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 embarra.s.sed," 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 a.s.similated all that qi you"ve absorbed from the poor b.a.s.t.a.r.ds 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 b.l.o.o.d.y 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 a.n.a.lyze 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 surpa.s.sed 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 outcla.s.sed 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 Const.i.tution 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 cl.u.s.tered 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 a.n.a.lyze my techniques and spread them over the Internet. Already there were webpages dedicated to a.n.a.lyzing 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 partic.i.p.ants 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 pa.s.s through. However, Tang Qi Hong smiled. "But I"m sure Wu will do fine. He"s my a.s.sistant, after all."

"a.s.sistant 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 pa.s.sing 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 a.s.sistant, 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 s.p.a.ce that was surrounded by reinforced t.i.tanium 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 cla.s.sified 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 st.u.r.dy!

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 bas.e.m.e.nt, 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.

Then again, test dummies aren"t humans to begin with. Strange…wasn"t the purpose of test dummies and battle puppets to mimic and imitate real martial artists as much as possible? What"s the point of having them move so…monstrously?

Unfortunately, I didn"t have time to dwell on that question. The test dummy was lunging at me again, its lens flaring red.

"Heh…that guy is getting his a.s.s kicked."

"The test dummy is only level 6 and he"s already having this much difficulty?"

"To be honest…doesn"t the test dummy feel stronger than a level 6 one? I don"t remember it being that strong when I took the level 6 test."

"Did they raise the difficulty of the test or something?"

"Or maybe it"s that kid…I heard he wasn"t able to absorb any artificial qi."

"But he did steal qi from over a hundred martial artists, didn"t he?"

Above, behind the soundproof window, the spectators were murmuring amongst themselves. Down here, I couldn"t hear them, but I had a rough idea of what they were talking about. More so when Tong Xue filled me in later. Whatever the case, I didn"t have time to object or protest against their comments.

The test dummy was hurtling toward me again, and I just barely managed to dive out of the way before it crashed iinto the wall, carving a huge dent in the reinforced material.

"Holy…"

Pushing my gla.s.ses back up, I scrambled to my feet and got ready to evade again just before the test dummy whirled and rotated along its joints, and propelled itself toward me once more. Disappearing into a blur, it lashed out at me with a kick that would have taken my head off if I didn"t instinctively drop to the ground.

"Phew…!"

Panting, I rolled away just before the test dummy stomped on the ground, leaving a tiny crater and a shower of debris. Jumping back to my feet, I crossed my arms in reflex just as it struck me with a powerful punch.

"Kuh…!"

The blow was so powerful that despite me parrying it, my whole body was lifted off the ground and hurled into the opposite wall. I slammed into the concrete, coughing out some blood before I slumped to the floor.

Strong…!

There was no way I could beat this test dummy…at least not in a compet.i.tion of strength.

But it"ll be all right. I"ll find a way, as I always have.

I had barely climbed to my feet when I was forced to dive to the side in reflex, the test dummy"s fist hammering into the wall and leaving yet another small crater. Rolling to my feet, I lashed out with a Ghost Shadow Sword, and it was the test dummy"s turn to react on reflex, crossing its arms to defend against the sharp ice blade.

Clang!

As I expected, my attack left no mark on the st.u.r.dy test dummy. Instead, my ice sword shattered and the test dummy burst through the frosty fragments to strike me again. This time, I dropped down and kicked, sweeping the test dummy"s legs from under it and tripping it up.

The test dummy flailed helplessly it as it tumbled into a heap, sprawled helplessly on the floor. However, as usual, it rotated around its joints and stood up like some creepy insect, lifting its body off the ground while stranded on all fours.

I refused to give it the chance to recover.

Placing my foot on top of the test dummy"s head, I unleashed the volatile pure qi from my leg and executed Seismic Step. The ground around us imploded and shattered from the tremendous impact, the test dummy vanishing within the enormous explosion.

Did that do it?

No.

I suddenly felt a jerk as the test dummy seized my foot. Still remaining unseen within the expanding cloud of dust, it yanked me off balance and spun me around before throwing me at the wall. I flipped my body about and slammed both feet into the wall, tearing chunks of concrete off the surface and barely saving my life.

If I had hit my head at that velocity…I might have died from the impact.

This thing isn"t playing around…

No, I already knew that. But I was still stunned at how resilient the test dummy was. While I dropped to the ground and straightened up, the test dummy emerged from the dust, with jerky and laggy movements. Evidently I had damaged it, but not sufficiently to the point where it was incapacitated. As it couldn"t feel pain, it would keep on fighting until it was completely destroyed.

This is supposed to be level 6?!

Briefly, I wondered if there was some mistake. But there was no point voicing out loud. Teacher Cai Pan hadn"t stepped in and interfered, and any protests I made right now would be perceived as excuses. I had to overcome this, whether I liked it or not.

But how?

My ice swords were ineffective. This was the main reason why I chose to stay in the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect instead of choosing to leave after pa.s.sing the entrance examination. Sure, part of the reason was because I had no intention of wasting the opportunity after taking trouble and spending all that time and effort pa.s.sing the entrance exam, and of course not wanting to disappoint Tang Qi Hong and wanting to stay by her side as her a.s.sistant was also a major factor, but my primary motive was to forge my own weapons.

There was only so much I can do with such fragile ice weapons, even if I had inscribed the Heaven and Earth Spirit Engraving into them. Eventually I would meet people with powerful spirit armaments and consummate skill, and they would obliterate whatever ice weapons I froze out of thin air. No, I needed a proper weapon.

