It was nearing noon, and the military district had already prepared a sumptuous lunch for the prospective martial artists.
To avoid attracting attention, Luo Feng and Yang Wu sat in a corner of the restaurant.
"There are so many people taking the exam," Luo Feng remarked, looking at the throng of people around him.
"This prospective martial artist combat exam is only held twice a year in each base city. With six months of preparation, plus those who were injured and failed before, or missed the exam altogether, it's not surprising there are so many people!" Yang Wu explained slowly.
"Huh, it's monster meat!" Luo Feng said, somewhat surprised, after taking a bite of the food.
Monster meat was incredibly expensive in the base city; even the lowest grade cost over a hundred yuan per kilogram, something ordinary people rarely could afford.
Before becoming a martial artist, Yang Wu could only eat it about once every two weeks, while Luo Feng ate it even less often.
"That's not surprising!" Yang Wu explained, "The reason these monster meats are so expensive in the base city is usually due to the high transportation costs. In this military camp, however, these low-level monster meats are plentiful; obtaining them is probably easier than getting vegetables!"
"Brother Yang, you know so much!" Luo Feng exclaimed.
Yang Wu smiled. Having lived two lives, he certainly knew more general knowledge than Luo Feng, who had just graduated high school. However, in this world, one's own strength was paramount.
The two chatted as they ate, quickly finishing lunch.
In the afternoon,
all the prospective martial artists gathered in an open square. In front of the square were the high-ranking officials from the Northern Military Region and various other forces.
"The prospective martial artist combat assessment is about to begin. Prospective martial artists whose names are called, come forward to collect your combat uniforms and weapons,"
an officer on the platform shouted. Although he didn't use a megaphone, his voice clearly reached the ears of every prospective martial artist.
Subsequently, more than ten officers began calling out the names of the prospective martial artists one by one. The prospective martial artists whose names were called stepped forward to receive their combat uniforms and weapons.
"Bai Yang."
"Yang Wu."
...
Hearing his name, Yang Wu quickly stepped forward and, under the questioning gaze of the officer distributing equipment, received his weapon, combat uniform, and other gear. He then went to the side to begin putting on his equipment.
A moment later, Luo Feng, carrying a combat uniform and a sword and shield, also ran over.
"Brother Yang!" Seeing Yang Wu putting on his uniform, Luo Feng asked, "How about we form a team and explore this monster town together?"
Although Luo Feng preferred to hone his swordsmanship and movement skills alone, he decided to forgo that for Yang Wu's safety.
The practical assessment for quasi-martial artists was quite dangerous; there were always casualties among them. Although there were rescue teams, Luo Feng was still somewhat uneasy.
Hearing Luo Feng's words, Yang Wu smiled slightly.
With Luo Feng's words, all his years of hard work hadn't been in vain. However, Yang Wu certainly wouldn't act with Luo Feng.
"Ah Feng, I understand your good intentions, but this time I'm going to venture into this monster town alone."
Yang Wu finished speaking, and seeing Luo Feng about to say something, he quickly smiled and said, "Ah Feng, give me my weapon!"
"Brother Yang?"
Yang Wu's spear was right beside him. Although Luo Feng was a little confused, he still picked it up.
Just as Luo Feng took Yang Wu's weapon, a look of shock suddenly appeared on his face.
"Brother Yang, what's this?"
Luo Feng suddenly realized that Yang Wu's spear was even heavier than his 98kg Blood Shadow Battle Blade!
"What?" Yang Wu smiled and said, "You, 'Madman,' can improve your strength so much, why can't I, your brother Yang?"
"This…" Luo Feng was slightly taken aback, then happily said, "Brother Yang, you've also successfully cultivated your genetic energy?"
"Yes!"
"Then how much strength have you gained, Brother Yang?" Luo Feng asked with a smile.
Yang Wu was overjoyed at his successful cultivation of Gene Energy, which greatly enhanced his strength.
"Around 8000 kilograms!" Yang Wu said calmly, though inwardly he was ecstatic.
"I wonder what the future City Lord Luo's reaction will be when he hears this?"
Sure enough, Luo Feng looked astonished upon hearing Yang Wu's words.
"8000 kilograms? Brother Yang, are you serious? You didn't add an extra zero, did you?" Luo Feng looked incredulous.
His first successful cultivation of Gene Energy, aided by his mental power, only increased his strength by a little over 2000 kilograms. How could someone gain 8000 kilograms in one go?
"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Yang Wu laughed.
"Luo Feng, Luo Feng."
Just then, Wu Tong, the head instructor of the Extreme Martial Arts Academy in Yangzhou City, suddenly appeared.
"Uncle Wu."
"Head Instructor." Yang Wu and Luo Feng hurriedly greeted him.
"Yang Wu's here too! Give it your all during the assessment and try to pass on your first try!" After encouraging Yang Wu, Wu Tong quickly said to Luo Feng, "Luo Feng, come with me!"
With that, Wu Tong turned and led the way.
"Uncle Wu!" Luo Feng, following behind Wu Tong, suddenly asked, "Do you know if any martial artist has ever gained 8000 kilograms of strength on their first attempt at cultivating gene energy?"
"How could that be?" Wu Tong laughed. "Luo Feng, someone must be joking with you."
"Is it really impossible?" Although Luo Feng didn't quite believe it either, he felt Yang Wu wouldn't lie to him.
"Let me put it this way!" Wu Tong chuckled, annoyed. "Your successful cultivation of gene energy this time increased your strength by over two thousand kilograms in one go. In the Jiangnan Base City, only one or two geniuses like you emerge every year. As for those even more talented, although I haven't seen them, I've heard of a few. But the most they've ever gained was a little over four thousand kilograms in one go, becoming a high-level warrior as soon as they became martial artists. 8,000 kilograms? I've never even heard of that, it's impossible!"
As the two talked, they arrived at the second floor of a quiet little building.
Here, Luo Feng encountered a challenge from Wan Dong, a genius martial artist from the Thunder Martial Arts School, but Luo Feng, still pondering Yang Wu's strength, naturally ignored him.
...
As evening fell, Yang Wu and over a thousand aspiring martial artists, led by soldiers, walked for more than half an hour before finally arriving at the outskirts of a small town.
"Roar—"
"Awooo—"
Various terrifying roars of monsters echoed from the town.
"Hurry! There aren't enough monsters inside. Send over 1200 Iron-haired Boars, 300 Shadow Cats, and 500 Tiger Mastiffs!" the person in charge of the assessment in the town ordered.
Soon, heavy trucks drove into the town, each carrying a large iron cage filled with frenzied monsters.
Two thousand of the weakest H-class monsters were transported into the town, bringing the monster population to an astonishing number.
"Gentlemen!" an officer shouted from a three-story building inside the town, "This year's quasi-martial arts combat assessment will proceed as before, starting at 6:30 PM tonight and ending at 6:30 AM tomorrow."
"Your task is to hunt as many monsters as possible. The more monsters you hunt, the more points you'll earn. For each monster you kill, cut off its left ear as proof!" "
Frontline warriors are strictly prohibited from killing each other; violators will be executed."
"Finally, only the top 60% of you with the highest scores will qualify as martial artists. The rest will have to wait for the next assessment."
"If anyone is seriously injured, immediately press the SOS button on your communication watch. Someone will come to your aid immediately."
After saying this, the officer glanced at his communication watch and then shouted, "Time's up! All quasi-martial artists participating in the assessment, enter Monster Town!"
With a wave of his hand, the town gates burst open, and countless quasi-martial artists rushed into Monster Town.
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