Kurt looked at Li Xin.
"You passed the first round. So, want to spar with Kario?"
Seeing Li Xin nod, Kurt beckoned with his hand.
The five steel balls floated back to him.
When he tossed them again, he used a technique—the balls spread out even more, some even collided midair.
It raised the difficulty significantly, demanding faster reactions and greater accuracy.
Kario’s eyes sharpened, faintly glowing red.
The Hextech Anti-Demon Rifle snapped up in her hand—
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang~~
Another perfect five shots.
Her gun sense was maxed out.
She had clearly invoked her psionic powers, raising the level.
Kario was exceptionally gifted at mental locking and visual tracking.
"Your turn."
Kario called the five steel balls back into her hand with a wave.
The difficulty of the first round had been enough, but she needed to maintain the squad captain's authority and also dampen the new guy’s momentum a little—
It would help with future squad discipline.
Young, strong, arrogant—those types tended to jump the chain of command.
Night Watchmen squads needed obedience, not personal flair.
Kario threw the five steel balls again.
Three scattered immediately, and Li Xin’s Anti-Demon Rifle fired at once.
But after colliding, two balls veered sharply, curving away unpredictably.
Li Xin’s two-handed shooting stance offered incredible stability, but very little flexibility.
He could hit one ball, but turning fast enough to hit the other was impossible.
Even Casey, halfway through tossing a sunflower seed into her mouth, froze.
Bang—
The fourth ball was hit.
But the fifth silver ball was already flying behind Li Xin, close to hitting the ground.
BOOM—
Without any pause, Li Xin let go with his left hand.
His right hand whipped around and fired a single shot—
Bang~~
At the last instant, the ball was blasted out of the air just before it hit the ground.
The training ground fell completely silent.
Then came a thunderous round of clapping and cheers.
That final shot showed real skill.
Everyone here was a Night Watchman—they could tell.
Holding a gun with both hands gave better precision—basic qualification.
But true gun sense was something different.
And just now, even if there had been some luck involved, Li Xin had proven he had it.
Kario glanced at Li Xin with a strange expression.
"Captain, I approve his marksmanship."
"Big Tooth, you can question my drinking, but don’t you dare question my taste or work ethic!"
Mo Feng sneered wildly.
"You think anyone can earn two Anti-Demon Rifles from me?"
Li Xin had indeed gotten permission to carry two Hextech Anti-Demon Rifles from Mo Feng.
He’d used a lot of sweet talk—plus everyone half-assumed he was connected to Luo Jin anyway, so no one bothered to dig too hard.
Mo Feng had known Li Xin was accurate—he just hadn’t realized he was this good under pressure.
Kurt's face darkened slightly.
He felt a little humiliated.
As a captain, being proven wrong in front of everyone stung.
In a low voice, he said, "First round—your shooting's good.
Now close combat.
Steel, give the newbie a taste of how hard this job really is.
Don't embarrass me."
"Heh, yes, Captain.
I'll make sure the new guy gets a warm welcome.
Fifth Squad is the friendliest squad," Wu Gang said, grinning toothily.
This young punk had been acting a little cocky.
As the two prepared, Mo Feng walked over to Kurt.
"Your skin’s gotten thick, huh.
With this marksmanship, he’s more than qualified to be a full member."
"Heh, I’m the captain.
It’s my call."
"Tch.
He passed my training.
You making trouble just puts my face on the line.
If he passes your stupid tests, you owe me a bottle of good liquor!"
"Deal.
If he lasts three minutes without collapsing, you can take whatever you want from my stash.
If not, that’s your problem—
You explain it to the Chief yourself.
My squad’s too small for drama."
Mo Feng chuckled.
Actually, Kurt’s guess was pretty close.
When Li Xin's placement came up, every other squad captain had found some excuse to pass.
Nobody wanted to take a "favor recruit."
Real or fake, if he screwed up later, whose fault would it be?
Too bad Kurt had been away.
Wu Gang stripped off his Night Watchmen jacket, revealing a sleeveless undershirt and a solid, powerful body.
His muscles rippled with controlled strength.
"Li Xin, you can use psionics freely.
Night Watchmen fight monsters and Awakened.
Fancy tricks don’t matter."
"Please, senior."
Li Xin carefully set aside his Anti-Demon Rifle.
Wu Gang clenched both fists, lowered his stance—
"Hah!"
With a roar, psionic power exploded out of him.
