Chapter 6

Update Time: 2012-10-11

In the early morning, in a forest with no trace of human presence.

Zhang Dong was standing in a horse stance, practicing the Three-Body Posture of Xingyi Quan. His body was neither straight nor bent, standing still like a mountain.

Jiang Shan had practiced Xingyi Quan since childhood, which was created by Yue Fei. Many Xingyi masters later added more content, making it very profound and quite different from the Xingyi Quan popular today. It not only includes the ancient Three-Body Posture but also a set of secret techniques for internal energy circulation.

According to Jiang Shan's memory and experience, as long as one practices the Three-Body Posture for three to five years, internal energy can be generated in the body, which is simply incredible. Nowadays, few martial artists who practice Xingyi Quan have developed internal energy, indicating that much of the essence of Xingyi Quan has been lost.

Zhang Dong slowly finished his practice and started practicing Xingyi Quan, transforming into a blur of black shadows in the forest, making it hard for the eyes to follow.

Punching, drilling, cannoning, collapsing, and horizontal strikes, moving straight forward, walking and striking, like a breached dam or a collapsing mountain, incredibly powerful.

"Ha~"

Zhang Dong struck a tree as thick as a thigh with a cannon punch, releasing his internal energy. With a loud boom, the tree was split into two, and the trunk collapsed.

A joyful smile appeared on Zhang Dong's face. In the past half month, he had made significant progress, increasing his combat value from 72 to 85 points. Besides the 5-point increase from internal energy, the improvement in his punching and kicking skills had also boosted his combat value by 8 points.

He was clear in his mind that although he possessed all of Jiang Shan's martial skills and memories, he did not have Jiang Shan's deep internal energy, nor had his body undergone years of rigorous training. To achieve the unity of body and mind, he still needed a long time to train and adapt.

After morning practice, he returned home and heard his mother hesitantly say, "Son, I heard today is the day to check the college entrance exam scores. Aren't you going to check?"

Although Zhang Dong's mother had no hope for his scores and had never asked about his college entrance exam, she still had a glimmer of hope.

"There's nothing to check," Zhang Dong said, adding in his mind, "Anyway, it's over 740 points."

"Still, you should check. Who knows, you might pass the line," his mother said.

"Check what? For him to get into college, he must be dreaming," Zhang Dong's father slammed the table, angrily saying, "He only knows how to fight and cause trouble, where does he put his mind on studies?"

"Why are you so angry? Not going to college doesn't mean he won't amount to anything," Zhang Dong's mother, who always doted on him, immediately retorted.

"What else can he amount to?" Zhang Dong's father immediately calmed down, muttering.

At this awkward moment, Zhang Dong's aunt walked in, beaming, "Uncle, Aunt, my Xiaoxi scored 642 points in the college entrance exam, exceeding the key line by over 50 points. We'll definitely come over for a few drinks tonight."

"Congratulations, congratulations, Xiaoxi is truly amazing," Zhang Dong's parents said in unison, flattering her.

"Hey, Dongzi is here too? I wonder how many points he scored?" the aunt said.

" Haven't checked yet," Zhang Dong said indifferently.

"Definitely a high score, maybe even better than my Xiaoxi," the aunt said sarcastically, then strutted away.

"Really frustrating," Zhang Dong's parents said with dark faces.

Within half an hour, the whole village knew that Zhang Xiaoxi had scored high, and they all came to congratulate her.

"Xiaoxi is amazing, like a star of literature descended from heaven."

"Xiaoxi did so well, I wonder if Zhang Dong passed the line?"

"Of course not, otherwise there would be some news."

"Zhang Dong is obviously not a good person, I heard he fights and causes trouble at school, and even has a girlfriend. How could he possibly get into college?"

...

Zhang Xiaoxi's house was next to Zhang Dong's. Despite the tightly closed door, Zhang Dong's parents could hear everything clearly, their faces turning green with anger, but they didn't dare to go out, as it would only make things worse.

At this moment, Zhang Dong's sister, Zhang Huan, rushed back from school, seeing the door closed, she knocked hard and excitedly shouted, "Dad, Mom, my brother got into college, and with a terrifying high score, first in the nation."

"Huh? What's going on?"

All the villagers who were still discussing stopped, and even Zhang Xiaoxi rushed out, looking at Zhang Huan with disbelief.

Zhang Dong's father opened the door, furious, "Xiaohuan, you, you're going to kill me, talking nonsense, how can we face people?"

"Dad, it's true, the national science top scorer got 742 points, named Zhang Dong, and he's from Xiaoshui Village. I think, in our village, only my brother is named Zhang Dong, right?" Zhang Huan said seriously.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, with your brother's poor grades, how could he score so high? There must be a mistake somewhere," Zhang Dong's father said, trembling.

"How could there be a mistake?" Zhang Huan, thinking about Zhang Dong's consistently last-place performance in class over the past three years, lost confidence, feeling that the possibility of a mistake was very high, and her excitement quickly faded.

