Chapter 27: Displaying Strength
As night fell, the only gate of the monster town closed, and the long-awaited fighter practical exam finally began. All the prospective fighters quickly dispersed to hunt for their prey. This monster town was specially designated by the military for the fighter practical exam. It contained only monster soldiers of the primary level, but there were many of them.
The passing rate for the fighter practical exam was 60%. Based on past experience, usually one needed to hunt at least three monsters to be sure of passing. Everyone was racing against time, trying to hunt as many monsters as possible.
"Brother Mu, we're also going to hunt monsters. This exam should be a breeze for you. I need to hone my skills too; I can't fall too far behind you." Yang Wu looked at Qin Mu with a sense of admiration. Until now, he still found it hard to believe, and his tone became respectful. Initially, the three of them had participated in the exam together, with similar strength. Yet, in just a short month, Qin Mu's strength had become completely incomprehensible to him.
Not just Yang Wu, even Luo Feng's eyes were filled with admiration. Differently, Luo Feng was also secretly wondering if he could kill a Commander rank monster if he encountered one. Luo Feng had also awakened as a spirit master, with his fighter strength reaching the level of an intermediate warrior and his spirit master strength at the level of a primary Warlord. However, since he had never actually seen a Commander rank monster, he naturally didn't have much confidence.
"Let's split up here. See you tomorrow morning."
Yang Wu and Luo Feng scanned their surroundings, confirmed there were no hidden monsters, and each dashed off into the distance.
Although it was already night, the edges of the town were illuminated by numerous large searchlights, making many areas quite bright. Many surveillance cameras were also installed throughout the town, monitoring every move within the monster town in real-time.
This monster town was home to many monsters, but mainly three types: the Tiger Mastiff, the Shadow Cat, and the Iron-Furred Wild Boar, which were also the main combat units of the Zerg swarm at this stage. Qin Mu was all too familiar with these three types of monsters.
After bidding farewell to Luo Feng and Yang Wu, Qin Mu walked onto the street. Soon, a Tiger Mastiff appeared in his line of sight at a street corner. Glancing at a surveillance camera on the side of the street, Qin Mu knew that many people were watching his every move through the monitors. Not wanting to disappoint them, Qin Mu held his long spear, its tip lowered, and suddenly, the twelve throwing knives on his thigh flew up, hovering and rotating around him. One of the knives shot towards the Tiger Mastiff, easily piercing its eye socket and killing it instantly.
When the throwing knives on Qin Mu's thigh flew up and suspended in the air around him. In a large building not far from the sealed town, numerous surveillance screens displayed everything happening in various parts of the town. The largest screen was playing this very scene, and the dozen or so people gathered in the room exclaimed in surprise.
"He's a spirit master! Qin Mu has awakened as a spirit master. No wonder he could kill Commander rank monsters; he's awakened as a spirit master." Everyone felt relieved, as this was the most reasonable explanation. Otherwise, it was impossible to explain how Qin Mu, a newly minted prospective fighter, could kill Commander rank monsters.
After awakening as a spirit master, their strength could be two levels higher than their physical strength. This meant that as long as Qin Mu raised his strength to that of an intermediate warrior, his spirit master strength could reach the level of a primary Warlord, and he would be among the strongest in that category, making it unsurprising that he could hunt two primary Commander rank monsters.
After receiving information from the supply base last night, Qin Mu's background had been thoroughly investigated by the major powers. When Qin Mu passed the prospective fighter exam, he was not particularly outstanding among the other candidates. His strength had improved so rapidly in such a short time that many people speculated whether he had awakened as a spirit master, but no one could be sure.
Now, it seemed that everyone had their answer.
Everyone's heart was ablaze with excitement—this was a spirit master. A rare and powerful spirit master. They had to find a way to recruit him to their side; this was the only thought on everyone's mind.
"Wait, something's not right." A burly man stared intently at the screen.
In the video, Qin Mu charged directly into a street with dozens of Iron-Furred Wild Boars. Almost instantly, these dozens of wild boars were pierced through their vital points by the twelve throwing knives, killed in one hit.
"A primary Warlord spirit master couldn't possibly manipulate twelve throwing knives with such precision. And the power, the speed, they're all off. Quick, replay that scene, slow it down." An officer also noticed the unusual scene. Soon, a technician replayed the video for everyone to study carefully.
"It's definitely weird. Generally, a newly awakened spirit master's telekinetic ability wouldn't be too strong. Normally, they could only control one throwing knife, and being able to multitask would already be impressive. If they controlled four, five, or even more throwing knives, the speed and power would significantly decrease."
Wu Tong, the chief instructor of the Limit Dojo, was also astonished. Although he wasn't a spirit master, his captain was, so he had some understanding of their abilities. Even his captain might not be able to simultaneously manipulate twelve throwing knives with such precision and maintain powerful force.
"Could he be a mid-level Warlord spirit master? How old is he? How long has he been awakened?" Everyone looked at each other, realizing they had discovered an extraordinary genius.
Wu Tong couldn't help but curse. Qin Mu was a student of their Limit Dojo. If they had known earlier, they could have secretly signed a contract with him. But now, there would likely be a fierce competition.
It must be noted that even spirit masters were divided into ranks. The potential of each spirit master was different, and it was difficult to distinguish before their potential was exhausted. Most spirit masters had the potential of a mid-level Warlord, with a few reaching the level of a high-level Warlord or even a Wargod.
However, Qin Mu had obviously awakened not long ago, and he might have awakened after entering the wilderness.
What did this mean? It meant that as soon as he awakened, his strength rapidly increased, directly reaching the level of an advanced warrior, and his spirit master potential was very likely at the Wargod level.
Successfully recruiting Qin Mu would be almost equivalent to recruiting a future Wargod level expert, and an invincible spirit master at that. For a moment, many people in the room took out their phones and started contacting their superiors. The situation at hand was beyond their authority to decide.
However, just as they thought they had seen the full extent of Qin Mu's strength. An even more shocking scene unfolded.
In the monster town, Qin Mu stood in the center of the street, with hundreds of monster corpses behind him.
"I deliberately showed off my skills; someone should have noticed my strength by now," Qin Mu thought to himself. "Then, it's time for the next step of the plan—pretend to be a beast tamer and display the talent of a beast master."
In the future, when entering the wilderness, Qin Mu would undoubtedly be accompanied by a large number of Zerg swarms. Even if he chose not to reveal them in public, they would surely be discovered. But hiding them would hinder Qin Mu's strength improvement and the growth of the Zerg swarm. Since that was the case, it would be better to prepare in advance by pretending to be a beast tamer and then openly allowing the Zerg swarm to follow him.
With a thought, Qin Mu's spirit power condensed on his alloy boots, and his body levitated. Looking at the few prospective fighters on the side of the street with expressions of disbelief, Qin Mu smiled and then flew into the sky, heading towards another street.
"He... he flew away!"
Ignoring their shock, Qin Mu landed directly in front of a lone Shadow Cat on another street. His eyes focused, and an invisible spirit power surged into the Shadow Cat's body. The Shadow Cat's body stiffened and slowly collapsed to the ground.
Just as the people in the surveillance room saw what Qin Mu was doing, the Shadow Cat suddenly stood up and closely followed behind Qin Mu, as if it had been tamed.
"What? What happened?"