Chapter 107: Recruitment Examination

"Are you willing to join the Celestial Palace?"

When the communicator connected, Fang Mu stated directly that he was willing to join the Celestial Palace. Hearing his words, Qin Hongyu’s voice was filled with a gentle smile: "Then, welcome."

Fang Mu let out a soft breath. Before he could speak, Qin Hongyu said gently: "Come to the Celestial Palace Tower at nine o'clock tomorrow morning. Do you know where it is?"

"Yes, I know."

"Then, see you tomorrow."

"Yes, see you tomorrow."

After hanging up, Fang Mu was stunned for a moment, and then a faint smile appeared on his face.

Now that he had actually spoken, it didn't seem as difficult as he had imagined.

"The Celestial Palace, huh..."

Entering the battlefield and joining a faction for the first time, a sense of anticipation gradually welled up in Fang Mu's heart.

...

The next day, Fang Mu got up early and headed out. He took the levitating train to the east side of the battlefield city.

Soon, he arrived at the Celestial Palace Tower.

It was a hundred-story skyscraper. From the outside, the windows were bright and clean, and many evolvers with Celestial Palace nameplates hanging on their chests were coming and going.

After watching for a while, Fang Mu exhaled softly and walked inside.

The glass doors opened automatically. Upon entering the lobby, he saw a clean and tidy tiled floor that shone like a mirror. The lobby was very lively, with a large screen displaying various pieces of information.

In front of that screen, many people were watching the information, pointing and discussing incessantly, creating a constant buzz of noise.

Curious, Fang Mu glanced at the large screen.

"F-rank acquisition mission. Objective: Thirty 'Cloud-Lace Grass'. Reward: 100,000 Star Coins, Legion Contribution: 100 points. Requirements: None. Current Status: Unaccepted."

"F-rank protection mission. Objective: Protect a Black Iron-tier client during their training in the Guanshan Plains. Reward: 500,000 Star Coins, Legion Contribution: 500 points. Requirements: At least Bronze-tier. Current Status: Accepted 1 (3)."

"C-rank hunting mission. Objective: Hunt a Silver-tier Que Wood Monkey. Reward: 10 million Star Coins, Legion Contribution: 200,000. Requirements: Silver-tier squad (maximum four people, minimum two Silver-tier). Current Status: Unaccepted."

"D-rank transport mission. Objective..."

The screen information scrolled down, with the mission text appearing in different colors. Fang Mu looked closely and found that F-rank missions were gray, D-rank missions were green, and there was currently only one C-rank mission, which was yellow...

Is this the mission hall?

Are all the tasks for the Celestial Palace Legion issued here?

Fang Mu, who had never been here before, felt a sense of novelty.

He saw that some people would select a mission on the screen and then walk over to an instrument nearby, take out their nameplates, and operate it...

Clearly, they were accepting the missions.

"Damn it, where’s that escort mission from earlier? Who took it?"

"I took it. Haha, Iron-Head, I'm one step ahead."

"Damn, it was you bastards? You’re so fast!"

"Can't help it, the quick get it, the slow miss out. Haha, we’re off."

"Brother Liang, over here, hurry up, let’s take that F-rank mission."

"Coming, coming."

"I only need six hundred more contribution points to trade for an F-series blade. This F-rank mission is perfect, let’s take this one."

"Hurry up, don't let anyone else snatch it..."

The buzz of discussion rose and fell, and the atmosphere was very lively.

Watching this, Fang Mu's sense of anticipation grew stronger.

This feeling seemed quite good.

After watching for a while, Fang Mu exhaled and took out his communicator, preparing to call Qin Hongyu. But just at that moment—

"Over here, sign up over here! That’s the mission hall, where are you going?"

A man's voice came from not far away. Fang Mu looked over subconsciously and saw a front desk where many people were gathered.

"Oh, oh, coming." A young girl replied as she ran over, unable to stop glancing back at the mission hall as she ran.

"Once you join the Celestial Palace, you can go over there to accept missions," the man said to the girl.

The girl looked nervous, but more than that, she looked expectant: "I heard the review for the Celestial Palace is very strict, can we even join?"

"What are you afraid of? Didn't you reach the Black Iron tier the day before yesterday? You’re a Gunfighter and you’ve fused with 'Ice', you’ll definitely pass the assessment!"

