Pre-warrior Assessment

The next day, before dawn, Qin Mu got up.

After preparing food for the Worker Bug, Qin Mu took the subway and transferred several times. More than an hour later, he finally arrived at the Limit Martial Arts School in the central district of Yangzhou City—the famous Mingyue Residential Area.

Six fully armed soldiers stood guard at the entrance to the residential area.

Before they could speak, Qin Mu said directly,

"I'm Qin Mu, an advanced student of the Limit Martial Arts School. I'm here for the Pre-warrior Assessment."

Upon hearing this, the men nodded without saying much. Today was assessment day, so it was perfectly normal for people to come take the test.

After a gray-haired old man confirmed Qin Mu's identity, a soldier led him into the residential area.

"Come on. Quite a few people are taking the assessment today. Once you're inside, don't wander around."

As he led the way, the soldier explained some of the rules to Qin Mu.

As a residential area for warriors, Mingyue Residential Area was filled with villas. The scenery was excellent, with flowers, plants, and artificial rockeries arranged in pleasing layers.

At the center of the residential area stood a towering arena. That was Qin Mu's destination and the site of the assessment.

Once the soldier brought Qin Mu to the assessment venue, his task was complete. A sweet-looking receptionist took over.

There was a small bar inside the arena, where four people were already waiting. None of them chatted; they simply sat quietly.

Among them, a lean young man in a black training uniform caught Qin Mu's attention.

"Luo Feng!"

Qin Mu's heart skipped a beat. He had finally met Luo Feng.

This unremarkable-looking young man before him was Luo Feng. In the future, he would save Earth several times, shoulder the banner of humanity, and become the backbone of the human race—a protagonist as perfect as they came.

Of course, for now, he was only an immature young man.

"Qin Mu?"

Luo Feng was somewhat surprised. He had not expected Qin Mu to be here for the assessment as well.

Although they were classmates, the two were not particularly close. They usually trained separately.

Seeing Qin Mu, Luo Feng did not think much of it. Since he could come for the assessment, others naturally could as well.

"Has your injury healed? Congratulations. I heard before that there was someone named Qin Mu at the martial arts school whose strength had improved rapidly. I never expected it to be you."

A smile appeared on Luo Feng's face. As Qin Mu's classmate and a member of the Limit Martial Arts School, Luo Feng naturally knew about Qin Mu's injury half a year ago.

"It's healed. Only after recovering did I realize that my strength had improved quite a bit."

Qin Mu answered with a smile.

Qin Mu's training at the martial arts school during this period had drawn considerable attention. Even Head Instructor Jiang Nian had taken notice, but Qin Mu was too immersed in training to care about such things.

Unlike Qin Mu, who had only recently risen to prominence, Luo Feng had always been considered a genius. He was also one of the school's three advanced students and had many admirers.

The two chatted about school, never lacking topics to discuss.

Their first meeting went remarkably well.

Before long, four more people arrived one after another. One of them was named Yang Wu, also from the Limit Martial Arts School in Yi'an District. After they chatted for a while, the assessment finally began.

Led by a warrior in loose sportswear, the nine of them took the elevator to the sixth floor.

When the elevator doors opened, an enormous training hall came into view. More than a dozen people were chatting inside.

The only person Qin Mu recognized was Jiang Nian, the head instructor of the Limit Martial Arts School branch he attended.

Clearly, these people were all warriors.

"They're here. Stop chatting."

"Prepare for the test."

Among the crowd, a warrior with loose hair spoke.

He was Wu Tong, the director of the Limitless Arena and the chief instructor of Yangzhou City.

"Come up one at a time and hand me your ID cards."

The warrior who had brought Qin Mu and the others over collected their ID cards and handed them to Chief Instructor Wu Tong.

"The test begins."

Wu Tong took an ID card and swiped it across the device beside him.

Beep.

A crystalline, seemingly transparent screen popped up from the device, displaying a large amount of personal information.

"First, Qin Mu."

The chief instructor glanced at the identity information.

"Punch force test."

"Yes."

He had not expected to be first. Qin Mu immediately stepped forward, adjusted his condition slightly, exerted force through his waist, and punched the target.

The Punch Force Testing Machine immediately displayed a number: 933 kg.

Seeing the number, Qin Mu let out a soft breath. It was his normal performance.

"Pass. Next, Luo Feng."

