"Phew!"
Only then did Wu Tong let out a long breath. "With Inspector Lei here just now, I could hardly breathe!"
"Jiang Li, were you already an Advanced Warrior before the assessment?"
"More or less."
Taking into account the power of the incomplete version of Canghai One Sword, Jiang Li had indeed already possessed the strength of an Advanced Warrior.
Soon, the sun began to set.
An announcement calling them to assemble came from the Military Region. Many of the Quasi-Martial Artists had chosen their assessment weapons beforehand, and Luo Feng went to collect a War Blade and a shield.
After meeting up with Lu Fei, they followed the soldiers to the outskirts of a small town.
"Roar!!!"
"Hiss!!!"
All kinds of chilling monster cries rang out from within the town. Looking over, they saw that the entire perimeter was sealed off with barbed wire, with large numbers of soldiers patrolling the area, weapons in hand.
"Luo Feng, Lu Fei..."
"The weakest monsters in the town are equivalent to a Beginner Warrior Level. Their weakness is their low intelligence; their strengths are their bloodlust, madness, and aggressiveness. They almost always fight to the death..."
At the edge of the town, Wu Tong said solemnly, "The Martial Artist Combat Assessment is mainly meant to temper your minds. You need to get used to fighting monsters to the death. Remember, you must never show them mercy!"
"As for Jiang Li..."
Wu Tong looked at Jiang Li's calm face, unsure what to tell him. He smiled helplessly and said, "Jiang Li, try to kill fewer of them and leave more chances for the other Quasi-Martial Artists!"
Jiang Li: "..."
Luo Feng: "..."
Lu Fei: "..."
Soon, the three of them understood what Wu Tong meant.
"Everyone."
A booming voice reached the ears of every Quasi-Martial Artist. They saw an officer standing atop a dilapidated three-story building inside the town. "This practical assessment is the same as previous ones. It will run from 6:30 tonight until 6:30 tomorrow morning."
"The more monsters you kill, the more points you earn. For every monster you kill, cut off its left ear as proof."
"Remember, Quasi-Martial Artists are forbidden from killing one another during the assessment. All your movements are being monitored. Anyone who breaks the rules will be shot on the spot!"
"Of the 1,368 Quasi-Martial Artists here, those in the top 60% by points will earn the right to become Martial Artists! The bottom 40% will fail and have to wait for the next practical assessment!"
The officer's voice grew colder. "In other words, at least 500 of you will be eliminated!"
"I say at least because anyone who fails to kill even one monster will also be eliminated!"
Hearing the elimination rate, the Quasi-Martial Artists began murmuring among themselves.
"Let me remind you: usually, killing three monsters is enough to pass. If you kill only two, it'll come down to luck!"
"If several people have the same score, their ranking will be determined by other factors, such as how long they took to hunt and how badly they were injured. So once you've killed enough monsters, I suggest you leave the town as soon as possible."
The officer's voice echoed in the ears of every Quasi-Martial Artist.
"Remember, if you're injured and can't continue, press the emergency button on your communication watch. Someone will come to rescue you immediately. But from that moment on, your Martial Artist Combat Assessment will be over."
With that, the officer leaped down and reached the edge of the town in just a few bounds. He waved his hand. "All Quasi-Martial Artists, move out! Enter Monster Town!"
In the next moment,
the Quasi-Martial Artists surged into Monster Town like a rushing tide.
As soon as they entered, they began splitting up in all directions.
"Jiang, Madman..."
They were all from Yi'an District. Seeing how much attention Jiang Li and Luo Feng were getting from the higher-ups, Lu Fei's own spirits rose. "I'll head east by myself!"
"Okay!"
Luo Feng understood that this was only an assessment. Once they became Martial Artists, they would sooner or later have to face monsters alone, with dangers many times greater than this.
After Lu Fei cautiously headed east, Luo Feng also chose to go on alone. "Jiang, I'll get going too. See you outside the town at dawn!"
"Mm."
Jiang Li nodded. Luo Feng quickly darted off to the west and disappeared from Jiang Li's view.
Soon,
night fell. Only the large searchlights around the perimeter of the sealed town illuminated it, leaving many areas in darkness.
