Swallowed Star

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Swallowed Star Page 7

by Alexander Buchanez

Not only is the Limit Hall here, but also many fighters' homes.

  "According to the rumors, the people that live here are the fighters and their families! Even the police don't have the right to come in as they please" Luo Feng marveled in his heart.

  "Everyone" Luo Feng stood at the small sector's entrance and spoke, "I am the Dojo of Limits' elite member 'Luo Feng'. I came here today to take the Prospective Fighter exam". The Limit Hall holds the Prospective Fighter exam on the first day of every month.

  "Oh?"

  From the guardsman's lounge an old, bald man walked out with a computer in his hand, "Young man, you came quite early, it isn't even 8 AM yet. Taking the Prospective Fighter exam at such a young age, your future is limitless. Ok, let me check your ID and elite member ID"

  Luo Feng handed them over.

  [BEEP!]

  A message came up on the computer's display after scanning the identifications.

  "18 years old?" This old, bald man looked at Luo Feng in shock and then laughed, "Brave enough to take the Prospective Fighter exam at 18 years old. Not bad, I hope you pass it today"

  "Thank you sir" Luo Feng replied.

  "Let him in" The old, bald man waved his hand.

  The small sector's electronic door opened automatically. At this time, a soldier holding an assault rifle stepped forward and followed Luo Feng: "Sir, I will bring you to the Dojo of Limits. After you enter the sector, please do not run around! You only have the right to enter the Limit Hall and not the fighters' homes. If you break this rule, even if I don't make a move, the people patrolling the area will" This soldier even sneered at Luo Feng while telling him this.

  "Of course" Luo Feng slightly smiled and nodded, but was surprised inside.

  There indeed was a cooperative relationship between the country and the Dojo of Limits. At least the core of the Dojo of Limits will be heavily protected and guarded.

  "Wow, every building is a private villa" Luo Feng looked around. Except for the center of the sector, which was the large, tall Limit Hall tower, everywhere else was a private villa. Between the villas were fake mountains, pools, and lawns.

  ������������

  Ming-Yue sector, inside the Limit Hall. Right when Luo Feng stepped inside the lobby of the Limit Hall, the soldier went back.

  "Sir, are you here to take the Prospective Fighter exam?" Inside the hall, a beautiful young woman smiled, "Sir, please sit over there. When it's 10 AM, take the exam with the others."

  Luo Feng nodded and towards the side of the lobby. There was a small bar there with a waiter and a bartender.

  "Hm?" Luo Feng scanned the spots and saw that there were already three people sitting at the bar.

  Two of them were having a discussion while the other one was sitting silently on a sofa.

  "Look at all of those villas. That is the benefit you get from joining the Dojo of Limits as a fighter" A young man wearing white shirt and pants said, "As long as you become a fighter and join the Dojo of Limits, you'll get a free villa and you'll be able to live here..... Heh, look at this environment, it's so comfortable"

  "Of course the fighter sector is different from all the other sectors outside. Look, a new person is coming" The three people saw Luo Feng. Luo Feng slightly nodded and sat on the sofa at the side.

  Nobody knew each other, so there wasn't any exchange of talk.

  As time passed, three more people came, which Luo Feng recognized none of. However, from their looks.... the three of them were a bit older, probably all over 30 years old. One of them was even over 40 years old.

  "Ha, Luo Feng!" a loud sound came up.

  Luo Feng, startled, turned his head and looked, and saw a lean man with a face full of hideous scars walking towards him: "You're coming to take the prospective fighter exam too?"

  "Brother Yang?" Luo Feng stood up and greeted him.

  "It's a bit embarrassing. I came to try last month but sadly --my speed was only 24.9 m/s. It was off by just that one bit!" Yang Wu said helplessly. In fact, Yang Wu passed a long time ago in fist strength and reaction speed. It's just that speed is his weak point.

  However, starting from this year, Yang Wu's speed started improving. 24.9 meters and 25 meters isn't really a big difference. If everything goes well, he might get a grade of 25 m/s.

  "I'm sure you can pass this time Brother Yang" Luo Feng laughed

  "This guy named Yang tried so many times already and never passed. I bet this time you'll fail too" a loud sound came from the side.

