Breaking Free

Outside the town where the Quasi-Martial Artist Practical Examination was being held, the Jiangnan North Military Region had rapidly mobilized a large force and sealed off the entire town so thoroughly that not even a mouse could slip through. The sounds of guns and cannons rang out without pause as the troops advanced in wave after wave, leaving countless monster-rat corpses in their wake. Some of the rescued Quasi-Martial Artists watched the town engulfed in battle, their faces pale and their hearts still pounding with fear.

Representatives from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, and the Jiangnan military had all arrived. In the operations room, they watched the screens with grim expressions.

The Rat Tide had appeared so suddenly. Although it was small in scale and didn't even meet the threshold for a Level Three Alert, it had struck the town where the Quasi-Martial Artists were taking their practical examination, causing severe casualties.

It was easy to imagine that after this Rat Tide, few of the Quasi-Martial Artists who had entered the town for the examination would be left.

The entire operations room was weighed down by a somber mood.

"Eh? What's this?" The screen suddenly switched to a different scene, drawing everyone's attention.

A large number of cameras had been installed throughout Monster Town to monitor its interior. Although some had been destroyed when the Rat Tide appeared, the cameras could still keep watch over most of the town.

"Th-that's my daughter, Qingqing!" A middle-aged man suddenly cried out in excitement. Everyone turned toward him and saw Zhuge Tao, the director of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Jiangnan General Hall. He stared at the screen, his face alight with excitement and delight.

But the people present weren't focused on Zhuge Tao's daughter. They were watching the young man fighting a Gray Fur Giant Rat.

A collective gasp of disbelief rang out. "No way! Am I seeing things? That looks like an 'Elementary Beast General Level' monster, a Gray Fur Rat King!"

"That's right, it's a Gray Fur Rat King," the others confirmed.

An Elementary Beast General Level monster wasn't anything unusual. What truly caught everyone's attention and left them stunned was that one of the examinees could fight a Gray Fur Rat King head-on. That meant he had at least Elementary Warlord Level strength!

"Is that really a Gray Fur Rat King? Who's that examinee? He's incredible! Which side is he from?" The higher-ups blurted out one astonished, incredulous remark after another.

Wang Heng, the director of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall, stared fixedly at the screen, his thoughts roaring as he struggled to calm down. He'd recognized the young man onscreen as Chen Daolin, one of the two geniuses from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall taking the Martial Artist Practical Examination. He couldn't help cursing. "Damn it, another one! And he's only eighteen, yet he's already an Elementary Warlord Level martial artist! This is unbelievable. What kind of luck did the Extreme Martial Arts Hall have? Add in Ji Xuan, who's mastered Micro-level Movement Technique, and that makes two! What did Zhuge Tao do to deserve this? He's way too lucky—he's recruited two monster-level geniuses at once!"

That was right.

At just eighteen, Chen Daolin had the strength of an Elementary Warlord Level martial artist.

At just eighteen, Ji Xuan had mastered Micro-level Movement Technique.

In Wang Heng's eyes, they were both freaks—monsters who far surpassed ordinary geniuses.

Geniuses like them were rare even on a global scale. Whenever one appeared, every faction would compete fiercely to recruit them.

The military officer in the command center snapped out of it, too. "Quick! Notify the troops up front. Send people to rescue them!" In their eyes, both Zhuge Tao's daughter, an important figure at the Extreme Martial Arts Hall's Jiangnan General Hall, and the talented martial artist were naturally more important than ordinary martial artists.

The first could earn them a favor from Zhuge Tao, while the second might be persuaded to join them.

The operations department had just issued the order when someone suddenly cried out again.

"Wait, what's that?"

Amid the smoke-filled streets of Monster Town, Chen Daolin was locked in a life-or-death fight against the Gray Fur Rat King. After several minutes of fierce combat, he'd sustained several new wounds, yet he was dismayed to discover that his spear couldn't inflict much damage on the Gray Fur Rat King's body.

His weapon wasn't sharp enough!

Weapons came in different grades, ranked from Level One to Level Ten according to their materials. Each weapon's grade corresponded to the same grade of monster, allowing it to pierce that monster's defenses and wound it.

The weapons issued for the Martial Artist Practical Examination were the most basic kind. At best, they could handle Beast Soldier Level monsters. Against a monster like the Gray Fur Rat King, which had already reached Beast General Level, they were woefully inadequate.

