Chapter 109: The Test

Not long after Ryan had plunged into the crowd, another psychokinetic car came speeding along Hassan’s private road. It carved a perfect drifting arc in front of hundreds of martial artists and came to a stop right in the center of the gathering.

This time, however, the psychokinetic car did not produce the usual blue-clad man who had appeared in every previous vehicle. Only one person stepped out—a woman dressed in a sleeveless top and a miniskirt, wearing brown sunglasses, her appearance bearing some resemblance to the modern fashion of Earth’s stylish young women.

The stylish woman’s unique entrance immediately drew everyone’s attention. Yet she was completely unfazed by the stares, walking with elegance and poise until she reached the far end of the makeshift dock, where she stopped.

“I am your first examiner today,” she announced, her first words sparking a ripple of mild commotion through the crowd of martial artists.

Every fighter present had been recommended by major arenas and was undeniably an elite of extraordinary strength. One of the greatest traits of such powerful individuals—or perhaps more accurately, a common flaw among many of them—was their arrogance.

It was barely tolerable for these powerful martial artists to accept the idea of competing with each other, all for the sake of the generous bounty. But asking them to accept the authority of an examiner who stood above them was like expecting the impossible.

Sure enough, as soon as the stylish woman finished speaking, one martial artist sneered and lifted his head arrogantly. “What a joke! A mere woman—what qualifications do you have to test my strength?”

“Oh? Qualifications, huh…” The stylish woman smiled as she removed her sunglasses, revealing a delicate and charming face.

“Whoa!” A chorus of whistles and catcalls erupted from the male martial artists. Amid the rising noise, the stylish woman suddenly tossed her sunglasses high into the air.

Before anyone could figure out why she had done that, she suddenly blurred into a shadowy afterimage and vanished!

“Ahh!” As the crowd gasped in shock, the stylish woman reappeared suddenly in front of the martial artist who had questioned her. Her slender right fist was wrapped in a faint blue glow as she threw a lightning-fast punch at the stunned man, whose mouth was still wide open.

In the next instant, a powerful burst of air lifted sand from half the beach into the air. The martial artist who had doubted the stylish woman was sent flying like a ball kicked by a giant, screaming all the way over the entire stretch of sand and landing deep in the distant jungle!

Whoosh! Sand and stones rained down like a storm. Martial artists along the shore shielded their heads in disarray, spitting sand from their mouths with disgust. Yet the stylish woman herself had already vanished again before the sandstorm fell, reappearing precisely at the spot where she had thrown her sunglasses, catching them effortlessly as they fell from the sky.

“Anyone else want to know what qualifications I have to be your examiner? Step forward,” she said calmly, putting her sunglasses back on and sweeping her gaze around the crowd.

The martial artists could clearly tell that the stylish “examiner” had deliberately stirred up the sandstorm to make them suffer. However, the fate of that unfortunate man earlier had left the martial artists too frightened to speak out.

When the stylish woman had struck that tenth-rank martial artist, many among the crowd hadn’t even seen her final blow. The gap in strength was glaringly obvious. Now, fearing they might become the next example made to scare the rest, none of the martial artists dared step forward to challenge her.

“Tch!” At the back of the crowd, Agate curled his lip in clear displeasure but ultimately said nothing in response to the stylish woman’s confident declaration.

As the stylish woman attacked the tenth-rank martial artist, Agate had been watching her closely. At the moment of her final strike, he clearly saw her concentrate her energy into her right fist and deliver three precise punches in quick succession to the tenth-rank fighter’s abdomen, chest, and jaw.

Each of the stylish woman’s punches seemed pitifully weak to Agate. But he quickly realized that each strike had perfectly neutralized the tenth-rank fighter’s defensive energy. In the end, the cumulative effect of the three punches had sent the tenth-rank fighter flying away without serious injury.

This left Agate utterly stunned! While he was confident that in a one-on-one fight, he could defeat that tenth-rank weakling much faster than the stylish woman, he knew he could never replicate her precise control—delivering just enough force to knock an opponent away without causing significant harm. Even if he died, he wouldn’t be able to do that!

In fact, if it weren’t for his poor control over battle energy, Agate wouldn’t have gained the nickname “the weakest super-tier in history.”

Besides Agate, Zhang Wen and Shura, who had also observed the stylish woman’s technique, were equally amazed by her dazzling display.

After all, a martial artist’s defensive energy wasn’t static when under attack. Yet the stylish woman had landed three consecutive punches, each perfectly neutralizing the opponent’s energy.

In other words, at the moment each punch made contact with the opponent’s defensive energy, she had instantaneously adjusted the force of her strike. In an extremely short time, she balanced both energies precisely. This level of exquisite control was something no ordinary martial artist could achieve.

“What do we do?” Shura, equally impressed by the stylish woman’s skill, quickly asked Zhang Wen.

“Let’s watch and see for now,” Zhang Wen replied with a smile, shaking his head.

The martial artists, momentarily cowed by the stylish woman, grew quiet for a while. But soon, another thought struck them: “Hey! If this woman is here, why did Hassan even bother calling us here?” The martial artists began whispering among themselves again.

