Chapter 13: General Competition
"I'll go test it," Yang Tong said, standing up and running toward the strength tester in the courtyard.
His father followed him to the strength tester and waited quietly.
Yang Tong adjusted his breathing, then struck the tester with an authentic lunge punch, still testing his standard force output.
"Boom!" The strength tester let out a heavy sound, and immediately, the data for his punch was displayed.
"450 kilograms!" Both Yang Tong and his father stared at the data, dumbfounded. His father was merely surprised by his son's speed of progress, but upon recalling the scene he had witnessed when he returned that afternoon, he quickly felt relieved.
Yang Tong himself felt differently, because when he had just returned that afternoon, he had tested his strength and it hadn't even reached 400 kilograms. Yet, only a few hours had passed, and his strength had surged by dozens of kilograms. How could this be?
Tai Chi—it must be the effect of Tai Chi Fist!
A wave of intense joy surged in his heart. Who wouldn't love a surge in strength?
"Very good. Unexpectedly, your strength has already reached the level of a Fourth-Grade Apprentice Martial Master. However, this sudden increase in your strength is likely due to special circumstances. You must also pay attention to balanced development in all other aspects..." His father lectured him with a straight face.
"It's time to eat," his mother's voice came from nearby.
Only then did his father close his mouth and say to Yang Tong, "Go eat, and rest early after dinner. You still have to participate in the general competition tomorrow."
Yang Tong ran off as if fleeing a disaster. His father watched his son's back, revealing a gratified smile.
Yang Tong ate his food absent-mindedly, thinking about what mystery Tai Chi Fist could possibly hold to be able to increase his strength so rapidly. This was very illogical.
He had practiced Tai Chi before, and the old man had practiced it for his entire life before passing away. Logically, Tai Chi Fist was not a martial art for fighting and killing in the true sense; it was a Daoist technique for inaction and health preservation. It balanced Yin and Yang and evolved into the Tai Chi Bagua. It shouldn't be able to suddenly increase a person's strength; otherwise, since Tai Chi Fist was so widely spread in his past life, wouldn't everything have been in chaos?
There must be some hidden reason he had overlooked or failed to comprehend. Yang Tong had always been optimistic, so when he couldn't figure it out, he stopped thinking about it, finished his meal, and went into his room to rest.
The next day, he got up early and practiced Tai Chi Fist in the backyard. He needed to adapt to the strength that had surged yesterday as soon as possible. Fortunately, his foundation was very solid, and combined with the wonders of Tai Chi Fist, he was already able to control it freely.
What he needed to train now was not strength, but speed. Relatively balanced development was very important, and he himself understood the importance of speed, but this could be done slowly.
"When are you going to school?" his mother asked during breakfast.
"It starts officially at nine. It's only seven now, still early. I'll leave after eating," he replied.
"Perform well, don't worry too much about the ranking, and try not to get hurt," his father reminded him with concern.
"Understood," he nodded in response.
Just as he finished breakfast and was practicing Tai Chi Fist in the front yard to aid digestion, a voice called out: "Yang Tong, are you home?"
Hearing this voice, he knew who it was, so he walked out of the courtyard to open the door. "Feng Xiaobo, what are you doing here so early?"
"Of course, I'm here to find you so we can go to school together," Feng Xiaobo replied.
Yang Tong checked the time and said, "It's only 7:30, it's still early." As he spoke, he began practicing Tai Chi as if no one else was there.
Feng Xiaobo watched while replying, "Going early means we can grab a good spot." After watching Yang Tong's fist technique for a while, he asked, "Is that that strange fist technique you use? It's so slow, it's so weird." If he hadn't seen the power of this fist technique with his own eyes, anyone would find it hard to believe that the fist technique Yang Tong was currently performing was the same one that had dominated the arena.
"This fist technique is not a method for fighting and killing, but a technique for health preservation," Yang Tong answered calmly.
"You're just bragging. How old are you, and you're already talking about health preservation?" Feng Xiaobo interrupted disdainfully.
Yang Tong shook his head and didn't say much. After experiencing yesterday's events, he had already realized the magical mystery of Tai Chi Fist. Perhaps after practicing for a few more years, not only would his strength soar, but he might even be able to use this fist technique to achieve awakening and truly set foot on the path of the strong. If it weren't for his father being busy dealing with the threat of the savage beast siege these days, Yang Tong would really have had the idea of dragging his father over to practice Tai Chi Fist as well.
Feng Xiaobo watched from the side. Before long, he had learned the set of fist techniques. This was truly because the moves of Tai Chi Fist were too simple; one could learn them after watching for a few glances. It was just those few moves back and forth, and it was so slow, not requiring any force at all.
"It's that simple?" Feng Xiaobo couldn't help but start practicing it too.
Yang Tong shook his head and ignored him. Tai Chi Fist was peerlessly mysterious; it was easy to learn but difficult to master. He wouldn't stop Feng Xiaobo from learning it, but he wouldn't selflessly point out the key techniques either.
In this world, unique martial arts were protected by law. And not teaching advanced martial arts arbitrarily was also an unwritten rule. For example, the "Wind Wolf Fist"—it was fine for a father to pass it on to his son, but if he were to pass it on everywhere, that would be breaking the rules.
Feng Xiaobo performed it once and didn't feel there was anything remarkable about it, so he lost interest. He wasn't stupid, so he naturally understood that there must be other key techniques involved, but he didn't ask any more questions.
"It's about time, let's go to school." Feng Xiaobo simply started practicing his family's inherited fist technique, and after practicing for about an hour, he stopped and said.
"Alright, wait for me to change my clothes," Yang Tong sighed helplessly. He went into the room to change into a martial robe, then left home with Feng Xiaobo.
Playing as they walked, by the time they arrived at school, it was about time.
On the school playground, four huge arenas stood tall. Except for the large arena from the very beginning, the other three were newly built.
On the podium sat the teachers and directors of each grade, and the position in the very center was for the principal.
"Yang Tong, look quickly, that's Principal Long. I heard the principal is an Earth-rank Martial Spirit Master, very powerful," Feng Xiaobo shouted excitedly.
Yang Tong was also quite envious. The level of an Earth-rank Martial Spirit Master was still quite far from him, but he was only twelve years old, very young. Moreover, with treasures like the mysterious bronze coin and Tai Chi Fist, he believed that becoming an Earth-rank Martial Spirit Master was definitely not just a dream.
"Today, the Elementary Academy Graduation General Competition will be held. First, I want to congratulate all the students participating in the general competition. You will enter the most elite classes of the first year of the Intermediate Academy. I hope you can perform well, achieve the best results, and graduate with perfection," Principal Long announced loudly.
The academy cultivated students; the Elementary Academy was for building a foundation, treating everyone equally, and not distinguishing between good or bad aptitude. However, starting from the Intermediate Academy, it would be divided by aptitude. The most elite teaching staff and resources would be concentrated to focus on cultivating the most elite students. This was why the graduation general competition was held every session; its purpose was to distinguish the gap between students and then incorporate them into elite classes.
In this high-martial arts world, a city or a country was built on the number of strong individuals. The more strong individuals there were, the stronger the country would naturally be. The cultivation of strong individuals, of course, involved concentrating limited resources to focus on cultivating those with superior aptitude.