Chapter Twenty-One: The Assessment Concludes

Luo Yuan wielded the Blood Shadow Blade as he ran carelessly through the Monster Town. Suddenly, a Shadow Cat lunged at him, its claws flashing. Luo Yuan merely shifted his body slightly, easily evading the attack. In the next instant, his blade sliced the Shadow Cat cleanly in two. As blood splattered, he had already appeared more than ten meters away.

Approaching the corpse, Luo Yuan casually cut off its left ear and slipped it into his backpack. The movement was fluid and effortless, like water flowing. His backpack already contained quite a few monster ears, all trophies from those that had attacked him.

He curled his lip in slight disdain; this martial artist combat assessment seemed pointless. Though he had never killed monsters before, he felt no discomfort. To him, these creatures were like livestock—slaughtering them elicited no emotion.

As he ran, Luo Yuan saw many aspiring martial artists fighting monsters. Some were being devoured, but he paid little attention. Any beast that blocked his path was killed without mercy. Some candidates were spared thanks to him, but by the time they realized what had happened, Luo Yuan had vanished, leaving only shredded monster remains.

"Woo-woo~~ woo-woo~~ woo-woo~~"

Suddenly, the entire town was filled with harsh, piercing sounds, followed by a deep voice booming through a loudspeaker.

"Time's up. All candidates, proceed immediately to the town exit."

"The combat assessment is over?" Luo Yuan stopped running, flicked the blood from his blade, and left a crimson line on the ground.

At the town's exit, candidates emerged one by one. Almost everyone was stained with blood—either from monsters or themselves. Some were helped along by friends, their bodies battered.

Luo Yuan's figure appeared at the exit as well. He looked calm, untouched by blood, though his backpack was heavy.

"Honk, honk—"

A cacophony arose as heavy trucks rolled out from the town, each piled high with monster corpses.

"Hey, these are the candidates' bodies. Someone come and collect them." One truck stopped nearby, and indeed, it carried many corpses—some incomplete, evidently half-devoured by monsters. The bodies were dumped onto the ground.

Those who recognized the dead cried out in shock; some threw themselves on the bodies, wailing in grief. Just yesterday, these were vibrant lives; today, cold corpses. Silence gripped the survivors, a stark reminder of the world's brutality.

Choosing the path of a martial artist meant accepting the risk of death. The privileges granted to martial artists were exchanged with their lives.

Luo Feng and Yang Wu saw Luo Yuan at the entrance and hurried over in delight.

"Luo Yuan, you've done well!" Luo Feng said, glancing at Luo Yuan's heavy pack with a smile.

"Heh, Luo Feng, you're not so bad yourself. Looks like this assessment has benefited you too. Seeing real blood changes a person—you seem steadier now," Luo Yuan patted Luo Feng's shoulder, and Luo Feng just grinned sheepishly, scratching his head.

"Ah, you two are monsters. Look at me—my left arm's injured and I only managed three monster ears, just enough to pass," Yang Wu joked self-deprecatingly.

"Alright, let's hurry and hand in these monster ears. Haven't slept all night—we need some rest," Luo Yuan said as he and the others headed to submit their trophies.

"Look, Luo Yuan and Luo Feng are here."

"They were recruited early by the Limit Martial Hall."

"I wonder how many monsters they've slain."

"With their physique, they must be skilled hunters!"

A wave of attention swept over them as the candidates focused on Luo Yuan and Luo Feng, approaching from the town entrance.

Luo Yuan, Luo Feng, Wan Dong, and Ma Xiao were the four early recruits among this group. News had spread, so nearly everyone recognized them.

"Next," an officer called to the next candidate.

"Yang Wu—hmm, not bad, three monster ears, left arm lightly injured. Next."

"Luo Feng, thirty-six monster ears. Very good!"

"Luo Yuan, is it? Give me the monster ears you've collected," said one of the three officers seated before them, two of whom were working on laptops.

"Yes."

With a flourish, Luo Yuan unloaded his backpack and poured its contents into a metal basin—a heap of monster ears, enough to fill it completely.

"This many?"

"How many monsters did he kill?" The candidates watching from afar were stunned.

The assessment officer counted the ears, then smiled at Luo Yuan.

"Luo Yuan, excellent—one hundred and eighteen monster ears. So far, you're the top hunter in this batch. No injuries