Recruitment

"Wooo—wooo—wooo—"

A series of shrill sounds suddenly rang out across the town. At the same time, a deep voice boomed through the loudspeakers: "Time's up. All Quasi-Warriors, proceed to the town exit immediately."

"Is the Warrior Practical Examination over?" Ji Yun leaned against the town gate, with several monster corpses scattered around him.

That first bout of killing went pretty well. Once I start hunting powerful monsters alone, I probably won't react like that anymore. Ji Yun mused to himself. Clearly, he considered his bout with Xia Jiang a farce. He would have been better off spending that time practicing the Spear Path.

In truth, Ji Yun still hadn't fully adjusted to the carnage caused by slaughtering monsters on a large scale. After all, not everyone could stomach the sight of blood. Ji Yun could only keep it from affecting him.

By then, Quasi-Warriors were streaming out of Monster Town's entrance. Almost all of them were stained with blood, whether from monsters or from their own wounds. Some had to be helped out by their friends.

"Beep, beep—"

A shrill sound rang out as heavy trucks drove out of the town, their beds piled high with monster corpses.

"Hey, these are the Quasi-Warriors' bodies. Someone come collect them." One of the heavy trucks pulled over nearby. Quite a few bodies lay in its bed, some of them missing parts—evidently, monsters had eaten most of them. The truck tipped the bodies of the Quasi-Warriors onto the ground beside it.

Looking at the truck packed with the bodies of Quasi-Warriors, Ji Yun estimated there were nearly a hundred.

Some Quasi-Warriors spotted people they knew among the dead and cried out in grief. A few even rushed forward and burst into tears.

"What are you crying for?" an officer said coldly, drawing angry looks from many of the Quasi-Warriors. But his icy gaze swept across them. "When you fight monsters, people are bound to die! If you choose the path of a Martial Artist, then be prepared to die! Why does human society grant Martial Artists special privileges? Not so you can live in comfort. It's because you kill monsters and serve humanity. That's why you're given those privileges."

"Your status, your rights... you have to fight for every bit of them!"

"The monsters assigned to this trial were the weakest, and none of them were the kind that moved in groups. If you can't even pass this trial, do you think you'll survive once you enter the Wilderness Zone?" The officer's words silenced all the Quasi-Warriors. Everyone knew a fair bit about monsters.

Of all the monsters, the most troublesome were the ones that moved in groups. The Lion Mastiff Dog, a canine monster, was one such example. They always traveled in packs of dozens, and even Intermediate Warrior-level Martial Artists didn't dare provoke them.

"Hmm, four monster left ears. Not bad. Minor injuries."

"He Zhu, oh, not bad. Five monster left ears, and no injuries. You pass."

"Next."

At the entrance to the town, each Quasi-Warrior handed in the left ears of the monsters they had killed as proof of their kill count.

"The Martial Artists in this group are generally pretty strong. The pass rate is so much higher than last time," an officer said with a smile.

"Yeah, not bad. Most of them only have minor injuries. Looks like we'll have to change the rules this time. Anyone who can kill three monsters and come away with only minor injuries is already at Martial Artist level."

Several officers were tallying the results.

"Hmm?" A message came in from the military camp.

"Yes, yes, I understand. I'll confirm it right away." The officer's eyes narrowed slightly.

"The general's on the phone. These people on the list failed."

"Everyone," the officer said, setting down the phone. His booming voice carried to every Quasi-Warrior.

"Yao Lang, Yao Hai... These people failed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. Everyone else with three or more monster left ears passed."

"What? Why did I fail?" A commotion broke out among the Quasi-Warriors.

"I have five monster left ears! I should have passed. Why won't you let me through?"

"Hmph." The officer sneered. "You all know how you got those left ears. If you have a problem, come talk to me face-to-face. All right, go on home. The rest of you, keep lining up."

"Sir, I don't accept this!" A voice suddenly rang out from the crowd.

"Sir, the three of us have thirteen monster left ears between us, and we're not injured. Why didn't we pass?"

