Chapter 8: Assessment
July 1st - Early Morning
The first rays of dawn had barely touched the sky when Luo Sheng and his brother Luo Feng left their home.
The two brothers made their way to the nearest metro station, their steps purposeful despite the early hour. Today was the day they had been preparing for—the Quasi-Warrior assessment.
After boarding the metro and riding for nearly an hour, they arrived at the central area of Yangzhou City. The cityscape here was noticeably different from their residential district—taller buildings, wider streets, and an atmosphere of importance that permeated everything.
"We're finally here," Luo Feng said as they exited the subway station.
The brothers walked for another fifteen minutes through the bustling city center before finally reaching their destination—the headquarters of the Extreme Martial Club in Yangzhou City, known as the Limit Hall!
When they had left home, it was just past six in the morning. By the time they reached the Limit Hall, it was already eight o'clock.
"Is this the Mingyue Community?"
Luo Feng looked at the entrance of the quiet residential area ahead with considerable emotion.
The Limit Hall they were going to enter was located within this exclusive community.
"The guards at the entrance are all soldiers with live ammunition," Luo Sheng observed quietly.
Armed soldiers stood at attention on either side of the gate, their assault rifles held professionally. Their eyes scanned every person approaching with practiced vigilance.
Luo Sheng smiled slightly and said to his brother, "People living in this community are the families of Martial Artists, so security naturally needs to be strict. Come on, let's go."
They approached the security checkpoint, where a middle-aged guard sat at a desk with a handheld computer.
"IDs and trainee certificates, please," the guard requested professionally.
Both brothers handed over their identification cards and Senior Trainee certificates. The guard swiped them on his handheld device, and Luo Sheng and Luo Feng's basic information appeared consecutively on the screen.
The middle-aged man's eyes widened slightly as he read the information. "You're just eighteen years old and you're here to take the Quasi-Warrior assessment?"
He looked up at them with visible disbelief.
Luo Sheng blinked and asked politely, "Senior, is there an age limit for the Quasi-Warrior assessment?"
The guard instinctively shook his head. "No, there's no age limit. As long as your physical fitness meets the requirements, anyone can participate. It's just..." He paused, looking them up and down with newfound respect. "I've been guarding this gate for thirteen years, and this is the first time I've seen such young people come to take the Quasi-Warrior assessment. You two must be genuine prodigies."
The man smiled and nodded approvingly, then waved to the other soldiers. "Let them in."
The community gate slowly opened with a mechanical hum. Two soldiers holding assault rifles stepped forward, and one of them addressed the brothers with a serious expression:
"Sirs, I will escort you to the Limit Hall. Please do not wander once you enter the community! You only have permission to enter the Limit Hall and are not allowed to enter the residential area where Martial Artist families live!"
He fixed them with a stern look. "If you violate these rules, even if I don't take action, the other patrol teams in the community will."
Luo Sheng and Luo Feng exchanged glances and both nodded, indicating they understood completely.
Under the soldier's guidance, the two walked into the community. What greeted their eyes was breathtaking—detached villas resembling small gardens, each more beautiful than the last. Various decorative elements adorned these homes: artificial rockeries, tranquil ponds, perfectly maintained lawns, and vibrant flower gardens that made the entire area look like a paradise.
"So this is how Martial Artists live," Luo Feng whispered, awestruck.
The contrast with their own neighborhood was striking. This was true wealth and privilege—the reward for those strong enough to protect humanity from the monsters beyond the walls.
In the center of Mingyue Community stood the Limit Hall—an imposing structure that dwarfed even the luxurious villas surrounding it.
The soldier who had escorted them stopped at the entrance. "This is as far as I go. Good luck with your assessment."
"Thank you," both brothers said respectfully.
As the soldier departed, Luo Sheng looked up at the massive building before them. "This is the Limit Hall! It's at least twice as large as the training facility where we usually practice!"
Luo Feng nodded, equally impressed. "Let's go inside."
They entered the hall's lobby, and immediately a sweet-looking young woman approached them with a professional smile. "Are you two gentlemen here for the Quasi-Warrior assessment?"
"Yes, we are," Luo Sheng confirmed.
The receptionist bowed slightly and gestured gracefully toward a waiting area. "In that case, please proceed to the lounge area over there to rest first. The Quasi-Warrior assessment will officially begin at ten o'clock this morning!"
"Thank you," Luo Sheng said.
The brothers walked toward the designated area and found three people already waiting there. Two of them were engaged in quiet conversation, while the third sat silently on a sofa, apparently deep in meditation or mental preparation.
Luo Sheng and Luo Feng found seats and settled in to wait.