The chief instructor casually swiped the second ID card across the device. After reading the detailed information, he could not help but smile.

"Oh? Eighteen years old. Old Jiang, another one from your Yi'an District. The previous one was nineteen, and this one is eighteen. Both are quite good."

"Haha, Qin Mu only rose to prominence recently. It's a pity he injured himself from overtraining before. Otherwise, he could have come for the assessment even earlier.

"As for Luo Feng... heh heh, you'll see soon enough."

Instructor Jiang Nian laughed proudly from the side.

Jiang Nian naturally knew that people from his martial arts school were taking the assessment. He had even investigated them beforehand.

"Don't celebrate too early. The previous one barely passed. This one is even younger, so his strength is probably inferior to that one's."

Among the dozen or so warriors, a particularly fat old man laughed.

Instructor Jiang Nian curled his lip.

"What a joke. Luo Feng, go show those people from Beiyou District what a genius is!"

"Yes, Instructor."

Luo Feng stepped forward and answered loudly before walking toward the Punch Force Testing Machine.

Bang!

1101 kg

"Not bad. At his age, he can be considered a genius. Mm, pass."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong took another ID card and swiped it over the device.

"Next."

The nine quickly completed the punch force test. Only one was eliminated, while the remaining eight proceeded to the next test: the speed assessment.

"One at a time. Reverse the previous order. First, Yang Wu."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong gave the order. Yang Wu had been the last to test his punch force, so this time he was first for the speed test.

"25.1 m/s."

"Haha, Yang Wu, your luck isn't bad. You actually made the cutoff."

Instructor Jiang Nian laughed heartily as well.

Unlike Qin Mu, who was taking the assessment for the first time, Yang Wu had participated many times. However, speed was his weak point, and he had always fallen just short.

Yang Wu ran over and looked at the display screen, where the data was clearly shown—25.1 m/s.

"Whew, that was close."

Even Yang Wu laughed. He had finally passed.

"Mm, pass."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong smiled as well.

"Next."

Soon, it was Luo Feng's turn.

"Luo Feng."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong called out.

"28.6 m/s."

"His speed is excellent. He's actually that far above the passing line."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong nodded with a smile.

"Next."

Soon, it was the last person's turn: Qin Mu.

Qin Mu adjusted his breathing, stepped forward, and sprinted with all his strength.

"27.6 m/s."

"Pass."

A smile appeared on Chief Instructor Wu Tong's face.

Having discovered several promising talents in a row, Wu Tong felt quite pleased.

The speed assessment ended with only two people eliminated. The remaining six continued to the final test: the neural reaction speed assessment.

Like the one at the Limit Martial Arts School branch, the neural reaction speed test used an instrument resembling a six-barreled Gatling gun, though this one looked far more advanced.

That was perfectly normal. Unlike the one at the branch, this machine was not used solely for Pre-warrior Assessments.

"First, Qin Mu," Chief Instructor Wu Tong said.

Upon hearing this, Qin Mu immediately stepped forward.

This was the test Qin Mu worried about most. Although he could usually pass during training, the assessment was different after all.

Click.

The switch was turned on, and the machine started.

Wu Tong explained the rules. They were the same as Qin Mu had learned before: dodge within the circle without touching anything or stepping outside it. Otherwise, points would be deducted, and insufficient points meant elimination.

After Wu Tong finished speaking, he walked to the neural reaction testing machine, adjusted it, and set the intensity appropriate for a Pre-warrior Assessment.

"Begin."

The enormous barrel of the neural reaction testing machine began to rotate, firing bullet after bullet.

Qin Mu stared fixedly at the barrel, his body swiftly dodging within the circle.

Thud.

Although Qin Mu was already giving it everything he had, he was still struck from time to time.

Second by second, time passed, and soon the minute was up.

The testing machine's barrel rapidly slowed and stopped spinning. A large amount of data appeared on the central screen.

"Within 60 seconds, struck 50 times. Did not touch the red light. Qualified."

"Qin Mu, congratulations. Once the official documents are issued and your information is entered into the citizen identity records, you will be a Pre-warrior."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong smiled.

After passing the assessment, the official certificate would generally be issued within seven days and recorded in the citizen identity records.

"I passed!"

A relieved smile appeared on Qin Mu's face.

He had finally passed. Now he could begin preparing for his plan to enter the Wilderness Zone.