Chương 73: War God’s : — Chapter 73 - Three Over-Limit Scores — An Unprecedented Assessment Result!

Wang Xian stepped into the testing chamber. The space wasn't large—just a single arena platform covered in precision instruments.

"Exam Admission Number: 1917202506020711."

"Candidate: Wang Xian."

"Please prepare yourself. Entering technical skill assessment." Pure white walls surrounded him. One large platform. Nothing else. No one present, yet the space pressed down with suffocating weight. Candidates with weak mental fortitude would crack under this kind of pressure. Wang Xian stepped onto the platform and closed his eyes. Everything felt familiar. In his past life, he'd bombed all three sections in this exact environment. That's why he'd ended up at a third-rate university.

He drew a blade from the weapon rack.

"Assessment item generated."

"Please use basic blade technique to defeat the 10 AI martial artists in sequence."

"AI martial artists can only be defeated with specific force values."

"Discover the required force on your own." The voice faded. Holographic martial artists materialized on the platform one by one. AI-generated faces, all expressionless. Each AI had fixed stats and skills, programmed attack patterns and standard First-Tier Movement. The test was simple: use basic blade technique to find their weaknesses and strike with precise force. The more accurate the force, the more damage accumulated. Enough damage, and the AI vanished. Pass.

As the number increased, so did the technical requirements. Third-Tier technique could handle up to the fifth AI. By the sixth, you needed Fourth-Tier technique or you couldn't continue. The later AIs only took damage from fixed-value precision strikes to their weak points. This challenge was similar to the street tests Wang Xian used to play. But harder. Because this was real combat. The AIs weren't stationary force testers, they fought back. Every hit drained life force and degraded your condition.

So even with Fourth-Tier technique, without combat experience to back it up, the system would only score you at Third Tier. If you hadn't fully mastered Fourth-Tier technique, you couldn't score high. The Martial Exam was brutal. But for Wang Xian? Child's play. The first AI lunged. Wang Xian glanced once—the running speed, the subtle body sway—and pinpointed the weakness: right ankle. Calculate the speed deviation from standard First-Tier Movement. Estimate required force: 230 jin to the ankle.

Complete neutralization. A few jin more would cripple the entire foot. A few jin less would only slow it down. Accurate. Elegant. Wang Xian slashed once. The first AI vanished instantly. This was combat experience. The moment you moved, every flaw in your body laid bare before a master's eyes. One slash. Two. Three. His blade technique had reached Third Tier during winter break. Then came the Skeletal Blade Tomb. The cold pool where he'd comprehended Flowing Water Blade Technique to Return to Simplicity.

Combined with his knowledge of high-level techniques from his past life, he'd long since achieved Fourth-Tier blade mastery.

"Too easy." Until the final AI. This one was slightly harder. 90 points of life force. No visible flaws. Thick skin, tough flesh. To defeat this type? Simple. One slash surpassing the limit.

"Surpassing the limit" meant delivering over 90, 000 jin of force. 1 life force point = 1, 000 jin limit. 90 points = 90, 000 jin. And 90 was the perfect score for Martial Exam life force. So if your life force maxed at 90, you needed to unleash 90, 001 jin to win. That single extra jin counted as success. But surpassing the limit was difficult. This required the mid-to-high-level technique "Limit Burst." Life force capped your physical body's limit. Not your weapon's limit.

Weapons were extensions of fists and feet. With proper technique, you could make them erupt beyond your body's natural ceiling. That was "Limit Burst," a Fourth-Tier skill. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. If your life force exceeded 90, say, 91 points, you could also win easily. But the system would judge you hadn't used the technique, and whether you'd qualify for Fourth Tier would be uncertain. Wang Xian controlled his life force precisely. Stable at 90.

One slash. The final AI dissolved into data. After finishing, Wang Xian felt unsatisfied. The Martial Exam AIs were too watered down. Top university databases could import Grandmaster or even Martial God data, let candidates challenge what those legends were like at First or Second Realm. Now that would be interesting. Pure beatdown.

"Technical skill assessment complete..."

"Calculating score..."

"Total time: 1 minute 30 seconds."

"Zero missed strikes. Zero hits taken."