Over the next hour and a half, more candidates arrived. By nine-thirty, there were seven people total in the waiting area—all preparing to take the assessment that could change their lives forever.
"Ha! Luo Feng! Luo Sheng!"
A loud, familiar voice suddenly rang out.
Both brothers were startled. They turned their heads and saw Yang Wu—the scarred Senior Trainee they'd met at the training facility—walking toward them with a broad grin.
"Brother Yang!" they both stood to greet him.
Yang Wu patted both their shoulders heartily. "Are you two also here for the Quasi-Warrior assessment? With the physical fitness you showed before, you'll definitely pass today! Keep up the good work!"
Luo Sheng smiled. "Brother Yang, you'll definitely pass too!"
Yang Wu laughed. "I'll take that as a good omen! It's embarrassing to say, but the last time I took the test, I fell just a little short on the speed requirement. Otherwise, you wouldn't be seeing me here today. But I've been training hard since then!"
As they chatted, a middle-aged man in loose training clothes emerged from a doorway at the center of the lobby.
"Quiet down," he said, his voice carrying authority despite not being particularly loud.
All candidates immediately fell silent and looked toward him.
"Come, follow me upstairs. The Quasi-Warrior assessment will begin shortly." He paused, his expression becoming more serious. "Remember, once upstairs, maintain proper discipline. The Chief Instructor of our Yangzhou branch has an important guest visiting today, so don't cause any trouble."
The Chief Instructor's guest? Luo Sheng and Luo Feng exchanged curious glances.
Seeing that the instructor had already started walking toward the stairs, they quickly followed along with the other candidates.
The group made their way up through the building. The Limit Hall had multiple floors, each dedicated to different aspects of training and assessment.
Within Yangzhou City, there was one Limit Hall and twelve smaller Extreme Martial Club training facilities spread across different districts. The instructors at each district facility were simply called "Instructors," while the Master of the headquarters Limit Hall held the prestigious title of "Chief Instructor."
They took an elevator to the sixth floor. When the doors opened, what greeted them was an incredibly large training hall—easily three times the size of any training facility they'd seen before.
More than a dozen people were already gathered in the training hall. Among them, Luo Sheng and Luo Feng immediately recognized Jiang Nian, the Instructor from their home district's dojo.
"They're here. Stop chatting," a middle-aged man with long, flowing hair spoke calmly.
Everyone in the training hall immediately turned their attention to the nine candidates.
Facing the collective gaze of over a dozen people, candidates felt their hearts tighten instinctively. These weren't ordinary instructors—these were all genuine Martial Artists! Powerful warriors who had experienced countless battles and faced life and death situations repeatedly!
The pressure of their combined presence was almost physical.
"Prepare for the test," the long-haired man instructed.
Luo Sheng had researched this man before coming. Recalling the information briefly, he immediately recognized him—this was Wutong, the Master of this Limit Hall and the Chief Instructor of all Yangzhou City's Extreme Martial Club facilities.
"One by one, come forward and give me your ID cards first," instructed another Martial Artist—the same one who had led them upstairs.
Candidates handed over their identification. The Martial Artist collected them and passed them to Chief Instructor Wutong, smiling as he said, "Boss, quite a few people are here for the assessment today—nine of them!"
"Mm..." Wutong nodded, his gaze sweeping over the candidates and lingering briefly on Luo Sheng and Luo Feng.
He had already received detailed information and data about these two brothers from Jiang Nian, and he was very interested in seeing their performance firsthand.
Eighteen-year-old Quasi-Warriors... he thought. If they're as talented as reported, they could become pillars of humanity's defense within a few years.
Wutong casually took the first ID card and swiped it across an activated instrument nearby.
Beep.
A clear, seemingly transparent holographic screen appeared on the instrument, displaying comprehensive information from the ID card.
"First up, Dong Guan."
Wutong glanced at a burly, bearded man among the candidates, raising an eyebrow slightly.
"Proceed with the strength test. Interesting that people from the military are coming to our dojo for assessment."
The burly man named Dong Guan smiled at the remark and stepped forward to the strength testing machine. After taking a deep breath, he threw a powerful punch.
THUD!
The punching bag trembled.
Punching Power: 978 kg
"Pass," Wutong announced after glancing at the number on the screen.
As Dong Guan completed his punch, Luo Sheng's system detected the attribute orbs released.
[Strength +97 kg]
[Defense +96 kg]
Even during assessments, people drop attributes, Luo Sheng thought with satisfaction. This day is already proving profitable.
Immediately after, Wutong took out the second ID card and swiped it on the instrument. The information that appeared belonged to Luo Feng.
