The first assessment began, and Zhang Lin, who stood over one-point-nine meters tall, was in it.
The examiner called out, "Begin."
Gripping a two-meter-long Horse-cutting Blade, Zhang Lin charged like a galloping horse, rushing straight toward two fully armed Lancers!
The two Lancers quickly split up, one to the left and one to the right, attempting a pincer attack.
CLANG!
Blade and spear collided.
The Lancer's Steel Spear was knocked high into the air, and he nearly lost his grip.
The other Lancer hurriedly attacked Zhang Lin from behind, preventing him from taking one of them out right at the start.
Zhang Lin, coveting the reward General Zhou had mentioned, wanted a quick victory and tried to overwhelm his opponents with sheer strength.
But the two Guards were clearly veterans with rich experience in group battles. As one was attacked, the other immediately struck at Zhang Lin's blind spot from a different angle.
The situation reached a temporary stalemate.
Tang Wen glanced around at the other arenas; the situations were all more or less the same.
It seemed these Martial Disciples, who had practiced Martial Arts since childhood, had no shortage of real combat experience.
They could easily defeat a Guard in a one-on-one fight, but the Guards weren't fools. They split up to flank their opponents, coordinating to avoid being picked off one by one.
Seeing this, Tang Wen had a realization. 'Looks like this assessment goes both ways. It's not just for selecting the Hunting Team, but also a test for the Guards.'
CLANG!
Zhang Lin swatted aside a long spear with his blade. Instead of pursuing, he spun on the spot to face the enemy behind him.
He slapped the other long spear aside with his blade and pressed forward.
The faces of the two Guards fell.
The Guard whose spear had been knocked away couldn't recover in time to attack Zhang Lin from behind.
The other Guard was now face-to-face with Zhang Lin's blade.
THUD!
He planted a kick on the Guard's body as his blade slid lightly across the Armor.
Eliminated!
Now it was a one-on-one fight. The remaining Guard didn't even last a single exchange before being taken down by Zhang Lin.
"Zhang Lin, victorious! Time: 89 seconds."
A clamor rose from those waiting to be assessed.
"Damn! That beast, Zhang, doesn't know how to hold back!"
"He's got a shot at first place! That's three chances to view the Visualization Image."
"..."
On the platform, the crowd turned to a tall Commander. "Congratulations, Old Zhang! Your boy is much stronger than you were back in the day! Like father, like son."
"Everyone, please, don't praise him too much. This is only the first round; it's far from over!"
Despite his words, Commander Zhang was clearly delighted. He couldn't hide the smile on his face.
"Oh, cut it out. You're treating us to a meal for this, Old Zhang."
"That's right! You have to bring out that case of fine wine in the glass bottles!"
"Get out of here! I see you're all just trying to swindle me out of my wine!"
Down below, Zhang Lin returned to the ranks and was immediately surrounded by a group of Martial Disciples. Their faces were filled with envy, clearly impressed by his strength.
Only three people—two men and a woman—remained standing silently where they were. Their expressions were grave; they were clearly aiming for first place themselves.
Tang Wen marked those three as people to watch.
The assessments continued. Suddenly, an unexpected incident occurred in arena number seven. One Guard was on the verge of defeat when his partner, in a moment of desperation, hurled his spear like a javelin!
Just as the spear was about to pierce the candidate's body, the examiner intervened. He crossed nearly ten meters in a single stride, gently caught the spear, and brought it to a halt right behind the candidate.
"Step down. You've lost."
"Ye-yes. Thank you, sir." The young man was crestfallen, lifting a sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow.
Many of the other candidates felt sorry for him.
Obviously, he had skill.
But no one expected that Guard to resort to such an unorthodox tactic as throwing his spear.
Tang Wen, however, felt the loss was deserved. 'That Guard must have specifically trained in throwing the javelin.'
Another round ended. The two Martial Disciples Tang Wen had been watching took the field at the same time and secured swift victories.
"Li Gang Cannon, victorious! Time: 143 seconds."
"Zhao Lei, victorious! Time: 151 seconds."
The crowd buzzed.
Considering most fights lasted over ten minutes and were won through stamina, their scores were particularly striking.
They took second and third place, respectively.
Yet they didn't look pleased. As they left the arena after their assessment, they still wore looks of discontent.
The next round began, and the woman Tang Wen had been watching closely took the field.
Her weapon was a long spear.
Unlike the other fighters, she held her spear with both hands, advancing at a steady, unhurried pace.
