Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 41

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 41. Galaxy Martial Arts Divine Hall – Entrance Examination (5)

I changed my strategy.
Mindlessly overpowering someone clearly superior to me was a tactic that would yield nothing.
Even if I strengthened my physical power further, the Teacher would simply match whatever gains I made.
A fully developed martial artist’s body would have several times—sometimes dozens of times—better enhancement efficiency than a six-year-old’s still-growing frame, so a test of pure strength was not a wise choice.
Then I needed to employ psychological warfare.
I deliberately reduced the intensity of my power output as if my inner energy were depleting, swinging my blade slowly.
The moment I sensed the thought “this must be his limit” in the Teacher’s eyes as she parried my strikes, I suddenly accelerated using lightness technique and unleashed a more forceful swing.
Clang!
The Teacher faltered momentarily, barely deflecting my wooden sword by the narrowest margin.
Her wooden sword, which had been smoothly redirecting my attacks, collided head-on with mine instead of flowing past it.
The sudden increase in speed and power caused some strain to her wrist, and she glanced down at the hand gripping her wooden sword.
But it wasn’t serious damage.
She had instantly protected her wrist with her inner energy.
“Ah, a feint.”
The Teacher regarded me with newfound interest, a hint of admiration in her expression.
Had I landed a real blow?
No, I couldn’t claim victory with just this.
I needed to see that dismissive look in her eyes transform into genuine concern before I could truly say I’d landed a blow.
“I thought… it would… work.”
I deliberately inserted labored breathing into my words.
Then I continued swinging my blade according to the pattern of her green wooden sword while gradually reducing my power output.
“Are you pretending your strength is exhausted again? Or is it truly depleted? Either way, you’ve absorbed all the spirit medicine provided by the family during childhood—I should commend your diligence.”
“Thank you… for the praise.”
The spirit medicines distributed during childhood primarily focused on developing bones and strengthening the body’s foundation.
Medicines that increased inner energy were dispensed only once or twice a year.
With Siu’s assistance, I had diligently absorbed the spirit medicines.
Which was why I’d been forbidden from cultivation training as a consequence.
Yet I still possessed considerable reserves of inner energy.
The Teacher believed my inner energy was gradually running dry.
Given my cultivation level, her assumption was perfectly reasonable.
But sometimes common sense betrayed expectations.
When betrayed by common sense, the pain cuts deep.
I continued attacking, alternating between slowing and accelerating.
Once I sensed she’d learned the pattern, I accelerated half a beat earlier than expected.
I channeled all my inner energy into my feet at the Yongquan point, moving 1.5 times faster than when I’d used the feint.
As I swung my blade beyond what I’d established as my peak speed, the Teacher failed to parry my strike.
I unleashed my strike with the utmost power, the optimal trajectory, and the finest technique I could muster.
Done! Success! This is it!
Crack.
Crack? My wooden sword was supposed to pierce past the Teacher’s guard and sweep through beyond her wooden sword.
Yet before my wooden sword even touched her body—not the sound of cleaving air, but a crack?
Boom!
The moment that thought crossed my mind, my wooden sword exploded, scattering in all directions.
“Ah!”
I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.
But no impact came—instead, something soft enveloped my body protectively.
When I opened my eyes, Siu was embracing me as if she’d anticipated this, shielding me while her other hand gathered every splinter of the wooden sword scattered through the air.
Siu smiled and spoke.
“Congratulations on stepping into the Second Tier. I thought it would be a while longer, but it seems today was the day.”
“Second Tier? Ah, so that’s why the wooden sword exploded.”
“Wood lacks the durability to withstand unstable qi.”
As I blinked in surprise, Siu released me and turned to the Teacher.
“I believe we’ve sufficiently verified your abilities. Shall we conclude here?”
“Ah, yes! Of course!”
The Teacher answered tensely, seemingly startled by how Siu had penetrated her domain in an instant and recovered the wooden sword fragments that had scattered even toward her—her expression betraying astonishment at Siu’s martial prowess.
Was that shocked expression because of my attack?
Or was it because of Siu’s martial skill?
Sigh… if only my final strike had landed, it would have been perfect. I’m so disappointed.
It was such a perfectly timed thrust at her blind spot.
“You’ve worked hard today, so I should prepare something nourishing for lunch. Is there anything you’d like?”
“Ah, meat? Beef!”
At my response, Siu nodded and asked Cheon So-yeon’s Mother.
“Would it be alright to stop by the supermarket on the way back?”
We had come in Cheon So-yeon’s Mother’s car, so she was waiting while I took my written exam in Virtual Reality.
Siu probably said it was fine to go ahead, but Cheon So-yeon likely insisted on going with me.
“Of course. I need to do some shopping anyway.”
Cheon So-yeon approached me with a beaming smile and began chattering away.
“Oh, my lips have been itching to say something all this time—I thought I’d die! I wanted to tell you, but it’s not good to reveal things prematurely when you’re in that transitional state before the wall of a tier. You might become too conscious of it and fall into stagnation instead…”
Somehow, even though I was the one who’d advanced a tier, Cheon So-yeon seemed even more delighted.
Since the test was over, we all headed home together, and I thought my ears would bleed from Cheon So-yeon’s endless chatter once she got started.
It must have been bad if even Cheon So-yeon’s Mother, who was driving, asked her to please be quiet.
My ears are still working fine, right? For some reason, I’m hearing things that aren’t there.

