Fortunately, just as the count was about to reach one hundred, Xie Sisi arrived at the assembly camp with Xu Xiangwen, just in the nick of ti. Among the examinees who rushed in later, many, like Xu Xiangwen, had sustained injuries.
Wang Lan hurriedly went up to greet them and took Xu Xiangwen aside, casually casting a Holy Aura on him. Within a few seconds, Xu Xiangwen was fully revived. Wang Lan patted Xu Xiangwen’s shoulder and looked at Xie Sisi.
"How are you?"
"I’m fine, just a bit disheveled."
"Lanzi, this exam is damn insane! They made us wade through minefields, brave a hail of bullets, and all of it with high-tech heavy weapons. If I hadn’t reacted quickly, I would’ve been blown to bits."
"Actually, even if you really got blown up, you wouldn’t die; at most, you’d be disqualified. Your injury wasn’t caused by heavy firepower, was it?"
"Just my bad luck. The third checkpoint was guarded by a Star Martial Warrior in a cha. You’ve experienced it, so you get it—five Star Cloud-pinnacle special agents, all wearing chas! Their strength was boosted to at least the Galaxy Stage, and it was five against one. I wasn’t careful and got hit in the leg. If my leg hadn’t been injured, I wouldn’t have lost so much ti at the following checkpoints. Then, at the final checkpoint, I t Sisi. She had already finished by then. If it weren’t for helping , she could have achieved an even better score."
"The exam rank doesn’t matter this ti; it’s either pass or fail."
BEEP—
Just as Wang Lan finished speaking, the camp’s whistle blew, and everyone quickly gathered.
"All one hundred examinees have arrived. All who arrive later will be disqualified," the examiner announced loudly, devoid of emotion.
At that mont, about a dozen examinees were desperately rushing toward the camp; they all ca to an abrupt stop upon hearing this verdict.
"This is unfair!" one examinee angrily removed their wristband and threw it to the ground. "You clearly stated that the exam required completing all the checkpoints within twenty-four hours. When did this condition of only accepting the first hundred examinees co up? We completed all the checkpoints in only seven hours, not even a third of the allotted ti! Why disqualify us?"
"Why? Because I am the examiner. Because the final right of interpretation belongs to . Are you satisfied with this reason?"
Faced with the examiners’ uniformly cold expressions, their indignation could only be swallowed.
These chosen individuals were typically overwhelmingly arrogant, but one had to consider the setting. The International Security Council was the world’s most elite organization for Star Martial Warrior combat forces. Every top master you could na was either a current or forr special agent of the International Security Council.
Throw a tantrum here? Even if the examiners before them were rely bluffing, the examinees wouldn’t dare.
As for those disqualified, their arrangents were crystal clear: private transport to a hotel in the nearest city, where they’d be well-fed and accommodated until their ho countries paid the bill and arranged their return.
"I told you, changing our plans would do you absolutely no good because we are the ones who make the rules. You successfully avoided the welco ceremony, but we only need one examination to control the number of remaining people to one hundred."
The instructor relentlessly taunted the gathered hundred examinees. Wang Lan clearly sensed many of them silently clenching their fists. These students were all at the Galaxy Stage; any one of them could have beaten the instructor before them to a pulp.
"Alright, I won’t waste any more unnecessary words. The second exam will take place tomorrow. A vehicle will arrive shortly to take you to the barracks area to rest. Dismissed."
After the dismissal, Wang Lan’s group of four gathered again. Looking at the other examinees clustered in small groups, the atmosphere suddenly felt much emptier. Over five hundred examinees had been culled to a re hundred in one go—it was quite cruel.
"Wang Lan, with your status, can’t you find out what the second exam is about?" Xu Xiangwen asked, sowhat apprehensively.
Wang Lan shook his head. "Each recruitnt exam by the International Security Council is different, and the secrecy level is comparable to the university entrance exams. Forget us; even those examiners don’t know."
"Sigh! I originally thought with you guys here, this exam would be an easy win, but we almost failed the first test. I heard each exam is harder than the last. The first one had such a high elimination rate; who knows how twisted the second will be. Maybe Sisi and I will both be knocked out in that round."
"Just stay calm and try your best." Wang Lan didn’t know how else to comfort them. If the second round was still a solo competition, he indeed couldn’t help them.
Soon, the buses arrived to collect them. Three buses, packed with examinees, reached the new campsite, where they were assigned rooms in pairs. As it happened, Wang Lan was paired with Xu Xiangwen, and Xie Sisi with Jiang Xinyu.
「Early the next morning」
After a warm-up run organized by the examiners, the one hundred participants were taken to the camp’s training ground. It was then that Wang Lan saw a group of people entering from the opposite side of the training ground. They also looked like examinees, representing various ethnicities.
"Are they also examinees? No, that’s not right. We have exactly one hundred people here."
"The content of the second exam is becoming clear. It must be a combat assessnt, but... where did they find them?"
"I get it!" one examinee exclaid. Soon, most people ca to the sa realization: Who said there were only five hundred examinees for this selection? There were actually a thousand, just split into different testing grounds for the elimination rounds.
At eight o’clock sharp, a line of examiners appeared at the edge of the training ground. One of them, wearing camouflage and sunglasses, gently rubbed his ears before picking up a gaphone to test the sound.
