Sunday, April 17th.

Eight o'clock in the morning.

Upper City has not yet turned on the lights.

The inner courtyard is silent, the night is still thick, the night's thunder and snoring gradually weaken; this is the sweetest moment of sleep in the day for the senior brothers and sisters.

Li Guishen woke up midway, took advantage of the brief pause in thunder, and hurriedly snuggled back into bed to continue his sleep.

But Feng Mu suddenly opened his eyes at this moment. He went to the bathroom, splashed some cold water on his face, and then returned to the courtyard.

Perhaps because he successfully expelled one-third of the liquid from his body, or maybe because his constitution has improved, Feng Mu felt that even though he only slept for two and a half hours, he was not particularly tired.

"That's true, the trait of a corpse is lethargy, and the essence of a living person is to struggle to stay awake for a while longer."

Feng Mu puffed up his chest and exhaled a long breath of foul air, beginning his training.

It was still in that position, with that focused rhythm, so much so that during breakfast, the senior brothers and sisters would courteously ask if he hadn't slept last night.

Feng Mu responded sincerely to their concerns while dining: "I slept well last night, it's just that I'm used to getting up early."

After breakfast, Li Guishen started fiddling with his smoking pipe, silent throughout the process, only occasionally casting Feng Mu a strange glance that left people guessing about what he was pondering.

Li Guishen discarded the ashes in his smoking pipe, gently exhaled a ring of smoke, and then turned his gaze towards Li Bashan, who ate the most and slept the earliest.

He sighed and said, "Lao Ba's nature cannot be idle. Since he wants to work in prison, you, the senior brother, should expedite helping him resolve this matter in the next couple of days."

Yuan Xidi seemed slightly disappointed and still insisted, advising:

"Junior brother, why do you insist on working in prison? Let me tell you, the prison is enclosed and monotonous. It's better to come with me to the Investigation Corps as a consultant. I'm telling you, the places behind some Hidden Sects are quite interesting. You couldn't imagine how exciting it could be."

Feng Mu cast an apologetic glance at Yuan Xidi, thinking to himself, "Although I am curious about the scenery behind Hidden Sects, you don't understand the fun of prison; it's the closed and monotonous nature that fascinates me."

Li Bashan noticed the determination on Feng Mu's face and quickened his eating pace, rapidly polishing off the rice grains in his wooden bucket.

Then, he stood up and said to Feng Mu, "Junior brother, come with me."

Yuan Xidi sighed softly, while Gong Qi raised his eyebrows, showing a hint of curiosity and anticipation in his expression.

In the corner, Hong Ya pouted slightly, feeling a bit aggrieved: "I didn't expect even junior brother to find a proper job, but I still have to guard Douqiong. Well, speaking of which, I really can't bear to leave the martial arts hall and my little laboratory."

Thinking of this, Hong Ya's mood brightened instantly. She showed a silly smile, holding a rice bowl, and skipped merrily to catch up with the leaving senior brother and junior brother.

The dojo, main area.

Feng Mu stood within the marked area in front of a slightly sci-fi-looking testing equipment, took a deep breath, and tensed all his muscles, delivering a heavy punch to the hanging sandbag in front of him.

Bang!

The sandbag emitted a heavy, muffled sound, swung violently backward, then was tightly bound by the steel cables above, much like an octopus, twisting and spinning to rebound with even greater force.

Feng Mu remained standing still, twisted his waist, and crazily struck the swinging sandbag repeatedly, going back and forth in such a cycle.

With each swing of Feng Mu's fist, the five or six cameras around the test device swiftly rotated, capturing every minute movement of his body from every angle without missing a single detail.

These cameras, flickering red, resembled buzzing flies with multifaceted eyes, precisely recording Feng Mu's every striking moment into the system, leaving no detail overlooked.

The few early-arriving students in white practice uniforms glanced over, but upon seeing the giant-like Li Bashan standing nearby, they stopped in their tracks, afraid to watch any closer.

They couldn't see the string of data jumping on the display screen and could only, by the swing magnitude of the sandbag and the loudness of the hits, engage in low murmurs and speculations with one another.

"He's the one who recently got accepted as a senior member of the martial arts hall."

"Damn, the sandbag is swinging into the air, and when I tested before, despite using all my strength, the sandbag only moved laterally by 1 centimeter."

