Chapter 13

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Jiāng Jiāng's talent surpassed Chén Chén's expectations; after obtaining the Bloodstrike secret manual, she had already gotten started in just a short month, and her movement techniques, attack methods, and physical fitness had all improved by more than double compared to a month prior.

Her strength had gradually caught up to Luofeng's speed.

As for Chén Chén himself, he also cared deeply about this human body.

After just one month, Chén Chén already possessed the physical fitness of a junior warlord. Although this body had not undertaken Psychic Master training, even if Luofeng now used Controller Master methods, defeating him would not be easy.

Of course, physical training was merely a process of insight that Chén Chén wanted to undergo to perfect Having a Name; if he wished, his physique could rapidly reach planetary level without deliberate training.

Having a Name was, of course, Chén Chén's self-created secret art; though myriad things in the world follow different paths to the Dao, even though this body of his was merely an apprentice, it did not hinder Chén Chén from creating his secret art.

According to Chén Chén's idea, Having a Name requires insight, requires time, and requires his own comprehension of his own and all life's processes.

Although Chén Chén had mastered all secret manuals on Earth, it was still far from enough to create the first form; to truly complete it, he would likely need to enter the Virtual Universe, earn some wealth, and then exchange for more secret manuals from the Universe to enrich his insight before he could truly finish it.

However, relying on this yet-uncreated first form was sufficient for Chén Chén's body to use for a long time—at least enough on Earth.

What surprised Chén Chén was that Jiāng Jiāng, on the path of the Psychic Master, chose the way of the Illusion Master.

In fact, among human Psychic Masters, Controller Masters are the mainstream. Since it's the profession the protagonist bears, this thing dashes about, constantly sprinting, with unlimited displacement via flash—if you want to control someone, you control them; a casually flicked flying knife can easily slay same-level martial artists; were it not for a specially made all‑round defensive armor to balance things, that martial artist's path would truly have become a joke.

In short, Controller Masters possess greater range of destructive power, more flexible displacement, and a more substantive manifestation of combat strength.

In the starry void, Controller Masters wield fierce attacks, able to face opponents several times their own level single‑handedly, and they also have some resistance against fellow Psychic Masters who are Illusion Masters; in internal battles they are equally adept—calling them a 'law‑god ceiling' is no exaggeration.

Looking at Illusion Masters, their group capabilities fall far short of Controller Masters; the effect of illusion on Controller Masters is weakened, while Illusion Masters themselves mostly lack the means to retaliate against Controller Masters' attacks. Though they excel at mental control and soul enslavement, Controller Masters can grasp those abilities without any barrier.

Considering humanity alone, elevating Illusion Masters to be called the two major systems of Psychic Masters alongside Controller Masters is already an extreme overestimation of Illusion Masters.

However, since this is the path Jiāng Jiāng chose for herself, Chén Chén has no intention of stopping her.

After all, she isn't his wife, so there's no need to be so concerned; at most he'll just gather more Illusion Master inheritances for her to craft later.

At the same time, during this month Luofeng had still been locked up due to his conflict with Zhang Baihao; after that came a bout of showing off and getting slapped in the face, then he moved into Bright Moon Residential Area. Before moving, he specially came to find himself and told Chén Chén his new address.

According to Luofeng's intention, he naturally hoped that Chén Chén and Jiāng Jiāng would move to Bright Moon Residential Area at that time and become his neighbors.

Luofeng was also somewhat surprised that Chén Chén hadn't signed a contract with the Extreme Martial Hall; given Chén Chén's strength, gaining the hall's recognition should not be difficult.

In short, it finally arrived on August 1st, the day of the martial artist's practical assessment.

————

Under the guidance of a martial artist, Chén Chén, Jiāng Jiāng, Luofeng and over thirty other prospective martial artists boarded the train together heading to the assessment site.

The friction sound of the speeding train was so faint that even the keen‑eared martial artists could hardly hear it, and sitting in the carriage one felt no shake at all.