"Mm-hmm!"

The girl nodded vigorously.

Fang Mu was slightly taken aback. After hesitating for a moment, he slowly put away his communicator and walked over.

He merged into the crowd and, after observing for a while, nodded slightly—this was indeed the place for new recruits to sign up.

At the front desk, several young women were operating light-brains, registering the identity information of those around them.

Qin Hongyu had invited him to join the Celestial Palace directly, so technically, he didn't need to go through this.

However, although Qin Hongyu said that the invitation wasn't out of regard for Lin Chuyin, he knew that, in reality, how could there be no influence?

Since that was the case, he might as well sign up openly and honestly.

If he passed the Celestial Palace's entry assessment, then it would truly have nothing to do with Lin Chuyin, right?

Thinking this, Fang Mu abandoned the idea of calling Qin Hongyu and waited patiently.

Soon, it was his turn.

"Name?"

"Fang Mu."

"Evolution level?"

"Bronze-tier."

"What is your profession?"

"Gunfighter."

The young woman at the front desk asked professionally. When she heard that his profession was Gunfighter, she looked up in surprise and stared at Fang Mu.

Fang Mu looked back at her calmly.

After being stunned for a moment, the woman came to her senses and quickly continued to ask: "What Gunfighting technique have you fused with?"

"Blazing Fire."

The woman operated the computer quickly. Seeing that Fang Mu didn't seem to have anything else to say, she paused: "Just one?"

"I wanted to fuse with 'Armor-Piercing' as a second one, but I haven't found it yet, so for now, it's just one," Fang Mu explained.

The woman realized and finished recording quickly. She then smiled at Fang Mu: "Registration complete. Please wait to the side for a moment; someone will come to take you to the assessment later."

"Thank you for the trouble."

Fang Mu smiled and walked to the side.

"Buddy, are you a Bronze-tier Gunfighter?"

Someone nearby asked in surprise.

Fang Mu looked at him; it was a tall man who smiled and nodded: "Yes."

"A Gunfighter reaching the Bronze tier is incredible; you're a shoo-in for the Celestial Palace. Let's get to know each other, my name is Zhang Yun, Bronze-tier Heavy Blade. If there's a chance, we can form a team," the man grinned and extended his right hand to Fang Mu.

He was also Bronze-tier, and a Heavy Blade at that; Fang Mu felt that his chances of getting into the Celestial Palace were very high.

Fang Mu had listened carefully earlier; almost everyone was at the Bronze tier. It seemed this was the threshold for Celestial Palace recruitment.

Among evolvers, the most numerous were Mad Blades because they had the strongest offensive capabilities and the fastest speed. They also had the highest combat power in the early stages, so the most evolvers chose Mad Blade as their profession.

Next were the Pugilists.

Compared to Mad Blades, Pugilists had weaker offense, but were stronger than Heavy Blades. They were slower than Mad Blades but much faster than Heavy Blades, and their survival capabilities were also very strong.

After that were the Heavy Blades.

Relatively speaking, although Heavy Blades had strong survival capabilities, they were the most dangerous in battle... because they often needed to face battlefield creatures head-on and entangle them to ensure the Mad Blades and Pugilists had a chance to attack.

Because of this danger, combined with the relatively high physical requirements and weaker offensive capabilities of Heavy Blades, it was dangerous to go solo, so not many people chose to be Heavy Blades.

Finally, there were the Gunfighters.

The disadvantages of Gunfighters... were well known.

So, this Zhang Yun, as a Bronze-tier Heavy Blade, indeed had a high probability of entering the Celestial Palace.

Fang Mu smiled and shook his hand: "Just lucky."

"Fusing with a Gunfighting technique to reach the Bronze tier isn't just simple luck. Haha, my name is Wu Tao, Bronze-tier Mad Blade. I hope to join the Celestial Palace; maybe we can form a team in the future too."

"I didn't expect a Bronze-tier Gunfighter to participate in the test? Bronze Mad Blade looking for a carrier!..."

For a while, many people walked over and greeted Fang Mu.

This sudden enthusiasm left Fang Mu stunned for a short while.

Fang Mu, who had entered the evolver community for the first time, clearly didn't know how popular a Bronze-tier Gunfighter was on the battlefield...

