The military camp was bustling, with a sumptuous lunch prepared specifically for these prospective martial artists awaiting their combat assessment.
In the afternoon.
All 1680 prospective martial artists stood assembled in a wide-open square. At the front stage stood the high-ranking officers of the Jiangnan City North Military Region, alongside senior figures from the Thunder God Martial Arts School and the (Limit Martial Arts School).
"Next, the prospective martial artists whose names are called, please come forward to receive your combat uniforms and weapons."
"Yan Zhuo."
"He Feng."
"Wang Bingjiang."
...
A full ten military officers on the platform called out the names of the prospective martial artists one by one; those whose names were announced stepped up to collect their combat gear and weaponry.
"Luo Feng."
That resonant voice instantly caught Luo Feng's attention, and he sprinted to the very front.
"Here is your combat suit and boots. This is the Blood Shadow Battle Blade, Series 2, which you requested. This is the heaviest we prepared, 98 kilograms; we don't have anything heavier." The officer handed Luo Feng the set of items. "This is the communication watch, equipped with tracking, communication, and other functions. And this is the hexagonal shield."
As the officer spoke, a flicker of confusion crossed his eyes as he looked at Luo Feng... It was odd for a prospective martial artist to request such a heavy Blood Shadow Battle Blade.
Luo Feng smiled faintly, cupped the nearly two-hundred-kilogram load, and swiftly moved away.
...
On the square, the 1680 martial artists had all been issued weapons of various specifications suited to their body size and requests; every single person was using cold weapons! This was a requirement for the practical combat assessment—the use of firearms was strictly prohibited during the martial artist practical combat assessment. Once the distribution was complete, everyone returned to their resting areas to change into their combat suits, boots, and so on.
※※※※※※
Laughter filled the spacious square.
At this moment, Luo Feng was wearing alloy combat boots, his military trousers and combat vest were also made from special materials like Klotho alloy, and he was shouldering the hexagonal shield and the Blood Shadow Battle Blade, happily chatting with the other prospective martial artists nearby.
"Just this set of gear, fully kitted out, it costs at least seven or eight hundred thousand," a young man with a buzz cut excitedly pointed to his combat uniform. "These trousers and vest, although they aren't top-tier martial arts equipment, just loaned to us for this practical combat assessment, they can still withstand the claws of the weakest H-class monsters. They’re much better than those damned bulletproof vests in the city; normal bullets can’t penetrate them, and H-class monsters absolutely cannot tear through the material of this combat suit."
"They can't tear through it!"
A cold-faced girl beside him scoffed, "But even if the monster can't tear the suit, the sheer impact force alone could shatter your bones and cause severe internal organ damage."
"Brother isn't that fragile," the buzz-cut youth grinned at the girl. "How about it, little sister, want to find a place later to sample Big Brother’s skills?"
"Enough talk," Luo Feng frowned slightly.
"Yes, Brother Luo, we listen to Brother Luo," the buzz-cut youth replied cheerfully.
The news that Luo Feng had been recruited early by the Limit Martial Arts School spread like wildfire among the prospective martial artists—one person told ten, and those ten told a hundred. This year, out of the 1680 participants, only three had been recruited early by the Limit Martial Arts School or the Thunder God Martial Arts School! Every prospective martial artist knew that the futures of these three would surely be extraordinary.
"Luo Feng, Luo Feng," a call came from a distance; it was Wu Tong, the Chief Instructor of the Yangzhou Limit Martial Arts Center.
"Uncle Wu,"
Luo Feng exchanged a smile with Yang Wu and a few others nearby, then quickly hurried over. For the past month, Luo Feng had been living in the Mingyue residential area, so naturally, he was extremely close to Chief Instructor Wu Tong, who also lived there, addressing him warmly as 'Uncle Wu.'
"Luo Feng, come with me," Wu Tong said, leading the way.
Luo Feng, full of questions but saying nothing more, soon arrived on the second floor of a quiet, secluded small building. In the living room on this floor, several people were gathered and seated. Luo Feng looked over... Of these individuals, he only recognized one: Zhuge Tao, one of the Four Great Titans of the Jiangnan City Limit Martial Arts Center!
"Supervisor," Luo Feng called out.
"Mm, Luo Feng. Sit over there with Wu Tong," Zhuge Tao said with a faint smile, clad in a dark-black combat suit faintly shimmering with crushed silver.
"Zhuge, is this the Luo Feng you mentioned? From what I see, he’s not much better than those from our Thunder God Martial Arts School," opposite Zhuge Tao sat a burly man dressed in a dark-purple combat uniform, his voice resonating as if echoing from deep within his chest. "Our Thunder God Martial Arts School recruited two early this time; one has physical fitness no worse than your Luo Feng, and the other is a firearms genius."
The burly man glanced at the two young men beside him, who immediately stood up.
"My name is Wan Dong," the gloomy youth with a purple birthmark covering part of his face spoke.