"Candidate technique assessed at peak Fourth Tier. Perfect mastery of 'Absolute Control' and 'Limit Burst.'""Your score: 400."

"Rest required?" Cold data. No emotion.

"Not needed. Next item."

"Next item: martial realm assessment. Please select a martial art."

"Flowing Water Blade Technique."

"Assessment martial art selected: Flowing Water Blade Technique." The arena environment shifted. The roar of a great river filled the air. Under the holographic projection, it felt real.

"Please perform Flowing Water Blade Technique upon 'Awakening Dragon River.'" Awakening Dragon River, a major waterway in Dragon Country. Legend said the technique's creator had stood by this river, meditating day and night, until finally creating this blade art. One slash of Wave Roar Shakes the World could sever the river itself, raising terrifying surges. As a test item, simulating this terrain likely meant they had standard Flowing Water Blade Technique data on file. The environment didn't matter.

Only the technique's effect.

"This slash... I wonder if even the creator reached Return to Simplicity." Wang Xian chuckled. One slash of Wave Roar Shakes the World swept out. Ten successive blade waves cascaded like a waterfall. Tenfold multiplied force overturned the entire Awakening Dragon River, raising waves like ten-layered mountain gates. Each layer higher than the last. The waves merged. Blotting out sky and earth.

"The original Wave Roar could only deliver five slashes—five times your base strength."

"After Return to Simplicity, it doubled. Ten slashes."

"Power comparable to advanced blade techniques."

"And I didn't even use Stacking Wave Force. If I had..." That would be excessive. As expected. The slash landed. BEEP BEEP BEEP! The arena alarm blared. Awakening Dragon River vanished. A few seconds later, everything reset.

"Candidate's Flowing Water Blade Technique has surpassed Peak Mastery."

"Assessed realm: Return to Simplicity."

"Return to Simplicity requires comprehending a completely new move beyond the martial art's foundation."

"Please demonstrate." Wang Xian saw it immediately. Not AI anymore. Manual takeover from the backend. Because Return to Simplicity couldn't be assessed by automated systems. Simple reason: no database had Return to Simplicity data for Flowing Water Blade Technique. Even if it did, everyone's comprehension was unique. You couldn't verify using someone else's version. So automated judgment was impossible. Only manual review. Wang Xian gathered his blade and condensed momentum. Next second, one slash.

Three Thousand Water Forms instantly submerged the entire arena. The massive water prison shattered the platform, built from who-knows-what high-tech materials, into fragments in a single instant.

"..." Wang Xian. At the same time. Backend room, second floor of the Martial Arts Building. A researcher watching the feed blurted out:"Holy shit!"

"What kind of freak!"

"He actually comprehended a move at that level?"

"So this is Return to Simplicity..."

"Damn. All these years, first time in Rong City seeing someone reach Return to Simplicity during the Martial Exam..."

"Fine, fine. Full marks for you..."

"Testing chamber's wrecked..." Wang Xian stared at the red alert on the display:"Your martial arts assessment is complete."

"Test report will generate in the adjacent chamber."

"Please proceed next door to complete life force assessment..." Wang Xian sighed and stepped out. At the same time. The student in the adjacent chamber, also from Class 4, Long Biao, the class martial arts committee member, walked out looking baffled. He also used the blade.

"What's wrong?" Wang Xian asked.

"No idea. Just as I left, the screen suddenly displayed my score and said my blade technique reached Return to Simplicity." Long Biao looked utterly confused.

"But my earlier martial arts score was only Small Success..."

"That's pure nonsense."

"Didn't even have time to react before they kicked me out."

"How'd you do?"

"Don't know. Testing chamber malfunctioned. Haven't finished yet. They told me to complete the life force assessment in your chamber." Wang Xian walked into Long Biao's former testing room. Long Biao grunted acknowledgment. Then, after Wang Xian entered, his entire body jolted. Realization struck. He stared at Wang Xian's retreating back in disbelief.

"You... you..." He stammered, unable to form words. Face frozen in shock. Meanwhile. Wang Xian entered the chamber and recalibrated his admission number and name.

