Swallowed Star: Heaven-Defying Comprehension, Joins Chat Group

"Hah!"

Only then did Wu Tong let out a long breath of stale air. "When Inspector Lei was here just now, I could barely breathe smoothly!"

"Jiang Li, you were already a high-level warrior before the assessment, right?"

"More or less."

Counting the power of the incomplete version of One Sword of the Vast Sea, Jiang Li did indeed have a high-level warrior's strength value.

Soon, the sun began to set.

A broadcast for assembly came from the military district. Many prospective warriors had already chosen their weapons for the assessment, and Luo Feng also went to collect a battle blade and a shield.

After meeting up with Lu Fei, the group was led by soldiers to the outskirts of a small town.

"ROAR!!!"

"HISS!!!"

All kinds of spine-chilling monster cries echoed from within the town. The crowd looked up and saw the entire town perimeter sealed off with barbed wire, while large numbers of soldiers patrolled the area with weapons in hand.

"Luo Feng, Lu Fei..."

"The weakest monsters in this town are equivalent to at least the primary warrior level. Their weakness is low intelligence; their strength is bloodthirsty madness, full of aggression and killing instinct—they almost never stop until one side is dead..."

At the town's edge, Wu Tong spoke solemnly. "The practical assessment is mainly to temper your mentality. You need to adapt to life-or-death combat with monsters. Remember, don't show any mercy!"

"As for Jiang Li..."

Wu Tong looked at Jiang Li, whose face remained calm, and didn't know what advice to give. He gave a helpless smile. "Jiang Li, just kill a few less and leave more opportunities for the other prospective warriors!"

Jiang Li: "..."

Luo Feng: "..."

Lu Fei: "..."

Soon, the three understood what Wu Tong meant.

"Everyone."

A clear voice reached every prospective warrior's ears. They saw an officer standing on the broken rooftop of a three-story building inside the town. "This practical assessment is the same as always. It starts at 6:30 tonight and ends at 6:30 tomorrow morning."

"The more monsters you kill, the more points you earn. For each monster killed, cut off its left ear as proof."

"Remember, the assessment forbids prospective warriors from killing each other. All your actions are under surveillance. Violators will be executed on the spot!"

"Out of you 1,368 prospective warriors, the top 60% in points will qualify as warriors! The bottom 40% will fail and must wait for the next practical assessment!"

The officer's voice gradually turned cold and harsh. "That means at least over 500 of you 1,368 will be eliminated!"

"Why do I say 'at least'? Because anyone who doesn't kill a single monster will also be eliminated!"

Hearing this elimination rate, many prospective warriors began murmuring among themselves.

"Let me remind you: normally, hunting three monsters will get you through the assessment. If you only get two, you'll have to rely on luck!"

"When scores are tied, rankings will be determined by other factors like hunting time and injury status. So once you've killed a certain number of monsters, I suggest you leave the town as early as possible."

The officer's voice carried into every prospective warrior's ears.

"Remember, if you're injured and can't continue, you can press the button on your communication watch to call for help. Someone will rescue you immediately, but from that moment on, your practical assessment is over."

With that!

The officer leaped, bounded down to the outside of the town in a few moves, and waved his hand. "All prospective warriors, move out! Enter Monster Town!"

The next moment.

All the prospective warriors surged into Monster Town like a roaring tide.

Once inside, they quickly scattered in all directions.

"Brother Jiang, Crazy..." All from Yi'an District, Lu Fei looked at Jiang Li and Luo Feng, both highly valued by the higher-ups, and felt his own competitive spirit rise. "I'll head east on my own!"

"Alright!"

Luo Feng also understood—this was just an assessment. Once they became warriors, they would eventually have to face monsters alone, encountering dangers ten or even a hundred times greater.

After Lu Fei carefully headed east, Luo Feng chose to go solo as well. "Brother Jiang, I'll take off first. See you outside town at dawn!"

"Mm."

Jiang Li nodded. He watched Luo Feng quickly dash west until he disappeared from sight.

Soon.

Night fell. Only large searchlights illuminated the edges of the sealed town, leaving many areas plunged into darkness.

"Perfect chance to test my mental strength."

