Cruel Reality
As the time came, a long bell rang, marking the official start of the Federation's most important exam.
The place where Mu Fan was located was a place where no one was mediocre. If one did not have enough confidence in oneself, or if one did not have the talent of a dragon or phoenix in one's youth, no one would dare to participate in this kind of test.
"To reiterate, if the basic standards are not met, you will be immediately expelled and disqualified from applying for the following year."
This is incredibly ruthless. They set age and Physical Standard; failing any one of them means fraud. Not only will you be disqualified from this exam, but you'll also be disqualified from the following year. The chances of still being under 20 the year after next are extremely slim.
"Candidates whose last four digits are 001-050, please enter the room."
Mu Fan glanced at his exam admission ticket: 697. Still a long way to go.
"The first item is Bone Age Detection."
"What? Wasn't my age already verified through my ID card?"
"I registered my age a few months too early, what should I do!?"
The stern-faced examiner completely ignored the complaints of the candidates below, and instead focused on recording everyone's test information.
Mu Fan watched as the group placed their hands into a large metal imaging device one by one. Then, a faint blue light appeared, and the screen displayed the examinees' bone age in real time.
The equipment sponsored by the Federation Military is undoubtedly at a higher level than civilian equipment, and under such rigorous machine testing, everyone's age is completely revealed.
"Candidate No. 1, 19 years and 107 days old, passed."
"Candidate No. 2, 18 years and 311 days old, passed."
"Candidate No. 44, 20 years and 50 days old, is not approved."
A warning sound rang out, followed by a burst of red light.
"I'm not even 20 years old yet! I still need two months to get my ID card!!" A relatively burly young man shouted in disbelief, unable to believe that he would stop at the first stage.
"Hmph, trying to be clever. Don't question the military's methods." With the lieutenant's wave of his hand, a group of heavily armed soldiers stepped forward and pinned the examinee down.
The candidate struggled desperately, unwilling to be eliminated like this. With a burst of brute force, the young man broke free from the soldier's control and rushed towards the examiners' area.
"Look at me! I have a physique of almost level 16. I'm amazing! I'm sure I can meet your requirements!" the candidate said excitedly as he promoted himself.
"Hmph!" The lieutenant's eyes turned cold as he saw the examinee's back. He pushed off with his feet and rushed away like the wind.
The lieutenant caught up with the examinee in just three leaps, and in the midst of his rapid sprint, he twisted his body forcefully and kicked the examinee in the back with his right leg.
The candidate also sensed the commotion behind him, laughed, and said, "I knew the examiners wouldn't give up on me. Are you testing my abilities? I'll show you."
The examinee slammed on the brakes and turned around abruptly, his right fist retracting to his abdomen before being launched out with a swift and unpredictable twisting motion.
"This guy's pretty good, isn't that the B-rank Fighting Technique 'Yan Chaoyang '?"
Some sharp-eyed people in the audience noticed the young man's move. He was able to use this move the instant he was attacked, which meant he was definitely a very skilled person.
The lieutenant's cold face remained expressionless as he thrust his right leg straight in.
Mu Fan could see that the young man intended to avoid the lieutenant's leg and then punch his abdomen, but his keen observation also caught a sneer on the lieutenant's face.
The young man's face showed a look of horror. He suddenly realized that the lieutenant's leg speed had doubled.
Advancing Kick!
It was too late. The lieutenant suddenly burst forth with twice the speed of before, his military boots kicking the young man hard in the stomach.
The young man spat out a cloud of blood, then was kicked away with even greater speed, landing on the ground ten meters away, his fate unknown.
"Drag him away for treatment, then get the hell out of here."
The lieutenant stood with his legs drawn up, and with a command, several soldiers stepped forward and dragged the barely alive young man away.
With blood streaming down his chest and around his mouth, the young man was being dragged away from the scene in such a pitiful state. A chill ran down the spines of the examinees present. Just what rank was this lieutenant?!
The military actually dared to take such ruthless measures!
The teenagers and young people who had just turned 18 finally realized that this examination hall was not the peaceful and prosperous scene they had imagined, but a military field full of brutal elimination.
Here, the military doesn't care about your background. If you're qualified, you can continue; if you're not, you're out!
The observers from the Five Great Academies —no, the Four Great Academies —didn't show the slightest fluctuation on their faces. They had seen this situation many times before. There were only so many spots available, and they had witnessed all sorts of methods people used to try and get in.
However, each college will only accept 10 students!
As for who it is, well, the one who stays until the end will remain.
The lieutenant's gleaming military boots flashed in the minds of everyone present. He looked at the silent scene with satisfaction and said in a cold voice, "This is a special recruitment point of the Federation Army. Anyone who wants to cause trouble, I can guarantee that you won't leave here standing up."
"Testing continues!"
With the lieutenant's order, the tense but orderly testing resumed, as if nothing had happened.
Two more people were discovered before Mu Fan, but this time they obediently followed the soldiers away from the scene. They didn't want to follow in the footsteps of the guy in front of them.
Finally, it was Mu Fan Mu Fan's turn, and he put his hand in.
"Candidate Number 697, 17 years and 190 days old, passed."
Mu Fan passed the Bone Age Detection successfully.
Finally, out of the 790 people present, 3 were eliminated, and 787 passed. The youngest was 16 years old, making Mu Fan one of the younger ones in the group.
"Very good. Now we will proceed with the second test, the Physical Standard Test. As I said before, if anyone is found to be below the basic standard, they will be immediately expelled and disqualified from applying next year. As for those who cause trouble, you know the consequences." The lieutenant appeared and continued to instruct on the second test.
"The Physical Standard Test has begun. Ten people will enter at a time, and ten specially appointed level 18 Martial Arts Grandmaster will test their endurance. The strength test will be conducted using a level 2a Strength Testing Instrument ranging from level 1 to 25."
When Mu Fan heard this, he was taken aback. The so-called Martial Arts Grandmaster actually had connections with the military... He'd probably have to use the title of "Black Fan Grandmaster" for a few more days; would that cause any trouble?
"Numbers 1-10 will be admitted."
Ten candidates entered the room in a row. At this point, the college examiners finally became interested and began to give their first scores based on the candidates' performance.
"Strength test begins!"
The ten candidates looked excited.
One of the candidates took the lead, and after the young man had been gathering his strength for a long time, he threw a heavy punch.
2780kg!
Level 15, passed!
All the candidates in the audience were intrigued as the main event finally began, providing an excellent opportunity to observe potential competitors.
Compared to the other candidates around him, Mu Fan was relatively thin and inconspicuous. His eyes were like those of a hawk, watching the scene intently.
His eyes revealed utter calmness; at this moment, every action of everyone, from the examiners to the candidates, was reflected in his mind in great detail.
The Dark Breath has already been quietly unleashed!
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P. S.: Thanks to readers "Professional Free Reader" for the 200 coins, and "Blood in the Glazed Moon" and "Illusory God Fengyun" for the 100 coins each!
Thanks to the book friends "Morning Wind and Shadow" for 50 coins, "Under the Qinghu Mountain" and "Soviet Armored Infantry" for 20 coins, "Quietly watching your outfits" and "C Qi Da Da" for 10 coins!