An Astonishing Debut

Three days later, the Martial Artist Combat Assessment was held as scheduled.

The assessment took place in a Wilderness Zone on the outskirts of Jiangnan Base City. Humans had cleared this area and made it safe, but low-level monsters still appeared from time to time, making it ideal for assessing new Martial Artists.

Besides Luo Feng, nineteen other newcomers who had passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment took part. They were divided into four groups of five and had to survive in the wilderness for three days, with each person hunting down at least one Junior Beast General-level monster.

"The rules are simple," the instructor in charge of the assessment said loudly, standing before the twenty newcomers. "You have three days, and each of you must kill at least one Junior Beast General. You can act alone or form teams. But remember, if your life is in danger, fire your signal flare immediately, and we'll come to your rescue at once. However..."

He paused, sweeping his gaze over everyone. "Once you fire your signal flare, you fail the assessment. So don't give up lightly."

"Yes!"

The twenty answered in unison, then entered the Wilderness Zone in batches.

Luo Feng was assigned to the third group. Of the other four in his group, two were newcomers like him, while the other two were "old hands" who had failed the assessment several times.

"Luo Feng, want to team up?" a young man named Wang Tong offered. "It's safer in a team, and we can split the monsters we kill evenly."

Luo Feng shook his head. "No, I want to go alone."

Wang Tong was a little disappointed, but he didn't press him. As he saw it, a newcomer like Luo Feng who dared go solo on his first assessment either had real strength or didn't know how high the heavens were or how deep the earth ran. Either way, it was none of his concern.

Luo Feng headed deeper into the wilderness alone, his footsteps light and steady.

His perception had improved enormously after his genetic optimization. Not the slightest rustle of wind or grass within several hundred meters escaped his eyes and ears. The scents lingering in the air also allowed him to tell what types of monsters had passed through the area.

"Northeast, about three hundred meters away, there's a Junior Beast General-level Single-Horned Wild Boar." Luo Feng quickly locked onto his first target.

He crept over without a sound.

The Single-Horned Wild Boar was gnawing on something beneath a large tree, completely unaware of the approaching danger. This kind of monster had thick hide and tough flesh, and the single horn on its head could punch through an armored vehicle. It was a difficult opponent for an ordinary Martial Artist.

But Luo Feng was no ordinary Martial Artist.

Without any fancy moves, he shot forward in a single stride and drove out his right fist!

There was no technique to the punch at all. It was sheer, crushing force.

Bang!

The Single-Horned Wild Boar's head was smashed straight into its chest, and it crashed to the ground before it could even let out a scream.

One punch had killed it.

Luo Feng deftly used his dagger to cut off the Single-Horned Wild Boar's left ear-proof of his kill for the assessment. Then, without stopping, he continued searching for his next target.

In just half a day, he had killed eight Junior Beast General-level monsters, far exceeding the assessment requirements.

But instead of hurrying back to report his results, he continued deeper into the wilderness.

He wanted to test where his current limits lay.

Toward evening, Luo Feng reached the depths of a dense forest. The trees were tall and thick, blotting out the sky and the sun, and the atmosphere was dark and eerie.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Heavy breathing came from the bushes ahead. A moment later, an enormous figure slowly emerged.

It was a giant wolf, pitch-black from head to toe, standing over two meters at the shoulder and nearly five meters long. Its entire body radiated a ferocious aura. Its ghostly green eyes stared fixedly at Luo Feng, and the drool dripping from its mouth corroded little pits in the ground.

An Advanced Beast General-level Black-Scaled Wolf!

Luo Feng's expression grew grave.

An Advanced Beast General was equivalent to a human Advanced Warrior or even a Junior War General. Monsters of this level had thick hide and tough flesh, moved fast, and struck hard. To ordinary Martial Artists, they were nightmares.

But what filled Luo Feng's eyes was excitement more than anything else.

Finally, a worthy opponent.

The Black-Scaled Wolf let out a low growl and pushed off fiercely with all four legs, pouncing at Luo Feng like a bolt of black lightning. It was incredibly fast, and its sharp claws carved several streaks of cold light through the air.

Luo Feng dodged to the side and swung a fist back at the Black-Scaled Wolf's waist.

Copper head, iron tail, tofu waist: a wolf-type monster's weak point was its waist, a fact every Martial Artist knew.

But the Black-Scaled Wolf reacted even faster. It forcibly twisted its body in midair, taking Luo Feng's punch head-on with its back, which was covered in black scales.

Bang!

The Black-Scaled Wolf was knocked back several meters, and several cracks appeared in the scales on its back, but it had suffered no fatal injury. Luo Feng, meanwhile, felt a sharp pain across his knuckles. The black scales were harder than he had expected.

"Interesting." Luo Feng flexed his wrist, the fighting spirit in his eyes growing stronger.

For the next few minutes, man and wolf fought fiercely in the dense forest. The Black-Scaled Wolf's speed and defense were both extraordinary. Although Luo Feng's fists could hurt it, landing a fatal blow was difficult. The Black-Scaled Wolf's claws and fangs also posed a considerable threat to Luo Feng; one careless move could leave him disemboweled.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes of fighting, Luo Feng caught an opening.

The Black-Scaled Wolf landed unsteadily after a pounce, its body thrown slightly off balance. Luo Feng seized that fleeting opportunity, unleashed all his strength, and slammed a fist into its lower spine!

Crack!

A crisp sound of breaking bone rang out. The Black-Scaled Wolf let out a piercing, agonized howl, its hindquarters losing all strength as it collapsed to the ground.

Luo Feng gave it no chance to recover. He struck the same spot with several consecutive punches, completely severing the Black-Scaled Wolf's spine.

The Advanced Beast General-level Black-Scaled Wolf was dead!

Luo Feng panted heavily and plopped down on the ground. Although he had won the fight, he had used up most of his stamina, and wolf claws had left several wounds on his body.

"I'm still not strong enough," he muttered. "If I were a little faster and a little stronger, I wouldn't have had to fight for so long."

Just then, a familiar system notification suddenly sounded in his mind-no, it wasn't his own system, but a voice coming from a trace of divine sense Qin Yuan had previously left on him:

"You fought well. But your fighting style is still too crude. Come back to the warehouse, and I'll give you your second lesson."

Luo Feng froze for a moment, then a look of delighted surprise appeared on his face.

"Yes, teacher!"

Without stopping to rest, he gave his wounds a quick treatment, took the Black-Scaled Wolf's left ear as proof, and hurried toward the outskirts of the Wilderness Zone.

Three days later, the results of the Martial Artist Combat Assessment were announced.

Of the twenty newcomers who had taken the assessment, thirteen passed. Luo Feng's results had once again broken the Dojo of Limits' record:

Junior Beast Generals killed: 16

Intermediate Beast Generals killed: 3

Advanced Beast Generals killed: 1

These results were beyond what a newcomer Martial Artist could achieve; even many veteran War Generals might not be able to match them.

Luo Feng's name began to spread through the Martial Artist circles of Jiangnan Base City.

By then, he had returned to the warehouse in the abandoned industrial district, ready for Qin Yuan's second lesson.