I have a martial arts panel.

Chapter 53 Being Challenged

"Let's go with Tan Fengying..."

In response to Tao Qingyuan's question, Xu Ning replied.

This question is of little significance to Xu Ning, as he has already reached the fourth level of the Mortal Realm, the Qi Sensing Realm, and among the newcomers in the entire Third Camp, he has no rivals.

"I heard that Tan Fengying has been working hard in his cultivation recently and has made great progress. He is only one step away from the Qi Sensing Realm. He may not be easy to deal with."

Out of goodwill, Tao Qingyuan suggested to Xu Ning, "There is another yellow card holder in Tan Family Village named Tan Shang. She is weaker, so you have a better chance of winning if you challenge her."

"Tan Shang?"

Xu Ning knew of this person's existence. Previously, during the fight in front of the public kitchen, Tao Jin and Tan Shang, two women, fought back and forth, with their moves being extremely fierce.

I'll take another look tomorrow.

Xu Ning seemed rather indifferent about who his opponent would be tomorrow.

This made Tao Qingyuan look at Xu Ning with suspicion.

"Could it be that Xu Ning...?"

For a moment, Tao Qingyuan felt that Xu Ning might have made another step forward.

But then I realized that Xu Ning had only recently advanced to the Inner Realm.

"Qingyuan..."

At this moment, Tao Qingping interrupted their conversation: "How are the preparations going for the others in our village?"

The assessment was tomorrow, and Tao Qingping was filled with apprehension. He had absolutely no confidence in his own abilities.

"Everyone's probably in the same boat, a little nervous."

Tao Qingyuan chatted and joked with everyone in each room tonight, aiming to ease their tension.

As the most central figure in the industry, this is also his responsibility.

After chatting for a few more minutes in Xu Ning and Tao Qingping's room, Tao Qingyuan prepared to leave.

He still needs to go find Tao Jin.

Recently, Tao Qingyuan felt that Tao Jin was not in a good state, as if she had encountered some bottleneck in her martial arts cultivation.

Tomorrow's assessment will require Tao Qingyuan to personally offer some words of comfort.

"Xu Ning..."

Before leaving, Tao Qingyuan exclaimed, "You've only been with the Black Armor Guard for less than two months, and you've already become an acting captain. In our Tao Family Village circle, you're the most outstanding."

Xu Ning knew Tao Qingyuan well; he was broad-minded and his words were purely an exclamation, without any hint of jealousy.

"I was just lucky to be chosen by Commandant Qu and did some things that you didn't do."

Xu Ning waved his hand and said.

Tao Qingyuan found it rare to see Xu Ning still as approachable as before.

There wasn't much of a rift between them because of their changed identities.

People from outside the same surname who can perfectly integrate into the same surname circle, like Xu Ning, are extremely rare.

"I'm off. Hope the assessment goes well tomorrow."

Tao Qingyuan bid farewell to Xu Ning and Tao Qingping, and then went to find Tao Jin.

……

The next day.

The new recruits at the third camp all got up early.

After eating at the communal kitchen, they all took their name tags and went to the drill ground.

At this moment, three solid wood arenas had been set up on the training ground, each with different types of weapons placed next to it.

These weapons were all real swords and guns, but none of them were sharpened.

After waiting for a while, Wei Changqing, Qu Dayou, and others arrived.

Along with them came a team of black-armored guards undergoing assessment.

These black-armored guards were not newcomers to the Third Camp, but subordinates of Wei Changqing's personal guard.

The assessment venue is ready, and all the personnel responsible for the assessment have arrived. The assessment is about to begin.

Wei Changqing had already sat down on the high platform next to the drill ground.

Qu Dayou was standing right next to him.

Seeing that everything was ready, Qu Dayou began to shout.

"You are all surely familiar with the details of the assessment, but I will repeat them here."

"First, the assessment format is the most basic real-world combat. I know that some of you have high-level badges because you are talented, but your actual strength is still relatively weak, and you feel that this assessment is unfair to you."

"But in reality, when you're fighting an enemy, they won't care about your actual strength; they'll only think about how to kill you. Talent is talent, but whether it can ultimately be converted into strength is what matters most."

"Moreover, in the first three months, those of you who were relatively talented and received blue and yellow cards also enjoyed greater resource support. If you were defeated this time, you can only blame yourselves for being less skilled."

