Assessment Begins

"Brother Yang, shall we work together?"

Just after entering Monster Town, Bai Yang, who had taken the Quasi-Warrior Assessment alongside Yang Wu, came looking for him.

Quasi-Martial Artists were forbidden from killing one another in Monster Town, but they were allowed to help and cooperate with each other. After all, even in a real Wilderness Area, most warriors traveled in teams.

Bai Yang had originally wanted to team up with Luo Feng, but he had heard long ago that Luo Feng had been recruited early by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, so he knew his chances were slim. That was why he had approached Yang Wu instead. Working together would give both of them a better chance of passing the assessment.

"Brother Bai, I plan to go alone this time," Yang Wu said, turning down Bai Yang's suggestion. Then he added, "If you can't find anyone to team up with, I can introduce you to a few people."

Quite a few people taking the Quasi-Warrior Assessment this time were friends Yang Wu already knew. They weren't especially close, but teaming up would benefit both sides, so no one would refuse.

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

Bai Yang knew more Quasi-Martial Artists than just Luo Feng and Yang Wu. He had simply felt that the three of them had some sort of connection after passing the Quasi-Warrior Assessment together. Seeing that Yang Wu didn't want to team up, he naturally didn't press the matter.

"Sounds good." Yang Wu bumped fists with Bai Yang. "Brother, let's both make it through alive!"

"Same to you. Let's both make it through alive!" Bai Yang replied with a smile.

Then Bai Yang went to look for some other Quasi-Martial Artists he knew.

As for Yang Wu, after turning down several invitations, he wandered alone through the town's alleys.

Night fell. Large floodlights at the edge of town illuminated the surrounding area, but many places within the town remained shrouded in darkness.

"The monsters in this town are all the lowest-level Beast Soldiers. They don't pose the slightest threat to me."

Yang Wu carried the Pojun Spear and walked slowly down an alley. Though he had great confidence in his abilities, the combat experience he had gained from the Simulator still made him cautious.

Just then, a dark shape suddenly darted out of the shadows beside him.

It moved incredibly fast. It was a Shadow Cat, half a meter long.

The gray fur on its back stood on end, and its sharp claws gleamed coldly.

Whoosh!

The Shadow Cat had just been released from its cage and was ravenous. The instant it spotted Yang Wu, it charged at him at astonishing speed.

"Looking for death!"

Yang Wu gave a cold laugh and jerked the Pojun Spear in his hand. A flash of cold light sprang up in the night sky, and the Shadow Cat, caught mid-charge, lost its life in an instant.

Though this was the first time Yang Wu had hunted a monster in the real world, he felt no discomfort. He had already killed countless monsters in the Simulator, and those battles felt just like experiences he had lived through himself.

Thud!

The Shadow Cat's massive corpse continued hurtling forward on its momentum for more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground.

The corpse was otherwise intact, but a bloody hole had appeared where its left eye had been.

Yang Wu stepped forward and reached for a dagger to harvest materials from the Shadow Cat.

His hand grasped nothing. Only then did he remember that he was taking the Quasi-Warrior Assessment.

He gave a wry smile and swept the Pojun Spear through the air. The Shadow Cat's left ear came off at once.

Yang Wu put the monster's left ear in his backpack, then walked to one side and waited quietly.

Monsters were naturally savage and especially sensitive to the smell of blood. With so many monsters in Monster Town, it would only take a few minutes for a horde to come running. That would save Yang Wu the trouble of constantly searching for them.

What followed was a one-sided slaughter.

With the strength of a Primary War General, Yang Wu massacred the lowest-level Beast Soldiers with ease.

The stench of blood drew countless monsters, but it also sent countless Quasi-Martial Artists taking the assessment detouring around the area.

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

Only when the dense stench of blood frightened the monsters into staying away did Yang Wu move on to another area.

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

Countless monsters fell to Yang Wu. By around nine that evening, just over two hours after the assessment began, his backpack was already full of monster ears.

Elsewhere, in a small room inside a large building not far from the sealed-off town, an officer and a burly man sat drinking together.

