Looking at the young men with their heads lowered, Wu Mo’s expression remained calm. He noticed that Jiang Zhou did not seem ready to go up for the assessment.

He immediately took a step forward and placed the boots on the judging platform.

The two elders, Ai Bo and Lian Chun, immediately sat up straight and began to examine them carefully.

The first thing to do was test the energy of the boots to see what grade they were.

Enhancement scrolls were not as effective as runes and magic arrays in improving the grade of equipment. Usually, more powerful scrolls were needed to achieve the effect of upgrading the grade.

The young men who were watching immediately held their breath and focused their attention on the testing machine’s screen.

Beep, beep, beep. [Analysis complete. This item is of Premium grade.]

Seeing the green light on the display, the two elders were instantly surprised.

The young man before them managed to actually increase the equipment’s grade just by using an enhancement scroll!

It would be impossible for a four-star blacksmith to be capable of that.

The only way was to know the test questions in advance and conduct targeted training a few months in advance.

However, the tests in the guild were changed once a month, so there was no possibility of cheating.

That meant the young man before them had the abilities of a five-star blacksmith when it came to the production of enhancement scrolls.

“The younger generation will be formidable…”

Ai Bo could not help sighing. Lian Chun was also curious as to which master blacksmith had taught such a young and outstanding student.

The second step was to check the equipment’s completeness. Some strengthening methods required the equipment to be damaged, such as destroying gemstones and replacing them with new ones.

Although that could increase the quality, it would inevitably damage the socket.

Some would even change part of the materials, which was equivalent to destroying the reconstruction, and that would also be considered cheating.

However, the result was obvious. The equipment did not show any signs of damage. It only had a single enhancement scroll added.

The third condition to test was speed. One had to travel 100 meters within 6 seconds to pass.

However, this test required them to go to another place to take the test. Therefore, they had to check Jiang Zhou’s equipment first before they could take the third Test.

However, they were stunned.

At this point, Jiang Zhou had already fallen into a deep state of self-doubt.

One could say that he had never suffered such a huge blow since he was young.

When he discovered that Wu Mo had actually fulfilled the first two conditions, his heart broke even more.

He had spent half an hour in the workshop in a daze. He had no idea how to combine and use the limited materials.

Not to mention, he had to draw an enhancement scroll.

His current submission was no different from handing in a blank paper.

It was completely disgraceful.

However, he had never suffered such grievances since he was little. Facing this overwhelming sense of defeat, he could not muster up a trace of courage.

He almost raised his hand to give up.

He had not done so only because he was concerned about his reputation.

After all, the people standing at the side were his friend who had been in the same class as him for three years. If he forfeited, they would die of laughter.

As such, the situation in the testing area suddenly became awkward.

Elder Lian Chun, who was sitting on the side, immediately said, “It looks like you can take the speed test first. The other blacksmith still needs some time to prepare.”

Lian Chun glanced at Jiang Zhou, who was standing to the side in his suit that was embroidered with golden thread. Then, he immediately stood up and walked out the door.

Elder Ai Bo felt the same way. In his opinion, the fellow named Jiang Zhou had already lost the competition. There was no need for them to care about the latter’s thoughts anymore.

Wu Mo nodded and promptly followed after him with the boots.

Only a few of the academy’s other students were left behind. They stood in place, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile, Wu Mo followed the two guild elders and left the forging test building.

He turned a corner and walked to the other side.

It was about 100 meters away, and they soon arrived at another building.

It was the laboratory building, which was used for various experiments in the field of forging.

On the first floor, there was a strength test and a defense test device.

As he walked through the door, a 100-meter track appeared in front of him.

The test area covered an area of more than 1,000 meters. There were all kinds of testing equipment, which made it look very professional.

The three of them approached a runway, where they were noticed by the laboratory’s staff. Soon, the staff came forward to help keep things in order.

“As long as you can cross a distance of 100 meters in 6 seconds, you’ll complete the five-star test. If the enhancement effect provided by the equipment is not up to par, I hope you’ll be able to accept the result with poise and try again next time!” Elder Lian Chun said calmly.

He said this in the hope that Wu Mo would not be affected by short-term victory and defeat but would continue to work hard.

In fact, neither elder was optimistic about the young man’s chances of passing the test.

A speed of 100 meters per 6 seconds was equivalent to 17 meters per second.

That was not too difficult for a cultivator.

However, the young man in front of him was an out-and-out blacksmith. His physical fitness was no different from that of an ordinary person. Even with the equipment’s help, it would be difficult for him to break through.

“Alright, Elder. I’ll do my best.”

Wu Mo nodded with a serious expression and immediately stood at the starting point.

[The runner’s information has been entered. The assessment may begin at any time.]

The moment Wu Mo stood at the starting point, the screen embedded in the wall not far away suddenly lit up.

Then, the general information about Wu Mo’s body, including his weight, height, and muscle density, was recorded.

In a 10-second sprint, a 0.1-second error was fatal, so the guild had installed a set of digital measuring tools years ago.

It could accurately record the time and speed of running, and the error would not exceed a millisecond.

“If you’re ready, you may begin,” Elder Ai Bo reminded him with a smile.

Wu Mo shook his body, trying to find his rhythm.

He had just put on the equipment, and the effect of the equipment had become a part of him.

He lowered his body slightly and stared at the end of the track.

All the muscles in his body were tense, and there was only one thing on his mind at the moment: Run as fast as possible.

After he adjusted his body, Wu Mo immediately took a step forward.

As an ordinary person with average physical fitness, the distance between each step he took when he ran was about 60 centimeters.

However, the effects of the boots increased the span of his step to 1.2 meters, and the stamina consumption was also reduced by half.

That meant, as long as he could run 100 meters in 12 seconds, he would be able to reach the speed of 6 seconds after putting on the boots.

This was because the equipment was not impacted by gravity or air resistance when it was in effect, and it could fully display the speed of the enhancement.