...

"Everyone who has signed up, gather here."

Not long after the small talk, a woman walked out and said to Fang Mu and the group.

Turning his head, he saw the woman had a tall figure, wearing a white shirt and black clothing with black shorts, revealing a pair of long, slender, beautiful legs that made people's hearts race.

"They say there are many beauties in the Celestial Palace, and it's true!"

Zhang Yun said in a low, excited voice. Fang Mu subconsciously glanced at him and saw his eyes shining with excitement.

The woman said loudly: "Next, we are going to the testing room to test everyone's combat power. Most of you are Bronze-tier evolvers, so your evolution levels are sufficient. However, the Celestial Palace has limited slots and resources, so we can only select the best. Please keep quiet and follow me as we proceed with the assessment one by one."

She held a light-brain, which projected a flat virtual screen, and walked to the side of the power testing machine first.

"The first test is basic destructive power and absolute destructive power. Cheng Liang."

She called out a name.

"Present!"

A boy in the crowd raised his hand and stepped out.

The woman looked at him and nodded: "You registered as a Bronze-tier evolver, Mad Blade profession, having mastered two gene techniques, 'Sprint' and 'Swift Slash', right?"

"Yes, that's right." The boy named Cheng Liang nodded repeatedly, looking nervous.

The woman nodded: "Mhm, first test basic strength. Strike the punch target with all your might."

She looked at Cheng Liang.

Cheng Liang took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves and walked up to the machine. A red punch target hung down from a machine over three meters tall. Cheng Liang stood in place, took a deep breath, clenched his right fist, twisted his waist, and gritted his teeth. He suddenly threw a punch, his waist twisting and exploding like a spring.

*Bang!*

A dull sound echoed.

The punch hit the target hard, causing it to tremble slightly. A row of numbers appeared on the machine's screen, accompanied by a 'beep' sound.

Finally, it displayed: '476 KG'!

A single punch, nearly half a ton!

Fang Mu raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had never tested his own strength, so he didn't know if this data was good or bad.

So, he looked at the woman.

The woman's expression didn't change much, and the people around him didn't have much of a reaction either; it seemed to be just average?

"There is a blade nearby. Use your strongest power to slash at this position."

After recording his score, the woman pointed to a ball in the middle of the machine. The ball was made of some unknown material—it looked like iron but wasn't, with a matte, pitch-black finish.

Cheng Liang seemed disappointed by his punch score. He exhaled, bit his lip, and took a long blade from the rack nearby.

Then he took a deep breath. Fang Mu saw a bronze glow appear on his body, which was then injected into the blade. He slashed down hard, straight at the ball!

*Ssh!*

A faint sound, and the blade hit the black ball, rebounding slightly. Cheng Liang stumbled twice before standing firm.

With a slightly flushed face, he quickly looked up at the screen on the machine.

The screen began to cycle through numbers and stopped after a moment.

"1798 KG..."

The destructive power of this slash had increased by more than four times!

Fang Mu was a little surprised, but then he heard Zhang Yun say in his ear: "Tsk tsk, didn't even break 2,000. Looks like the cultivation technique this guy fused with is one of the most basic ones..."

The most basic one—wasn't that the one Fang Mu had been most desperate for that day?

Fang Mu was stunned, and Cheng Liang's eyes also looked a bit dim.

The woman took a look, recorded it, and didn't say much, just nodded: "Okay, wait to the side for now."

Cheng Liang nodded and retreated to the side.

"Next... Su Zhang."

"Here."

A thin boy in the crowd replied and walked out.

Fang Mu saw at a glance that he was wearing gloves on his fists... a Pugilist.

"Bronze-tier, Pugilist, fused with 'Wind-Breaking Fist' and 'Iron Elbow', right? Take off your gloves and throw a punch without using any techniques first."

The woman said.

"Okay."

He took off his gloves, took a deep breath, and walked to the machine.

It was clear he was much more confident than Cheng Liang. He loosened his wrists and elbows, took a deep breath, lowered his stance, and after a moment of stability, twisted his waist and hip, and threw a punch!

*Bang!*

The punch target trembled, and the numbers jumped.

'882 KG'!

Fang Mu raised an eyebrow at the number.