"Reporting in!" A voice suddenly rang out from outside the room.

"Come in!"

At Hou Zhen's call, an officer opened the door and entered.

"What's going on?"

Under normal circumstances, no one would disturb him during the assessment unless something unusual had happened. Hou Zhen immediately asked what was wrong.

"Reporting in. There seem to be too few monsters left in Monster Town. Should we send in another batch?" the officer reported at once.

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

Though he was confused, Hou Zhen still issued an order without hesitation. "Pass on my orders: send another thousand monsters into the town. Make sure the field assessment proceeds smoothly. Also, send an elite squad into the town immediately to investigate why so many monsters have disappeared. The safety of the Quasi-Martial Artists taking the assessment must be ensured."

Though he had never encountered a situation like this before, Hou Zhen gave his orders calmly and efficiently.

"Iron Monkey!" The burly man, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke. "I think I've found out why so many monsters have disappeared!"

"What?" Hou Zhen hurriedly turned to look at the burly man. "Brother Wang, this isn't something you can joke about!"

"As if I have time to joke around with you. Look at the screen!" the burly man, Wang Heng, called out, pointing at one of the monitors.

"Hm?" Hou Zhen quickly followed Wang Heng's gaze.

On the screen, more than ten different kinds of monsters were surrounding a Quasi-Martial Artist in his twenties. But in the blink of an eye, he had slaughtered them all. Countless monster corpses lay on the ground around him.

"Specialist Level spear technique?"

Hou Zhen froze for a moment, then immediately turned to the officer who had yet to leave. "Xiao Li, send someone to bring another thousand monsters into the town, then bring me the person shown on this monitor."

"Damn it, do you have any idea how hard it was to capture all those monsters? He's gone and slaughtered them all by himself!" Hou Zhen laughed. "I'm going to make him compensate me!"

The officer quickly left to carry out the order.

Hearing Hou Zhen's laughter, Wang Heng, who was standing nearby, felt a pang of anxiety and hurriedly said, "Iron Monkey, I spotted him first!"

Wang Heng hadn't wanted to tell Hou Zhen about the matter, but he didn't know Yang Wu at all, while Hou Zhen had the entire military district under his command. It was only a matter of time before he found Yang Wu.

Besides, they had been friends for decades, so Wang Heng had chosen not to keep it from him. He hadn't expected Hou Zhen to take an interest in Yang Wu too.

"Brother Wang!" Hou Zhen sighed and spoke slowly. "You know the military is always on the front lines of the fight against monsters. We're desperately short on top-tier fighters. If he were just a genius with Specialist Level spear technique, I wouldn't compete with you for him! But his physical abilities have probably already reached the Primary War General Level. Someone with that kind of strength can already stand on his own. The military absolutely cannot let him go!"

Both Hou Zhen and Wang Heng were among the finest Advanced War General Level warriors, so they could naturally assess Yang Wu's abilities from the footage.

After hearing Hou Zhen out, Wang Heng paused. He knew how difficult things were for the military, and Hou Zhen had helped him quite a bit over the years.

"Iron Monkey!" Wang Heng sighed. "After putting it that way, how can I possibly compete with you?"

"But!" Wang Heng suddenly changed his tune. "If he hasn't taken any treasures that improve physical abilities, the Thunder Dojo will have to compete for him."

Hearing Wang Heng willingly back down, Hou Zhen felt relieved. If the Thunder Dojo insisted on competing, Hou Zhen wasn't very confident he could recruit Yang Wu. After all, the two sides offered roughly equal terms, while the Thunder Dojo gave its members more freedom.

As for Wang Heng's condition—that Yang Wu must not have taken any treasures to improve his physical abilities—Hou Zhen wasn't worried in the slightest.

Someone who had only just met the requirements to become a Quasi-Martial Artist, yet already possessed the physical abilities of a Primary War General, must have gained more than eight thousand kilograms of strength. In all his years, Hou Zhen had never even heard of a monster like that.