Chapter 169 – White Dragon Martial Arts Gym, I’m Just Curious

Consciousness Space.

In the state of the Second Rank Transformation, a punch provoked Liu Daoyuan to leap into the air, and Lu Yuan, who was kicked by both feet, once again felt that sense of time standing still.

It was as if he was in an incredibly viscous atmosphere, his movements frozen, only able to watch helplessly as his opponent moved.

“Pop—”

The Mental Power from a single limit break of his intelligence points dispersed like a mist.

The sense of mental stagnation immediately vanished.

He regained control over his body and could move freely again.

“It’s True Intent!” Lu Yuan felt a surge of joy, quickly refining his description: “At least a power similar in essence to True Intent.”

Seeing Liu Daoyuan about to attack again, Lu Yuan originally planned to exit the Consciousness Space directly.

But a thought struck him, why not test the newly unlocked third core of his [martial artist] profession?

Lv1 [Undefeated Instinct], activate!

In an instant, Lu Yuan felt a primal “instinct” awaken within his body.

His skin, muscles, bones, and internal organs vibrated in a unique rhythm, and bright yellow inner strength was naturally aroused.

Following that, the mist-like Mental Power around him began to undergo a wondrous transformation…

At this moment, the timeline seemed to stretch infinitely once again.

“Whoosh—Boom!”

Perhaps not even half a second had passed when Lu Yuan snapped back to reality.

He was astonished to find himself suddenly appearing in front of Liu Daoyuan, his palm quietly placed on Liu Daoyuan’s chest.

At that spot, there was a gaping, bloody hole.

He “saw” a blurry, mist-like crane claw floating above his arm, invisibly piercing through Liu Daoyuan’s entire body.

He looked up abruptly and saw…

At this moment, he was enveloped by a gigantic mist-like white crane, silently screeching, flapping its wings…

Lu Yuan opened his eyes, an inexplicable brilliance flickering on his face.

“It’s True Intent… but not exactly True Intent.”

After a single limit break of his intelligence points, the quality and intensity of his Mental Power should meet the standards of True Intent.

But it’s still lacking the final process of condensation and formation.

“That part is simple. I just need to find an expert in Ancient Martial Arts who has already comprehended True Intent, engage in a fight, and activate [Undefeated Instinct] during the battle. Then, I’ll naturally grasp it…”

“What a coincidence…” Lu Yuan’s gaze fell on one of the three black areas representing level S tasks on the task map. He murmured, “I happen to have such an opponent right here…”

Not in a hurry to open the tasks one by one, Lu Yuan first checked the ranking and the global chat channel.

He wasn’t genuinely concerned about other people’s assessment statuses; it was just a habit to scroll through his mobile phone before getting down to business.

The number of participants displayed in the map’s upper right corner was 135.

Lu Yuan remembered that the number was 179 when he first entered, meaning that over forty new blood had been eliminated in the past two days.

Lu Yuan had previously learned a bit about this assessment mechanism.

In this simulated task assessment, the lower the task level, the higher the proportion of robots in the missions.

Moreover, during combat, these Mechanical Bodies won’t attack your vital points.

Simply put, even if you fail a low-level task, you don’t have to worry about fatal injuries. When the whole team loses combat effectiveness, the mission’s Mechanical Bodies will naturally cease their attacks.

It’s very humane.

As the difficulty increases, tasks begin to feature Cyborgs with self-awareness and new martial arts death row prisoners, significantly raising the danger level.

This is also why new blood is required to sign a Death Waiver Agreement before the assessment begins.

Lu Yuan checked the new blood points ranking. The second place was still held by someone named Teng Xiangqing.

Over five thousand points.

The third place had dropped to just over a thousand points.

The rest were all in the triple digits.

There was a significant gap between the top two and the rest.

But in reality, this was normal.

“A typical White Bear Guard is only at Level C… hmm, after Zhou Ling’s modification upgrade, he should be at Level B. The average strength of new blood is around level D, with the better ones reaching a comprehensive strength assessment of level C. However, whether they can actually perform at a true Level C in tasks is another question.”

“These people are considered reserves for the White Bear Guard. After passing the assessment and gaining experience from a few tasks, they are likely to get certified and officially join.”

