As the red numbers on the giant holographic screen plunged below fifteen thousand, the sprawling Central Plaza had become a bloody meat grinder.
The massive free-for-all had reached its fiercest point. The most primal law of survival of the fittest was playing out in full.
The air reeked of blood.
Broken teeth and torn Training Uniforms littered the ground, along with eliminated recruits who writhed and howled in pain.
The hundreds of Medical Drones overhead were running almost beyond capacity. Crimson tractor beams rained down, dragging one incapacitated recruit after another out of this hell.
By now, most of the Quasi-Martial Artist recruits were nearing the point of physical collapse.
The human body had hard limits.
Even with their daily high-intensity training, more than half an hour of fighting at full strength was enough to drain the Blood Energy stored in their organs.
Many recruits' movements began to fall apart. Their punches lost their force, and footwork that had once been swift grew leaden.
Every ragged breath made their lungs feel as if they had swallowed burning coals.
With exhaustion closing in, lone wolves had no room left to survive.
The battlefield quickly broke into sections as the recruits banded together like wolves seeking safety.
Alliances of a dozen or even several dozen seized control of different areas, crushing anyone who tried to hold out alone.
Yet amid this struggle for survival, one man was an uncanny exception.
Jiang Yue's Training Uniform was still dry. He had not shed a drop of sweat.
With every breath, he drew in microscopic energy from the air, steadily replenishing the tiny amount of stamina he had lost.
He did not hunt anyone down. He simply walked.
If a recruit crazed by the fighting or a reckless little group tried to attack him, they