"Brother Wang, let's go!"
After signing the contract, Zhuge Tao was very sensible and didn't ask Jiang Li any questions.
Being connected to an Inspector wasn't necessarily something he could pry into.
The burly Brother Wang glanced at the two young men beside him, gave a brief instruction, and then left with Zhuge Tao.
"Phew!"
At this moment, Wu Tong finally exhaled a long breath: "With Inspector Lei here just now, I could barely breathe!"
"Jiang Li, you were an advanced warrior before the assessment, right?"
"Pretty much."
Including the power of the Canghai Sword's incomplete version, Jiang Li did indeed have the strength of an advanced warrior before.
Soon, the sun began to set.
The military district broadcast the order to assemble, and many prospective martial artists had already chosen their weapons for the assessment. Luo Feng also went to receive a war blade and shield.
After meeting up with Lu Fei, everyone followed the soldiers to the outskirts of a small town.
"Roar!!!"
"Hiss!!!"
Various eerie howls echoed from within the town. Everyone looked towards the town, and saw that the entire perimeter was sealed off with barbed wire. A large number of soldiers, armed with weapons, were patrolling the area.
"Luo Feng, Lu Fei..."
"The weakest monsters in the town are equivalent to a beginner warrior. Their weakness is low intelligence, but their strengths are bloodlust and ferocity, filled with aggression and a desire to kill, almost to the death..."
When they reached the perimeter of the town, Wu Tong said solemnly, "The practical combat assessment for martial artists is mainly to temper your character. You need to get used to life-and-death battles with the monsters. Remember, you can't be softhearted!"
"As for Jiang Li..."
Wu Tong looked at the calm Jiang Li, not knowing what to say. He smiled helplessly and said, "Jiang Li, just kill a little less, and leave more opportunities for the other prospective martial artists!"
Jiang Li: "..."
Luo Feng: "..."
Lu Fei: "..."
Soon, the three of them understood what Wu Tong meant.
"Everyone."
A loud voice entered the ears of every prospective warrior. Everyone saw an officer standing on the roof of a dilapidated three-story building inside the town: "This actual combat assessment is the same as before, starting from 6:30 PM tonight to 6:30 AM tomorrow."
"The more monsters you kill, the more points you get. For each monster killed, cut off its left ear as proof."
"Remember, the assessment prohibits prospective warriors from killing each other. All your activities are under surveillance. Those who violate the rules will be executed directly!"
"Among the 1,368 prospective warriors, those in the top 60% of the points will obtain warrior qualifications! The bottom 40% will fail and have to wait for the next actual combat assessment!"
The officer's voice grew cold. "In other words, at least 500 of you 1,368 potential warriors will be eliminated!"
"I say 'at least' because anyone who hasn't killed a single monster will also be eliminated!"
The high elimination rate caused many of the potential warriors to murmur amongst themselves.
"Let me remind you, generally, killing three monsters will allow you to pass the assessment. If you've only killed two, it depends on your luck!"
"When scores are tied, rankings will be determined by factors like hunting time and injury status. Therefore, once you've killed a certain number of monsters, it's recommended that you leave the town as soon as possible."
The officer's voice echoed in the ears of every potential warrior.
"Remember, if you're injured and can't continue, you can press the emergency button on your communication watch. Someone will immediately come to rescue you, but from that moment on, your warrior practical assessment is over."
He finished speaking!
The officer leaped, reaching the edge of Monster Town in a few jumps. He waved his large hand, shouting, "All prospective warriors, move out! Enter Monster Town!"
The next moment.
All the prospective warriors surged into Monster Town like a raging wave.
Once inside, the many prospective warriors immediately scattered.
"Jiang Bro, you crazy..."
They were all from Yian District. Lu Fei saw that Jiang Li and Luo Feng were highly valued by the higher-ups, and his ambition flared: "I'll head east on my own!"
"Alright!"
Luo Feng also understood that this was just an assessment. Once they became warriors, they would inevitably have to face monsters alone. The dangers they would encounter would be more than ten or a hundred times greater.
After Lu Fei cautiously departed eastward, Luo Feng also chose to go solo: "Jiang Bro, I'll go ahead too. See you outside the town after dawn!"
"Mm."
Jiang Li nodded. He saw Luo Feng also quickly darting westward, disappearing from Jiang Li's sight.
Soon.
