“557 points, the undergraduate line is 561?” Luo Feng took a deep breath.

Just four points short! Because of these four points, he had lost the opportunity to enter the military academy.

Twelve years of education had led to such a result.

“If I can’t go to the military academy, then I can’t go. What’s the big deal?” Luo Feng’s gaze sharpened. He raised his right hand, forming a knife with his palm, and sliced it forward. The air trembled violently as his hand cut through it, creating a chilling sound of wind that made one’s heart race. “This recent fainting has greatly improved my strength!”

“Perhaps my physical fitness has already reached that of a martial artist. I might be able to pass the ‘pre-martial artist assessment.’”

“Even if I’m a bit short, it’s not a huge gap. If I practice diligently for a month or two, I should be able to pass the ‘pre-martial artist assessment.’”

Luo Feng was highly adaptable. Although not reaching the undergraduate line in the college entrance examination had hit him hard, the improvement in his physical condition due to the fainting spell gave him confidence!

After all, the status of a military academy graduate is far inferior to that of a martial artist!

“Crack!” Luo Feng opened the door and entered the living room.

In the living room, his parents, Luo Hongguo and Gong Xinlan, along with his younger brother Luo Hua, all turned to look at him, concern evident in their eyes. Gong Xinlan even stood up and walked towards Luo Feng, “Xiao Feng, you can’t blame yourself for this college entrance exam. It’s just that headache of yours—sigh, how did it have to flare up now? It hasn’t acted up in years.”

“Bro, you’re not feeling down, are you?” his brother Luo Hua, sitting in a wheelchair, joked deliberately.

Earlier, Luo Feng had been checking his scores inside, while his parents and brother learned about his results through Luo Hua’s laptop. They knew that Luo Feng was just four points shy of the undergraduate line. Although they felt a bit disappointed, their main concern was for Luo Feng.

Luo Feng smiled, “Of course I’m not feeling down. Mom and Dad, don’t blame the headache. To be honest, I even want to thank it!”

“Thank?”

“Thank?”

“Thank?”

Luo Hongguo, Gong Xinlan, and Luo Hua were all stunned. The college entrance exam is a major life event, and now Luo Feng’s chances had been ruined by this headache, yet he wanted to thank it?

“Dad, Mom, A Hua.” Luo Feng smiled lightly, “When I was younger, I fainted from headaches twice. Actually, after waking up those two times, I felt much stronger and could run faster. This time… it’s the same! I can feel that my physical condition has improved tremendously. I should be able to pass the ‘pre-martial artist assessment.’”

“What?” Luo Hongguo, Gong Xinlan, and Luo Hua exchanged glances.

“Bro, is that for real?” Luo Hua couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course it’s true.” Luo Feng smiled slightly, “Once I pass the pre-martial artist assessment, I can apply for the ‘martial artist combat assessment.’ I’m quite confident in my combat skills; this year, I might just become a martial artist!”

His father Luo Hongguo, mother Gong Xinlan, and younger brother Luo Hua were all stunned by this news.

A martial artist!

What does that represent? It symbolizes a status far above the ordinary, privilege! It means wealth! It means a lofty position! Moreover, once one becomes a martial artist, the benefits it brings to the family are far greater than those of being an elite student in a military academy.

“Our family is going to have a martial artist?” Luo Hua couldn’t help but shout excitedly, “Haha, bro, I admire you!”

“Xiao Feng, that’s great!” Luo Hongguo was equally excited as he clapped Luo Feng on the shoulder, “Becoming a martial artist is fantastic; what’s a military academy graduate compared to that?”

These days, martial artists were highly respected and admired in human society worldwide.

Seeing his parents and brother so happy, Luo Feng chuckled, “Mom and Dad, but I haven’t taken the assessment yet, so we can’t get too ahead of ourselves.”

“An 18-year-old martial artist?” Luo Hua exclaimed excitedly, “If my bro really becomes an 18-year-old martial artist, that would be too, too… awesome!!!”

xxxxxx

The next morning at five o’clock, as dawn broke.

Luo Feng left home, heading towards the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

“There aren’t many people around at this time.” Upon entering the hall, Luo Feng noticed that on the grass and paths, there were only about a hundred people visible. Given that there were thirty to forty thousand students in the hall, “the instructors usually teach at night, when the hall is most crowded.”

Walking along the path, Luo Feng headed directly for the advanced students’ teaching building.

“Rumble—” a low, deep sound of air pressure came from ahead.

“Hmm?”

Luo Feng turned to look and saw a luxurious white sports car slowly driving into the hall. Upon closer inspection, he gasped, “Is that an Aston Martin? Or the latest, most expensive model with flight capabilities, the THR-191?”

His younger brother was a huge fan of sports cars and had praised this THR-191 when they were at home.

“It’s an Aston Martin.”

“It’s the 191, the one with flight capabilities.” Students, previously scattered about, were drawn to the car. “This car costs 36 million Chinese yuan.”

At that moment, the sports car stopped in front of the advanced students’ teaching building. The door opened, and a man with bright red hair in loose martial arts clothing stepped out. His hair was clearly dyed, and he casually scanned his surroundings, his gaze passing over the ordinary students before lingering momentarily on Luo Feng. Then he said nothing and walked straight into the teaching building.

“He’s a martial artist.” Luo Feng’s eyes lit up.

Just the glance from this martial artist had pressured Luo Feng; it was a gaze hardened by countless life-and-death battles.

“I’ve never seen this martial artist in the hall before. What is he doing here?” Luo Feng entered the third-floor practice hall of the advanced students’ teaching building.

