At dawn on August 1st, before daybreak, Yang Wu eagerly arrived at the Limit Martial Arts Hall.
Only a few scattered students were training inside. Yang Wu went up to the fourth floor, but found it deserted.
Entering the armory, he saw a vast array of weapons displayed on the cabinets:
swords, spears, clubs, maces, axes, halberds, hooks, forks… all kinds of weapons were available.
"The Breaking Army Spear!"
Yang Wu had always used the Breaking Army series spears, so he chose this model again.
Opening one of the cabinets, he found several spears of the same style.
Whoosh!
Yang Wu took out the spear he had chosen after his last breakthrough, weighed it in his hand, and found it somewhat light.
"Choose another one!" After several attempts, Yang Wu still hadn't found a suitable spear.
Yang Wu's physical attributes had reached the level of a beginner warrior, and in the entire Yangzhou city, the Limit Martial Arts Hall only had three warrior-level martial artists, all residing in the Limit Club within the Bright Moon Residential Area. This was just a branch of the training hall in Yi'an District. The strongest instructor there was only Jiang Nian, a senior warrior-level instructor, so naturally, he wouldn't be equipped with warrior-level training weapons.
Left with no other choice, Yang Wu could only select the heaviest spear in the Po Jun series, weighing a hefty 159kg.
Having chosen his weapon, Yang Wu began practicing his spear techniques in the training hall.
"Thrust!"
Yang Wu gripped the spear loosely with his left hand, grasping the butt with his right, and suddenly exerted force.
A twist of his right wrist!
The spear seemed to come alive, spinning as it thrust forward!
This 'twist' was an extremely subtle technique, both confusing the enemy and increasing the spear's penetrating power.
Previously, Yang Wu would have been absolutely unable to execute this technique; forcing it would likely have resulted in injury. But now, Yang Wu executed this move with ease.
"Thrust, thrust, thrust..."
"Sweep, sweep, sweep..."
Yang Wu exerted his strength again and again, constantly displaying the gun techniques and movement skills he had mastered in the simulation.
*Beep! Beep! Beep!*
Yang Wu's communication watch suddenly rang.
"Ah Feng." Stopping his movements, Yang Wu answered the phone.
"Brother Yang." Luo Feng's voice came from the communication watch, "When are you coming? I'll wait for you in the lobby."
"I'll be right there!" Yang Wu put the Broken Army Pistol back in its place and replied.
The martial arts combat assessment was to be held outside the base city, so the aspiring martial artists in Yangzhou City who were preparing to participate in the assessment had to gather at the Extreme Club in advance.
After hanging up the phone, Yang Wu immediately rushed to Mingyue Residential Area.
A short while later, Yang Wu arrived outside the lobby on the first floor of the Extreme Club. At this time, more than twenty aspiring martial artists had already gathered in the lobby.
"Brother Yang, over here!" Luo Feng shouted loudly.
The news that Luo Feng had been recruited by the martial arts club ahead of time had already spread among the aspiring martial artists. So when he shouted, everyone in the hall focused their attention on Yang Wu and Luo Feng.
Yang Wu quickly walked to Luo Feng's side and laughed, "Ah Feng, you're really making a splash!"
Luo Feng smiled and teased, "What's wrong, Brother Yang? Are you jealous?"
"Jealous of you?" Yang Wu shook his head slightly and laughed, "Just wait and see how I dominate the battlefield during the practical assessment!"
Having mastered the specialized level of marksmanship, Yang Wu was determined to make a name for himself in the practical assessment.
Luo Feng smiled, not taking Yang Wu's words to heart.
Although his strength had now surpassed Yang Wu's by a considerable margin, and he had even awakened his mental power, he would never forget the help Yang Wu had given him.
Before long, all thirty-odd prospective martial artists participating in the practical assessment in Yangzhou City had gathered. Led by a martial artist from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, they headed to the train station.
"Clatter-clatter—"
The sound of wheels scraping against the rails grew closer, and a very long iron train slowly came to a stop.
Yang Wu and the others, who had been waiting at the train station, boarded the train under the guidance of the official martial artist. The
train was already filled with prospective martial artists, who gathered in small groups, chatting amongst themselves, creating a lively scene.
Yang Wu and Luo Feng casually found a quiet spot to sit, but people kept coming up to chat with Luo Feng.
The two were quite annoyed, but fortunately, after the last batch of martial artists boarded, the large screen in the middle of the carriage suddenly lit up.
Representatives from various forces gave speeches, trying to win over these prospective martial artists who were about to become official martial artists.
The regional director of the HR Alliance, the director of the Jiangnan Base City Security Bureau, and the two heads of the Thunder Martial Arts Hall and the Extreme Martial Arts Hall—these powerful figures all appeared.
The four people promoting the martial arts caused a stir among the aspiring martial artists in the carriage.
"Brother, which faction do you plan to join after becoming a martial artist? I think the military is pretty good; they're the strongest in China!"
"Of course, I'll join the HR Alliance! Not only do you earn a lot, but you can also do well all over the world."
...
The aspiring martial artists discussed excitedly.
"Brother Yang!" Luo Feng also discussed with Yang Wu, "Which side are you planning to join? Why don't you join the Limitless Martial Arts Academy with me?"
Luo Feng had already signed a contract with the Limitless Martial Arts Academy, so he naturally hoped Yang Wu would join as well.
"Me?" Yang Wu smiled, "I'll have to see which side offers the best benefits first."
A moment later,
"Aspiring martial artists, the train is about to arrive at the station. Please take your belongings and prepare to disembark!" The train conductor's voice came through the loudspeaker in the carriage, and then the train gradually slowed down until it came to a stop.
With a whoosh,
all the train doors opened, and a vast crowd of prospective martial artists filed out of the train and into a large military camp.
"Look outside the camp!" one of the martial artists shouted excitedly.
Everyone turned to look, and saw some monsters roaming outside the camp's perimeter, but they dared not cross the line.
Inside the perimeter lay the corpses of many dead monsters.
"Everyone!"
A loud voice boomed through the loudspeaker to every prospective martial artist, "Welcome to the North Military Region of the Jiangnan Base. This time, your 1680-person combat assessment will be held in our North Military Region. I hope most of you will pass the assessment, and I hope all of you will survive this assessment!"
The previously lively atmosphere among the large group of prospective martial artists instantly turned somber.
The combat assessment, as the name suggests, completely simulated a scenario where martial artists fought monsters in the wilderness. In previous years, the assessments had resulted in numerous casualties among the prospective martial artists.
"After so many years of hard work, I'm only one step away from becoming a martial artist. How can I give up so easily?"
"Brother Liu, this assessment is quite dangerous. How about you and I form a team?"
More than a thousand aspiring martial artists, feeling their strength was insufficient, began searching for partners.
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