  Luo Feng looked over and the one talking was a buff man with a full beard. Yang Wu immediately glared: "The guy named Tong, you dare talk about me. Didn't you take the test and fail twice already? With your reaction speed, I guess you'll need at least another two or three more years of training"

  "Silence" a cold sound came from the center of the lobby.

  The eight people currently there all turned their heads and saw a middle-aged man wearing a dojo uniform, "Let's go, everyone follow me upstairs and take the exam. Remember, behave yourself once you're upstairs. Our old friends from Yang Zhou city's headquarters came over today, so don't cause trouble"

  "Yes" No matter if it was the arrogant full beard, Yang Wu, or Luo Feng; everyone listened and followed.

  "Headquarters old friend?" Luo Feng couldn't help but start guessing in his heart.

  Know this: Yang Zhou city has 12 Dojo of Limits and the Limit Hall. Each sector's Dojo of Limits' masters are called 'Instructors'. The master of the Limit Hall is called the 'Chief Instructor'.

  After entering the elevator, the loose uniform wearing middle-aged man pressed '6'.

  [DI!] The elevator arrived at the sixth floor.

  [HUA!]

  The elevator door opened and what came into sight was a gigantic training hall with around a dozen people inside. Luo Feng recognized one of them to be instructor 'Jiang Nian'.

  "They're here, stop chatting" A middle-aged man with loose, long hair spoke and all of them looked at Luo Feng's group. When facing their glares, Luo Feng's group tensed up. They knew..... that those who appear inside the Limit Hall, other than the service personnel, are fighters.

  In other words, all of these people are fighters! Since this is the headquarters of the Dojo of Limits in Yang Zhou city.

  "Get ready for examination" The middle-aged man with loose, long hair commanded.

  Luo Feng has seen this man before on the internet. He is the master of the Limit Hall, Yang Zhou city's chief instructor 'Wu Tong'.

  "Come one by one and give me your ID" The fighter who led Luo Feng's group up here took their IDs and handed them over to chief instructor 'Wu Tong' and laughed, "Boss, there's quite a few people today. There's eight of them!"

  "Yup" Wu Tong randomly picked out an ID and scanned it on the machine next to him.

  [BEEP!]

  A crystal-like display that was almost transparent shot out from the machine and displayed a large amount of personal information.

  "First one, Tong Guan" The chief instructor was indifferent, "Begin your fist strength test. Even those of you who came out of the army come to my Limit Hall to test, interesting"

  Luo Feng, who was listening on the side, couldn't help but smile. The Dojo of Limits was created by the strongest fighter on earth. The dojos are scattered all around the world and their examinations have high credibility. Your examination results will receive recognition in every area in every country on earth.

  Even the army or traditional martial artists like to come to the Dojo of Limits to take the exam.

  "Test your fist strength" The chief instructor commanded.

  "Yes"

  The full bearded man immediately took a step forward. With his left hand in front of his face and eyes wide opened, his right fist flew through an arc and hit against the large machine, which only shaked a little bit. The machine's display immediately displayed the number--'986kg'��

  "Pass, next, Luo Feng" The chief instructor randomly chose the second ID and scanned
it on the machine. He read through the descriptive personal information and couldn't help but to be shocked, "Eh? 18 years old? Old Jiang, this is your Zhi-An section's right? Since when did such a talented young man appear?"

  "Haha" Instructor 'Jiang Nian' on the side couldn't help but to laugh.

  "We still don't know if he is truly skilled" In the group of fighters at the side, a fat veteran scoffed, "He might not know what he's dealing with and has no strength"

  Instructor Jiang Nian glared: "What, jealous? Your northern section doesn't have any sort of genius like this. Luo Feng, show them my Zhi-An section's members' strength"

  "Yes, instructor" Luo Feng stepped up and headed towards the fist strength tester machine.

  Chapter 11: Reaction Speed

  "Old Jiang seems pretty confident" Chief instructor 'Wu Tong' said while laughing, but his gaze landed upon Luo Feng. Everyone at the scene was watching Luo Feng and awaiting his test results.

  Luo Feng stood in front of the machine and released an explosive power from his waist. His body turned slightly and increased the power from his waist even more. In an instant, all the power transferred to his arm. Luo Feng's fist was like an arrow fired from a bow under the full moon, leaving behind a blur. With a "PENG" sound, his fist smacked against the machine.