However, despite spending the last three months or so as Tang Qi Hong"s a.s.sistant, I had yet to polish my blacksmithing skills. That was why the five Ice Soul Python scales had remained untouched, lying on my shelf. One day…perhaps about three or four months later, I would finally reach the level I found satisfactory before I dared to attempt blacksmithing. Now, I would just screw everything up and waste the highly precious spirit materials.

No point thinking too much about that now, though. I"ve to focus on my opponent.

Despite the damage it had received, the test dummy was still moving at a terrifying speed. It had straightened up and launched itself at me, disappearing into a blur. Sparks continued to ring out from its metal plating, but its movements seemed unhindered.

"!"

I dodged under its kick and parried its punch. As before, I found myself skidding back, but at least this time I managed to keep my feet on the ground. Without any hesitation, the test dummy smashed its feet onto the ground and whirled around to ruthlessly strike me. I dodged it and responded with a kick to its midriff.

Bam!

The test dummy staggered backward, but otherwise managed to hold its ground firmly. It responded with a merciless hook that would have taken my head off if I didn"t use a footwork technique and disappear behind it.

Spinning around, I rammed my foot against the test dummy"s head, executing a powerful Shadow Kick that would have either snapped the neck of any human opponent or send him tumbling to the ground unconscious.

Unfortunately, the test dummy was not human.

While its head remained pinned in place by my foot, the rest of its body rotated around in a disturbing manner until its hands and legs were facing me. It then lashed out to capture me, but I used Tui to widen the distance between us.

Just what does it take to incapacitate that thing!?

The glowering red lens had cracked from my kick, but it continued to move and attack unimpeded and continued to move as quickly as before. It tilted its head, almost as if curious, and then lunged forward again.

Don"t tell me I"ll be forced to use Heaven and Earth Formula?!

No way. My schoolmates had pa.s.sed the level 6 test without resorting to such fancy ultimate techniques. There had to be a way to win this with conventional methods, without using techniques as powerful as Heaven and Earth Formula.

Don"t falter! Meet the test dummy head-on!

Suddenly, a voice spoke up in my head, sounding almost like Master"s. I hesitated a moment, but the test dummy was barreling at me too quickly for me to dither. Taking a deep breath, I gambled on the voice in my head and stood my ground. Right as the test dummy arrived, I dodged its punch by the narrowest of margins and then counterattacked with a kick to its core.

The test dummy flew back, wheezing in a mechanical noise. Not waiting for it to land, I used Jin and launched myself after it. Mercilessly slamming my foot against it, I kicked it to the ground and pinned it there. The test dummy was no pushover, however, and grinding its limbs against the ground, began to push me off…

I executed a second Seismic Step. Then a third. And then a fourth.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

By the time I was done with the fourth, the test dummy was finally a tangled mess of exposed wires and broken parts. Breathing heavily and feeling slightly lightheaded, I stepped away. Keeping my eye on my fallen opponent, I retreated to a safe distance and waited, just in case it decided to get up and attack me again.

The test dummy struggled to raise its head, which was now attached only by a few wires. Sparks flew from the exposed metal even as the test dummy fixed me with its red lens…and then the demonic light died out and the test dummy slumped over like a broken puppet whose strings were cut.

"The test is over!" Teacher Cai Pan announced, his voice reverberating across the enclosed s.p.a.ce of the coliseum. "Student Fei Wu, you have pa.s.sed the level 6 test!"

"Finally." Taking a deep breath of immense relief, I leaned against the wall wearily and closed my eyes.

*

"Satisfied now?"

Teacher Jiao glanced at Xiao Zhang, who was watching the test in his office with his fingers steepled.

The elderly princ.i.p.al nodded briefly and smiled.

"That test dummy was actually programmed to be level 8, and yet he still succeeded in destroying it. Not bad. Not bad at all. It seems that my faith in his ability has been justified, after all."

"So we should give him level 8 status then?"

"Not yet." Xiao Zhang smirked. "Wait and see. If I"m not mistaken, I bet Student Fei Wu has a reason for wanting to remain level 6. If he takes a level 7 test in the near future, give him a level 9 test dummy as his opponent, and promote him to level 9 immediately if he pa.s.ses, or regardless of the results, tell him the truth and give him level 8 status. But if he holds off from taking any other level tests…"

"Why would he do that?" Teacher Jiao looked puzzled. Xiao Zhang shook his head in amus.e.m.e.nt."

"Shi, even though you"ve been his homeroom teacher for so many years, you still haven"t grasped his character…or the kind of tricks students pull." He leaned closer and dropped his voice into a dramatic whisper. "The school tournament is only four months away. Any sensibile partic.i.p.ant with an eye on winning and becoming the champion will want to hide their true strength."

"Ah…" Teacher Jiao understood. "I"ll do that then."

"This year"s tournament is going to be very interesting. Not just that student Fei Wu…" Xiao Zhang turned around and activated his tablet. "Bai Ning Xue. Zhu Jiao. Tang Qi Hong. Du Lang. Li Chun Long. Feng Tian Yong. Even that new student from the White Tiger Sect, Jian Ling Zhao. A lot of promising candidates this year…and most of them are from your cla.s.s. Who would have thought, huh?"

"I was just lucky." Teacher Jiao bowed his head, his expression neutral.

"Perhaps. Nonetheless, I"m sure you must be proud of your students." Xiao Zhang nodded. To be fair, Teacher Jiao didn"t teach most of them actual martial arts, only theory. The ones who deserved the credit for teaching these students martial arts were their parent sects. However, Xiao Zhang was still aware of the contributions that Teacher Jiao did for those students. Tapping his fingers on his desk, the princ.i.p.al of Wu Ling Academy studied the numerous student photographs intently with a broad smile. "Who do you think will win the tournament this year?"