Facing the charging herd of raging bulls, Luo Feng stood completely still, a six-edged shield in one hand and the Blood Shadow battle blade in the other, calmly waiting in place.
Boom.
The foul breath of the bulls surged forward. The first bull finally reached him.
Luo Feng, who had experienced countless beast tide battles, remained extremely composed. With a subtle sidestep and retreat, his blade flashed like lightning.
Nine Layer Thunder Blade, second layer, 2.1 times explosive force.
Blood sprayed from the first bull’s neck.
“One,” Luo Feng said coldly, his gaze icy and steady.
He knew very clearly that when facing a beast tide, especially when every beast could threaten him, he must not panic.
These bulls were massive, larger than iron-haired wild boars, almost like tanks. Because of their size, only a few could attack him at the same time. He had to use their own bodies to block each other, constantly moving through gaps.
Time passed second by second.
His movement technique was already at advanced micro level perfection, allowing him to evade gracefully within the herd. Fortunately, he had plenty of experience fighting beast tides in the past. Without that experience, facing 100 low level general class beasts would have been extremely troublesome.
In addition, his Nine Layer Thunder Blade had reached the third level, allowing him to kill with a single strike.
…
“31, 32, 33…”
One after another, the bulls either leapt or charged head on. Luo Feng moved like a leaf drifting in a storm, desperately dodging while striking.
Not good.
A sharp horn brushed past his face, while behind him a dead bull was violently smashed by another, blocking his retreat path. That small mistake instantly allowed bulls from all directions, including above, to close in on him.
He was trapped in a near certain death situation.
Bang.
In that instant, Luo Feng acted like a charging bull himself, slamming his shield toward a bull in the front left. The impact numbed his entire left arm and forced him backwards. At the same time, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
While retreating, his footwork shifted unpredictably, changing rhythm and speed. A cold blade light flashed.
Slash.
He cut off the hoof of a bull mid air. As the severed hoof fell, Luo Feng immediately surged forward, using the back of his blade to strike it like a cannonball into another charging bull behind him.
An explosive, desperate counterattack.
In less than a second, within a radius of ten metres, he was surrounded by bulls moving at over 100 metres per second. He injured three, killed five, and was heavily wounded himself.
“My blade technique is powerful in a single strike, but I cannot execute many strikes at once,” Luo Feng realised.
If he could strike ten times in an instant, he could kill ten bulls immediately. But controlling that level of speed and force was extremely difficult.
Slash. Stab.
He no longer dared to relax even slightly.
From past experiences, especially that 1.2 second escape in the Carrefour supermarket incident, he had touched the edge of perfect level movement before. This time, in the virtual space without spiritual power, every bull was a real threat.
Under this extreme pressure, something in him began to change.
“Like this…”
At around the 70 bull mark, Luo Feng entered a state of deep harmony with his surroundings. The corpses, the grass, everything became part of his instinctive awareness.
He no longer needed extreme conscious calculation. His body instinctively used everything around him.
His movements became smooth, efficient, almost effortless.
Slash. Slash. Slash.
A bull head flew into the air.
“Time taken: 21 minutes 18 seconds. 100 bulls eliminated. B level assessment passed. Congratulations, student Luo Feng.”
The electronic voice echoed across the grassland.
Only then did Luo Feng snap out of that state. He smiled wryly.
“Just when it got good, it ended. Could not they send a few more bulls?”
He understood very well. That state was extremely close to perfect level movement. It was extremely difficult to enter and even harder to maintain.
But the test had ended too quickly.
“Luo Feng, you will be automatically removed from the virtual space in five seconds. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…”
In the ninth floor of the Nine Layer Tower, Yang Hui and Luo Feng walked out of the trial room.
The hall was filled with geniuses from around the world. They looked over in surprise.
“He passed?”
“He passed the B level test,” Yang Hui said calmly. “I will take him to complete the procedures. You can begin your trials now.”
The hall instantly became lively again.
……
Outside the Nine Layer Tower, heavy rain had begun to fall.
“Although there are only around 180 students here, it is connected to the five major countries and the HR Alliance,” Yang Hui said seriously. “The waters here are deep. If you enter the elite training camp and are not eliminated, your future will be brilliant.”
“Governments, militaries, organisations, HR families… they will all try to recruit you. Money, women, power, everything. But remember, the most important thing is your strength.”
“Do not be distracted. Your goal is simple.”
“To climb higher in the rankings.”
“You are now one of 183 students, all peak geniuses. Your job is to step on others and rise above them.”
Luo Feng nodded.
“Your student code will start with 5704,” Yang Hui continued. “Since you join on 1 April 2057, the last two digits you can choose yourself.”
“03,” Luo Feng said after a moment.
That number reminded him of City 003 and everything that had happened there. It also matched the number three in his life in a strange way.
“570403,” Yang Hui confirmed.
That same day, his name appeared on the black dragon ranking list.
No.183 Luo Feng (570403).
The news spread instantly across the world. Governments, militaries, special organisations, and major families all received his detailed profile within hours.
From his birth, his upbringing in a low income housing area, everything was recorded.
……
In a underground facility in Kyoto Base City.
A thin man with a cold gaze read the report.
“Send orders to the Jiangnan branch. Monitor his family 24 hours a day. Ensure they do not leave Jiangnan Base City. Ensure their safety.”
“Absolutely no repeat of the previous incident.”
“Yes.”
……
In a villa at Jiangnan Shanshui Community, HR Alliance executive Venina Bolinas also received the file.
“Is this Luo Feng not one of our suspects?” she asked.
“Yes,” Venina replied. “He was near Wei’s death at the time. But he is only 19 and merely a low level battle general. The family is still considering whether to recruit him.”
“Could he have entered the elite training camp because he is a spiritual force user?” Li Yao asked coldly.
“No. Read the file,” Venina said calmly. “You are becoming too suspicious. You suspect everyone.”