The Assessment Begins

"Such a swift, fierce strike."

"Excellent, excellent."

"Most importantly, his keen battle instincts. A born warrior."

"And he knew exactly when to hold back. His swordsmanship is impressive, too."

The officers had noticed what happened nearby and were still shaken. If anyone had died, not only Guan Ning but they would have been punished, too. Once they saw that no one had been hurt, they breathed a collective sigh of relief and began praising Guan Ning's sword strike.

"Guan Ning, you..." Meng Jiang, the warrior leading the group, had been looking for him and had happened to witness the scene. He was just as shaken. If anything had gone wrong, everyone at the military base, regardless of rank, would have been punished.

"Thank goodness no one was hurt. Otherwise..." Meng Jiang knew Guan Ning hadn't done it on purpose. Seeing how ashamed Guan Ning looked, he didn't know what to say. He turned to Li Ze and barked, "Don't be so reckless again. If he hadn't come to in time, you'd be dead."

Then he looked at the people around them who had been frightened by Guan Ning and said loudly, "Remember this: don't disturb someone while they're training. Otherwise, you may regret it."

"Yes, sir."

The people being lectured nodded rapidly like pecking chicks. That scene had scared them out of their wits, and it had made one thing perfectly clear.

This was a world of bloodshed and slaughter.

After finishing his lecture, Meng Jiang turned to Guan Ning and smiled. "Guan Ning, come with me."

"Uncle Meng, what is it?" Guan Ning had a pretty good idea. It was probably to show off at the Thunder Martial Hall. He didn't have time for that. He'd be better off using the time to get used to his new gear.

"Supervisor Yu wants to see you," Meng Jiang said quietly.

"Just as I thought." Guan Ning shook his head. "Uncle Meng, there's not much time before the assessment. I still need to get used to my gear, or it'll affect my performance."

"You..." Meng Jiang didn't know what to say. He agreed with Guan Ning's choice, but still shook his head. Realizing Guan Ning wouldn't go with him, he said helplessly, "All right. I'll explain the reason to Supervisor Yu. I'm sure he'll understand."

"Well, that's something..."

He left with a wry smile.

Everyone nearby could only marvel that Guan Ning had refused to meet Supervisor Yu. But when they heard what Guan Ning said afterward, they finally understood why he'd done it.

"So that's why..."

"No wonder he joined the Limit Martial Hall ahead of time. He's a genius."

"I'd better get used to my gear and get into shape."

"I'm going, too."

They stopped chatting and found places to get used to their new gear. Li Ze and Wang Cang also found a spot to warm up.

Fortunately, the plaza was large enough to hold them all.

Still, everyone kept well away from Guan Ning, leaving a wide-open space around him. Seeing this, Guan Ning realized he'd frightened them earlier. He rubbed his nose awkwardly, then put it out of his mind and continued practicing his swordsmanship.

Meng Jiang entered a quiet two-story building. Several people were seated together in the upstairs living room.

"Supervisor," Meng Jiang called out.

"Meng Jiang, where's Guan Ning? Why didn't he come?" A lean man saw that Meng Jiang had come alone and asked in confusion. He was Yu Sen, one of the three supervisors in Jiangnan District.

"Supervisor, Guan Ning said he wanted to get familiar with his gear so he could face the assessment in the best possible condition, so he didn't come."

Meng Jiang had done his best to help the supervisor understand Guan Ning's reasoning.

Though Meng Jiang hadn't spoken loudly, everyone in the living room heard him clearly. He had expected Supervisor Yu to get angry when he heard Guan Ning wasn't coming, and the person in charge of the Thunder Martial Hall to sneer at them. After all, Meng Jiang represented the Limit Martial Hall, and they loved seeing it lose face.

But to his surprise, the burly man from the Thunder Martial Hall looked astonished, then cast an envious glance at Yu Sen. Yu Sen was pleased, but kept himself in check. Still, his radiant smile gave him away.

Seeing this, Meng Jiang knew Yu Sen wasn't angry with Guan Ning. On the contrary, he admired him. Meng Jiang smiled, too.

"This Guan Ning is so arrogant. He actually dared to turn down Supervisor Yu from the Limit Dojo. What an idiot."

Just then, a barely audible voice carried through the living room.

The young man had tried to keep his voice down, but everyone was close enough to hear him perfectly.

"An idiot?" The burly man's low voice rang out. He looked at the buzz-cut young man beside him and said coldly, "You still don't get it. I think you're the real idiot."

The buzz-cut young man's face burned at the burly man's rebuke. At a loss for what to do, he could only lower his head.

"All right, Old Feng. That's enough. Let off a little steam and leave it at that." Yu Sen cut the burly man off, then turned to the other young men and said, "Listen up. In this one respect alone, Guan Ning is already far ahead of all of you."