“Silence!” The stylish woman barked, and the martial artists obediently shut their mouths. “Want to know why Hassan brought you here? No need to whisper and guess. I’ll tell you now!”

She slid her hand into her pocket and gave a cold, sweeping glance across the crowd. Then she nodded toward a blue-clad man standing at the back.

One of the blue-clad men stepped forward, taking the stylish woman’s place at the front. With a robotic, expressionless face, he began speaking to the group.

“The boss has invited you all to participate in this selection for an upcoming competition…”

“Damn it!” Agate nearly cursed out loud when the blue-clad man had barely begun speaking.

It turned out the blue-clad man’s words were almost identical to the information Ryan had sold them earlier! Clearly, Hassan had never intended to hide his purpose from the martial artists he had summoned. Ryan had probably learned it from the blue-clad man who picked him up.

“That brat! Pretending to be mysterious, selling us common knowledge as secret intelligence—he must think we’re all fools!” Agate gritted his teeth in anger.

“Let it go. He didn’t take anything from us,” Shura patted Agate’s shoulder, trying to calm him.

“Hmph!” Agate grumbled but kept quiet for now.

At this point, the blue-clad man had nearly finished repeating what Ryan had told Zhang Wen and the others. The martial artists quieted briefly before someone shouted out in frustration again.

“Hey! You’ve said a lot, but you still haven’t answered the question we really want to know! If Hassan hired this Miss Marian to test us, why not just have her compete directly?”

“Please don’t rush. I’m about to explain that,” the blue-clad man replied calmly. “Miss Marian has indeed accepted the boss’s employment. Not only is she today’s examiner, but she will also be one of the competitors in the upcoming competition, just like you all.”

“What? Impossible! You mean she’s the super-tier who’s supposed to team up with us?” Several martial artists shouted in disbelief.

“You seem to have misunderstood something. No one ever said Mohan Group would only field one team in the competition,” the blue-clad man smiled slightly. “Miss Marian, along with several other martial artists already employed, will form Mohan Group’s Team A. The four martial artists who win this selection will become members of Mohan Group’s Team B.”

“What?!” The martial artists burst into another round of chaotic discussion.

“Hey! So you’re saying you’re just inviting us to be cannon fodder?” Several martial artists shouted over the noise.

“Of course not. I’ve already said, the four selected martial artists will form Team B of Mohan Group together with a super-tier warrior. Think carefully—would we include a super-tier in a cannon fodder team?” The blue-clad man smiled calmly, his tone as steady as a rock. “Moreover, you all know how much the boss has paid to bring you here. Would it make sense to spend such a fortune just for cannon fodder?”

“Hmm…” The blue-clad man’s words gradually calmed the martial artists.

Even the most cautious among them had to admit that his reasoning was convincing. Setting aside the huge sum Hassan had spent on them, the fact that they would team up with a super-tier warrior was already enough to show Hassan’s sincerity.

After all, super-tier warriors were universally recognized as the strongest fighters. No matter how vast Hassan’s power was, he wouldn’t dare to use a super-tier as cannon fodder.

Seeing the martial artists gradually calm down, the blue-clad man nodded to Marian and silently retreated to the back of the crowd.

“Nothing more to say?” Marian returned to the front with a smile.

Sensing the clear displeasure in her tone, none of the martial artists dared to provoke the female examiner.

“Good! Since no one has anything else to say, let’s begin. See that ship out there?” After a brief silence, Marian nodded in satisfaction. Then she suddenly pointed toward the sea.

The crowd followed her finger. Some immediately squinted, as if spotting something. Others, unable to see anything after straining their eyes, tugged at their companions impatiently for explanations.

Zhang Wen, who had cultivated the Spring Water Technique, easily spotted a massive cruise ship slowly sailing westward on the horizon.

“If you can’t see it, it doesn’t matter,” Marian said with a cold smile, lowering her hand. “As long as you can board that ship, even a blind man can pass.”

“Board the ship? What does that mean?” As soon as Marian finished speaking, a small wave of confusion rippled through the martial artists.

Agate, unable to stand the cowardly behavior of the others, finally spoke up. “Hmph! Can’t you figure it out? Most of you here are tenth-rank or higher, right? She’s telling you that if you can’t fly to that ship from here, you might as well go home now!”

“Fly? From here?” Many martial artists gasped in shock.

Although it was well known in the Empire that martial artists who broke through the tenth rank could fly, what was often overlooked was that flying was an extremely energy-draining activity. A newly promoted tenth-rank martial artist would already be considered exceptional if they could fly a few hundred meters.

The cruise ship Marian pointed to was at least five or six kilometers from the shore. Crossing such a distance by flying alone would be a challenge even for weaker saint-tier warriors, let alone ordinary tenth-rank martial artists.

Most of the martial artists present were indeed tenth-rank or higher. As they realized the distance, their emotions quickly shifted from confusion to shock, then to anger.

“Nonsense! There’s no way anyone can fly that far!”

“Exactly! This is clearly impossible! If you only wanted super-tier warriors, just say so! What’s the point of bringing us all the way here just to mock us?”