Jiang Li didn't look for a hiding spot and wait like the other prospective warriors.

He walked lightly along the town's ruined streets, his mental strength spreading outward with his will, extending until it grew thin at nearly two hundred square meters.

But within that two hundred square meters, every movement was impossible to escape his perception.

"So that's it!"

This range perfectly matched the size of his sea of consciousness.

"One, two... five!"

Once Jiang Li's psychic power spread out, he abruptly discovered five monsters lurking within the collapsed ruins ahead.

With his War General-level eyesight, he quickly made out five canine monsters gnawing on corpses.

To be precise, they were 'Tiger Mastiff Dogs.'

An ordinary dog maxed out at about two meters in length.

But these Tiger Mastiff Dogs each measured over three meters, even larger than a Siberian tiger.

Their mouths in particular were long, flat, and sharp, eerily resembling a crocodile's snout, with fangs that gleamed with a bloodthirsty chill under the searchlight, enough to make anyone's heart shudder.

"That quasi-martial artist is really unlucky, running into a pack of Tiger Mastiff Dogs!"

"Wandering the streets after dark—he's just asking to die!"

"He's not running? He's actually going toward them?"

"Does he really think he can take on five Tiger Mastiff Dogs at once?"

"..."

Inside the monitoring room, the officers in charge of overseeing the entire town also noticed the anomaly on the street.

"Five. That's enough."

Jiang Li looked at the five Tiger Mastiff Dogs and, instead of leaving, walked straight toward them, fully exposing himself in their line of sight.

'Awooo!'

The Tiger Mastiff Dogs spotted Jiang Li and let out an excited howl. Compared to rotting corpses, the human before them was undoubtedly a fine meal.

With that howl, all five Tiger Mastiff Dogs lunged at him almost simultaneously.

Their speed already surpassed that of ordinary martial artists. At a glance, it looked like a speeding car barreling toward him.

"Boom!"

As the first Tiger Mastiff Dog pounced, a sharp rock four or five meters in front of Jiang Li shot up from the ground, slamming into the beast's lower belly. It tore open its stomach, spilling blood and entrails everywhere.

Then, Jiang Li sidestepped slightly to dodge the second Tiger Mastiff Dog's lunge while his right fist turned into a blur, smashing directly into the creature's head.

A primary War General, even without using any attack techniques, could deliver a single punch exceeding thirty tons of force.

With one punch, the Tiger Mastiff Dog's head burst like a smashed watermelon, exploding with a 'bang.' Brains, blood, and even its extremely hard fangs shattered into pieces.

"No ears left."

Jiang Li felt a bit helpless.

In almost the same breath, he pressed two fingers together and, with a slight lift, three pieces of gravel shot up, turning into streaks of fire in the night—the result of extreme speed creating intense friction with the air.

'Pew!' 'Pew!' 'Pew!'

The three streaks of fire flew unerringly through the pupils of the other three Tiger Mastiff Dogs, pierced through their bodies, and shot out from their tails.

In an instant, all five Tiger Mastiff Dogs were killed instantly.

"Psychics really are underhanded. No wonder Little Li Flying Dagger could dominate the world."

Jiang Li looked at the scattered remains and shredded flesh on the ground, but his mind remained calm.

Normally, the first time one saw blood, there should be at least some tremor.

Strength was one thing; mental fortitude was another.

Many talented martial artists couldn't even bring out a tenth of their power in their first real battle. Someone as unfazed as Jiang Li was practically unheard of.

Soon.

Jiang Li collected four left ears and tossed them into his prepared backpack, then began heading back toward the town's exit.

Elsewhere.

Inside a large building, countless surveillance screens displayed various areas of the town. One of the camera feeds had frozen for a full ten seconds without switching.

"What's going on with Monitor Room 18?"

An officer who had been drinking with a burly man frowned and asked coldly, "What are they all doing?"

"Hm? It's him?!"

The burly man, who hadn't been paying attention to the monitors, heard the voice, glanced over, and immediately said, "Quick, rewind that feed!"

"Oh?"

The officer, upon hearing this, ordered his subordinates to rewind the footage. The more he watched, the more astonished he became. "This is..."