What's more, the strain of maintaining King Kai Fist at such a high output had begun to exhaust Chen Daolin. His stamina was fading, and he was finding it harder and harder to deal with the Gray Fur Rat King's attacks. What had started as a stalemate was now gradually turning against him.

Chen Daolin was growing anxious. If he didn't kill the Gray Fur Rat King and get Zhuge Qing out of there before King Kai Fist wore off, they would die.

The Gray Fur Rat King seemed to sense that the human before it was growing weaker, his power and fighting spirit ebbing away. It shrieked excitedly and attacked Chen Daolin even more ferociously.

"Whoosh—"

Just then, a sharp whistle split the air. A streak of white light shot from nearby like lightning and plunged into the Gray Fur Rat King's left eye. The tremendous force made its head jerk backward. Chen Daolin immediately struck it with his spear, sending it flying into the wall of a nearby building. The impact shook the entire wall, sending rubble flying.

Chen Daolin froze.

Zhuge Qing froze, too.

They both turned at the same time, their eyes falling on Ji Xuan, who stood quietly by the roadside.

Chen Daolin was stunned and confused. That streak of white light seemed to have come from Ji Xuan's direction. What was it?

The Gray Fur Rat King's corpse lay on the ground, unquestionably dead. A Tri-edged Military Dagger was embedded halfway into its left eye, and dark red blood poured from its eyes, nose, and mouth, making for a horrific sight.

"A-a Spirit Reader?" Zhuge Qing snapped out of her daze and realized what had happened. She stared at Ji Xuan in disbelief. "Y-you're a Spirit Reader?"

"Spirit Reader?" Chen Daolin repeated, recognizing the name from somewhere.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Zhuge Qing gazed at Ji Xuan with awe and admiration, all her usual arrogance gone. "Spirit Readers are the most unusual group among martial artists. They also cultivate Genetic Origin Energy, but they possess another special ability: Spirit Reading Power. I once heard that Spirit Readers are incredibly powerful and almost unbeatable among those of the same level, because their Spirit Reading Power is generally two levels higher than their physical strength. That means a Spirit Reader with the physical strength of an Intermediate Warrior can wield the power of an Elementary Warlord. They're said to be invincible among those of the same rank! But they're incredibly mysterious, and there are very few of them. Every Spirit Reader is precious!"

"The most distinctive ability of a Spirit Reader is the power to control objects and attack people from a distance," Zhuge Qing added.

Chen Daolin thought of the sudden streak of white light and finally understood. An indescribable feeling stirred in him. Ji Xuan, his good friend since childhood, whom he'd known for years—she was actually a Spirit Reader?

Ji Xuan walked over, her eyes filled with concern as she looked at Chen Daolin. "A-Lin, are you okay? How badly are you hurt? Is it serious?"

Chen Daolin released King Kai Fist. A wave of weakness washed over him, and he swayed. Ji Xuan caught him as he gave a bitter smile. "Ji Xuan, I had no idea you were a Spirit Reader."

Ji Xuan said apologetically, "I didn't want to lie to you. I just didn't know how to tell you." Ji Xuan had only gradually awakened her Spirit Reading Power after fainting during the college entrance exam. Being a Spirit Reader was her most important secret. She hadn't wanted to hide it from her good friend, but she'd never found the right opportunity to tell him.

But after they'd encountered the Rat Tide, Ji Xuan had revealed her secret to save Chen Daolin.

A streak of blue light suddenly appeared in the sky. A deep-blue, disc-shaped fighter aircraft emerged and came to a halt. Two cannons extended from its underside and opened fire on the rats below. Flames soared into the sky as countless monster rats were blasted to smithereens. With the Gray Fur Rat King gone and the fighter aircraft raining fire on them, the rat horde quickly fell apart and scattered in every direction.

The disaster brought on by the Rat Tide was finally over, though countless young martial artists had perished in this senseless calamity.

The deep-blue disc-shaped fighter aircraft descended and opened its hatch. Two soldiers in combat uniforms stepped out, each holding a cold weapon. With stern expressions, they saluted Chen Daolin and the others.

"Everyone, the Martial Artist Practical Examination is over. Please come with us. Someone at the command center wishes to see you." The soldiers were very courteous.

Chen Daolin, Ji Xuan, Zhuge Qing, and the others exchanged glances, then followed the soldiers into the aircraft. The deep-blue craft rose into the sky once more and sped toward the outskirts of the town.

At the same time, organizations and factions around the world received the news and turned their attention to Jiangnan Base City.