Yu Sen's words only made the burly man look more displeased. He'd lost face completely. Seeing how unconvinced the young men looked, he came up with an idea and said with a sly grin, "You look pretty unhappy. Well, keep it to yourselves. If you can surpass him, then the two of us might actually think more of you."

Yu Sen caught the burly man's attempt to provoke them. He'd been about to say something, but seeing the young men seething with anger, he knew the man had gotten what he wanted. He could only glare at him. "Old Feng, you really..."

Before Yu Sen could finish, the burly man glanced downstairs and said with a smile, "The assessment's about to start. I'm heading out."

With that, he walked out. Yu Sen was speechless and could only follow, with the young men right behind them.

The 1,813 quasi-warriors, including Guan Ning, followed the soldiers for half an hour before reaching the outskirts of a small town. It was already dusk, and only a few fading traces of sunlight remained.

The chilling roars of beasts echoed from beyond the town. Soldiers carrying guns patrolled the surrounding area.

"Everyone!"

"Your assessment will run for twelve hours, from six thirty tonight until six thirty tomorrow morning! The more monsters you kill, the more points you'll earn. For each monster you kill, cut off its left ear as proof. Remember, quasi-warriors are forbidden from killing one another. We're monitoring all your activities, so don't take any chances. Anyone who breaks the rules will be shot on the spot!"

An officer announced this loudly.

"The top sixty percent by score will qualify as warriors. Everyone else will be eliminated! Remember, if you're seriously injured, press the emergency button on your Communication Watch, and someone will come to rescue you. But your Warrior Combat Assessment will end then and there. Now, follow my orders. All quasi-warriors, move out and enter Monster Town!"

"One more thing: you usually need to kill three monsters to pass. If you kill only two, it'll come down to luck." The officer's voice rang in everyone's ears. "If scores are tied, we'll rank you according to how long you took to kill the monsters and the severity of your injuries. So once you've killed enough, leave the town as soon as possible."

The officer swept his arm forward, and the quasi-warriors surged into the town in a massive wave. Their momentum temporarily drowned out even the monsters' roars.

"Close the gates!"

At the officer's command, the Warrior Combat Assessment officially began!

Inside the sealed-off town, the 1,813 quasi-warriors quickly scattered and disappeared into Monster Town.

"See you tomorrow, Brother Wang, Brother Li." Guan Ning glanced at Wang Cang and Li Ze.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

"See you tomorrow."

The two looked at Guan Ning with some distance in their eyes. What had happened earlier was still unsettling. They surveyed their surroundings, then quickly left.

Guan Ning also made his way to a high vantage point and carefully observed the area.

Night fell, and searchlights outside the town swept across it, bringing a rare brightness to the abandoned town.

"There are plenty of monsters here, but there are mainly three kinds: the 'Shadow Cats,' which specialize in speed; the 'Iron-Haired Boars,' which rely on strength and defense; and the 'Tiger Mastiffs,' which are astonishingly fast and strong for dogs."

Before the Great Nirvana, people had kept plenty of cats and dogs as pets and raised pigs as a major source of meat. That was why cat-, dog-, and pig-type monsters were so common. They ranged from Beast Soldiers, equivalent to warriors, to Lords, equivalent to War Gods. So the monsters used in the combat assessment were mostly these three types.

"My physical abilities are at High-Level Warrior Rank, while the monsters in town are only H-Level. We're not even in the same league. This is just bullying them."

"Monsters out in the wild are scattered everywhere. An environment this convenient is hard to come by. This place is perfect for honing my skills."

"At home, I usually practice on my own. The Wooden Stake Formation helps, but it's still quite different from real combat."

"So there's no need to rush this time. I should use the environment to improve my movement technique and swordsmanship."

After making up his mind, Guan Ning limited his strength to a punch force of 1,000 kilograms and a speed of 30 meters per second, honing his movement technique and swordsmanship bit by bit.

As Guan Ning searched for prey, two gray-black feline monsters, each about half a meter long, spotted him and rushed toward him. Their muscles were streamlined, and their bodies were lithe and well-proportioned, so they made little noise as they moved.

"Two Shadow Cats. Perfect for practice." Although Guan Ning had limited his strength, he still spotted the two assassin-like Shadow Cats, so he decided to make them his targets.

He leaped off the rooftop, used the balcony below to break his fall twice, then landed on the ground. He rolled to absorb the impact and immediately sprinted toward the two Shadow Cats.

"Bang."

Guan Ning had shed much of his momentum when he landed, but he still hit the ground with a loud crash. The two Shadow Cats jumped in alarm, their fur standing on end and their drooping tails shooting straight up. When they saw Guan Ning charging at them, they hissed and pounced at him as well.