Holding Something in Reserve

It was nine o'clock.

A staff member came to the waiting area, clapped to draw everyone's attention, and announced loudly, "Welcome, everyone, to the June Elementary Martial Warrior Assessment. Please follow me now. We'll begin with a round of punch strength testing."

A punch strength of 1,000 kilograms was a hard requirement for an Elementary Martial Warrior. Only those who met it could take part in the wilderness combat assessment.

The hundred-odd people in the hall rose one after another and followed the staff member toward the punch strength testing area.

"Line up properly and come forward for testing one at a time. Those who pass may leave directly through the back door, enter the armory to collect their weapons, and wait for departure. Those who fail can come back next time," said the staff member.

Compared with the Quasi-Martial Warrior Assessment, the Elementary Martial Warrior Assessment was clearly far more lenient. There were twelve chances every year; even failure was no great matter.

The first examinee quickly stepped up to the testing machine and threw a punch.

Bang!

"1,049 kilograms. Qualified."

One punch was enough to qualify. There was no need for a second test.

Whether it was 1,000 kilograms or 2,000 kilograms, it was still a pass. A little higher or lower made no difference.

The second, the third...

The examinees stepped forward in turn. Every single one passed smoothly, without a single failure.

Anyone who dared register for the Elementary Martial Warrior Assessment naturally had sufficient strength. This was not merely a question of power—deadly battles awaited them ahead, and no one wanted to gamble with their own life.

Before long, the line reached Wang Peng.

Wang Peng stepped forward and threw a punch. The result was 1,031 kilograms, a slight improvement over a few days ago, though not by much.

Immediately afterward, his companion stepped up for the test.

A dull thud sounded, and a red number flashed onto the machine: 1,398 kilograms.

"Damn, that's strong!"

The people around them were greatly shocked.

Huang Jiancheng, standing in front of Qin Heng, said under his breath, "This guy is ridiculous. His punch strength is nearly 1,400 kilograms, yet he only came to take the assessment now. What was he doing before this?"

Jin Wenxin said, "He's a student of the War God Martial Hall. He was probably training all this time."

Someone behind Qin Heng chimed in, "That's right. His name is Qian Feilong. He's a member of the War God Martial Hall's Elite Class. He only passed the Quasi-Martial Warrior Assessment last year, and his talent is exceptional."

Qin Heng turned around and saw that the speaker was a young man in his early twenties.

"You know him?" Qin Heng asked.

The young man smiled. "More or less. Our families live in the same neighborhood. He got admitted to the War God Martial Hall, while I got into the Heavenly Dao Martial Hall. Of course, my talent can't compare to his. I've been enrolled for three years and only just reached 1,000 kilograms of strength."

"You're from the Heavenly Dao Martial Hall?" Qin Heng asked in surprise.

"Yep, several of us are. Are you too, little brother?" The young man pointed at several companions behind him.

Qin Heng smiled. "Yes, though I haven't enrolled yet."

"You haven't enrolled yet?"

The moment those words came out, the few Heavenly Dao Martial Hall members were all dumbfounded.

He had not even enrolled, yet he had come to take the Elementary Martial Warrior Assessment. What kind of monster was this?

Even for a repeat examinee, that would have been astonishing.

The young man's eyes darted, and he immediately suggested, "Since we're fellow apprentices from the same Martial Hall, how about we act together during the assessment?"

"Sure." Qin Heng readily agreed.

The more companions, the more people to watch each other's backs.

Wang Peng definitely harbored killing intent toward him. Murder was not illegal in the Wilderness Area, and being alone could easily put him in danger—especially when the other side's group had an expert like Qian Feilong.

With Heavenly Dao Martial Hall students alongside him, at least the other side would have to think twice before making a move.

If things were handled well, he might even be able to borrow these fellow students' help and pull off something big!

"My name is Zhao Dongxing. What's yours?"

"Qin Heng."

"Qin... Huh, that name sounds familiar. You wouldn't happen to be this year's top scorer in the entire city, would you?"

"Yes, that's me."

Gasp!

The two exchanged names.

Once Zhao Dongxing learned Qin Heng's identity, he sucked in a shocked breath. "That can't be true, right? Are you joking? You had 928 kilograms of strength a few days ago, and now you're taking the Elementary Martial Warrior Assessment?"

The Heavenly Dao Martial Hall students with him were also stunned. "Brother, are you serious? People die in wilderness combat. You can't mess around if you aren't strong enough!"

Qin Heng was helpless.

