In Yi'an District, Yangzhou City, a human safety Base City.
Early in the morning, a group of dojo trainees gathered inside the dojo to wait for news. Luo Feng had, unusually, skipped his tutoring job and was waiting for the results of Zhang Junbao's combat assessment.
In Luo Feng's eyes, given Zhang Junbao's strength, the combat assessment was nothing more than a trial to temper him. He had sparred with Zhang Junbao during this time, and the feeling of being utterly crushed had made him keenly aware of just how powerful Zhang Junbao was.
But Luo Feng was exceptionally strong at heart. The gap did not discourage him; instead, it gave him even greater motivation.
Zhang Junbao had also taught Luo Feng some methods of controlling his body, allowing his strength to improve steadily. As his control over his body increased, his punching force and speed rose rapidly too. Mental reaction speed had always been Luo Feng's strong suit, and it was already close to meeting the requirements for a Quasi-Martial Artist.
He believed that in another month or two, he would surely meet the requirements for a Quasi-Martial Artist and take the assessment.
Just as Luo Feng was making plans for his future, he saw Jiang Nian return, with Yang Wu following behind him.
But something seemed off about Jiang Nian's expression. Had Brother Yang failed the assessment?
"Instructor!" Although he sensed that something was wrong with the atmosphere, Luo Feng still spoke up softly.
Jiang Nian looked up at Luo Feng, regret showing in his eyes, but said nothing.
"Sigh! Instructor, Luo Feng will find out about this sooner or later." Yang Wu sighed and spoke dejectedly.
"Did Brother Yang fail the assessment? You're so strong. Even if you didn't pass this time, you'll definitely pass next time!" Luo Feng held back his doubts and comforted Yang Wu.
"Luo Feng, it's not as simple as you think. I passed the assessment this time. I'm officially a martial artist now," Yang Wu explained.
"Ah! I jumped to conclusions. I haven't even congratulated you yet, Brother Yang.
"Brother Yang, congratulations on becoming a martial artist. May your martial path be smooth and prosperous from now on!
"By the way, how come I don't see Junbao?"
Luo Feng finally asked the question on his mind.
"Luo Feng, something unexpected happened during the assessment. Two Beast General Level monsters attacked the assessment town. To save the other Quasi-Martial Artists taking the assessment, Junbao held off both monsters alone.
"In the end, one monster died and the other escaped. Junbao killed the one that died, but he was caught by the other monster, a Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle... whether he's alive or dead is unknown!"
Seeing the anxious look in Luo Feng's eyes, Jiang Nian told him what had happened after all. The first time he had met Zhang Junbao, Luo Feng had brought him along. Yet this time, he had failed to bring Zhang Junbao back to see Luo Feng.
"Alive... or dead is unknown? What does that mean?"
Luo Feng froze. He couldn't believe it. Why was it unknown whether Zhang Junbao was alive or dead?
He had long since asked the seniors at the dojo and learned that powerful human fighters at the War General Level would oversee the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, ensuring that nothing could go wrong.
"Weren't there powerful human fighters at the assessment site? Why? Why was Junbao taken by a monster?" Luo Feng roared.
With Zhang Junbao's guidance during this time, Luo Feng felt his strength had improved by leaps and bounds. His relationship with this classmate, who was both teacher and friend, had long since become something special.
And now Jiang Nian was telling Luo Feng that a monster from outside had taken Zhang Junbao right in front of powerful human fighters. Even if he had been told that Zhang Junbao had been killed by a monster inside the assessment grounds, it would have been easier to accept than this news.
"Of those two monsters, one was the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, an Intermediate Beast General, and the other was a Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle, an Advanced Beast General. Although three powerful human Advanced Warlords were present, none of them could fly.
"After Supervisor Zhuge severely wounded both monsters, Zhang Junbao seized the chance to kill the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle. But the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle used that opportunity to seize him. Even though two powerful human fighters severely wounded it, it still relied on its advantage as a flying beast to forcibly carry Zhang Junbao away.
"The Limits Dojo, the Thunder Dojo, and the Military have all sent out War God Level fighters to search and rescue him.