Qu Dayou's words struck a chord with some of them.

However, it also gave hope to those who were initially considered to have average potential but made progress through hard work, allowing them to obtain a higher-level brand.

"Secondly, regarding the method of the challenge. Today, everyone has one chance to challenge someone higher. If the challenge is successful, your and the challenged person's cards and the resources they represent will change. If the challenge fails, you will remain at your original card level. Note that if your card level drops, you will also be deprived of future challenge opportunities."

"Also, once someone has been challenged once today, they can choose not to accept any more challenges until the next round begins, unless all other card holders of the same level have been challenged. Also, remember, you cannot challenge someone of a higher level."

This rule, to some extent, favors the one being challenged.

Because once you've been challenged, you can refuse all subsequent challenges, so you don't have to worry about the physical exhaustion caused by a series of challenges.

"Alright, the assessment shall officially begin!"

"Next, starting with the gray cards, the order of the challengers will be determined by drawing lots."

Qu Dayou gave the black-armored guards who were being tested a hand gesture, indicating that they could begin.

At this moment, the training ground, which had more than a hundred people, was completely silent, and the atmosphere was slightly oppressive.

Xu Ning noticed that everyone in the crowd had a hint of nervousness on their faces.

He noticed in particular that Tao Jin, who was at the very back of the line, kept her fists clenched, head down, and looked very serious.

"The first gray-card challenger, Tao Qingping; the second gray-card challenger, Tan Fenglu..."

A black-armored guard took out three rolled-up strips of paper from a gray wooden box.

He opened them one by one and read out the names of the three people.

The assessment consists of three challenges conducted simultaneously, which is why there are three solid wood arenas in the training ground.

"I'm the first one?"

When Tao Qingping's name was called, his expression showed not only nervousness about the upcoming challenge but also a hint of smugness.

According to the rules, the person whose name is called first, or whose name is called after a round of challenges, has a wider range of opponents to choose from.

In this way, you can choose a relatively weaker opponent and leave the tough challenges to others.

The three of them stepped forward at the same time and went to the front of the arena.

"Name the blue badge holder you want to challenge."

The black-armored guard asked the group.

"I choose Tan Fenghe from Tanjiazhuang."

Tao Qingping was the first to name the person being challenged.

Tao Qingping had done his homework beforehand and chose the weakest holder of the green card in Tanjiazhuang.

"I choose Xu Ning from Taojiazhuang!"

At this point, the second gray-card challenger, Tan Fenglu, chose Xu Ning as his challenger.

Xu Ning felt that all the eyes of the people from Taojiazhuang were focused on him.

He really didn't expect that he would be chosen so early in the game.

However, Xu Ning remained calm and walked naturally to the front of the arena.

"This Tan Fenglu should know Xu Ning's skill level, right..."

Tao Qingyuan was somewhat suspicious: "I inquired beforehand, and this Tan Fenglu is quite strong. After joining the Black Armor Guard, he trained in sync with Tan Fengying, which greatly increased his strength. He has a high chance of successfully challenging other Blue Token holders... But challenging Xu Ning right away is simply a waste of an opportunity."

Just then, Tao Qingyuan suddenly noticed that Tan Fenglu, who had stepped onto the stage, exchanged a glance with Tan Fengying, who was below the stage.

Tao Qingyuan instantly realized that Tan Fenglu had come to probe Tan Fengying's background.

"They'd rather give up the prize money than not help Tan Fengying find out Xu Ning's background... The Tan family is really united."

Tao Qingyuan thought to himself.

At this moment, Xu Ning also noticed the exchange of glances between Tan Fenglu and Tan Fengying.

But in Xu Ning's view, all of this was of little significance.

The gap between the Qi Sensing Realm and the Inner Abundance Realm is too great. Unless one masters a perfect external skill, which might allow them to fight across levels, it is simply impossible to defeat them.

Facing the challenger, Xu Ning felt a sense of anticipation.

After advancing to the Qi Sensing Realm, I haven't had any actual combat experience with anyone else.

This confrontation is also a test of just how strong I really am in the Qi Sensing Realm.

Thank you for your kind words, brother! And thank you for the generous donation from Big Cat_Tom!

(End of this chapter)