The Cheat Finally Arrived!

August 2.

Early morning.

The sky was barely light. The sun had yet to rise, and a pale streak of dawn glimmered along the eastern horizon.

Wooo~

Piercing sirens suddenly sounded above the town. At the same time, a deep voice rang out over the loudspeakers, echoing throughout the town.

"Time is up. All assessment participants, please proceed to the town exit immediately. Repeat! Time is up. All assessment participants, please proceed to the town exit immediately."

"The assessment is finally over!"

Yun He, who had long been waiting near the exit, breathed a sigh of relief. With one stroke of his sword, he finished off the Shadow Cat he had deliberately kept fighting for over an hour to hone his movement technique and combat experience. The creature was already panting from exhaustion. He cut off its left ear, stowed it in his backpack, and hurried toward the exit.

Along the way, he saw many Quasi-Martial Artists covered in blood. Some were injured and had to be supported by their companions as they made their way out.

Rumble~

The town gates opened, and Yun He immediately rushed out.

Whew~

Outside the town, Yun He breathed in the slightly cool morning air of the wilderness and let out a long breath, releasing the tension he had carried all night.

For a homebody like him, last night had been a little too thrilling.

Fortunately, he had made it through, and he felt he had matured considerably.

At the town exit, the assessment participants trickled out. Most looked exhausted, their bodies stained with blood, whether their own or the monsters'. Clearly, last night had been an ordeal for many of them.

But this was a trial every martial artist had to undergo. After that one night, they had all grown considerably.

Honk, honk~

Piercing horns sounded as trucks drove out of the town, their beds piled high with monster corpses.

One truck pulled off to the side and tipped out a heap of mangled bodies.

They were human corpses!

"Hey, these are the bodies of Quasi-Martial Artists who took the assessment. Someone come collect them."

Severed limbs and broken remains lay piled together, the stench of blood spreading through the cool morning air.

Blergh~

The sight turned Yun He's face green. He turned away and hurried off to one side, where he threw up.

After a night of tempering himself, he had reached the point where seeing corpses no longer made him vomit, and he could stomach the smell of blood. But human corpses were different from monster corpses, after all.

Not far from the town exit, three officers sat recording the Quasi-Martial Artists' assessment results.

"Yun He. Eight monster left ears, no injuries. Not bad. Next!" An officer glanced at Yun He and smiled.

Yun He nodded expressionlessly, then turned to leave.

"That's Yun He? His results don't seem that impressive." Whispers rose around him.

Many Quasi-Martial Artists focused their gazes on Yun He.

Yun He, Luo Feng, Wan Dong, and Ma Xiao were the four participants in this assessment who had been recruited in advance by the Limit Martial Hall and the Thunder Dojo. Naturally, their results drew attention.

"Being physically strong doesn't mean he's good at hunting monsters," someone said disdainfully.

"Look, Luo Feng's coming out!" someone shouted.

Under everyone's gaze, Luo Feng handed over the left ears of the monsters he had killed, forming a small pile.

"Luo Feng, well done. You killed thirty-six monsters in total. That's the highest count so far."

Luo Feng scanned the crowd and quickly spotted Yun He at its edge. He walked over with a smile and asked curiously, "Brother Yun, how many monsters did you kill?"

Yun He gave him an irritated glare and spat out a single word. "Eight!"

"Heh." Luo Feng seemed to understand something. He scratched his head and smiled sheepishly.

A little later, Yang Wu came out as well. He had only killed three monsters and had suffered a minor injury to his left arm. Seeing this made Yun He feel much better.

See? My results were pretty decent.

That evening.

Yun He and Luo Feng returned to the Mingyue Residential Area.

"Luo Feng, Yun He, you're back?"

"Congratulations on passing the assessment!"

"Congratulations, my ass. With their strength, that assessment was practically child's play."

Along the way, martial artists they knew greeted them, and the two responded with smiles.

Luo Feng's family was overjoyed to learn that he had passed the Martial Artist Combat Assessment. They had already prepared a table full of food and were waiting at home.

Luo Feng dragged Yun He home with him, too, so he got a free meal.

Laughter and cheerful chatter filled the meal. Everyone was happy.

Eleven that night.

After showering and taking some time to unwind, Yun He went to the audiovisual room on the second floor.

"Now that I've passed the Martial Artist Combat Assessment and officially become a martial artist, I should be able to log into the Limit Martial Hall's internal network, the Limit Home."

Yun He was filled with anticipation.

Twenty million in starting funds!

Fifty million in credit for purchasing technique manuals!

He switched on the equipment, and an enormous two-hundred-inch screen appeared on the wall.

He entered the Limit Home's web address and verified his fingerprint.

Beep!

Beautiful music filled the audiovisual room, and Yun He's personal page appeared on the screen.

Ding!

Suddenly~

At that moment, a crisp sound rang out in Yun He's mind, leaving him frozen in place.

Congratulations on officially becoming a martial artist. You have received a beginner's gift pack. Would you like to open it?

What the hell!?

For a long moment, Yun He failed to react.

Once he realized what had happened, his entire body began trembling with excitement.

My cheat!!!

Finally!!!

It's arrived!!!

Boohoo~

System, you finally showed up!

Why did you come so late?

I almost didn't live long enough to meet you~

Yun He's eyes grew moist.

After calming himself down, Yun He hurriedly asked, "System, what functions do you have? Could you introduce them?"

He waited a long time, but there was no response.

"Uh."

"System?"

Yun He began to panic, wondering whether he had imagined it. He hurriedly called out again, cautiously.

Still no response.

"System, can you hear me?"

Unwilling to give up, Yun He called out again.

No response.

"System, stop messing around and come out. I need you."

"System, stop playing around. I've already seen you."

"Haha~ System, you're such a prankster. I give up, okay? Come out already. Stop playing."

"Big Brother System, I was wrong. Could you say something? Don't scare me!"

"Daddy System..."

"You little bastard, get out here. I'm your dad!"

"You little bastard, I know you can hear me."

No matter how Yun He called out, there was not the slightest response.

Yun He gritted his teeth, picked up a fruit knife from the table, and held it against his neck.

"System, I'm telling you, you'd better come out right now. Otherwise, one cut and we're both dead. Believe me!"

Yun He held the knife there for a long time, but nothing happened.

He sheepishly lowered the knife and said with a laugh, "Haha, it's our first meeting. I was just joking."

Ding!

Just then, the voice rang out in his mind again. "You have confirmed that you wish to open it!"

Ding!

Beginner's gift pack successfully opened!

Ding!

Congratulations! Items obtained: improved physical aptitude, improved comprehension.

Ding!

Items successfully delivered.

The voice fell silent again.

Yun He's mouth hung open, the successive notifications leaving him dazed.

What did I just say?

How did I suddenly confirm opening it?

Huh?

Just then, a cool sensation emerged in his mind and instantly swept through it like a gentle breeze.

Ah~ That feels so good!

Yun He shivered with pleasure.

It felt as refreshing as drinking a glass of ice water on a scorching summer day.

Coolness filled his mind. His thoughts instantly became much clearer, and he could think through problems at incredible speed.

But it was not over yet.

A warm current emerged from deep within his body, then rapidly spread throughout him.

Ah~

One word.

Bliss!

It was like warming himself beside a stove in winter, so warm and comfortable that it made him want to sleep.

The blissful sensations of ice and fire completely enveloped Yun He, intertwining until every pore in his body opened in pleasure. It felt far, far better than the first time he had absorbed cosmic energy.