Chapter 59: Where Did This Guy Come From
Chapter 59: Chapter 59: Where Did This Guy Come From
Wang Xi followed the group of examinees down the corridor. No one was making a fuss or whispering to one another; only the echo of their numerous footsteps remained.
This time, they passed the rooms from the previous written exam and continued deeper. After crossing a plaza paved with gray flagstones, they entered a building in the association’s inner section.
Everyone arrived in a spacious hall resembling an indoor basketball court. The floor, walls, and ceiling were all made of a special metal, polished to a mirror-like sheen. Neatly arranged strip lights on the ceiling emitted a pure white glow, rendering the entire environment a vast, hazy white and creating a palpable sense of pressure.
TAP... TAP...
Several association staff members in sharp suits, hands clasped behind their backs, walked rigidly to the front of the crowd. A calm voice rang out, concisely explaining the rules to everyone.
The second round of the assessment, colloquially known as the combat exam.
It tested the examinees’ comprehensive abilities in three major areas: offensive capability, defensive capability, and emergency survival skills.
The total score for the combat exam would be assessed on a 3:3:4 ratio, then combined with the written exam results. A board of Examiners would then judge whether to grant the Professional Warrior title and certificate.
It sounded simple, but was incredibly difficult.
Take Valley City for example. Every year, the number of amateur Heroes who participated in the assessment ranged from the high hundreds to nearly a thousand, but in the end, those who passed, became Professional Warriors, and achieved the leap in civic status numbered only a few dozen—or even fewer.
The people who qualified for the Professional Warrior assessment were already the cream of the crop, one in ten thousand, which just went to show how difficult the assessment was.
Soon, the first part of the combat exam began.
Offensive Capability Test.
KLANG KLANG KLANG KLANG KLANG!!
In front of the iron wall before them, the floor opened up in large square apertures from which all-metal dummy targets ascended. On the iron wall behind the dummies, data was projected:
"Unarmed Offense; Armed Offense."
This event would test two aspects of offensive ability.
Following the staff’s instructions, the examinees were tested in batches of 20, proceeding in order of their assigned numbers.
The first to go up, naturally, were examinees 1 through 20, a group that included the six seed candidates.
Yu Jiali went first.
SWISH!
Chewing her gum, she gave a cold snort as her figure flashed forward. Her slender, shapely leg, clad in a thigh-high sock, whipped out like a lash and slammed violently into the dummy’s head.
BAM!!
A loud bang rang out.
The dummy target shuddered violently.
BEEP BEEP—
"Yu Jiali, Examinee 003."
"Unarmed Offense: 1490N (80 Points)"
The data flashed instantly on the iron wall’s projection.
The short-haired girl tutted, clearly dissatisfied.
"Another 10N and it would’ve been 90 points..."
She muttered.
BAM!!
BAM BAM BAM!!
At the other stations, the rest of the examinees unleashed their attacks, launching a fierce assault on the rubber-coated, all-metal dummies.
A continuous series of loud bangs echoed through the hall.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP—
Streams of data appeared before the eyes of the examinees and the lenses of the camera drones.
The entire hall, as well as the livestream viewers, burst into an uproar.
The person with the best score was a seed candidate from the Shanshan Conglomerate, a girl named Lin Xin’Er.
The girl looked to be only eighteen or nineteen. The whites of her eyes were completely black, and her pupils were golden rings. She wore her black hair in a ponytail, was dressed in a dark blue bodysuit, and had a detached expression.
A moment ago, a single punch from her had deformed the dummy’s face, leaving it caved in.
"Lin Xin’Er, Examinee 004."
"Unarmed Offense: 2820N (100 Points)"
BEEP.
The projection even displayed a firework animation, as if in celebration.
The only perfect score among the six seed candidates!
This was the pinnacle of destructive power achievable by sheer physical strength, and it stunned everyone.
Of the remaining four seed candidates, the best was the young man from the Gear Conglomerate, Carl, with 1980N (90 Points). The rest scored similarly to Yu Jiali, between 1250N and 1500N, earning 80 points.
As for the other 14 regular examinees in the same batch, they weren’t even in the same league. Almost all of them scored below 800N, with points ranging from 30 to 60.
Astonishment, admiration, anxiety...
All sorts of emotions swirled in the hearts of the examinees.
Wang Xi stood in the crowd, looking thoughtful.
He wasn’t sure what new type of data unit "N" represented, but he was certain it was part of a comprehensive assessment, not a simple test of strength.
’That Lin Xin’Er... she’s been modified with Magic Power.’
Wang Xi thought to himself.
His Moonlit Night Breathing Technique had progressed to a quarter of the way up its experience bar, so he could naturally sense that she was different.
’A patented technology from the Shanshan Conglomerate? Or some kind of Technique Card, like a Breathing Technique?’
Wang Xi speculated internally.
The first test was still ongoing.
Next up was the armed offense test.
Yu Jiali was again the first to act.
She took out a green Card, holding it between her fingers. With a flash of light, it materialized into an ornate, Eight-Sided Bronze Sword. A red silk tassel with an exquisite fringe hung from the pommel.
The short-haired girl flashed forward, gripping the sword with both hands. With a cold expression, she lunged forward, thrusting the sword squarely into the dummy’s left chest.
CLANG!!
A metallic screech echoed.
The sword tip pierced the rubber exterior and penetrated more than three inches into the metal core.
BEEP BEEP—
"Yu Jiali, Examinee 003."
