Chapter Twenty-Five: A Flirtatious Leap

At this moment, Jason, in high spirits, addressed the students of Class Five, “Everyone makes mistakes. For those who stumble, we should be tolerant and give them a chance, rather than ruthlessly crushing their dignity and confidence. Look at Luo Chen, who, having felt shame, has now found courage—he is someone worthy of our renewed recognition. Do you understand?” His words were a retort to Donna’s harshness; the old witch never cared how her students felt, often berating them until their dignity was completely lost.

The students of Class Six responded in unison, “Yes, Mentor Jason!”

The old witch heard the irony in Jason’s words and trembled with rage, yet many students in Class Five genuinely agreed with Jason. Under her tutelage, they were always anxious, terrified of making even the smallest mistake.

If only Mentor Jason were our class advisor, thought the envious students of Class Five.

The other mentors of Class Six felt a sense of relief too. Although Luo Chen’s previous actions had tarnished the class’s honor, at least he redeemed some pride during the test.

Luo Chen now approached the lightfoot technique test point. In the extreme jump test, he could not, like Shi Feng, simply jog a few steps and leap; Luo Chen carefully retreated over ten meters, then began his run-up, coming to the jump line. Without having learned how to channel spiritual energy for the lightfoot technique, Luo Chen instinctively guided the warm flow of energy to his feet.

It felt as if he had springs beneath his feet, or as though he had stepped on a landmine—he shot upward so suddenly that even he was startled. The consequences of this impromptu trial became clear: Luo Chen lost his balance, failing to control his direction, and leapt at a thirty-degree angle, landing well outside the bounds of the runway.

The equipment failed to register a landing, and after three seconds, it beeped, displaying a result: “0 meters.”

Luo Chen was nearly dizzy with embarrassment. This was a laughable, low-level mistake, one that scarcely anyone in the academy would make, yet it had happened to him—and so exaggeratedly at that. Truly, one shouldn't act recklessly, using unfamiliar spiritual energy flows!

A line of numbers appeared on the big screen: “Class Three, Year Six: Luo Chen. Last month’s score: meters. This time:”

No one laughed at Luo Chen’s blunder; they simply couldn’t. Though he had broken the rules, judging from his landing spot, his extreme jump distance was at least seventeen meters—over five meters more than his previous record.

As spiritual warriors, everyone possessed a certain ability to judge distances by eye, and the error would not be too great. Yet another astonishing result; though the test outcome was awkward, none could deny the impressive flair in Luo Chen’s jump.

Nearby, the lightfoot technique mentor frowned. It seemed Luo Chen had just broken through to Spirit Energy Level Three, and was a novice, using spiritual energy flow instinctively for the first time—hence the beginner’s mistake. However, few newly advanced Level Four spirit warriors displayed such explosive power. Had Luo Chen not jumped off course, he might have rivaled outstanding students like Ellie and Kevin from years past, but both Ellie and Kevin had received excellent instruction since childhood, built strong foundations, and benefited from family secret methods—naturally far surpassing ordinary people. Luo Chen, recruited as a special candidate and only recently trained, could hardly compare.

This was the question on every mentor’s mind; Luo Chen had delivered surprise after surprise today.

In the subsequent agility direction-change test, Luo Chen brought no further miracles, as he dared not use his half-mastered spiritual energy flow for the lightfoot technique. Still, his increased strength made him more agile. Running through a hundred stakes, he took seconds, two less than last month—a commendable improvement in this test, though his outstanding performance in the strength and extreme jump tests overshadowed this achievement.

In the martial technique assessment, students attack a mentor with weapons or bare hands, while the other six observing mentors score their performance based on power, skill, technique, threat, timing, and exploitation of weaknesses. Each gives a score out of ten, and the average forms the final mark.

Luo Chen’s martial technique was merely passable, as since enrolling, he had devoted most of his focus to the Qi Condensation Method, lightfoot technique, and hidden weapons—courses most useful for survival and escape. Yet, the significant boost in his strength greatly benefited his attack power and speed, earning him a score of 7.36—his first time scoring above seven in martial technique.

The hidden weapon test score depended mainly on power and accuracy, but to achieve high marks, one needed to incorporate advanced skills such as rapid-fire, simultaneous throws, and spinning techniques, or use rare, difficult-to-master weapons like plum blossom needles and display high proficiency.

Luo Chen had put considerable effort into hidden weapons; otherwise, he would not have been able to wrap the flying rope around the treetop so smoothly during his internship task, escaping a beast. However, he had not yet learned advanced techniques. His power was higher than in previous tests, but due to poor control, his accuracy was lacking, so his score was roughly the same as last month.

The blocking test was the opposite of the martial technique test: a mentor attacks while the student defends. Neither side may use martial or combat skills, relying only on basic moves—slash, chop, cut, thrust—for attack and defense. The defender may not retreat. The mentor selects a blunt longsword for the test, as does the student. After a countdown, the mentor launches the attack.

A solid two-handed downward slash came at Luo Chen—a simple, refined move with the force to split mountains. The same basic action, executed by the mentor, was utterly different.

Luo Chen dared not neglect it; he channeled spiritual energy to his right hand, gripping the sword with both hands and meeting the blow with a basic horizontal block.

Clang!

The metallic clash brought a heavy pressure; spiritual energy surged into Luo Chen’s hands, offsetting part of the force, but he still retreated twenty centimeters.

Seeing Luo Chen’s strength test results, the mentor employed mid-stage Level Four spirit energy, naturally gaining the upper hand.

Without hesitation, the mentor pivoted on his left foot, spun, and switched to a single-handed diagonal chop—just as fierce, unaffected by the previous strike.

Clang! Another full-force blow; Luo Chen struggled even more to cope. The mentor pressed his advantage, unleashing relentless, mercury-like attacks that gave Luo Chen no opportunity to catch his breath. Each strike was heavy, and though only mid-stage Level Four force was used, the mentor maintained peak output, something ordinary students of the same level could never match.

Soon, Luo Chen, forced on the defensive, felt mounting pressure, as if carrying a boulder on his back.

Spiritual energy flow played a crucial role; whenever Luo Chen was nearly exhausted, a warm stream would rush to his hands, offsetting the sword’s pressure and allowing him to barely hang on—though only prolonging his inevitable defeat.

The mentor’s fierce assault stretched Luo Chen’s energy supply thin; eventually, the connection was severed, the warmth faded, and the mentor’s attacks became several times heavier. Luo Chen’s sword was knocked aside, unable to recover in time. In the next instant, the mentor thrust straight at his chest, announcing the test’s end.

Even the testing mentor was surprised. Based on years of experience, he had expected to breach Luo Chen’s defense within twenty moves using mid-stage Level Four spirit energy, but in the end, it took thirty-one—a significant deviation.

The mentor noticed something remarkable about Luo Chen: his spiritual energy recovery rate was much faster than the average student of his level, and his circulation was extremely smooth. Such signs should not appear in a novice who hadn’t even begun learning the Qi Manipulation Method or mastered spiritual energy flow.

It was precisely this rapid replenishment that allowed Luo Chen to withstand the assault for so long.

[Today is Sunday. Due to the midnight ranking rush, the update schedule is slightly adjusted: Chapter Two will be updated at eight o’clock tonight, Chapter Three at midnight.]