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Chapter 11 - Illusory Martial Pagoda
Chapter 11 - Illusory Martial Pagoda
Chapter 11: Illusory Martial Pagoda
Translator: Lordbluefire Editor: Lordbluefire
Number 1: Zhao Kai, 1250 points!
Number 2: Feng Lin, 1228 points!
Number 3: Du Zhiming, 987 points!
...
In the end, Feng Lin got number 2.
In Interstellar Era, the examination emphasized more on the martial portion over the written one.
After all, the written exam only tested the knowledge and theories, while the martial exam tested the genes and cultivation.
The universe was limitless, with countless races and ethnicities.
This seemingly vast universe looked spacious but was filled with conflict.
The cruel law of the jungle made every race stay alert, including humans. Once a mistake was made, the race would probably be finished.
Only by continuous evolutions could one establish their dominance in this cruel universe.
In contrast to the pure theories, genetic cultivation involved the evolution of life’s fundamental nature. It was obviously the main focus of the exam.
Similar to the written exam, there was no limit to the points one could get in the martial exam.
It was calculated with a fixed formula. Based on the vitality as its main factor, with the speed and strength as its secondary factor, it concatenated the two to produce the final result.
This implied that with a high vitality score, fast speed, and powerful strength, the final score was without limits.
It was set this way to encourage people to cultivate diligently and to break through as soon as they could to become the actual Interstellar cultivator.
Feng Lin obtained a transformation in a very short time by using the genetic equation ability to improve himself.
However, he was just an ordinary man. No matter how great the change was, he would not become a supreme expert instantly.
There was still a huge discrepancy between his vitality and Zhao Kai’s who was the first in class.
In the second exam, he got 640 points which were far behind Zhao Kai’s 1000 points. His total score was slightly less than Zhao Kai’s.
Regardless, he was one of the only two candidates who scored more than 1000 points in the class.
Du Zhiming, who ranked the third, had been left far behind and did not belong to the same category anymore.
Temporary lagging behind was not a big deal.
Feng Lin knew very well that his previous foundation of cultivation was terrible. Therefore, he did not expect to reach the sky in a single leap.
With the genetic equation, through strengthening and points accumulation, how fast would his progress be?
Perhaps, by the next exam, he would far surpass Zhao Kai. This man would never be the target that he pursued!
Feng Lin was certain about that.
In every class, only the top three were eligible to cultivate in the Illusory Martial Pagoda. As for the rest, the rankings were not important.
The bottom ten students were all extremely sad; they looked depressed and lethargic.
They lost the opportunities to sit for the pre-college exam and could only get a high school graduation certificate. They had to struggle for a living in society.
In the Interstellar Era, cruel competitions were everywhere.
Not only humans but the same thing also happened to schools too.
Each school would fight for a good ranking in the pre-college exam to keep its good reputation and gain a good source of elite students.
To achieve that, besides producing a genius who got excellent results, the enrollment rate played a vital role as well.
Some people who were fated to be ineligible for college would lower the enrollment rate.
Hence, some low-grade students in each of the classes would not make it for the pre-college exam every year. Plus, those who dropped out could not repeat the year. There was no such thing in the Interstellar Era.
Initially, Feng Lin had been one of them. Now, with his own effort, he outshined the others and became the second in his class.
Although Feng Lin was usually calm, he was secretly overjoyed at that moment.
Feng Clan reckoned that Feng Lin could not enroll in a college. Thus, they sent him for an internship in the clan’s factory.
Now that Feng Lin made a firm and strong step, as long as he persevered, he would have enough capital to negotiate with his clan soon and escape from his destiny of being manipulated.
“The rest, please be dismissed. The three of you, follow me!” The female head teacher announced and signaled Feng Lin, Zhao Kai, and Du Zhiming to come along.
Out of the classroom, they rode on the school’s magnetic floating train and headed to the cultivation building.
Along the journey, Zhao Kai and Du Zhiming laughed and chatted, but none of them glanced at Feng Lin. They both had a scornful look on their faces.
Feng Lin was reluctant to bother with them too. He sat on his seat and adjusted his breaths to recover the energy consumed in the previous martial exam.
Meanwhile, the head teacher beside was quietly surveying him. She wanted to see through this student who had risen from a clear disadvantage.
Undeniably, she did not discover anything about Feng Lin, only a calmness and maturity that exceeded his age.
At such a young age, he had a mature character. If there were nothing unexpected he would surely have a bright future.
She nodded to herself; her regard for Feng Lin increased slightly more.
The train was fast, and they arrived at an imposingly grand building soon. A big group had gathered at the entrance and waited in silence.
As they saw Feng Lin and the rest, they waved and greeted Zhao Kai and Du Zhiming.
There were only a few graduating classes in a single batch of high school. Thus, all the top students from different classes knew each other.
“Eh, why isn’t Fang Shan here? Isn’t he the third in your class all this while? Who is this fella?”
“How come we have never seen this guy?”
“Look at where he is standing, he seems like the second of the class. Did he push Du Zhiming to number three?”
“Since when did someone like this appear in the 17th class?”
...
The students from other classes looked at Feng Lin who showed up suddenly as they were greeting Zhao Kai and Du Zhiming.
The female head teacher was chatting with other head teachers too while pointing at Feng Lin from afar.
Feng Lin lowered his head and meditated without being bothered.
“Zhao Kai, who’s he?” A skinny pretty boy leaned over and asked Zhao Kai with a cynical smile.