It was over 400 KG higher than Cheng Liang's punch!

Because he was a Pugilist, he had mastered a better way to exert force?

Fang Mu watched curiously.

The woman looked up, recorded the data, and said: "Put on the gloves we prepared and use your technique once."

"Okay."

He walked over, put on the prepared gloves, and stood in front of the machine.

Taking a deep breath, a bronze glow suddenly emerged, surged into his fist, and he threw a punch.

This punch almost created an afterimage.

*BANG!!*

The sound of hitting the target was even louder.

The numbers jumped, and he also looked up nervously.

'3014 KG!'

"Yo, not bad, not bad, it broke 3,000 KG. Looks like the cultivation technique gene-seed he fused with is pretty good."

Zhang Yun, who was next to Fang Mu, said in a low voice.

After throwing the punch, Su Zhang looked a bit tired, panting slightly as he looked at the woman.

The tall woman also nodded slightly, looking quite satisfied.

But she didn't say much. After recording the results, she continued: "Next..."

The group started stepping up one by one.

Fang Mu watched, and gradually, he developed a certain understanding of the scores.

Basic strength—a punch without any techniques—was something most people could get between 500 KG and 1,000 KG. But the destructive power after using gene techniques was vastly different.

For example, the Pugilist named Su Zhang broke 3,000 KG. But later, there was a Mad Blade who only punched with 500 KG of force, but after using his technique, he slashed out a score of 3,500 KG.

This demonstrated the destructive power of a Mad Blade.

Later, Zhang Yun, who was next to Fang Mu, also went. Being a Heavy Blade, he threw a punch with a terrifying force of 1,000 KG.

This drew gasps of amazement.

Even the woman couldn't help but brighten her eyes slightly and reveal a faint smile.

However, when he used the Heavy Blade to slash, the value only doubled, reaching just over 2,000 KG.

But no one showed disappointment.

It was well known that the attack power of a Heavy Blade was relatively weak.

The techniques he fused with were 'Iron Armor' and 'Giant Strength'. In terms of burst power, he was still relatively inferior.

On the other hand, there was a Gunfighter who appeared later—it was that young girl from downstairs. She was only at the Black Iron tier.

She looked nervous, and in the end, her punch only produced about 200 KG of force.

But the value after she fired a shot using her Gunfighting technique was astonishing...

Her Gunfighting technique was 'Ice'.

Fang Mu clearly saw that at the moment she fired, a blue flash passed over her hand. Then the bullet hit the black ball. A thick layer of frost covered the ball instantly.

But immediately, the black ball started spinning, and the frost disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye... as if it had been swallowed by the black ball.

Then, the numbers jumped and stopped.

And the final value for the 'Ice' technique...

It actually reached 3,000 KG!

This sparked a discussion among the people around.

"The attack power of a Gunfighter is indeed the strongest."

Zhang Yun sighed.

How could it not be?

200 KG of muscular force producing 3,000 KG of destructive power...

One could see how terrifying a Gunfighter was when killing enemies across tiers.

At the same time, this made Fang Mu understand that the ball was calculating destructive power, not just the physical feedback.

Clearly, the 'attribute damage' of 'Ice' must have been digitized in some way. Otherwise, it couldn't have been that high.

However, after that shot, the girl was drenched in sweat and panting heavily.

It was evident that this shot had consumed a large amount of her gene energy.

In that single shot, the strengths and weaknesses of a Gunfighter were almost completely exposed...

The tests continued one by one, and Fang Mu watched with great interest.

He had never experienced anything like this before.

...

Finally...

"Next... Fang Mu."

The woman called his name.

Fang Mu's spirits lifted, and he responded.

"Buddy, good luck." Zhang Yun, Wu Tao, and the others he had just met cheered him on.

Fang Mu waved his hand with a smile and walked out.

The tall woman glanced at the light-brain screen and showed some surprise: "Bronze-tier Gunfighter, fused with 'Blazing Fire' Gunfighting technique, right?"

Fang Mu nodded.

"Begin."

The woman said with a nod.

Fang Mu, standing in front of the machine, exhaled but hesitated slightly.

He had never tested himself, but he also knew that if he went all out, it might cause a stir.

One had to know that when he was at the Black Iron tier, his strength was already on par with a Sawtooth Hyena...

