Chapter 6: Inch Punch

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

Tian Xiangdong having 7 for his Strength surprised Zhou Wen slightly.

The Strength-measuring device’s value was slightly different from the Strength stat in the game on the phone. However, the difference wasn’t that much. They could basically be considered as sharing the same unit.

Before Zhou Wen received the mysterious phone, his Strength was only a 7 as well.

“It’s your turn,” Tian Xiangdong took a step to the side and said to Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen stood in front of the Strength-measuring device as the trio’s eyes landed on him. All of them wanted to know how much strength this former number one genius of Guide High School had left.

Inside the Primordial Energy module, Yu Qiubai shared the same sentiments. After spending more than a month as a wastrel, how much more strength did Zhou Wen have?

Although Strength wasn’t something that declined as quickly as one’s reaction in combat, having it was one thing, and delivering it was another.

Skills to deliver Strength required plenty of practice before one could perfectly release one’s Strength. Over time, one would get rusty; therefore, even if one still had Strength, they could hardly release it completely.

Zhou Wen stood in front of the pressure board, taking on a pose to deliver an Inch Punch. It wasn’t a Primordial Energy Skill, but an ordinary combat skill. It was part of the school’s normal teachings.

However, Inch Punch was easy to pick up but difficult to master. It was used to deliver the greatest amount of strength at the shortest distance and was one that needed plenty of practice to achieve a certain level of mastery. Furthermore, it was delivered at short distances, so Inch Punch didn’t have any beautiful or cool poses. The typical student was more willing to practice something that showed its effects quickly and punching techniques that appeared domineering.

Of course, even more students chose to train in weapons. After all, the damage from weapons in actual combat was far greater than one’s limbs.

Upon seeing Zhou Wen nearly plaster his fist to the pressure board, Fang Ruoxi and company realized that he was using Inch Punch.

Tian Xiangdong curled his lips and said, “The explosive strength delivered by Inch Punch is very strong indeed, but it’s not something easily mastered without years of strenuous training. Let’s hope Zhou Wen doesn’t end up overshooting his mark.”

Although Tian Xiangdong’s words weren’t pleasant, Yu Qiubai agreed. Inch Punch wasn’t easily mastered. Zhou Wen didn’t seem to practice much and in the recent month, he had engrossed himself in gaming. Therefore, to use Inch Punch for a Strength test might end up giving him worse results.

Bang!

As the quartet was still in thought, they saw Zhou Wen’s fist tremble at an extremely fast speed. It was so fast that they might have imagined themselves seeing things if not for the explosive bang from the pressure board. It was as though Zhou Wen’s fist had never moved.

Their eight eyes quickly looked towards the screen. They wished to know the results of Zhou Wen’s punch.

The gap’s too tiny! The same thought came to the minds of Tian Xiangdong, Fang Ruoxi, and Li Zhi simultaneously.

The distance he threw his punch from was too tiny. Although Inch Punch is about delivering the most amount of Strength with the shortest distance, it’s very difficult to deliver any Strength when the gap is too tiny, just like a person can jump higher when squatting down or retracting an arm to deliver a more powerful punch. Inch Punch goes the whole way. Only true Inch Punch experts can deliver that much Strength at such short distances… Yu Qiubai had a lot more going on in his mind.

When all of them saw the number on the screen, their eyes widened immediately.

They saw one number after another light up, and soon 10 was lit up. Zhou Wen’s Inch Punch had delivered 10 points of Strength.

10! It’s a 10! How is this possible? Yu Qiubai was pleasantly surprised.

Yu Qiubai had been teaching for years.The thought of a high-school student delivering a punch with a Strength of 10, without using any Primordial Energy Skills, was terrifying.

Even if the typical student had Strength Crystals to use, it was very difficult for them to reach such levels during high school. This was because typical Strength Crystals were limited when it came to enhancing one’s Strength. Beyond 7, using a typical Strength Crystal was practically useless.

One couldn’t have their Strength improve unless one had extremely high-quality Strength Crystals; otherwise, they could only cultivate a Primordial Energy Art to constantly hone their bodies to slowly grow their Strength.

But that was just too difficult. Before evolving to the Legendary stage, it was very difficult for the typical human to have Strength reaching a value of 10. Most humans were at 7–8 at the Mortal stage.

Zhou Wen was clearly still in the Mortal stage; yet, he could deliver Strength valued at 10 with just his muscles alone. This was considered extremely rare even in the entire League. It was probably not an exaggeration to call it one in a million.

Could it be that Zhou Wen didn’t wallow in his self-misery? The reason he’s constantly sleeping in class is because of the fatigue from training himself even more excessively? The more Yu Qiubai thought about it, the more he was convinced of his theory. The look he gave Zhou Wen was mixed with approbation and cherishing, as well as relief. It has to be the case. The former principal knows better indeed. I had mistaken him. To have 10 Strength at the Mortal stage is not something anyone in Guide City can match. Even among all the high school students on Earth, he will still be top-class… What a good child… It must have been hard on him…

The more Yu Qiubai thought about it, the more he fondness he felt for Zhou Wen. He felt that not only was Zhou Wen talented, but the latter also had a good temperament. Ever since he was defeated by An Jing, many people had been wagging their tongues at him. Under such immense pressure, he hadn’t tried to defend himself but had actually managed to cultivate such an impressive step in a short period of time. Such a state of mind and talent was very rare among high school students.

“No way? Delivering 10 without using any Primordial Energy Skills? Don’t tell me this fellow is hiding at home daily and honing his Strength?” Tian Xiangdong couldn’t help but gulp. To deliver 10 Strength at the Mortal stage was just too shocking. It was rare for a tiny city like Guide City to produce such a person.

Li Zhi and Fang Ruoxi looked at Zhou Wen with odd looks. Although Fang Ruoxi never believed Zhou Wen to be someone who would wallow in self-misery and that he had trained arduously in private, she had never expected him to attain such progress.

From the looks of it, the numbers from the Strength-measuring device are a little different from the game. In-game, my Strength is 9, but in the real world, it’s 10. Zhou Wen thought to himself.

“To be able to deliver 10 Strength, you do live up to your reputation as the number one genius of Guide High School. However, if you believe that you have defeated me, you’re wrong,” Tian Xiangdong said as he looked at Zhou Wen.

Upon seeing Zhou Wen’s result, Tian Xiangdong was already willing to let the former join their team.

Although Tian Xiangdong could deliver more than 10 Strength with Lightning Fist, it was something that expended Primordial Energy. At this present level, he could only deliver one punch in a short period of time, preventing him from using it for long.

As for Zhou Wen, he had delivered 10 Strength. He could engage in combat for long periods of time, a huge boon to the team. It was even more useful than Tian Xiangdong’s Lightning Fist.

Another reason was Zhou Wen’s Inch Punch. To be able to use that, it was obvious that Zhou Wen hadn’t given up on himself. He must have been secretly cultivating and hadn’t suffered from being rusty with his skills.

However, Tian Xiangdong wasn’t willing to admit defeat. He still planned on defeating Zhou Wen before magnanimously voicing out his acceptance of Zhou Wen into the team.