“It seems Old Jiang is quite confident,” said Chief Instructor Wu Tong with a smile, though his gaze remained fixed on Luo Feng. Almost everyone present was watching Luo Feng, waiting for the results of his test.
Luo Feng stood before the punching dummy. Suddenly, he exerted force from his feet, slightly twisting his waist, unleashing tremendous power that instantly transferred through his body into his arms. His fist shot forth like an arrow released from a fully drawn bow, leaving a faint afterimage as it struck the dummy with a loud “Peng!”
After delivering the punch, a hint of joy appeared in Luo Feng’s eyes. “The punch felt great! The power was fully released!” He glanced at the display screen—1101 kg.
“Good.”
“Excellent!” Several martial artists present immediately praised him.
Chief Instructor Wu Tong stroked his chin and nodded. “This young man is impressive. He remembered not to lose his body’s center of gravity while punching. If he had disregarded everything just to deliver the strongest punch, losing his balance, the punch might have been even more powerful. However, losing balance in a fight against a monster would be suicide! Very good indeed!”
“Haha, this kid Luo Feng has strong combat skills,” Instructor Jiang Nian laughed. “He once defeated three advanced students in a row, all of whom were not inferior to him in strength and speed. He fought decisively and efficiently!”
Hearing the praises from the chief instructor and the other instructor, Luo Feng felt a surge of joy in his heart.
In his teenage years, he had fainted twice, after which his physical strength and speed significantly increased. From that point on, he resolved to become a powerful martial artist. Powerful martial artists required strong combat abilities. Although he hadn’t joined the Limit Martial Arts Gym during his youth, he had searched online for basic sword techniques and body movement fundamentals, practicing alone at home and gradually accumulating experience.
That was why his combat skills were strong.
“He’s a promising talent. Alright, he passes!” Chief Instructor Wu Tong casually picked up another ID card and swiped it on the machine. “Next, Bai Yang.”
Luo Feng returned to the area where the candidates were waiting.
“Nice job, man,” Yang Wu whispered with a surprised smile.
Luo Feng grinned.
…
The eight candidates soon completed the punch strength test. Among them, only one was unfortunate, scoring only 892 kg, narrowly missing the passing line and getting eliminated. The next round, the speed test, would only have seven participants remaining.
“Stop!” Chief Instructor Wu Tong approached the speed testing machine and turned it on.
“One by one, in the reverse order as before. First, Yang Wu.” Chief Instructor Wu Tong instructed. Previously, Yang Wu was the last to test his punch strength, but this time he was the first for the speed test.
Yang Wu took a deep breath.
This was almost his tenth attempt at the Warrior Candidate Trials, yet he kept stumbling at the speed trial.
“Brother Yang, good luck,” Luo Feng quietly patted Yang Wu’s shoulder.
“Just watch me,” Yang Wu adjusted his breathing and stepped onto the track.
Instructor Jiang Nian frowned watching the scene. Yang Wu was also from Yian District, but he had already failed the speed test multiple times.
“Boom!”
Yang Wu’s foot struck the ground with a deep sound. Powerful arm swings and forceful strides quickly accelerated him to his maximum speed. His face contorted, his forehead veins pulsing, as he gritted his teeth and ran furiously. As he passed the speed testing area, he even let out a suppressed low growl!
“I must pass!” As Yang Wu stopped, he roared inwardly.
He anxiously turned his head to look. Luo Feng gave him a thumbs-up. Seeing this, Yang Wu felt as if he had ascended to heaven.
“Haha, Yang Wu, you’re lucky! You actually passed the line,” Instructor Jiang Nian laughed heartily.
Yang Wu hurried over to look at the display—25.1 m/s.
“Phew, that was close,” Yang Wu himself chuckled. If his condition had been slightly worse, his speed might not have reached 25 meters per second, and he would have failed again.
“Alright, you pass!” Chief Instructor Wu Tong also smiled. “Next!”
One by one, the candidates took the test. During the previous strength test, Luo Feng was the second to test. This time for the speed test, Luo Feng was the second to last.
Soon it was Luo Feng’s turn.
“Luo Feng,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong called.
“Go for it, man. We’re going to take the martial artist combat test together,” Yang Wu encouraged. Luo Feng nodded with a smile and stepped onto the track, slightly adjusting his breathing, lightly bouncing in place. Unlike Yang Wu’s purely brute-force style, Luo Feng appeared very relaxed.
“Whoosh!”
With a sudden burst of power, Luo Feng shot forward like a leopard, rapidly moving with a gust of wind, swiftly passing through the speed testing area. Visibly, Luo Feng’s speed was significantly faster than the previous few candidates.
“Feels good,” Luo Feng turned his head and saw Yang Wu giving him a thumbs-up as well. Even Chief Instructor Wu Tong and Instructor Jiang Nian rarely gave approving nods.
Luo Feng walked over and looked at the display himself—it showed—
“28.6 m/s”
“Your speed is excellent, surpassing the passing line by a large margin,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong nodded with a smile. “Next, Tong Guan.”
