Chapter Four: One Breath

The puppets possessed no wisdom and knew no flexibility, but their cultivation had been set higher than that of the examinees. That was the hardest gulf for ordinary geniuses to cross.

More than ten thousand people took part in the martial academy assessment. After the first round, more than half had already been eliminated, and perhaps only three or four thousand remained.

After this round, however, no more than five hundred would be left; not even one in ten would survive.

Yet the few hundred who could advance would all have exceptionally solid foundations and formidable practical combat ability, each a genius from some corner of Clear River or Ancient Tea County.

For many, this hurdle was exceedingly difficult.

But for Chen Fan and the others who had mastered subtle martial techniques, it was quite simple.

Setting aside his several martial arts techniques, even his foundation alone, far surpassing those of others at the same level, was enough to deal with the lifeless puppet.

Soon the assessment began.

The instructors first checked each disciple's cultivation, then sent them into different rooms.

Those who entered earlier occupied the rooms; those of the same cultivation level who arrived later had to wait.

And most of the disciples participating were below the third level of martial cultivation.

The rooms for the second, third, and fourth levels were quickly filled.

Soon there were people queued outside the three rooms, while no one stood before the rooms from the fourth upward.

The instructor yawned, turned to look at the remaining crowd, and asked, "Anyone here above the fourth level of martial cultivation?"

The martial academy was unusual in that its age limit was very lenient; even if you were over thirty, you could still come to take the assessment.

Only, the older you were, the harder it became to pass, and the harder it was to earn a higher rating.

For those too old, passing the martial academy assessment was nearly impossible, and if one truly had sufficient talent, one would have already joined the academy long ago.

Thus, the entrance assessment rarely saw older participants. Those in their mid-twenties were still acceptable, but beyond thirty they were exceedingly rare.

And as a rule, age and cultivation level tended to rise together, so examiners above the fourth level of martial cultivation were naturally scarce.

As soon as the instructor said this, Chen Fan immediately stepped forward. "Me!"

At the same time, he also heard another voice from behind the line: "Me!"

Chen Fan turned around and met the other's gaze, only to see a handsome young man in his early twenties.

The young man cast an astonished glance at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan was clearly much younger.

Chen Fan also felt slight surprise. This man's age was not great either; he seemed to be only in his early twenties, yet he had already reached the fourth level of martial cultivation, beyond even his senior sister Yun Wei.

The two of them had spoken at once.

Naturally, the surrounding people began to murmur.

The young man narrowed his eyes into a line, smiled faintly, and raised a hand. "Little brother, you go first."

Chen Fan did not stand on ceremony, nodding as he stepped forward.

As Chen Fan moved to the front, the lazy instructor also showed surprise. "You've already reached the fourth level of martial cultivation?" Even he rarely saw such a young and powerful martial artist.

Chen Fan nodded. "Instructor may verify my progress."

The instructor squinted, reached out, and gripped Chen Fan's shoulder. In that instant, Chen Fan felt a surge of heat entering his body.

He controlled his own true essence and did not resist.

The instructor quickly withdrew his hand, his face full of astonishment. "It really is the fourth level of martial cultivation!"

The release of true essence from the body was the sign of complete fourth-level attainment, but before true essence could leave the body, even a grandmaster could not directly see through the refinement progress within someone else's body.

The disciples around them were all in an uproar; no one could help but be amazed.

Chen Fan was tall and straight-backed, but the delicate refinement of his features could not be hidden. At a glance, he did not seem older than seventeen.

Several disciples from White Cloud Hall were also dumbfounded. They had only known that a few months ago Chen Fan had still been at the third level of martial cultivation, able to defeat demon beasts of higher strength, and they had never heard that he had already reached the fourth level!

They stared at Chen Fan as though he were some kind of monster.

Even the extraordinarily perceptive Chi Liuguang could only let out a bitter smile.

