The Class B Test

A two-story pavilion stood before him, furnished entirely in an ancient style.

"Since the Dojo Master is Chinese and places great importance on our ancient culture, the whole of Hongning Base City was built in the style of ancient China. The Training Camp is especially authentic—even the furniture imitates the ancient style. So there are no sofas or TVs here." Situ Ye glanced around as he explained. "Fortunately, the Dojo Master is reasonable. Everyone's allowed to have a laptop."

There were no modern appliances at all, except for electric lights. There were power outlets, though, so people could buy their own appliances.

"Get some rest here. If you want something to eat, just call and someone will bring it over." Situ Ye gave him instructions. "You'd better not wander around today. At noon tomorrow, I'll take you to the Nine-Fold Tower for the Class B test."

"Once you pass, you'll be given new accommodations. These are only temporary."

After giving him a few more instructions, Situ Ye turned and left, preparing to take Wang Xiao to the Basic Training Camp.

Alone in the quiet pavilion, Ji Yun went upstairs to the study and set down his backpack before stepping out onto the balcony. From there, he could overlook the entire Training Camp. So this is the world's number one Training Camp? It looks peaceful, without a hint of restlessness. Ji Yun leaned against the wooden railing and admired the scenery.

Elite Training Camp students passed along the road, all heading to the Nine-Fold Tower to train. Many of them were already deep in thought as they walked, mentally simulating moves or contemplating their swordplay.

After watching for a while, Ji Yun saw that they were all quite capable. They were no match for him, but they were certainly more than twice as good as people outside the camp.

Ji Yun returned to the pavilion and spent some time cultivating Genetic Origin Energy. He didn't go to bed until late that night. Although he hadn't yet entered the Elite Training Camp, the 182 publicly listed rankings on the Black Dragon Sculpture had filled him with determination. He believed that, given his abilities, taking one of the top spots would be easy.

The next day at noon.

Situ Ye arrived at Ji Yun's lodgings right on time. "It's a beautiful day. The midday sun is lovely." He walked in and glanced at the dishes on the living-room table with a smile. "Not bad—you've got quite an appetite. Ready? Let's go to the Nine-Fold Tower."

Setting down his chopsticks, Ji Yun smiled. "Sure."

Each floor of the Nine-Fold Tower was about six meters high, and the tower itself was more than 150 meters long and wide. It was an enormous structure. From the outside, it looked quite traditional, but inside, it was entirely high-tech. The floors were made of sturdy alloy, and the sounds of explosions and shouts rang out from every direction.

"Come on. Let's go to the ninth floor." Ji Yun and Situ Ye entered the elevator.

A moment later,

the doors opened onto the highest floor of the Nine-Fold Tower. The ninth floor was a spacious hall, where a number of young men and women sat on mats, chatting casually. Some spoke English, others French or other languages, while a few spoke Mandarin. When Ji Yun arrived, many people turned to look at him.

"Hey, are you Chinese?" asked a Chinese man who wasn't particularly tall, but looked as hard as forged steel.

"This is Shi Jiang, the senior student ranked fourth—the one you saw earlier."

"Fourth?"

Ji Yun was interested. A high ranking meant excellent physical abilities and combat skills. Shi Jiang looked rather short and slim, yet somehow gave the impression of being powerfully built, as if his whole body had been forged from steel. His eyes were calm and reserved, though the occasional flash in them was enough to make people uneasy.

"Good luck. Then there'll be one more of us Chinese here," Shi Jiang said with a smile.

"Newcomers aren't usually very strong," said a fair-haired Western woman. "Shi Jiang, how about a bet? I bet he won't pass."

"Then I'll bet he will. Ten billion Huaxia Currency. What do you say?"

"Fine," the young woman agreed without hesitation, as if she were very confident.

"Heh, Christine. You've made the wrong call this time."

Situ Ye shook his head with a smile. "Would I have brought him here if I didn't know what he could do? Shi Jiang, you're about to earn ten billion for free. What a deal."

With that, he led Ji Yun farther inside.

Situ Ye guided Ji Yun to the back of the hall, where a corridor ran between rows of large rooms. Soon, he led Ji Yun to a room at the very end. It wasn't very spacious and was somewhat dim.

There were only two sofas in the room, each with a deep-blue helmet resting on it.

"These helmets are the result of a great deal of effort by our human scientists. They're imitations of the consciousness sensors used in virtual-space devices discovered in ancient ruins." Situ Ye pointed at the helmets. "We could only imitate this simple kind of consciousness sensor. As for the virtual-space mainframe, it's still that ancient machine that's been dormant underground for who knows how many years."

"I'm sure you've heard of the War God Palace, and your father has probably told you about it. This is a virtual world, just like the War God Palace."

"Once you put it on, your consciousness will enter a virtual space with a 100% simulation rate. You could say it's exactly like the real world." Situ Ye continued, "After you enter the virtual space, we'll send you into the Trial Tower to take the Class B test!"

Ji Yun followed his example and put on a helmet.

Two figures appeared on the ground, one after the other: Situ Ye and Ji Yun, wearing their helmets.

Ji Yun looked up. The sky was the color of outer space, with countless stars hanging overhead. The ground was silvery white, like alloy, and felt indestructible.

"Ji Yun, the sky in the Trial Tower's virtual space is a starry void, and the ground is silvery. Its material is similar to alloy." Situ Ye pointed into the distance with a smile. "The only structure you can see in this entire virtual space is that seven-story Trial Tower over there. That's where you'll take the test."

"You've probably already noticed that your physical abilities feel different in this virtual space. That's because everyone enters it with their consciousness alone. The virtual space provides each person with a virtual body."

