Dong Nanbiao

After a stifling breakfast at home, unable to bear the atmosphere any longer, Lu Yunhe hurriedly left for the city's only Martial Artist Hall.

Lu Yunhe had passed this building several times before, but he had never had the chance to enter. Now, he could finally experience what it was like to advance as a martial artist.

"I'm here to be certified as a martial artist!"

After being stopped by the two soldiers holding submachine guns at the entrance, Lu Yunhe stated his purpose.

"Please come in!"

Upon hearing Lu Yunhe's words, the stern expressions on the two soldiers' faces eased. They let him through without much obstruction.

There was no showing off or face-slapping here. At this time, nearly everyone who came to be certified as a martial artist would be sent to the battlefield.

This was entirely different from after the Grand Nirvana, when becoming a martial artist meant rising above others and reaching the peak of one's life. In this era, official martial artists were basically the same as soldiers.

As he entered the hall, Lu Yunhe found the entire place nearly empty, cold and deserted.

"Hello!"

Lu Yunhe went to the front desk and explained why he was there. His young age and bright, handsome appearance surprised the receptionist somewhat, but her hands never stopped working.

"Please wait. I'll contact someone for you right away!"

"Thank you!"

Lu Yunhe nodded and casually looked around the hall. He did not see any equipment such as punching-force testers, speed testers, or neural reaction testing devices.

So even if I gain one or two thousand kilograms of strength as soon as I break through and become an Intermediate Warrior, there's no way to shock anyone!

Thinking of the comprehensive testing conditions of later generations, Lu Yunhe could not help feeling a little regretful.

During the Grand Nirvana period, when the assessment system was extremely incomplete, whether someone was a martial artist mainly depended on whether they had comprehended cosmic energy.

"Hahaha! Are you the young man here to be certified as a martial artist?"

Accompanied by a hearty voice, a towering, broad-shouldered, muscular man walked up to Lu Yunhe.

"General Dong!"

Seeing who it was, Lu Yunhe was slightly surprised. He had not expected to encounter this man during a mere martial artist certification.

General Dong Nanbiao was Dragon City's only War God Level martial artist. He had saved countless civilians from monsters on numerous occasions and could be called the guardian deity of the entire city.

As a resident of the city, Lu Yunhe naturally knew him. He had not expected a War God Level martial artist to come personally for such a minor certification.

"Compared to 'General,' I prefer being called 'Instructor'!"

Dong Nanbiao stepped forward and heavily patted Lu Yunhe on the shoulder. When the latter's body did not budge in the slightest, he was somewhat surprised. "Kid, you've got a pretty good physique!"

As he spoke, Dong Nanbiao forcibly pressed Lu Yunhe along and led him out of the hall.

"I work out regularly!"

Lu Yunhe tried to break free, but the gap in strength between a Warrior and a War God was simply too great. He had no ability to resist at all. Even using his clone's strength, he was still far behind.

"Instructor Dong, does even a martial artist assessment require you personally?"

Unable to resist, Lu Yunhe simply gave up and voiced the question in his heart.

"Martial artists..."

Dong Nanbiao's expression turned somewhat more solemn. "There have only been 322 registered martial artists in the entire protected zone so far. Including you, only 151 martial artists are still alive."

Hearing the number Dong Nanbiao gave, Lu Yunhe immediately understood. There were simply too few martial artists, and every one of them was worth this War God coming personally.

In fact, even decades later, martial artists still made up only around one in ten thousand humans. They remained a minority.

It was only because, by then, at least a hundred million people were crowded into a single city that the number of martial artists appeared greater.

"We're here!"

Dong Nanbiao brought Lu Yunhe to an open concrete training ground, then released him.

"Hit me with everything you have. Let me see your strength."

With such a crude venue and no professional equipment, Dong Nanbiao could only use his own body as a punching-force tester.

"All right!"

Seeing this, Lu Yunhe cast aside his distracting thoughts and began adjusting his condition.

Lu Yunhe clenched his fist and took a deep breath. His body lowered slightly as he exerted force from his waist, gathering powerful strength from his entire body into his hand.

Now that he knew the identity of the man before him, Lu Yunhe had no intention of holding back. It would be ridiculous for a Warrior-level martial artist to worry about injuring a War God Level martial artist.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Lu Yunhe, his strength fully charged, moved. He threw punch after punch into Dong Nanbiao's palm.

After the barrage of strikes, Lu Yunhe felt thoroughly exhilarated, as though he had just completed an intense warm-up.

"Not bad... not bad!"

Once Lu Yunhe stopped, Dong Nanbiao immediately praised him from the side.

"You just became a martial artist, right? But the strength in your fists is impressive even among Intermediate Warriors."

Dong Nanbiao rubbed his smooth chin in thought. "Based on my experience as a human-shaped target, your strength should be close to 3,000 kilograms. That makes you an Intermediate Warrior."

"Three thousand kilograms..."

Lu Yunhe fell into thought. The Illustrated Compendium had only shown that he was at the Apprentice Second Stage. He had not expected to have already completed half the accumulation needed for the second stage. He was not far from the Apprentice Third Stage now.

"You probably don't know the exact classification of martial artist strength yet, do you?"

Seeing the thoughtful expression on Lu Yunhe's face, Dong Nanbiao assumed he did not know the specifics.

"According to the regulations issued by the government, martial artists are divided into three levels and nine stages: Warrior, War General, and War God. Each level has Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced ranks, corresponding respectively to Apprentice First through Ninth Stage.

"The strength of a Beginner Warrior is 1,000 to 2,000 kilograms; an Intermediate Warrior, 2,000 to 4,000 kilograms; and an Advanced Warrior, 4,000 to 8,000 kilograms.

"A Beginner War General has 8,000 to 16,000 kilograms; an Intermediate General, 16,000 to 32,000 kilograms; and an Advanced General, 32,000 to 64,000 kilograms.

"A Beginner War God has 64,000 to 128,000 kilograms; an Intermediate War God, 128,000 to 256,000 kilograms; and an Advanced War God, 256,000 to 512,000 kilograms."

"My current strength is that of a Beginner War God, though I'm not far from becoming an Intermediate War God."

A faint look of pride appeared on Dong Nanbiao's face. The martial artist system had existed for less than three years, yet he had already reached the War God level. That talent was already quite remarkable.

Dong Nanbiao then put away his smug expression, patted Lu Yunhe on the shoulder, and said solemnly, "Brother Yunhe, your aptitude is higher than mine. You reached the level of an Intermediate Warrior the moment you became a martial artist. Given time, you will surely surpass my achievements."

"Moreover, War God is not the end of the martial artist path. I believe that one day, you may even stand above the War God level."

Hearing Dong Nanbiao's words, Lu Yunhe lowered his head slightly and smiled. "Brother Dong, do you say that to every martial artist?"

Making a burly man like Dong Nanbiao put on an act was truly asking too much. As a transmigrator, Lu Yunhe was completely immune to this kind of inspirational talk.

Surpass a War God? Who are you looking down on?

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