Catastrophe Containment Facility
Chapter 287 - 285: The Assessment Begins

Chapter 287: Chapter 285: The Assessment Begins

The eventful ten days flew by swiftly, and the Ranger assessment began as scheduled.

At seven o’clock in the morning, on a vast platform behind Kunning Mountain, all the Demon Hunters participating in the assessment gathered in small groups, spread across the platform, waiting for the official start of the evaluation.

Meanwhile, Wen Wen was having a casual banter with Chu Wei, mostly about the latest episode of the ’Biluochun Scroll.’

Recently, Wen Wen had given up trying to save him, instead frequently tempting Chu Wei to become even more obsessed...

In between chats, Wen Wen did a quick headcount and estimated that there were a little over two hundred participants in the assessment, meaning there were at least two hundred Demon Hunters at the Assimilation Realm present.

Although many of these Demon Hunters had participated in the assessment more than once, if every year saw this many participants, then the strength of the Hunters Association was simply unshakable by organizations like Profane Blood.

The superpower users present were an odd and varied bunch, but only two caught Wen Wen’s attention, and both were women and both were beautiful.

One was a young girl with orange cat ears, dressed in black sportswear with shorts, and a lively orange tail swished from her tailbone, drawing plenty of notice.

Her presence was very familiar to Wen Wen, as she was none other than Miao Miaomiao, the Containment Officer Wen Wen had personally recruited to the Sanctuary!

"Hmm, not bad, not bad. I was worried she’d be like those women from ’Biluochun Scroll’ since her face was covered before, but now that I see she’s pretty, I can rest easy."

Ever since being ’enlightened’ by ’Biluochun Scroll,’ Wen Wen harbored extremely malicious suspicions towards all women who didn’t show their faces.

"To participate in the Ranger assessment, she must be at least a Demon Hunter of the Assimilation Realm. The Sanctuary has gained another powerful asset; I hope she can bring me a Disaster Level monster. Even if it’s weakened by half, a Disaster Level monster is still more useful than one at the Disaster Level."

As Wen Wen marveled at Miao Miaomiao’s tail, she suddenly turned her head, looking quizzically in Wen Wen’s direction but unable to pinpoint him amidst the crowd.

"Did she notice me? No, she must have sensed someone looking at her."

He quickly averted his gaze and muttered in amazement, "What strong intuition. With her standout appearance, there must be many people looking at her, but she was able to distinguish my gaze as unique!"

As to what was special about Wen Wen’s gaze, no one knew...

Since Miao Miaomiao’s intuition was so sharp, Wen Wen turned his attention to the other woman, who didn’t seem to be from the Capital District. She wore a suit of armor with blue and silver hues, a brilliant head of golden hair, and one small strand that stubbornly stood on end. A golden longsword hung at her waist.

Wen Wen didn’t recognize this woman, and it was hard to tell if she was beautiful from the back because of the armor. His interest in her was purely because of her strength!

When Wen Wen focused his senses on her, he even felt a tingling pain, as if his perception had been sliced, an occurrence that only happened when there was a significant difference in strength.

There were other superpower users stronger than Wen Wen, but none to this astonishing extent.

"Everyone here is a force to be reckoned with, and aside from the Sanctuary, I’m probably not that special here."

After watching for a while, Wen Wen withdrew his attention. His curiosity was piqued by the powerful Demon Hunters, but in the Ranger assessment, there was no competition. As long as one met the criteria, they could pass. The Hunters Association would only welcome more Demon Hunters becoming Rangers.

Decades ago, it was suggested by high-level members to use a Gu Cultivation-like method to select Rangers, and by pulling their connections, they forcefully brought about a bloody assessment.

The batch of successful Rangers was pitifully small, and the quality wasn’t much better than what’s normally filtered out. The superpower user who got first place was indeed strong, but a few years into carrying out missions, they lost control and defected to the enemy camp.

So, the high-ranking official who proposed the idea fell from grace and, in a subsequent clash with monsters, passed away in obscurity...

A loud explosion interrupted Wen Wen’s contemplation, as a streak of purple light drew closer from afar, nearing the platform. When it was close enough, everyone could see what the light was made of.

In the glow was a purple longsword and a man in a white robe, comprising a Sword People duo.

The longsword stopped smoothly in front of everyone, like a taxi coming to a rest, while the man elegantly jumped down from it.

"This get-up, making it look like something out of a wuxia novel, since when did the Hunters Association start styling things this way, and... he’s even got dyed hair."

As Wen Wen nattered to himself, the man cleared his throat and said to the crowd, "Hello, everyone, my name is Xun Qing, and I’m the chief examiner for this Ranger exam."

Upon hearing this name, many started whispering among themselves. Wen Wen, unsure what this was about, turned his head to Chu Wei.

But he found Chu Wei with a look of admiration, boastfully telling Wen Wen, "He’s Immortal Xun’s brother. Though not as strong as his younger brother, he is a Demon Hunter of the True Order Realm!"

"Immortal Xun? The superpower user in the True Self Realm? So his brother is also a Demon Hunter of the True Integration Sequence Realm..."

Observing the longsword, Wen Wen stroked his chin, sinking into thought. He recalled a battle at the Profane Blood headquarters, where he had seen a True Order Realm superpower user fighting from a distance.

In the sky, two immense energy orbs, one was Corrupt Blood, and the other, it seemed, was using purple Sword Qi...

Could that person be him?

"Cough cough, please be quiet."

Xun Qing pressed his hand downward, and the room fell silent. Then he coughed twice and said, "Before participating in the examination, I need you to sign two agreements. One is a confidentiality agreement to keep the exam content secret."

"The second is a waiver. During the exam, you may be in danger of losing your life. The Association will do its best to ensure your safety, but if you’re scared, we understand, and you’re free to leave at any time."

Wen Wen’s mouth twitched slightly. Despite recognizing Xun Qing’s strength, he couldn’t help but want to mock.

"Why do you have to cough before speaking? Do you have asthma or something..."

Despite the snide remarks, Wen Wen dutifully signed the agreements.

For a Demon Hunter, the things that necessitated signing a confidentiality agreement were too many to count, and life-threatening crises... Which Demon Hunter, when fighting monsters, is absolutely safe?

"Cough cough, once everyone has finished signing, please enter the examination room in an orderly fashion. The first part of the exam is a written test, which will run from eight in the morning until eleven. Please answer the questions diligently, and do not cheat."

Wen Wen covered his forehead, looked at Xun Qing with a wry smile, and muttered in a voice too low for anyone to hear, "Could you stop coughing? Now my throat is starting to itch..."