At the start of the game, you have one equipment slot; the effects of unequipping the equipment rema

"The strength test is over. Everyone, prepare for the practical test immediately."

As the last person put down the stone lock, Fan Duan, who was sitting in the chair, stood up and announced.

All thirteen people passed the strength test.

Those who wouldn't even go through this most basic screening wouldn't come here to humiliate themselves.

"For the practical test, following the previous order, Qi Condensation Realm warriors will go first."

Fan Duan leaped into the air and landed in the center of the training ground.

With a gentle push of his remaining right arm, the stone lock was lifted off the ground and flew out of the arena.

With a loud bang, dust flew everywhere.

This move immediately stunned everyone present.

Even the four Qi Condensation Realm warriors showed surprise at this moment.

Seeing this, Fan Duan merely smiled slightly: "Don't worry, I'll hold back when I hit you."

The members of the Demon Slayer Division around the training ground also had smiles on their faces, as if they were ready to watch a good show.

The Demon Slaying Division is the most powerful department in the Great Jing Dynasty, bringing together the most talented and ruthless individuals in the dynasty.

Good pay also means high pressure and danger.

During their work, they could only watch the assessment process occasionally when they were on duty guarding the training ground, so they could relax a bit.

More importantly, seeing the younger generation make a fool of themselves is one of life's greatest pleasures.

The first to step up was the oldest of the four Qi Condensation martial artists.

Of course, being old only means he is compared to Mu Yang and others; in reality, he is only around forty years old, in the prime of his middle age.

The man, wielding a long steel sword, jumped into the training ground and, without pausing, charged forward with his blade.

Faced with the attack, Fan Duan remained calm and composed. Despite having lost an arm, his movements were not sluggish at all; on the contrary, he was as agile as a swimming fish.

With a simple close-range dodge, he easily avoided the blade flash of the man wielding the knife.

Then, just as easily as he had knocked the stone lock away, Fan Duan lightly swung his palm across the stone lock's abdomen.

"Bang!!"

The man's expression changed, and he was sent flying backward.

Fan Duan did not press his advantage; he simply stood there and waited.

After all, it's an assessment, not just about strength, but about mastery of martial arts, specific areas of expertise, and combat experience.

Just like that last time, Fan Duan easily judged that the man was good at straightforward fighting style, with strong and fierce power, but lacked agility and his combat thinking was also average. He was suitable to be the vanguard charging into battle and needed to be paired with teammates who were quick-witted or good at movement.

After the man landed, although he was in excruciating abdominal pain, he did not lose his fighting ability due to Fan Duan's deliberate restraint.

As a fourth-level Qi Condensation Realm martial artist, he relieved the pain by circulating his internal energy and continued his attack.

Then.....

"Bang!!!"

He flew away again.

And so it went, until Fan Duan unleashed ten palm strikes, sending the man flying ten times, his whole body trembling uncontrollably from the pain, before the assessment finally ended.

"You passed the assessment. Go register now."

Fan Duan announced.

Upon hearing this, the man who had been holding on with all his might could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

The crowd fell silent.

No one expected that even a fourth-level Qi Condensation Realm martial artist would have such a difficult time fighting Fan Duan.

Mu Yang also frowned slightly.

It wasn't that he was afraid, but simply because he couldn't tell how strong Fan Duan was.

This Qi Condensation Realm martial artist is indeed different from the previous three realms; physical strength no longer dominates.

He'd better be careful.

"Next."

After the man was carried away, Fan Duan continued.

Another Qi Condensation Realm martial artist jumped into the training ground.

This time it was a man who looked quite young, probably not even thirty.

At this age and with this level of cultivation, one is clearly either rich or noble.

Even in terms of strength, it was obvious that he was greater than that man, having completed the second round of tendon and bone tempering.

Unfortunately, his performance was not as good as that man's.

After the first strike, he was still able to fight, albeit barely.

After the four blows, tears even began to well up in the corners of his eyes.

Did it hurt so much you cried...?

Mu Yang was somewhat surprised.

Even the first-level martial artists in Qingxi County would never be beaten to tears.

How could a fourth-level martial artist have tears welling up in his eyes?

That's pretty outrageous...

Fortunately, the young man seemed to have some sense of shame. Even though he was in unbearable pain, he gritted his teeth and endured it until he received the notification that Fan Duan had passed the test. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

While pretending to wipe sweat with her sleeve, she secretly wiped the corner of her eye.

"Next."

Fan Duan continued.

Soon, the other two Qi Condensation Realm warriors also completed the test.

Although their performances varied, without exception, they all gritted their teeth and persevered.

However, once Blood Marrow Realm warriors appeared, the pass rate plummeted.

The first three, without exception, all failed.

The man, who was only forty years old, couldn't even withstand two blows before he fainted, thus ending his defeat.

"Is this a deliberate elimination process...?"

Mu Yang narrowed his eyes slightly.

He discovered that the three people who were eliminated were all older and had struggled somewhat during the first round of strength assessment.

Being old means having less talent, less strength, and an unstable foundation.

In a place like the Demon Slayer Division, where even the lowest-ranking combat personnel are at the fourth level, it would be very difficult to survive.

Clearly, Fan Duan, despite losing an arm, is kinder at heart than he appears on the surface.

The Demon Slayer Division does indeed accept all comers, but sometimes, accepting all comers means that survival is difficult.

After all, if they weren't short of people, why would they keep hiring?

Mu Yang inexplicably recalled the civil engineering guys from his past life who loved to run away with buckets.

"Next."

Just as Mu Yang's thoughts were wandering, several more people collapsed in the training ground.

Except for those who were older or lacked strength, most of the others withstood Fan Duan's Ten Palms and successfully became reserve members.

Before long, it was Mu Yang's turn.

He was the third to last to appear.

Besides him, there were only two other candidates waiting to take the exam, both of whom were pale-faced and looked nervous.

Only Mu Yang remained calm and composed as he walked to the center of the training ground.

"Junior Mu Yang greets Senior."

Mu Yang bowed slightly in greeting.

Fan Duan smiled and said, "Even if you are polite, I will not hold back."

As he spoke, Fan Duan did not wait for others to defend and counterattack as he had done before. Instead, he took the initiative to rush towards Mu Yang.

He was very curious whether this young man, who had performed exceptionally well in the first round and remained calm and composed in the second, truly possessed the ability or was merely feigning composure.

True Qi flowed from his vast dantian.

He was a martial artist at the peak of the Qi Condensation Realm, whose dantian had already been expanded three times, and whose true qi numbered as high as a thousand strands.

Even though he had just used up some energy, he still had more than 500 strands of true energy left.

In addition, he had undergone two rounds of intense physical training, giving him a basic strength of 20,000 jin.

If one were to unleash all the remaining true energy in their body without reservation, the strength of a single arm could reach 70,000 jin.

Combined with his mastered and perfected Soft Bone Palm technique, which can strike through mountains, he is still not afraid even when facing a Qi Condensation Realm Perfection martial artist.

Of course, Fan Duan wouldn't use his full strength against Mu Yang, who hadn't yet reached the Qi Condensation Realm.

He didn't even mobilize much internal energy; he simply used the power of his physical body to strike Mu Yang with his palm.

Hopefully, Mu Yang's performance won't disappoint him!