  After he threw his punch, Luo Feng was delighted: "It felt so good throwing that punch, all the power went with it". He looked at the display and saw

  --"1101kg"

  "Good"

  "Not bad" Many fighters at the scene immediately complimented him.

  Chief Instructor 'Wu Tong' rubbed his chin and nodded: "Not bad young man. Make sure to never lose your center 'shi' when throwing your punch. If someone ignores everything and only wants higher results for fist strength, he will lose his center 'shi'. The punch might be stronger. However, against monsters, losing your center 'shi' is suicide! Not bad, not bad"

  "Haha, this kid Luo Feng has great combat abilities" Instructor 'Jiang Nian' laughed, "He easily beat three elite members who had around his level of strength and speed!"

  Luo Feng was delighted after hearing the instructor and chief instructor's compliments.

  He had a coma twice when he was younger, which led to increased strength and speed. Ever since then, he made a plan to become the best fighter! A really good fighter needs great combat abilities. In his teenage days, even though he hasn't joined the Dojo of Limits then, he looked up some basics of martial arts and trained alone at home to pile up the experience.

  This is why his combat abilities are so great.

  "A nice bean sprout. Yup, pass!" Chief instructor Wu Tong randomly picked another ID and scanned it, "Next, Bai Yang".

  Luo Feng walked back to the place where examinees were supposed to stay.

  "Not bad, crazy" Yang Wu laughed.

  Luo Feng grinned.

  ......

  All eight of them quickly finished the 'strength test' and only one failed and was disqualified as a result. His fist strength was only 892 kg, which was close. So for the next test, the speed test, there were only seven people left.

  [KA!] Chief instructor Wu Tong walked towards the speed tester and turned on the switch.

  "One by one, in reverse order. First, Yang Wu" Chief instructor Wu Tong commanded. Yang Wu was the last one to test his strength so he will be the first to test his speed.

  Yang Wu took a deep breath.

  He took the Prospective Fighter exam nearly 10 times and failed on the speed test every time.

  "Brother Yang, you can do it" Luo Feng patted Yang Wu's shoulder.

  "Watch me" Yang Wu adjusted his breathing and ran on the track.

  Instructor Jiang Nian frowned watching this. Yang Wu was also from the Zhi-An section, but he has failed the 'speed test' so many times already.

  [DASH!]

  Yang Wu stepped on the surface of the floor and made a low sound. With the strength of his arms and his explosive start, he quickly accelerated to his maximum speed. His veins were popping on his scarred face and he sprinted while clenching his teeth. He even let out a low howl after finishing the test.

  "I must pass this!" Yang Wu stopped and howled in his heart.

  He turned his head and saw Luo Feng give him a thumbs up. After seeing it. Yang Wu felt like he went to heaven.

  "Haha, Yang Wu, nice luck. You actually passed" Instructor 'Jiang Nian' also let out a refreshed laugh.

  Yang Wu ran over and looked at the display--'25.1m/s'��

  "Phew, so close" Even Yang Wu laughed. If his body condition was slightly worse, he might've not achieved 25 m/s. If so, then he would've failed once again.

  "Yup, pass!" Chief instructor Wu Tong also smiled, "Next"

  Everyone did the tests one by one. Since Luo Feng was the second person to take the strength test, he was the second last to take the speed test.

  It was Luo Feng's turn soon enough.

  "Luo Feng" Chief instructor Wu Tong hollered.

  "Do your best, crazy. We better take the Fighter Combat exam together" Yang Wu encouraged and Luo Feng smiled and nodded. He walked onto the track and adjusted his breathing pattern. He lightly jumped twice in place. Luo Feng was unlike Yang Wu, who was a brute-force type; he gave off a relaxing feeling.

  [WHOOSH!]

  Right when he exerted his strength, Luo Feng was like a panther whose speed had no match. He brought a strong current of wind with him as he passed through the speed testing region. You could tell with just your eyes that Luo Feng's speed was significantly higher than those before him.

  "I felt like that was okay" Luo Feng turned his head and saw Yang Wu giving him a thumbs up. Even chief instructor Wu Tong and instructor Jiang Nian couldn't help but to nod their heads in praise.

