"Teacher, I'm not choosing either of them."
"I want to continue pursuing martial arts."
The memory from two weeks ago suddenly flooded Chen Meng's mind, crystal clear: the boy in his office, the calm yet resolute way he spoke those words, the unwavering determination in his eyes.
Chen Meng sighed inwardly.
He finally understood where this hint of tension was coming from.
In this boy, he saw a reflection of his younger self.
This was the very path he himself had once walked.
His family hadn't been well-off, either. He had no distinguished background, let alone an endless supply of resources.
He had made it to where he was today step by step, relying solely on an unwavering martial heart and years of grueling, almost masochistic, hard work.
Lin Ye must have also put in an unimaginable amount of toil and sweat these past two weeks.
But the cruel reality was that the Qi and Blood and life index tests were tests of one's foundation. There were no tricks involved; everything came down to the coldest, most objective numbers.
You either had it, or you didn't.
Judging from the astonishing punching power Lin Ye had previously shown, which was comparable to that of a top student, Chen Meng was ninety percent certain that his Qi and Blood index would meet the standard, and might even be a pleasant surprise.
His real worry was Lin Ye's life index.
This was the most fundamental aspect of a Martial Artist, the most direct reflection of a person's innate talent and potential.
To a certain extent, a person's natural talent is basically determined at birth.
There were ways to change it later in life.
But it undoubtedly required a massive pile of resources. You either had to be soaked in medicinal baths brewed from all sorts of rare treasures since childhood, or you had to be constantly taking Genetic Optimization Liquid and elixirs after deciding to apply for the martial arts track.
Given Lin Ye's ordinary family background, this was clearly impossible.
If, in the end, Lin Ye failed because of his life index, as long as he didn't miss the mark by too much...
Chen Meng had already made a silent decision. He would see if he could pull some strings for Lin Ye and get him a chance to take the entrance exam.
"BEEP—"
Just as his mind was racing, a crisp chime pulled Chen Meng back to reality.
On the light screen, the first piece of data from Lin Ye's test results slowly materialized:
"Qi and Blood Index: 22.01"!
For a moment, Chen Meng felt his vision blur.
Li Jun was simply dumbfounded.
He had thought that Lin Ye's Qi and Blood value might show great improvement, perhaps even exceeding 15, but he never would have imagined it would be this outrageously high!
Just two weeks ago, Lin Ye's Qi and Blood value was only 10.8!
How could it possibly have more than doubled in such a short amount of time!
Nearby, Zhang Yuqing's gaze had been fixed on the screen ever since she saw Lin Ye enter the testing chamber.
Now, when the 22.01 Qi and Blood value appeared, her face didn't show much shock.
Because she was the only one who had personally witnessed the insane training methods Lin Ye used in the gravity room.
That frantic pushing of his body's limits was something even she felt she couldn't compare to.
'With a Qi and Blood value at this level, isn't that only to be expected?'
What she truly found puzzling was why a student so excellent and hardworking had been placed by the school in a regular class like Class Seven.
With his strength and diligence, he should be in Class Two, or even have been qualified to be in her class.
Just then, the proctor in charge of the punching power test once again strode forward. He pointed at the glaring data on the screen and, as if his professional habits were kicking in, looked like he wanted to say something again.
Without a doubt, in his frame of reference, this was another piece of anomalous data that needed to be flagged and re-verified.
But this time, before he could speak, Chen Meng's sturdy frame took a step forward, blocking his path like an iron tower.
His eyes were as cold as blades, filled with an undisguised warning.
Without a doubt, if this clueless fellow dared to publicly demand a re-test again,
Chen Meng would absolutely erupt on the spot and show him a world of hurt.
Just then, another proctor nearby, an older man in his fifties with more seniority, quickly grabbed the greenhorn proctor's arm and pulled him away.
He then dragged him aside and hissed angrily in his ear, "Are you trying to get yourself killed? You dare provoke Mad Tiger? Is this your first day proctoring at Dongjiang First Middle School?"
The proctor was clearly a greenhorn who had just started the job. He stubbornly stuck his neck out, wanting to insist on following the rules and procedures.
But he was brought to his senses by a single sentence from his senior, who was clearly an old hand at this: "It's a five-thousand-a-month job. Is it really worth risking your life over?"
The greenhorn proctor had a sudden realization.
He nodded and didn't say another word.
Time passed, second by second.
But Lin Ye's second—and most critical—piece of data was slow to be calculated.
The screen merely displayed the text: "Data Analysis in Progress..."
'Could the machine really be malfunctioning this time?' Even Chen Meng was starting to wonder.
Finally, under the watchful eyes of the expectant crowd, Lin Ye's second critical test value slowly appeared.
[Life Index: 14.67]!
ROAR—!!!
The students and teachers from Dongjiang First Middle School standing in the front rows, who could clearly see the line of numbers, collectively erupted into an incredulous uproar!
Being so close, they had the clearest view and understood better than anyone what that number really meant.
The students further back, their view blocked by the wall of people in front, didn't know what had happened and started asking, "What's going on? What's going on? What happened?"
Next, a number began to spread through the crowd.
"Holy shit, his life index is 14.67!"
"No way, how can it be that high!!"
Chen Meng finally lost his composure.
He rushed forward and reconfirmed the final value displayed outside the Qi and Blood testing chamber.
After confirming it was correct, countless questions flooded his mind like a bursting dam.
'How is this possible?'
A rapid increase in Qi and Blood value in a short period of time, while rare, was ultimately possible.
After all, boys and girls of this age were at the peak of their physical development. There were always some special cases of late bloomers whose strength could experience an explosive, geyser-like surge at a certain stage.
'But the life index... how, how could it possibly have increased so much in just two short weeks?'
'Could it be...'
'...his Martial Arts Spirituality has awakened?'