The town was almost completely surrounded by iron-wire fencing, and large numbers of soldiers carrying firearms stood guard around it. One heavy truck after another drove inside.
Each truck carried a cage, covered with black cloth. Su You and the others could only hear the angry roars coming from within.
At dusk, an officer stood on an abandoned platform and explained the rules of the assessment to all the Quasi-Martial Artists.
The assessment would last twelve hours, from 6:30 p.m. to 6:30 the next morning. Each monster killed earned one point, proven by its left ear.
If candidates had the same score, their rankings would be determined by how long they had taken to kill the monsters and the extent of their injuries. The top 60 percent by points would pass the assessment and earn the right to become Martial Artists.
In addition, Quasi-Martial Artists were strictly forbidden from killing one another. Anyone who broke this rule would be executed on the spot.
After finishing his explanation, the officer bounded down to the town gate in a few leaps.
"All Quasi-Martial Artists, move out! Enter Monster Town!"
More than a thousand Quasi-Martial Artists hurried through the gate and poured into Monster Town. The Martial Artist Combat Assessment had officially begun.
As soon as they entered Monster Town, the Quasi-Martial Artists quickly split up to hunt monsters.
According to the information provided by the military, the town's monsters fell into three main categories: Black-furred Rats, Iron-furred Wild Boars, and Grey Wolves. These were also the three most common H-Class Monsters around Kyoto Base City.
Iron-furred Wild Boars excelled in strength and defense, but were rather cumbersome, making them the easiest to deal with.
Grey Wolves were astonishingly strong and fast. For ordinary Quasi-Martial Artists, they were much harder to handle than Iron-furred Wild Boars.
Black-furred Rats were the weakest of the three, but also the most dangerous. In every assessment, they were responsible for the most Quasi-Martial Artist deaths.
That was because of their extraordinary ability to stay hidden, which gave them a tremendous advantage, especially in the dark.
However, they could only threaten ordinary Quasi-Martial Artists. Their strength was merely on par with a Beginner Warrior's, and they were not very intelligent.
After two months of training, even Su You's weakest attribute—his punching power—had crossed the threshold for an Advanced Warrior. These ordinary monsters posed no challenge to him at all.
Su You strolled leisurely down the street. Suddenly, he casually thrust his sword behind him. At that very moment, a shadow leaped at him, "slamming" its neck straight into the blade.
Su You turned his right wrist before pulling out the sword. With a casual flick and a lift, a Black-furred Rat's left ear flew into the backpack hanging open behind him.
Su You shook his head. For him, this combat assessment was nothing more than a formality. It also gave him a chance to get used to fighting monsters and seeing blood. After all, in his previous life, he hadn't even killed a chicken.
Wandering through town, Su You took a cue from what he remembered of Luo Feng and lured eight monsters into surrounding him. He held back his strength and speed, using only his swordsmanship and footwork to fight them.
"Ah, what a bore!" Su You sighed. Even with his speed suppressed to the standard of a Quasi-Martial Artist, the eight Grey Wolves attacking him still couldn't put him under any pressure.
"Forget it. I might as well head back early!" The sword in Su You's hand suddenly accelerated. A flash of swordlight, and all four Grey Wolves in front of him collapsed to the ground.
The four Grey Wolves behind him reacted quickly. They howled and turned to flee, but Su You spun around and took a long stride forward. His sword shuddered four times in succession, and all four wolves dropped dead on the spot, each with a fist-sized hole in its neck.
After cutting off all eight left ears, Su You headed toward the town gate. These monsters could no longer help him train, so there was no point wasting time inside.
A large number of soldiers patrolled the entrance to Monster Town, keeping a close eye out to prevent any monsters from escaping through the gate.
Not far from the gate was a collection point that had been set up in advance. Every Quasi-Martial Artist who came out had to hand over the left ears of the monsters they had killed as proof of their tally.
Three officers sat at the collection point. As soon as Su You walked over, one of them called out to him.
"You're Su You, right? Just pour the left ears of the monsters you killed into that basin over there."
Su You nodded, took off his backpack, and emptied it into the metal basin beside him.
A moment later, the assessment officer finished counting the ears and said with a smile, "Not bad. You killed thirteen monsters in just over an hour."
Su You smiled. Aside from the Black-furred Rat he had encountered at the start, he had also taken out four monsters along the way while luring the eight Grey Wolves. That brought his total to thirteen ears.
Generally speaking, killing three monsters was enough to pass the assessment. Su You's score of thirteen was more than sufficient.
However, the final results wouldn't be announced until the combat assessment ended the next morning. He would become a full-fledged Martial Artist only after everyone's scores had been entered.
So, accompanied by a soldier, Su You returned to the military base ahead of schedule. He settled into an ordinary rest room and waited for the results to be announced the following day.
By eight the next morning, the scores of all the Quasi-Martial Artists had been entered. Su You ranked sixth with thirteen monsters and officially became a Martial Artist.
After breakfast at the military base, the group took a train back. By the time Su You got home, it was already dusk.
After a round of celebrations, Su You returned to his bedroom, opened his computer, and entered the website for Extreme Home. It was an internal network exclusive to Martial Artists from Extreme Martial Arts Hall, and only they could log in.
After passing the iris scan, Su You's personal page appeared on the screen.
Name: Su You
Gender: Male
Address: Kyoto Base City, Huaxia Country
Martial Artist ID:
Level: Warrior Level (Beginner)
Contribution Points: 0
Currency Balance: 10,000,000 Huaxia Currency
"Hmm, it's already been deposited." Su You smiled and clicked the flashing email icon at the top of the page. He had two emails.
The first was a congratulatory video from Supervisor Wang, along with a notice confirming that the funds had been credited to his account.
The second was an introductory video for new members, mainly explaining the different features of Extreme Home.
After looking through the information, Su You went straight to the online store and opened the manuals section, ready to spend his one-billion credit limit.
According to the contract he had signed with Extreme Martial Arts Hall, his first purchases of an Attack Technique, a movement technique, and a Guidance Technique would be exempt from the contribution point requirement, allowing him to buy them at the lowest possible prices.
Su You's eyes passed over Hong's World Destroyer and Thunder God's Nine-Layered Thunder Blade. The manuals created by those two were undoubtedly the most powerful on Earth right now.
But one of them practiced spear techniques, while the other practiced blade techniques. Neither suited his needs.
Su You's mouse lingered over the manuals category for a moment. Then, instead of choosing a Guidance Technique, he clicked on the swordsmanship section.
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