  Luo Feng walked over and looked at the display--

  "28.6m/s"

  "Nice speed, it's actually so much higher than the passing mark" Chief Instructor Wu Tong laughed and nodded, "Last, Tong Guan".

  ������������

  After the strength test, one person was eliminated. During the speed test, two people were eliminated. Now there were only five people left. The third test is the 'Reaction Speed exam'.

  "Follow me" Chief Instructor Wu Tong brought the group of fighters and the five people remaining from the previous exams. They arrived at the 'reaction speed testing room' connected to the training hall.

  The room was around a hundred ping.

  Of course, compared to the gigantic training halls that were a couple thousand ping large, these reaction speed rooms were clearly much smaller. There was only a large, seemingly valuable machine placed on the floor. In front of the machine was something that looked like a six barreled gatling gun. However, there were easily a couple dozen holes in the machine, so it had way more firing sites than a gatling gun.

  "First, Tong Guan" Chief instructor Wu Tong instructed.

  The full bearded man immediately stepped in front of the gun. He was on a circle that had a diameter of 3.6 meters.

  [CLATTER!] The switch was turned on��

  A red light started to emit above the border of the circle. It was like that the fighter inside was surrounded by a red curtain.

  "Remember, no matter what, do not leave the circle. Once you leave it, it counts as a failure. If your body comes in contact with the red light, you lose points" After chief instructor Wu Tong finished saying that, he walked to the reaction speed tester and pressed a bunch of buttons and adjusted the power. There were many different power levels.

  The lowest one is meant for intermediate members.

  And the highest one.... is meant for top fighters.

  "Begin!" The chief instructor pressed a red button.

  [BEEP~~~BEEP~~~]The machine's gigantic cannon started revolving and all of the dozen barrels started emitting a red light. There were quick ones and slow ones and even the trajectory wasn't stable. It was very chaotic and messy. It then started to rapidly shoot within the circle.

  The be
arded man stared in front of him and was continuously dodging right and left and between the red colored bullets.

  [PU! PU!] Two consecutive hits��

  However, these 'bullets' are like rubber and have no power and speed, so they don't hurt.

  Time passed by slowly.

  The bearded man was trying his best to dodge and the timer was reaching a minute.

  [TOOT~~~] After chief instructor Wu Tong pressed the button, the barrels quickly came to a halt. The middle display screen showed a large amount of information.

  "Within 60 seconds, 57 hits, and three contacts with the red light. Disqualified!" Chief instructor Wu Tong said as he threw the bearded man's ID back to him.

  "Just barely missed the mark" The bearded man clenched his teeth and walked out of the circle as he shaked his head.

  "Next, Luo Feng" Chief instructor Wu Tong commanded.

  After bumping fists with Yang Wu, Luo Feng walked into the circle.

  As Luo Feng stood in the circle and faced the machine's cannon, he took a deep breath. Before he entered the dojo, he constantly practiced at home. Luo Feng shines the most in these kinds of dodging exams: "Before high school exams, I get hit around 50-55 times in 60 seconds. Now that my body fitness level has increased, with my increased reaction time, passing this exam is no problem at all"

  "Remember, do not leave the circle no matter what. If you leave the circle, you instantly fail. If you come in contact with the circle's red light, you lose points" After chief instructor Wu Tong said that, he pressed the red button.

  [BEEP~~~BEEP~~~]

  The barrel of the reaction speed tester started revolving rapidly. The cannon's dozens of barrels all started to emit a red light and soon shot out the rubber bullets rapidly.

  "Hm?" Luo Feng stared ahead and rapidly calculated the positions in his head. As if he was a dextrous cat, he continuously dodged left and right and dodged the bullets one by one. Of course, some of the bullets were too fast to dodge, so he could only get hit.

  When Luo Feng was dodging, many of the fighters started to talk.

  "This kid isn't bad, his reaction speed is superb"

  "Indeed, he is fast and has a good foundation and form. Look, his feet are like a cat's pads, he never loses his balance after each turn, which allows him to rapidly change direction. This form..... if he isn't a genius or hasn't worked bitterly for ten years, then there's no way he would be able to have this kind of a solid foundation"

 

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