Martial artists are generally bold and talkative, especially for prospective martial artists who have long yearned for the martial world; every step they take now can spark endless discussion.

The noisy carriages only gradually quieted down when a figure appeared on the large screen inside at that moment.

"Prospective martial artists, future martial artists, I come from the HR Alliance."

The large screen in the carriage was broadcasting live a speech by a middle‑aged person.

"Surely you've all heard of the HR Alliance! The strongest, wealthiest group on earth, the one with the most martial artists! You must also be familiar with our HR Alliance's other name—the Underground Alliance."

Accompanying the television introduction, many prospective martial artists began whispering to each other.

The HR Alliance, a force organized and controlled by families or individuals who had held vast capital since before the Great Nirvana, dominates the markets for massive monster materials, technological weapons, and communication devices.

But in essence, it is merely an alliance of businessmen bound together by money and profit, aside from wealth having nothing else to recommend it.

Such an evaluation is just like 'aside from money, having nothing'; the HR Alliance can rely on wealth to attract many martial artists to join.

"Our Alliance is the world's largest platform for martial artist exchange! Here you can accept highly remunerative missions."

"Our alliance has tremendous influence worldwide! Join our alliance, become part of us, even if you go to the United States, the EU, or other regions, you will enjoy top-tier service."

"Our alliance possesses strong military and political power; join us..."

They made full use of the fifteen minutes of publicity to the utmost, but despite saying much, it was merely wealth that moves hearts.

Nevertheless, many aspiring warriors will still be confused by these fine words.

Compared to the HR alliance, the latter three organizations are relatively more restrained, but many of the things they mention are also relatively more pragmatic.

The government side undoubtedly can obtain better convenience within the country; as long as one has achieved merit, family members can directly be promoted to first-class citizens, and the protection for family is also the highest level; for the warrior themselves, it is also much safer.

So-called state: having a country brings a family; having a family brings a country.

As for the Two Great Martial Halls, no need to say more; their only characteristic is freedom.

The world's first and second strongest, Hong Yu Lei Shen, undoubtedly are two heroes with the responsibility of the times.

The original purpose of establishing the martial hall was actually to cultivate warriors to resist and expel monsters, not to become a powerful ruling group.

However, with the continual expansion of scale, even though the two strong ones still maintain their original intentions and have strong control over the Two Great Martial Halls, it is inevitable to form a collective effect.

The publicity of the four major forces is complete; the assessment site is not far away.

And the screen changed to a woman in a green dress, speaking with a healing smile:

"If anyone wants to join 【World Tree】, please come find me."

Unlike the several burly men before, 【World Tree】 sent out a female warrior to promote, and not only that, the promotional method is also extremely special, just a simple sentence.

"Second brother, after becoming a warrior, which side are you preparing to join? I think the Extreme Martial Hall is not bad."

"Joining the Underground Alliance earns the most money, haha."

"Thunder Martial Hall, the benefits for warriors are a bit better than Extreme Martial Hall. Joining Thunder Martial Hall is also not bad."

"【World Tree】, I hear that those who join the World Tree are at least commander-level strong warriors, and they are even safer in the wilderness than ordinary warriors, how enviable."

Among the five major organizations, only 【World Tree】 is the most special.

Each of the other forces can join just by being a warrior; only 【World Tree】 is like an interview, and after completing the assessment, one still needs to apply one-on-one with the World Tree's examiners to confirm eligibility to join.

The excited discussions of the aspiring warriors filled every corner of the carriage.

On this side, Chén Chén, Jiāng Jiāng, Luofeng, and Yang Wu from the same branch sat side by side at the opposite table.

Yang Wu whispered to the few people: "Our instructor, past senior brothers, all joined the Extreme Martial Hall; even the madman now joined the Extreme Martial Hall. I am of course the same!"

"Anyway, even if you join the Extreme Martial Hall, you can still take on tasks from the Underground Alliance; as for buying and selling goods, you can do it inside the Extreme Martial Hall or in the Underground Alliance. How about it, Chén Chén, Jiāng Jiāng, what are you planning?"

