The military base was very lively, and a rich lunch had been prepared for the trainee martial artists taking part in the combat assessment.
In the afternoon.
All 1,680 trainee martial artists stood on a wide open square. On the platform ahead stood the senior officers of the Northern Military District of Jiangnan City, along with high level members of the Thunder Dojo and the Extreme Martial Arts School.
“Next, the named trainee martial artists will come up to receive combat uniforms and weapons.”
“Yan Zhuo.”
“He Feng.”
“Wang Bingjiang.”
……
Ten officers on the stage called out names one after another. The trainee martial artists whose names were called went up to collect their combat uniforms and weapons.
“Luo Feng.”
That loud voice reached Luo Feng’s ears instantly. He immediately rushed forward to the front.
“This is your combat uniform, combat boots, and this is the Blood Shadow Battle Saber Series 2 you requested, the heaviest one we have here, 98 kilograms. Anything heavier is not available. This is the communication watch, with positioning and communication functions. This is a hexagonal shield.”
As the officer spoke, he looked at Luo Feng with some doubt. A trainee martial artist requesting such a heavy Blood Shadow Battle Saber was truly strange.
Luo Feng smiled slightly, holding the nearly 200 kilograms of equipment and quickly ran off.
……
On the square, all 1,680 martial artists received weapons and equipment suited to their body size and personal requests. Everyone used cold weapons only. This was a requirement of the combat assessment, and firearms were strictly prohibited. After distribution, they all returned to rest areas and changed into their combat uniforms and boots.
The wide square was filled with laughter.
At this moment, Luo Feng, wearing alloy combat boots, military combat trousers, and a combat vest made from special materials such as Krom alloy, carried a hexagonal shield and a Blood Shadow Battle Saber, chatting happily with other trainee martial artists nearby.
“All this equipment together would cost at least seven to eight hundred thousand,” a buzz cut young man said excitedly, pointing at his combat suit. “These trousers and vest are not high grade martial artist equipment, just loaned to us for this assessment. But they can still withstand attacks from the weakest H level beast claws. Much better than ordinary bulletproof vests in the city. Normal bullets cannot penetrate them, and H level beasts cannot tear this material.”
“It cannot be torn open,” said a cold faced girl nearby with a sneer.
“But even if it cannot be torn, the impact alone from a beast can break your bones and damage your internal organs.”
“I am not that fragile,” the buzz cut youth laughed and glanced at her. “How about it, little sister, want to try my strength later?”
“Say less,” Luo Feng frowned and said.
“Yes, Brother Luo, we will listen to Brother Luo,” the buzz cut youth quickly laughed.
Luo Feng had been recruited early by the Extreme Martial Arts School, and news of this had spread quickly among the trainee martial artists. Out of the 1,680 people this year, only three were recruited early by the Extreme Martial Arts School or Thunder Dojo. Everyone knew these three had bright futures ahead.
“Luo Feng, Luo Feng,” a voice came from afar. It was Wu Tong, the chief instructor of the Yangzhou Extreme Martial Arts School.
“Uncle Wu,” Luo Feng greeted him, then said a few words to Yang Wu and others beside him before quickly running over. Over the past month, Luo Feng had been living in Mingyue Community and had grown very familiar with Wu Tong, who also lived there, addressing him as Uncle Wu.
“Luo Feng, follow me,” Wu Tong said as he led the way.
Luo Feng, full of confusion, did not ask questions. Soon they arrived at the second floor of a quiet small building. Several people were gathered in the living room. Luo Feng recognised only one of them, one of the four major figures of the Jiangnan Extreme Martial Arts School, Zhuge Tao.
“Supervisor,” Luo Feng greeted.
“Mm, Luo Feng, sit over there with Wu Tong,” Zhuge Tao said lightly, wearing a dark combat uniform faintly tinged with silver.
“Zhuge, this is the Luo Feng you mentioned? He does not seem much better than ours from the Thunder Dojo,” said a burly man opposite him, wearing dark purple battle attire, his voice deep and echoing.
