Book 3, Chapter 55: Second Assessment

“Tutors?”

Chen Chuan sank into deep thought.

Ni Qianqian looked around her before saying, “This isn’t the place to talk. Let’s talk in the car. I’ll send you back to the university.”

They headed out and got into the racecar. After Ni Qianqian started the engine, she said, “You should know about the external students. They’re the people the university recruited to fight in tournaments.

“The tutors, in simple terms, guide the external students and spar with them. The university then gives them a certain amount of assessment points.

“But that’s not a good thing.

“Once you accept this arrangement, it becomes difficult to get out of it. You’ll also be seen as a participant. This is really just the university forcing the students to participate in the tournaments in another way.

“For example, if an external student gets injured or dies, and they’re missing a fighter but the organizers can’t stop the tournament and need someone to stand in since there are so many groups sponsoring the tournament, who do you think has to go?

“If your answer is the tutors, you’re absolutely right. Very smooth, aren’t they?”

After saying that in a mocking tone, she looked at Chen Chuan with seriousness.

“I remember that your chances were at 35%. You’re among them. If you go there, it’s likely you’ll be sent in as a substitute, and if you go up on stage even once, you’re never getting out of it. By then, you’ll be bound to the tournaments. You can’t go at it with a defeatist mindset either, unless you don’t want the assessment points.

“If your assessment points fall too low, you risk getting expelled or being demoted to an external student. The chances of the latter happening are much higher. It’s impossible to drop out as well. The university rules will be used against you and even brought to court.

“And these are only the things I’ve thought of. I’m sure they have plenty of other methods to keep everyone in line. In any case, you cannot go!”

Chen Chuan looked outside. At some point in time, it had started raining. The raindrops blended with the light shows outside and turned the buildings blurry. They even made his reflection on the car window fade.

After some thinking, he asked, “If an official student from Martial Valor University is forced to participate in a corporate-sponsored tournament, won’t the Resolution Department and the central government look into it?”

“The Resolution Department can pay attention to the students it’s sponsoring, but they can’t interfere with how the university runs things. Tan Weixing—he’s the vice chancellor and the person Ling Jianxing is the assistant to, by the way—assumed office with some sort of important mission.

“Over the three years, he has brought certain benefits to the main campus. Not only has the main campus stopped needing investments, but it has also started to generate profit. It has also provided quite a lot of financial support to the Resolution Department. That’s why the central government has quietly agreed to many of his actions. Besides, whenever he does outrageous things, he manages to keep them under wraps.

“You’re not the only easy target for him. The rich kids are the same.

“There have been rumors about him wanting to send official students to tournaments, but he had made no moves. Now that Ling Jianxing has made the suggestion, though, it’s highly likely that the plan has been set into motion.”

Chen Chuan couldn’t help but remember what Wu Ruo had told him. It seemed like he hadn’t been lying to him. There was a certain amount of truth in his words.

As Ni Qianqian stared at the road ahead, she said, “There’s only one way for you to escape this—think of something to increase your chances of reaching the Third Limit. Then, you’ll be able to avoid a lot of future troubles.”

Chen Chuan thought about it. He had three assessment chances this semester, and he had used one chance already. At that time, he had just joined the campus and didn’t know how things worked. That was why he had taken the test in his pre-fusion state.

Things were different now. Even though it had just been a little over a month since he came, his strength had increased by leaps and bounds. Even in his pre-fusion state, he was leagues ahead of the Chen Chuan who took the first assessment.

“I’ll take another assessment once I return,” he declared.

“Are you confident?” Ni Qianqian laughed. “Welp, I shouldn’t have asked that question. How can you not be confident after what you did during the exchange? But you still need to increase your assessment points as much as possible. If they’re too low, they might use that to cause you trouble.”

Chen Chuan had a feeling that if his assessment points got too high, it wouldn’t be a good thing either. He should be able to handle the assessment in his pre-fusion state. If worse came to worst and he didn’t get the result he wanted, he could use the last assessment.

“Thanks for the warning, I understand,” he said.

The rain grew heavier, and the sky grew darker. The red racecar rushed down the straight road and passed the tall buildings on both sides until it finally returned to the Arcane Palace.

After saying goodbye to Ni Qianqian, Chen Chuan returned to his room and took a shower before getting a box of Treasure Paste and taking it orally as well as applying it on his skin.

Since he had decided to take the assessment, he wasn’t going to hesitate, and since he had to move after taking the Treasure Paste, he decided to do it during the assessment.

As for warming-up the Frost King Saber? There wasn’t a need for that against Hongfu. With his abilities, he wouldn’t be able to hurt her. So, whether or not the Frost King Saber was warmed up made no difference.

Once he was ready, he stood up in his training room, unsheathed the Frost King Saber, and said, “Hongfu, I’d like to have my second assessment.”

A red figure moved in front of him, and Hongfu appeared in his training room. After seeing the Frost King Saber, she grabbed a goose-quill saber with a red tassel.

