Pre-warrior Assessment

The next day, before dawn, Qin Mu was already awake.

After preparing food for the worker bugs, Qin Mu took the subway, transferring several times. It took him over an hour to finally arrive at the entrance of the Limit Martial Arts School in Yangzhou City's central district, the famous Mingyue Residential Area.

At the entrance of the residential area, six soldiers armed and ready stood guard.

Before the guards could speak, Qin Mu stated, "I am Qin Mu, a senior student of the Limit Martial Arts School, here to participate in the pre-warrior assessment."

Upon hearing this, the guards nodded and didn't say much. It was the day of the assessment, so it was perfectly normal for someone to come for it.

After a white-haired elder confirmed Qin Mu's identity, a soldier led him into the residential area.

"Let's go. Many people are here for the assessment today. Don't wander around once we're inside."

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

As a residential area for warriors, Mingyue Residential Area featured villas with excellent scenery, with various flowers, plants, and rockeries arranged artfully.

In the center of the residential area stood a towering arena, which was Qin Mu's destination and where the assessment would take place.

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

There was a small bar counter in the arena, and four people were already waiting there. However, they sat quietly without any idle chatter.

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

"Luo Feng!"

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

This unremarkable-looking youth before him was Luo Feng. The one who would save Earth multiple times in the future, who would later carry humanity's banner and become its backbone – a perfect protagonist.

Of course, at this moment, he was merely a young, inexperienced man.

"Qin Mu?"

Luo Feng was a little surprised, not expecting Qin Mu to also be here for the assessment.

Although they were classmates, their relationship was just average; they usually trained separately.

Seeing Qin Mu, Luo Feng didn't pay too much attention. If he could come for the assessment, naturally others could too.

"Has your injury healed? Congratulations! I heard in the martial arts school there was someone named Qin Mu whose strength was improving rapidly. I didn't expect it to be you."

Luo Feng smiled. 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. After my injury healed, I discovered my strength had improved significantly too," Qin Mu replied with a smile.

Qin Mu's training at the martial arts school during this period had garnered attention from many, even the school head, Jiang Nian, had paid attention. However, Qin Mu was engrossed in his training and paid no mind to such things.

Unlike Qin Mu, who had only recently risen to prominence, Luo Feng had always been a gifted individual and one of the three senior students at the school, admired by many.

The two chatted about school matters, and there was no shortage of topics.

Their first meeting was pleasant, and they talked amiably.

Before long, four more people arrived successively. One of them was named Yang Wu, also from the Limit Martial Arts School in Yi'an District. After a brief chat, the assessment finally began.

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

As the elevator doors opened, a massive training ground appeared before them, with over a dozen people chatting inside.

The only person Qin Mu recognized was Jiang Nian, the head of his own Limit Martial Arts School branch.

Clearly, these people were all warriors.

"They're here. Stop chatting."

"Prepare for the test."

A disheveled martial artist spoke from within the crowd.

This person was the head of the Limitless Arena, the chief instructor in Yangzhou City, Wu Tong.

"Come over one by one and give me your ID."

The martial artist who led Qin Mu and the others forward addressed the group, collecting their IDs and handing them to Chief Instructor Wu Tong.

"Testing begins."

Wu Tong took out an ID card and swiped it through a nearby opened device.

Beep

A crystal-clear, almost transparent screen appeared on the device, displaying a large amount of personal information.

"First, Qin Mu."

The chief instructor reviewed the identification information.

"Test punch strength."

"Yes."

Not expecting to be first, Qin Mu immediately stepped forward. He adjusted his stance slightly, put force into his waist, and threw a punch at the punching target.

The number 933kg immediately appeared on the screen of the punching strength testing machine.

Looking at the number, Qin Mu let out a soft breath. He had performed as expected.

"Pass. Next, Luo Feng."

The chief instructor casually swiped the second ID card through the instrument, glanced at the detailed personal information, and couldn't help but smile.

"Oh, eighteen years old. Old Jiang, another one from your Yi'an district. The last one was 19, and this one is 18. Both are good."

"Haha, Qin Mu is a recent riser. It's a shame he got injured from overtraining before, otherwise, he could have come for the assessment even earlier. As for Luo Feng, hehe, you'll know when you see it."

Instructor Jiang Nian, standing nearby, couldn't help but laugh proudly.

Jiang Nian, of course, knew about the people from his martial arts school participating in the assessment and had even investigated them beforehand.

"Don't celebrate too soon. The last one barely passed, and this one is even younger. His strength is probably not as good as that one," said a very obese old man among the dozen or so warriors nearby with a smile.

Instructor Jiang Nian pouted.

"A joke. Luo Feng, go up and let them from the North Posture district know what a genius is!"

"Yes, instructor."

Luo Feng stepped forward and responded loudly, then walked towards the punching strength testing machine.

"Bang"

"1101kg"

"Not bad. For his age, he can be considered a genius. Hmm, passed."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong took out another ID card and swiped it through the instrument.

"Next."

The nine people quickly completed the punching strength test, with only one being eliminated. The remaining eight would participate in the next event, the speed assessment.

"One by one. The order is reversed from before. First, Yang Wu."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong instructed. Yang Wu had been the last to test his punching strength, but this time he was the first to test his speed.

"25.1m/s"

"Haha, Yang Wu, you're lucky. You actually passed the line."

Instructor Jiang Nian also let out a hearty laugh. Unlike Qin Mu's first assessment, Yang Wu had participated many times before. His speed was his weak point, and he had always been just a little bit short of passing.

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

"Phew, that was close."

Yang Wu smiled himself; he had finally passed.

"Hmm, passed."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong also showed a smile.

"Next."

Soon, it was Luo Feng's turn.

"Luo Feng."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong called out.

"28.6m/s"

"Very good speed. You're actually so much higher than the passing line."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong nodded with a smile.

"Next."

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

Qin Mu adjusted his breathing, walked up, and ran with all his might.

"27.6m/s"

"Passed."

Chief Instructor Wu Tong's face showed a smile. Discovering several promising talents in succession made Wu Tong feel very pleased.

The speed assessment concluded, with only two people eliminated. The remaining six would continue to the final assessment, the neural reaction speed assessment. Similar to the Limit Martial Arts School's division, the neural reaction speed assessment also used an instrument resembling a Gatling gun, but it looked much more advanced. This was normal, as this instrument was not just for assessing pre-warriors like in the division.

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

Qin Mu immediately stepped forward upon hearing this.

This was the stage Qin Mu worried about the most. Although he could generally pass during training, the actual assessment was different.

Click

The switch was flipped, and the machine activated.

Wu Tong explained the rules, which were the same as Qin Mu had learned before: dodge within the circle, do not touch anything, and do not leave the circle, or points would be deducted, and he would be eliminated if his score was insufficient.

After speaking, Wu Tong walked over to the neural reaction tester, adjusted the machine, and set it to the intensity suitable for the Pre-warrior assessment.

"Begin."

The giant muzzle of the neural reaction tester began to rotate, firing out bullets one by one.

Qin Mu's eyes were fixed on the muzzle as his body rapidly dodged within the circle.

Thud.

Even though Qin Mu tried his best, he was still hit from time to time.

Time ticked by, and soon a minute had passed.

The tester's muzzle rapidly slowed and stopped rotating, and a large amount of data appeared on the central screen.

"Hit 50 times within 60 seconds, did not touch the red light, qualified."

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

Chief Instructor Wu Tong smiled.

Having passed the assessment, the official certificate would usually be issued within seven days and recorded in the citizen identification system.

"I passed!"

A relieved smile spread across Qin Mu's face.

He had finally passed and could now prepare for his plan to enter the wilderness.