Ethan Chen nodded. "I barely broke through last night."
The sword is the most widely used weapon. The reason is naturally that Blaze, the strongest martial artist of the High Martial Civilization, wields a sword. Many followed his example, but the sword is indeed a relatively balanced weapon and not misleading to novices.
The Flowing Light Sword Technique is quite famous among basic martial skills and has many practitioners. Moreover, even those who do not use it often know about it. For example, Ethan studies Flowing Light Sword Technique but is also familiar with Ben Harris's Moonlit Fury Blade Technique.
After all, knowing both oneself and the enemy ensures victory. When Ethan executed the Azure Dragon's Sting, it was impossible to conceal his true skill.
Ryan Ling's face showed a flash of shock, as if struck by lightning, staring fixedly at Ethan. "Barely broke through last night? Martial skill improvements have probabilities, and they directly increase life strength." No wonder Ethan's life strength rose by 0.1; it turns out his martial skill has reached the Mastery Level of the First Stage!
Yesterday, Ethan's martial skill level was at 89% of the First Stage; overnight, it increased to 90%! This was astonishing.
Judging from his profile, Ethan did not linger long at the Advanced Level limit. He only recently reached it. Although the difference from Advanced Level limit to Mastery Level seems to be just 1%, it is a crucial dividing line.
Among the 31 students in the Hongzhi Class, who appear impressive to ordinary classes and most parents, only about two-thirds ever reach the Advanced Level of the First Stage by the time of the college entrance exam!
In the Hongzhi Class, including Ethan, only Moret (Seat 1) and Kenji Shimizu (Seat 2) have reached that level. The rest, over 20 students, only a few might reach the Advanced Level before the exam. Reaching Advanced Level is difficult enough; Mastery Level is even more so.
Ryan Ling stared closely at Ethan's still youthful face, a thought flashing through his mind: could Ethan be a late-blooming genius? Such people often seem ordinary early on, but once their life strength reaches a certain threshold, latent power begins to surface. Over time, their strength skyrockets, leaving their peers far behind.
Ryan thought of Douglas, the second strongest in the High Martial Civilization, who suddenly rose in sophomore year and reached the second strongest position within five years after graduation—just behind Blaze.
Could Ethan be the same type of genius? This thought filled Ryan with anticipation.
"Teacher..." Ethan pointed to Ben Harris and his own sword. Ryan immediately understood and quickly added, "Winner: Ethan Chen!"
A chorus of gasps rose. "He actually won!" "That's a full level difference!"
Moret and Kenji exchanged a glance, shock written all over their faces. As the only two at Advanced Level in the class, they understood how difficult reaching Mastery Level really was. They hadn't expected a real genius to appear.
"Now you've secured seat number 20. Do you want to continue challenging?"
Ethan shook his head. He knew well that his Azure Dragon's Sting had an assassin's attribute. If the opponent was prepared, it would be very difficult to successfully execute. Furthermore, the life strength gap affected stamina, power, and speed. Martial skill can only compensate so much.
As the fight prolonged, Ethan knew his stamina would inevitably dwindle. Most importantly, even advancing a few seats wouldn't change resource allocation significantly.
"Impressive!" Ben Harris smiled broadly and gave Ethan a thumbs-up. "Mastery Level at this age! Genius!"
"Not only that, but your combat IQ is so high—I'm almost captivated!" She winked playfully. Then she sincerely praised, "Your last roar and desperate battle expression made me think you were a caged beast."
"Just luck," Ethan said modestly, not letting flattery go to his head. The fight had risk; if they fought again, Ethan would probably be worn down. A full level difference in life strength was huge.
The challenge was just a brief event, about ten minutes total. Though Ethan's performance surprised the wealthy classmates, the world ultimately revolves around life strength. Whether for college entrance exams, university, or inter-species civilization wars.
Ethan's life strength is only 5.2 now; whether he can reach 6.0 before the exam is uncertain. One of the hard requirements for the top eight universities is life strength 6.5 or above!
Among the 31 students in Hongzhi Class, except Ethan, all are rich kids. They've seen bigger worlds and many true geniuses. They understand this is a world where technology and physical power peak simultaneously.
Even ordinary people can become geniuses through technology!
Thus, they do not envy Ethan but somewhat pity his background. Even if you are a real genius, what good is it? Fail to get into a top university, and the best you can do is open a martial arts school.
The class returned to lessons. Ethan, because of his outstanding performance, exchanged contacts with several people.
At 16:00, Ryan Ling finished class and went to his office.
"Prosper, connect me to Principal Luke."
With a beep, the screen showed Principal Luke grading papers, a cup steaming beside him.
"What's up? Calling at this hour?"
Ryan got straight to the point: "Are there any early admission quotas left for Mount Everest Martial Arts University and Mount Tai Martial Arts University within our ecosystem?"
"Why do you ask?"
Luke paused and looked at Ryan: "Because of Ethan Chen?"
Luke could think of no other reason. Early admission is reserved for students with outstanding martial skill results. Ethan has the highest martial skill among all Liang City senior students.
Ryan nodded: "I want Ethan to try for early admission."
"There are two early admission quotas left, but Ethan… isn't qualified yet!"
Mount Everest Martial Arts University and Mount Tai Martial Arts University are among the top eight universities, with high standards for student quality.
Early admission is slightly less demanding than direct admission, but still requires martial skill at Mastery Level of the First Stage.
"Don't underestimate that 1% gap—it blocks many people. You teachers know this better than me."
Luke thought Ryan was overly concerned about Ethan. Even if Ethan's martial skill talent was higher, it wasn't worth fussing over.
As principal, he'd seen all kinds of students. He'd even seen monsters reach Second Stage before the college entrance exam, let alone a young talent like Ethan.
Just as Luke was about to lecture Ryan, Ryan shrugged helplessly: "He has already reached Mastery Level of the First Stage."