Chapter 29: World Tree Midterm Assessment

And far across the sea, Chu Chen was distractedly watching a ranking match over the trial enrollment quota for the God of War Training Camp.

The contestants in this match were exactly Mo Fan and his group who had just joined the World Tree, and the one actually on the stage was precisely Mo Fan, who three months ago wasn't even a martial artist.

Nobody expected that, though he was obviously behind everyone at the start and not yet an official martial artist, Mo Fan actually had the strength to break into the top 16.

According to the rules set by Chu Chen, the assessment for the God of War Training Camp is divided into two parts: the first part is the culture course exam, and the second part is the martial arts ranking match.

As the biggest sponsor of the newly integrated training camp, the World Tree each session has many preparatory slots for the camp, but in practice only twenty‑five are available.

Of those twenty‑five slots, fifteen are decided in another selection, whose opponents are members who entered the World Tree in earlier sessions but have still not broken through to God of War.

Thus, the number of slots left for Mo Fan and his peers to contend for this session is only ten.

To earn these ten slots, one must consider both assessment scores; if the ranking match reaches the top three and the culture course base score exceeds sixty, the slot is secured directly.

The remaining slots are then ordered by the sum of culture course score and ranking match placement, from highest to lowest.

For Mo Fan, this match he is currently fighting is especially important; if he reaches the top eight, his ranking‑match score will pull him ahead of most rivals, truly putting him in the running for a God of War Training Camp slot.

As for why merely entering the competition is enough, it's because Mo Fan has been diligently training martial arts these three months, and he has never been studious; he estimates his culture‑course score will at best be around average.

To lock a slot, he still needs to fight for a top‑three finish…

All he can do is give it his all.

Mo Fan's opponent is also a Chinese national, though his appearance differs slightly; he is said to be a Ba person, a neighbor of China before the Great Nirvana, who was later annexed into China.

Since it's a sparring match with custom weapons, and a God‑of‑War‑level expert serves as referee with the world's best healing techniques, everyone can fight freely.

"Old Zhang, do you think Mo Fan can win? I met that guy in the group stage; he's enormously strong—even my three‑thousand‑jin force was crushed by him. I'd say his strength is already at the level of an advanced warrior."

Jiang Zhou said this as the two combatants on the arena faced each other, both wielding the most common martial artist's weapon, the longsword.

The saber is the king of all weapons, suited to the attack distance a human can control; it coordinates well with the body's axis to better unleash human limit power, and in terms of versatility it surely surpasses many other weapons.

When they clashed head‑on, the saber‑on‑saber impact rang out with a clear "clang"; after testing each other's force and exchanging several moves, it was still hard to tell who would win.

Offstage, Zhang Fei seemed to have anticipated this, but his tone grew more exaggerated as he watched and explained to Jiang Zhou:

"You don't know Mo Fan well enough; his strength gives him a chance to break into the top three."

"Really? He's only…"

Before Jiang Zhou could finish, the situation on stage had already changed.

After several probing exchanges, Mo Fan's opponent appeared ready to go all out.

Meanwhile, Mo Fan stopped matching strength and instead displayed the speed and footwork he had hidden before, dodging the opponent's full‑power strike while sweeping his blade across the foe's neck.

Unexpectedly.

Just a single change in technique decided the victor.

The referee announced the result, and the opponent bowed in surrender.

Mo Fan stepped down, and Zhang Fei and Jiang Zhou immediately gathered around him.

"Fanzi, I didn't expect you to be this strong—tell me, brother, do you have a shot at first place?"

Seeing Mo Fan win in one move, Jiang Zhou naturally stopped doubting Zhang Fei's words and instead grew curious about Mo Fan's true level.

Mo Fan gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

"Not at all."

That fight actually forced out a large part of Mo Fan's strength, especially his physique, which he had hardly held back; his last trump card is only one thing—the secret‑manual ultimate technique he has been painstakingly practicing these past two months.

Yet among the top‑16 competitors, he still faces at least five opponents whose depths he cannot see.

Mo Fan offered no further explanation, turned, and headed off the martial‑arts arena.

"Fanzi, aren't you going to check out your next opponent?"

"No, I've been squeezing in time to catch up on culture studies; even if I don't make it this time, I'll prepare early for next year's competition."

Yes, Mo Fan has already made that preparation.

After all, real combat isn't won by watching a opponent's one or two moves; it's better to improve oneself than to look for tricks in others.

Mo Fan's words made Zhang Fei and Jiang Zhou feel a bit embarrassed, after all they'd both been eliminated yet were still idly watching the match.

From his Earth‑bound perspective, Chu Chen watched Mo Fan's departure with deep relief; Mo Fan and Luofeng are the same type—diligent, calm, somewhat scheming but principled. Most importantly, even if his culture course is lacking, his "Friendly to Teammates" talent is extraordinary, making him worth cultivating.

But his estimate was correct—he probably won't advance this round, and shortly after Mo Fan left, his next opponent was already determined.

On this side of the arena, a competitor had just stepped up, and Zhang Fei began to gossip again:

"This guy is also a tough one; it's said his physique is nearly at General level, making him the oldest and strongest in our batch…"

Before Zhang Fei finished speaking, the match on stage had already begun.

Without any probing, the opponent on the other side of the arena has swept every foe he's faced since the group stage; moreover, Zhang Fei and Jiang Zhou know him, because he too came from Jiangnan Base City with them.

Zhang Fei hadn't even gotten to comment on Ji Heng's strength when the outcome on the arena was already decided.

"The winner of the third group in the top‑16 is——"

"Ji Heng."

Amid shock and uproar, Ji Heng quietly left the stage, hurried away, just as she had arrived.

And it's this little guy that Chu Chen specially took time from his busy schedule to focus on.

Not only does she possess outstanding talent and disposition, but more importantly, her personal identity may also relate to Chén Chén's layout in Asia.

Fortunately, so far, everything is developing in a good direction.