Whenever the two opposing Guards tried to separate, she would unleash a flurry of fierce attacks with a flick of her spear. One Guard couldn't withstand it alone, forcing them to fight her together.
Even so, the two Guards were forced to fight on the retreat. With every step she took, the space for them to maneuver shrank.
Thrust, smash, lift, parry!
The long spear seemed to come alive in her hands. Suddenly, with a brilliant flourish, its speed increased dramatically.
"CLINK, CLINK."
Before the two Guards could defend, she tagged each of them in the chest with the tip of her spear.
"An Lei, victorious! Time: 81 seconds. Currently in first place!" the examiner announced with a look of admiration.
The entire plaza erupted into an uproar.
Tang Wen overheard the crowd's discussion.
It turned out this An Lei was a loner who wasn't close with the others from her Martial Arts Hall. People only knew she was not to be provoked and that her Spear Technique was formidable.
But no one had ever seen her in a real fight, much less expected her Spear Technique to be *this* formidable.
Tang Wen recalled her fighting style. 'Seemingly slow, but actually fast!'
She seemed to advance slowly and methodically, but the circular arena was small. A sweep of her two-meter-plus long spear could cover a huge area, and she quickly suffocated her opponents' room to maneuver.
On the platform, the Black Armor General spoke softly, "Is that Old An's daughter?"
"Yes. Brother An passed away too soon, leaving only this girl behind. She's been strong-willed since she was a child and has a great deal of Talent for Martial Arts Training."
Zhang Lin's father, Commander Zhang, showed no sign of disappointment despite his son losing first place. Instead, he looked down at the girl with a gratified expression. 'Brother An has a worthy successor!'
The young Martial Disciples all looked toward Zhang Lin. He let out a breath. Though he felt a pang of unwillingness, he recalled her Spear Technique and couldn't honestly say he could beat her in a one-on-one match.
An Lei walked out of the testing area and passed by Tang Wen. Their eyes met for a moment as they brushed past each other.
The latter thought to himself, 'Yep, number four. That's the fourth beauty I've seen since I transmigrated.'
"Last group, step forward!"
This group only had four people.
'Here we go!'
As one of the last contestants, Tang Wen tightened his grip on his blade and walked into the fourth circle.
The examiner outside the circle was the very same woman he had mentally ranked as the third great beauty.
'So big... ahem, so fair. Her skin, that is.'
'Hmm, after seeing her beauty up close...' Tang Wen silently reshuffled his mental ranking of the four beauties.
'This female examiner in front of me... her looks, her figure... definitely number one.'
'If I'd met her back on Earth, where I didn't have to worry about food or safety, I could have come up with names for three boys and three girls in under thirty seconds.'
'But for now?'
'I'd better focus on performing well and getting that first-place prize.'
The female examiner was more than a head taller than him. His eyes swept over her, his gaze frank and open, and he gave a slight nod as a sign of respect.
The female examiner nodded back, her voice hoarse as she asked for Tang Wen's name.
"Both sides, enter."
The two Guards entering with Tang Wen were well-proportioned. One carried a long blade, the other a long spear.
They were clad in Iron Armor that covered everything except their faces and the parts of their legs below the calves.
On their lower legs were military boots made of tanned Beast Skins, offering considerable Defense Power. The soles might even have been reinforced with iron or steel plates.
An ordinary beast probably couldn't bite through them. Biting the sole would likely cost it a tooth.
Since it was the last four people competing, and the other three weren't particularly noteworthy, all eyes, both on and off the platform, were fixed on Tang Wen.
"This kid runs pretty fast. I wonder what his actual combat strength is like."
"After a year of hard training at a Martial Arts Hall, if he has the Talent for Martial Arts, he might make the top three. But right now? Hard to say," a Commander said, shaking his head.
In the world of Martial Arts, speed is unbeatable.
Once you have speed, the advantage is immense.
But Tang Wen had only practiced the Wind-breaking Blade, taught to him by a retired, ordinary Guard. He couldn't leverage his speed even if he had it.
Commander Zhao laughed. "Since none of you are optimistic about him, how about a wager? I bet Xiaotang can make it into the top three."
"Alright, you're on. A round of drinks."
"I'm in!"
"Add another round to that."
While they chattered excitedly, Tang Wen, the subject of their discussion, felt his nerves tighten.
The female examiner shouted, "Ready!"
He took a deep breath, gripped his blade with both hands, and settled into a forward-charging stance.
"Begin!"
SWOOSH!
To everyone's astonishment, the moment the examiner gave the command, Tang Wen threw his blade straight into the air!
"Huh?"
The entire crowd cried out in shock.