Passing the Assessment

June 11th

"Dad, Mom, I'm going out for a bit," a black-haired teenager in sportswear said to his parents, who were playing with two small children in the living room.

"Alright, just make sure to be home for dinner," Wang Yi's mother, Li Lan, replied with a smile, holding her granddaughter in her arms.

The two children were Wang Yi's sister's kids, who had been sent over to play for the day. Wang Yi was thinking of having his sister's family move to Yangzhou City to find work, as both his sister and brother-in-law were just ordinary people with little means. Their jobs hadn't been stable, and now with children to look after, they were constantly busy. This situation reminded Wang Yi of how things were with his parents when he was younger.

Naturally, Wang Yi couldn't let his adorable niece and nephew grow up in such conditions. He had already bought a house for his sister's family in a nearby neighborhood so they could easily visit their parents.

"Say goodbye to your uncle," Li Lan prompted.

"Goodbye, Uncle!" The two children waved and spoke in their sweet, childish voices. Wang Yi smiled and playfully pinched their cheeks.

"Oh, by the way," Li Lan added as an afterthought, "when you have time, bring your friends over to visit." Now that their life had settled down, Li Lan had started worrying about Wang Yi's future family. She was referring to Lin Youyu and the others, Wang Yi's friends. Li Lan had previously been concerned about differences in their family backgrounds, but now that her son was a warrior, those worries had faded, replaced by concerns about when he would settle down and marry.

Wang Yi left the house and boarded a train heading to the main district of Jiangnan Base City. Travel between the main district and the eight satellite cities was done by train. Most people had to book tickets three days in advance, and the fares were expensive. Traveling between base cities was even pricier, often out of reach for ordinary people. As a result, many of Jiangnan City's 200 million residents never left the base city in their lifetime.

However, as a warrior, Wang Yi had access to special travel channels, making his journeys much easier than those of the average person.

Jiangnan Base City's main district was vast, and within it stood a towering, dark-blue skyscraper: the Xtreme Martial Arts Headquarters of Jiangnan Base City. The entire compound was heavily guarded, with soldiers patrolling the grounds, armed and ready. At the spacious entrance, rows of soldiers stood watch.

Wang Yi showed his martial artist ID to pass the guard's inspection and walked into the imposing headquarters, heading straight for the dark-blue skyscraper.

At the entrance of the headquarters' first-floor lobby, a man in a white suit was already waiting.

"Mr. Wang Yi, my surname is Yu, and I'm in charge of the first floor. The president and others have gone to the airport to meet guests from the global headquarters. Before they left, they asked me to look after you. They should be back shortly," the man said politely.

"Thank you," Wang Yi responded, nodding as he followed the man into the spacious lobby.

There were quite a few warriors inside, sitting, chatting, and enjoying drinks. Wang Yi glanced around, observing the various martial artists.

Mr. Yu, noticing Wang Yi's curiosity, smiled and explained, "Mr. Wang Yi, the lobby here is where warriors can relax, drink, and socialize. The second to ninth floors are for warrior-level martial artists, the tenth to nineteenth floors are for general-level warriors, and above the twentieth floor is where group meetings are held."

Wang Yi nodded, though he had a more pressing matter on his mind: his daily check-in.

"Check in," he thought calmly.

[Ding! Congratulations to the host for successfully checking in. You've been rewarded with five years of experience in body movement techniques.]

[Your body movement techniques have been upgraded to the 'Perfect Level'.]

[Number of available check-ins for this location: 0.]

With the mysterious golden panel's notification, an immense amount of knowledge flooded Wang Yi's mind. For an ordinary person, this sudden influx of information might have been overwhelming, but Wang Yi remained composed. His eyes flickered for a moment, but he quickly returned to normal.

Wang Yi immediately noticed that his perception of his surroundings had changed.

"So, I've reached the perfect level of body movement…" he thought in surprise. In the world of Swallowed Star, body techniques were categorized into four levels: 'Basic', 'Subtle', 'Perfect', and 'Artistic'.

At the 'Subtle Level', one could avoid attacks with minimal movement, achieving maximum efficiency in evasion. The 'Perfect Level' involved mastery of one's environment, utilizing any surrounding objects to dodge attacks with flawless precision.

The 'Subtle Level' focused on self-control, while the 'Perfect Level' extended to manipulating the external environment.

Reaching this level usually required warriors to endure countless battles and intense training, but Wang Yi's sign-in panel granted him instant mastery.

"This...this is almost unfair," Wang Yi thought with a smirk.

After waiting in the lobby for about half an hour, Mr. Yu returned. "Mr. Wang Yi, the president has returned. They are waiting for you on the 31st floor. Please follow me."

Wang Yi followed the man to the 31st floor, where a large, empty, silver-white martial arts hall came into view. A group of people inside immediately caught his attention.

"Wang Yi, over here!" Zhou Yongzheng, the president of the General Assembly Hall, waved with a smile. "This is Inspector Yang Hui from the global headquarters. He's here to assess your qualifications."

Wang Yi quickly greeted him, "Inspector Yang, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes, you look like a bright young man with great energy," Yang Hui remarked. "Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

"Uh..." Wang Yi was taken aback by the unexpected question.

Zhou Yongzheng laughed, "Lao Yang, stop it! Your daughter's not that desperate. Why are you pestering our club members?"

"Don't mind him, Wang Yi," Zhou said, smiling. "Inspector Yang's just joking."

Wang Yi smiled politely. He already had three girlfriends, but that was not something he could share here.

"Alright, let's get to the point," Yang Hui said seriously. "Wang Yi, on behalf of Xtreme Martial Arts, I ask again: are you willing to undergo five years of training at the elite training camp?"

"I am," Wang Yi replied without hesitation.

"Great! Let's begin the test."

As expected, Wang Yi passed the assessment with flying colors. All that remained now was to wait for the day he would head to the global headquarters of the Extreme Martial Arts Club.