Volume One: Emerging Brilliance Chapter 109: A Smooth Passage

Soon, it was Wang Jue’s turn.

“Next up, Wang Jue,” Ning Chuan called out.

The monkey, who had already passed, quickly encouraged him, “Junior Brother Wang, go for it! Once you pass, we can head to the practical assessment together!”

“All right,” Wang Jue smiled, nodded, and stepped onto the track. He adjusted his breathing slightly and lightly bounced in place. Unlike the monkey’s brute force style, Wang Jue appeared completely relaxed.

“Whoosh!”

With a burst of power, Wang Jue darted forward like a cheetah, incredibly fast, cutting through the speed testing zone with a gust of wind. Even to the naked eye, his speed was noticeably higher than the others before him.

“Hmm, not bad at all,” Wang Jue thought, turning to see the monkey giving him a thumbs-up.

Even Ning Chuan and several senior officials nearby nodded in rare approval.

Wang Jue had no worries. He walked over to check the screen, which displayed:

37.9 m/s!

“Little guy, your speed is quite impressive—well above the passing mark,” Ning Chuan said with a smile. “Last one up: Gou Liang.”

Gou Liang, a veteran, stepped forward confidently.

As expected, he passed smoothly.

They had just completed the strength and speed tests, with three eliminated in each. Now only four remained.

The third test was the neural response assessment.

“Follow me,” Ning Chuan led the group of senior officials and the four remaining candidates to the neural response testing room.

It was a spacious room of about a hundred square meters—much smaller compared to the thousands of square meters in the previous hall.

In the center stood a tall, expensive-looking machine. At the front were dozens of gun barrels arranged like a Gatling gun, but far more numerous—several dozen openings in total.

“First up, Gou Liang,” Ning Chuan announced.

Gou Liang immediately stepped into the three-meter diameter circle in front of the machine.

“Click.”

A hazy red light shot upward from the circle’s edge, enveloping the tester inside a translucent red veil.

“Remember, you must not leave the circle. If you step outside, you fail immediately. Also, touching the red light even once deducts a point,” Ning Chuan warned.

He then moved to the machine and pressed several buttons to start it.

“Assessment time: 60 seconds.”

Ning Chuan hit the red button. “Begin!”

“Buzz... buzz... buzz...”

The giant barrels began spinning rapidly, and the dozens of gun openings instantaneously fired streams of red light—pink rubber bullets—into the circle. Their speed varied, and their trajectories were chaotic and non-parallel.

Gou Liang’s eyes locked forward; his body darted swiftly in all directions, weaving through the gaps between the pink bullets.

“Bang!”

“Bang!”

Twice he was hit.

But these bullets were soft rubber balls; their impact caused no pain, merely leaving a mark when they struck.

Seconds ticked by relentlessly.

Gou Liang dodged desperately until the time ended.

“Uh…”

Ning Chuan pressed a button; the machine’s barrels slowed and stopped. The central screen displayed a flood of data.

“Hit 55 times and touched the red light five times within 60 seconds. Disqualified!”

Ning Chuan’s face darkened as he tossed an ID card to Gou Liang, signaling him to leave.

Gou Liang clenched his teeth, shaking his head as he stepped out of the red circle, frustration etched across his face. “Why do I always fail at this stage...”

“Next, Wang Jue,” Ning Chuan called promptly.

Wang Jue exchanged a fist bump with the monkey before stepping confidently into the red circle.

Standing inside, facing the dozens of gun barrels aimed at him, Wang Jue took a deep breath.

“If this were before my talent improved, I would have failed this test for sure. But now, with my enhanced physical condition and faster reflexes, I should pass without issue.”

“Once again, do not step outside the circle. Leaving means immediate failure. Touching the red light deducts points,” Ning Chuan repeated, clearly placing his bets on Wang Jue.

He pressed the red button.

“Buzz...”

The barrels spun up to a dizzying speed, firing streams of pink rubber bullets that shot rapidly into the circle.

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…”

Wang Jue’s eyes locked on the incoming projectiles. His mind calculated positions in an instant, and his body moved like a nimble cat—darting back and forth, side to side—dodging bullet after bullet.

Of course, some bullets were too fast to avoid, and he took a hit here and there.

While Wang Jue dodged with extraordinary agility, the watching martial artists whispered among themselves.

“This kid is impressive—the fastest reflexes we’ve seen yet, even better than his previous strength and speed scores.”