…
After completing the strength and speed tests, one candidate was eliminated in the strength test, and two were eliminated in the speed test. Only five remained. The third test was the ‘neural reaction speed assessment.’
“Follow me,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong led a group of martial artists and the remaining five candidates into the ‘Neural Reaction Testing Room’ connected to the martial arts hall.
This was a spacious room of about one hundred square meters.
Compared to the previous martial arts hall, which was several thousand square meters, this neural reaction testing room was significantly smaller. A tall, expensive-looking machine was placed on the ground, its front resembling multiple barrels of a Gatling gun, though it had far more openings—dozens in total.
“First, Tong Guan,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong announced.
The bearded man immediately stepped into the three-point-six-meter-diameter circle directly in front of the testing machine’s gun barrels.
“Da!” The switch was turned on.
Instantly, the edge of the three-point-six-meter-diameter circle began emitting a hazy red light, enveloping the test taker inside the circle as if surrounded by a red veil.
“Remember, no matter what, do not leave the circle. Leaving the circle will result in failure. Touching the red light will deduct points,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong explained, then approached the neural reaction testing machine, pressing several buttons to adjust the test’s intensity. The intensity levels varied from the lowest, for intermediate students’ assessments, to the highest, for top martial artists’ training.
“Begin!” Chief Instructor Wu Tong pressed the red button.
“Beep~~ Beep~~” The massive cannon of the neural reaction testing machine began rotating. Almost instantly, dozens of gun barrels fired streams of red light from the cannon, varying in speed and flying trajectories, chaotically entering the red circle area.
The bearded man fixed his gaze ahead, his body rapidly darting back and forth, left and right, skillfully weaving through the gaps between the incoming red projectiles.
“Pop! Pop!” He was hit twice in succession.
However, these “bullets” were rubber-tipped, with minimal power and speed, causing little pain when striking the body.
Time passed second by second.
The bearded man desperately dodged within the circle, and soon a minute had passed.
“Woo~~” Chief Instructor Wu Tong pressed the button, and the cannon of the testing machine quickly decelerated and stopped rotating. A large amount of data appeared on the central screen.
“Within 60 seconds, hit 57 times, touched the red light three times. Not qualified, eliminated!” Chief Instructor Wu Tong announced, tossing the ID card back to the bearded man.
“Just a little more,” the bearded man clenched his teeth, shook his head, and stepped out of the red circle.
“Next, Luo Feng,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong said.
Luo Feng and Yang Wu exchanged a fist bump before Luo Feng directly entered the red circle.
Standing inside the red circle, facing the cannon of the testing machine, Luo Feng took a deep breath. Before joining the gym, he had often practiced body movement techniques at home. Dodging had always been his strongest suit: “Before the college entrance exam, I was usually hit 50 to 55 times within 60 seconds. Now that my physical condition has improved and my reaction is faster, passing the test should be no problem.”
“Remember, never step out of the circle. Stepping out means immediate failure. Touching the red light will deduct points,” Chief Instructor Wu Tong reminded, then pressed the red button.
“Beep~~ Beep~~”
The cannon of the neural reaction testing machine rapidly accelerated, soon rotating at an extremely high speed. Then, almost instantly, dozens of gun barrels fired streams of red light from the cannon, with rubber bullets immediately shooting forth.
“Hmm?” Luo Feng fixed his gaze, rapidly calculating positions in his mind. His entire body moved like an agile cat, continuously dodging left and right, front and back, skillfully avoiding the incoming rubber bullets. Of course, some bullets were simply too fast to evade, forcing him to endure a hit.
As Luo Feng swiftly dodged, martial artists watching from the side began discussing.
“This young man is impressive. His reaction speed seems even better.”
“He’s very fast, with excellent body movement and solid fundamentals. Look, his feet are like the soft pads of a cat’s paws. Each body movement maintains his center of gravity, allowing him to instantly change direction. Such body movement techniques… unless one is a genius, it would take at least ten years of hard work to achieve such a solid foundation.”
The martial artists present were amazed.
A martial artist’s physical strength can be enhanced through cultivation. However, techniques such as body movement and swordsmanship rely on experience. Simply having strong physical power doesn’t guarantee superior body movement skills.
“Woo~~” After pressing the button, the neural reaction testing machine’s cannon decelerated and stopped rotating. A string of numbers appeared on the screen.
“In just 60 seconds, 28 strikes without triggering the red light. Outstanding!” Chief Instructor Wu Tong grinned. “Well done, Luo Feng. Congratulations! Now all that’s left is to wait for the official documents. Once your details are entered into the citizen identity database, you’ll officially become a Warrior Candidate!”
After passing the assessment, it generally took seven days to receive the official certificate, which would be recorded into the citizen identity information system.
Luo Feng clenched his right fist tightly: “Finally succeeded!”
At last, he had become a quasi-warrior!
“Luo Feng, the martial artist combat assessment will be held on August 1st. Assemble at the Limit Gym in the morning under the guidance of the instructor, alongside other prospective warrior candidates, to hunt monsters beyond the human base city. Once you pass the combat assessment, you will officially become a true martial artist,” Instructor Jiang Nian said with a smile.
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