"Testing, testing! Talented individuals from all over the world, welco to the International Security Council’s selection assessnt! We are about to begin the second phase of this selection. I believe many of you have already guessed the content. Correct, this assessnt is combat-based. Originally, this round wasn’t necessary, as we only needed one hundred examinees for the third round, which holds the most weight in your scores. But, as it happens, we had a few too many applicants this ti... a full thousand of them! So, we had to split the assessnts across two examination sites.
Thus, the examinees from the first and second examination sites have now converged here. The rules for this test are quite simple. Examinees from both sites will randomly receive a number from one to one hundred. I will then draw numbers. Those with matching numbers will duel on the field, and the victor will advance directly to the next round. Simple, right?
Now, let the supervising examiners for each site distribute the numbers. And contestants, please fight seriously, because the outco of your matches is tied to our little wager."
Contestants on both sides quickly began to draw their numbers. Among the group of four, Wang Lan drew number seventeen, Jiang Xinyu twenty-three, Xie Sisi thirty-six, and Xu Xiangwen eighty-eight.
"The exam starts now. Normally, I should be the one to draw the matchup numbers, but... I’m rather lazy, so I’ll skip that. Let’s just begin with number one."
The number one contestants from each side entered the arena. Coincidentally, both were Black. One hailed from South Africa, the other from the White Eagle Country. Perhaps it was the excitent of encountering a kinsman in a foreign land, but the two fought with incredible ferocity, employing tactics usually reserved for battling the Demon Clan—as if they desperately wanted to kill each other.
This set an example for the remaining examinees: to pass this assessnt, they had to be just as ruthless.
Individual strength isn’t the sole factor determining a fight’s duration; rather, the length of the fight is more directly related to the difference in strength between the combatants. Since both Black contestants were mid-Galaxy Stage practitioners with remarkably similar fighting styles, their battle dragged on for nearly half an hour.
Both were carried off on stretchers; by the end of the fight, their dark skin had turned crimson.
The subsequent battles were much swifter and more decisive; the longest lasted only twenty minutes, and the shortest just a few. Before he knew it, Wang Lan’s turn, number seventeen, was fast approaching.
However, the morning’s fights concluded with number fourteen, aning Wang Lan would probably be up in the afternoon. Wang Lan and Jiang Xinyu should be able to complete their matches today. Xie Sisi might have to wait until tomorrow, and Xu Xiangwen might not get his turn even the day after.
Apart from having an irritatingly smug mouth, the chief examiner was genuinely decent in other aspects. At least the food quality made many examinees from impoverished regions weep with gratitude.
Perhaps they had never eaten anything so delicious in their entire lives. They wept as they gnawed on beef and lamb legs, the cafeteria a stage for life’s myriad emotions and experiences.
Jiang Xinyu stomped hard on Wang Lan’s foot, snapping his gaze back to her annoyed expression. In that sa instant, Wang Lan’s left foot was stomped on again—hard.
It was Xie Sisi.
But this woman, a consummate actress, rely lowered her head and continued eating as if nothing had happened.
"She’s pretty, isn’t she?"
"Um..."
"Who’s prettier, her or ?" Murderous intent flared in Jiang Xinyu’s eyes. It seed won of all personalities and levels were united on this particular question.
"Of course you’re prettier. In my heart, you are the most beautiful."
Another heavy stomp landed on his left foot! But Wang Lan remained expressionless because... it didn’t hurt!
"Yet you kept staring at her. You think I’d believe your nonsense?"
"Xinyu, don’t you know ? Am I such a shallow person?" Wang Lan exclaid, feeling wronged. He never judged people based on appearance. Of course, this was mainly because he had good self-control and was skilled at pretending. He had encountered many beautiful girls, but almost all who approached him had ulterior motives, which made Wang Lan appear unmoved by feminine charms, seemingly unfailingly loyal in love.
"Then why were you sneaking peeks at her? Once or twice, I could let it slide, but how many tis has it been now?"
"Twelve tis!" Xie Sisi lifted her head and interjected casually, "Won are more sensitive about these things."
"Because she’s strong," Wang Lan stated calmly.
"Strong?" Xu Xiangwen looked up, glancing again at the blonde beauty. "Is that ’strong’ by common standards, or by your standards, Lanzi?"
"Mine."
HISS—
"Good thing he’s on our side. If he were an opponent, soone would be in deep trouble."
"Strong? Just how strong? Did you see her fight?"
"No. But in the last exam, I wasn’t first; I was second. Although I wasted so ti, it wasn’t much. When I finished the exam, she was already on the camp lawn, enjoying the scenery. After that, I waited nearly two hours for the third-place person to arrive. Do you understand the gap?"
"Caught off guard by your showboating again, Lanzi! Are you saying you were two hours ahead of second place?"
"No. I’m saying this girl possesses strength far surpassing a Titled Strongman. Xinyu is already at the peak of the Star Sea Stage, yet she arrived seventh. This girl is probably even more formidable than Yu Ruoyun. That’s why I couldn’t help but take a few extra glances. If there’s a chance, I’d like to get to know her."
Both his feet were stomped on simultaneously, hard.
Reviews
All reviews (0)