"Armed Offense: 3050N (80 Points)"
Amid gasps of surprise from the onlookers, the other examinees also took out their Universal Cards, materializing weapons to attack the dummies once more.
CLING CLANG!
CRASH!!
This time, the best performer was Carl, the seed candidate from the Gear Conglomerate.
The blond young man, dressed in a white shirt and casual trousers, had his sleeves rolled up to reveal tattoo-like metallic circuits on his forearms. He wore a jet-powered metal gauntlet on his right arm, and with a single blow, he completely caved in and shattered the dummy’s chest.
"Carl Lee, Examinee 005."
"Armed Offense: 4260N (100 Points)"
BEEP!
The firework animation appeared for the second time.
Including Yu Jiali, the other five seed candidates all turned to look at the blond young man with surprise and scrutiny.
Carl smiled faintly, placed a hand over his chest, and gave a slight bow to the crowd. He was not of Mountain and Sea People lineage; he seemed more like someone from the Celestial Federation (Budden United Nations) or the Icefield Empire (Caucasus Empire), possessing a distinctly different cultural air.
Soon, the first batch’s offensive test was over.
On the iron wall to the right side of the hall, a projection of the rankings began to scroll.
Ranked first was none other than Carl.
His offense score was 95.
Following him in the rankings were Lin Xin’Er, Jiang Tianjie, Xiao Yuzhe, Nagata An, and Yu Jiali, in that order.
The short-haired girl bit down on her lollipop with a CRUNCH and glanced coldly at the rankings. She was a seed candidate, yet she ranked last among the six of them. Naturally, she was annoyed.
Batch after batch of examinees went up to be tested, but there were no standout performances. Only a dozen or so were slightly above average, managing to score in the 60s.
Without comparison, there’s no suffering.
As time passed and the tests continued, both the examinees and the livestream audience came to a stark realization.
The six seed candidates were geniuses on a completely different level. It had already been an arduous journey for the masses to pass through multiple screenings and even get into this assessment; to think of standing shoulder to shoulder with those six was nearly impossible.
"We can only eat their dust..."
"I get it now! The officials and the conglomerates are just using these six geniuses for publicity!"
"You’re only just figuring that out? This is the first public livestream. The more explosive it is, the bigger the splash it makes!"
"I get the principle, but after watching those few perform, the rest of the examinees are kind of a letdown."
"A letdown? Pfft! If you’re so good, you go try it! If you can hit 200N, I’ll kneel and call you Grandpa."
「In the lounge area of Cupid’s Home Hall.」
Zhu Yuhe watched the scrolling comments, then turned curiously to the long-haired young man, Yu Zihan.
"Hey, what was your score last time, on the amateur Hero assessment?"
"360N." Yu Zihan glanced at her, a look of frustration on his face. "400N would have gotten me a 6th Dan certificate, but that’s nothing compared to this Professional Warrior assessment!"
"Oh." Zhu Yuhe thought for a moment, then suggested, "Why don’t you post a comment? You could go adopt a son for fun."
"..."
「An hour later.」
It was finally time for Wang Xi’s batch.
He didn’t stand out in the crowd. Just like the examinees before him, he strode toward a metal dummy.
But many in the livestream audience recognized him and frantically spammed the chat:
"Whoa! Sixth Brother is up!"
"Scorn Sixth Brother, understand Sixth Brother, become Sixth Brother."
"No, you should add ’surpass Sixth Brother.’ If I get the chance to take the test next year, I’ll have to eat more than he did just to break even!"
"It’s so despairing to be up against these geniuses."
"30 points. Calling it now. I’m out."
Of course, Wang Xi had no time to be on his phone reading comments, nor did he know that so many viewers had their eyes fixed on him.
He silently stared at the life-sized 1:1 scale target, subtly shifted his left foot outward, and adjusted his stance.
Based on his observations of the other examinees, Wang Xi had actually analyzed a few things.
The human species, though it had shed its claws, fangs, and scales over long eons of evolution to focus on brain development, was by no means lacking in offensive capabilities.
Besides the five-fingered grip and ball-and-socket shoulder joints—two key evolutionary traits that established humanity’s status as "terrifying upright apes"—the fists, elbows, knees, and heels were also deadly weapons for unarmed combat.
They are highly rigid, making them difficult to injure oneself with; they transfer force with high efficiency, a perfect coordination of muscle and bone; and their attack range is wide, allowing one to handle all sorts of situations.
Therefore, to achieve a better score, using these four body parts would make it easier to score points.
WHOOSH—
Wang Xi moved without any warning.
The Randall Body Refining Technique at Perfection gave him an impressive Physique, while Bloody Knight blessed him with powerful Fighting techniques.
He surged forward, bending his arm and raising his elbow.
In that instant, Wang Xi was like an upright black panther, pouncing on the dummy for the kill.
He swung his right elbow horizontally, striking the head—
KRAKOOM!!
An immense crash erupted as a shockwave rippled through the air.
The dummy shuddered violently, one side of its head caved in, and its entire upper body bent sixty degrees to the side!
BEEP BEEP—
"Wang Xi, Examinee 666."
"Unarmed Offense: 2680N (100 Points)"
BEEP!!
The data projection behind the iron wall burst into a celebratory firework animation!
Another perfect score!
All the examinees in the hall, and even the livestream audience, exploded in an uproar.
He’d knocked the dummy’s head completely askew with a single elbow strike!
A score of 2680N!
Second only to Lin Xin’Er’s 2820N!
Who the hell was this guy?!