20: Thunder Martial Arts School

The Martial Artists got off the bus one by one in an orderly fashion; acquaintances from Yian District like Qiao Yu and Luo Feng also disembarked.

They followed the massive, surging crowd into the North Military Region's barracks.

Scattered monsters wandered outside the barracks' cordon, continuously letting out low roars toward the Quasi-Warriors inside, yet they dared not step any closer.

In the azure sky, flocks of hundreds of avian monsters swept past from time to time, watching the crowd below with covetous eyes.

However, the laser mortars equipped with tracking functions continuously followed their flight paths, deterring these avian monsters from making a move.

"Zzzzt!"

"Everyone—welcome to the North Military Region of Jiangnan City. There are a total of 1681 Quasi-Warriors participating in this assessment..."

"Next, those whose names are called, come up to receive your combat uniforms and weapons."

"Lu Weiben."

"Sima Da."

"..."

"Luo Feng."

"Qiao Yu."

According to the numbering of the Yian District Quasi-Warriors, Qiao Yu was ranked just behind Luo Feng.

Qiao Yu received his own combat uniform and combat weapon; in addition, there was a communication watch and a hexagonal shield, all of which were standard-issue equipment.

Luo Feng's weapon was the blood shadow battle blade 2-series he had requested in advance.

Apart from special requests, most Quasi-Warriors were equipped with the blood shadow battle blade, though they were not as heavy as Luo Feng's 2-series.

Qiao Yu did not choose to be unconventional or insist on a different weapon, so he chose the same blood shadow battle blade 2-series as Luo Feng.

After receiving their respective equipment, everyone returned to the rest area to change into their combat gear, all feeling full of confidence for this assessment.

Ever since Qiao Yu moved into Mingyue Residential Area and practiced with Luo Feng and other Martial Artists in the residential area, he had also explored his own way of attacking.

Ordinary Martial Artists' attacks mostly caused physical damage, while the fungal swarm he disseminated was more like a magical attack that could cause damage directly from within the opponent's body.

Moreover, when the fungal swarm came into contact with equipment made of kru alloy, the System analyzed the kru alloy completely, and the fungal swarm could evolve into new fungal swarms by absorbing the kru alloy.

The equipment replicated by the new kru alloy fungal swarm could not only change into any form Qiao Yu desired, but it could also become tougher and sharper.

If the kru alloy fungal swarm could be mass-produced, the combat power of all human Martial Artists would be raised by at least one level.

But suffering from the lack of an official Martial Artist status and startup capital, Qiao Yu could only temporarily shelve the plan to cultivate the kru alloy fungal swarm.

Moreover, Zhuge Tao's suspicion of him had not yet been eliminated, and with his current strength, he really dared not gamble; any slight misstep could result in him becoming an experimental subject.

"This Martial Artist practical assessment is monitored by equipment throughout the entire process; I'm afraid I can only use my body's original strength during the assessment."

After Qiao Yu changed into his full set of equipment, he went to the plaza outside with Luo Feng.

"Luo Feng! Qiao Yu!"

A shout came from afar; it was Uncle Wu, the chief instructor of the Yangzhou City Dojo of Limits, calling the two.

Uncle Wu also lived in Mingyue Residential Area, so the relationship between the three had naturally become much closer during this period.

Uncle Wu led the two to the second floor of a quiet small building.

And Zhuge Tao was also impressively among them.

As soon as Qiao Yu saw Zhuge Tao, his originally relaxed demeanor instantly began to tighten, and he tried his best to control the fungal swarm in his body to remain in a dormant state.

Qiao Yu suspected that the reason Zhuge Tao was able to detect something wrong with him last time was perhaps because whenever he was in a combat stance, he would unconsciously spread spores outward.

This was an instinctive behavior after Qiao Yu evolved into a fungal human, intended to transform the surrounding environment, turning the originally away-field combat environment into his own home-field to achieve a suppressive effect.

Just like when he was surrounded by Zhang Haobai and the others in the alley earlier, Qiao Yu had achieved victory by relying on this instinctive behavior.

"Supervisor!"

"Supervisor!"

Both Qiao Yu and Luo Feng greeted Zhuge Tao simultaneously.

Zhuge Tao was wearing a black combat uniform, with ripples of silver light shimmering as the light refracted.

"Mm, sit with Uncle Wu."

Zhuge Tao smiled at the two and did not specifically put pressure on Qiao Yu.

Seeing this, Qiao Yu finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, though naturally, he would not reveal any emotion on the surface.

"Zhuge, are these two kids the Genius-level Martial Artists from the Dojo of Limits that you mentioned? I don't think they are anything special; they aren't even as good as the two that my Thunderbolt Martial Arts School recruited early this time."

A Burly Man sitting opposite Zhuge Tao sat with his legs crossed, looking at the two young men beside him as he spoke; the two young men immediately stood up and introduced themselves.

"Wan Dong!"

"Ma Xiao!"

Wan Dong had a purple birthmark on his face and a gloomy expression, while Ma Xiao was a man with a beautiful, feminine appearance.

"Luo Feng!"

"Qiao Yu!"

Luo Feng smiled and nodded at the two young men from the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School.

While Qiao Yu remained expressionless; after this assessment, they might not have a chance to meet again, so there was no need to pay much attention.

"Luo Feng, Qiao Yu! Do you two want to compete with me? Let's see who can win first place in tonight's assessment points!"

Wan Dong seemed to enjoy comparing himself with others, and his eyes looking at Qiao Yu and Luo Feng seemed as if he had already won.

"Not interested."

"..."

Luo Feng shook his head and refused directly.

And Qiao Yu didn't even pay any attention to this Wan Dong and sat back down.

Wan Dong was taken aback; it was not his first time competing with others, he had seen those who agreed and those who refused, but this was the first time he had seen someone completely ignore him.

The birthmark from childhood made him somewhat inferior, and he had always relied on his talent to compete with others to patch up his pitiful self-esteem.

"Are you two afraid? If you're afraid, why even be Martial Artists? Just go home and drink milk!"

Wan Dong gulped, his tone slightly malicious as he mocked them.

"If you really have nothing to do, you can go find a prison to sit in."

Qiao Yu had originally been too lazy to bother with this Wan Dong, but he didn't expect him to push his luck.

With Zhuge Tao there to hold the line, Qiao Yu was not afraid of the Thunderbolt Martial Arts School causing him trouble.

"You..." Wan Dong did not expect Qiao Yu's mouth to be like it was soaked in poison, and he was so angry he wanted to retort.

"Hahaha, Zhuge, these two little guys of yours are interesting; one is steady and calm enough, not easily incited; the other is calm when he should be, and doesn't hide his mettle when it's needed. Why not let them join my Thunderbolt Martial Arts School?"

Zhuge Tao and the Burly Man smiled as they saw the few young people at odds with each other.

"Get lost, get lost, get lost!"

"Let's go, the assessment is about to start!"

Zhuge Tao and the Burly Man were well-acquainted, and the Burly Man's public attempt to poach them did not lead to any hard feelings, so he led Qiao Yu and Luo Feng downstairs.

His original intention was just to help Qiao Yu and Luo Feng expand their network; as fellow Genius-level figures, there would be plenty of times to deal with each other in the future.

The 1681 Quasi-Warriors present followed the army to the venue of the practical assessment—the Monster Town.

"Close the gate!"

After the officer in charge of the assessment explained the basic rules and precautions, he gave an order, and the only gate of the town was closed.

The Martial Artist practical assessment officially began!