The Favored Heiress
Chapter 655 - 656: Miss Li, I Am Honored

Chapter 655: Chapter 656: Miss Li, I Am Honored

At that moment, Ah Long glanced at Li Qiao, raised his eyebrows, and gestured towards the machine invitingly, "Miss Li, it’s your turn."

The Lady of the Hall Master had dared to say their Third Hall members were inferior to a female boxer; today, she would see what real strength from the Secret Hall looked like.

Li Qiao nodded to Ah Long and walked over to the machine, glancing at it; his Boxing Power Value was 897.

The speed and power of a punch from an ordinary person wouldn’t exceed 800, let alone those from the Secret Hall—they were not to be underestimated.

She pinched the sleeve around her wrist and slowly pushed it up past her forearm. Before she could continue to her next move, members of the Third Hall started whispering amongst themselves in the crowd.

"I bet Ah Long wins."

Where there’s one, there’s another, and hands went up in the crowd, "Ah Long, add one."

"Add two."

"Add three."

"I bet Miss Li wins."

"Ah Long, add four."

"Add five."

"Miss Li, add one," Zuo Tang said, his voice spreading like a spring breeze throughout the training hall.

The whispering members of the Third Hall fell silent instantly, "Third Hall Master, why are you boosting her morale and diminishing your own?"

Standing near the testing machine, Zuo Tang pursed his lips, "Don’t believe me? Just watch."

Li Qiao stretched out her joints, shared a smile with Zuo Tang, and punched out in the next second.

The speed of her punch was also swift, and the numbers on the screen flickered and jumped rapidly.

The whole hall held its breath in anticipation. In a blink, the number settled, and silence fell around them.

After a while, someone murmured, "Lucky streak, just one number more than Ah Long."

Li Qiao’s first punch: 898.

Ah Long stepped back silently, gave Miss Li a bow, "Miss Li, I concede."

Everyone: "??"

Shut up if you’re illiterate.

Is that the correct use of ’concede’?

Li Qiao glanced at him indifferently, the words ’I concede’ hanging on her lips, not knowing whether to say it or not.

With a light chuckle, Zuo Tang called the second boxer onto the stage.

The competitor was of comparable height to Ah Long and was robustly built. The training clothes clung tightly to him, making his biceps very apparent.

With one punch, the display showed: 976.

Without a second thought, Li Qiao followed with her punch, Boxing Power Value: 977.

At this point, Zuo Xuan, who stood behind Shang Yu, narrowed his eyes contemplatively, his gaze landing on Li Qiao’s hands, "Hall Master, what do you think Miss Li’s actual Boxing Power Value might be?"

One time could be a coincidence, but after two punches, it was a giveaway.

Miss Li was deliberately controlling her power.

Shang Yu was sitting idly with his legs stretched out in front of him on a lounge chair, his gaze unblinkingly fixed on Li Qiao, a smile brewing in his eyes, "Who holds the record among those guys?"

Zuo Xuan glanced down, nodding slightly, whispering, "The last one, Ah Yan. He broke 1500 just last month."

"Hmm, she should be higher than him," Shang Yu said, looking unwaveringly in the direction of the testing machine, his calm tone revealing a subtle boast to Zuo Xuan.

Alright, let’s wait and see.

Meanwhile, seeing Li Qiao’s score, the second member also respectfully bowed to her, "Miss Li, I concede."

Zuo Tang lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, realizing that no matter the outcome today, these simpletons had thoroughly exposed their lack of cultural knowledge.

Their minds are simple, their limbs sluggish—this is who they are.

Soon, the third member threw his punch, the value: 999.

Li Qiao promptly followed suit, her score: 1000.

By now, everyone had begun to see a pattern.

They looked at each other and murmured softly, "Is Miss Li becoming more courageous the more setbacks she faces, or does she get stronger when facing the strong?"

"Becoming more courageous after setbacks? Take a closer look, has she actually faced any setbacks?"

"Then that must mean she gets stronger when facing the strong."

"If you’re going to say that, then I might as well call Brother Chen over to spar with Miss Li. If she can hit 1891, I’ll kneel down and call him daddy."

In the following three minutes, five more members took the stage.

Possibly out of disbelief, each person put all their effort into smashing the device as hard as they could.

The highest score had already broken 1100, and Li Qiao’s originally indifferent expression gradually became much more serious.

The eighth member’s boxing power value: 1128.

When it was Li Qiao’s turn, she stood in front of the device and paused for a moment, as if pondering something.

Mainly because the higher the boxing power value, the harder it is to control the speed and strength.

After hesitating, Li Qiao suddenly swung her fist, and as the numbers leapt up, everyone’s heart also jumped.

Estimating... 1129?

No sooner had the thought arisen than the number on the screen settled, 1184.

Li Qiao looked up at the ceiling of the training hall, confirming it indeed wasn’t easy to control.

Then, she heard the eighth voice: "Miss Li, thanks for going easy."

Zuo Xuan couldn’t help but hold his forehead and sigh. They were all good at fighting, but their cultural level was really a cause for concern.

The one against twenty competition ended half an hour later.

Li Qiao cleared it with a score of twelve wins and eight losses.

It’s as if it was intentional; after reaching a win rate of 60%, she seemed to lose interest.

The power value of each punch stayed between 800 and 900.

The subsequent acknowledgments of defeat did indeed convey the message.

...

After the competition, Li Qiao walked over to Shang Yu at a leisurely pace, hooked her toe on the recliner next to him and sat down, breathing out a gentle sigh.

A cup of warm water was passed over from the side, the man wiped the light sweat from her forehead with the pad of his finger, his gaze tender and indulgent, "Tired?"

"A bit."

What was exhausting wasn’t the punching, but controlling the power and speed.

If she had started out by charging full power into the testing device, she believed she would be drained in less than ten hits.

The boxing power test seemed simple, but it actually contained hidden complexities.

The win rate was set at 60%, surely a conclusion drawn from numerous real combat tests.

The mindset of most people undergoing the assessment is to be overly eager for victory.

Throwing punches without reservation, in this way, defeat is certain.

She didn’t accumulate power for her punches later on, not because she was indifferent to winning or losing, but because she was truly tired.

Li Qiao held the cup with both hands and sipped slowly. The slightly disheveled hair on her cheeks was tucked behind her ear by Shang Yu. As her vision darkened, she saw him lean in close, his voice low as he asked, "Have you done a boxing power test before?"

"I have." Li Qiao recalled the testing device back in the Poor People’s Kiln, her eyes flickering, "Played with it a few years ago on the border."

The man’s lips curled up slightly, "What was the highest?"

Li Qiao thought seriously, the images in her memory already very blurry, she could only remember the general outline, "I think it was less than 1500, but that was years ago, and the testing device at the border was not as accurate as this one."

Li Qiao didn’t consider herself to be particularly powerful; she had simply taken full advantage of the situation.

During those years at the border, the training she went through included almost all the assessments of the Third Halls and could be described as hell mode.

Hearing this, Zuo Xuan: "..." So the Hall Master wasn’t bragging after all.

As Li Qiao drank her tea, Shang Yu held her hand and gently kneaded it, and he cautioned in a deep voice, "Don’t be reckless in the second hand-to-hand combat event, just do your best."

"One against how many?" If the first event was one against twenty, Li Qiao wouldn’t be surprised if the hand-to-hand combat was one against forty.

Then, Zuo Xuan whispered from behind him, "Miss Li, it’s one-on-one, you and Zuo Tang."