Chapter 00044: The Third Round of Assessment
# The Third Round of Assessment
Chapter 44
Novel: After the Myth
Chapter 44: The Third Round of Assessment
When Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi returned to the hotel, they were still buzzing with excitement.
Today, they had experienced what it felt like to be the center of attention.
Even the usually reserved Lü Zi couldn’t help but hum a tune on the way back.
“Teacher Geng!” Fang Chong immediately went to Geng Qianxing’s room and knocked on the door as soon as they arrived.
Geng Qianxing didn’t answer, but the doors of the two adjacent rooms opened.
“No need to knock. Teacher Geng isn’t here. He probably went out,” Li Wanran poked her head out and said.
“Yeah, we knocked earlier too, but no one answered,” Lü Zi nodded in agreement.
“Let’s go back and rest. We need to be in top shape for the third round of assessments tomorrow,” Fang Chong said, seeing that there was no other option but to let Li Wanran and Lü Zi return to their rooms to rest.
Though they called it resting, what they really did was return to their rooms to practice the Thousand Veins Gene Technique.
This technique allowed them to quickly enter a meditative state, strengthen their inner energy, and expand their meridians.
The next morning, the three of them emerged from their rooms full of energy.
“Something’s off. Teacher Geng usually comes out earlier than us and even calls us proactively. Today’s the third round of assessments, but we haven’t heard a word from him yet?” Lü Zi was the first to notice something unusual.
Fang Chong went to Geng Qianxing’s door and knocked again, but no one answered.
“I’ll go get the room key,” Li Wanran hurried downstairs.
They all felt that something was wrong.
Not long after, Li Wanran returned with Geng Qianxing’s room key.
To the hotel staff, Li Wanran and the others were now celebrities.
The four of them had elevated the reputation of Tinghuan Grand Hotel, placing it among the most famous hotels in Puhai.
So when Li Wanran asked for Geng Qianxing’s room key, the front desk didn’t even question her.
When they opened Geng Qianxing’s room, they found that he wasn’t there, but all his belongings were still in place.
Fang Chong quickly walked over to the bedside table and picked up a small bag.
“This is Teacher Geng’s wallet. He wouldn’t go out without it, right? Huh, there’s a letter here too,” Fang Chong picked up the letter on the coffee table.
“His phone’s still here too,” Lü Zi picked up a phone from the table.
“Do you think something happened to Teacher Geng?” Li Wanran started to worry.
The three of them fell silent.
No one suggested calling the police because they had a rough idea of what might have happened.
After Teacher Ding left, the Gene Alliance had issued a warrant for his arrest.
Since then, Teacher Geng had seemed distracted.
“Could it be that the Gene Alliance took Teacher Geng?” Fang Chong said.
“That’s probably it. Remember what Teacher Geng told us a few days ago?” Li Wanran said.
Fang Chong and Lü Zi both nodded.
A few days ago, Geng Qianxing had told them that if he suddenly disappeared, they shouldn’t worry and should continue to focus on doing well in the assessments.
“No matter what, the matters concerning Teacher Ding and Teacher Geng are beyond our control. The only thing we can do now is to perform well in the third round of assessments,” Lü Zi said.
“Right. Only by getting into one of the top ten academies on Blue Star will we have the qualifications to confront these people and seek justice for our teachers,” Fang Chong clenched his fist.
...
Although only ten thousand people were participating in the third round of assessments, the Puhai Martial Arts Square was even more crowded than before.
The first two rounds of assessments tested genetic potential and possible developmental heights, but the third round would determine whether that potential had been partially realized.
In the early years of the establishment of the top ten academies on Blue Star, there were no third or fourth rounds of assessments.
These were added later because many students who showed extraordinary potential in the early tests ended up becoming ordinary in the end.
Their potential was either never fully developed or was limited by various conditions, rendering it useless.
Thus, the third round of assessments was crucial, even more so than the fourth round’s combat tournament.
The third round tested strength, speed, and agility.
These tests required a solid foundation in martial arts.
If a candidate performed exceptionally well in the first two rounds but poorly in the third, they still wouldn’t be admitted.
In this era of environmental mutations, even without a master’s guidance, those with great potential wouldn’t perform too poorly in strength, speed, and agility.
The ten thousand students who had passed the first two rounds of assessments gradually entered the waiting area.
Compared to before, the waiting area was now much emptier.
This was after the area had been reduced in size.
Otherwise, ten thousand people filling a hundred waiting areas would have been even less noticeable.
When Fang Chong, Li Wanran, and Lü Zi entered, they were still the center of attention.
However, people quickly noticed that Geng Qianxing wasn’t with them.
“Where’s Teacher Geng?”
“Why isn’t Teacher Geng here?”
“The candidates are all here, but where’s the supervising teacher?”
Questions kept popping up from the crowd.
This was no small matter.
If the supervising teacher was absent during the first two rounds of assessments, it might have been excusable.
After all, those rounds tested ability and potential, and the teacher’s presence was mainly for encouragement.
But the third round was completely different.
It tested strength, speed, and agility.
In this case, the teacher’s presence or absence made a huge difference.