"Can't Dongzi just check his score to find out?" Zhang Xiaoxi said in a surprised tone. He couldn't believe that Zhang Dong was the national top scorer, after all, they were in the same school, though not in the same class, but he knew exactly what kind of person Zhang Dong was.

"Right, Uncle, let Dongzi check his score quickly," the villagers also gathered around, urging him.

Soon, Zhang Dong was dragged out of the house by the crowd, forced to check his score by phone.

Zhang Dong didn't refuse, put the phone on speaker, and started checking. The results came out quickly: 142 points in Chinese, and full marks in the other four subjects.

"How is this possible?"

Everyone was stunned, like clay statues, unable to react.

Zhang Huan was the first to come to her senses, kissed Zhang Dong on the cheek, and shouted, "Brother, you're amazing, terrifying, you actually got first in the nation, you, you have to compensate me for three years of mental distress."

"What compensation? There must be a mistake," Zhang Dong patted his sister's head, smiling.

The others also came to their senses, and Zhang Xiaoxi echoed, "Impossible, absolutely impossible, there must be a mistake."

"Right, there must be a mistake," Zhang Dong's parents also didn't believe it. If Zhang Dong had just passed the line, they could believe it, but with the last-place performance in school, becoming the national top scorer was simply unbelievable.

"Who knows where the mistake is," the villagers also sighed, "Dongzi is smart, but he shouldn't be the top scorer."

Suddenly, the sound of firecrackers rang outside the door. It turned out that Liu Kui and a few classmates who usually played with Zhang Dong were setting off firecrackers and carrying a red banner that read, "Congratulations to Dongge for becoming the national science top scorer!" They came in with great excitement.

Everyone was stunned, and Zhang Dong was also taken aback. Liu Kui was really being too dramatic.

"Dongge, congratulations, congratulations, being the top scorer, you're like a god," Liu Kui rushed over, hugged Zhang Dong, and shook him, shouting.

"Ugh, your breath stinks," Zhang Dong pushed Liu Kui away, wiped his face, and said with a frown.

"Haha, Dongge, how can you be so calm? You're the national top scorer, the national top scorer," Liu Kui jumped and shouted.

"There must be a mistake," Zhang Xiaoxi muttered on the side.

"How could there be a mistake? I copied Dongge's answers and still got 695 points," Liu Kui retorted, but quickly clamped his mouth shut, afraid of being exposed.

The villagers' expressions changed, from disbelief to intense curiosity, staring at Zhang Dong as if he were a real star of literature.

Zhang Dong's parents finally believed that he was the national top scorer, though they were still confused, their faces were already beaming with joy.

As for Zhang Huan, she was so happy she didn't know what to do.

The aunt, who had been strutting around earlier, now had a dark face, pulled the stunned Zhang Xiaoxi back home, and hid in the room, not coming out.

The bustling scene at Zhang Xiaoxi's house instantly became quiet, with no villagers appearing. They all gathered at Zhang Dong's door, praising and flattering him.

The village chief even brought a large bundle of firecrackers from his own home, lit them happily, and the celebratory sound of firecrackers echoed through the ancient village.

After a while, Liu Kui and a few classmates pulled Zhang Dong aside. Liu Kui grinned, "Dongge, let's go find your wife now. She said she would consummate the marriage today. How can we miss such a good opportunity?"

"Probably can't even get into her house," Zhang Dong rubbed his chin, smiling wickedly.

"Definitely can get in. The top scorer is here, her husband is here, how can they not open the door?" Liu Kui waved his fists, excitedly shouting.

"Right, right, how can they not open the door?" The classmates laughed, and the atmosphere reached a fever pitch.

Zhang Dong was extremely eager to see the expression of that spoiled girl. He quickly agreed to their suggestion and, accompanied by his classmates, marched toward Chen Xiaojiao's house.

Chen Xiaojiao didn't go out today and even called her good friend Gao Qian over the phone.

As soon as Gao Qian arrived at Chen Xiaojiao's house, they immediately checked their college entrance exam scores together. When they found out they had scored 685 and 719 points respectively, they were overjoyed.

But when a classmate called to tell them that Zhang Dong had scored 742 points, becoming the national science top scorer, they were truly stunned. They looked at each other, and both thought it was a mistake, a joke played by their classmates.

Chen Xiaojiao took the initiative to call Principal Liu, urgently asking, "Principal, good morning, I'm Chen Xiaojiao. I heard the national science top scorer is from our school?"

"Ha ha ha~"

Principal Liu's excited and proud laughter came from the phone, and after a while, he answered, "Yes, the top scorer is from our school, and it's your classmate, the one who always causes trouble and has beaten people up many times, Zhang Dong. Ha ha, it turns out he's so amazing. Fortunately, I didn't expel him. What a lucky escape..."

Chen Xiaojiao felt dizzy, her lips dry, and she didn't come to her senses even after the call ended.

Gao Qian was also stunned, standing there like a wooden chicken.

How is this possible? The last-place student can become the national science top scorer?

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