A replay of the battle played on the screen.
Only when the instructors slowed it down tenfold did they understand how Chu Tiannan had instantly overwhelmed Liu Cheng, leaving him utterly unable to fight back.
Everyone fell silent.
"This Chu Tiannan..." After a long while, one of the white-robed instructors, an Intermediate Martial Master, spoke in a low voice, his face grave.
"His movement speed is faster than mine!"
"And... faster than mine!"
"Although his attacks are still somewhat lacking, his speed is already astonishing. Clearly, he practiced a movement technique manual before this."
The instructors who had previously dismissed him now felt their faces burning, especially after Chu Tiannan had ended the battle with such speed.
He had truly stunned them.
Seeing several chief instructors of equal standing looking so thoroughly humbled, Wang Jinhai wore a radiant smile.
After all, he was the one who had recruited Chu Tiannan. The greater the strength and potential Chu Tiannan displayed...
The more secure Wang Jinhai's position would become. If Chu Tiannan truly soared to greatness...
Then he would also receive a commendation from the headquarters.
"Heh, interesting." Li Dongjie, who had remained silent until now, slowly smiled.
"Deputy Hall Master!"
"Deputy Hall Master!" All the instructors bowed with utmost respect. After all, this eminent figure was one of the deputy hall masters of the East Martial Arts Hall in South China Base City!
Whether in status or standing, even all the instructors here combined could not compare to him!
"No need to be so formal. I came here mainly to watch this youngster," Li Dongjie said, watching with interest as the young figure in the core area fought Demon Beasts without pause.
"It's been a long time since our East Martial Arts Hall's South China branch has seen a talent like this..."
"Fortunately, the North Martial Arts Hall didn't snatch him away!"
The surrounding instructors all nodded at his words. After all, although the China Alliance's two major martial arts hall systems were utterly united against outsiders...
Within the China Alliance, open rivalry and covert struggles were inevitable. This was also a form of competition and progress tacitly permitted by the halls' highest leadership.
So, with Chu Tiannan having joined the East Martial Arts Hall and taking the Martial Artist assessment as a Junior Martial Master, he might very well give them an edge over the North Martial Arts Hall.
And getting the better of the North Martial Arts Hall was something the people of the East Martial Arts Hall would be very happy about.
"Let's see whether this youngster can keep surprising me." With that, Li Dongjie resumed drinking his tea and silently watching the screen, saying no more.
The surrounding instructors secretly breathed sighs of relief and continued their discussions in twos and threes.
Splat!
A cold gleam flashed past. Blood instantly sprayed along its path, and the burly Demon Beast's body let out a mournful cry.
Then it collapsed unwillingly.
Carried by its momentum, the pig-like Demon Beast with enormous tusks scraped a long furrow across the ground before finally stopping.
Ding!
Chu Tiannan had dispatched the Giant-Toothed Pig with ease this time, and the battle record on his black wristband increased by one.
His displayed battle record had now reached an astonishing "176."
That was an exceptionally high score in the city ruins assessment!
I'm only ninth with a battle record of 176? Only after his battle record entered the top hundred had Chu Tiannan discovered that this assessment also offered battle record ranking rewards.
Prospective Martial Artists whose battle records placed them in the top hundred would all receive rewards of varying tiers after the assessment ended.
Martial Artists ranked tenth through one hundredth would receive five million in Earth Currency.
Those ranked fifth through ninth would receive ten million in Earth Currency.
Second through fourth would receive thirty million!
As for first place...
First place gets fifty million in Earth Currency, plus the right to freely choose a combat team below Martial God Level to train with...
After learning this, Chu Tiannan had begun slaughtering Demon Beasts in large numbers.
Many Prospective Martial Artists avoided Demon Beasts once their battle records reached the qualifying threshold.
Chu Tiannan, however, frantically sought out Demon Beasts to kill in the core area, roaming their dangerous territories without the slightest fear.
He had gone from an unknown Prospective Martial Artist to someone people knew because his ranking had shot up more than seventy places overnight.
This had also gradually earned the black-clad Chu Tiannan a reputation within the core area, because to others, the young man in black seemed bloodthirsty by nature.
Thus, many Prospective Martial Artists called him Little Shura.
Chu Tiannan paid little heed to this title, because his goal was first place in the battle record rankings!
Although fifty million in Earth Currency was tempting, the right to train with a combat team below Martial God Level was even more maddeningly alluring!
After all, once someone became a Martial Artist, joining the Martial Artist combat team system was inevitable. Only through teamwork...
Could they grow and improve more effectively.
To a Martial Grandmaster Level combat team, the Martial Artist assessment was no more noteworthy than children fighting.
But whoever took first place in the assessment could directly choose a Martial Grandmaster Level combat team and apply to join it.
The team could not refuse on any grounds. That had been the rule for years!
For Chu Tiannan and the others, such an opportunity could only be encountered, never sought!
Yet even though Chu Tiannan had killed practically every Demon Beast he saw over the past dozen or so days, his battle record was still only 176.
First place had a terrifying battle record of 1,100!
Looks like hunting Demon Beasts is nowhere near as productive as robbery... Originally, Chu Tiannan had only wanted to find somewhere to train in peace, then wait for the assessment to end after half a month.
Now that hidden rewards had appeared, he naturally had to change his battle strategy.
With a new plan in mind, Chu Tiannan brought up the battle record rankings. His gaze settled on the eighth-ranked Prospective Martial Artist, who had a battle record of 214, and he grinned.
"Then I'll start with you!"