Martial Artist Practical Assessment, Begins

Luo Zhe glanced at the sullen youth but had no intention of acknowledging him. However, the other man's aggressive stare made Luo Zhe frown; he found the man's gaze truly detestable.

"Not interested." Luo Feng also shook his head.

The sullen youth froze, then sneered and said nothing more.

Zhuge Tao, standing nearby, and the burly man from the Thunder Martial Arts Hall both laughed at the sight. "Zhuge, these two little guys of yours are quite interesting. They're steady enough not to lose their heads just because of a little provocation! I'm starting to like this young man named Luo Feng. Luo Feng, have you considered joining our Thunder Martial Arts Hall..."

"Go, go, go." Zhuge Tao glared at him. "Stop trying to sow discord right in front of me!"

"Just joking, you guy, you're really no fun," the burly man laughed heartily.

As they spoke, Zhuge Tao glanced toward the street below. "Let's get going too; the martial artist combat examination is about to begin!"

Luo Zhe and the massive group of 1,680 prospective martial artists walked for a full half-hour under the guidance of soldiers before arriving at the outskirts of a small town. It was already evening, and the sun had set.

The perimeter of the small town was already enclosed by barbed wire, with numerous soldiers patrolling the area armed with firearms. Various heart-stopping roars of monsters drifted out from within the town.

"Roar—"

"Hiss—"

On the driveway, heavy-duty trucks were speeding by, each one emitting waves of angry roars. Luo Zhe and the many other prospective martial artists watched them closely.

They saw that every truck arriving was carrying cages, and inside each cage was a monster. Their hideous maws and exposed, gum-dripping fangs were drooling. The angry roars made some of the prospective martial artists who had never killed a monster before tremble in their hearts.

The upcoming martial artist combat examination was meant to force these future martial artists to fight these terrifying monsters to the death!

"Luo Zhe, Luo Feng."

The chief instructor, Wu Tong, who was standing next to Luo Zhe, said solemnly, pointing toward the monster-infested town ahead. "Do you see the monsters inside? These are the targets you are about to hunt for your combat examination."

"Monsters like these are everywhere throughout China, and indeed, the entire world! Once you enter the wilderness in the future, you will have to face even more and even stronger monsters. Only by killing them will you have a chance to survive, and only then will we humans have a chance to survive!"

"I know both of you are genius martial artists recruited early by our martial arts hall, and your strength is far greater than ordinary martial artists. Especially you, Luo Zhe—your strength has already reached the 'Advanced Warrior Level'." Wu Tong patted Luo Zhe's shoulder with such force that Luo Zhe couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Hearing the words 'Advanced Warrior Level,' Luo Feng couldn't help but take a few extra looks at Luo Zhe. He hadn't expected that Luo Zhe, who had joined the Extreme Martial Arts Hall only a month earlier than him, would actually have strength surpassing his own. It seemed that those who could be recruited early by the Extreme Martial Arts Hall all possessed unique, superior qualities!

Wu Tong laughed heartily, then continued seriously: "I know both of you have good physical fitness and decent blade techniques, but that doesn't mean you can kill monsters! Some people, the moment they see blood or face life and death, cannot even display ten percent of their strength. Therefore, the main purpose of this combat examination is to temper your mindset. You must adapt to life-and-death struggles with monsters; do not be soft-hearted!"

"Understood!" Luo Zhe nodded.

Luo Zhe had long understood this principle. A martial artist who had never seen blood was like a caged beast; despite having sharp fangs and claws, its wild nature had been worn away, and it had lost the courage to roar in the mountains and forests.

"Hmm... these monsters are only the weakest H-Class monsters, and they have low intelligence. With your strength, as long as you are careful and don't get surrounded by a pack of monsters, you don't need to worry about your lives. However—"

Wu Tong paused. "You must be careful! All monsters are bloodthirsty by nature. If you truly get caught in an encirclement, even if it means suffering serious injury, you must kill them all first! Wounds and blood will not scare monsters away; only frantic slaughter—being more ruthless than them—will make them feel pain and make them afraid!"

Listening to Wu Tong's words, Luo Zhe nodded firmly and turned to look at the town, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

The first slaughter of his life was about to begin right here!

As a continuous stream of monsters was transported in and dumped into the town, the number of monsters inside reached an all-time peak.

"Everyone."

A loud voice reached the ears of every prospective martial artist. Luo Zhe and all the others looked up.

They saw an officer standing on the roof of a dilapidated three-story building inside the town, addressing all the prospective martial artists. "This combat examination follows the same rules as in the past! It will start promptly at 6:30 tonight and end at 6:30 tomorrow morning!"

"During this time, the more monsters you kill, the more points you earn. For every monster killed, you must cut off its left ear as proof."

"Remember, prospective martial artists are strictly forbidden from killing each other!"

"All your activities are under surveillance. Violators will be executed on the spot!"

"Also, out of you 1,680 prospective martial artists, only those whose points rank in the top 60% will be qualified as martial artists! The bottom 40% will be considered failures and must wait for the next combat examination." The officer's voice grew colder.

"In other words, out of your 1,680, 1,008 will pass, and 672 will be eliminated!"

Luo Zhe pondered for a moment and looked up at Luo Feng, finding that he was also deep in thought.

It was the first time he realized that, aside from being killed by monsters, so many people would be eliminated. It seemed the standards for this combat examination were far higher than those of the college entrance exam.

The prospective martial artists below began to whisper among themselves; a 40% elimination rate was unexpected!

"A word of advice: generally, hunting three monsters is enough to pass the examination. If you only hunt two, it will depend on your luck." The officer's voice rang in everyone's ears. "When results are tied, the ranking will be determined by the time taken to kill the monsters and the severity of injuries sustained. Therefore, once you have killed a certain number of monsters, get out of the town as soon as possible."

"Remember, if you are seriously injured, you can press the distress button on your communication watch. Someone will rescue you immediately... but that moment also marks the end of your combat examination." The officer leaped.

Whoosh!

He jumped from the roof of the small building, clearing a height of over ten meters, and with two more leaps, he was outside the town.

"All prospective martial artists, move out and enter the monster town." The officer waved his hand.

The 1,680 prospective martial artists surged into the monster town like a raging tide.

"Close the gates!" the officer commanded.

"Boom—" The only gate slammed shut.

At this moment, the martial artist combat examination officially began!