Chapter 5 Self-Test
Chapter 5: Self-Test
Wang Xinyun gave Zhou Ming three days, and Zhou Ming prepared for a full three days.
To complete the task, Zhou Ming crammed various practical knowledge, then went to a martial arts gym in the outer district.
Today, he was not here for last-minute practice, but to test if this body still had any residual combat instincts.
In addition, he had also arranged for Huang Tao and Zhang Qian, who would be performing the mission with him, to come here, and also to see the skill level of those ordinary university students.
As soon as he entered the comprehensive martial arts gym, Zhou Ming heard excited shouts and cheers coming from inside.
Inside the gym, few people were practicing boxing; everyone was gathered around a ring, watching two people fight on the stage.
"Dodge! Teacher Jin, step back! Dodge... Oh no! Why didn't he dodge!"
Confused shouts and cheers came from inside the comprehensive martial arts gym. As soon as Zhou Ming entered, he found that few people were practicing boxing; everyone was gathered around a ring, watching two people fight on the stage.
On the stage, a muscular, 1.8-meter-tall strong man was fighting a young man who was 1.7 meters tall and of average build. The strong man's every punch carried the sound of wind, strong and powerful. His fists had full destructive power, but also precise control, so even if he missed, it wouldn't affect his next move.
But his opponent seemed even more skilled, cleverly dodging all of the strong man's attacks with nimble footwork. His movements were like a ghost, constantly attacking the strong man's body while dodging. Every attack landed squarely, and the force was even stronger than that of the muscular strong man!
Zhou Ming walked forward, squeezed into the crowd, gently patted the shoulder of a nearby student, and asked, "What's going on with them?"
"That young man came here to practice. From the start, he wanted the best coach in the gym to spar with him. At first, we thought he was challenging the gym! I didn't expect this kid to be so skilled; he's already defeated three coaches in a row!"
"You really can't judge a book by its cover. He looks thin and short, but Coach Wu was knocked down in three rounds!"
"Coach Wu was the runner-up in the Qingjiang Province lightweight boxing competition. No one in this area can spar with Coach Wu, so this kid is really something."
"What are you talking about? Even Coach Jin, a champion, can't handle him! This is a cross-weight class fight. He's not an ordinary person, is he? I think he's a student from the University for Anomalous Affairs, isn't he?"
Zhou Ming nodded slightly at the words, thinking that he had indeed guessed correctly; he had already felt that the young man was unusual.
Seeing those exchanges, Zhou Ming felt that the strength on the ring was vastly different. Although Coach Jin advanced and retreated with measure, all his techniques were clearly more formulaic and tactical. In contrast, while the other boy followed the rules, every one of his movements had an incredible sense of rhythm, with no tactical defense, only evasions and counterattacks that were at their absolute limit.
That was not the reaction speed an ordinary person could achieve; the gap was too large. If he hadn't guessed wrong, the opponent was the freshman he had arranged to meet.
While everyone was discussing, the young man on the stage threw a lightning-fast punch, ending the match cleanly and decisively.
"Victory!"
The boy glanced down at the audience, his gaze sweeping over them before locking onto Zhou Ming, a smile appearing on his face: "Oh! Senior, you're here!"
Zhou Ming naturally raised his hand to greet him, even though he didn't recognize the other person at all.
"Oh, Huang Tao, you're quite early. Where's Zhang Qian?" Zhou Ming looked around, asking about the whereabouts of the other classmate.
"Zhang Qian went to buy water."
Huang Tao flipped off the ring, walked through the crowd praising him, and came before Zhou Ming, his expression a little nervous.
He was a freshman, and in the year since he enrolled, he had heard countless stories about Zhou Ming.
A few days ago, when he heard that the team leader for this mission was Zhou Ming, he was so excited that he didn't fall asleep until three in the morning.
To be able to learn from such an excellent Senior on his first outdoor mission could only be interpreted as the Teacher intentionally cultivating him and Zhang Qian, showing them special care.
"Is this President Zhou? Nice to meet you for the first time, I'm Zhang Qian!"
Zhang Qian jogged over to Zhou Ming, holding three bottles of water, and tried to free a hand to shake Zhou Ming's hand.
"We'll do our best on this mission!" Zhang Qian clasped Zhou Ming's outstretched hand, showing her positive attitude.
She knew very well that an experienced Senior like Zhou Ming wouldn't normally undertake this kind of entry-level mission. The Teacher's arrangement was entirely to let the Senior help her and Huang Tao gain practical experience.
And the Senior inviting them to practice at this comprehensive martial arts gym must also be to guide them and further improve their practical combat abilities.
