"Ka-chunk, ka-chunk..."
A windowless, fully enclosed train hurtled along, the carriages filled with the hubbub of voices.
"All Quasi-Martial Artists, the train is about to pull into the station. Please prepare to disembark."
The announcement came over the carriage speakers. The train gradually slowed to a stop.
Li Qingxu stepped into a large military camp alongside more than a thousand Quasi-Martial Artists.
The camp stretched as far as the eye could see. Especially around its perimeter, all kinds of heavy weaponry were scattered everywhere, their cannons aimed beyond the walls.
In the blink of an eye, the roars of monsters rang out from beyond the camp.
In the azure sky, dense flocks of flying monsters—hundreds of them—screamed past.
"I didn't expect my next fight to be against a bunch of E- or H-Class Monsters. This should be interesting."
Li Qingxu stood there in a daze for a moment, then smiled.
His last battle had taken place during the Dark Turmoil after the Road to Immortality opened.
Back then, as a ninth-level Quasi-Emperor with the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, he'd forced two Supremes to ascend to the pinnacle of their power. In the end, he'd been blown apart, but he'd taken one of them down with him.
He'd never imagined that a drop of his Sacred Body's blood, still containing a trace of his consciousness, would be cast out by Ye Fan, who had gone beyond Sacrificial Dao in the future.
He had arrived in the Swallowed Star World!
His cultivation was gone and his Bitter Sea remained unopened, but he still remembered every technique and method he'd practiced under the Covering Sky Method.
What's more, his current body was still that of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body!
"What a beautiful world."
Li Qingxu couldn't help sighing.
Without the suppression of Heaven's Will and with countless treasures that could extend one's lifespan, this place was practically a paradise for him.
To quote that famous line from Shrouding the Heavens, even a pig could become an immortal after cultivating for a million years!
And this was a world where people could live for an entire Reincarnation Era. Anyone from Shrouding the Heavens would be left speechless!
As for whether he could cultivate the Covering Sky Method in the Swallowed Star World?
The Supreme Rule forbade him from saying!
"Everyone!"
A booming voice rang out from the military region.
"Welcome to the Jiangnan City North Military Region. Your Warrior Combat Assessment will take place here. I hope every one of you survives it."
The military region was bustling, and it had prepared a lavish lunch for the Quasi-Martial Artists taking the Warrior Combat Assessment.
That afternoon.
All the Quasi-Martial Artists stood in an open square. High-ranking officials from various major powers stood on the stage at the front.
"The Quasi-Martial Artists whose names are called, come up to collect your combat uniforms and weapons."
"Xiao He."
"Wang Meng."
More than ten officers onstage called out the Quasi-Martial Artists' names. Those who were called went up to collect their uniforms and weapons.
"Li Qingxu!"
Hearing his name, Li Qingxu emerged from the back of the crowd and went to the stage to collect his combat uniform and weapons.
He'd been issued a two-meter-long alloy spear weighing a hundred kilograms. The spearhead and shaft were made in one piece, giving it the appearance of a long, silver-white metal rod.
He was easygoing about weapons and had no particular favorite.
After all, his former Dao Artifact had been the Myriad Mother Qi Pagoda, forged from three kinds of supreme materials.
For this Quasi-Martial Artist combat assessment, a blade would actually have been the better choice.
But what man wasn't born a master of the spear?
Li Qingxu walked to an empty spot at the edge of the square and put on his combat uniform and the rest of his gear.
He folded his arms and leaned against the alloy spear, gazing at the crowd as though searching for someone.
"Luo Feng!"
As the call rang out from the stage, a young man ran out from the crowd.
Li Qingxu's eyes narrowed. He watched the young man, amused.
"Greetings, future City Lord Luo."
At that moment, Luo Feng seemed to sense something. He immediately turned to look over.
"Who's that?"
Luo Feng wondered.
But when he saw the long-haired young man smiling and nodding at him, he returned the smile out of politeness.
"A Spiritual Reader. His awareness really is sharp."
Li Qingxu praised him and looked away. He had no intention of approaching him for a conversation just yet.
There'd be plenty of chances to deal with him in the future, and he had no intention of taking any of Luo Feng's opportunities, either.
It wasn't because Luo Feng would one day become City Lord. He simply intended to follow the path of Shrouding the Heavens.
But he was determined to steal the spotlight in this combat assessment. The Desolate Ancient Sacred Body needed plenty of resources, after all.
Time passed, and all the Quasi-Martial Artists in the square received suitable cold weapons.
That was a requirement of the Warrior Combat Assessment: the use of firearms was prohibited during the practical test.
"All Quasi-Martial Artists taking part in this assessment, please gather at the front of the square."
At the announcement, the crowd surged together.
Led by the military camp's commander, they made their way to the outskirts of a small town.
The town was surrounded by barbed wire, and large numbers of soldiers patrolled in strict formation, rifles in hand.
It was already evening.
"Roar!"
The unsettling roars of all kinds of monsters came from inside the town.
Many of the Quasi-Martial Artists' faces changed. They had never fought monsters before.
The roars ringing in his ears made Li Qingxu's eyes light up. The blood in his body seemed to boil.
But in an instant, he was calm again.
He'd once been a Quasi-Nine, after all. If his old enemies learned that a pack of low-level monsters had stirred his fighting spirit, they'd laugh themselves silly.
"Quick, we don't have enough monsters inside. Bring in another 1,200 Iron-Haired Wild Boars, 300 Shadow Cats, and 500 Tiger Mastiffs."
At the order from inside the town, a convoy of heavy trucks carrying monsters soon came to a halt outside.
Once some of the weakest H-Class Monsters had been brought into town, the number of monsters inside had reached an astonishing level.
"Everyone!"
An officer stood on the roof of a small building outside the town and called out to the Quasi-Martial Artists who had come to take the assessment.
"This combat assessment will begin at six thirty tonight and end at six thirty tomorrow morning!"
"You'll earn points by killing monsters. Cut off each monster's left ear as proof."
"Killing each other is forbidden during the assessment. All your activities are being monitored. Anyone who breaks the rules will be executed on the spot!"
"The top sixty percent of Quasi-Martial Artists by points will pass. Based on previous assessments, killing just three monsters should be enough."
"Remember, if you're seriously injured, press the emergency button on your Communication Watch. Someone will come to rescue you immediately. But the moment you do, you'll have failed the Warrior Combat Assessment."
"Good luck!" the officer ordered.
Nearly two thousand Quasi-Martial Artists flooded into Monster Town.
The Warrior Combat Assessment had officially begun!
Night fell, and large searchlights along the edge of the enclosed town shone into it.
They illuminated many parts of the town, but plenty of places remained in shadow.
Holding his alloy spear, Li Qingxu walked alone into the town.
His steps were as precise as if measured with a ruler. Anyone watching closely would have noticed that every stride was exactly the same length, and that there was even a strange rhythm to them.
Every monster in town was a lowly H-Class Monster, or Primary Beast Soldier Level—the equivalent of a human Primary Warrior.
His Wheel Sea Secret Realm remained unopened, and his physical fitness hadn't yet reached Warrior Level.
But when it came to controlling his own body, his skill, and the Dark Turmoil he had survived, this was nothing but a super beginner's village.
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