Now that he had reached the Bronze tier, and had purchased two bottles of gene potions two days ago, he had reached the peak of the Bronze tier... he was already capable of breaking through to the Silver tier again.

If he truly went all out... he had absolutely no idea how much force he could produce.

Since that was the case...

"Anyway, a Gunfighter's strength is a weak point, so I shouldn't use too much force. When I use the Gunfighting technique, I won't be able to hide it anyway..."

Thinking of this, Fang Mu took a deep breath on the surface and pondered for a moment. Then, he threw a punch directly at the target!

For this punch, Fang Mu held back again and again. Although he didn't know exactly how much force he used, he really didn't dare to use too much...

*Bang!*

The target trembled slightly, and the numbers jumped continuously.

A moment later...

'578 KG'!

When this number appeared, Fang Mu breathed a sigh of relief.

Good, it was within the acceptable range for the Bronze tier.

He looked at the woman.

Sure enough, the woman thought the value was normal, nodded slightly, recorded it, and said: "Next is the destructive power of your Gunfighting technique. The pistol is right there."

Fang Mu nodded, picked up the pistol, and his eyes lit up slightly.

It was actually a C-series pistol?

One had to know that the pistol he was currently using was only D-series. A C-series pistol was worth five million!

He could only say... as expected of the Celestial Palace, the things used for testing were all good items...

He pressed the magazine release, took a look, and saw there were still six bullets. He pushed the magazine in and pulled the slide.

Fang Mu exhaled, carefully controlled the gene energy within his body, and transferred the smallest amount into the 'Blazing Fire' gene-seed...

A cyan glow flashed on his hand, and the next moment...

*BANG!*

A flash of fire erupted from the pistol, and a streak of flame instantly sprayed onto the black sphere.

The fire burned instantly.

But at the moment the fire burned, the black sphere rotated slightly, and the fire was swallowed up without a trace.

Just like it had swallowed the 'Ice' earlier.

The numbers jumped, and Fang Mu looked up. A moment later, the numbers stopped...

'6879 KG'!

"Damn! Nearly seven thousand?! This Gunfighting technique is truly terrifying!"

"In terms of destructive power alone, Gunfighters are indeed terrifying..."

"Sigh, when we melee fighters use gene techniques, a slash carries gene energy, but the kinetic energy is still our own strength. But Gunfighters are different. Their attack also adds the kinetic energy of the bullet... The kinetic energy carried by the bullet itself is far stronger than our slashes. Plus the burst of gene energy... achieving this level of destructive power isn't excessive."

Amidst the buzzing discussion, the woman showed a satisfied smile and nodded at Fang Mu: "Okay, go wait and rest to the side... Next..."

Fang Mu walked back to the crowd.

"The attack power of a Gunfighter is indeed off the charts. Tsk tsk, I don't have the talent for a Gunfighter, otherwise, I'd want to be one too."

Zhang Yun said to Fang Mu, looking impressed.

Fang Mu smiled and didn't speak.

In his heart, he was thinking: The problem of entering the Celestial Palace this time shouldn't be too big, right?

...

After Fang Mu, there weren't many people left, and soon the test ended. It took about two hours in total.

This was the test for basic and absolute destructive power.

Basic was a punch; absolute was the destructive power after using gene techniques and Gunfighting techniques.

"Next, we are going to test speed."

After the destructive power test ended, the woman took them to a track about twenty meters long. The ground of the track was pitch black and didn't reflect light.

"After getting on, start with a slow jog. After three seconds, you can exert your maximum speed. Maintain your peak speed for ten seconds, then you can gradually decelerate."

"The speed test is mainly for Mad Blade and Pugilist professions; others can wait on the side."

"First, Cheng Liang..."

The woman spoke.

This was the focused assessment for different professions.

Cheng Liang, whose destructive power score was average, walked out, gritted his teeth, and stepped onto the black track.

After taking a deep breath, he nodded to the woman.

The woman pressed the switch on the side.

Cheng Liang exhaled and started to run slowly.

Three seconds later, Cheng Liang's eyes suddenly brightened, and a group of cyan light appeared on his body. His legs suddenly started running at high speed, even creating afterimages.