The spacious practice hall was empty, with no one inside.

It was only a little past five in the morning. Even at night when the hall was busiest, there were generally no more than twenty people here, let alone so early in the morning.

“I want to see how much my strength has improved.” Luo Feng walked over, plugged in the punch force testing machine, turned it on, and then activated the speed testing device in the distance.

Standing in front of the punch force testing machine.

“Let’s start!”

Luo Feng took a deep breath, centered himself, and unleashed a powerful force from his waist, causing his spine to arch as if it were a giant python. A surge of strength flowed through his arms, and then Luo Feng’s fist struck the punching pad with a loud bang.

“Beep, beep, beep!” The punch force testing machine emitted three continuous beeps.

Luo Feng’s eyes brightened. Typically, the punch force testing machine wouldn’t make such sounds. The beeping indicated one thing—the punch force exceeded 1000 kg.

“Hmm?” Luo Feng stared at the display screen of the punch force testing machine—‘1089 kg.’

“So much?”

A wave of excitement coursed through Luo Feng. The requirement for a martial artist’s physical fitness is that the punch force must reach 900 kg, and his previous force was 809 kg. Now, it had actually risen to 1089 kg, an increase of 280 kg, far exceeding the minimum requirement.

“Haha.”

Excited, Luo Feng started throwing punches rapidly, his body swaying left and right. The sound of his punches striking the pad echoed continuously. In the blink of an eye, he had struck the pad over twenty times, and the punch force testing machine displayed a series of numbers—‘956 kg, 989 kg, 923 kg, 965 kg…’

“Let’s test my speed now.” Luo Feng turned towards the track, “As long as my speed passes, combined with my nerve reaction speed, I’ll have already met the requirements. Then I’ll definitely pass the pre-martial artist assessment!”

Luo Feng adjusted his breathing.

Whoosh!

He shot down the track like a cannonball.

On the fourth floor of the advanced students’ teaching building, the red-haired man and a bald middle-aged man in black were chatting amiably as they walked side by side.

“Yan Luo, how long has it been since we last met?” the bald man smiled, “Almost three years, right? That naive kid back then is now quite famous. I’ve heard you made nearly a hundred million Earth coins this time. Tsk tsk. Seeing you makes me feel old.”

“Just lucky.” The red-haired man chuckled, “Brother Jiang, you back then…”

“Beep, beep, beep!”

A faint sound from downstairs surprised both of them, and they exchanged glances.

“The punch force testing machine downstairs is the initial version. It makes that sound when the punch force exceeds 1000 kg,” the bald man said in astonishment, “Even at this hour, someone is here practicing punches, and they can punch over 1000 kg. Could it be that Yang Wu?”

“Let’s find out.”

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Dressed in black and white, the two figures transformed into phantoms, swiftly making their way down the stairs. In the blink of an eye, they reached the entrance of the martial arts training hall on the third floor from the fourth.

The middle-aged man in black with a shaved head and the short-haired man in white stood side by side, gazing into the training hall. At that moment, Luo Feng was standing on the track, darting past with incredible speed.

“28.1 m/s.” Both the black-haired, bald middle-aged man and the red-haired man noticed the number displayed on the speed testing device.

“This Luo Feng has a punch force exceeding 1000 kilograms, and his speed has reached 28.1 meters per second in just one second,” the black-haired bald middle-aged man remarked, slightly astonished.

“Brother Jiang, this kid can’t be that old, yet he has already met the physical standards for a martial artist,” the red-haired man exclaimed in surprise. The black-haired bald middle-aged man nodded, saying, “Yes, his name is Luo Feng, and he is one of the more talented trainees in our martial arts school. He just turned eighteen this year!”

“Eighteen? So young?” The red-haired man's eyes lit up.

At that moment, Luo Feng, who had noticed the two at the entrance, was taken aback. The red-haired man was the martial artist who had driven the sports car earlier, while the black-haired bald middle-aged man was the head of this extreme martial arts school, Jiang Nian, the most powerful figure there. According to the school’s rules, all trainees referred to him as “Instructor.”

“Instructor!” Luo Feng greeted him respectfully.

“Come here.” Instructor Jiang Nian smiled and called out, “I didn’t expect you to reach the physical standards for a martial artist so quickly. Let me introduce you to this person; this is your senior, Yan Luo. Yan Luo, I hope it’s okay for me to tell him your name?”

“It’s fine.” Yan Luo nodded as he looked at Luo Feng. “This kid, reaching the physical standards for a martial artist at such a young age, perhaps in the future, he might have some interaction with me.”

Instructor Jiang Nian turned to Luo Feng and smiled, saying, “Luo Feng, you’re eighteen this year; you should be taking the college entrance examination, right? Don’t worry about how you did this year. What’s the point of going to school? Just focus on preparing for the ‘Martial Artist Practical Assessment.’ Oh, by the way, on July 1st, you need to go to the Extreme Gym in Yangzhou City to take the ‘Qualified Martial Artist Assessment.’ With your current strength, you should pass it easily.”

“College entrance examination?” Yan Luo chuckled beside him, “Don’t waste time on university; you have good talent. Whatever you do, you should dedicate yourself entirely. Now you should focus all your energy on martial arts. Kid, once you become a martial artist, join our Extreme Martial Arts School, and that’s where your future lies.”

These two martial artists held high positions and looked down on the so-called wealthy and officials in society. However, they held great expectations for Luo Feng, who was also about to enter the realm of martial artists and was still very young.