"Whether you're a War God, someone Beyond War God, an ordinary Martial Artist, or even just a regular person, once your consciousness enters, you'll have the same physical abilities: a normal punch strength of 10,000 kilograms, a speed of 150 meters per second, and the neural reaction speed of a high-grade Warlord."

So the Class B test was about combat ability. Ji Yun understood, but he wasn't the least bit nervous. His combat skills were exceptional. In terms of power output, movement techniques, and even his Spear Path, he was no less skilled than a War God.

"All right. Take the test."

"Look at that stone pillar." Situ Ye led Ji Yun toward the Trial Tower and pointed to a black pillar to the left of its main entrance. Carved text appeared on its surface:

Name: Ji Yun

Gender: Male

Identity: Elite Training Camp candidate

Trial Tower Level: 1

"Let me explain how Trial Tower levels work. Your ranking will be directly tied to your level."

"For example, you and I would use the same body to enter the Trial Tower and fight our way through it. Once you clear the first floor, you move straight on to the second. At that point, your Trial Tower level is 2.0. When you make it to the third floor, your level becomes 3.0. As you fight on the third floor, it could become 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and so on. You haven't started yet, so your level is still the initial 1. That means you haven't achieved anything on the first floor."

"So you understand now. The Trial Tower is a series of challenges, and clearing each one means fighting monsters. The more monsters you kill, the higher your level."

"By the way, no one has ever reached the top of the Trial Tower." Situ Ye chuckled.

"Hong, the world's strongest fighter, can currently make it to the sixth floor. He's the strongest person on Earth." Situ Ye shook his head with a sigh. "That's the gap between us. Even with the same body, I can only reach the third floor, while the Dojo Master can reach the sixth!"

"Ji Yun, choose your weapon and Combat Suit."

Ji Yun shook off his shock and quickly selected a Combat Suit and the Wind Lifter Spear, then walked straight into the Trial Tower.

As soon as he entered, a mechanical female voice sounded. Ji Yun opened his eyes to find himself on an endless grassland.

"Ji Yun." The electronic voice echoed across the vast grassland. "The Class B test is to kill one hundred Low-Level Beast General Reckless Bulls attacking you within thirty minutes. If you die at any point, you fail. If you haven't killed all one hundred Reckless Bulls after thirty minutes, you also fail. This is your first time entering the Trial Tower, so you have five minutes to prepare."

"One hundred Reckless Bulls, all of them Low-Level Beast Generals?" Ji Yun smiled calmly. Before, he might have panicked a little. But after the recent beast tide, he'd fought with ease among tens of thousands of Beast Soldiers and hundreds of Beast Generals. A mere hundred Low-Level Beast Generals posed no problem.

"The time limit might make things a little tricky, though."

Ji Yun loosened up and quickly adjusted to his suddenly reduced strength, speed, and neural reaction time.

Soon,

"Class B test, begin!" The electronic voice boomed like thunder across the grassland. At the same time, a herd of sturdy bovine monsters, each nearly three meters tall, appeared on the grass a hundred meters ahead. They were Reckless Bulls, famous among bovine monsters for living in herds. Their long hair swayed, their horns curved into sharp points, and their eyes glowed red.

Ji Yun held his spear at the ready and watched the approaching herd, standing as still as a meditating monk.

With a resounding bellow, a hundred Low-Level Beast General Reckless Bulls charged toward Ji Yun, eyes red, steam blowing from their nostrils, hooves pounding the grass!

Ji Yun's eyes turned cold. In an instant, he moved. He plunged into the herd as if there were no obstacles in his way, each thrust of his spear taking a Reckless Bull's life. But the bulls were like a tsunami, their endless waves swallowing him whole!

"Rrrip!"

The sound of air being torn apart rang out. Where Ji Yun should have been buried beneath the herd, a whirlwind suddenly surged around him. Powerful Wind Blades tore at the Reckless Bulls. Their defenses weren't particularly strong, and they had no thick scales. The moment a Wind Blade struck, it ripped their flesh to shreds.

"Reckless Bulls are huge—even bigger than most Iron-Haired Wild Boars. They're like tanks! Their size means only a few can attack me at once." Ji Yun felt completely at ease. "I don't even need to move. I can just wait for them to come close."

"But I'd better hurry!"

Ji Yun swung the Wind Lifter Spear rapidly. It spun like a wheel, forming a barrier that nothing could penetrate. Every sweep took the lives of several Reckless Bulls.

Ji Yun even considered charging against the herd to break through it, but with his physical abilities restricted, he had no way to counterattack.

With a lightning-fast thrust, he stabbed a Reckless Bull. Its massive body collapsed, crashing into the herd behind it and slowing their charge. Ji Yun surged forward, the tip of the Wind Lifter Spear sweeping past several nearby bulls as he moved. In an instant, he had cleared a patch of ground.

"Hm?"

Ji Yun was a little confused. Why were there so few Reckless Bulls around him?

The Wind Blades that swirled around Ji Yun had already cut down many of the bulls, and every thrust of his spear killed another. His killing speed was astonishing. With Ji Yun surrounded by his Wind Domain, the Reckless Bulls couldn't even touch him.

Seven or eight Reckless Bulls remained, surrounding Ji Yun as they prepared to charge.

A Reckless Bull was sent flying, blood spraying through the air.

"Time elapsed: 5 minutes and 32 seconds. All one hundred Reckless Bulls have been killed. Class B test passed! Congratulations, cadet Ji Yun." The emotionless electronic voice echoed across the grassland.