"I am Ma Xiao," the other youth, however, wore a smiling expression; he was exceptionally handsome! Yes, the word 'beautiful' could truly describe this young man; if he were female, he would likely be the type to cause nations to fall.
Luo Feng smiled and nodded: "Luo Feng. You already know."
"Luo Feng," the gloomy youth spoke, "Do you dare to compete? In tonight's practical combat assessment, whose accumulated score will be first!" The gloomy youth’s eyes held a flicker of light, as if he had spotted the most delicious prey, brimming with longing.
"Not interested," Luo Feng shook his head.
The gloomy youth was momentarily stunned, then sneered coldly, saying no more.
Zhuge Tao and the burly man from the Thunder God Martial Arts School both laughed at this sight: "Zhuge, your little fellow is quite interesting, at least level-headed enough not to immediately lose his temper just because someone provoked him! I'm starting to like this young man. Luo Feng, have you considered joining my Thunder God Martial Arts School..."
"Go on, go on," Zhuge Tao shot him a glare.
"Just kidding, you guy, so humorless," the burly man laughed loudly.
Zhuge Tao glanced toward the ground below: "We should go too. The practical combat assessment will begin soon!"
——————
Luo Feng and the imposing group of 1680 prospective martial artists marched for a full half hour, led by the soldiers, before arriving on the outskirts of a small town. It was already evening; the sun had set.
"Roar~~"
"Hoo~~"
Various heart-pounding monstrous cries echoed from within the town. The perimeter of this small town was surrounded by barbed wire, and numerous soldiers patrolled with firearms.
"Hurry up! There aren't enough monsters inside. Transport another 1200 Iron-Haired Wild Boars, 300 Shadow Cats, and 500 Tiger Mastiffs here." As orders sounded from inside the town, Luo Feng and the others didn't wait long before they saw heavy-duty trucks arriving, each one emitting furious roars.
Luo Feng and the mass of martial artists watched closely...
Inside each truck were individual cages, and within every cage was a monster. The angry roars made the hearts of some prospective martial artists who had never killed a monster before tremble.
"Luo Feng,"
Chief Instructor Wu Tong, standing beside Luo Feng, smiled faintly, "Good physical fitness and good blade work don't guarantee you can kill monsters! After all, some people, upon seeing blood or facing imminent death, can't even utilize ten percent of their actual strength. Therefore, this practical combat assessment is mainly about tempering your state of mind. You must adapt to fighting monsters to the death; do not show softness."
"Understood," Luo Feng nodded.
"Hmm... The strength of these monsters is the weakest, H-class, equivalent to a 'Beginner Warrior Level' among martial artists," Wu Tong continued. "Their weakness is very low intelligence. However, their advantage lies in being bloodthirsty, frenzied, and full of aggression and killing intent. That is why there are always deaths or crippling injuries among prospective martial artists during every combat assessment."
Luo Feng nodded; engaging in genuine combat with monsters could never be 100% safe.
...
After the weakest H-class monsters were transported into the town, the total number of monsters inside reached an astonishing figure.
"Everyone,"
A loud voice reached the ears of every prospective martial artist. Luo Feng and all others looked up to see a military officer standing on the roof of a dilapidated three-story building inside the town, addressing them all: "This combat assessment, following the established rules! It starts precisely at 6:30 PM tonight and ends at 6:30 AM tomorrow morning!"
"The more monsters you slay, the more points you earn. For every monster killed, cut off its left ear as proof."
"Remember, prospective martial artists are forbidden from killing each other. All your activities are under surveillance; violators will be shot on the spot!"
"Among you 1680 prospective martial artists, those in the top 60% of the accumulated score will earn martial artist status! The bottom 40% will be considered failures and must wait for the next practical combat assessment." The officer's voice grew colder. "In other words, 1008 of you 1680 will pass. 672 will be eliminated!"
The prospective martial artists listening below began to murmur; a 40% elimination rate was quite high.
"A reminder: generally, killing three monsters is enough to pass the assessment. If you only manage to slay two, it will depend on luck," the officer's voice echoed in everyone's ears. "When the battle records are the same, rankings will be determined by the time taken to kill the monsters and the extent of injuries sustained. Therefore, once you have killed a certain number of monsters, exit the town as early as possible."
"Remember, if you are severely injured, you can press the distress button on your communication watch. Someone will rescue you immediately... but at that moment, it signifies the end of your martial artist practical combat assessment." The officer leaped.
Swish!
He vaulted straight up more than ten meters from the roof of the small building within the town, then, with two successive bounds, landed outside the town perimeter.
"All prospective martial artists, move out, enter the Monster Town." The officer waved his hand.
The 1680 prospective martial artists surged into the Monster Town like a turbulent wave.
"Close the gates!" the officer commanded.
"Rumble~~" The single large gate slammed shut.
The martial artist practical combat assessment officially began! ———————— P: The first contact and slaughter with the monsters is about to begin~~~ . Tomato recommends a great book, "Courtly Ambitions" (Huan Hai Feng Yue), an alternate history piece, very good. Link: ://./B/1623706. .