"But you have to understand, the Sword-Beaked Dragon Eagle can fly at five times the speed of sound. Even severely wounded, it can still break the sound barrier.
"The Wilderness Zone is so vast that even with War God Level fighters searching, there's not much hope."
Jiang Nian gritted his teeth as he explained. He knew the news was a considerable blow to Luo Feng, but as a martial artist, Jiang Nian had long since grown accustomed to brothers being parted, sometimes by life and sometimes by death.
Perhaps this was also an early test for Luo Feng. Jiang Nian had seen Luo Feng's progress during this time and had originally thought that, before long, two genius martial artists would emerge from his dojo.
No one had expected such a thing to happen during a Quasi-Warrior Assessment. It was such a pity that a genius like Zhang Junbao had fallen just like that.
As for the chance that Zhang Junbao could survive, Jiang Nian felt that thinking so was merely deceiving himself. A Beginner Martial Artist who had just passed the Quasi-Warrior Assessment might be a genius whose physical qualities could rival an Advanced Warrior's.
But surviving in the Wilderness Zone took more than strong physical qualities. Besides, an Advanced Warrior really amounted to nothing in the Wilderness Zone.
Any Beast General might have dozens of Advanced Beast Soldiers under its command. If Zhang Junbao encountered them even once, he would have essentially no chance of survival.
Jiang Nian was still lamenting when he failed to notice that Luo Feng's face had turned deep red. Luo Feng was frantic, wishing he could go to the Wilderness Zone and rescue him right now. But Luo Feng also knew that, with his strength, he wasn't even qualified to enter the Wilderness Zone. A few Beast Soldiers alone would be more than he could handle.
This grief and indignation continued to well up inside Luo Feng. He hated his own helplessness. Zhang Junbao had shown him hope of quickly becoming a martial artist, yet now that something had happened to Junbao, he didn't have the slightest bit of strength to do anything for him.
He did not notice that the number marked "pulse" on the watch on his left wrist had begun to rise.
120... 135... 140... 150...
"Luo Feng, what's wrong?"
Yang Wu, standing opposite him, noticed that something was wrong. Luo Feng's face was deep red, and he could barely contain the fury on it.
"Why... why am I so useless? I can't do anything!
"I want to get stronger. I need greater strength..."
Luo Feng kept roaring, seemingly without hearing Yang Wu.
Jiang Nian also noticed his condition and grabbed Luo Feng's hand.
"Luo Feng, calm down! Being angry won't help now. You have to face the facts. This is a test for you too! Calm down!"
The pulse displayed on Luo Feng's watch climbed faster and faster.
160... 170... 180...
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" Luo Feng suddenly felt as though someone were pounding on his heart, and his vision blurred.
Yang Wu stepped forward, hoping to calm him down, but unexpectedly, Luo Feng threw a punch.
"Urgh..."
With an angry roar, Luo Feng swung his fist as though he had lost consciousness.
Seeing this, Yang Wu crossed his arms in front of his chest to block. He thought that, with his strength as a martial artist, stopping Luo Feng's punch would be a trivial matter. But the moment he blocked it, Yang Wu realized something was wrong.
A tremendous force passed through his arms and struck his chest. Pain shot through it, and Yang Wu spat out a mouthful of blood.
"A martial artist!!! How is that possible?"
Sent flying by Luo Feng's punch, Yang Wu crashed into the wall. He struggled to his feet and looked at Luo Feng in disbelief.
Luo Feng felt as though his heart were about to leap out of his chest. As that source of power, the "heart," continuously expanded and contracted, large amounts of blood surged through his body. Streams of invisible, imperceptible energy poured into the depths of Luo Feng's mind, and a sharp pain immediately erupted inside his head-
"Aah!"
With a roar, Luo Feng collapsed into Jiang Nian's arms.
At the very last moment before he fell, Luo Feng's blurry eyes saw the number "280." The intense headache plunged him into unconsciousness.
"Luo Feng! Luo Feng! Quick, call a doctor!" Jiang Nian shouted anxiously.
Jiang Nian had never expected the two great geniuses in his dojo to suffer mishaps one after the other.