A shockwave of pure force swept the training ground—
He launched forward like lightning, appearing right in front of Li Xin, and smashed a huge fist down.
Da-da-da-da-da-da-da~~
A barrage of brutal, rapid strikes rained down on Li Xin like a violent storm.
Pa-pa-pa-pa~~
Li Xin blocked and retreated, dismantling the onslaught step by step.
Wu Gang of the Fifth Squad fought a pure power style.
Psionics enhanced muscle strength, resilience, and resistance to attacks.
His raw masculinity also gave him natural defense against dark forces like Abyssal Worms—they couldn’t even get close to him.
Seeing that Li Xin could withstand him, Wu Gang got even more excited.
With a roar, he suddenly shifted into a close-range elbow smash.
If it landed, Li Xin’s arm would break for sure.
Li Xin sidestepped just in time—
But Wu Gang’s spinning kick followed immediately, sweeping Li Xin several meters away.
Li Xin barely landed when Wu Gang charged again, caught up in the heat of battle, forgetting this was only a test.
A heavy fist came crashing down toward Li Xin's head.
Li Xin hadn’t expected a killing move.
He instinctively caught the incoming punch, guided it downward—
Wu Gang’s massive body slammed into the ground, and Li Xin’s foot swung toward Wu Gang’s throat.
Only as he moved did Li Xin realize what he was doing—
He hurriedly pulled back his strength, planting his foot into the ground instead.
BOOM...
Wu Gang hit the ground hard.
The whole training field went silent.
Even the sunflower seed spectators forgot to chew.
Just when it looked like Li Xin was going down, the tables had turned—
And hard.
Wu Gang tumbled up awkwardly but didn’t attack again.
He glanced at the crater gouged into the ground—
Then looked at Li Xin, opened his mouth, and shut it again.
Years of brutal fighting had given him an instinct for danger.
In that brief instant, it had felt like kissing death and clawing back out of hell.
Clap-clap-clap-clap-clap~~~
"Big Tooth, what do you think now?"
Mo Feng immediately started gloating.
"My training standards holding up okay?
This kid enough for you?"
Wu Gang didn’t say anything.
He could feel that Li Xin had deliberately pulled back.
Even if he wasn’t actually hurt, it was humiliating.
As a senior squad member, he couldn't keep fighting after this.
It wasn't a real duel—it was a test.
"Big Tooth, if it’s such a hassle, Second Squad’s short on people.
I’ll take him off your hands."
"Forget that.
First Squad’s the one that’s hurting.
We’re all brothers, let me have him!"
"We in Fourth Squad aren't afraid of a little trouble.
We'll take him too—new blood helps the work!"
The crowd immediately broke out arguing, eyes green with envy.
Damn it—
If they'd known the kid was this good, every squad would have snatched him up.
No way they were letting Kurt hog him now.
"Get lost, all of you!
No yelling!"
Kurt barked.
He glanced at Li Xin.
"You idiots think you’re funny?
This was an internal Fifth Squad sparring match!
Team bonding, you hear me?
You should be grateful we didn’t charge you ticket fees!
Scram, scram, don't stand there running your mouths!"
Then he turned to Mo Feng.
"Old Mo, haha, how could I really doubt you?
Just wanted to light a fire under the rookie.
Take your pick from my liquor cabinet, it’s no big deal.
We’re old friends, right?"
Mo Feng:?
"Kario! Wu Gang!
Don’t just stand there!
Show Li Xin around our patrol zones.
Tonight we’re eating well—he’s one of us now!
And tell the nosy crowd to stay far away!"
Kurt ordered, though the deep wrinkles by his eyes were twitching with suppressed laughter.
Damn it, this kid wasn’t a newbie—
He was a spearhead.
"Haha!
Come on, Li Xin, let’s go!
Ignore those idiots.
Fifth Squad’s the best—chill vibe, best atmosphere.
Call me Old Steel, and this here is Brother O—um, Sister O...
Actually, better not get it wrong."
"Wu Gang, quit being a jackass!"
"Tsk tsk, listen—
In Fifth Squad, the worst temper isn’t the Captain.
It’s Brother O.
And never play cards with her.
She’s born with an extra pair!"
Bang!
A bullet zipped right past Wu Gang’s scalp.
Seeing Kario’s murderous glare, Wu Gang immediately dragged Li Xin and bolted like hell...
(End of Chapter)