The assessment begins

"Of course, the assessment doesn't end here."

"The ten people on each platform will have to keep fighting!"

"In the end, only one person can remain on each platform."

"As long as you're the last one standing, you'll receive ten Qi-Nourishing Pills."

"The pharmacists at the Artisans' Hall refine these from all sorts of precious medicinal ingredients. They're excellent for replenishing qi and blood."

After the fat man finished speaking, he began assigning people to the platforms without waiting for anyone to react.

He didn't care whether the numbers were even, simply pointing people toward platforms at random.

As long as the numbers were roughly equal, that was good enough.

In less than half an incense stick's time, everyone had been assigned.

Lu Mian happened to be assigned to the platform in the middle.

Although the platform was large, having nearly fifty or sixty people standing on it at once made it quite crowded.

Everyone also had to stay on guard against the people beside them, making the atmosphere extremely tense.

"This assessment really is anything goes."

"But it certainly tests everyone's ability to react on the spot."

Lu Mian remained perfectly composed, standing wherever he pleased without showing the slightest wariness toward those around him.

The big fat man looked at the people on the ten platforms, the flesh on his face squeezing his eyes into slits, and declared without warning, "Begin!"

Lu Mian reacted fastest. The instant the big fat man's words fell, he spread his arms like two giant pythons thrashing about, grabbed the two people beside him, and hurled them away!

Before the two unlucky souls could react, their world spun as they were thrown off.

The others finally reacted as well, attacking the people beside them.

In an instant, all ten platforms descended into utter chaos.

Roars, screams, cracking bones, laughter...

All sorts of strange sounds mingled together.

Figures were constantly sent flying off the platforms, landing on the ground and wailing without end.

"Now this is lively!"

"This is just what I like watching."

The big fat man watched from the sidelines, grinning from ear to ear.

"Fatty, what are you laughing so loudly for?"

A burly man with sharply upswept eyebrows and a square face walked out from deeper inside the Guard Hall.

"What, you're not even letting me laugh now?"

"Honestly."

The fat man rolled his eyes at him.

"I never said that."

"Anyone particularly impressive in this assessment?"

The burly man asked.

"There are a few promising ones..."

"The corpse collector on platform five has a good Tortoise-Snake Fist."

"And that woman on platform nine-her Flowing Water Palm has a little something to it."

"There's a fellow from the Agriculture Office on platform ten who's got plenty of strength."

For all his laughter, the fat man actually had a thorough grasp of what was happening on the platforms.

"Oh..."

Hearing this, the burly man began observing as well.

He started with platform five.

He saw a gray-clad corpse collector at the edge of the platform. His movements were nimble and fluid as a snake's, yet his palms were steady and powerful, sending someone flying with every strike.

Movement and stillness combined... not bad...

The burly man nodded inwardly.

Next came platform nine.

The woman the fat man had mentioned was small and thin. She flowed through the crowd like water, and no one could touch her.

That was a strategy too.

As long as she could keep dodging and become one of the last ten people on the platform, she would pass the assessment.

As for platform ten...

A broad, muscular young man charged around the platform like a wild bull.

His iron fists swept in every direction, and no one could stop him.

"This fellow... he's naturally strong. A good prospect for martial training."

The burly man was very interested in the young man on platform ten.

"What, Commander Mo? Tempted?"

The fat man asked with a grin.

"And you're not tempted, Commander Pang?"

The burly man asked in return.

"I only believe in myself."

The fat man shrugged and spoke nonchalantly.

Mo Dashan said no more, focusing on the fighting across the platforms.

Lu Mian handled the chaotic melee on his platform with ease.

He simply stood at the edge. Anyone who dared approach him was sent away with a palm strike.

But if they stayed out of his area, Lu Mian wouldn't launch any attacks.

The people on platform five seemed to have realized that Lu Mian was not someone to provoke. No one dared approach his area, fighting the others instead.

No one wants to play with me anymore...?

Lu Mian felt that he hadn't even broken a sweat yet and shook his head inwardly.

He stood in his patch of space, watching the number of people on the platform dwindle.

"Stop fighting!"

As soon as only ten people remained on platform five, the Patrol Guard watching below immediately shouted for them to stop.

This meant that everyone still standing on the platform had passed the assessment and could join the Guard Hall.

At those words, the people on platform five cheered.

Joining the Guard Hall meant they could move into the outer city and no longer had to stay in the Refugee District! It meant they no longer had to do those grueling, exhausting jobs! It meant they could have more resources for cultivation!

In short... their lives had changed completely.

Only Lu Mian still wore the numb, indifferent expression of an ordinary corpse collector.

Soon afterward, the results from the other platforms came in one after another.

Clap, clap, clap~~

The big fat man, Pang Hai, clapped his hands and laughed. "Congratulations on successfully joining the Guard Hall."

"But the fighting isn't over yet... you'll have to keep fighting until there's only one person left on your platform!"

"Then... begin!"

Pang Hai didn't even give them time to rest, directly announcing the start of the fight.

Only this could test a person's true strength.

Platform five.

Lu Mian narrowed his eyes slightly.

Of everyone on the platform, he alone wore gray, while all the others wore yellow.

That meant they were all from the Agriculture Office.

The Agriculture Office was enormous and had many members. These fellows might not even know one another.

But now, their matching clothes seemed to create an unspoken understanding. Instead of attacking one another, they took up positions to surround Lu Mian at the edge of the platform.

"That corpse collector's being singled out."

"Nine against one. Absolutely shameless."

Pang Hai spoke with a cheeky grin.

Though he said that, he had no intention of stopping them.

Such behavior was permitted in the first place.

"What a shame... bad luck."

Mo Dashan shook his head.

He didn't think Lu Mian stood much chance of winning.

Although his Tortoise-Snake Fist was good, two fists could hardly contend with eighteen hands, especially when his opponents were no weaklings either.

It would be difficult to turn things around under these circumstances.

Pang Hai didn't answer, his gaze fixed on platform five.

He wanted to see how many opponents Lu Mian could defeat.

"Corpse collector, consider yourself unlucky!"

"Everyone, attack together! We'll knock him out first, then settle things among ourselves."

A burly man with dark skin and ugly features shouted.

Whoosh!

All nine attacked at once.

The fist technique practiced by the Agriculture Office wasn't the Tortoise-Snake Fist, but the Wild Ox Fist.

This fist technique greatly increased strength and was simple and brutal.

As the men from the Agriculture Office threw their heavy punches, they resembled crazed wild oxen lowering their heads to bare their horns, charging together like a herd straight at Lu Mian.

Whoosh!

Lu Mian remained calm and didn't meet them head-on. Moving with the uncanny speed of a slithering snake, he found a tiny gap in the herd's encircling attack and slipped straight through.