Chapter Seventy-Four: None of You Need to Compete—This Disciple Is Mine! (Fifth Chapter, Please Subscribe!)

Today was Saturday, and as usual, many students were at the Martial Arts Hall—some flirting, others honing their bodies. A few instructors from the Ancient Martial Arts Department were also there, guiding diligent students while taking the opportunity to improve themselves as well.

Word quickly spread that the principal had brought a group for an assessment, and a crowd soon gathered to watch. Nothing delighted them more than seeing a freshman being twisted and contorted under the crushing force of the gravity chamber—it made their own arduous training seem that much lighter.

After all, the best way to relieve stress was to find someone worse off than yourself. Hearing another’s misfortune often made your own troubles seem trivial in comparison.

When they saw that the one undergoing the gravity test was a chubby boy, the spectators were immediately dismissive.

“With a body like that, why bother with the gravity chamber? Does he plan to crush it with his weight?”

“What’s happening to our school? Are we really admitting just anyone now? What happened to the pride and dignity of the Empire’s First Royal Academy?”

“I hear he knows nothing of cultivation. I bet he won’t last more than five times gravity.”

“I disagree. He won’t get past three times. Honestly, I doubt he’ll even pass the first round.”

—

Yet, when the chubby boy made it through three times, then five, and even skipped directly from eight to ten times gravity, the crowd’s opinion began to shift.

“There’s something about this fat kid.”

“Incredible! Someone with no cultivation background managed to withstand ten times gravity? How did he do it?”

“Good heavens, could this be a first in the academy’s history? The first freshman with no cultivation to pass the tenfold gravity test?”

—

Doubt turned to admiration and praise for the chubby boy.

In ancient martial arts, strength was all that mattered. No amount of eloquence could be as convincing as knocking down your opponent with a single punch.

Through his performance, the chubby boy earned everyone’s respect.

“Twenty times!”

A cold voice rang out, echoing in everyone’s ears. All eyes turned toward the speaker—an old man.

Oh, it was the dean. That was all right then.

But for Tang Fei, it was not all right.

He hurried to Shang Xiulin’s side, striving to remain calm as he spoke: “Dean, I believe the chubby boy has already completed the entrance assessment. He’s passed the tenfold gravity test—why must he continue?”

Phoenix followed, supporting him: “Dean, a gentleman’s word is his bond. We all agreed beforehand—if he passed the gravity test, he’d be admitted. How can you raise the stakes now?”

“You know full well that the chubby boy has no cultivation. Enduring tenfold gravity is already his physical limit. Twenty times would crush him to a pulp. If you insist on pushing this, then we’ll simply leave this academy.”

Phoenix understood the boy’s abilities, and she knew what twentyfold gravity meant. Even with the protection of Yin-Yang energy, she herself could only barely endure it. For someone as untrained as the chubby boy, it would tear him apart.

Shang Xiulin turned to look at Tang Fei and Phoenix, asking, “How do you know his limits? Are you the teacher here, or am I?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Phoenix glanced at the big screen, where the chubby boy, drenched in sweat and barely able to stand, looked as if he’d faint at any moment.

“I don’t think so,” Shang Xiulin replied. “Don’t let his size fool you—there’s a stubbornness in his bones that hasn’t yet been fully drawn out.”

“But he’s exhausted!” Tang Fei protested. “I’m afraid he won’t make it.”

Shang Xiulin looked at Tang Fei and said, “Martial arts are not for the faint of heart. If you fear death, why bother with martial cultivation?”

“…”

He continued, “If you’re truly worried, why not ask him? If he’s willing, we continue. If not, then he’s just an ordinary martial artist. All strength and no sense of Yin-Yang energy—what can he really achieve in the Ancient Martial Arts Department? His potential is clear for all to see.”

—

Tang Fei hesitated a moment. “Let’s ask him.”

So Chen Bing connected to the chubby boy via the yellow sprite in the gravity chamber.

“Gongsun Lei, you’ve passed the tenfold gravity assessment. Do you wish to continue, or end here?”

The chubby boy struggled to raise his head and asked the yellow sprite, “What does my brother think? I’ll do what he says.”

“Chubby,” Tang Fei took the communicator from Chen Bing and said, “You’ve passed. You’ve done great. I want you to stop, but the dean thinks you can take on twenty times gravity.”

“I’ll do it,” the chubby boy replied.

“Chubby, it’s dangerous,” Tang Fei urged, “you could lose your life.”

“Brother,” the chubby boy looked up at the yellow sprite, as if seeing Tang Fei himself.

On the big screen, his sweat-soaked, red, round face filled half the display—pale, plump, enormous.

