No one objected!
The general's words seemed calm, but they were overbearing to the extreme, filled with an air that brooked no dissent. Who would be foolish enough to step forward and invite trouble? With the general's domineering attitude, anyone who opposed would be thrown out, and that precious spot for the Cosmic University entrance exam would be lost.
The general swept his gaze across the crowd, nodded, and grinned broadly, letting out a wild laugh. "Then the assessment begins now! Lads, enter one by one—my men are already waiting!"
With a single command, candidates from various schools filed in orderly.
Feng Lin nodded at the principal of Earth Middle School and followed the crowd into the Martial Arts Association. Guided by the optical computer, he entered a sealed, spacious room. The walls were forged entirely from metal, airtight and seamless.
A towering figure over two meters tall stood there, having waited for some time.
"Are you Feng Lin? I've been waiting for you!" The interstellar warrior turned around, casually scanning Feng Lin with a lazy wave of his hand. His face bore a defiant expression, as if inviting Feng Lin to strike with all his might. His stance was loose, offering no defense, as if he didn't regard Feng Lin in the slightest.
Feng Lin's eyes narrowed. He wasn't provoked by the taunt, nor fooled by the facade. He noticed that while the warrior appeared careless, his body was relaxed yet secretly gathering power, his center of gravity stable, poised to strike. If Feng Lin took the bait and attacked rashly, he'd likely face a thunderous counter and fall into the trap.
These seemingly dismissive words were merely a ploy to lull him into complacency.
Seeing through this key point, Feng Lin curled his lips into a smile, unalarmed and even pleased. Now this was interesting...
All's fair in war!
No wonder he was an interstellar warrior—battle-hardened, rich in combat experience, unbound by rigid rules!
In real combat, there was no such thing as fairness. Any means could be used: hidden weapons, poison, firearms...
Whether honorable or underhanded, as long as it secured victory, it was a good method!
A fight to the death, and you'd still cling to outdated rules?
How pedantic!
Remember, only the living are the victors. And history is written by the victors.
Seeing the warrior's eyes filled with mockery and scrutiny, still feigning carelessness, Feng Lin sneered and directly exposed his true nature. "Stop pretending! That trick won't work on me! Would a warrior tempered by battle ever underestimate his enemy? That's not only an insult to your own strength but also an underestimation of others' intelligence!"
Hearing this, the warrior's face immediately turned serious, his eyes gleaming sharply, with no trace of his earlier sloppiness! He locked his gaze on Feng Lin, taking in the opponent's figure deeply, and spoke in a low voice. "You're different—unlike those other students, not a rookie in combat. It seems you've experienced life-and-death struggles and have rich battle experience. Those students, seeing me like this, always foolishly think they have an opening, only to be taken down instantly! You're the exception!"
Feng Lin smiled but didn't reply.
His combat prowess had been forged in the Martian civil war, where he'd even clashed with elite cultivators. How could he be compared to those hothouse flowers? He disdained to explain, assuming a starting stance, his palms forming yin and yang like two sides of a mirror, containing myriad changes that were hard to predict.
Seeing this, the warrior knew this student wouldn't be easy to handle. He formed his hands into claws, held before his chest, taking on the shape of a fierce tiger. He grinned, his face muscles twitching, fierce as a tiger. "You wear Earth's uniform, unaware of the vast cosmos! Both ancient martial arts and gene martial arts mostly originate from imitating beast forms. This ancient martial art of mine is a high-level, low-tier gene martial art—Star Tiger Killing Fist! It mimics the cosmic beast, the Black-Scaled Star Tiger. Be careful!"
"Enough talk! If you want to fight, then fight!" Seeing him ramble on, Feng Lin grew impatient. In real combat, who would reveal their secrets? The warrior's actions only stirred his anger.
Feng Lin wasted no words. He stomped heavily on the ground, his entire body turning into a blur as he shot forward like a ghostly shadow.
The warrior's eyes widened in fury. He had kindly offered guidance, only to be ignored—how ungrateful! But instead of losing his cool to anger, he became even more wary of Feng Lin. His rich combat experience told him that someone like Feng Lin, tempered by blood and fire, was a formidable opponent, not to be treated like an ordinary student, or he'd suffer a great loss. If he were knocked down by the first student he faced, wouldn't his comrades mock him for life, leaving a permanent stain?
Star Tiger Black Claw!
He roared and struck instantly, his ten fingers forming claws, tearing through the air, rapidly gathering into a whirlwind that deepened in color from silent to yellow, then black. The black wind formed claw prints, sharp and piercing, threatening to burst eardrums.
Feng Lin's figure paused slightly mid-air, his legs sweeping out like wind-fire wheels, dispersing the black wind. Countering after the fact, a silver light flickered on his brow, and his mental power surged like a storm, churning the air into a visible wave that burst forth instantly.
The warrior felt as if his soul had been struck by an invisible fist, his body trembling slightly, his eyes dazed.
In that instant of stupor, Feng Lin's speed was immense. He closed in, his hands rotating like yin and yang, fluttering like butterflies among flowers, evolving endless changes that unconsciously ensnared the mind, drawing it into a black hole, sinking endlessly, unable to break free.
Yin-Yang Illusion!
Having mesmerized his opponent, Feng Lin's hands flew, striking viciously at the warrior's temples—a thunderous, swift move, ruthless in execution, aiming to subdue in one blow.
The palm wind was fierce.
Ha!
The warrior, a battle-hardened veteran with a powerful combat instinct honed on the battlefield, sensed something wrong. He bellowed, his eyes bloodshot, a cold, savage aura rising around him as he forcibly broke free from the illusion.
Sss!
His claws tore viciously, his face twisted like an asura crawling from hell, intent on shredding Feng Lin, the insolent one, to pieces.
Fist met claw!
Feng Lin felt a surge of immense force, his body retreating rapidly.
The interstellar warrior, seizing the momentum, wouldn't let him escape easily. He lunged like a ferocious tiger, relentless until his goal was achieved! His muscles bulged, his body arched, and a cold, alien aura twisted the void, faintly forming a savage tiger.
Even with Feng Lin's resilient will, he was momentarily intimidated. His mental power was scattered, and an involuntary fear arose, making him hesitate to resist.
What kind of power was this?
It could interfere with mental strength, rendering psychic hypnosis useless!
Feng Lin was startled, suddenly recalling a rare and obscure piece of cultivation knowledge.
This was...
Bloodthirsty Killing Intent!