Chapter Twenty-Four: A Startling Display

When Elijie took the stage, the reaction she stirred up was naturally even stronger than Kevin’s. After all, as a girl, for her to achieve results on par with Kevin was even more remarkable. Coupled with her status as the school beauty, it was yet another reason for the applause that swept through the crowd.

For Elijie, the end-of-month assessment was little more than a performance. Her every movement was graceful and light, full of beauty, as though she were dancing on wings. The male students below watched, utterly entranced, their spirits adrift. In the combat technique test, Elijie used Frost, a move she had only recently mastered. However, she was now far more proficient than during her internship task. To see a fourth-level technique wielded by a student at a junior martial academy was already enough for the highest marks—especially since Frost was considered the most difficult of all fourth-level techniques to master.

For once, the old witch’s coffin-like face revealed a slight smile. Elijie’s performance brought her considerable pride. Yet the student who followed, perhaps overwhelmed by Elijie’s brilliance, crumbled under the pressure, performed poorly, and was berated so harshly by the old witch that his self-esteem nearly shattered. The rest of Class Six watched in terror, dreading the prospect of making the same mistake.

With the tests for Year Three, Class Five concluded, the students of Class Six entered the arena together. This time, not only was there no applause from the stands, but instead came a chorus of unpleasant jeers. Perhaps affected by the heckling, several students in Class Six lost their composure, performed even worse than the previous month, and their resentment toward Luo Chen only deepened.

When Luo Chen, the last to be tested from Class Six, stepped up to the strength testing machine, he drew unprecedented attention. No one paid the slightest heed to the few remaining Class Six students still undergoing other assessments; instead, a tidal wave of boos and raised middle fingers was directed solely at Luo Chen.

“Luo Chen, you worthless loser, you dare show your face here for the test?”

“Haven’t you embarrassed yourself enough? Get lost already!”

“Weston Academy doesn’t want you! We demand Luo Chen’s expulsion!”

The uproar was so intense that the academy itself could do little to intervene; after all, Luo Chen was at fault, and Class Six’s tests were already over. Those waiting on the sidelines wore looks of alternating shame and pallor, wishing desperately for the end-of-month assessment to be over so they could escape this mortifying scene.

“Luo Chen, stay pure—go for it!” An untimely cheer rose from the crowd, drawing furious glares. But it was soon discovered that the one shouting encouragement was Shi Feng.

Shi Feng raised an eyebrow. “What are you looking at? Anyone want to take me on one-on-one? Come at me if you dare!”

Not a soul dared respond to such brazen provocation. Who would challenge this monster? That would be suicide.

“Tch, all you do is shout and squawk. Aren’t you all so brave, so fearless? Why are you now a bunch of turtles with their heads pulled in?” Shi Feng’s tone dripped with disdain. That was just the kind of person he was—loyal to a fault, willing to stand against the whole academy for a friend. And he had the strength to back it up.

Ah, so there was still someone supporting him. Luo Chen felt a sense of comfort.

Very well, even for Shi Feng’s sake, he could not afford to be too disgraceful.

That warm current was still there—more pronounced now than the day before, perhaps due to a night of rest and recovery. Luo Chen took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and the flow of warmth within him accelerated, growing ever stronger. His fists began to burn with energy.

Channeling that blazing strength, Luo Chen struck the testing machine with a single punch.

At that moment, the old witch seized the opportunity to lecture the students of Class Six, making a veiled jab at Jason: “A student without martial virtue will never achieve greatness. You must never follow his example!”

Surprisingly, the students—normally cowed by her oppressive authority—did not react. Instead, they stared past her, their faces strangely contorted. The old witch frowned and turned to see what was happening.

On the big screen, a line of text flashed: “Year Three, Class Six, Luo Chen, last month’s result, this month’s result…”

The result was excellent, but not yet extraordinary—except for the staggering difference between the two scores.

The old witch’s crow-like eyes nearly popped out of her head. No wonder the students of Class Six hadn’t responded—if they had, it would only have made the irony crueler.

The avalanche of boos vanished. The arena fell to a strange, unnerving silence. Disbelief shone in the eyes of every student.

Such improvement in strength—this result was monstrous, more shocking even than the impact Shi Feng had made! Truly, friends of the abnormal tend to be abnormal themselves.

Admittedly, a leap of around three hundred pounds in these tests was possible—but only when a top student like Elijie advanced from fourth to fifth level in spiritual energy. It was unheard of for a third-level spiritual energy user like Luo Chen. What’s more, Luo Chen’s improvement far exceeded the usual increase from fourth to fifth level.

Shi Feng exaggeratedly rubbed his eyes. No way—was this really Luo Chen’s test result? Not even ten cauldrons of the best tonic could account for such a leap in power!

Even the distant Elijie was visibly moved, surprise flickering in her beautiful brown eyes. Just over two weeks ago, during their joint internship task, she had known Luo Chen’s strength well—at that time, he had truly only been a third-level spiritual energy warrior, with no sign of breaking through to the fourth. Even if he had, it was impossible for his progress to be so rapid!

“Is the testing machine broken?”

“It has to be! How could a third-level spiritual energy warrior improve by over four hundred pounds in two weeks? Not even a genius could do that!”

“Damn right! If there’s nothing wrong with the machine, I’ll eat it!”

As expected, the students echoed the same suspicions they had voiced during Luo Chen’s mid-month test.

One of the tutors specializing in energy control strode forward, punched the testing machine, and announced to all: “The machine is working perfectly. Next student, please continue.”

The tutor overseeing the strength test had been watching closely and noted the flow of spiritual energy as Luo Chen struck. This student had already reached the fourth level. But even so, the numbers were implausible—the tutors simply could not comprehend it.

With the machine cleared of fault, the uproar only intensified. Did this mean Luo Chen’s results were real? How could it be possible?

Even the students from Class Six, who had witnessed Luo Chen’s explosive progress at mid-month, were stunned. They had assumed his previous leap was due to reaching the third level of spiritual energy. But now—had he broken through again, all the way to the fifth level?

Impossible! In just one month, to jump from third to fifth level—that would be a miracle beyond belief!

Maybe Luo Chen had been so traumatized that he’d experienced some wild, frenzied boost, as though he’d taken a dose of berserker elixir. If that was the case, they’d almost be willing to endure public disgrace for the same effect themselves.