"Hmm, I will join the World Tree." Chén Chén said with a smile.

"World Tree?! That's not something you can just say whether you have the qualifications or not."

"Hmm." Chén Chén lightly nodded, not going into detail about the matter already decided for him.

"Speaking of which, I actually plan to go test somewhere in the World Tree; even if I can't join, becoming their member is also good, and I heard the proportion of female martial artists in the World Tree is much higher than other forces, hehehe."

Yang Wu laughed hehehe while speaking.

Nowadays, wanting to find a female martial artist as a wife is no easy task; this is also one of the attractions of the World Tree.

Not only because female martial artists have better physiques, making post-marital life easier, but also for the sake of one's descendants.

Meanwhile, Jiāng Jiāng beside him let out a cold snort, thinking: using female martial artists to attract male martial artists to join, this organization is really not anything good.

"Hmm, I also plan to go test it out."

Luofeng has already signed a contract with the Extreme Martial Hall, so naturally he doesn't plan to join the 【World Tree】, but the World Tree is also engaged in many commercial activities, especially in the sale of monster materials and some weapon equipment.

After passing the martial artist practical examination, the 【World Tree】's stationed point in the military camp will have a second test; many martial artists, although they cannot obtain the opportunity to join the 【World Tree】, can instead become members of the 【World Tree】, gaining certain conveniences in transactions with the World Tree.

And Jiāng Jiāng could only follow along, saying: "Hmm, let's do it together then."

Luofeng and Yang Wu naturally thought that Jiāng Jiāng wanted to join the 【World Tree】 together with Chén Chén, so they didn't ask further about this topic.

"By the way, have you noticed how many people are taking these examinations?" Luofeng looked at the train car; each car must have over a hundred prospective martial artists.

"Over a thousand, maybe." Yang Wu replied.

After all, the entire Jiangnan Base City is taking the examination together; with a population of over two hundred million, averaged out to each satellite city it's less than a hundred.

Meanwhile, someone observant had actually counted the numbers down to the tens of digits in their mind, and was thinking about how to attract attention while preserving most of their strength.

A moment later—

"All prospective martial artists, the train is about to arrive at the station; please prepare to disembark." The broadcast inside the car sounded as the train gradually slowed down and came to a stop.

Whoosh, the train car doors opened, and the prospective martial artists in each car stepped off the train.

Soon, the vast crowd of prospective martial artists entered the large military camp. The military camp occupies a huge area, especially with large quantities of various heavy thermal weapons visible all around its perimeter, each muzzle pointing outward. Large numbers of soldiers are holding various excellent weapons.

"Look outside the military camp." Yang Wu pointed excitedly into the distance.

Luofeng looked closely and saw that beyond the military camp's warning line, some monsters, starving to the point of having sunken bellies, were letting out cries. But these monsters simply dared not approach the military camp.

Gah—

With a piercing cry, the prospective martial artists almost simultaneously looked up, only to see hundreds of flying monster beasts swooping across the blue sky in an instant.

Jiāng Jiāng's brows slightly furrowed as she looked at each monster, mentally judging their strength and weaknesses based on the monster data she had collected, simulating how she would respond if she encountered such a monster.

"I thought you'd be scared enough to cry." Chén Chén teased from the side.

Jiāng Jiāng blinked slightly, then lightly punched Chén Chén and said, half-laughing, "Don't look down on me, okay?"

She then turned her gaze toward the howling monsters.

I'm also quite surprised—I actually aren't the least bit afraid of these monsters, which could have almost killed both me and Chén Chén, and which nearly made me lose everything.

Jiāng Jiāng lightly clenched her fists.

Do you remember the last time I saw these monsters? I almost cried myself dehydrated.

Jiāng Jiāng, while thinking, glanced at Chén Chén beside her with her peripheral vision, and gave another warm smile.

I will definitely do my best.