But his body didn't move from the spot; the track on the ground slid backward at a very high speed. It was somewhat similar to a treadmill, but different.

Data appeared on the side, '37', '34', '33', '35'...

These represented his speed in meters per second.

Ten seconds later, Cheng Liang took a deep breath and started to slow down. The speed of the ground sliding backward also slowed down instantly.

About five seconds later, Cheng Liang stopped and walked out.

"Average of 34.23 meters per second."

The woman announced the result.

Cheng Liang's eyes looked dim. He sighed, shook his head, and walked down.

The woman ignored him and called the next person...

At this moment, the gap between everyone was clearly shown. The fastest could reach 45 meters per second—that was a Mad Blade. The slowest was only 28 meters per second—a Pugilist.

But overall, Mad Blades were quite a bit faster than Pugilists.

After all, Mad Blades were the fastest existence.

Soon, the speed assessment ended.

Then, it was the gravity assessment specifically for Heavy Blades!

It was conducted in a gravity room.

The gravity room was large, with ten gravity chambers, each three meters high and two meters wide.

There weren't many Heavy Blades, only eight or nine in total, so they all entered.

The result was based on who could hold out the longest.

At first, it was only 1g, increasing by 0.1 every thirty seconds. If they felt they couldn't take it, they could terminate at any time... there was a stop button inside the gravity chamber.

Gravity was pervasive. At first, everyone felt fine. But when it increased to 3g, some started using gene techniques. By 5g, some began to quit...

Those who came out were bleeding from their seven orifices, their eyes blood-red, looking very terrifying.

However, they were all Bronze-tier evolvers; this small injury wouldn't stop them.

In the end, Zhang Yun had the best score...

He held out until 5.8g, being the last one to come out.

He looked miserable coming out—all his veins were bulging, the ones on his forehead were exposed, he was bleeding from his seven orifices, and the capillaries in his eyes had burst...

It made Fang Mu gasp...

But from this, one could also see that Zhang Yun was indeed extraordinary.

Generally speaking, 6g was the level that only Silver-tier evolvers could withstand.

After the Heavy Blade assessment ended, it was the turn for the Gunfighter profession assessment.

There were only three Gunfighters who joined this time... the number was truly pitiful.

There was only one Bronze-tier, Fang Mu.

And their assessment objective was very simple...

The woman opened the window nearby, and a gust of wind blew in. A hundred meters away was the rooftop of a building.

"Use your fastest speed to hit all the targets across."

Fang Mu raised an eyebrow and saw that on the rooftop opposite, there were several machines shaking like human hands. Fang Mu initially thought he had to hit the 'hands' of the machines. But looking closer, his incredibly sharp eyesight allowed him to see that held in the hands of the machines was a red tube the thickness of a thumb...

A hundred meters away, hit five thumb-thick targets that were shaking non-stop...

And it wasn't just about hitting them; it also required shooting speed...

Many people gasped.

"Damn, if you gave me a day, maybe I could do it..."

"This is too hard, right?"

Many shook their heads and discussed.

Marksmanship was the core of a Gunfighter.

So what if the attack power was strong?

If you couldn't hit the target, it was useless!

The woman said directly: "First, Fang Mu."

Fang Mu was stunned for a moment, then exhaled and walked over.

A large sniper rifle had already been prepared for him.

He first checked the condition of the rifle and, after confirming everything was fine, lifted it, standing tall.

"Are you ready?"

The woman asked.

Fang Mu exhaled, his gaze suddenly becoming sharp, and he nodded slightly.

"Then... begin!"

The woman pressed the stopwatch in her hand.

As the woman's voice fell, Fang Mu instantly raised his hand; at this moment, his spirit was concentrated to the extreme.

Only a second later...

*BOOM!!*

The roar of the gun sounded.

He pulled the trigger, clean and decisive...

[Eight thousand words in this chapter; I will update in large chapters from now on so everyone can enjoy it more... Sigh, things have been happening at home one after another during this period, and my writing state is indeed a bit poor. Please bear with me. My mother-in-law has late-stage lung cancer, and the hospital issued a critical condition notice yesterday; it might happen in these two days. Half-cat's grandmother is also old, and she hasn't been able to eat anything these past two days; I estimate it will also be these two days... So if the updates are a bit unstable recently, please forgive me.]