The Assessment Begins

"Brother Yang, shall we team up?"

After just entering Monster Town, Bai Yang, who had passed the Quasi-Martial Artist assessment alongside him, unexpectedly sought out Yang Wu.

While Monster Town prohibited Quasi-Martial Artists from killing each other, it did not forbid them from helping or cooperating. After all, even in the real Wilderness Area, most martial artists operated in squads.

Bai Yang had originally wanted to team up with Luo Feng, but he had long heard that Luo Feng had been recruited by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in advance and knew the chances were slim. Therefore, he had come straight to Yang Wu; if the two of them cooperated, their chances of passing the assessment would be much higher.

"Brother Bai, for this assessment, I plan to go it alone." Yang Wu rejected Bai Yang's suggestion and then added, "If you can't find a partner, I can introduce you to a few."

There were quite a few people participating in this Quasi-Martial Artist assessment whom Yang Wu knew previously. Although they weren't particularly close, no one would refuse a mutually beneficial arrangement like teaming up.

"No need, Brother Yang." Bai Yang shook his head and said, "I'll find someone myself."

Of course, Bai Yang knew more than just Luo Feng and Yang Wu; he just felt a sense of fate since the three of them had passed the assessment together. Seeing that Yang Wu didn't want to team up, he naturally didn't press the issue.

"Alright." Yang Wu extended his fist and bumped it against Bai Yang's: "Brother, survive the assessment!"

"Same to you, survive the assessment!" Bai Yang also smiled.

With that, Bai Yang went off to find other familiar Quasi-Martial Artists.

As for Yang Wu, after declining a few more invitations, he navigated the alleys of the town all by himself.

Night fell. On the outskirts of the town, large searchlights illuminated the surroundings, yet many areas within the town remained shrouded in darkness.

"The monsters in this town are all the lowest-tier Beast Soldier Level monsters; they pose absolutely no threat to me."

Yang Wu carried his Pojun Spear, walking slowly through the alley. Although he was confident in his strength, the various combat experiences he had gained from the Simulator still kept him cautious.

Just then, a black shadow suddenly darted out from the shadows beside Yang Wu.

The black shadow was extremely fast; it was a Shadow Cat, nearly half a meter long.

At this moment, the gray fur on the Shadow Cat stood on end, and the spikes on its claws glinted with a cold light.

Whoosh!

Having just been released from its cage, this Shadow Cat was starving. Upon seeing Yang Wu, it immediately charged over at an astonishing speed.

"Courting death!"

Yang Wu sneered. He gave his Pojun Spear a sharp flick, and a point of cold light erupted in the night sky. The charging Shadow Cat lost its life in the blink of an eye.

Although this was Yang Wu's first time hunting a monster in reality, he felt no discomfort at all. Because he had already hunted countless monsters in the Simulator, those combat experiences felt as if he had lived through them himself.

Thud!

The Shadow Cat's massive carcass continued to slide forward for over ten meters due to its momentum before slamming heavily into the ground.

The Shadow Cat's body remained perfectly intact, save for a bloody hole where its left eye had been.

Yang Wu took two steps forward, intending to draw his dagger to harvest the materials from the Shadow Cat.

He drew air, only then realizing he was participating in the Quasi-Martial Artist practical assessment.

With a self-deprecating laugh, Yang Wu swiped his Pojun Spear, and the Shadow Cat's left ear instantly detached.

Yang Wu placed the monster's ear into his backpack and then walked to the side to wait silently.

Monsters were inherently brutal and extremely sensitive to the scent of blood. Given the density of monsters in Monster Town, it would take at most a few minutes for a large number of them to arrive, which saved Yang Wu the trouble of constantly searching for them.

What followed was a completely one-sided slaughter.

With the strength of a Primary War General Level, Yang Wu faced these lowest-tier Beast Soldier Level monsters in a total massacre.

The scent of blood attracted a large number of monsters, while simultaneously causing countless Quasi-Martial Artists participating in the assessment to take a detour.

The Pojun Spear in Yang Wu's hand was like the scythe of a Death God, reaping the lives of countless monsters here.

It wasn't until the thick stench of blood scared the monsters away, making them afraid to charge, that Yang Wu moved to another location.

One, two... ten, a hundred...

Countless monsters died at Yang Wu's hands. By around 9:00 PM, just over two hours after the assessment began, the backpack on Yang Wu's back was already filled with monster ears.