The three men's protest stirred up the other Quasi-Warriors who had failed, and soon they were all being riled up.

Ji Yun looked over at the voices. It was the three brothers who had sat across from him on the truck.

"You picked up six monster left ears around the Town Government and stole them from someone else," the officer said with a sneer. "We have surveillance footage. If you don't believe me, go watch it. But then your punishment won't be limited to failing the assessment."

The leader's face went deathly pale.

"All right. Anyone with no further objections, go home after you've handed in your monster left ears. Those who failed can try again next time. Keep the inspection moving."

Ji Yun watched the three brothers leave and shook his head. He hadn't expected anyone to fake their results on a test meant to measure their own strength.

Then Ji Yun walked up to an officer.

"Ji Yun, right?" the officer said with a smile. "Hand over your monster left ears." He fiddled with his laptop as he entered the information.

Ji Yun took off his backpack and poured out more than twenty monster left ears. They completely covered the metal bottom of the pot.

"You really know how to keep a low profile," the officer said with a shake of his head and a laugh. "You've caused us quite a bit of trouble."

At his words, the Quasi-Warriors nearby couldn't help leaning in to listen.

The officer lowered his voice. "That video of yours has been making the rounds here. Those few shots were beautiful." Before Ji Yun could respond, the officer raised his voice. "Ji Yun, twenty-two!"

"That many?" The Quasi-Warriors around them were stunned.

"Who is he? Weren't all the geniuses recruited in advance by the Thunderbolt Dojo and the Limit Dojo? The Underground Alliance has a genius, too. Where did this one come from?"

"I wonder who's stronger, Ji Yun or Xia Jiang."

The Quasi-Warriors broke into discussion.

"What did he mean by 'video'?" Ji Yun quietly asked the officer.

"How should I know?" The officer laughed it off, then hurriedly said, "Next!"

"I have to find out who did that." Ji Yun muttered a couple of times, then walked away.

Ji Yun was about to leave.

"Ji Yun."

A voice called out. It belonged to a sturdy-looking officer.

"Our general wants to see you."

"Oh?" Ji Yun looked puzzled.

Ji Yun didn't hesitate. He followed the sturdy officer over, but before entering the lounge, he took off his Combat Suit, rinsed off, and changed into clean, fresh clothes.

Inside the lounge, a solemn man sat with his eyes closed. Suddenly, he opened them and looked at Ji Yun, his gaze dazzling like a brilliant light. The soft-featured man who had spoken before the assessment was also there.

"My name is Lu Xiangsheng. I'm a major general in the Jinnan Military Region." The solemn man returned to normal and said, "Ji Yun, have a seat."

Ji Yun was puzzled. By rights, even if this had something to do with his father, the military wouldn't be so courteous.

Ji Yun smiled and sat down in front of the solemn man. "General Lu, may I ask why you wanted to see me?"

"It's simple."

The solemn man smiled. "I looked into your family. Your father is the renowned High-Level War General Mountain, Ji Shan. Your mother died in childbirth when she had you. Your father contributed greatly during several monster waves, and we're grateful to him."

Ji Yun managed a strained smile. It was true that he had only ever seen his mother in recordings and photographs.

"I admire you, and I believe you have a bright future ahead of you."

"I'm formally inviting you to join the Huaxia Military!" The solemn man looked at Ji Yun and spoke in a deep voice.

"Me? I've already reached an agreement with the Limit Dojo." Ji Yun shook his head with a smile.

The solemn man shook his head, unconcerned. "An agreement? If it's an agreement, you can break it. You'd only have to pay a penalty. According to the Martial Artist regulations, the penalty can't exceed three hundred million. I believe you're worth far more than that. The military will pay the penalty for you!"

"What's more, from what I know, your mother's difficult labor was caused by old injuries she sustained fighting monsters. Our military has always been the organization most capable of resisting monsters. Join us, and you can avenge your mother to your heart's content."