Back when Chen Fan had not yet begun cultivating true techniques, he had been at the second level of martial cultivation. And now, while he had only just entered the third level a few months ago, this junior brother had already reached the fourth.

Zhang Fan looked at Chen Fan, and all he felt was envy.

He knew Chen Fan had achieved such cultivation because their master had bestowed a earth-grade pill upon him, but he did not know that Chen Fan had never taken that pill at all.

Chen Fan took his token and walked straight into Room Five.

The room was spacious beyond measure, covering two to three hundred square meters. In the center stood a wooden mannequin, clothed in armor, clearly the so-called puppet.

In the corner of the room, there was also a dedicated observer.

A woman sat at a desk in the corner, with two men standing beside her.

"Hand me your token!"

She was a cold woman, though upon seeing Chen Fan she could not help but look at him twice. After taking the token from his hand, she raised her head.

"You're only fifteen?"

Chen Fan had long expected his display of strength to provoke surprise, so he was unsurprised and simply nodded. "Instructor, may I begin?"

The woman’s gaze grew faintly dazed. Silently guessing that Chen Fan might possess some special constitution, she pointed toward the weapon rack beside them. "Choose a weapon that suits you first."

Chen Fan nodded. Weapons brought by oneself were also forbidden in this round of the assessment.

Otherwise, weapons of treasure rank and above were incomparably sharp, and would confer an unimaginable advantage in battle.

The weapons provided by the martial academy were only ordinary blades, far from treasure rank.

Without the Black Sword, Chen Fan's incomplete Three-Foot Sword could not compare in power to the subtle mastery of the Nine Suns Tiger-Subduing Fist.

So, in order to defeat the enemy more quickly, he chose a steel gauntlet.

The woman then said, "Walk up to the puppet. It will activate automatically. When you see its eyes turn red, you may begin attacking. There is a timing device inside its body. Once you defeat it, the timing will stop!"

Chen Fan understood, then walked before the puppet and assumed his stance.

Then the white stones in the puppet's eyes indeed turned red.

The instant its eyes changed, Chen Fan stepped with the Three Thousand Thunder Movement, and lightning flash erupted.

Using the force of his forward charge, the primordial core within him burst forth, and at the same time the secret art of the Nine Suns Tiger-Subduing Fist exploded from him.

"Fierce Tiger Cleaves the Claw!"

Like a tiger pouncing, a mighty, ferocious punch crashed down.

Boom!

The entire puppet was blasted backward, slamming into the wall behind it.

Another thunderous impact followed.

Crack, crack!

The depression in the puppet's chest spread like a spiderweb, and fine wood shavings and unidentified small parts scattered across the floor.

Then its body slid down the wall and toppled to the ground. The red light in its eyes had already dimmed, and it lay motionless.

Chen Fan looked at the scene, then turned to the woman in the corner. "Did I win?"

Gone was the coldness she had shown before. Her mouth hung open so wide it seemed an egg could be stuffed inside. Only after hearing Chen Fan's question did she close it, cast him a deeply peculiar glance, and signal the two beside her to step forward and inspect the puppet.

After confirming the result, the two quickly carried in a new puppet and placed it in the center of the room.

The woman then looked at Chen Fan with a strange expression. "At your age, defeating the puppet within twenty breaths would already earn the highest grade of A-plus. But you... only used one breath..."

Chen Fan clasped his hands, feeling relieved, and nodded slightly.

The reason he received A-plus in this round was simply because the highest possible rating was A-plus.

Of the three assessment rounds, he had already obtained A-plus in two.

Even Chen Fan felt delighted.

"I'll remember you, Chen Fan!"

The woman took up a brush and swept it across his token, recording Chen Fan's completion time and his A-plus rating, then stamped it with an official seal before allowing him to leave.

This female instructor was clearly not as dramatic as the one before her, and because the practical combat round was conducted inside the room to avoid disrupting the disciples, apart from the three people present, no one knew that this assessment point had produced an A-plus result.