“Those who can reach Level B… are truly outstanding.”

“Based on the current points, they account for less than three percent of the total.”

“These individuals are the elite talents of the White Bear Guard, with potential to join the Red Bear in the future.”

“Someone like Teng Xiangqing, whose strength is close to Level B+, is a bona fide monster. They make up less than one percent of the total number of assessors and don’t appear in every assessment.”

“As for me…”

Lu Yuan glanced at his six-figure points total and shook his head.

“I’m a special mechanism within the assessment, specifically designed to put pressure on the new blood. They need to understand that joining the Yellow Bear requires more than talent and strength. They need motivation and must work hard… they can’t just rely on clever tricks and buy strategies…”

Lu Yuan scrolled through the messages in the global chat channel.

It was quite boring, filled with shocked comments about his completion of all the Level A tasks, and various speculations about his identity.

One Shot Headshot Xu Chengying had sent him probably hundreds of messages.

Seeing the 99+ unread messages gave him a headache, so he didn’t bother opening any of them.

Finishing this trivial task, Lu Yuan finally refocused on the main business.

He opened one of the three level S tasks—

[Task Level: S-]

[Task Objective: Pass You Long’s test]

[Task Reward: 100,000 points (base)]

[Task Details—

You Long: Level A+, an expert in Ancient Martial Arts of the Dragon sect, skilled in Dragon sect martial arts…]

“Dragon sect martial arts?”

“This is interesting…”

In a spacious room, a man in uniform stared at a virtual screen in front of him.

At first, both videos and Mecha anime were playing simultaneously, creating a chaotic noise.

Quickly, he paused the anime, his expression becoming more focused.

Gradually, his concentration deepened.

The man started to frequently lift his wine glass, initially taking small sips before switching to large gulps.

He kept his eyes fixed on the screen, the light in his eyes growing brighter and brighter until finally…

“Damn it!”

He slammed the table, glaring at the young Red Bear standing before him, and cursed, “A pure martial artist?! Why didn’t you say this new blood is a pure martial artist?!”

The young Red Bear’s expression stiffened with panic. “I… I forgot.”

“I think you still need a good kick.”

“…”

The man snorted coldly, not saying anything further, but his expression turned slightly excited as he quickly clicked the screen.

After a moment, a dispassionate voice sounded in his ear.

“Hello?”

“Haha, Old Song.”

The man laughed while waving dismissively at the young Red Bear, who hurriedly retreated and closed the door behind him.

“Get to the point.”

The dispassionate voice sounded impatient, urging, “I’m in the middle of a task…”

Faintly, the sound of explosions could be heard in the background.

The man ignored this, curling his lips and speaking leisurely, “That secret realm with the Evil Deity last time, didn’t your team lose quite a few people? I heard you’ve been looking to recruit?”

“Yes, why? Do you have someone to recommend?”

The voice responded indifferently, with the background explosions growing more intense.

“Oh right, you’re currently the chief examiner for the new blood assessment.”

The voice chuckled and replied, “Old Su, even if I’m recruiting, I’m looking for elite Red Bear level talents with potential for the Golden Bear. Don’t bother pushing any rookies my way; it’s pointless. If there’s nothing else, I’ll hang up now; I’m in the middle of a fight…”

As he spoke, it seemed like the call was about to end.

Unhurried, the man continued, “What about a rookie with strength at Level A? Interested?”

“Hmm?”

The person on the other end of the line hummed in confusion, the call stabilizing once more.

“You’re not joking?”

The man casually tapped the virtual screen in front of him and replied indifferently, “I’ve sent you the assessment video data. See for yourself.”

The person on the other end of the line fell silent, with only the increasingly intense sounds of battle audible.

“A pure martial artist?! With a limit break Talent?”

Soon, a surprised gasp was heard, followed by a hurried tone.

“That’s quite a promising talent. Where is he? Is he with you now? I’ll take a good look when I get back.”

“He hasn’t even finished the assessment yet. Let me check…”

The man in the office tapped the virtual screen, and an image popped up. His eyes brightened, and he let out an exclamation.

“He’s actually challenging You Long! Quite bold. Do you remember You Long, the one who…”

“I know. Just make sure you save him for me. I want this new blood.”