"Please proceed with force testing, speed testing, and physique testing." Life force assessment was straightforward. Force testing measured basic punching power. Speed and physique followed the same principle. Life force strength had been verified through countless experiments. Without enhancements, punching force had a fixed ceiling. Exceeding it meant combat gear, secret skills, or martial techniques were in play. Wang Xian didn't plan to open his divine meridians. His life force had already reached 100 points.

After refining his Conception and Governing Vessels into divine meridians, spirit sha circulated through the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, penetrating deep into his limbs and bones. His life force had surged. Wang Xian estimated 100 points. Maybe a few more? So... Wang Xian threw a punch. The force tester's numbers jumped wildly for over 10 seconds before settling.

"101, 000." Wang Xian understood. Life force: 101. Almost exactly his estimate. Class 4.

"Long Biao, how'd you do?" Cui Three-Eyes watched students return one by one, eyes bright with satisfaction. Most results were solid.

"Average." Long Biao replied in a daze. Suddenly, something clicked.

"Teacher, how did the others do? Especially Li Zihang and the martial arts class students?"

"Them?" Cui Three-Eyes glanced toward Li Zihang's group.

"Pretty well." Cui Three-Eyes said.

"Li Zihang's life force is decent—30 points. Peak Second-Tier technique, Small Success martial arts. Score isn't too high. Good talent. If his practical performance shines, he can get into a decent 985."

"Zhou Xukun's quite a bit stronger than Li Zihang. Top universities are tough, but any 985 is his pick."

"As for Chen Yuting." Cui Three-Eyes looked toward Chen Yuting, surrounded by classmates like a moon among stars.

"Her score surpassed Xia Sichen. Third-Tier technique, Perfected Mastery martial arts, 60 life force. Total: 450. In the martial arts class, she's second only to Ye Miyue."

"With slightly better talent, getting into one of Dragon Country's Five Greats wouldn't be hard."

"Her improvement rate is only a bit behind Class 9's Ye Miyue." Long Biao fell silent.

"Right, I saw you talking with Wang Xian earlier. Why'd he go to your testing chamber?" Cui Three-Eyes suddenly asked. Long Biao smiled bitterly. He didn't know how to explain. When you're young, you shouldn't meet someone too dazzling. Otherwise, you might never move past it. He'd glimpsed just the tip of the iceberg. That fleeting flash of brilliance. Return to Simplicity. Could a student really cultivate a martial art to that realm during the Martial Exam? At that moment.

Wang Xian walked out of the cultivation chamber. Past evening now. The setting sun's afterglow fell upon him, draping him in faint golden light. Bathed in that golden garment, he walked back to class. Every gaze filled with curiosity.

"How was it?" Cui Three-Eyes's breathing quickened. The last time he'd waited this anxiously was outside the delivery room when his wife gave birth. That cry symbolizing life had made him weep with joy, letting him feel the world's warmth. Now. He was excited again. Wang Xian's answer could let him feel that warmth once more.

"Alright." Wang Xian nodded.

"How many perfect scores?"

"Three." Wang Xian hesitated briefly.

"Three?" Cui Three-Eyes slammed his fist into his palm and roared:"Then that's 600 points?!"

"Third-Tier technique, Peak Mastery, 90 life force."

"Excellent, excellent, excellent!" Surrounding classmates were envious and shocked. But also... a tiny bit unsurprised. Wang Xian was someone even a Grandmaster had noticed. Achieving results like this, rivaling First High's monsters, that was understandable.

"Wrong!" Long Biao suddenly spoke.

"You can't possibly be 600 points!" Everyone froze.

"Your martial arts realm reached Return to Simplicity! How could it only be 600!" Long Biao said loudly. At this moment, Long Biao felt reflected glory surge through him again. Last time was at the Grandmaster's demonstration. This time, he felt Seventh High's glory! Our Seventh High actually has this kind of genius? I'm in the same class as a genius?

"Wang, your results are out? How many points?"

"Perfect 600? Excellent, excellent, excellent!" From afar, Principal Xia and a group of school leaders approached, having apparently heard something. They couldn't stop grinning.

"As for the score..." Wang Xian thought for a moment.

"The testing chamber gave 723 points." The words landed. Everyone turned to stone.

"H-How... how much?" Bro, this was only the first session of the Martial Exam? ➤ Next: Chen Yuting: Really Looking Forward to Tomorrow's Talent Awakening!