"This is the perfect chance to test my mental power."
Unlike the other Quasi-Martial Artists, Jiang Li didn't first look for a hiding place to wait for an opportunity.
He walked lightly along the town's ruined streets. His mental power spread outward at his will, reaching nearly two hundred square meters before it began to thin.
But nothing happening within those two hundred square meters escaped his senses.
"So that's how it is!"
That range matched the size of his Sea of Consciousness.
"One, two... five!"
After spreading his mental power, Jiang Li discovered five monsters hiding in the ruins ahead.
With his Warrior General Level eyesight, Jiang Li quickly made them out: five canine monsters feeding on a corpse.
More precisely, they were Tiger Mastiff Dogs.
An ordinary dog was at most two meters long.
But every Tiger Mastiff Dog was over three meters long, even larger than a Siberian tiger.
Their enormous mouths were especially striking—long and flat-tipped, much like a crocodile's. Their exposed fangs glinted with a bloodthirsty chill beneath the searchlights, making them terrifying to behold.
"That Quasi-Martial Artist is so unlucky. He's run into a whole pack of Tiger Mastiff Dogs!"
"Wandering around the streets after nightfall? He's asking to die!"
"He's not running? He's actually going toward them?"
"Does he think he can take on five Tiger Mastiff Dogs at once?"
"..."
In the monitoring room, the soldiers overseeing the town also noticed something unusual in the street.
"Five will do."
Looking at the five Tiger Mastiff Dogs, Jiang Li didn't leave. Instead, he walked straight toward them, stepping fully into their line of sight.
"Awooo!"
The Tiger Mastiff Dogs spotted Jiang Li and let out an excited howl. Compared with the rotting corpse, the human before them was undoubtedly a delicious meal.
At their howl, all five Tiger Mastiff Dogs lunged at him almost simultaneously.
They were faster than an ordinary Martial Artist. At a glance, they looked like a speeding car crashing toward him.
Bang!
As the first Tiger Mastiff Dog lunged, a pointed rock four or five meters in front of Jiang Li suddenly shot up from the ground and slammed into its underside. It tore the dog's belly open, spraying blood and entrails everywhere.
As Jiang Li turned slightly to dodge the second Tiger Mastiff Dog's attack, his right fist became a blur and slammed into its head.
A Junior War General's strength exceeded thirty tons in a single punch, even without using any attack techniques.
His fist struck, and the Tiger Mastiff Dog's head burst like a smashed watermelon. Its brain matter and blood sprayed everywhere, and even its incredibly hard fangs shattered into pieces.
"The ears are gone."
Jiang Li felt a little helpless.
Almost in the same instant, he brought two fingers together and flicked them upward. Three pieces of broken stone shot into the air and became three streaks of flame in the darkness, heated by friction with the air at their tremendous speed.
"Pfft!" "Pfft!" "Pfft!"
The three streaks of flame hit the other three Tiger Mastiff Dogs squarely in the eyes, pierced through their bodies, and shot out through their tails.
In an instant, all five Tiger Mastiff Dogs were killed.
"Psychics really are sneakier. No wonder Little Li Flying Dagger could dominate the world!"
Looking at the scattered, mangled remains, Jiang Li felt no particular disturbance.
Normally, seeing blood for the first time should have stirred him at least a little.
Being strong was one thing; having a strong mindset was another.
Many genius Martial Artists couldn't even bring out a tenth of their strength during their first practical assessment. Someone as unfazed as Jiang Li was one of a kind.
Soon,
Jiang Li collected four left ears, tossed them into the backpack he had prepared, and started back toward the town's exit.
Meanwhile,
inside a large building, countless monitors showed scenes from different parts of the town. One camera feed had remained fixed for a full ten seconds without switching.
"What's going on with Monitoring Room 18?"
An officer sitting and drinking with a burly man frowned and asked coldly, "What are they doing over there?"
"Hm? It's him?!"
The burly man, who hadn't been paying attention to the monitors, heard the officer's voice and glanced over. He immediately said, "Quick, switch the feed back!"
"Hm?"
At the officer's instruction, the staff rewound the footage. The more he watched, the more astonished he became. "This is..."
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