Chapter 10: Twin Stars of Yangzhou City

On the dilapidated, dim street, Zhou Yang, wearing alloy war boots and holding a black Long Spear, proceeded cautiously.

He was facing these ferocious monsters for the first time, and couldn't help feeling a little nervous.

"The monsters released in this town are all the weakest H‑rank monsters, equivalent to the level of a human beginner Warrior; with my current physical condition, as long as I'm careful not to get surrounded by large packs, there should be no danger."

"I could learn from Luo Feng, using these monsters to practice combat techniques and courage."

Zhou Yang observed his surroundings while silently contemplating.

For these Quasi‑Martial Artists who have never seen blood, honing courage is especially important.

Fighting monsters face‑to‑face is completely different from the usual sparring in the Martial Arts Academy.

"Ha ha, but the little ones' fighting methods are still somewhat childish."

"You guy, really boring!"

One screen was showing the battle scene of Wan Dong, the grim young man recruited early by Leidian Wuguan.

A Warrior from the military let out a light sigh, while the other senior figures had already focused their eyes on the two screens on the big display.

"This Shadow Cat excels in speed, its strength is average; when I thrust my spear at full force, it smashed its breastbone."

Zhou Yang's Long Spear continued to whirl—stabbing, smashing, or striking—so that the surrounding monsters were pierced in the throat, had their skulls shattered, or were blown apart by the sheer force; within moments, seven or eight attacking monsters turned into a pile of corpses.

"Is this… Shadow Cat?"

The giant cat monster's chest and abdomen visibly collapsed, a torrent of fresh blood gushed out, clearly exhaling far more than it inhaled.

He quickly got up and went on to search for the next prey.

The massive Iron‑haired Wild Boar beside him was struck by the spear, and instantly flew away like a cannonball.

Frankly, the main purpose of this so‑called Warrior combat assessment is to let these young Quasi‑Martial Artists adapt to the intensity of fighting monsters and to temper their courage.

Those two screens were exactly Zhou Yang's and Luo Feng's battle scenes.

In the footage, Zhou Yang and Luo Feng both used essentially the same tactics, each drawing several monsters to themselves and honing their combat skills through continuous fighting.

In this abandoned town used for Quasi‑Warrior Assessment, all monsters are low‑level ones selected by the military, thus relatively less dangerous.

"Jixian Wuguan hit the jackpot!"

A cluster of black shadows surged forward, only to rebound after hitting the spear, followed by a series of painful wails.

In the first screen, Luo Feng's figure suddenly became ethereal and strange; the attacks of several nearby monsters brushed past his body each time, yet never landed.

The burly supervisor from Leidian Wuguan smiled at Zhuge Tao, a smug grin on his lips, and said, "Wan Dong is only eighteen this year, his physical condition has already reached the intermediate Warrior level, and his combat style is cold, sharp, and decisive—exactly my taste!"

"Whoa, I'm not mistaken—Luo Feng's footwork is at the microscopic level?"

In the second screen, the previously sluggish Zhou Yang suddenly accelerated; his figure lacked Luo Feng's ethereal quality, but displayed astonishing strength.

He recognized the monster before him.

The hall was already engulfed in a clamor.

It was severe enough to cause trembling bodies and stiff movements.

At this moment, in the second‑floor hall of the barracks where Zhou Yang and Luo Feng had stayed, the supervisor of Jixian Wuguan, Zhuge Tao, and the burly supervisor of Leidian Wuguan were casually chatting together.

"Huh? Look at Luo Feng! No, also Zhou Yang!"

"Bang!"

Zhou Yang walked slowly along the ruined street, carefully watching his surroundings.

The burly man muttered something, then his eyes shifted and a smile resurfaced on his face.

Luo Feng continued to maintain his ethereal figure, repeatedly swinging his Blood‑Shadow War Blade; almost at the same moment, the necks of the nearby monsters erupted in huge sprays of blood, and their massive bodies fell limp on the ground.

"With my current strength, taking on these weakest H‑rank monsters is literally an instant kill!"

This way, when we truly enter the wilderness to battle monsters in the future, we won't lose our lives from excessive nerves.

"That's the microscopic level! This kid's a bit perverse, I haven't even reached the microscopic level."

The Warrior beside him responded and quickly contacted the monitoring room.

Originally the two were continuously grappling with the monsters around them; perhaps having gradually grasped the monsters' patterns, they both erupted into attacks almost simultaneously.

Wan Dong, wielding a long sword, tangled swiftly with a tiger‑mastiff; after only a few rounds, his sword pierced the beast's throat.

"Watch your power from behind, meet the minimum assessment standards first, then start training properly with these monsters!"

"Zhuge, how does our Wuguan's recruit Wan Dong look?"

After a brief comparison, Zhou Yang roughly grasped the level of the so‑called H‑rank monsters.

"Yes!"

Zhou Yang focused his gaze forward and saw, about ten meters away among the ruins, a monster resembling a giant cat lying on the ground.

"Tell the monitoring room to broadcast the battle footage of Zhou Yang and Luo Feng from Jixian Wuguan!" he barked low at the person beside him.

The seniors, watching the young Quasi‑Martial Artists' combat videos, chatted and laughed casually.

At that moment, the body's hormone levels surge rapidly, putting the body into a state of extreme excitement or tension, greatly affecting physical responses.

"And Zhou Yang—one spear thrust sent a several‑hundred‑kilogram Iron‑haired Wild Boar flying ten meters; that's some serious force!"

Then, with a flick of the spear tip, the Shadow Cat's left ear was ripped off and he quickly tucked it into his backpack.

After watching for a moment, the burly man and Zhuge Tao alike showed a hint of interested smiles.

"Oh."

Zhuge Tao, seated nearby, gave a faint hum, showing no reaction at all.

The hall housed not only Zhuge Tao and the burly man, but also officials from the military, the HR Alliance, and other factions.

On one side of the hall's wall stood a massive screen displaying a dozen scenes simultaneously—real‑combat assessments of a group of Quasi‑Martial Artists.

He stepped forward, and his black Long Spear flashed like lightning, instantly piercing the black Shadow Cat's throat.

While passing a dark corner, he abruptly twisted his body, and the spear in his hand generated a fierce wind sound as it struck backward.

Before long, two new scenes appeared on the room's big screen.

He swung his black Long Spear with force, and the tremendous explosive power caused the spear shaft to develop a faint curvature.

"Heh, these two little guys actually treat this combat test like a training ground!"

Amid the admiration of a group of big shots and colleagues, Wu Tong, sitting in the corner, couldn't hide the smile on his face.

"Haha, my Twin Stars of Yangzhou City are indeed impressive!"

(End of Chapter)