Next, everyone followed the eight examiners into the cave.

These eight examiners were clearly Martial Artists, their movements had a graceful fluidity.

It's estimated that even if you combined all the Martial Artists in Dongning City, there wouldn't be more than this number.

But in Ningzhou, just for one exam, so many were deployed.

Big cities, due to their quality education, infrastructure, and healthcare, often create a siphoning effect on talents from surrounding areas. The rare Martial Artists in Dongning were not as common in Ningzhou but were hundreds, if not thousands, times more numerous.

...

The cave was large, an estimated tens of thousands of square meters in area, like a gigantic plaza.

On each side were four infantry armored vehicles and a medium-sized tank, parked in a staggered formation, with five soldiers standing guard by each vehicle or tank, clearly prepared for emergencies.

The air seemed to carry a faint scent of gunpowder.

As the crowd reached this point, their voices unconsciously quieted, and the atmosphere turned somewhat oppressive.

For those living in peace, witnessing such a scene was a rarity.

The intimidating gun barrels made one worry that they might suddenly unleash a terrifying attack, tearing the crowd apart.

Chen Shouyi looked away and noticed a huge iron door at the front of the plaza, flanked by four fully armed soldiers.

The passage must be inside.

One of the examiners stepped forward, handing over a pass and a document.

The soldier flipped through a few pages, saluted, and then pressed a button beside him. As the sound of an electric motor buzzed, the iron door slowly parted, revealing a passage.

The passage was six or seven meters wide and tall, large enough to allow a tank through, constructed entirely of thick steel that emitted a dull metallic sheen.

The security inside was tight, and walking through it made Chen Shouyi's heart tremble with fear.

Every few meters there seemed to be a camera and a machine gun barrel, and the ceiling was dotted with small holes.

He guessed they were likely for spraying poison gas.

And there was more than one iron door inside!

The group passed through three iron doors consecutively. The first two were lit by incandescent lamps, while the last one had switched to oil lamps, and the power system was changed to steam mechanical transmission.

At the same time, Chen Shouyi felt a force awakening deep within his body; his gifted ability was reviving.

The passage was right in front of them!

...

"Before entering, let me say one thing. This time there are a lot of people, and we examiners can't manage everyone, so for safety reasons, you'll enter in batches. The first batch is two hundred, and each person will receive a bow and a cold weapon." The leading examiner shouted, "Line up in eight rows now. If anyone disrupts the order, this exam will be canceled."

The crowd buzzed and hurried to line up.

Under the sharp gaze of the eight Martial Artists, no one dared to cut in line.

Chen Shouyi roughly counted the number of people in front and realized he would be in the second round.

"Okay! The first twenty-five in each row, follow us to receive weapons."

The examiner opened a locked iron door beside the passage, and the crowd entered in an orderly fashion.

When everyone came out again, each person was armed.

Not wooden swords or wooden knives, but real swords and knives, and the arrows weren't practice ones but metal-headed arrows.

What is this all about?

Chen Shouyi had a vague feeling that ever since the otherworldly power invasion, the Great Xia Country seemed to be preparing something.

This sudden change in the Martial Arts Apprentice assessment process was probably just the tip of the iceberg.

The soldiers standing guard ahead worked together to pull down a massive opening valve. Accompanied by the harsh and dull grinding of gears, the last iron door slowly opened, revealing a faint glow in the distance.

...

As soon as the examiners left, the crowd immediately began to discuss, causing a commotion.

"This is the alternate world, huh? I've never been there; I heard the gravity is three times stronger."

"Do you think it's to make us kill Barbarians?"

"You're overthinking it; with our strength, we can only get killed by Barbarians!"

"Actually, it shouldn't be too dangerous. If there's a fatality, it becomes a big issue, and those examiners would be held accountable, right?"

...

"Are you not nervous?" The young man next to Chen Shouyi, about twenty years old, was visibly anxious, with his feet trembling slightly. Seeing Chen Shouyi standing there in a daze, he couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Oh, nervous, yeah!" Chen Shouyi snapped out of it, turning his head to reply.

Nervous my foot!

He'd been in the alternate world long enough, having even killed twenty or thirty Barbarians. Moreover, this Spatial Passage had been explored several times; there was no danger.

"You seemed lost in thought!"

"It's a way to relieve stress. Just let your mind go blank, drift away, and think of nothing, and you won't feel nervous," Chen Shouyi spouted nonsense.

"Really? I'll give it a try!"

Taking it to heart, he immediately imitated Chen Shouyi, letting his mind go blank.

"Is it working?" Not long after, a middle-aged man nearby couldn't resist asking.

Zhou Xue's ears perked up as well.

"I had just zoned out, but your voice brought me back. Though it does seem to work a bit."

...

Unexpectedly, Chen Shouyi's random spout of nonsense was mimicked by many nearby, and looking around, he saw numerous people standing vacantly, eyes unfocused.

As if they had caught some chicken disease.

Even Zhou Xue, who always maintained a cool demeanor, was among them.

Could it really be effective?

Even Chen Shouyi himself was puzzled.

...

Just over a minute later, someone emerged from the passage, limping.

His face was in disarray, and both knees were stained with blood.

"Brother, did you pass?"

His expression was gloomy as he shook his head, "A bit unlucky, I tripped on some vines, fell, and my arm's broken."

The crowd then noticed the protrusion on his exposed arm.

With triple gravity, even the bone strength of a Martial Artist Apprentice couldn't withstand a fall well.

"You really are unlucky. What's the passage like, and are the assessment tasks the same as before?"

"This time there aren't many tasks. The other side of the passage seems to be an island, and the assessment task is just one: hunt an aggressive sea bird. Kill one, and you pass, but I didn't see any before coming back."

Listening to the young man's answer, Chen Shouyi thought to himself, "It seems that the assessment requirements for Martial Arts Apprentices have been simplified this time, not as thorough and strict as before.

You can use either a bow or cold weapons to kill the bird,

as long as you qualify in one area, you can pass.

And being able to operate in the alternate world, killing a sea bird proves that one's physical condition meets the standards."

...

Before long, people began to exit continuously.

Some were pale, some were excited, others bore bloody wounds, while some were clean.

Fifteen minutes later, when five Martial Arts Apprentices with broken leg bones were carried out by several instructors, the atmosphere briefly quieted down.

"Let me warn you again, this assessment carries risks. If you wish to withdraw, now is the time."

But no one chose to quit. After all, the injured were a minority, less than a tenth, and judging by the circumstances, the pass rate was high, reaching almost thirty percent, something unimaginable before.

Most importantly, none of the candidates had died.

"Now for the next batch, the first twenty-five in each row again."

Finally, it was Chen Shouyi's turn.

He was invigorated, having waited impatiently for so long.

He, along with Zhou Xue, followed the group forward.

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