"Everyone needs to work hard," Zhou Ming said with a smile. He appeared composed, but he didn't think that at all inside.
"So, shall we... practice now?" Huang Tao raised his fists, signaling that he wanted to spar with Zhou Ming.
Zhou Ming blinked, averted his gaze, and showed hesitation: "Uh... I'll warm up by practicing with the teachers here first."
"Senior, although the boxing teachers here are very good, I don't think they're enough for your warm-up. If you want to warm up, come with me." Huang Tao was full of enthusiasm, and Zhou Ming could almost feel the fiery energy of youth emanating from him.
"Exactly, exactly. We ordinary people naturally can't spar with people like you who will fight anomalies in the future. You two should practice with each other and give everyone a show!"
"That's right, that's right."
The other people around, learning that they were students from that university, all started to chime in.
The students in the martial arts gym had just witnessed three incredibly exciting matches and were still eager for more. Now, suddenly, someone who seemed even stronger than Huang Tao appeared, naturally exciting them to the extreme. Everyone was impatiently waiting to see a duel between two powerhouses.
The shouts from all around grew louder, and Huang Tao and Zhang Qian in front of him also looked at him expectantly. Zhou Ming scratched his head, thinking, "Oh no, this is going to be hard to refuse."
"Then just a little warm-up. I haven't exercised in a long time, so my reactions might be a bit slow. Let's keep it light, okay?" Zhou Ming found an excuse for himself in advance.
"I'll have to ask Senior to go easy on me," Huang Tao said with a laugh.
About to spar with this famous third-year Senior, Huang Tao was quite nervous, but more than that, he was excited.
Huang Tao's father was one of the Hidden Ones, so the training he received from a young age was much stricter and more professional than that of his other classmates.
In the year since he enrolled, his combat scores ranked first among his peers, and his weapon fighting also ranked in the top ten. Among students, he was definitely considered excellent. Although he didn't consider himself a genius, his classmates often used the word 'genius' to describe him, which made Huang Tao even more confident in his excellence.
Huang Tao believed that the reason Teacher Wang arranged for Zhou Ming to lead the team was also to subtly suggest that he should aim for Zhou Ming's strength... In other words, he should hold himself to the standard of a chief student!
Let me see how big the gap is between me, a freshman ranked ninth, and the third-year chief! Huang Tao thought.
Zhou Ming changed his clothes, put on his boxing gloves, and stepped onto the ring, looking at Huang Tao three meters away.
Huang Tao in front of him had already adopted a completely different stance from when he had sparred with the martial arts gym coach earlier.
His expression was serious, muscles taut, and his stable skeletal structure supported a rather intimidating boxing stance. His entire body exuded astonishing resilience and a sense of power, like a human spring compressed to its limit, ready to release a powerful impact with the slightest relaxation.
Clearly, sparring with the gym coach earlier was just playing around, and now, he was serious.
Zhang Qian below the stage clutched her mineral water bottle. As Huang Tao's girlfriend, she was well aware of her boyfriend's combat prowess.
Huang Tao's combat score was first in his year, and his fighting skill was far beyond the reach of the second-place student. Even the Teacher said he had unparalleled talent in close-quarters combat, and even among second-year students, only a few could consistently beat him.
While the Senior was strong, his combat ranking had always fluctuated between twentieth and thirtieth on the third-year leaderboard.
So Zhang Qian felt that Huang Tao might not lose to Zhou Ming!... At least he wouldn't lose badly.
The others below seemed to sense the tense atmosphere; their whispers grew quieter and quieter, until finally, the entire venue fell silent. Everyone quietly watched the two confronting each other on the stage, feeling nervous about the impending clash of two champions.
Zhou Ming secretly swallowed, feeling more nervous than the spectators.
Will I get knocked out with one punch later? The other person looks quite formidable.
If I get knocked down with one punch later, I'll just pretend to faint. After a few minutes, I'll pretend to wake up, then make an excuse about being tired from staying up late yesterday, and then immediately retreat, and while I'm at it, refuse Teacher Wang's commission and obediently go hide and learn to fight.
While this might arouse suspicion, it's better than losing my life.
If I can't even beat a junior, then facing a monster would just mean becoming its food.
"Uh... come on." Zhou Ming also adopted a stance.
Seeing Zhou Ming adopt his stance, Huang Tao was dumbfounded.
Zhang Qian was also dumbfounded.
Everyone else was dumbfounded.
"Senior... are you, are you joking?" Huang Tao stared blankly at Zhou Ming.