How Do We Play If This Boss Isn't Nerfed?-Chapter 59 - 57: Testing Punching Power Again

Once the principal’s speech and the announcement of the rules had concluded.

The sounds of roll call and responses echoed one after another from the eight third-year classes.

The names being called belonged to students who had either excelled in the last placement test or were right on the cusp of the admission threshold for this year’s martial arts universities.

Over in Class Seven, Chen Meng only called a little over a dozen names, with Lin Ye and Li Jun’s being among them.

As for the rest, after the upcoming city-wide mock exam, barring a miracle, they would either be assigned to the Mecha-Warrior track, which had lower physical requirements, or be forced to repeat the year and transfer to the liberal arts stream.

Lin Ye’s gaze swept over Class One and Class Two, who were lined up at the very front.

The homeroom teachers of those two honors classes didn’t call roll. Instead, they led their entire classes in a great procession toward the combat competition area on the other side of the gymnasium.

Clearly, for these top students, testing basic stats like punching power and Qi and Blood was already part of their daily routine; there was no need to waste time on it at an event like this.

Their stats wouldn’t fluctuate much in a single day, and besides, those numbers were no longer important to them. So, they simply saved time by moving on to the next event.

As the honors classes departed, the remaining students were grouped together, regardless of class, to begin the basic aptitude tests.

Since there were far fewer people than at the last placement test,

this round of testing went much faster.

In the waiting area, Lin Ye’s attention was drawn to a huge electronic screen hanging directly above the testing grounds.

The screen displayed various stats for the top twenty students in the grade for this competition.

His own name was ranked tenth, but in the columns for punching power, Qi and Blood index, and life index, the grayed-out words "Pending Update" were displayed.

Lin Ye’s gaze slowly drifted upward, finally settling on the three names at the very top of the list.

[NO. 3 Liao Donglai, Third Year Class One, Punching Power: 1266.4 kg!]

[NO. 2 Zhang Yuqing, Third Year Class One, Punching Power: 1445.6 kg!]

[NO. 1 Jiang Feng, Third Year Class One, Punching Power: 1668.5 kg!]

In just over a month, he obviously wasn’t the only one who had improved.

Lin Ye clearly remembered that during the last placement test, Zhang Yuqing, the second-ranked student in their grade, had a punching power of around 1,200 kg.

In such a short time, she had shot up by nearly another 200 kg!

And then there was Jiang Feng, the guy who firmly held the school’s top spot, whom he had yet to meet. His punching power was another nearly 200 kg ahead of second place—a whole other level.

’So, what will my test result be?’

"Li Jun!"

The academic affairs teacher’s shout came from the testing platform.

"Here!"

Li Jun, standing next to Lin Ye, answered the call. He turned, gave Lin Ye a thumbs-up with his signature simple and honest smile, and bounded up onto the platform in a few quick steps.

He took a deep breath, settled into his stance, and slammed a fist into the punching power target!

BANG!

A muffled thud.

The numbers on the target flashed rapidly before finally settling.

460.7 kg!

"What—?"

"Holy shit!"

"You little traitor, powering up behind our backs?!"

Down below, a ripple of astonished cries broke out in Class Seven’s waiting area.

Even Chen Meng, who was supervising from the side with his arms crossed, couldn’t help but glance over.

If he remembered correctly, the kid had barely scraped by during the last placement test, just hitting the 350 kg mark.

When Li Jun saw his score, he spun around excitedly. In a totally smug move, he spread his arms and gestured upward with his palms, fanning the air. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

His face was practically screaming, "Come on, tell me how awesome I am!"

But what greeted him wasn’t cheers, but a merciless kick from Chen Meng.

"What are you showing off for! Get down from there!"

"Ah!"

Li Jun stumbled from the kick, crying out as he scrambled and tumbled off the stage, setting off a wave of laughter from below.

He sheepishly sidled up to Lin Ye, who gave him a thumbs-up in return.

"That’s some major progress."

Li Jun scratched the back of his head and chuckled.

"You’ve been inspiring me lately, so I pushed myself a little bit too."

Before the two could say another word, the teacher on the platform finally called Lin Ye’s name.

"Lin Ye!"

This time, the reaction from Class Seven was completely different.

Lin Ye stepped out from the ranks and started walking toward the stage.

"WHOA—WHOA—WHOA—!"

As if by some prior agreement, all the students of Class Seven

started a low rumble in their throats that grew louder and louder, like the roar of an engine.

Lin Ye didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

’Just one sentence from Chen Meng, and they really became my personal cheerleading squad and hype crew.’

Amidst the clamor reserved solely for him, the crowd automatically parted, creating a path.

Lin Ye walked forward slowly, like a rising star in the boxing world about to enter the ring.

Chen Meng still had his arms crossed, his expression unreadable as he watched quietly.

But this unusual commotion successfully drew the attention of everyone from the other classes.

Whispers began to spread through the crowd.

"Who’s that? What’s with the grand entrance?"

"You don’t even know the Demon King? That’s Lin Ye from Class Seven!"

"Holy shit! You mean the badass who took down five geniuses from Class One all by himself?"

"I heard those five are still at home recovering! The guy’s ruthless as hell!"

...

Lin Ye turned a deaf ear to the surrounding discussions. He walked onto the testing platform and stood before the cold punching power target.

He nodded to the teacher at the side who was in charge of recording the scores.

His mind was completely clear and empty.

In his mind’s eye, the punching power target before him gradually transformed into a training dummy forged from high-strength alloy.

This past week, practicing the spear intent of the Cloud-Piercing Army had brought his control over his own power to a whole new level.

Punching and thrusting a spear—how similar they were.

Power must penetrate!

You had to twist your entire being—your essence, energy, and spirit—into a single cord and unleash it all from a single point without reservation!

Lin Ye slowly raised his right arm. He clenched his fist, and his knuckles let out a faint CRACK.

In that instant, his entire aura underwent a subtle change.

Lin Ye didn’t draw back his right fist into a wide stance.

He simply stood there, raising his arm, twisting his waist, and gathering power in the most suitable and natural way.

Nor did he deliberately lengthen the arc of his punch.

But the speed of this seemingly ordinary punch instantly broke through some kind of threshold!

The air in front of his fist was compressed to the extreme, letting out a sharp, ear-piercing sonic boom!

It wasn’t the sound of a fist whistling through the air.

But a crisp explosion, as if space itself was being torn apart!

Under countless astonished gazes, Lin Ye’s fist became a black afterimage, moving so fast it was impossible to track with the naked eye, and slammed viciously into the cold punching power target.

At the side, Chen Meng’s eyes suddenly narrowed.

He realized it instantly.

Lin Ye had incorporated the techniques from his spear practice into that punch.

And the fusion was absolutely perfect.