Night fell, and around the edges of the enclosed town, only large searchlights illuminated it, leaving many areas in darkness.
Perfect for testing my spiritual force.
Jiang Li didn't, like other pre-warriors, look for a hiding place to wait for the right moment.
He walked lightly along the dilapidated streets of the town. His spiritual force, along with his intentions, began to spread, reaching nearly two hundred square meters before thinning out.
But everything within those two hundred square meters couldn't escape his perception.
"So that's how it is!"
This range perfectly matched the size of his sea of consciousness.
"One, two… five!"
After Jiang Li's spiritual power covered the area, he was shocked to discover that five monsters were lurking within the collapsed ruins.
With Jiang Li's battle general-level eyesight, he quickly saw that they were five canine monsters devouring corpses.
To be precise, they were 'Tiger Mastiff Dogs'.
Ordinary dogs were at most two meters long.
But these Tiger Mastiff Dogs were each over three meters long, even larger than a Siberian tiger.
Especially their large mouths, long and pointed, were very similar to crocodile mouths. The fangs they bared reflected a bloodthirsty cold light under the spotlights, making people shudder.
"That wannabe martial artist is really unlucky, running into a pack of Tiger Mastiff Dogs!"
"Out and about on the streets at night, just asking for it!"
"Not running? What's he doing?"
"Does he think he can handle five Tiger Mastiff Dogs at once?"
"…"
In the monitoring room, the soldiers responsible for overseeing the entire town also noticed the anomaly on the street.
"Five, that's enough."
Jiang Li looked at the five Tiger Mastiff Dogs. Instead of leaving, he walked straight towards them, completely exposed within their field of vision.
"Awooo!"
The Tiger Mastiff Dogs spotted Jiang Li and let out excited howls. Compared to the rotting corpses, the human before them was undoubtedly a delicious meal.
Following the howls, five Tiger Mastiff Dogs pounced forward almost simultaneously.
Their speed surpassed that of ordinary martial artists, appearing, at first glance, like a speeding car crashing head-on.
"Bang!"
As the first Tiger Mastiff Dog pounced, a sharp rock, four or five meters in front of Jiang Li, suddenly shot up from the ground. It slammed into the Tiger Mastiff Dog's lower abdomen, ripping its belly open. Blood and guts splattered out.
Then, Jiang Li slightly sidestepped to avoid the second Tiger Mastiff Dog's attack, his right fist became a blur, slamming directly into the dog's head.
A Level 1 War-General, even without any attack techniques, could exert over 30 tons of force with a single punch.
One punch slammed down, and the entire Tiger Mastiff Dog's head exploded like a smashed watermelon, with a 'bang', brain matter and blood splattering everywhere, even its extremely hard tusks were shattered into powder.
"Lost an ear."
Jiang Li was slightly helpless.
Almost in the same breath, he brought his two fingers together, and with a slight lift, three pieces of gravel shot up, turning into three streaks of fire in the night. That was how fast they were, generating high heat from friction with the air.
Puff! Puff! Puff!
The three streaks of fire entered the pupils of the other three Tiger Mastiff Dogs without any deviation, passed through their bodies, and then shot out from their tails.
In an instant, all five Tiger Mastiff Dogs were instantly killed.
"Spiritualists are still sneaky, no wonder the Little Flying Knife can run rampant in the world!"
Jiang Li looked at the scattered corpses and meat, but his heart remained calm.
Logically, seeing blood for the first time should evoke some kind of emotional response.
Strength was one thing, but a strong mentality was another.
Many talented martial artists couldn't even use a tenth of their strength in their first real battle. To be as nonchalant as Jiang Li was, was extremely rare.
Soon.
Jiang Li collected four left ears and tossed them into the prepared backpack, beginning his return to the town exit.
Meanwhile.
Inside a large building, numerous surveillance screens displayed the situation in various areas of Monster Town. One of the monitoring stations had paused for a full ten seconds without switching.
"What's going on in monitoring room 18?"
An officer, who was drinking with a burly man, frowned and asked coldly, "What are they doing?"
"Hmm? It's him?!"
The burly man, who hadn't been paying attention to the monitors, glanced at the screen after hearing the question and immediately said, "Quick, switch the image back!"
"Hmm?"
The officer, upon hearing this, ordered the people below to rewind the image. The more he watched, the more astonished he became: "This is..."
"A Spiritualist?"
...
(End of this chapter)