Chen Chuan sensed his surroundings change. When he looked up, he found himself standing in front of an old temple. The bells under the eaves swayed. The stone niches were mottled, while the ground was covered in fallen leaves. Old trees surrounded the temple, and rays of light shone through the gaps between the leaves on the empty space in front of the temple. The singing of birds came from the forest, and he could smell the faint aroma of sandalwood.

Hongfu watched him with lively eyes.

After sucking in a deep breath, Chen Chuan slowly moved the Frost King Saber down and held the hilt with both hands before positioning it by his side. His eyes were trained on Hongfu. After a moment, he stepped forward while bringing his saber up and swinging it down.

Hongfu spun around. As she did, she brought her saber up to parry the attack. Her movements spoke of nimbleness and agility.

While training with Mr. Zheng, Chen Chuan had learned the saber-related refined forces, even if he hadn’t started combat training yet.

Right now, he needed to display his techniques and strength to the best of his abilities instead of caring about winning or losing.

Besides, Hongfu already knew all that he could do in his pre-fusion state. That was why he didn’t hide anything. The moment he attacked, he released his mutated tissue and let all sorts of emotions fill his heart while all his mutated tissue generated power in order to let him deliver maximum power with every slash.

Hongfu brought her saber up to block it. No matter how Chen Chuan attacked, she always managed to defend with ease. Not only did she have amazing technique, but there was also extreme beauty to her movements.

The strength she displayed also seemed no different from a real person’s. Everything that she could do seemed to be something a martial artist could do. As their sabers clashed, the solid feeling of metal against metal and power against power made Chen Chuan unable to see her as just an active biosentient entity.

Still, he ignored all of it and cast aside all unnecessary thoughts to put his attention on the fight. He forgot about winning and losing and just kept swinging his saber. With every swing, he seemed to be trying to surpass the last one.

The effects of the Treasure Paste also surged forward to help him fight without holding back.

Hongfu’s strength and speed remained on an equal level to that of Chen Chuan. As their sabers clashed, they began gradually moving out into the forest, then continued moving until they reached a huge rock. Rumbling came from nearby, and a large waterfall seemingly pouring out of the sky appeared not too far away. The water came pouring down with a rumble as loud as thunder.

The water droplets that flew out of the waterfall landed on their cheeks, hair, and their clashing sabers. They scattered into crystalline drops that refracted rainbow-colored rings.

Chen Chuan wasn’t distracted by the things around him. It was as if he had returned to the mindset when he took his first assessment and was simply thinking about how to use everything at his disposal to force his opponent back.

An unknown amount of time passed before he finally felt that he could no longer push himself any further and stopped attacking. Hongfu continued holding her saber at the ready. Her red robes danced in the wind while she continued staring at him with her lively eyes.

Dong!

The bell at the ancient temple chimed, and the sound traveled far and wide. Birds flew up from the forest and went up into the distant sky.

The scenery faded away. The two of them returned to the training room, and the morning sun shone through the window.

The whole night had passed unbeknownst to Chen Chuan.

Hongfu sheathed her saber and stepped back as her voice entered his ears. “Chen Chuan, the results of your second assessment are such:

“Strength: Above average.

“Speed: Above average.

“Technique: Slightly above average.

“Battle Response: Above average (increased slightly)

“Battle Tactics: Outstanding (Same as before).

“Overall score: 84.

“Potential: Omitted

“Third Limit Success Rate: 81%.”

Chen Chuan skipped over all the data in front and went straight to the last point.

“81%...” He had passed the 50% benchmark.

This was the result he got in his pre-fusion state. He didn’t know how high his success rate would be if he fought Hongfu with his true strength, but he no longer had any problems getting to the Third Limit. These results would be enough for the university too.

He gave Hongfu a fist-and-palm salute. “Thank you.”

Hongfu returned the salute. Then, with a spin, her red dress fluttered, and she left.

***

Back in the office of the vice chancellor’s assistant, Ling Jianxing soon received Chen Chuan’s new assessment.

“81%... He has only been in the main campus for a little over a month, and his success rate jumped by this much? Is this perhaps... his true strength? Hmm...” he mumbled to himself.

Then, he contacted someone with his Realm Pass. “Yes. I got it. Right after word about it got out, he took the assessment again. The results? 81%.”

The person on the other end pondered over it for a while. “If that’s the case, he’s highly likely to reach the Third Limit. He’ll be suited for

it

too, considering his status. Do you intend to give him an invitation?”

“I think we need to observe him a little more. If he really is tied to Wu Ruo’s death, then this might not be his real strength. We need to test him,” Ling Jianxing replied.

“What do you intend to do?” the person asked.

“It’s simple. I’m going to leak his assessment results to Zhao Qian. After he sees them, he’s going to help us figure out Chen Chuan’s real strength,” Ling Jianxing said as he stared at the numerous tall buildings outside.

“Zhao Qian? I know what you’re planning, but if you intend to invite Chen Chuan, he’s bound to learn about this in the future.”

“That’s fine. After he learns about the real world, I’m sure he’ll understand us.” Ling Jianxing smiled.