He wanted to keep a lower profile too, without drawing attention.

But he could not exactly use a fake name when making friends, could he?

This was a martial warrior assessment. It concerned future household registration matters!

He had told the truth, and if they wanted to make a fuss over it, there was nothing he could do.

Huang Jiancheng, standing ahead, was also startled when he heard Qin Heng's name. "Little brother, so you're Qin Heng! Everyone says you became so powerful because you took some divine medicine. Is that true?"

Jin Wenxin said, "Good heavens, we've run into a celebrity! Brother Qin Heng, let's act together too. The two of us will team up with you!"

Qin Heng's "celebrity effect" immediately came into play.

The two sides hit it off at once and formed a temporary team just like that.

The testing continued, and soon it was Huang Jiancheng's turn.

Huang Jiancheng stepped up and struck the machine with one punch, producing 1,080 kilograms of force.

Then came Jin Wenxin, with 1,055 kilograms.

When it came to Qin Heng, he had originally intended to strike with all his strength and see where his limit lay.

But with his sharp eyes, he noticed that one of Wang Peng's companions was still waiting ahead rather than leaving.

Clearly, the man wanted to see whether Qin Heng could pass the test.

The wilderness is a place where people's hearts are hard to read. Better to hide my true edge and keep a trump card in reserve, Qin Heng thought.

In any case, the assessment only required his strength to exceed 1,000 kilograms. There was no need to go all out.

If he appeared weaker, he could relax his enemies' guard. If a fight broke out later, he could catch them completely off guard.

With that in mind, Qin Heng held back part of his strength and used only seventy to eighty percent of it.

Boom!

His punch struck the machine, and a number flashed up in response.

Punch strength: 1,022 kilograms.

"Qualified," the staff member announced.

"Junior Brother Qin Heng is amazing!"

Zhao Dongxing, behind him, was extremely surprised.

This result was nearly 100 kilograms higher than Qin Heng's Quasi-Martial Warrior Assessment result from a few days ago. It was truly frightening.

None of them knew that this was not Qin Heng's full strength at all.

If he went all out, one punch should be able to produce 1,300 kilograms of force—or perhaps even more!

When it was Zhao Dongxing's turn, his result was 1,048 kilograms.

After a while, everyone had passed the strength test.

Qin Heng and the others exited through the back door of the testing area and arrived at a warehouse.

The warehouse was not particularly large, but it contained many things.

The racks were filled with all kinds of cold weapons—sabers, spears, swords, halberds, everything one could want. Sabers were the most numerous, in every length, width, weight, and model imaginable.

There were staff members here as well. Seeing Qin Heng and the others enter, one said, "The weapons are on the racks, and the Combat Suits are in the boxes. Take what you need. You may take up to two weapons. If you brought weapons of your own, please hand them over to me for storage first. Personal items may not be used during the assessment."

Everyone understood the rules of the martial warrior assessment fairly well. Everything would be provided by the Alliance Headquarters, so there was no need to prepare anything themselves.

If someone owned weapons superior to those provided for the assessment, or firearms, they would be prohibited.

After all, this was a test of strength, not a contest of family wealth.

"Junior Brother Qin Heng, what kind of weapon are you used to?" Zhao Dongxing walked alongside Qin Heng.

Qin Heng said, "I trained with sabers before, so I'll choose the same kind."

The Trial Martial Hall also offered weapons training, though the sabers and swords there were merely practice models with little killing power.

He picked up a one-handed saber as wide as a palm, one meter in total length, with a seventy-five-centimeter blade.

This type of saber had an elegant name: Wind Cutter. It was a series of weapons.

It was forged from A-Grade Alloy, weighed twelve kilograms, and was produced by the MS Group. Its hardness was comparable to tungsten steel, but it was sharper, making it one of the weapons martial warriors used most often.

"I like the Wind Cutter design too. Hmm... I'll take an extra one, just in case." Zhao Dongxing took two identical battle sabers in one go.

One person could take two weapons.

But Qin Heng felt that carrying two identical sabers would be a bit cumbersome.

So he made a round and stopped before the rack of short weapons.

He took a dagger.

A dagger was easier to carry. Should his battle saber leave his hand, he could quickly draw it in an emergency. It was perfect as a backup weapon.

As for the Combat Suit, there was not much to choose from. They all had the same strength; the only differences were color and size.

Based on his height and build, Qin Heng chose a Combat Suit interwoven in brown and green.

The colors closely resembled nature and allowed one to blend into the wilderness surroundings. Many people chose this style.