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven... The rebound speed of the sandbag is getting faster, and its swing trajectory keeps changing. Sigh, if I were hit by that strike, I'd have been blasted away long ago."

"More than just sent flying, the heavy thud alone sends one's heart racing. If I got hit like that, I might really be sent directly to the crematorium."

"I heard his name the other day; he's called Feng Mu."

"He looks lean and slender, not particularly tall or burly, unlike those muscle-bound freaks, yet why is he so strong?"

"From the swing amplitude of the sandbag, at least the Fist Power should be of a Third Grade Martial Artist and above."

"Wow, don't you guys think he looks kind of cool? Not like the overwhelming coolness of the guy next to him, but a more cold and abstinent kind of cool."

The last to make comments were two female trainees, their figures appearing even more graceful and curvaceous under the shadow of their training clothes, their delicate features and attire showing their meticulousness.

They giggled softly and whispered a few words, their voices low yet enough to catch the attention of those around them.

The male students around, who were just chatting away moments ago, suddenly seemed to be enchanted by a spell, all closing their mouths and losing interest in the discussion.

In their eyes, the flames of unwillingness and jealousy flickered, wishing fervently to replace the figure in the testing area.

However, these thoughts were nothing more than fleeting fantasies.

The male students quickly realized that such desires were nothing but a fool's dream; they lacked the root bone for it, and even more so, the capability.

Thus, they all lost interest and scattered away, each finding a corner on the open ground, venting their dissatisfaction and anger on the immobile equipment, trying to find some solace in their sweat.

The venue immediately cooled down, with only a few female trainees left at the original spot. They exchanged glances but none chose to leave.

On the contrary, their gazes became even more intense, staring closely at the figure in the arena, until... Hong Ya let out a humph, tiptoeing with her petite body to block their "devouring" gaze.

Feng Mu did not pay attention to the surroundings, nor would he care even if he did.

"That's enough, Junior Brother."

Li Bashan stepped into the testing area, lightly tapping the whizzing sandbag, which instantly settled like a disappointed raging bull, no longer moving.

The data bouncing on the screen eventually solidified into:

Fist Power: Level 11.2

Attack Speed: 7.3 Frequency

Technique: 5.1 Stage

"Level four Fist Power, level three Attack Speed, level three Technique. If we only go by this rating, Junior Brother is considered a 3.5-level martial artist, a half-step to level four, and he actually caught up to me?"

Hong Ya's mouth formed a slight oval, then she hurriedly stepped forward, printed out a test sheet, and then carefully deleted all the stored data in the machine.

Of course, martial artist's ranking involves other things, such as the rank and number of cultivation techniques practiced, scores in actual combat tests, etc., but excluding those, with just these three rough data points, Junior Brother indeed has one foot into the threshold of a fourth-level martial artist.

Hong Ya was stunned inwardly, and she didn't know that Feng Mu still held a trump card; if he activated Bone Form and triggered some buffs, his numbers could go up another step.

Hong Ya's face was heavy, not out of jealousy, but because she felt her dignity as a senior was being challenged. She resolved: "Tonight, I must practice more, no more indulging in binge-watching dramas."

Feng Mu looked at the screen where the data flickered for a few moments before being cleared, equally lost in thought.

"I remember the last test, during the school's final simulated test, my average barely reached one point."

In his mind, the classroom explanations were vivid, the division of martial artist ranks as clear as yesterday.

If his memory served him right, the martial artist ranks are distinctly defined:

Values below 2 are unranked.

Value range 2-3 is the first rank;

Value range 3-5 is the second rank;

Value range 5-10 is the third rank;

Value range 10-50 is the fourth rank;

Value range 50-100 is the fifth rank;

Value range 100-1000 is the sixth rank;

Above the sixth rank, one steps into the truly high ranks, which can't simply be measured by values.

(ps: The values here refer to the lowest values within the three dimensions of Fist Power, Attack Speed, and Technique)

"And now, after constant effort over this period, I'm actually half-step to level four."

"This should indeed be the reward of perseverance, the heaven rewarding the diligent."

Feng Mu's eyes glimmered slightly, and though his heart was as steadfast as a rock, he couldn't help but be moved by his own effort and tenacity, feeling proud.

"Okay, with these value assessments, Junior Brother entering the prison is absolutely fine," Li Bashan remarked in his deep voice.

.....

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