Chapter 60: Yanyuan Academy (Part Two)

Dean Yan Wentong and the bald teacher (who, upon Yan Ruoxun's polite prompting, was identified as Teacher Cheng Yang from the Academic Affairs Office) brought Shuisheng to the Martial Training Hall to test his ability system's attributes, strength, and status.

Stepping into the Martial Training Hall, they found an expansive space of over three hundred square meters, divided into various training zones. There were areas for wooden dummy dolls, equipment practice, combat rings, obstacle courses, and more. Over a dozen students were actively training inside. Yan Ruoxun was among them, fully absorbed in her practice, her sweet face flushed and glowing, beaded with sweat.

A gaunt old man with a thin goatee wandered between the training zones from time to time, occasionally offering a word of guidance to a student.

Cheng Yang waved to the old man with the goatee and called out, "Teacher Lin!"

That Teacher Lin, named Lin Chengxun, was a Level 6 Power-type ability user and served as the Deputy Director of the Martial Training Hall and the head instructor of the Close Combat Department at Yanyuan Academy.

Lin Chengxun told the students to continue their training on their own and walked over to the edge of the area.

"Ah, Teacher Cheng. What brings you here during class hours? And the Dean is here too?" Lin Chengxun noticed the Dean standing at the entrance, watching the students practice with a smiling expression.

"Teacher Lin, his name is Shuisheng. He's the new student the Dean mentioned would be joining the academy. Since he doesn't have an ability license yet, I've brought him here to test his ability system's attributes, strength, and status so we can complete his student profile," Cheng Yang explained, turning to Shuisheng. "This is Teacher Lin Chengxun, Deputy Director of the Martial Training Hall and head instructor of the Close Combat Department."

"Hello, Teacher Lin," Shuisheng bowed respectfully.

"Hello, Shuisheng," Lin Chengxun said as he looked him over, sensing the young man's ability aura and nodding slightly.

At fourteen or fifteen years of age, his ability aura was around Level 2, likely belonging to the Water system—neither too high nor too low, quite passable. The boy seemed quiet, possessed a steady composure, and perhaps harbored a sharp mind beneath the surface.

"You can test your strength on that testing machine over there," Lin Chengxun said, pointing to a device equipped with a punching target and an LCD screen. "An ordinary person's punching impact is around 100 to 150 kilograms. A Level 1 Power-type ordinary ability user hits between 400 and 600 kilograms, the Earth system ranges from 300 to 500 kilograms, and Level 1 ordinary ability users from the other seven major systems clock in around 200 to 300 kilograms. As levels increase, punching force increases correspondingly."

"Someone come reset the machine to its initial state," he called out to the students.

Instantly, Yan Ruoxun bounced over with bright, gleaming eyes like a little rabbit. She tapped the machine a few times to reset the values to zero, then beckoned to Shuisheng. "Come over here."

"Shuisheng, strike the punching target with your maximum force, and the machine will calculate your peak punching impact," Lin Chengxun instructed.

Several nearby students, noticing a new face coming to test his abilities and seeing the academy's well-known beauty Yan Ruoxun acting so enthusiastically, gathered around to watch the excitement.

Shuisheng stepped up to the testing apparatus as directed. He channeled all his ability energy into his fist, gathered his momentum to the fullest, let out a shout, and delivered a heavy blow. Having never used such equipment before, he threw caution to the wind and simply unleashed a full-powered punch.

With a resounding boom, his fist slammed heavily into the target, sending a tremor through the entire testing machine.

Simultaneously, the bar graph on the display screen representing the punching impact surged rapidly upward. After a few seconds, it stopped at a value of 475 kilograms.

"475 kilograms. Not bad at all. For a Level 2 Water-type, the punching force is usually around 300 to 500 kilograms. You've surpassed the vast majority of Level 2 Water-type ability users and are approaching the peak," Lin Chengxun nodded. "Good, very good. Your potential is quite impressive!"

Shuisheng was quite pleased, realizing that his ability strength was indeed relatively strong among peers of the same level within the Water system.

"Water system, Level 2. 475 kilograms," Teacher Cheng Yang hurriedly jotted down the data.

Dean Yan Wentong, who had been watching from afar near the entrance, couldn't help stepping closer.

Most of the observing students expressed admiration, knowing that when they were Level 2 ability users, even exhausting all their effort made it difficult to exceed that number—and that was with Shuisheng achieving it on his very first try, whereas they usually needed multiple attempts and took their best score.

A few individuals, however, let out heavy snorts through their noses to show disdain. One such person was a sturdy youth built like a young bull.

Lin Chengxun pointed to a wooden dummy covered in battle scars. "Now, try to condense your Water-type ability and attack this puppet."

Shuisheng attempted to control the moisture in the surrounding air within his palm, condensing it into a single droplet of water. With a flick of his wrist, the droplet shot out like a dart, transforming midway into a sharp blade and striking the puppet with a crisp thwack, leaving a gash an inch long and half a centimeter deep.

"Not bad," Lin Chengxun and Cheng Yang nodded in unison.

"The characteristic of the Water system is that if water is used as a medium, it drastically amplifies the effects of the ability," Lin Chengxun explained. "It is far stronger than using pure abilities without a water medium."

He looked around and spotted a discarded mineral water bottle in a wastebasket against the side wall, still containing a small amount of water.

"Use that water to attack again!" he commanded.

He retrieved the water, dropped it to the floor, and crushed it open with his foot. With a low sweep of his left hand, he scooped up the splashing mineral water into the air so it flew past Shuisheng. The boy instantly grasped Lin Chengxun's intent. Controlling the water with his palm, he rapidly shaped it into a blade of water and pushed it forward with force. The water blade struck the puppet sharply, sending wood chips and bark flying, and leaving behind a longer, deeper scar.

"That's fantastic!" Yan Ruoxun was the first to start clapping, and her classmates followed suit with scattered applause.

"Your application and manipulation of the Water system ability are exceptionally well-mastered, down to the finest detail," Lin Chengxun praised.

"You know what? He's the new classmate who will be studying and cultivating with us. His name is Shuisheng!" Yan Ruoxun said with unmistakable pride.

Turning back to Shuisheng, she added, "I never expected your progress to be so obvious in just a few short days. From now on, with the academy's professional instruction and training, you'll advance even faster."

The intimate casual chat between the two, along with the applause from the classmates, drew the attention of the sturdy, bull-like youth from earlier.

He wiped the sweat from his face, which was slick from grueling training, and strode aggressively toward the testing machine. Without resetting the values properly, without gathering momentum, and without adjusting his stance, he casually threw a punch at the target.

"Boom!"

The moment the youth's fist struck the target, a violent shockwave erupted, causing the entire Martial Training Hall to tremble as if experiencing an earthquake.

The punching target was driven sharply backward.

At the same time, the power bar on the display soared rapidly, finally coming to a halt at 980 kilograms.

The deafening tremor and the exaggerated number successfully redirected everyone's attention away from Shuisheng and onto him.

The youth shook his fist toward Shuisheng as if showing off and flexed his biceps. He had a square face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, and a face heavily sprinkled with freckles. He arched his eyebrows at Shuisheng, as if saying: Look, my punch is much stronger than yours.

Yan Ruoxun pressed her forehead in speechlessness. "Here he goes again."

Before Shuisheng could ask, she immediately explained, "His name is Yan Ruotai, a Level 2 Power-type ability user."

"His group chat nickname is: Death may be as heavy as Mount Tai."