"Everyone—"
A loud voice rang in the ears of every Quasi-Martial Artist. "Welcome to the Jiangnan City North Military District. This time, the Martial Artist Combat Assessment for all 1,680 of you will be held here in our Northern Military Region. I hope most of you pass the assessment, and I hope every one of you makes it through this combat assessment alive!"
The Northern Military Region.
The usually disciplined military district had grown lively with the arrival of the Quasi-Martial Artists. The soldiers had also prepared a lavish lunch for those taking part in the Martial Artist Combat Assessment.
Two-thirty in the afternoon.
All 1,680 Quasi-Martial Artists stood in an open square. The senior officers of the Jiangnan City North Military District, along with several high-ranking members of Thunder Martial Arts Hall and Extreme Martial Arts Hall, stood on the platform at the front.
"Those whose names are called, come up to collect your combat suits and weapons."
"Yan Zhuo."
"He Feng."
"Wang Bingjiang."
Ten officers stood on the platform, calling out the names of the Quasi-Martial Artists one by one. Those whose names were called went up to collect their combat suits and weapons.
"Luo Zhe."
"Luo Feng."
"Yang Wu."
The voice rang out with vigor. Luo Zhe, Luo Feng, and Yang Wu were standing at the edge of the crowd. As soon as they heard their names, all three jogged forward.
"Here's your combat suit and boots. This is the Blood Shadow Battle Blade Series 2 your Supervisor Zhuge instructed us to set aside for you. It weighs 120 kilograms, making it the heaviest standard Series 2 battle blade. It's one of our district's prized possessions." The officer handed Luo Feng a set of equipment. "Here's your Communication Watch. It has positioning, communication, and distress signal functions. And here's your Hexagonal Shield."
As the officer spoke, a trace of puzzlement showed in his eyes as he looked at Luo Zhe... The supervisor of Extreme Martial Arts Hall had specially arranged such a heavy blade for a Quasi-Martial Artist. Could he even wield it?
When he heard that Supervisor Zhuge had arranged it specially, Luo Zhe instinctively glanced toward the high-ranking members of Extreme Martial Arts Hall at the front of the square. Zhuge Tao was following a middle-aged man in a black combat suit, whose hands were as broad as palm-leaf fans. He watched Luo Zhe with a smile in his eyes.
Luo Zhe smiled and nodded, then turned and hurried away with the pile of equipment, which weighed nearly two hundred kilograms.
In the square, all 1,680 Martial Artists had received weapons in sizes suited to their bodies and specifications matching their requests. However, everyone was issued cold weapons! That was a requirement of the Martial Artist Combat Assessment: firearms were strictly forbidden.
Once everything had been handed out, everyone returned to their own rest areas to change into their combat suits and boots.
The open square was filled with chatter and noise.
Wearing a black combat vest made from special materials including Kro Alloy, military trousers, and Alloy Combat Boots, Luo Zhe sat cross-legged on the ground. With the Hexagonal Shield strapped to his back, he stared blankly at the Blood Shadow Battle Blade in his hands. Luo Feng and Yang Wu were happily chatting with the other Quasi-Martial Artists nearby.
Two months ago, this 120-kilogram Blood Shadow Battle Blade would indeed have been a suitable weapon for him. But after two months of training, his strength had increased by leaps and bounds, and he had just barely reached Junior Warrior Level. A battle blade of this weight could no longer keep pace with his growing strength!
Still, this small detail made it clear that Zhuge Tao had paid close attention to him.
"Brother Zhe, what are you thinking about?" Luo Feng had noticed Luo Zhe sitting on the ground, lost in thought, and had come over to check on him.
Luo Zhe shook his head to show he was fine, then asked with a smile, "Why'd you stop chatting? You seemed to be having a good time."
Word had spread through the Quasi-Martial Artist circle that the two of them had been recruited by Extreme Martial Arts Hall in advance. It had quickly made its way from one person to another. Of this year's 1,680 candidates, only four had been recruited ahead of time by Extreme Martial Arts Hall or Thunder Martial Arts Hall! All the Quasi-Martial Artists knew that those four had promising futures.
People were naturally happy to show some respect to someone like Luo Feng, who was willing to join in the conversation. The atmosphere had been harmonious, and everyone had been chatting away.
"I saw you sitting here by yourself and figured you might be bored." Luo Feng shrugged and nodded toward the crowd. "Besides, they seem to be getting along just fine without us."
"Luo Zhe, Luo Feng." A voice called from a distance. It was Uncle Wu, the chief instructor at the Limit Dojo in Yangzhou City.
Luo Zhe and Luo Feng smiled and waved. They got to their feet and went over at once. "Uncle Wu."
"Good timing. You two, come with me." Wu Tong said, then led the way.
The two exchanged a glance. Though they were full of questions, neither asked anything. They soon followed Wu Tong to the second floor of a quiet little building. Several people were gathered in the living room there. At a glance... they recognized only one of them: Zhuge Tao, one of the four major figures at the Jiangnan City Limit Dojo!
"Supervisor."
"Supervisor."
The two exchanged a glance, then greeted him in unison.
"Mm. Luo Zhe, Luo Feng, sit over there with Wu Tong." Zhuge Tao, wearing a pitch-black combat suit that shimmered faintly with silver, smiled and nodded. "By the way, Luo Zhe, how's the battle blade I arranged for you? Does it feel right?"
Luo Zhe froze and instinctively shook his head. "It's not bad, but it feels a little light."
Only after saying it did Luo Zhe realize what he'd let slip. But the words were already out; there was no taking them back.
"Light?" Zhuge Tao looked startled. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He asked tentatively, "Has your punching strength increased by a lot again during this time?"
Under Zhuge Tao's eager gaze, Luo Zhe could only nod.
Zhuge Tao was overjoyed. Clapping his hands, he laughed, "I knew I hadn't misjudged you! Come find me after the assessment ends tomorrow morning. I'll arrange for someone to pick you up then."
Zhuge Tao's hearty laughter reached the ears of a burly man in dark purple combat armor sitting across from him. "Zhuge, are these Luo Zhe and Luo Feng you told me about? Compared to our Thunder Martial Arts Hall, they don't seem all that impressive."
The burly man's voice seemed to echo in his chest. "Our Thunder Martial Arts Hall recruited two people in advance this time. One is a firearms prodigy. The other's physical fitness is no worse than your Luo Feng's. He's still a little behind that Luo Zhe, but he's younger—he isn't even nineteen yet."
The burly man looked at the two young men beside him, and they immediately stood up.
"My name is Ma Xiao." The young man standing beside the burly man smiled. He was exceptionally good-looking! Yes, "beautiful" was truly the right word for him. If he'd been a woman, he would have been the sort to bring kingdoms to ruin.
"My name is Wan Dong." The other young man, standing a little farther away, spoke up. A purple birthmark on his face gave him a gloomy look. He stared straight at Luo Zhe and Luo Feng.
Luo Feng smiled and nodded. "I'm Luo Feng, and this is Luo Zhe. I'm sure you already know that."
"Nice to meet you." Luo Zhe nodded to the two of them. He found the birthmarked young man's gaze rather unpleasant.
He looked like a jackal eyeing a lamb, his eyes gleaming green as he waited to pounce and bite it to death!
"So you're Luo Zhe?" The gloomy young man turned to him and said, "And you, Luo Feng. I wonder if you two have the guts to compete. In tonight's Martial Artist Combat Assessment, let's see who among us gets the highest score!"
A glint shone in the gloomy young man's eyes. He looked as though he'd spotted the most delicious food imaginable, and his gaze was full of longing.
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