On the other side, not far from the enclosed town, inside a small room within a large building, an officer was drinking with a burly man.

"Report!" A voice suddenly sounded from outside the room.

"Come in!"

As Hou Zhen's voice fell, an officer pushed the door open and entered the room.

"What's going on?"

Under normal circumstances, no one would disturb him during the assessment unless there was an emergency. So, Hou Zhen asked immediately.

"Report, the number of monsters in Monster Town seems to be running low. Should we transport a batch of monsters over immediately?" the officer reported at once.

"How is that possible?" Hou Zhen asked, puzzled: "Didn't we just transport two thousand monsters in?"

Despite his confusion, Hou Zhen gave the order without hesitation: "Pass on my command: transport another thousand monsters into the town immediately. We must ensure the practical assessment proceeds smoothly. Additionally, dispatch an elite squad into the town to investigate the reason for the massive disappearance of monsters. We must ensure the personal safety of the Quasi-Martial Artists participating in the assessment."

Although he had never encountered such a situation before, Hou Zhen still issued his orders in an orderly fashion.

"Iron Monkey!" The burly man who had been silent on the side suddenly spoke up: "I think I've found the reason for the massive disappearance of the monsters!"

"What?" Hou Zhen immediately looked at the burly man: "Old Wang, this is no time for jokes!"

"I don't have time to joke with you, look at the screen!" the burly man Wang Heng shouted, pointing at one of the monitors.

"Hmm?" Hou Zhen hurriedly followed Wang Heng's gaze.

On the screen, more than a dozen various monsters were surrounding a Quasi-Martial Artist in his twenties, but in the blink of an eye, the dozen monsters were all slaughtered by him, and countless monster corpses lay on the ground beside him.

"Specialist Level spear technique?"

Hou Zhen was stunned for a moment, then immediately reacted and said to the officer who hadn't left yet: "Xiao Li, you immediately send people to transport a thousand monsters into the small town, and then bring this person in the surveillance to me immediately."

"Damn it, do you know how hard it is for me to catch so many monsters? They've all been wasted by him alone!" Hou Zhen laughed, "I must make him compensate me!"

The officer received the order and left quickly.

Hearing Hou Zhen's laughter, Wang Heng, who was standing to the side, felt his heart tighten and hurriedly said: "Iron Monkey, I discovered this person first!"

Wang Heng originally didn't want to tell Hou Zhen about this, but he didn't know Yang Wu at all, and since Hou Zhen controlled the entire military region, it was only a matter of time before he found Yang Wu.

Furthermore, the two had a friendship spanning decades, which was why Wang Heng chose not to hide it, but he hadn't expected the other party to take an interest in Yang Wu as well.

"Old Wang!" Hou Zhen sighed and said slowly: "You also know that our Military has always been at the forefront of resisting monsters, and we are very lacking in high-level combat power. If this person were just a genius whose spear technique reached the Specialist Level, I would absolutely not compete with you! But this person's physical fitness has likely already reached the Primary War General Level; with this kind of strength, he can already stand on his own, and our Military absolutely cannot give him up!"

Both Hou Zhen and Wang Heng were outstanding among Advanced War General Level martial artists, so they could naturally analyze Yang Wu's strength through the video.

After hearing Hou Zhen's words, Wang Heng was stunned for a moment. He certainly knew the difficulties the Military faced, and besides, Hou Zhen had helped him quite a bit over the years.

"Iron Monkey!" Wang Heng sighed and said: "Since you've put it this way, how can I compete with you!"

"However!" Wang Heng suddenly changed the subject: "If this person has never consumed any treasures to enhance his physical fitness, then my Thunder Dojo will have to compete for him."

Hearing Wang Heng voluntarily give up, Hou Zhen felt a sense of relief. If the Thunder Dojo were determined to compete, Hou Zhen really wouldn't have much confidence in recruiting the other party. After all, in terms of conditions, the two sides were about the same, but the Thunder Dojo offered more freedom.

As for what Wang Heng said about the other party not having consumed any treasures to enhance physical fitness, Hou Zhen wasn't worried in the slightest.

To have just reached the assessment standards for a Quasi-Martial Artist and already have physical fitness at the Primary War General Level, with a strength increase definitely exceeding 8,000 kilograms—such a monster, in all the years Hou Zhen had lived, he had never even heard of such a thing.