Chapter 21: Fitness Tests – (I)
Tang Mu walked quickly along one of the walkways after leaving the sports ground. He didn't come across other students or teachers since the schools had already gone on holiday.
He passed the fifteen-story main school building and went past the statue of Xia Suntong, one of the twelve Lord Chancellors of the Greater Earth Federation. Then, after taking a sharp turn, he trekked past the school's library, eco-labs, and greenhouses before arriving at a relatively extensive courtyard with richly planted gardens.
In the middle of the courtyard stood the 4th high school's contemporary six-story gym building that was about 300 square meters in size. The warm sunlight, typical of the 4th District's June summer days, poured down its exterior, illuminating its fortified glass walls and white pillars.
Tang Mu followed the walkway and quickly arrived at the main entrance situated on the side of the building. He took a deep breath to calm himself down before gallantly walking through the steel-framed doorway.
On entering the spacious first floor filled with an array of exercising equipment, Tang Mu didn't see any of the familiar gym attendants of the 4th high school. Instead, he caught sight of a totally unfamiliar middle-aged uncle at the reception beside the door.
Most likely, the uncle was one of the assessors of the Psionic Society's assessment.
It was at that moment that the man also noticed Tang Mu. He stroked his long beard and smiled. "Young man! Have you already passed the first stage of the Psionic Society's assessment?"
"Yes, sir! I just did," Tang Mu replied and approached the reception area. He gave the uncle a slight bow and continued, "I'm Tang Mu. Supervisor Yuan Fan sent me here to undergo the willpower and fitness tests."
"Supervisor Yuan Fan, you say?" The middle-aged uncle's eyes flashed with a strange light. "Does that mean you're the person who passed the first stage directly?"
"Yes, sir!"
"Interesting." The uncle chuckled and gave Tang Mu a once over. "Scan your biometrics. I will register your details and send you to the first floor for the willpower and fitness tests."
"Yes, sir!" Tang Mu nodded. He stepped towards the machine that looked like a steel pillar with a mechanical eye and a square screen on its surface.
The eye immediately came alive and let out a gentle glow that swept past his face, scanning his facial features and iris patterns. After a second or two, the eye stopped emitting the light, and a notification appeared on the screen. "Please place your hands on the screen for the fingerprint scan."
Tang Mu did as was told and scanned the fingerprints of both his hands.
Everything progressed smoothly, and the biometric scanner soon verified his identity. It displayed his information, including picture, name, date of birth, place of birth, parent's names, high school graduation exam marks, non-existent criminal record, and residential district.
Tang Mu wasn't surprised by all this as he knew that the assessors were only trying to ensure that he was really the one taking the assessment. He gave his personal details a brief look before turning around and returning to the reception.
"Good, you're really Tang Mu," the middle-aged uncle said after glancing at the holographic projection from his smartwatch. "Oh, this is interesting. You were ranked third among all candidates who sat for the high school graduation exam in the 4th district. You're one impressive man."
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Tang Mu smiled but chose not to respond.
The uncle gave his information one more look before saying, "Follow the stairs to the second floor, and you will meet the supervisors who will take you through the following stages of the assessment."
"Thank you, sir." Tang Mu bowed to the man and headed towards the stairs. He ascended them and reached the spacious second-floor area of the 4th high school's gym in a few strides.
The 4th high school gym's second floor was spacious and open, without equipment or any partitions. Aside from the pillars, the walls were all glass, allowing plenty of natural light to flood the interior.
Usually, the gym's second floor was where 4th high school students underwent physical fitness classes, like Yoga. One could often see training mats spread across all the 200 square meters of floor space.
However, the setup was a bit different that day. The training mats had disappeared, leaving the gym's multi-purpose flooring exposed. Moreover, a few pillars shimmering with mysterious symbols and several fitness testing machines had been fitted around the place.
Tang Mu could readily identify the punching bags connected to screens around the place and the high-end sports radar guns meticulously arranged into columns along the floor to form lanes akin to hundred-meter racing tracks. They were most likely the machines for testing the candidates' strength and sprinting speed.
Tang Mu also took note of the roughly eight-foot-tall strange pillars with shimmering runic patterns. The organizers had meticulously positioned them at the far end of the floor to form a 50-by-50 square meter enclosure. They were most likely the mysterious machines used to test willpower.
After quickly taking in the floor layout, Tang Mu naturally turned toward the three people standing beside the strength-testing equipment.
One was the familiar Teacher Xia Yating, who had taught him metaphysics and psionic science during high school. She had exquisite facial features and a stunning pair of blue eyes. She also exuded a mysterious air that gave her a heroic spirit.
Beside her were two unfamiliar men. One was a burly, tall guy with bulging muscles, while the other was a scholarly-looking, slender gentleman wearing light-colored glasses. At that moment, they were all observing Tang Mu with curious expressions.
Tang Mu approached them and bowed. "Greetings, Teacher Xia Yating! Greetings, supervisors!"
All three nodded in response.
Xia Yating, Tang Mu's former teacher, smiled. "Tang Mu! You were the only one that passed the assessment's first stage directly. Congratulations!"
"Thank you, teacher," Tang Mu said humbly. He respected his former teacher, especially since she was a powerful psionic. She was also a caring lady who gave her best while teaching her students.
"Young fella," the scholarly-looking gentleman wearing glasses said with a slight bit of impatience. "Time is tight. We have to assess thousands of students in only a few days. Go ahead and quickly test your fist and leg strength first. You can try three times, and we'll record your best result."
Tang Mu nodded and walked to one of the nearby punching bags.
Taking a deep breath, he rotated his body along the waist and threw a fist forward. He didn't use all his power as he didn't want to expose all his abnormal abilities. Instead, he used only about 80% of his strength to punch the punching bag.
"BANG!"
The sound of the punch smashing against the leather surface reverberated, and the bag swung upward. Tang Mu stepped back to avoid the bag before turning towards the screen on the side.
Right then, the assessors also read the details on the screen.
"880 kg of fist force!" The burly, tall guy, who hadn't said anything since Tang Mu arrived, suddenly whistled. He nodded with approval and said, "Little guy! Your strength is quite impressive. Have you already sensed your base chakra and become a pseudo-rank-one psionic?"
"Yes, I became a pseudo-rank-one a few days back," Tang Mu answered with half the truth.
Yes, he had become a pseudo-rank-one being. But he didn't mention that the first chakra he sensed was not the usual root/base chakra at the base of the spine but the enigmatic Galactic Chakra three feet above his head. He didn't wish to bring unfavorable attention to himself by flaunting his unorthodox perception of the eleventh energy center of the twelve-chakra system.
The burly man obviously didn't know that Tang Mu had answered with half the truth. His eyes shimmered with approval as he said, "Impressive, impressive, impressive! To sense your first chakra at the age of seventeen! This talent ranks among the top five percent of the federation."
It was at that point that Teacher Xia Yating interrupted. "Tang Mu! Try testing your punching strength again. Maybe you'll achieve better results on your second attempt."
"No need!" Tang Mu shook his head. "I believe 880 kg of fist strength is the best I can currently manage. Please record it as my result for the assessment."