The structure of the human body is different from that of the Celestials, so humans cannot channel energy, expand meridians, or form cores like they do. However, by combining various biotechnologies with Celestial DNA, humans can create ‘artificial dantian’, ‘artificial meridians’, ‘artificial wheel meridians’, and even ‘artificial inner cores’, all collectively known as ‘implant gear’.

Those who cultivate Celestial martial arts using implant gear as a foundation are also called implant warriors.

Ryan Lincoln also has a set of artificial meridians in his body, but it’s only a second-class quality set.

This was only obtained after he and his sister used up their parents’ savings and scrimped and saved for nearly two years.

Yesterday, Ryan Lincoln didn’t even dare to dream of making it into the top three hundred, but now his heart was pounding.

Ryan Lincoln cherishes his second life very much.

So he really wants this set of top-quality artificial meridians!

Chapter 4: Lone Shadow Sky Blade

When Ryan Lincoln arrived at the physical testing center behind Mingde University, he saw his classmates all lined up in front of a massive, sci-fi-looking machine that was three meters tall and twelve meters wide.

The first subject of the practical assessment was a mental strength test.

Ryan Lincoln’s classmates all had different expressions—some were excited, some expectant, some anxious, and some dispirited.

His best friend Sam Warren was among them.

He was a chubby guy with a round face and a somewhat slick demeanor, winking at him.

Ryan Lincoln’s test number was 1. As he took his place in the line, he heard a crisp female voice behind him: “During these past few days of practical simulations, Ryan Lincoln, why didn’t you participate?”

Ryan Lincoln immediately looked back.

Standing behind him was a girl with both an androgynous appearance and personality—short black hair and sharp eyes.

This girl was named Linda Warren, one of Ryan Lincoln’s academic rivals.

Since enrollment, the top two spots in the class had always alternated between the two of them, while the chubby guy was the perennial third place.

Ryan Lincoln withdrew his gaze coolly. “I had things to do, no time.”

From some videos on the smart terminal, it seemed that Ryan Lincoln and Linda Warren didn’t get along well, so there was no need to be friendly.

But Linda Warren pressed on: “You know, I’ve already had the top-tier artificial wheel meridian implanted. You don’t dare to spar with me because you’re afraid of losing, right?”

She shook her head dismissively. “You underestimate me. I won’t take advantage of you. I hope we meet in this practical assessment—I’ll show you the progress I’ve made in the past month.”

In fact, Linda Warren quite admired Ryan Lincoln. He had no private tutor, didn’t attend martial arts cram school, couldn’t afford the monthly gene enhancer, and his implanted meridians were only second-class quality, yet he always managed to stay at the top of the class, on par with her.

But this year, she was sure her results would surpass Ryan Lincoln’s.

Ryan Lincoln just rolled his eyes.

The real reason he didn’t attend the practical classes was that he was afraid of giving himself away.

But since Linda Warren insisted on thinking that way, he let her.

At that moment, a staff member by the large machine spoke: “It’s exactly eight o’clock. The assessment begins. Student number 1, please enter the testing device. Please note, after entering, remove all upper garments. Girls, pay attention—I mean all upper garments.”

Ryan Lincoln immediately walked in through the entrance of the machine.

Inside the mental strength tester was an enclosed space. As soon as Ryan Lincoln entered, the door behind him closed automatically.

He took off his upper garments and waited quietly inside, watching some indicator lights flicker with a fluorescent glow.

About a minute later, he heard an electronic synthesized voice: “Test complete! Mental strength: 153, Second Lieutenant level. Your results have been sent to the city education center. Please proceed to classroom 3321 for the next stage of the practical assessment.”

Ryan Lincoln was slightly pleased.

The original Ryan Lincoln had taken a test just a month ago, and his mental strength was only 112 at that time.

This must be the benefit brought by copying the Grandmaster-level Thunderfire Pile technique.

When he finished copying this martial art yesterday, he already felt a significant improvement in both his mental strength and true energy.

He just hadn’t had a concrete test to confirm it.

With Second Lieutenant-level mental strength, he could now have a wheel meridian implanted.

Celestials have twelve main meridians and eight wheel meridians in their bodies, circulating around the dantian in the center of the chest and abdomen, very similar to the ancient Chinese meridian system.

Ryan Lincoln currently only has the ‘dantian’ and ‘meridians’ implanted, but not the ‘wheel meridians’ yet.

His family is so poor now that they can barely put food on the table, and it’s hard enough to provide the protein and calories Ryan Lincoln needs for daily martial arts training, let alone afford an ‘artificial wheel meridian’.

After Ryan Lincoln left through another door of the machine, Linda Warren entered through the entrance.

She quickly took off all her clothes and stood naked inside the machine.

A moment later, she also heard an electronic synthesized voice: “Test complete! Mental strength: 123, Second Lieutenant level. Your results have been sent to the city education center. Please proceed to classroom 3321 for the next stage of the practical assessment.”

Linda Warren raised her eyebrows slightly, a hint of joy appearing in her eyes.

“I’d like to check my mental strength ranking.”