“Indeed, his footwork is excellent, very solid foundation.”

“Look at his feet—they’re like the pads of a cat’s paws. Every movement maintains balance and can instantly change direction. That’s rare at his age.”

“Wait, it’s the perfected basic footwork style! No wonder his movements are so fluid.”

“Tsk tsk, even though it’s the most basic perfected footwork, it takes at least a decade of hard training to build such a foundation.”

“No doubt, this kid is a prodigy. I’m curious if he’ll wow us again in tomorrow’s practical assessment.”

The gathered martial artists were amazed.

Physical strength could be cultivated and improved, but footwork and swordsmanship required experience.

Strong muscles didn’t necessarily mean superior agility.

“Beep.”

Ning Chuan pressed the button again, and the machine slowed and stopped. The screen displayed a long string of numbers.

“Hit 20 times in 60 seconds, no contact with the red light. Passed!”

Ning Chuan smiled warmly. “Well done, Wang Jue. Once you pass tomorrow’s practical assessment, your information will be entered into the citizen identity system. Then you’ll officially be an adventurer!”

Upon passing, a formal certificate would be issued within a week, with the record added to the citizen ID.

Wang Jue clenched his right fist tightly. “Just one more step to success!”

The final hurdle was the practical assessment to become an official adventurer.

“Wang Jue, the practical assessment is tomorrow. Meet at the Martial Association hall in the morning. Under the guidance of the team leader, you’ll join other warriors from neighboring towns to hunt star beasts in the wild,” Ning Chuan said with a smile, noticing Wang Jue’s barely contained excitement.

“Once you pass that, you’ll be a true adventurer.”

“I understand, thank you, Lord Ning Chuan,” Wang Jue replied gratefully.

Ning Chuan laughed beside the neural response machine. “All right, next up: Guan Shan.”

Wang Jue returned to the monkey’s side. The monkey’s face lit with joy as he whispered, “Junior brother, congratulations! Once you pass the practical assessment, you’ll be a real adventurer!”

“Brother, let’s both do our best. Once we clear this phase, we’ll face the practical test together,” Wang Jue said quietly.

The monkey nodded eagerly, “Don’t worry, watch me.”

Their attention shifted to the current candidate.

Guan Shan passed without issue.

Ning Chuan called out, “Last one, Hou Wen!”

The monkey inhaled deeply. He had waited a long time for this day. Previously, he was always stopped at the speed test, but now he finally qualified for the neural response test.

Wang Jue encouraged him, “Senior brother, good luck!”

“Don’t worry,” the monkey replied confidently as he strode into the red circle.

Ning Chuan pressed the start button, and the machine’s barrels began spinning rapidly, firing dozens of rubber bullets into the circle.

In the next moment, the monkey moved swiftly, stepping within a one-step radius in all directions with clean, precise motions.

“Huh?”

Wang Jue watched, surprised. “His footwork seems a bit stiff compared to mine—less flexible and quick—but his efficiency is high. Each dodge covers a small distance, only within a one-step range forward, backward, left, and right.”

Though the monkey’s movements were limited in range, his evasive efficiency was remarkable—like dancing on a razor’s edge.

“Beep.”

Time ended quickly; the machine halted.

“60 seconds, hit 40 times, touched the red light once. Passed!” Ning Chuan nodded slightly.

Inside the circle, the monkey clenched his fists tightly, veins bulging in his arms, tears glistening faintly in his eyes.

He had waited so long for this moment.

Finally, he had realized his dream. Only one last step remained to earn the legendary adventurer title.

“Hou Wen,” Ning Chuan suddenly frowned, speaking sternly, “Your evasive style—dodging with small, precise movements so the star beast’s claws just miss you—is efficient and lets you dodge more times within the same span.”

“But this style is extremely risky. If your calculations are off by even two centimeters, the beast’s claws will tear you open!”

“In life-or-death battles with star beasts, a single mistake can be fatal. So…”

Ning Chuan’s expression grew serious. “I advise you, when fighting star beasts, try to dodge with wider movements to leave room for adjustment.”

The monkey was startled but then nodded earnestly. “Yes, thank you, Lord Ning Chuan!”

Ning Chuan smiled in satisfaction. “All right, three candidates passed this round: Wang Jue, Guan Shan, and Hou Wen.”

Hearing this, the three warriors each hid their bursting joy behind calm gazes.

If not for the senior warriors around, they might have exploded in cheers long ago…