8. Murder

"R-Reconcile?" Liu Biao couldn't believe it. This was his father—a seasoned warrior who had always been tough! How could he suggest making peace with some kid?

"You fool!" Liu Zhendong's gaze turned vicious.

"N-No way... That kid hates me. The way he looked at me outside the milk tea shop last time... There's no chance he'd make peace!" Liu Biao said.

"You fool! If you're going to strike, then make sure you finish him off! Look at the mess you've caused!" Liu Zhendong said coldly.

Liu Biao shuddered. "Then what do we..."

"I'll handle it!" Liu Zhendong said.

Liu Biao breathed a sigh of relief. "Good! Good!"

That evening, Wang Ji left the Limit Martial Hall early. His Quasi-Warrior Assessment was tomorrow, so he wanted to get home and rest.

As he neared his neighborhood, Wang Ji suddenly felt a sharp pang in his heart. Danger!

Behind him, a car came hurtling toward him as if it had gone out of control!

Wang Ji darted aside, but the car swerved after him!

It was deliberate! There was no doubt about it!

Still, Wang Ji wasn't too panicked. After all, his physical abilities were already those of a Quasi-Martial Artist. At 26 meters per second, he wasn't much slower than a car. And his agility was something a car simply couldn't match.

Wang Ji glanced at the street ahead, then dodged into a nearby alley. The car barely missed him before slamming into the corner of the alley wall. "Bang!"

The front of the car crumpled halfway in!

It had been going so fast that it hadn't shown any sign of braking!

Wang Ji had just breathed a sigh of relief when—"Whoosh!" A flash of cold light streaked toward him. He dodged with all his might and managed to avoid it!

"Whoosh, whoosh!" Two more flashes of cold light came at once! Wang Ji gave it everything he had, but could dodge only one. Then a sharp pain hit him. A foot-long, all-metal crossbow bolt had pierced his knee.

"Go!" someone growled. Two men in black tracksuits quickly fled the scene.

They were out to rob him, not kill him. After all, they could get away with claiming a death by car accident. But killing someone—especially a student of the Extreme Pavilion—would be a major incident. It wasn't worth throwing their lives away, no matter how much they were paid. They weren't stupid.

And since they were in a Base City, crippling this genius was enough. Liu Zhendong and the two attackers all thought the same way.

A cold glint flashed in Wang Ji's eyes. He felt around until he twisted off the bolt's head, then pulled the metal shaft straight out. Blood ran down his calf and pooled on the ground. Wang Ji tried thinking to himself, "Ten Essence Sources! Use them!"

"Ahh! That feels good! It's itchy!"

More than ten seconds later, Wang Ji looked at his completely healed knee, excitement barely contained. "This Essence Source is even better than I expected!"

"Strength: 1,010 kg. Speed: 26.7 m/s."

It looked like healing his injury had cost him three Essence Sources. Otherwise, his strength should've reached 1,040 kg!

Wang Ji thought for a moment, then used the bolt to make a small cut on his leg. He called Jiang Nian. "Hello, Uncle Jiang. Something happened to me!"

Jiang Nian wore a grim expression as he led a small, fully armed squad of soldiers to the alley where Wang Ji was. The Extreme Pavilion had its own army—a legal one! Only people like Hong and Thor, who had surpassed the limits of the world, could secure such an outrageous privilege.

Jiang Nian kept his grim expression until he saw the small wound on Wang Ji's leg. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"Don't worry. I'll see that you get answers. This is outrageous!" Jiang Nian said coldly. "Come on. I'll take you back to the Extreme Pavilion first. You'll stay there, and I'll accompany you to the Quasi-Warrior Assessment tomorrow!"

"Professionals will investigate this thoroughly. They won't get away!"

Wang Ji asked, "What about after that...?"

"Afterward, you'll be a Quasi-Martial Artist and temporarily enjoy the same privileges as a warrior! Anyone who dares to murder a warrior in a Base City must be out of their mind! Even a warrior would die for it!" Jiang Nian said.

"And a warrior's family is even more untouchable! Anyone who lays a hand on them dies! This rule was forged with the bodies of more than ten War Gods!"

The next day, Jiang Nian took Wang Ji by train straight to the Extreme Pavilion in Jiangnan Base City.

"Coach Jiang!" At the entrance to the Extreme Pavilion, a spry, white-haired man greeted him with a smile.

"Oh! Uncle Zhang! You're on duty today? I've brought a student from Yangzhou City to take the assessment." Jiang Nian greeted him with a smile.

"Haha! Come on in! Hurry! You're the first ones here." Uncle Zhang, his white hair gleaming, laughed.

Once they were inside the Extreme Pavilion, Jiang Nian briefly introduced Wang Ji to the place. Then he sent him up to the sixth floor on his own. That was where the assessment took place. Jiang Nian had plenty of old friends to catch up with.

"Ding! Instance discovered: Training Ground. Please approach the entry range!"

Training Ground? Wang Ji was excited. He'd finally found another instance!

But... was it too far away? Wang Ji pretended to examine the assessment venue, circling the sixth floor. He heard the "Please approach the entry range" prompt only around the punch-strength testing area. Everywhere else, he couldn't hear it at all!

So it had to be somewhere nearby... Hmm! But it wasn't here, either... Could it be upstairs or downstairs? After all, the floor above or below was only seven or eight meters away—close enough! Wang Ji looked at the floors. The floor below should be easy to get to, but the one above... Maybe he'd be able to enter after getting his warrior qualification.

Nearby, several instructors chatted and laughed.

"This kid's so composed! He's wandering around without the slightest bit of nerves! Old Jiang, is he yours?"

"Heh heh! Just wait and see!" Jiang Nian chuckled, saying nothing more.

The assessment began.

Beside the assessment area, head instructors and instructors from the various affiliated cities chatted and laughed.

"Hey, Old Liu, your student's pretty good! He's fast!"

"Whoa, what a reaction time! Intermediate Warrior—Excellent; Advanced Warrior—Pass!"

"Huh, he doesn't look very old! Punch strength of 1,000, speed nearly 27 meters per second! What a promising talent! Old Jiang, did you train him?"

Jiang Nian grinned like a fox that had stolen a chicken. "Not bad, right? He's only seventeen!"

"Holy crap! Impressive! Old Jiang, you're treating us!"

At the assessment venue.

Wang Ji performed with remarkable consistency. Punch strength: 1,007 kg; speed: 27 m/s; nerve reaction: Beginner Warrior—Excellent!

Amid the excitement and disappointment of the other students, Wang Ji passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment. He then signed an application contract for the Quasi-Warrior Combat Assessment.

"This contract looks so formal and complicated!" one student muttered.

The instructor glared at him. "This combat assessment isn't like today's test! People can die! Of course it's formal! Do you know that it's normal for some people to die in a single combat assessment?"

Another instructor said, "The combat assessment has a low death rate, but the rate of crippling injuries isn't low." His voice then turned grave. "The Martial Artist Combat Assessment is a life-or-death battle against monsters. Of course, this is the most basic kind of combat. When you go out alone to hunt monsters in dangerous areas, the danger will be far greater than in this assessment. If you can't even pass this trial, you don't deserve to be a warrior."

The student shrank back and didn't dare say another word.

"Xiao Ji, head back on your own! Don't worry. You're already a Quasi-Martial Artist, so you should be safe enough. Remember to come to the martial hall tomorrow morning!" Jiang Nian reminded him.

Wang Ji nodded, then asked, "Uncle Jiang, can I go upstairs?"