If the teacher was present, they could remind their students how to maximize their strength, speed, and agility during the tests.
Some things, even if repeated many times, were best reinforced right before the test.
Tan Bei also noticed Geng Qianxing’s absence and became anxious.
Teacher Ding had left after the first two rounds, and now Teacher Geng had mysteriously disappeared.
This couldn’t be happening.
He wanted to rush into the waiting area to ask Fang Chong and the others, but he quickly remembered that he wasn’t allowed to enter.
Frustrated, Tan Bei grabbed his phone and started dialing frantically, but no one answered on the other end.
Tan Bei was hopping mad, cursing the three students for not informing him, the principal, about their teacher’s absence.
This was a disaster.
Inside the assessment area, Li Chuan, the dean of one of the top ten academies on Blue Star, Guardian Academy, frowned and said, “Dean Nong, something’s not right. Before the assessments, Teacher Ding from Yujiang University suddenly disappeared. Now, during the third round, Teacher Geng has also vanished. If there’s nothing wrong with this, I’ll eat my hat.”
He was speaking to Nong Yizhen, the dean of True Universe Academy.
Nong Yizhen frowned, deep in thought, and didn’t immediately respond.
Sitting nearby was Zhang Yongcheng, the white-haired dean of Great Han Yi Academy.
Upon hearing Li Chuan’s words, he snorted coldly, “The Gene Alliance has gone too far. Geng Qianxing is the supervising teacher for the assessments, and we’re in the middle of the third round. Are they trying to control everything? Taking away the supervising teacher at this critical moment? The top ten academies on Blue Star cannot let this slide. Otherwise, nurturing geniuses and protecting humanity would be a complete joke.”
“Old Dean, let’s not jump to conclusions,” a woman’s voice interrupted Zhang Yongcheng.
“You haven’t even investigated yet. How do you know Geng Qianxing’s disappearance is related to the Gene Alliance? When the top ten academies on Blue Star were established, the Gene Alliance played a significant role. Do you think they wouldn’t know better than to take away a supervising teacher at this time? It’s better to investigate before making any claims.”
The speaker was Qin Qiang, the dean of Martial Vein Mountain Academy.
Li Chuan said coldly, “Dean Qin makes a good point, but it seems you’ve forgotten that you’re also one of the directors of the Gene Alliance. Shouldn’t you be more careful with your words?”
“Li Chuan, what do you mean by that?” Qin Qiang suddenly stood up.
Before Li Chuan could respond, Nong Yizhen abruptly spoke, “Let’s discuss this after the assessments are over. This year’s admissions for the top ten academies on Blue Star are crucial. We can’t afford any mistakes or carelessness.”
...
The third round of assessments took much longer, but with only ten thousand participants, the process was still faster.
Geng Qianxing’s absence didn’t make Fang Chong and the others too nervous.
After all, they had already gone through two rounds of assessments.
Fang Chong was the first to be called.
“Fang Chong! Good luck!”
As Fang Chong entered the assessment area, Li Wanran and Lü Zi cheered him on.
Taking a deep breath, Fang Chong clenched his fist.
He was still a student with limited life experience, but that didn’t mean he was naive.
Teacher Ding’s sudden departure and Teacher Geng’s disappearance made him realize that this might have something to do with the three of them.
Their outstanding performance had attracted the attention of many powerful figures.
To make those shameless people back off, he needed to become stronger.
He thought of Senior Yan Xia, who, when he first started, was bullied by everyone.
But after gaining some opportunities, his strength soared.
Whether Senior Yan Xia was a true innate talent or had reached the Earth level, he was now someone no one dared to provoke.
If Senior Yan Xia were their teacher, would the Gene Alliance dare to touch them? So Fang Chong was determined to become a powerful figure, to make the Gene Alliance think twice before messing with his teachers.
The third round’s assessment area had been rearranged.
As soon as Fang Chong entered, he saw a large hall about thirty meters long and six meters wide.
On the left side of the hall was a strength testing platform.
Fang Chong had tested his punching power almost daily at Yujiang University, so he recognized it immediately.
“Are you Fang Chong?” the examiner suddenly asked as Fang Chong entered.
Fang Chong was taken aback but quickly nodded, “Yes, I’m Fang Chong.”
He was a bit puzzled.
Examiners usually didn’t ask for names; at most, they would confirm his candidate number.
“Good. First, test your speed. Run ten laps,” the examiner said approvingly.
“Understood,” Fang Chong didn’t hesitate and immediately stood at the starting line of the track.
After adjusting his stance, he pushed off the starting block with his left foot, and his body shot forward like a bullet from a slingshot.
In this kind of running test, there was no starting gun.
As soon as your foot touched the starting block, the system would automatically start timing.
After completing ten laps, as long as you weren’t on the track, the system would automatically display the total time.
Ten laps amounted to six hundred meters.
After practicing the Thousand Veins Gene Technique, Fang Chong found the six hundred meters incredibly easy.
He didn’t even break a sweat after finishing.
The examiner was also impressed.
This was indeed the student who had scored S-level in the previous rounds.
Without inner energy, it would be impossible to perform like Fang Chong.
(End of Chapter)