“Our Thunder Dojo has recruited two early. One is no weaker than your Luo Feng, and the other is a genius with firearms.”
The burly man looked at the two young men beside him, who immediately stood up.
“My name is Wan Dong,” said the gloomy young man with a purple birthmark on his face.
“My name is Ma Xiao,” said the other young man with a gentle smile. He looked extremely handsome, almost beautiful enough to be described as stunning.
“Luo Feng,” Luo Feng nodded and smiled. “You already know me.”
“Luo Feng,” the gloomy youth said, “do you dare compete? In tonight’s combat assessment, let us see who gets the highest score.” His eyes gleamed with excitement.
“Not interested,” Luo Feng shook his head.
The gloomy youth paused, then snorted coldly and said nothing more.
Zhuge Tao and the burly man from the Thunder Dojo both laughed.
“Zhuge, this kid is interesting. At least he is calm and does not get provoked easily. I quite like him,” the burly man laughed. “Luo Feng, have you considered joining our Thunder Dojo?”
“Go, go, go,” Zhuge Tao glared at him.
“Just joking, you really are no fun,” the burly man laughed loudly.
Zhuge Tao glanced downstairs. “Let’s go. The combat assessment is about to begin.”
The 1,680 trainee martial artists, led by soldiers, walked for nearly half an hour before arriving at the outskirts of a small town. It was already evening, and the sun had set.
“Roar…”
“Hiss…”
Strange and unsettling beast cries came from within the town. The perimeter was surrounded by barbed wire, and heavily armed soldiers were patrolling.
“Quick, the number of beasts inside is not enough. Send in another 1,200 iron haired wild boars, 300 shadow cats, and 500 tiger mastiff dogs,” orders echoed from inside the town.
Soon, rows of heavy trucks arrived. Each truck carried cages filled with roaring beasts. The furious sounds made some of the trainee martial artists, who had never killed a beast before, tremble inwardly.
“Luo Feng,” Wu Tong said calmly beside him, “having good physical strength and good blade skills does not mean you can kill beasts. Some people lose all their strength the moment they see blood or face life and death. This assessment is mainly to temper your mindset. You must adapt to life and death combat with beasts. Do not show mercy.”
“I understand,” Luo Feng nodded.
“These beasts are the weakest H level beasts, equivalent to beginner warrior level,” Wu Tong continued. “They are weak in intelligence, but extremely bloodthirsty and aggressive. In every assessment, there are always trainee martial artists who die or become disabled.”
Luo Feng nodded. Real combat with beasts could never be completely safe.
……
After the weakest H level beasts were brought into the town, the number of beasts inside reached an astonishing level.
“Everyone.”
A loud voice echoed into the ears of every trainee martial artist. Luo Feng and the others looked up and saw a military officer standing on the roof of a ruined three story building inside the town.
“This combat assessment follows the same rules as always. It will begin at 6:30 this evening and end at 6:30 tomorrow morning.”
“The more beasts you kill, the higher your score. Cut off the left ear of each beast as proof.”
“Remember, trainee martial artists are forbidden from killing each other. All of your actions are under surveillance. Violators will be shot on the spot.”
“Among you 1,680 trainee martial artists, the top 60 percent by score will pass and obtain martial artist qualification. The bottom 40 percent will fail and must wait for the next assessment.”
“In other words, 1,008 of you will pass. 672 will be eliminated.”
The crowd below began to murmur. A 40 percent elimination rate.
“One more reminder. Generally, killing three beasts is enough to pass. If you only kill two, it depends on luck,” the officer continued. “If scores are equal, ranking will depend on time taken and injury level. So once you have killed enough beasts, leave the town as soon as possible.”
“If you are seriously injured, you may press the emergency button on your communication watch. You will be rescued immediately, but your assessment will end at that moment.”
The officer leapt down from the rooftop.
In a flash, he rose more than ten metres into the air, then crossed the distance in two more leaps, landing outside the town.
“All trainee martial artists, move out. Enter the beast town.”
With a wave of his hand, the 1,680 trainee martial artists surged into the town like a tidal wave.
“Close the gate,” the officer ordered.