"Roar!"
A flash of white light, and three ferocious demonic beasts appeared about ten ters away from him.
Their bodies were covered in gray fur, with scarlet eyes resembling wild wolves, but much larger in size, and their claws were sharp as knives, with fangs glinting coldly.
"Ironback Demon Wolves!"
Although Luo Xiu had never encountered demonic beasts before, he had read enough to recognize their characteristics and identify their origins.
These low-level demon wolves were known as Ironbacks, signifying that their backbones were as hard as iron or stone.
"No vital ridians?"
Luo Xiu frowned as he focused his gaze, realizing that the three Ironback Demon Wolves had no vital ridians within them, entirely ford by condensed energy.
This was naturally due to the formation, unable to perfectly replicate real life.
Luo Xiu frowned because, in this environnt, he couldn't use his ability to damage vital ridians.
Facing the three Ironback Demon Wolves, Luo Xiu wasn't nervous; he was even slightly excited.
He licked his lips, assuming an attacking stance, and muttered to himself, "Being restricted doesn't matter; this is where my true strength can shine!"
"Howl!"
At that mont, the three Ironback Demon Wolves charged at him with fierce montum.
Although the formation couldn't replicate complete life forms, it could accurately portray the beasts' habits and attack thods.
"Good timing!"
Luo Xiu's footwork shifted slightly, and with his mastery of the Inch Step Movent Technique, he instinctively dodged the attacks of two Ironback Demon Wolves.
"Dragon-Tiger Fist, Tiger Stance!" His hands moved without pause, channeling inner qi into his fists, striking at the abdon of the third wolf.
Even demonic beasts knew to avoid exposing their weak spots during a fight. This wolf suddenly crouched, exposing its strongest defensive back to Luo Xiu's attack.
"Boom!"
The wolf was sent flying by Luo Xiu's punch, its body shattering into white light mid-air.
Despite its reputation for having an iron-like back, its defense was relative. Luo Xiu's mastery of the Dragon-Tiger Fist could rival a Body Refining level seven Martial Apprentice's full strength, and with the destructive power of death qi, he could achieve a one-punch kill.
However, Luo Xiu didn't escape unscathed; the powerful recoil made his right fist feel as if the bones had fractured, causing imnse pain.
At this mont, the other two Ironback Demon Wolves charged again, undeterred by death, with a foul wind in their wake.
"Qi of Life!"
The Life and Death Extres qi within him shifted attributes, a surge of vitality rushing to his fist, repairing vital ridians, and rapidly healing the fractured bones.
With the Inch Step Movent Technique, Luo Xiu easily evaded the lunges of the two Ironback Demon Wolves.
"Soaring Dragon Stance!"
Inner qi split into two within him, one part transforming into life qi to repair vital ridians, the other into death qi to unleash martial techniques and kill.
"Boom!"
Another Ironback Demon Wolf shattered into white light, its head exploded by Luo Xiu's punch.
"A level-one demonic beast is nothing much." Luo Xiu squinted at the last remaining wolf, a slight curve forming at his lips as he muttered, "It can serve as practice for my Inch Step Movent Technique."
The Ironback Demon Wolf lunged, but this ti Luo Xiu didn't strike back forcefully. Instead, he clasped his hands behind his back, using the Inch Step Movent Technique to dodge the wolf's attacks.
The wolf's attacks were swift, lunging, biting, clawing, with a seamless frequency and hardly any pause.
But Luo Xiu's movents were even faster. A full half-hour passed, and the wolf hadn't even touched the hem of his clothes.
"Truly boring. It seems that to further improve my movent technique, this level of training isn't enough."
Training his movent technique for half an hour, though more effective than practicing with wooden stakes, didn't yield significant improvent.
"Boom!"
A heavy punch landed at the precise mont the Ironback Demon Wolf lunged, unable to react in ti. Its hard skull was shattered by Luo Xiu's punch, and the wolf vanished, dispersing into white light around him.
"Exit!"
Having passed the assessnt, Luo Xiu spoke to the surroundings.
***
The scene around him began to change, and within three breaths, Luo Xiu exited the formation, still standing on the stone platform as if he had never moved.
As soon as Luo Xiu erged, he saw the white-robed old man who had brought him for the assessnt, looking at him with a face full of astonishnt.
"Good lad, I must have misjudged you. Your strength is comparable to a Body Refining level seven," the white-robed old man said. He had set up the formation, so he could see everything Luo Xiu experienced within it.
Luo Xiu scratched his head, a bit embarrassed, not knowing what to say.
"But don't get cocky, kid. Even in Qingyun City, a Body Refining level five isn't much. You still have a long way to go," the white-robed old man said with a smile.
"I will rember your teachings, senior," Luo Xiu replied.
"Alright, you can go to the hall to receive your Hunter Emblem," the old man said, signing his na on Luo Xiu's assessnt application and handing it to him.
"Zhuang Nantian..." Luo Xiu saw the signature and knew it must be the old man's na.
***
"Half an hour has passed, that kid must have failed the assessnt!"
"Maybe he's already dead in there."
"Even if he's not dead, losing an arm or a leg during the assessnt is common."
In the hall, two groups faced off, with Guo Beard's side looking confident and assured.
On the other hand, Zhou Long's group had somber expressions. They had bet a thousand taels of silver on Luo Xiu's assessnt, a significant amount even for a Qi Sea Realm Martial Artist, requiring ten days to half a month of hard work to earn.
But what concerned Zhou Long more than the money was his reputation. In Qingyun City's Hunter Guild, he was a sowhat renowned figure.
"Guo Beard, don't get too cocky. If that kid passes the assessnt, let's see where you can hide your face!" Zhou Long snorted.
"I'll say it again, if he passes, I'll let him use my head as a ball!" Guo Beard shouted defiantly.
"He's coming out!"
At that mont, soone pointed to the passage leading to the assessnt area, and everyone turned to see Luo Xiu walking towards the counter with his application form.
"Slap!"
Under everyone's watchful eyes, Luo Xiu reached the counter and slapped the application form down, smiling at Jiang Shanshan.
"Little brother, you don't seem injured. Did you back out and not take the assessnt?" Jiang Shanshan looked him over and said with a smile.
"What if I passed the assessnt?" Luo Xiu smiled back. He knew Jiang Shanshan had advised him for his own good, but he found her interesting. Perhaps influenced by the guild hall's atmosphere, he felt more at ease.
Both Zhou Long's and Guo Beard's groups were paying attention, eager to know the outco.
Jiang Shanshan rolled her eyes at Luo Xiu, tapping her lips with her finger, and laughed, "Little brother, not to discourage you, but the chance of a Body Refining level five Martial Apprentice passing the assessnt is less than ten percent. If you pass, how about I chase after you instead?"
"Pfft!"
Many in the hall who were drinking spat out their drinks, stunned.
"Damn, why don't I have such luck, having Shanshan chase after !"
"Unbelievable, does Shanshan really like this kid, preferring younger ones?"
"Damn it, I curse this kid to fail the assessnt!"
The people in the hall joined in the commotion, saying, "Kid, hurry up, did you pass or not?"
Luo Xiu chuckled, lifting his hand from the application form, "Rember what you just said, beauty."
Everyone's eyes fell on the application form, and the one bold word "Passed" left the hall in silence, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Proofreader & Editor: Peter Pan
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