“Just a lucky kid!” Zhao Kai’s face twitched. He answered while pretending not to care.
Yet, the pretty boy was obviously not so gullible. Seeing Zhao Kai getting exasperated, his eyes rolled as he judged Feng Lin thoughtfully.
He knew very well that Zhao Kai was arrogant and reckless. This new guy must be extraordinary to enrage Zhao Kai to this extent.
Feeling the sights on him, Feng Lin had no intentions to get closer at all. He waited for the opening of Illusory Martial Pagoda patiently.
Bearing burdensome stress, he had no time to spare for small talks.
Soon after, the Illusory Martial Pagoda opened.
They entered according to the sequence. Feng Lin then entered a spacious room that was completely empty.
Is this the Illusory Martial Pagoda? Hmm, I wonder how it would be. This illusory martial system was the product of Interstellar technology at its peak. It was Feng Lin’s first time here, so he was extremely curious.
Suddenly, the lights turned off and it was pitch dark.
Beams of light converged from all corners like the meteors meeting in the sky and formed different illusions. A thirty-story high pagoda appeared before them all of a sudden.
This was an illusory space constructed by the energy.
“Energy collection completed. The Illusory Martial Pagoda opens now! Senior year student, Feng Lin, no records of entering the martial pagoda before, start from the first level!” A robotic voice was heard.
There were thirty levels of the Illusory Martial Pagoda. The higher the level, the more difficult it would be. It was like a hurdle to overcome if one wanted to reach a higher pagoda level.
Everyone’s progress in the pagoda would be recorded by the Illusory Martial Pagoda’s core memory. The next time one entered the pagoda, he would start again from where he had stopped previously until he reached the peak.
Since Feng Lin had never been here, he had to start from Level 1 this time.
That was exactly what he wanted.
Starting from the most bottom level, he would figure out the virtuality of the Illusory Martial Pagoda and break through them one by one.
The gate of Level 1 pagoda opened up in silence.
Feng Lin stepped into it. The scene changed like he just entered a whole new world.
It was a martial training field. In the middle of it, a sturdy and muscular man stood in the field, giving out a suffocating and capable aura. He was wearing an old-fashioned long, green robe.
Doubtlessly, this was an ancient man from the feudalism era.
When Feng Lin approached him, his eyes opened up all of a sudden, radiating an oppressing aura.
“Hong Fist’s seventh inheritor, Hong Gang! Please enlighten me!” He put his hands together, preparing for battle. Feng Lin was slightly amazed, as this man really resembled someone alive and not just a computer simulation.
“Please!” Feng Lin clasped his hands too and treated him respectfully.
After the greeting, they started fighting instantly...
“Ha!”
Hong Gang exhaled and let out a yell. He made a step abruptly and moved like a storm, unleashing a punch.
The punch concealed a heaven-shaking prowess; its motion happened in just a flash.
Delicate like a lady and fast like a hare, this punch contained the essence of his martial arts.
Archstep Punch!
Horse Stance Butterfly Palm!
Reverse Elbow!
...
The Hong Fist was an ancient Huaxia fist technique. It was extremely violent and powerful. Once used, the user’s fist would be flowing and striking continuously, making it unavoidable.
Hong Gang was obviously a skilled master of Hong Fist. His moves were stable and fierce like a tiger.
Feng Lin had next to no experience about fighting, in fact, this was the first time he had ever fought. No surprise, he was instantly suppressed at the first move and was immediately trapped in a difficult situation.
In the next three moves, he erupted forth with strength and jumped ten steps away, lengthening the distance before changing his stance.
Basic military fist!
As a student with an ordinary background, he naturally had no way to learn valuable genetic martial arts.
This basic military fist was an elementary body-strengthening martial art. The moves were simple and effective with great destructive power.
Feng Lin made a leap and fought with the opponent. He was actually enjoying the fighting process.
In terms of proficiency and ability to grab opportunities, Feng Lin was no match for Hong Gang. Yet, he found out something queer.
The opponent’s speed and strength were a lot weaker than his.
Pausing to recall, he realized what was the reason behind it.
In fact, for every higher floor in the Illusory Martial Pagoda, the vitality stats of the combat master would increase by 0.1.
As the guardian of Level 1, Hong Gang only had 0.1 vitality which was the average of Ancient Earth Era’s humans.
And there was this saying: Strength subdues everything!
Although Feng Lin was not as skillful as Hong Gang, he gradually suppressed his opponent due to his immense advantage of having a much higher vitality.
As time passed, he got more proficient with the basic military fist.
Although he had ever done some training before, they were not useful at all as they couldn’t be compared to actual combat experiences. Now, it was an actual fight, he naturally gained martial experiences much faster than before.
After gene strengthening, his body was full of vitality. His strength, speed, and coordination.... they were all above ordinary person’s limits. He was extremely fast in learning martial arts too.
Gradually, he discovered the essence of the basic military fist and started to get more proficient in it.
At this moment, he was no weaker than Hong Gang in terms of techniques. The dominance of his vitality made the fight boring.
Dragonsnake Strangle!
Feng Lin used the killer move of basic military fist abruptly. Jumping into the air, his legs were like a dragon wrapping around Hong Gang’s body. With a violent twist, he caused Hong Gang’s body that was formed from energy motes to dissipate completely.
The gate to Level 2 then opened up.
Genetic potential +10%!