“You’ve always been my pride,” he panted, his hammer now too heavy to hold, lying on the ground. He’d thought it was over, but it wasn’t.

“This time…” He gazed at the yellow sprite—at his brother. His eyes were clear and pure, unclouded by doubt.

He even managed a familiar, honest smile.

“I want to try. I want to make you proud of me, just once.”

“Chubby…”

“Let me try, brother. Just once,” he pleaded.

“Very well.” Tang Fei gritted his teeth. “Just once. No matter what, you’ll always be my pride.”

The chubby boy’s smile grew even brighter. “Brother, you…you’re just trying to comfort me…”

Because the boy himself agreed, the gravity test continued.

Chen Bing glanced at Shang Xiulin with concern. “Dean, do you really mean twenty times?”

She knew what a terrifying number that was. Even those at the Spirit-Communion level struggled to breathe under such pressure. For an untrained boy like this…

Wait, when had she started calling him ‘chubby’ too?

If something happened—if he was really crushed like they’d feared—the Martial Arts Hall would have to answer for it, and as director, so would she.

“I’ll take responsibility if anything goes wrong,” Shang Xiulin said.

“Yes, Dean.” Chen Bing nodded, taking back the communicator. “Gongsun Lei, the gravity test will continue. Next is the twentyfold assessment.”

“Twentyfold gravity test, commencing,” the electronic sprite announced.

Boom!

The chubby boy felt as if someone had smashed his skull with the same skull hammer he’d gotten from the demon. Dizzy, his vision went black, and he nearly collapsed.

Worse, blood began to trickle from his nose and eyes, then his ears and mouth.

Blood streamed from all seven orifices—a brutal, terrifying sight.

His body felt swollen beyond measure, every pore visible, fresh blood seeping from each follicle.

Phoenix couldn’t bear to watch, but worry kept her eyes glued to him. Her hands clung so tightly to Tang Fei’s arm she nearly drew blood.

—

“Chubby won’t die, will he?” Phoenix asked anxiously. “Should I tell the dean to stop?”

Tang Fei was silent, oblivious to the pain in his arm. His eyes never left the screen, watching the chubby boy’s every move in the gravity chamber.

At this point, every action was a struggle. Even bending down to pick up his hammer took an agonizingly long time. By the time he managed, he was gasping like a beast, every muscle spent.

He was more exhausted than he’d ever been. Sweat blinded him, his vision blurry.

Yet in his heart, a single, stubborn thought burned:

Pick up the hammer!

Pick up the hammer!

Just pick up the hammer, and his brother could be proud of him, just once.

“Roar!”

He let out a beast-like cry and summoned all his strength.

Blood poured from his features and pores, even spraying out, as if his flesh were about to be torn apart by the twentyfold gravity.

He lifted the hammer and swung it down at the diamond stone that had reformed before him.

Crack!

A dazzling golden light burst forth.

A joyful smile appeared on his lips just before his vision went black and he collapsed heavily onto the floor of the gravity chamber.

Bang!

The chamber rang with the impact.

“Chubby!” Tang Fei and Phoenix cried out, dashing toward the gravity chamber.

“Amazing. This fat kid is amazing!”

“He’s truly reckless—his flesh was nearly ripped apart by the gravity.”

“Did you see? He had no protective energy at all—his flesh was completely defenseless. It’s unreal. This doesn’t make sense!”

“An ordinary person would’ve been reduced to a puddle long ago!”

—

Yet Shang Xiulin’s gaze was deep as he watched the chubby boy in the chamber, thinking, “Just as I thought… Exactly as I thought.”

A boy with no cultivation, yet with natural brute strength, had endured twentyfold gravity.

The first in the Empire’s First Military Academy’s history—a veritable god among mortals.

They said the war god Li Yuanba, millennia ago, had torn apart bulls and fought dragons with his bare hands.

“Dean, this student is joining our Ancient Martial Arts Department, right?” a middle-aged instructor squeezed forward, smiling obsequiously.

“Yes, Dean, we’ve still got places in our class. I can give him a special admission,” a young instructor chimed in.

“I believe students who can’t sense Yin-Yang energy need teachers with extra patience. We female teachers have a natural advantage in this,” a curvy young woman in martial arts attire interjected. “Headmaster, let me take him. I promise to guide him to the Qi-Control stage within three years.”

“You young teachers—do you have any respect for us veterans? Challenging students like this belong with us. Our experience makes us better suited to help them. What do you know?” another senior teacher objected.

“Enough squabbling,” Shang Xiulin waved a hand. “I’ll be taking this disciple myself.”

“…”

(End of Chapter)