"And if you join, I'll arrange for you to enter the Huaxia Military's Special Operations Team," the solemn man said. "Every year, no more than twenty Martial Artists from the country's major Base Cities make it into the Special Operations Team. Every one of them is an outstanding genius. We're already more than halfway through the year, and the military has sent out only nine invitations. Unfortunately, only six people accepted. One is an eighteen-year-old High-Level Warrior from Chengdu Base City. Another is a Psychic Master from Xi'an Base City. The other four are young geniuses from Kyoto Base City and Jiangnan Base City."

"Our Special Operations Team's commander is Councilor Jia Yi, a Beyond War God. With your talent, you could receive personal guidance from Councilor Jia," the solemn man said. "The military urgently needs talented Martial Artists to join us and ease the pressure."

Lu Xiangsheng had said everything he needed to say. He looked at Ji Yun, and even he couldn't hide the note of anticipation in his voice.

"Monsters. Mother." Ji Yun fell silent.

"I'm sorry." Ji Yun bowed slightly. "I'll do everything I can to help the military, but I've already joined the Limit Dojo and never considered switching. I'm truly sorry."

Had he refused?

Lu Xiangsheng fell silent, too. "You don't want to give it a little more thought?" he asked.

"No need." Ji Yun stood and bowed slightly. "General Lu, if there's nothing else, I'll be going." Ji Yun knew that since he'd already turned the man down, sitting together any longer would only make things awkward. "But I meant what I said: I'll do everything I can to help the military. That won't change."

"Fine." The solemn man forced a smile. "It's all right if you don't join. With your promise, it makes little difference whether you join or not. You can take an honorary post in the military later. That way, you'll count as one of ours. Ha ha."

"Thank you, General Lu." Ji Yun smiled as he left.

"So Ji Yun really didn't join your military," the soft-featured man who had been silent all this time said. "If he won't join the military, there's even less chance he'll join our Underground Alliance."

"His father and father-in-law are both with the Limit Dojo, so he was never likely to join another organization," the solemn general said with a shake of his head. "Ji Shan, I can understand—he's the one who raised the boy. But Luo Hong just happened to land himself a fine son-in-law. Lucky man."

"Go call over Xia Jiang from your Underground Alliance. I'll ask him if he's willing to join the military."

"What, you couldn't outbid the Limit Dojo, so now you're trying to steal someone from our Underground Alliance?" The soft-featured man glanced at him. "Not a chance. Xia Jiang may not be exceptional, but he's an eighteen-year-old Intermediate Warrior. He's quite talented."

Around the world, the Limit Dojo and Thunder Dojo were the two largest martial arts organizations. Their founders were the world's strongest and second-strongest fighters, respectively. Naturally, the Limit Dojo and Thunder Dojo attracted countless experts and geniuses. As a result, the military, once the most powerful organization, was now gradually losing its prominence.

"Xia Jiang, are you willing to join the military?"

"If you join, you'll have a chance to surpass Ji Yun. Your odds will be much better than in the Underground Alliance."

"Well..." Xia Jiang glanced at the soft-featured man, hesitating.

"Say what you want," the soft-featured man said. "The Underground Alliance is the Freedom Alliance. You haven't signed a contract yet, so you can still change your mind."

"If joining the military really gives me a chance to catch up to Ji Yun, then I'll join!"

Xia Jiang made up his mind. Ji Yun's shot had left a deep shadow in his mind—not only because his life had been in danger, but because the force of that shot had made him feel as if he were facing a sudden, raging gale.

"You really did poach him," the soft-featured man said with a shake of his head, waving Xia Jiang away. Clearly, Xia Jiang's choice had displeased him.

"The offer I made wasn't bad. It's just that we're behind in terms of money. Your Underground Alliance has money, after all. We can't compete with that." The solemn man stood up. "They're just a bunch of youngsters. Don't dwell on it. I just got a new batch of good tea. Want to try some?"

"Of course I do," the soft-featured man said, glaring at him. "I'll drink you into poverty today."