Wutong looked at Jiang Nian with an evaluating expression. "Is this the young man named Luo Feng you mentioned? He looks promising. I hope you weren't exaggerating when you praised him."
Jiang Nian laughed confidently. "How could I exaggerate to you, Chief?"
A chubby old man standing nearby—clearly an instructor from another district—teased, "You certainly boasted plenty when we were drinking last week. This kid is probably just here to gain some experience today, right?"
Jiang Nian glanced at the old man with a competitive smile. "Jealous? You don't have such young geniuses in your Beiyou District, do you? Heh heh... Luo Feng, show them the true strength of our Yian District trainees!"
Luo Feng stepped forward and responded loudly, "Yes, Instructor!"
Everyone present focused their attention on Luo Feng, curious to see what kind of strength this young man—favored by both Jiang Nian and the Chief Instructor—truly possessed.
Luo Feng's eyes narrowed with concentration. He positioned himself before the machine, centered his weight, and threw his punch with perfect technique.
BANG!
The impact was noticeably louder than the previous candidate's.
Punching Power: 1373 kg
"Good!"
"Excellent!"
"Not bad at all!"
Surprised praise erupted from several instructors when they saw the value displayed on the screen. Even those who had been skeptical couldn't help but be impressed.
[Strength +136 kg]
[Defense +137 kg]
Brother is definitely getting stronger, Luo Sheng thought as he absorbed the attributes. His awakening as a Spirit Master has accelerated his physical development considerably.
However, the instructor from Beiyou District—the chubby old man who had been teasing earlier—now wore a somewhat displeased expression, clearly unhappy about being proven wrong.
Wutong smiled and nodded with satisfaction. "Not bad, Jiang Nian. You didn't exaggerate this time. This young man's talent is indeed exceptional!"
He casually picked up another ID card and swiped it. "Next, Bai Yang."
Luo Feng walked back to the formation where the other candidates stood.
Luo Sheng smiled at him. "Well done, Xiao Feng. Congratulations."
Yang Wu, standing nearby, whispered with amazed laughter, "Your punching power has actually reached 1373 kilograms! That's incredible, you amazing guy!"
Luo Feng grinned, clearly pleased with his performance.
The remaining candidates quickly completed their punching power tests. Most passed comfortably, though one unfortunate candidate fell just short of the 900 kg requirement and was eliminated on the spot.
As the tests proceeded, Luo Sheng continued collecting attributes from each punch:
[Defense +103 kg]
[Strength +105 kg]
[Strength +94 kg]
[Defense +95 kg]
.....
Every little bit helps, he thought. By the time this assessment is over, I'll have accumulated significant gains.
"Big brother, you're the last one," Luo Feng said.
As he finished speaking, Chief Instructor Wutong had already turned his gaze toward Luo Sheng. He calmly called out: "Last one, Luo Sheng!"
Wutong swiped Luo Sheng's ID card on the instrument, and immediately his personal information appeared on the holographic display.
The surrounding Martial Artists were all surprised to see that Luo Sheng shared the Luo surname.
"You're also eighteen years old?" one instructor exclaimed. "Then you and Luo Feng must be brothers!"
"Jiang Nian," another instructor called out, "don't tell me he also has the same level of strength as Luo Feng?"
Jiang Nian smiled mysteriously at the questions from his colleagues.
The same as Luo Feng's strength? he thought with satisfaction. I hope you won't be too surprised when you see his results!
"This young man's strength is even greater than his brother's!" Jiang Nian announced confidently.
Several instructors exchanged skeptical glances, but Wutong remained neutral, simply gesturing toward the machine. "Proceed with the punching power test."
Luo Sheng approached the testing machine and took a measured breath, appearing completely serious and focused.
I should hold back somewhat, he thought. I'll display around 1500 kg—impressive enough to gain respect, but not so shocking that it seems impossible.
Then—
BOOM!
He punched with controlled power.
BEEP!
Punching Power: 1508 kg
"It's 1508 kg! This..."
"He hit 1508 kg of punching power at eighteen! What did he eat to grow up like that?"
"This young man has boundless prospects!"
"Jiang Nian! Why can your Yian District produce two such geniuses?!"
The training hall erupted in astonished exclamations. Even the instructor from Beiyou District who had been skeptical earlier now stared with his mouth slightly open.
Wutong looked at Luo Sheng with undisguised admiration and satisfaction.
To be honest, even he was surprised by the punching power Luo Sheng displayed. In his estimation, Luo Sheng would at most match his brother's strength, perhaps slightly higher. But this was a full 138 kilograms stronger than Luo Feng—a substantial difference!
This kind of talent... Wutong thought. This... Perhaps God of War level isn't out of reach.
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