Escaping Trouble

Outside the town used for the Martial Artist Practical Examination, the Jiangnan North Military Region had rapidly mobilized a large number of troops, sealing the entire town airtight. The sound of military gunfire was incessant as the troops pushed forward layer by layer, leaving countless rat monster corpses in their wake. Some of the rescued prospective martial artists looked pale, still shaken as they watched the town engulfed in the flames of war.

The Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, and the Jiangnan military all had representatives present, watching the screens in the operations room with grim expressions.

This rat tide had appeared too suddenly. Although the scale was small—not even reaching the level of a Grade 3 alert—it had appeared abruptly in the town where the prospective martial artists were conducting their practical examination, causing heavy casualties in an instant.

It was foreseeable that after this rat tide, there wouldn't be many prospective martial artists left from those who had participated in this practical examination.

The atmosphere in the entire operations room was heavy.

"Huh, what is this!" Suddenly, the screen switched to a scene that caught the attention of everyone present.

The Monster Town was equipped with numerous cameras to monitor the interior. Although some had been destroyed when the rat tide emerged, they could still monitor the overall situation of the town.

"That, that's my daughter Qingqing!" A middle-aged man suddenly became agitated. Everyone looked over and realized it was Zhuge Tao, the director of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Jiangnan General Hall. He was looking at the screen with excitement, his face filled with surprise.

However, those present were not focused on Zhuge Tao's daughter, but rather on the young man who was currently fighting a Gray Fur Giant Rat.

An audible gasp of disbelief echoed through the room. "Damn, no way, am I seeing things? Is that a low-level Beast General Level monster, the 'Gray Fur Rat King'?"

"That's right, it's the 'Gray Fur Rat King'." The others recognized it as well.

A low-level Beast General Level monster was nothing to be surprised about; what truly captured everyone's attention and shocked them was that someone among the examinees was actually able to fight the 'Gray Fur Rat King' head-on. This meant he possessed at least 'low-level Warlord Level' strength!

"It really is the 'Gray Fur Rat King'. Who is that examinee? So powerful, which side is he from?" Words of astonishment and shock spilled from the lips of the high-ranking officials present.

Wang Heng, the director of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, also stared fixedly at the screen, his heart roaring with unrest. He had already recognized that the young man on the screen was none other than Chen Daolin, one of the two geniuses from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall participating in this martial artist practical examination. He couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, another one! And he's an eighteen-year-old low-level Warlord Level martial artist! What the hell, what kind of good luck has the Extreme Martial Arts Hall stumbled upon? Including Ji Xuan, who has mastered Micro-level footwork, that makes two! What virtue or ability does that Zhuge Tao have? His luck is too good; he actually recruited two monster-level geniuses at once!"

Yes.

Chen Daolin, who possessed the strength of a low-level Warlord Level martial artist at eighteen.

Ji Xuan, who had mastered 'Micro-level' footwork at eighteen.

In Wang Heng's eyes, they were already monsters and freaks, far surpassing those ordinary geniuses.

Such geniuses were rare even on a global scale; whenever one appeared, they would be fiercely contested by all major factions.

The officer at the command center also snapped to his senses. "Quick, notify the front lines, get someone to rescue them!" Whether it was the daughter of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's director Zhuge Tao or that genius martial artist, they were naturally more important in their eyes than ordinary martial artists.

The former could be used to win a favor from Zhuge Tao, a big shot of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Jiangnan General Hall, while the latter could be used to try and win over that incredibly talented martial artist.

Just as the operations department issued the order, someone suddenly exclaimed.

"Wait, what is that?"

In the smoke-filled Monster Town, Chen Daolin was locked in a fierce life-and-death struggle with the Gray Fur Rat King on a main road. After several minutes of intense fighting, Chen Daolin had gained several wounds, only to helplessly discover that his spear could not inflict significant damage on the Gray Fur Rat King's body.

His weapon wasn't sharp enough!

One had to know that weapons were graded, categorized by material from level one to ten. Each level of weapon corresponded to monsters of that level, capable of piercing their defensive hide and inflicting damage.

The weapons distributed during the martial artist practical examination were the most basic kind, capable of dealing with Beast Soldier Level monsters at best. Dealing with a monster like the Gray Fur Rat King, which had already reached the Beast General Level, was truly a stretch.

Furthermore, due to the high-load state of maintaining the King Kai Fist, Chen Daolin's body had begun to show signs of fatigue, and his stamina was starting to drop. He was finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the Gray Fur Rat King's attacks, shifting from an even match to gradually falling behind.