Many martial artists shouted angrily. Others stared coldly at Marian at the center of the storm.

Yet, facing the angry crowd, Marian crossed her arms over her chest and wore a smirk of indifference. The blue-clad man who had spoken earlier stood silently behind her, saying nothing.

“Hey! Are you guys done yet?” Just as the crowd’s anger was reaching its peak, a lazy voice suddenly rang out from the back.

“Huh?” Several of the loudest martial artists turned around in surprise. But Zhang Wen and others in the middle of the crowd immediately recognized the voice.

“Dennis Ryan!” Agate gritted his teeth again.

“Heh!” Ryan still smiled brightly, scanning the crowd with his eyes.

“Kid, what do you want?” A burly, bald man with a fierce expression strode out of the crowd and confronted Ryan.

“I just want to ask, what’s the point of arguing like this? If you keep wasting time, that ship will sail away!” Ryan pointed toward the cruise ship, his view blocked by the bald man.

“I know that! But can’t you see how far that ship is? How are we supposed to get on it?” The bald man shouted furiously.

“Come on, use your brains a little, will you? Do you really need someone to explain everything to you?” Ryan shrugged helplessly, his eyes still scanning the crowd.

“Damn you! What did you say? Say it again!” The bald man angrily grabbed Ryan’s collar and lifted him off the ground.

“Sigh! Fine, since you’re in such a hurry, I’ll give you a bit of free information,” Ryan sighed with a helpless smile while being held midair. “Didn’t you hear? Miss Marian said anyone who can board that ship can pass—even a blind man.”

“Yeah! But how does that help us? We still can’t get on that ship!” The bald man shouted even more furiously.

“That’s why I said you have no brains!” Ryan sighed again, smiling brightly. “Didn’t you understand what Miss Marian meant? She never restricted how you get on the ship! Whether you fly, swim, or even hijack a spaceship to chase after it, as long as you make it on board, you pass.”

“What… what?” The bald man loosened his grip on Ryan’s collar in shock.

Soon, almost all the martial artists turned their heads to look at Marian and the blue-clad man behind her.

“Hmph! Seems like not all the candidates are complete idiots this time,” Marian sneered, and the martial artists immediately erupted into chaos.

Ryan’s hint and Marian’s confirmation finally helped the martial artists break free from their biggest misconception. They now realized that the question didn’t require them to rely solely on their own strength to board the cruise ship. As long as they could think of a way, they could use any means available!

Realizing this, the martial artists sprang into action. Some turned their eyes toward the few psychokinetic boats stored in the warehouse at the temporary dock, while others began forming groups, planning to fly in relay across the thousands of meters of sea between them and the cruise ship.

“Three of you, nice to see you again,” Ryan, ignoring the chaos he had caused, walked directly to Zhang Wen with a bright smile, where the latter had been watching silently.

“Hmph! Indeed, nice to see you again,” Agate turned his gaze away with gritted teeth.

“Wow, do I detect some misunderstanding here?” Ryan feigned surprise as he looked at Agate. “If I recall correctly, I haven’t wronged you, and I even gave you a little help, right?”

“Yeah, you gave us a little help. We’re really grateful,” Agate sneered, his teeth grinding again at the mention of Ryan’s “help.”

“No, I think you misunderstood!” Ryan pretended to look frightened and ducked behind Zhang Wen.

“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding? You clearly sold us cheap, common knowledge as secret intelligence just to use us, didn’t you?” Agate glared furiously at Ryan.

“Unfair! So unfair!” Ryan peeked out from behind Zhang Wen, looking wronged. “I worked really hard to get that information from the blue-clad guys who picked me up! How was I supposed to know those guys would blab everything out themselves? Information trading is like that—you can’t blame me for everything. Besides, even if they leaked the info, you still knew earlier than others, so it wasn’t a total loss, right?”

“You… hmpf!” Although Agate found Ryan’s explanation sounded more like excuses, he couldn’t find a way to refute it. In the end, his anger turned into a resentful grunt.

“Alright, alright! You two, stop arguing. Agate, you’re such a big guy, why do you still have the same temper as a little kid?” Zhang Wen teased Agate with a grin before turning to Ryan. “So, what do you want now that you’ve come looking for us?”

“Hehe! Earlier, when I gave you the information, you seemed to agree to help me a little…” Ryan smiled, but noticing Agate’s darkening expression, he quickly changed his tone. “Of course, since my information turned out flawed, I wouldn’t dare ask for anything else. But I do have another deal—interested?”

“Let’s hear it,” Zhang Wen smiled, his lips curling.

“Hehe. I know exactly what competition Hassan’s boss will be entering after this selection. How about this deal—does that information sound valuable enough for you to take me on board?” Ryan grinned confidently.

“Alright, deal,” Zhang Wen pondered briefly before exchanging a glance with Shura and nodding at Ryan.

“Hehe… Once we’re on the cruise, I’ll explain everything about the upcoming competition in detail. You won’t regret it. My information is always worth more than the price,” Ryan flashed his signature bright smile, his gaze drifting toward the distant cruise ship.

“Let’s hope so,” Zhang Wen nodded with a smile, his eyes also fixed on the horizon.