Slots (Seeking Recommendations)

Seeing this scene,

Lin Tong was also somewhat surprised.

He had watched Hong Shan's previous fights as well.

With Mountain Collision alone, combined with his build, Hong Shan had almost perfectly brought out the advantages of this Combat Technique.

Though this style of attack was somewhat one-dimensional, it was by no means weak. He was considered a promising prospect.

In Lin Tong's view, Hong Shan had stood a very good chance of securing one of the Core Class slots.

Yet unexpectedly, when Hong Shan faced this man, he had been crushed without the slightest ability to fight back.

Soon, the first round ended.

Chen Chang, also from Class Two, was eliminated in the first round.

He had been rather unlucky, drawing Sims right away.

Knowing full well how terrifying his opponent was, Chen Chang wisely took the initiative to concede.

After all, there was a choice between admitting defeat outright and getting beaten up before being declared the loser.

As long as one was not stupid or a masochist, one would naturally choose the former.

Then,

after a simple ten-minute break to recover their strength, the second round began.

This time, Hu Qi faced a white man with a very long full name, known simply as Kaita.

He was a member of Class Three, ranked second in strength behind Sims.

Unlike Hong Shan before him, Kaita did not confront Hu Qi head-on as soon as he stepped up.

He had watched Hu Qi's earlier fight too.

Kicking Hong Shan, who weighed nearly two hundred pounds, clean off the ground—he knew he could not do that.

In a direct clash, he had no chance of winning. The best way to defeat his opponent was to employ a roundabout war of attrition.

If a strike missed, he immediately retreated and opened up the distance.

Unfortunately, before Hu Qi's absolute strength, all of that was but drifting clouds.

Just as Kaita tried to close in again, Hu Qi suddenly stamped forward and charged out.

By reflex, Kaita let out a low shout, clenched his hand into a fist, and smashed it toward Hu Qi, trying to force him back.

Yet Hu Qi did not dodge. He turned slightly, his hand forming a claw as it shot out and seized the wrist of Kaita's incoming strike from the side.

His eyes narrowed slightly as strength gathered. The lines of muscle in his arm visibly swelled, expanding by a full circle.

Then, using his waist as the axis and borrowing the driving force of his legs, he explosively exerted himself.

He slammed his opponent to the ground with a back throw.

His bent knee pressed directly against the man's back, preventing him from getting up.

"Hu Qi wins!" the coach acting as referee for the match announced.

Only then did Hu Qi release him and rise to his feet.

Looking at his opponent struggling to catch his breath,

he said softly, "Sorry."

"Cough, cough, it's fine..."

Kaita coughed twice and waved his hand.

"I was simply inferior."

At that, he paused and fixed his gaze on Hu Qi.

"Actually, I'm really curious—which of you and Sims is stronger? Unfortunately, from the looks of it, it's impossible for you two to fight now!"

"Heh, who knows?"

Hu Qi smiled noncommittally and looked to the side.

Over there, Sims had already finished his fight.

The trainees who could enter the top ten were all quite strong, but they had encountered Sims.

Their defeats had still been utterly thorough.

As if sensing Hu Qi's gaze, Sims abruptly turned his head and looked over.

A cold smile appeared on his dark face. He raised a hand and made a throat-slitting gesture in provocation.

Hu Qi raised an eyebrow at this.

Showing no hint of weakness, he lifted his hand and directly gave him the middle finger.

Visible to the naked eye, Sims's already dark face became a shade darker.

However, perhaps because of the coach and that buzz-cut young man, Sims did not act out.

Sensing a certain gaze leave him, Hu Qi's lips curled into a cold smile.

This so-called Core Class was certainly far from simple. Though he did not yet know the specifics, based on his guess, it very likely involved genuine Supernatural Power.

He was determined to get in. No one could stop his steps.

Thanks to the boosts from fully mastering Forensic Technique and the meticulous trait, his powers of observation far surpassed those of ordinary people.

With just a sweep of his eyes, he could take in the changes in everyone's expressions and analyze them.

As the examiner for this assessment, the buzz-cut young man naturally drew most of Hu Qi's attention.

Though the man had not said anything from beginning to end, everyone's performances had clearly all entered his eyes.

Sims's actions just now were naturally no exception.

Yet the man had not stopped him. He even seemed approving.

From this small detail, Hu Qi could roughly judge the examiner's attitude.

This man likely appreciated people with fire in them, people who dared to fight.

Therefore,

if Hu Qi had responded too poorly to Sims's provocation just now, or had not been forceful enough, he would very likely have left a bad impression in the man's mind.

The approving look on the man's face after Hu Qi responded was enough to prove that his guess had been right.

As for Sims, that fellow had probably done it deliberately.

"This dog bastard!"

Hu Qi narrowed his eyes, a cold gleam rising in their depths.

Ever since he had killed Lu Shi and the other man last time, even he himself had failed to notice it.

When facing certain matters,

his mentality had already undergone subtle changes without his realizing it.

These thoughts flashed through his mind in an instant.

Hu Qi walked to the side and immediately spotted Song Jian, with the girl named Lin Rong beside him, whispering something.

"I lost!"

When he saw Hu Qi approach, a bitter smile flashed across Song Jian's face.

His opponent had not been Sims.

Instead, it had been an obscure, dull-looking young man from Class Four.

"If not this year, there's still next year, isn't there? You're still young anyway."

Hu Qi did not know how to comfort him. He had never been good at this sort of thing, so that was all he could say.

These past days, sparring with Hu Qi, a master who had fully mastered Comprehensive Combat Technique, had helped Song Jian greatly and steadily improved his strength.

By all rights, with Song Jian's strength, Hu Qi had thought securing this Core Class slot should not have been a problem.

Unfortunately, man proposed, Heaven disposed.

Who could have expected that, just one step away from qualifying for the Core Class, he would meet a dark horse and lose outright?

"That's true. Congratulations this time, on successfully entering the Core Class."

Song Jian smiled, but no matter how one looked at it, that smile held a measure of bitterness and forced cheer.

The two casually exchanged a few more words.

At this moment, the other matches had also ended, their winners decided.

The final five were Sims, Hu Qi, Ye Li, Wang Yue, and Liu Ping.

Sims was from Class Three, while Hu Qi and Ye Li belonged to Class Two.

Wang Yue was from Class Five, while Liu Ping was from Class Four—and was also the one who had defeated Song Jian.

As for Class One, because Hong Shan had lost, no one advanced. They were all eliminated.

Looking at the list, the buzz-cut young man turned to Chen Wu at his side, a smile appearing on his face.

"Chen Wu, your Class Two did well this time. Two people actually advanced. Keep it up!"

"It was all thanks to the upper management's sound decisions and planning. I merely did the basic work expected of me."