* * *

Cheonmu Elementary School Principal’s Office.
The principal of the elementary school leaned back in his chair while reviewing the results of the placement examination.
A total of 237 direct lineage disciples were enrolling in this cohort.
Compared to last year’s 87 and the year before’s 134, it was an exceptionally large number.
Of course, it was only half the size of the current sixth-grade class, which boasted a record 489 students.
Still, it was undeniable that the number far exceeded the typical average of just over one hundred new students per year.
“21 students have properly learned martial arts. 56 children have had their dantians formed by their parents. 127 children haven’t even formed their dantians yet. 33 children haven’t properly absorbed spiritual medicine energy.”
They would be assigned to classes 1, 2, 3, and 4 according to each criterion.
Each class had a maximum of 20 students, but since Class 1 had 21, there was no intention to split them into two classes.
According to upper management guidelines, each class required a minimum of 15 students.
In ordinary schools, fewer students would allow teachers to focus more on their pupils, which would be ideal. But this was a martial arts specialty school.
Martial arts was both a physical discipline and a study of combat.
Struggle was competition, so each class needed a minimum number of people to compete with one another.
“Well, excess is better than shortage. It’s not as if we lack teachers anyway.”
“Indeed.”
Besides the principal, the Vice Principal, the Academic Affairs Director—a female android teacher—and the Martial Arts Director—a female teacher—were also present in the Principal’s Office.
They had gathered to discuss how to divide the new students’ classes based on the data obtained from the placement examination.
“How we divide Class 1 and Class 2 isn’t particularly important. What matters is not whether students have already learned martial arts, but whether they have the aptitude to learn martial arts.”
The Vice Principal and the Martial Arts Director nodded at the principal’s words.
What mattered in the school was ultimately cultivating martial artists.
The reason the Academic Affairs Director, an android teacher, was present was because Baobao, who emerged from the Virtual Reality examination hall, was the Academic Affairs Director herself.
While students’ aptitude was important in dividing classes, the most crucial factor was personality and temperament.
They could have simply printed paper test sheets and administered examinations, but they used the Virtual Reality examination hall and approached new students through the familiar animated character Baobao precisely to assess their personality and temperament.
“First, let’s separate the jade from the stone before assigning classes.”
Those identified as jade in this meeting would become the core of their respective classes, and unfortunately, those identified as stone would be assigned to classes based on those jade students.
At the principal’s words, the Vice Principal and the Martial Arts Director sorted the documents that had been organized by name.
Since all 21 students in Class 1 were in the same class, sorting wasn’t strictly necessary, but they did it anyway.
“Aptitude evaluation: 6 highest tier, 19 high tier, 185 middle tier, 26 low tier.”
Highest tier meant genius, high tier meant prodigy, middle tier meant ordinary talent, and low tier meant dull talent.
The lowest tier meant a state where learning martial arts was nearly impossible, so such students couldn’t enroll. This year, no one received the lowest evaluation.
Of the six highest tier evaluations, three were in Class 1, two in Class 2, and one in Class 3.
Naturally, Class 4, where students couldn’t even properly absorb spiritual medicine energy, contained only those with low tier evaluations and some with middle tier evaluations.
“Among the highest tier, Cheon So-yeon from Class 1 is undoubtedly the most striking.”
“That famous Heavenly Martial Physique? The one who was kidnapped a few years ago and escaped on her own?”
The Vice Principal nodded at the principal’s question.
“She did subdue and kill the kidnappers, but I understand it wasn’t quite an escape entirely on her own.”
“That’s practically the same as escaping on her own. Killing at that age—isn’t she a Heavenly Slaughter Physique rather than a Heavenly Martial Physique?”
“A Heavenly Slaughter Physique? Please don’t say such ominous things. Cheon So-yeon is definitely a Heavenly Martial Physique.”
“Ahahaha! That’s a relief.”
The principal and Vice Principal laughed and joked before beginning their evaluation of Cheon So-yeon.
“He’s become quite famous, so I evaluated him personally. Based on the division test results and submitted documents, he was at a second-rate level, but his obvious composure clearly indicates he’s reached at least first-rate.”
“At that age, does he have the wisdom to conceal his abilities? Or did his parents arrange it?”
“I suspect the latter. Given his kidnapping experience, it’s highly likely his parents taught him to hide his strength. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The ancient martial arts saying goes: conceal thirty percent of your power—a golden rule passed down through the ages.”
“However, as an instructor, I must know his limits to teach him properly. The key is drawing out his full potential during training. Both parents are from Hwagyeong, so I expect significant parental involvement in his education—but fortunately, I know both guardians as my juniors.”
The Principal’s cultivation level was Hwagyeong.
Though it was an elementary school, since direct descendants attended, the headmaster’s level had to be exceptionally high.
“In any case, Cheon So-yeon’s evaluation is among the very best.”
The Vice Principal and Martial Arts Director, both at the pinnacle realm, proceeded to deliver detailed evaluations in descending order from the highest ratings.
Those receiving favorable aptitude assessments received lengthy evaluations, but as they moved to lower-rated students, the comments grew increasingly brief.
Continuing downward, the Principal paused at one document.
“Aptitude rating of lower-middle tier?”
The aptitude ratings, divided into high, middle, and low, were further subdivided into three categories each for detailed assessment.
“With this aptitude level, a first-rate cultivation in Class One? Isn’t this recorded incorrectly?”
The document the Principal had stopped at belonged to Cheon Ji-woo.
“His aptitude evaluation borders on mediocrity—no, he’s clearly a dull talent. How does reaching first-rate at this age make sense? If he possessed the aptitude to achieve first-rate at this age, shouldn’t he at least be rated high-middle or higher?”

(Continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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