The voice on the other end spoke quickly.

The man stood up from his chair with a satisfied smile, walked to the window, and gazed at the river of shuttles flowing in the distance.

“I’d love to save him for you. But you know, new blood of this caliber and quality is highly coveted. Future Golden Bear material for sure. Once the assessment results are out, who knows how many people will be scrambling for him? My private messages as chief examiner will likely explode. If you wait until you get back, it’ll be too late…”

“Alright, alright!”

The voice on the other end interrupted impatiently. “I’m coming over right now! Wait for me.”

With that, the call abruptly ended.

“Heh heh…”

The man in the room chuckled with a hint of smugness, as if seeing countless good things waving cheerfully at him.

Quickly, his smile faded, replaced by an invigorated expression.

He picked up the wine glass on the table and swiftly filled it with beer from a switch hidden under the desk.

Then he sat down before the desk, facing the live surveillance footage enlarged to full screen.

His eyes gleamed as he tugged at his tie, as if readying himself for something significant.

“A Level A new blood challenging a Level A Golden Bear, pure martial artist vs. pure martial artist… Tsk tsk, it’s been a while since I’ve seen something so thrilling… Just thinking about it gets me a little excited…”

Lu Yuan stepped out of a small, unmanned flying vehicle.

This flying device, resembling a beetle with small bird wings, was a common sight in the central areas of Smokeless City.

The first time Lu Yuan rode it, he found it quite novel, but after a few more trips, it had become rather mundane.

“White Dragon Martial Arts Gym…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered as he looked at the ancient-style signboard hanging in front of the enormous white building. He then walked inside with a calm expression.

The gym was almost deserted.

Lu Yuan walked straight through until he reached a vast, empty martial arts arena where he finally saw two figures sitting opposite each other.

One was a robust man with dark skin, as burly and strong as a Black Bear Man, bowing his head and listening respectfully to a short-haired middle-aged man of average height and appearance.

Lu Yuan’s sudden arrival caught their attention.

The short-haired middle-aged man glanced at him briefly before returning his focus to the conversation, his expression indifferent.

However, the Black Bear Man frowned, then stood up and walked towards Lu Yuan in large strides.

Lu Yuan immediately put his hands together respectfully and said, “I’ve come to challenge Senior You Long and accept his assessment.”

The goal of this level S task was to pass Instructor You Long’s assessment.

The task details didn’t specify whether You Long was a death row prisoner.

So Lu Yuan speculated that You Long was likely a member of the Yellow Bear with a special status, making this task different from others where he couldn’t just kill indiscriminately.

“New blood?”

The Black Bear Man approached Lu Yuan, noticing the task wristwatch on his hand.

His expression turned cold as he stepped closer, his imposing figure bearing down on Lu Yuan. Looking down at him, he said coldly, “You want to challenge Instructor You Long? Have you even passed the Level A tasks to dare come here? Do you know this is a level S task point?”

“Uh…”

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned, blinking his eyes.

Quickly, he furrowed his brows slightly and asked, “Are you a Red Bear?”

“Heh…”

The Black Bear Man crossed his thick arms over his chest and coldly rebuked, “What business is that of yours… If you don’t have the strength, get lost. The tasks here with Instructor You Long aren’t something a new blood like you can challenge just like that!”

After speaking, he saw it.

The quiet, fair-skinned, and handsome young man standing in front of him, looking almost like a student, suddenly shook his head lightly.

Immediately, his body began to swell rapidly.

“Crack, crack-“

Dark, bulging muscles strained against his clothes, causing them to tear apart inch by inch, as veins like wriggling worms surfaced.

The long hair tied at the back of his head broke free and started to move on its own, though there was no wind…

In the blink of an eye, the perspective shifted.

The Black Bear Man, arms still crossed, looked up in a daze, staring blankly at the terrifying figure before him that now loomed like a dark cloud, casting a vast shadow, a towering mountain range blocking almost all the light.

The figure looked down at him calmly and said, “I’m just curious… if a Red Bear level like you were to be beaten down by a new blood like me… would it leave a psychological scar that you could never erase…”

“Uh… uh…”