Novice Warrior Assessment

"You only have one chance, come on." The middle-aged man didn't waste words; he walked over to the punch target and signaled for Xu Qing to begin.

"Xiao Qing, go ahead," Xu Gang prompted.

Xu Qing walked up to the punch target, raised his hands under the middle-aged man's gaze, and clenched them into fists.

His stance is so loose? This is too amateur. Forget nine hundred kilograms, he probably can't even hit one hundred, the middle-aged man thought as he observed Xu Qing's posture.

The next second, Xu Qing threw a punch, striking the center of the target.

The target vibrated slightly. The middle-aged man raised his eyebrows and looked at the display screen, somewhat surprised. "Passed!"

The number 923kg appeared on the screen.

As long as one reaches nine hundred kilograms, the strength requirement is met; clearly, Xu Qing had no problem with that.

Strange, does this little guy really have that much strength? The middle-aged man muttered to himself, because no matter how he looked at it, Xu Qing didn't seem like the type capable of such a feat.

However, since the result was out, he had no reason to doubt it; the machine was definitely functioning correctly.

"Next is speed," the middle-aged man said.

Beep!

Xu Qing dashed out from the starting line like a fifty-meter sprinter, though his running form was highly unorthodox—it was obvious he had never been trained.

When he crossed the finish line, the middle-aged man looked at the display screen. "Strange, he passed again."

25.5 meters per second—that was Xu Qing's speed.

The requirement was 25 meters per second, so Xu Qing had just barely made the cut.

Xu Gang watched from the side, feeling a bit puzzled. Didn't Xu Xin say that Xu Qing had already reached the standard of a high-level fighter? Why were his test results only just passing?

It couldn't be that Xu Qing was intentionally hiding his strength; the average person wouldn't be capable of such a thing.

Could my sister have lied to me? That shouldn't be right. Or did she tell Xiao Qing to hide his strength? Xu Gang pondered, though he wasn't entirely convinced.

Could I have really been deceived by her? No, I must ask her clearly when I get home. The more Xu Gang thought about it, the more wrong it felt; he had to get to the bottom of it.

"You... not bad. Both your strength and speed have passed. Next is the nerve reaction test. This is the hardest part, so you should prepare yourself for the possibility of failure," the middle-aged man said to Xu Qing.

"Mm," Xu Qing nodded.

Following that, just like the previous time, Xu Qing stood inside a circle about three meters wide. He had to dodge rubber bullets fired from all directions within that range.

"Get ready, start!" The middle-aged man pressed the button, and countless rubber bullets flew out, heading toward Xu Qing.

Before coming today, Xu Xin had already instructed Xu Qing to perform averagely, just enough to pass the quasi-fighter assessment.

Therefore, Xu Qing intentionally let himself be hit by the rubber bullets, as long as he didn't touch the red circle.

A minute passed, and the rubber bullets stopped.

The middle-aged man wore a strange expression. He felt a great sense of dissonance while watching Xu Qing's test. All three tests had given him this feeling—it was an indescribable strangeness, yet he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was.

Regardless, he felt very uneasy.

"Um, Uncle, I should have passed, right?" Xu Qing walked out and looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "Within one minute, hit forty times, did not touch the red circle. Qualified."

"Congratulations, Xiao Qing. From now on, you are a quasi-fighter," Xu Gang smiled.

"Little guy, you've passed the quasi-fighter assessment, but the next part is the key: the actual combat assessment. You will have to fight real monsters, and there will be life-threatening dangers."

"Only after passing the actual combat assessment can you become an official fighter," the middle-aged man said.

Xu Qing nodded.

"Alright, I'll enter your quasi-fighter information into the system first. You two wait here; later, you'll need to sign an application contract for the actual combat assessment," the middle-aged man said before walking over to a computer to begin the process.

When he saw Xu Qing's personal information, the middle-aged man was astonished. "Only seventeen?"

A seventeen-year-old quasi-fighter was quite impressive; he could be considered a genius.

Moreover, looking at his performance, he had high plasticity; perhaps with a little cultivation, he could unleash astonishing potential.

"Xu Qing, right? Would you like to join our Limit Martial Arts Hall?" The middle-aged man thought for a moment before speaking up.

Although Xu Qing was from the Xu Family and would be more likely to join the Underground Alliance if he became a fighter, it was still worth trying to poach him.

Xu Qing scratched his head. "I don't know. I still have to go to university."

Hearing Xu Qing's answer, the middle-aged man wore an expression that said, Are you kidding me? You're already a quasi-fighter, about to become a fighter, and you're telling me you still want to go to university?

"Then why do you want to become a fighter?" the middle-aged man asked him.

"Becoming a fighter allows me to kill monsters. Sister Xin said I can only go kill monsters when I grow up, so I'll become a fighter first," Xu Qing replied.

Hearing this answer, the middle-aged man felt a bit chaotic. So you want to become a fighter first, then go to university, and only then go kill monsters?

Isn't this putting the cart before the horse? Once you've become a fighter, why would you still need to go to university? Shouldn't you be focusing on cultivation and strengthening your power?

Once you have sufficient strength, killing monsters is a natural progression. How can you kill monsters without strength?

Of course, cultivation should be the priority.

"What is going on with you two?" The middle-aged man looked at Xu Gang, his gaze sharp. He didn't believe the Xu Family would be ignorant of such basic things.

A genius is standing right before your eyes, yet you refuse to cherish him, is that it?

Meeting the middle-aged man's gaze, Xu Gang felt immense pressure and offered a sheepish smile, "He only listens to his sister; what the rest of us say doesn't count."

Xu Gang shifted the blame directly, and he wasn't wrong, anyway.

"Where do you attend university?" The middle-aged man decided not to pry into family matters and asked instead.

"Jiangnan University," Xu Qing told him.

"Jiangnan University? It seems your academic grades are excellent," the middle-aged man said in surprise, as Jiangnan University was one of the best universities in Jiangnan Base City.

Furthermore, Jiangnan University was located in the center of Jiangnan Base City, not far from their Limit General Hall in the city center.

"How about this: you join our Limit Martial Arts Hall, come here for training on Saturdays and Sundays, and continue your university studies the rest of the time. Neither side will be neglected, how does that sound?" the middle-aged man proposed.

Out of a desire to cherish talent, he still wanted Xu Qing to join the Limit Martial Arts Hall to receive better cultivation.

"Xiao Qing is still a prospective martial artist right now. According to the rules, only martial artists can receive an invitation," Xu Gang spoke up.

The middle-aged man swept a glance at him, "Under normal circumstances, that is true, but there are exceptions. Geniuses can be an exception. Someone like him—a seventeen-year-old prospective martial artist—I consider a genius. With just a little cultivation, he can become a powerful martial artist."

"What our Limit Martial Arts Hall lacks most is talent."