Volume One, Chapter Eighty-Five: Close-Quarters Combat

It took a great deal of effort for Su Ziwen to finally calm the excited students. When he found Ji Keqing and Wu Fan again, he couldn't help but sense that a deep camaraderie seemed to have developed between the two. There was no time to dwell on it, as it was now Class Twenty's turn for the practical assessment.

The three returned to wait outside the combat classroom, anticipating the call for their student numbers.

"Hey, Brother Wu Fan!" Suddenly, a voice came from behind, greeting the chubby boy. When he turned, he was startled by the person’s appearance. If his memory and eyesight didn’t fail him, the bruised and battered fellow before him was Song Yue, the class president of Senior Grade Two, Class One.

"Song... Song Yue?" Wu Fan greeted hesitantly, only for Song Yue to laugh heartily. "That’s right, it’s me!"

"G22018, Ji Keqing, come in." The iron door of the practical room swung open, and a string of student numbers rang out. Upon hearing her number, Ji Keqing hurried forward.

"At least girls have it easier," Wu Fan muttered to himself as Ji Keqing entered the room. Meanwhile, he overheard Song Yue mumbling under his breath.

"Man, how did you end up like this?" Wu Fan pulled out a tissue and handed it to Song Yue to help him stem his nosebleed.

"I can't say much, but remember this: once you’re inside, protect your face," Song Yue said with gratitude, giving Wu Fan a pat on the shoulder before striding off.

"What on earth happened to him?" Wu Fan was utterly baffled, unable to guess what Song Yue was up to.

"G22019, Wu Fan, come in." The iron door opened again, with no sign of Ji Keqing. Wu Fan responded and stepped inside.

No sooner had the door closed behind him than he felt a gust of wind rush straight at his face.

Fortunately, Wu Fan hadn't forgotten Song Yue’s last-minute advice. Instinctively, he raised his hands to shield his face.

The punch was not particularly heavy, but it came without warning. Wu Fan managed to block it just in time, narrowly escaping injury.

"Interesting. Last forty-five seconds, and you pass," a playful voice sounded behind him. Before the chubby boy could react, a kick sent him flying across the room.

"Forty seconds left, keep going," the young woman's voice echoed from every direction. Wu Fan, sprawled in the center of the room from that kick, rolled nimbly on the floor, quietly activating his gravity ability. Before the next gust could strike, he slapped the ground, making himself as light as a feather and leapt into the air, dodging the attack and countering toward his assailant.

"Not bad, kid." The attacker chuckled, her figure becoming a blur as she disappeared before Wu Fan again, causing his forceful kick to miss the mark.

Suddenly, Wu Fan felt someone grab him by the collar from behind. He barely had time to cry out, "Go easy, sister," before he was flung over the woman's shoulder and smashed to the ground, knocked out cold.

"Sweet talker, drag him out. Now, let’s see who's next... Huh, someone’s on leave again..."

Outside the combat room, Su Ziwen stood quietly in the corridor, waiting for his turn.

Judging by the class president's earlier sorry state, this practical test wouldn't be simple.

"G22021, Su Ziwen, come in." The iron door opened, and the woman's voice called again.

Su Ziwen answered and walked inside, discreetly channeling his own ability.

The room was dimly lit, but Su Ziwen could sense someone slowly rising in the eastern corner, their figure darting toward the back of his neck.

He sidestepped, choosing not to counterattack rashly, but rather to keep his distance from his assailant.

"Not bad at dodging, little sister. Hang in there as long as you can," the woman said, seemingly surprised her attack had missed. She laughed and charged again, this time aiming for Su Ziwen’s abdomen.

Puzzled by the attacker’s leisurely speed, Su Ziwen quickly realized the truth. This was, after all, only a test and not a real battle. The opponent was suppressing her strength to the initial level of the Receiving Realm.

Her energy flowed, her ability activated. Su Ziwen drew upon her spatial power, redirecting the incoming punch to the left while raising her knee to strike.

The woman deftly deflected the attack with her palm, and Su Ziwen used the recoil to retreat further, widening the distance between them.

From the woman’s words, Su Ziwen surmised she needed to hold out for a certain period to pass the test.

Inside the sealed combat room, a light breeze suddenly stirred.

Su Ziwen’s pupils contracted as she realized four sources of wind had formed around her, each one gathering force and locking onto her position.

The intensity matched the Receiving Realm’s initial stage, but the sheer number was alarming…

There was no time to think. Su Ziwen softly intoned, "Step the Void," and leapt high, landing on an invisible spatial platform she had conjured in midair, altering her trajectory just before the wind bullets could strike.

Her silhouette drifted down, only to be caught by an unseen barrier. Suspended in the dark room, Su Ziwen adjusted her breathing.

A figure shot up from below, shattering the spatial platform Su Ziwen had created. But as the woman tried to pursue, she found the surrounding air had become oppressively heavy, like the crushing depths of the sea.

Spatial Art: Air Arrest. This was a technique Su Ziwen had yet to fully master. Because it required a lengthy preparation, she had stood atop the spatial platform, waiting for her opponent’s initiative.

Once on the ground, Su Ziwen extended her fingers, locking the space around the figure suspended in midair. Since practical exam instructors were not easily defeated by students, trapping her seemed the best way to buy time.

The woman, tightly bound by the spatial force, was surprised. The “Air Arrest” technique was indeed beyond her expectations. With her power limited to the initial stage of the Receiving Realm, escape was difficult.

She formed several wind blasts to batter the frozen space, but the barrier held firm. Rolling her eyes, the woman gave up trying to break free and instead focused on controlling her wind skills to attack Su Ziwen.

Su Ziwen, now highly attuned to the spatial shifts around her, dodged each airborne assault with perfect timing. She continued evading until the prompt sounded, signaling the end of the session. The instructor, finally released from the spatial bind, landed lightly on the floor.

“Well done, little sister, you actually lasted a whole minute,” the instructor praised. “You can exit that way. The next test won’t begin until the afternoon.”

“Thank you,” Su Ziwen replied, bowing before heading toward the rear door.