In the jungle.
Jabra leaped through the treetops, occasionally glancing behind him.
I hope those two can hold him off a little longer...
But Jabra had not expected them to hold out for very long.
He knew exactly what 850 Doriki Value meant.
If Lucci, with 800 Doriki, got serious, Jabra would not even last ten exchanges against him.
Not to mention Beiyuan Heng, who was even stronger than Lucci.
Jabra would already have been satisfied if those two could make Beiyuan Heng use three moves.
Looks like those two aren't too bad...
Seeing that Beiyuan Heng had not caught up for a long time, Jabra's tense heart relaxed slightly.
If he still did not catch up after a while, then first place in this group would be his for certain.
While Jabra was secretly rejoicing, Beiyuan Heng was speeding above the dense forest.
His speed was so fast that even Laskey, a veteran CP9 agent, was astonished.
However, such an advanced technique did not come without a cost.
Geppo: Air Step: Soru was essentially a combined application of Geppo, Paper Arts, and Soru.
Using even one of the Six Powers consumed a great deal of stamina, let alone three at once.
Even Beiyuan Heng could not use it for long periods.
Fortunately, he had the [Swift (White)] trait.
Swift (White): Your speed is faster, and stamina is slightly reduced while moving.
With this trait, he could use this skill more freely without needing to conserve stamina.
Estimating Jabra's speed, Beiyuan Heng stopped twice to rest at suitable intervals.
As Beiyuan Heng had expected, during his third rest, just before reaching the finish line, he finally saw Jabra.
Beiyuan Heng was now only a few hundred meters from the finish line.
"I've finally been waiting for you..."
A low voice rang beside Jabra's ear, making him, already constantly on guard, jump in shock.
"Who?!"
He sprang backward and finally saw Beiyuan Heng not far from the finish line.
Beiyuan Heng stood atop a huge boulder, arms folded, looking down at Jabra.
"Y-you... how did you get here? I didn't see you at all along the way!"
Jabra stared at Beiyuan Heng in shock, his eyes nearly popping out.
"Flying is faster than running. That's common sense."
Beiyuan Heng smiled. The next instant, his entire body vanished from where he stood.
"Rankyaku!"
A crescent-shaped slash descended from the sky. The blue cutting wave compressed the air itself, and the powerful pressure made Jabra's body tremble uncontrollably.
"Damn it! I won't lose!"
Knowing he could not avoid the attack, Jabra forcibly drove his body onward, pouring all his stamina into every muscle.
"Iron Body!"
The blue cutting wave slammed heavily into Jabra's Iron Body, and cracks spread beneath his feet as he dug them into the ground.
"Aah!!!"
Jabra roared. His suit was ripped apart by his swelling muscles as he finally withstood the Rankyaku.
"Ha ha, that's all you've got..."
Ignoring the huge wound stretching from his shoulder blade to his waist, Jabra raised his head and grinned at Beiyuan Heng.
"Not bad. To take a Rankyaku from me, you've trained your Iron Body well."
Beiyuan Heng raised an eyebrow.
"So what are you going to do next?"
Beiyuan Heng stepped into the air, his body moving at high speed as dozens of cutting waves attacked Jabra.
Faced with the densely packed slashes, a trace of despair rose in Jabra's heart.
"I surrender! I surrender!"
He shouted at Beiyuan Heng, releasing his Iron Body defense and running in the direction opposite the finish line before the Rankyaku could strike him.
"You win! First place is yours! I don't want to get hurt badly enough to be bedridden for a whole year!"
Seeing Jabra surrender, Beiyuan Heng did not make things difficult for him. He shook his head and lowered his arms.
"Shigan: Air Bullet."
Invisible Air Bullets shot from Beiyuan Heng's fingertips and collided with the Rankyaku.
Although those Air Bullets were far less powerful than the Rankyaku, they slowed the cutting waves.
A few seconds later, without striking their target, the Rankyaku naturally dissipated into the air.
"Ah, thank you so much!"
Seeing that he had been saved, Jabra ran toward Beiyuan Heng in tears. "I definitely have to thank you properly!"
Seeing those exaggerated tears, Beiyuan Heng looked thoroughly disgusted.
Just as he was about to tell the other man to stay farther away, a sense of danger suddenly crawled up his spine.
"Shigan: Fang Fist!"
A fist as hard as steel crashed into Beiyuan Heng like a cannonball, forcing him to take a step back.
"Ha ha, the ultimate sneak attack succeeded!"
Jabra's exaggerated tears had vanished, replaced by a broad grin that revealed his delight at the successful ambush.
"So, how was that move of mine..."
Before Jabra could brag for more than a few seconds, he realized that the feeling of hitting Beiyuan Heng's body was wrong.
"Iron Body: Utsugi."
The Shigan that had struck solidly against his opponent's body was, in an instant, as if rebounded by something, returning the entire blow back to him.
His prized Shigan: Fang Fist ultimately landed on his own fist.
The powerful recoil was more than his already battered body could endure. Jabra's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground.
"Honestly..." Beiyuan Heng looked speechless as he watched Jabra lie there, unable to get back up.
If he was going to surrender, he should have just surrendered. Why fake it?
"Since you're so dishonest, I'll beat you up again later."
Shaking his head, he ignored Jabra lying on the ground like a dead dog and headed straight for the tall tower at the center of the island.
The finish line was only a few hundred meters from where the two had fought. The four people who had already completed the assessment, along with the examiner waiting there, were all dumbfounded.
They had already been shocked when they first saw Beiyuan Heng's seemingly flying ability.
When Jabra arrived, they had assumed they would at least get to see an exciting battle.
They had never expected it to be a complete one-sided beating.
Beiyuan Heng had severely injured Jabra with only one Rankyaku.
Afterward, he had displayed incredible defensive power as well.
He was simply a monster without any weaknesses!
Of course, that was how the trainees saw it.
From the CP9 examiner's perspective, Beiyuan Heng's strength was indeed remarkable for someone his age.
Even judging by overall combat power, he had barely reached the threshold of a Commodore.
"Congratulations, Beiyuan Heng. You have successfully become a member of CP9."
As Beiyuan Heng walked toward the finish line, the examiner smiled and spoke to him.
Beiyuan Heng raised an eyebrow. "Isn't this only the second assessment?"
He had not even fought Rob Lucci yet, so how was it already over?!
Was the plan going to fall through?
"That's right. But as long as you pass the second assessment, you count as having joined CP9."
As he explained, the examiner handed Beiyuan Heng a huge full-head mask.
"This is a mask used to conceal your identity during missions, and it is also a symbol of CP9."
"You call this a mask?"
Beiyuan Heng looked at the ridiculous, exaggerated giant headpiece and accepted it with disgust.
He had only ever seen this kind of full-head mask in cosplay.
"This thing... do I have to wear it?"
Seeing Beiyuan Heng's disgusted expression, the examiner felt a little embarrassed too.
He had protested this thing to his superiors before. It was big and heavy, and wearing it for too long would probably give someone cervical spondylosis.
Unfortunately, his superiors had refused, saying it was a CP9 tradition, so he had no choice but to let it go.
"Well, actually, if you don't want to wear it, that's fine..."
the examiner said.
The mask was more symbolic than anything else, a tradition from long ago.
Thinking about it carefully, even someone as senior as Mr. Laskey had not worn a mask in a long time.
"That's good..."
Beiyuan Heng sighed in relief.
If he wore a mask, the cheat ability that could turn other people's impressions of him into traits would not work.
He had specifically tested that.
He looked at the panel in his mind.
[You have obtained a new profession: World Government · CP9 Agent] [You have gained a new opportunity to draw a trait.]
Before you continue