Chen Daolin began to grow anxious. If he didn't finish off the Gray Fur Rat King and take Zhuge Qing away before the King Kai Fist wore off, they would both die.

The Gray Fur Rat King seemed to notice that the human's strength and momentum were slipping, and it shrieked with excitement, attacking Chen Daolin even more viciously.

"Swoosh—"

Just then, a sharp, piercing sound suddenly rang out. A streak of white light shot over like lightning from not far away, burying itself into the Gray Fur Rat King's left eye. The immense force even caused the Gray Fur Rat King's head to jerk violently backward, and its entire body was subsequently sent flying by a strike from Chen Daolin's spear, slamming heavily into the wall of a nearby building. The entire wall shook violently, sending debris flying everywhere.

Chen Daolin was stunned.

Zhuge Qing was also stunned.

Both of them turned their heads in unison, their gazes falling on Ji Xuan, who was standing quietly by the side of the road.

Chen Daolin was extremely shocked and puzzled. That white light—it seemed to have come from Ji Xuan's direction, right? What was that?

The Gray Fur Rat King's corpse lay on the ground, dead beyond a doubt. A tri-edged military dagger was embedded halfway into its left eye socket, and black-red blood gushed from the Gray Fur Rat King's eyes, nose, and mouth, looking incredibly gruesome.

"A, a Spirit Reader?" Zhuge Qing woke up as if from a dream, suddenly realizing the truth. She looked at Ji Xuan with disbelief. "You, you're actually a Spirit Reader?"

"Spirit Reader?" Chen Daolin also repeated the name, which he felt he had heard somewhere before.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" Zhuge Qing's eyes were filled with awe and admiration as she looked at Ji Xuan, her usual arrogant demeanor completely gone. "Spirit Readers are the most special group among martial artists. They also cultivate Genetic Origin Energy, but they possess another special ability—Spirit Reading Power. I once heard people say that Spirit Readers are extremely powerful, with almost no rivals among their peers, because a Spirit Reader's mental power is generally two levels higher than their physical fitness. In other words, a Spirit Reader with the physical fitness of a mid-level warrior can exert the power of a low-level Warlord, making them invincible at the same rank! But they are too mysterious and extremely rare! Any Spirit Reader is incredibly precious!"

"The biggest characteristic of a Spirit Reader is that they can use their Spirit Reading Power to control objects and attack others from a distance!" Zhuge Qing added.

Chen Daolin thought of the sudden streak of white light from earlier and finally understood. He felt a strange mix of emotions. Ji Xuan, a good friend he had known since childhood and spent years with, was actually a Spirit Reader?

At this moment, Ji Xuan walked over, looking at Chen Daolin with concern. "A-Lin, are you okay? How are your injuries? Are they serious?"

Chen Daolin deactivated the King Kai Fist state, and a wave of weakness washed over him. His body swayed, and he was supported by Ji Xuan. He smiled bitterly, "Ji Xuan, I didn't expect you to be a Spirit Reader."

Ji Xuan said apologetically, "I didn't want to lie to you. But I didn't know how to tell you." Ji Xuan had only gradually awakened her Spirit Reading Power after fainting during the college entrance exam. Her identity as a Spirit Reader was the most important secret to her, and while she didn't want to hide it from her good friend, she had never found the right opportunity to confess.

However, after this encounter with the rat tide, in order to save Chen Daolin, Ji Xuan's secret had been exposed.

Suddenly, a blue light flew in from the horizon, revealing a deep blue disc-shaped fighter jet that came to a halt. Two gun barrels extended from its underside, firing wildly at the rat swarm on the ground. Amidst the soaring flames, countless rat monsters were reduced to dust. Without the command of the Gray Fur Rat King and under the fierce bombardment of the disc-shaped fighter jet, the rat swarm immediately collapsed and scattered in all directions.

The disaster brought by the rat tide had finally ended, but it had left countless young martial artists buried in this senseless catastrophe.

The deep blue disc-shaped fighter jet descended, and the hatch opened. Two soldiers wearing combat gear and holding cold weapons stepped out with stern expressions, saluting Chen Daolin and the others.

"Everyone, the martial artist practical examination has ended. Please come with us; someone at the command headquarters wishes to see you." The soldiers' attitude was very polite.

Chen Daolin, Ji Xuan, and Zhuge Qing looked at each other, then followed the soldiers into the disc-shaped fighter jet. The deep blue craft rose into the air once more, flying rapidly toward the outside of the town.

At the same time, organizations and factions all over the world received the news, turning their eyes toward the Jiangnan Base City.