The outskirts of the base city.
In the truest sense, this was no longer a place ordinary people could come.
For this was a vast, ring-shaped stretch of urban outskirts.
Of course, no ordinary people lived here, because the entire area lay in ruins.
Even in the occasional district where high-rises remained intact, several terrifying figures darted among them.
"Notify the army! There aren't enough trial Demon Beasts in the ruins! Hurry and bring in captive Demon Beasts from the other districts... there are too many prospective martial artists this year!"
The military worked with remarkable efficiency. In the blink of an eye, several armed helicopters appeared over the urban ruins, containers hanging beneath them.
Large numbers of all kinds of Demon Beasts were immediately dumped into the ruins.
The Demon Beasts' repeated roars left a lingering sense of dread.
A grim, savage atmosphere pervaded the area, and from time to time, ferocious Demon Beasts in the ruined city charged the defensive perimeter.
Unfortunately, these Demon Beasts had all been raised in human captivity. Though ferocious, they were weak.
They had no chance whatsoever of breaking through the ruined city's defense system.
Thus, these Demon Beasts were destined only to be killed as trial targets.
Of course, there were also countless cases of unlucky souls being devoured by Demon Beasts.
At that moment, multiple army units guarded the ruined city. It was one of the important areas under the China Alliance's absolute control.
Because this was the martial artist assessment grounds!
"So many people..." Standing in the clearing, Chu Tiannan looked somewhat stunned at the bustling scene outside the ruined city.
Large numbers of young people around his age had already arrived. At a glance...
There were over a thousand of them!
The young people wore indifferent expressions. Some were brimming with confidence, and a few even looked disdainful.
There were also extremely nervous prospective martial artists. Some had even been frightened to tears by the Demon Beasts inside the ruined city...
Chu Tiannan had fought his way out of these very Demon Beasts to survive, so he naturally understood them well.
Even so, he reminded himself not to be careless.
Because carelessness would cost him his life before the Demon Beasts!
"Future martial artists! We are the Earth Commercial Alliance!"
Just then, a gently smiling face appeared on the enormous advertising screen in the prospective martial artists' assembly area, drawing every young person's attention, Chu Tiannan included.
They all turned to look!
"We are a Business Alliance spanning the world. We control the world's wealth. Join us, and you will receive the best benefits in the industry..."
Then the gentle face suddenly changed, replaced by a laughing man with fiery red short hair and a shocking knife scar across his face.
"Hahaha! I'm sure you've all heard of our World Mercenary Alliance. A true man's ambitions reach far and wide! Join the alliance, and we'll give you that first rush of passion and better benefits. If you're a brother, come fight!"
"I am Cao Fang, deputy head of the North Martial Arts Hall in South China Base City! The North Martial Arts Hall belongs to the China Alliance. I believe you will grow better under the China Alliance's protection. Protect Huaxia—join the North Martial Arts Hall!"
After the North Martial Arts Hall, a man in gray appeared on the giant screen. Chu Tiannan recognized his armband.
Finally, it's our turn... Chu Tiannan smiled inwardly.
"You all know me, Li Dongjie, so I won't say much. The East Martial Arts Hall has the best cultivation system and better instructors to guide you. In short, one sentence!"
Though the gray-clad man was only on the screen, his faint aura of slaughter made every prospective martial artist's heart tighten.
Even Chu Tiannan could feel that faint pressure.
Li Dongjie gazed down, his voice sweeping through the hearts of all the prospective martial artists.
"Join the East Martial Arts Hall, and live without regrets!"
It had to be said that every faction was a good choice for prospective martial artists. Moreover, in this age of the Great Cataclysm, there were no restrictions to speak of.
Martial artists could freely choose whichever faction they liked, even if some factions belonged to other national alliances.
Even superpowers such as the China Alliance and the European Union could not arbitrarily control martial artists' freedom of choice.
Doing so would only backfire.
At least, Chu Tiannan noticed quite a few young people around him whose eyes lit up at the recruitment advertisements.
"I heard this commercial alliance is made up of renowned families from all over the world, known as the Hundred Families of the Commercial Alliance! It's the richest faction in the world, bar none!"
"Yeah! If I could get into the Business Alliance, I'd be set for a carefree life."
"All you care about is money. I like traveling the world, so the Mercenary Alliance is my goal. It's the world's number one mercenary organization. How could its benefits be bad?"
"The Business Alliance has money, and the Mercenary Alliance offers freedom, but I'll still stay in the China Alliance's martial arts hall system..."
Listening to the whispers around him, Chu Tiannan shook his head with a smile.
"I don't have a choice. I've already signed the contract, after all."
Though Chu Tiannan had come to take the martial artist assessment, what occupied his thoughts at that moment was not how to find a way to complete it.
Chu Tiannan's gaze swept toward the fence around the distant urban ruins.
As he watched those ferocious, savage Demon Beasts, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
Wouldn't it be a waste not to make good use of such an excellent opportunity to hone himself?