Chapter 95: An Accidental Record Was Broken [Tips Appreciated]

Sir Tang, since you have awakened as a power-type, we will begin with the strength test. You must strike ten times, and we will take the middle reading; even the lowest value must still exceed the passing standard.

Beep.

No sooner had Qin Wu finished speaking than the attendant in charge of the strength-testing machine switched it on.

“Stand in front of the wall. Do not rush forward. Plant yourself, then unleash your full strength and strike the wall. Begin!” Qin Wu said.

Tang Shen looked at the black wall not far before him. He did not know what material it was made of. The moment the switch was turned on, faint streams of light seemed to flicker across its surface before gradually settling.

He stepped up to the wall and touched it curiously. To his surprise, it was not hard metal at all, but had a slight softness to it.

He lowered himself into a steady stance, clenched his fist, and gathered his strength. A tide of power rose from the soles of his feet and surged upward through his calves, thighs, tailbone, back, upper arms, forearms, and into his fist, flowing on and on without end.

Seeing Tang Shen take position before the strength-testing wall, Hu Da and the others could not help but grow solemn. Every one of them fixed their gaze on him, eager to see just how formidable he truly was.

After all, Liu Xin had stood before him like a helpless child, utterly unable to resist. Just how terrifying was that? Though Liu Xin was a speed-type, his strength had already reached the standard of an ordinary awakened power-type genetic warrior. The gap could not be described as merely large; speed was the crucial difference.

Qin Wu also watched Tang Shen with keen curiosity. His own subordinate Yang Zhi was not one for mischief, and yet today, when Yang Zhi should have been at the school delivering awakening serum, he had appeared here ahead of time, even accompanying an eighteen-year-old youth through the evaluation. More than that, the young man had three genetic warriors at his side. This was clearly unusual. Was he the scion of some great family? Impossible. Or had they discovered a gifted talent?

“Um... what is the minimum passing standard for a power-type genetic warrior’s fist test?” Just as everyone thought Tang Shen was about to strike, he suddenly turned his head and asked Qin Wu with utmost seriousness.

Hu Da: “...”

Qiao San: “...”

Yu Guang: “...”

Yang Zhi: “...”

Bai Xue’s bodyguard: “...”

Qin Wu: “...”

We’re all holding our breath waiting for your full-power test, and at this crucial moment you turn around and ask such an absurdly basic question? Did you not bother to learn anything before coming for the evaluation?

Everyone felt as if their hearts had suddenly snapped out of rhythm. It was unbearable, maddening, infuriating beyond words.

“You just hit with all your strength. Once you meet the passing standard, I’ll tell you,” Qin Wu said irritably. “Go on!”

Yet Tang Shen did not obey. Instead, he looked at him with complete earnestness and asked, “Please tell me the minimum passing standard. Only then can I try to strike that number and obtain the ordinary genetic warrior contract I’ve always dreamed of.”

What a humble dream. What sincere eyes. His dream was only to get an ordinary contract.

Even Qin Wu found himself momentarily dazed. After a moment’s thought, he said, “For a power-type, the minimum fist-test standard is 1250 kilograms. Begin! Do your best, believe in yourself!” At the end, he even could not help but offer Tang Shen a word of encouragement.

Such basic figures were known to almost anyone.

Tang Shen did not know them because he had missed the awakening process entirely. Normally, after students awakened, the school would uniformly teach them these things. He had... perfectly missed it.

To Hu Da, Yang Zhi, and the others, however, Tang Shen’s earlier words carried a meaning wholly different from the one Qin Wu had understood. The corners of all five men’s mouths twitched together, and in their minds arose a wildly absurd thought.

At the same time, the five exchanged a glance and instantly understood the same thing in each other’s eyes.

Damn it. He really is going to do that.

They had always assumed Tang Shen had invented that unreliable excuse merely to refuse the invitation from the special department. But now it seemed... he had been serious all along.

At once, they had a great many curses to unleash.

Tang Shen, having received the answer, nodded. However, 1250 kilograms—he still had no real sense of what that meant.

Damn it, just how strong was he, exactly? He had no idea at all!

So Tang Shen once again drifted into a splendid daze.

Then he suddenly thought of the fellow he had trampled to death. Weak. Perhaps only two or three tenths as strong as him. But that one had been a speed-type, so maybe he should start with fifty percent. No, make it sixty percent. Yes—sixty percent would be safer.

In his view, the man he had crushed was far too weak, probably only newly awakened as a genetic warrior. And being a speed-type, strength certainly was not his specialty.

If the dead Liu Xin could hear this, he might well crawl out of his coffin in fury just to bite Tang Shen. He was far stronger than those raw recruits—one man could take ten, easy.

Against Tang Shen, Liu Xin had only been careless. Given another chance, he would still be the one lying there, because Tang Shen was far stronger than he was.

Seeing Tang Shen standing before the testing wall and then going still, everyone who had been waiting was once again left stunned.

What are you doing? Did we tell you to space out?

Qin Wu was also a little dumbfounded. What was this fellow doing? Every candidate who came for evaluation was focused to the utmost, yet this one had actually drifted off.

It was the first time he had ever seen someone absentminded during an assessment.

Just as he could no longer hold back and was about to remind him, Tang Shen’s fist suddenly shot out like a dragon surging from the sea, so abrupt that it startled everyone at once.

Boom.

A dull impact rang out, and a deep fist impression instantly appeared in the black wall.

Beep beep beep beep!

The machine erupted in an urgent alarm, and the digits on the display shot upward wildly.

Everyone’s attention was drawn at once to the numbers.

In practically an instant, the passing standard of 1250 kilograms was surpassed, yet the digits still continued to rise.

Tang Shen was watching too. The moment the reading exceeded the threshold, he pursed his lips and muttered inwardly, Damn it, I used too much force. That guy was so weak, and a speed-type at that. Sure enough, using him as a benchmark was unreliable. Still, I guess I’m pretty amazing. With just a little over half my strength, I passed so easily. So this is how weak C-rank really is.

If those present could hear Tang Shen’s inner complaints, they would probably all curse aloud.

Weak your ass! Qin Wu himself was C-rank too—he had not reached B-rank, though he was among the stronger C-rank fighters.

“Holy crap, 1500 kilograms!” Qin Wu’s eyelids twitched.

Hu Da and the others’ eyelids twitched as well, their hearts trembling. This was already six times the strength of an ordinary person trained through systematic methods. A typical awakened power-type usually stood at only about five times; sometimes not even that, and had to train for a period before reaching it.

And now, the number was still rising.

“1750 kilograms! Seven times!”
“2000 kilograms!”

With every increase, their breathing grew more and more ragged.

Qin Wu’s eyes were nearly bulging out. Damn it—he’s only eighteen! A monstrous genius!

If he remembered correctly, the current record for a power-type genetic warrior awakening was 1698 kilograms, and that had been with first-level awakening serum. It had not even reached seven times.

Yet the young man before him had already surpassed it.

Beep beep beep... 2313 kilograms!!!

At last, the strength reading came to rest at that number.