrared light scanned his body, and a set of numbers appeared on the electronic screen:

[Examinee: Lin Qi, Qi and Blood Value: 90]

The moment the number appeared, a dead silence fell over the area, only to be shattered by a massive commotion.

Heavens!

Everyone was plunged into a state of shock.

”What’s his Qi and Blood Value?”

”A Qi and Blood Value of 90? For real?”

”My Qi and Blood Value is only 30, and Brother Qi is 60 points higher than me! Is he even human?” someone exclaimed, their jaw hanging open.

Guan Shan, Guo Heng, Wang Qiufeng, Chen Zichuan, and even Yu Jing in the distance, all wore expressions of disbelief.

”Brother Qi, that’s just ridiculous! You’re almost at the Fourth Realm!” Jiangtao said, equally incredulous.

Beside them, Lu Wei’s eyes were wide. She’d been at Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy for five years, and aside from the geniuses of the Tenth Institute, this was the first time she had ever seen such a high Qi and Blood Value.

Seeing their reactions, Lin Qi remained relatively calm and said:

”It’s alright.”

Everyone thought to themselves, ’As expected. There goes Brother Qi, humblebragging again.’

Jiangtao was speechless. He originally thought he had closed the gap with Lin Qi.

His Qi and Blood Value was 70, while Brother Qi’s was 90—a full 20-point difference.

Turns out, the gap between them just hadn’t widened too much. The gap between Lin Qi and everyone else, however, had become a massive chasm. They probably couldn’t even hope to catch up to him anymore.

Lin Qi looked at the shocked crowd. He genuinely thought his score was just ’alright’. Over a month ago, he had heard that a genius from the Tenth Institute was about to reach the Peak of the Third Realm.

His current Qi and Blood Value of 90 was still a long way off.

...

The assessment continued for another two hours. The moment it ended, the data was uploaded to the backend system for ranking and tabulation.

Everyone headed to the cafeteria to wait for the results while eating dinner.

The cafeteria at Azure Sky Martial Arts Academy was enormous, capable of seating several thousand people at once. By now, all the various institutes had finished their final exams.

Everyone was gathered in the cafeteria to eat!

”Did you guys hear? Ao Feng from the Third Institute has a Qi and Blood Value as high as 78! That’s terrifying!”

Someone started a heated discussion, their voice carrying to the surrounding tables.

”78? That’s hilarious. Do you know what our Institute Head, Huo Wanyang’s, Qi and Blood Value is?” someone stood up and said smugly.

”What is it?” the first person asked curiously.

”A Qi and Blood Value of 87, almost 90!”

The person who asked fell silent instantly. That Qi and Blood Value was horrifying.

”Huo Wanyang is already Awakened, so it’s normal for his Qi and Blood Value to be high,” someone else said, shaking their head.

”Tch, only 87!”

Another student scoffed, then stood up to boast:

”Even if Huo Wanyang is an SS-level genius, he still can’t beat our Institute Head, Brother Qi.”

”Our Brother Qi has a Qi and Blood Value of exactly 90!!”

As soon as these words were spoken, all the students eating nearby were stunned.

A Qi and Blood Value of 90... he wasn’t far from the Fourth Realm. Didn’t that mean he could already meet the graduation requirements as a freshman?

Even the second and third-year upperclassmen were left speechless. The new students these days were just too terrifying.

”The results are out!”

Someone suddenly shouted.

”Brother Qi, the instructors posted the results in the group chat!”

From a corner, Jiangtao held up his phone, projecting two ranking lists.

[Azure Sky Sixth Institute]

[First Place: Lin Qi]

[Second Place: Jiangtao]

[Third Place: Guo Heng]

...

Lin Qi nodded. The overall ranking for the Azure Sky Sixth Institute was about what he expected. He then looked at the other list.

[Overall Freshman Final Exam Rankings]

[First Place: Lin Qi (Sixth Institute)]

[Second Place: Huo Wanyang (First Institute)]

[Third Place: Ao Feng (Ninth Institute)]

...

”Brother Qi, just as expected, you’re still number one among all the freshmen,” Jiangtao said with a proud smile as he looked at the rankings.

At the same time, he also saw his own overall rank—13th.

Lin Qi, however, wasn’t surprised by this and continued eating his Level 4 Nutritional Meal.

”BUZZ!”

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He opened it to see a message from Dean Liu, telling him to come to his office.

...