Samurai

Six-thirty in the morning.

"Woo woo woo—"

A harsh siren echoed throughout the entire monster town. From the large loudspeaker at the entrance, a rough voice resounded:

"The assessment time has ended. All quasi-warriors in the monster town, proceed immediately to the exit."

"It's finally over! I wonder how Brother Yang is doing?" Xia Zhi muttered as he stepped out of the lounge. He glanced at the now-bustling town, stirred to life by the blaring sound, and quickly made his way to the entrance.

By this time, the quasi-warriors who had completed their assessments early were already gathering.

Li Wei, standing apart from the group, saw Xia Zhi approaching. With a cold snort, he moved to stand under a nearby tree. The shadow covered half of his face, but his gaze, locked onto Xia Zhi, was full of malice.

One by one, the remaining quasi-warriors filtered out of the town.

Nearly everyone bore signs of battle—bloodstains marred their clothes, and some were visibly injured, clutching their wounds and leaning on friends for support.

A convoy of heavy trucks rolled out of the town. The first trucks were loaded with the bodies of slain monsters, but the last one parked on the roadside held a far grimmer cargo: the corpses of fallen humans. Some were horribly mutilated, bearing the savage bite marks of monsters.

"The bodies of these fallen quasi-warriors. If you know them, come and claim them," announced an officer standing next to the truck. His voice was stern and unyielding.

"What!"

"Little Brother!"

"Ahao!"

Cries of anguish broke out among the quasi-warriors as they recognized familiar faces. Some rushed forward, clutching the lifeless bodies and weeping openly.

"What are you crying for!" The officer's cold voice cut through the grief. "Do you think fighting monsters is some kind of game?"

"There are no guarantees in battle! If you've chosen the path of a warrior, you must accept the risk of death!"

"Human society grants warriors so many privileges—why?"

"It's not so you can flaunt your power over ordinary people!"

"It's because warriors slay monsters to protect the safety of the base cities and the lives of the people. They contribute to the survival of all humanity."

"That's why you receive privileges."

"Status, power... everything is earned through fighting and bleeding on your own!"

"If you can't even pass a basic combat assessment, then stepping out into the wilderness will only lead to your death!"

The officer's words left the quasi-warriors silent and contemplative.

"If you can move, head to the registration office to submit your quests!" he commanded, before turning and walking away.

Xia Zhi cast a glance at the truck loaded with corpses, relieved not to see Yang Ming among them.

Suddenly, a familiar face caught his eye—Li Qiang. He lay lifeless among the dead, his eyes wide open, frozen in terror. His throat had been torn out by a monster, leaving a gaping wound. Though his combat uniform remained intact, the creature had eviscerated him, leaving his internal organs partially consumed.

The dried, dark-red blood stained his face and body.

Though Xia Zhi had once wanted to kill him personally, seeing a familiar face lying cold among the corpses only brought a hollow sense of disquiet. He couldn't even feel satisfaction, just a hint of sadness.

Li Wei also noticed Li Qiang's body. His eyes flickered with disdain as he muttered, "Trash is trash," before turning away, showing no interest in his former ally's fate.

Xia Zhi watched Li Wei walk away, thinking, "Compared to Li Qiang, you are the real villain who orchestrated all this."

"Xia Zhi, Xia Zhi!" A voice called out from the crowd. Yang Ming waved and hurried over.

"Brother Yang!" Xia Zhi called back.

"How did it go? How many monsters did you kill?" Yang Ming asked, a proud grin on his face. "I managed to take down five! It was a long night, but I can feel my strength improving."

"Dozens. I didn't keep count," Xia Zhi replied as they made their way to the registration office.

"Dozens? Xia Zhi, you're insane!" Yang Ming looked at him in disbelief.

"Those monsters may be the lowest-ranked H-class, but their animal instincts make them dangerous."

"Like that shadow cat. Cats are natural hunters—fast and lethal. I barely managed to kill five in one night."

Xia Zhi just smiled, thinking, "If you knew I also took down the F-class Tiger Mastiff King, you'd be even more shocked."

"What happened to your back?" Yang Ming suddenly asked, noticing the wound on Xia Zhi's back.

Due to the enhanced cell regeneration of martial artists, Xia Zhi's wound had already started to heal faster than an ordinary person's. After some simple treatment, it barely hurt anymore.

"It's nothing," Xia Zhi replied casually. "I got scratched while practicing my dodging skills against some monsters."

Yang Ming stared at him for a long moment. "You're a real monster! Practicing dodging against the assessment monsters? How many did you face just to train?" Yang Ming shook his head in disbelief.

As they approached the registration office, they saw that a crowd of quasi-warriors was already submitting their monster trophies.

"That's Xia Zhi, the one recruited early by Xtreme Martial Arts Gym!" someone whispered.

"They say he signed an A-level agreement."

"I wonder how many monsters he killed? I heard Yang Lei from Thunderbolt Martial Arts Hall took down forty-three."

"He's so young. He probably lacks experience. I bet he barely survived against those monsters."

As Xia Zhi and Yang Ming arrived, the murmurs grew louder. The attention of the entire registration office shifted to them.

"Xia Zhi, right? Show me the monster trophies," one of the officers at the registration table said.

Ignoring the chatter around him, Xia Zhi removed his backpack, opened it, and poured the contents onto the table. A pile of left ears from slain monsters spilled out, almost covering the two-meter-long table. Among them was the distinctive ear of the Tiger Mastiff King.

"That many?"

"How many monsters did he take down?"

The onlookers gasped in surprise.

The officer counting the trophies was just as astonished. His eyes lingered on the Tiger Mastiff King's ear before he broke into a smile. "Xia Zhi, you've brought in 87 monster ears. So far, you've hunted the most in this batch."

"Next," the officer called to the person behind, as Xia Zhi smiled and moved aside.

"Unbelievable! Yang Lei only killed forty-three, but Xia Zhi managed 87."

"Do you think anyone else killed more monsters than him?"

Xia Zhi paid no mind to the exclamations.

What did killing a few more H-class monsters matter?

He'd used the monsters as practice, honing his skills, seeking them out for combat experience, and then taking them down. If he'd only focused on killing H-class monsters, he could have easily taken down hundreds in a single night with his current strength.

"I've passed the combat assessment. I'm finally a real warrior," Xia Zhi thought, feeling a surge of pride.

This was the first—and most crucial—step on his path to becoming a top-tier warrior.

Thinking of the bright future ahead, Xia Zhi's heart brimmed with excitement.

"This life... it's already wonderful enough!"