Fortunately, Chen Shouyi arrived a day earlier.

Because by the second day, this hotel would be filled with people coming from various places to take the Martial Arts Apprentice exam.

Except for going out to eat, Chen Shouyi stayed in his room these past two days, practicing diligently.

The Shell Lady, on the other hand, watched to her heart's content, her gaze never leaving the screen from the moment she opened her eyes in the morning until she fell asleep at night. Chen Shouyi was a bit worried she might get nearsighted because of it.

But considering her comfortable days would soon come to an end, Chen Shouyi let her be.

As for the landlord's daughter, she seemed to intentionally avoid him, as he hadn't seen her these past two days.

...

In the evening!

Chen Shouyi closed his eyes, carefully feeling the exertion of muscles throughout his body.

Occasionally, he would use his palm as a substitute for a sword, slicing through the air with a "whoosh" sound.

The experience of exerting force during the black-clothed man's combat, he had completely absorbed during this time.

Although there was still a considerable gap between him and the other person's level of muscle control, just the unfamiliar sword forms and some flexible combat techniques he learned benefited him immensely.

These sword forms, after practicing for about ten days, he had become gradually proficient, using them with ease.

With this, he completely filled the only missing part of his Swordsmanship.

"In Swordsmanship, only precision and sincerity matter," he thought, indeed, "but it lacks change."

In the past, whenever Chen Shouyi fought, all he used was a thrusting sword, and only knew how to use a thrusting sword, always being straightforward.

While effective in real combat, it inevitably appeared somewhat rigid, inflexible, often missing out on many good opportunities.

For instance, during intense combat, sometimes a simple flick of the sword could end it, but often due to being unfamiliar with certain forms and his body lacking the awareness, he would instinctively widen the distance again for another thrust.

Leading to inefficiency in battle and simultaneously increasing his own risk.

How is his Swordsmanship level now? Even Chen Shouyi didn't know, since after the black-clothed man, he hadn't been in real combat again.

And he hadn't found a suitable opponent for comparison.

But the Swordsmanship level on his attribute panel had reached "Proficient (18)," steadily rising by three points during this time.

The more advanced the skill, the harder it is to improve, requiring thousands or even tens of thousands of practices for each point of enhancement.

Being able to improve by three points in ten days was already astonishingly fast.

...

The next morning, Chen Shouyi left his briefcase in his room and closed the door.

Then he knocked on the door opposite: "Going together, or by yourself?"

Though this young girl seemed to be a bit wary of him, as a man, Chen Shouyi felt he should be a bit gentlemanly.

The door opened quickly.

"Together!" Zhou Xue said briskly.

She had already gotten ready, clearly prepared for some time.

She was wearing a gray-white cotton tracksuit, her hair still slightly damp, probably after doing some warm-up exercises this morning and taking a shower afterwards.

"It's only seven now, let's grab breakfast first!" Chen Shouyi checked the time and suggested, "We can walk it off later."

Leaving the hotel, the two of them walked to a nearby breakfast shop.

...

"Do you always eat this much?" Zhou Xue, who hadn't spoken, finally couldn't help but ask upon seeing Chen Shouyi's astonishing appetite.

Seeing the young girl had finished eating, Chen Shouyi quickly finished his seventh basket of soup dumplings, took a sip of soy milk, and said, "Eating more is a blessing!"

What a pig!

Zhou Xue grumbled inwardly.

Chen Shouyi quickly downed his soy milk: "Waiter, check please!"

"Together?"

"Together!"

"That'll be eighty-five in total."

Chen Shouyi took out a hundred-yuan bill and received the change.

As they left the breakfast shop, Zhou Xue took out her wallet and said seriously:

"You owe me three and a half from last time, I'll give you fifteen now."

"Never mind, I'll cover it this time." Chen Shouyi said.

"No way, why are you guys always like this?"

Dealing with such a persistent person was truly troublesome.

Chen Shouyi reluctantly took her money.

About ten minutes later, they reached the Martial Arts Center and were taken aback.

The registration hall already had a long line, extending all the way into the corridor.

At a glance, the entire line stretched about a hundred meters. There were probably five to six hundred people.

And it wasn't even eight yet.

After Chen Shouyi and Zhou Xue lined up at the back, in just a few minutes, a dozen more people joined behind them.

Today's registration might reach nearly a thousand people.

Can they really finish the exam in one day?

Chen Shouyi had his doubts.

The time gradually approached eight-thirty.

At that moment, more than twenty buses drove one after another into the open space in front of the Martial Arts Center.

Soon, someone jumped out of one of the buses, moving quickly toward them as if taking giant strides.

The crowd stirred.

Chen Shouyi became slightly alert.

His strides showed no hint of concealment, advancing directly using the basic Martial Arts steps, each step covering four to five meters.

He could do this too, but compared to the opponent's smooth, pleasing movement, he was slightly inferior.

Undoubtedly, this was another Martial Artist.

He quickly reached the front of the crowd and called out loudly: "Quiet everyone!"

Intimidated by his aura, everyone closed their mouths the next moment, and it grew silent around, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

The Martial Artist's face showed a hint of satisfaction:

"Here's the notification: Due to the large number of candidates, the exam location has been temporarily changed. Now, everyone must board the buses."

...

Chen Shouyi was puzzled.

Besides the Martial Arts Assessment Center, where else could the exam be conducted?

Could they be going to a neighboring city? But there was no need for everyone to go!

However, puzzled as he was, he could only follow the crowd and board the buses.

This time, Zhou Xue didn't mind sitting next to him.

Perhaps compared to unfamiliar people, she preferred someone she somewhat knew.

The bus started soon after.

Half an hour later, it gradually left the urban area, heading more and more remote, and then entered a winding mountain road.

At this moment, Chen Shouyi noticed a warning sign outside the window:

"Military Zone, No Admittance!"

Are they heading to a military base?

A commotion began inside the bus, with people chattering.

Soon they encountered soldiers on guard, the bus stopped briefly, seemingly to verify some credentials.

After a while, it continued forward.

Sparse military outposts were scattered across the distant mountains, armed with cannons and machine guns, intimidating to look at.

...

About two minutes later, the buses finally reached the destination.

Chen Shouyi followed the crowd, getting off the bus and observing the surroundings.

The surrounding peaks were bare, evidently coated with concrete.

About a dozen meters away was a huge cave, at least sixty to seventy meters wide, its surface reinforced with steel and concrete.

At this moment, several examiners whispered among themselves, then the person who spoke earlier stepped forward and said loudly:

"Perhaps you've already guessed, ahead is a concealed Spatial Passage, and the exam will be held inside this time.

Of course, this Spatial Passage has been explored several times already and is fairly safe, but we also can't guarantee it's without dangers. In a spirit of voluntariness, if you're unwilling to enter, please stay here, though it may impact your record."

There was an uproar among the crowd.

"I quit!" a middle-aged man calmly stepped out, already having a wife and children at his age, he didn't want to take risks.

"I quit too!"

More people gradually opted out, but there were only a dozen or so in total.

Chen Shouyi glanced at Zhou Xue, noticing her determined expression with no hint of backing down.

"Alright, follow us in now, as for registration, once you pass, you'll return to the Martial Arts Assessment Center to collect your certificate. Those who opt out, stay put, someone will record your information shortly."

Originally concerned about his identity issue, Chen Shouyi felt relieved upon hearing this.

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