Age of Evolution

As the fifteen martial artists climbed, everyone’s attention focused on the big screen.

Because the martial artists spiraled upwards and soon became invisible to the naked eye, many small flying vehicles followed and filmed them, with their movements being shown on the screen so that those below could see.

The trunk of the Star Fruit Tree stretched up to two thousand meters, and considering its winding nature, the actual distance doubled, making each martial artist need to climb up to four thousand meters in height.

This height would be nearly insurmountable for ordinary people, but for these martial artists who had reached the War General level, it was not too difficult, especially at the beginning, where nearly everyone sprinted upwards.

At the top of the big screen were five Advanced War Generals, with five Intermediate-level War Generals in the middle and five First-level War Generals at the bottom, attracting the most attention.

Among the five advanced-level War Generals, one was from the Capital, two were from the south, and one each from Tianfu and Ice City.

Climbing itself was quite a test of the martial artists’ physical strength, especially with competitors around them. Everyone wanted to avoid being last, as Guo MO had stated that those who took too long would also be eliminated.

So the first four hundred meters was the fastest.

At this moment, the five Advanced War Generals were full of energy, and it took them less than five minutes to reach the first platform at four hundred meters. Lou Qingfeng from Ice City was the first to reach it.

A staff member immediately handed him a helmet, which Lou Qingfeng took and sat down before lying back on a recliner. Then he connected to the virtual environment.

The screen flickered a few times before displaying an image.

A young girl, who seemed to be around eleven or twelve years old and utterly weak, was walking alone in a dark alley at night, carrying a huge backpack that seemed to be too heavy for her. When she saw Lou Qingfeng, she immediately waved her hand for help.

“Uncle, can you help me?” she asked.

Lou Qingfeng was momentarily stunned before responding, “What’s the matter?”

“This is my dad’s money, and I need to bring it back home, but I can’t walk anymore. Can you help me carry it?” the girl replied.

Lou Qingfeng walked over and the girl put the backpack on the ground. From the unzipped opening, he could clearly see that it was filled with bundles of thousand-dollar bills, amounting to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions. No wonder the girl couldn’t carry it.

Lou Qingfeng looked around and noticed the deserted street. Although he was somewhat confused about why he was there, at present, the quiet alley had only him and the girl. Faced with such a huge sum of money, he felt tempted.

“Should I take the money? This little girl looks like she can’t put up any resistance. If I just pick up the backpack and leave, she won’t be able to stop me,” he thought.

The huge sum of money was tempting Lou Qingfeng, making him hesitant.

His hand slowly lifted, seemingly reaching for the backpack or perhaps the girl, causing everyone present to feel anxious.

Someone from Ice City couldn’t help but shout, “Lou Qingfeng, don’t do it! That’s a virtual environment; if you have bad intentions, you’ll be done for, and you’ll be eliminated. Ice City can’t lose face again!”

Guan Shanyue glanced at the person shouting, “It’s useless; he can’t hear you. In the virtual environment, people will believe it’s real, and this is the test of one’s inner quality.”

“Is it over?” Many people lowered their heads, unable to bear to watch.

Lin Zhen squinted slightly. He knew a bit about Lou Qingfeng.

When Lou Qingfeng was in Zhao Dong, he adhered strictly to his principles. He was well aware that his mission was to protect Li Tianhao, so he did not act when Xiao Tianzuo and Xiao Tianyou were killed.

However, later on, under Li Tianhao’s insistence and the lure of money, he relented. After Li Tianhao was killed, he was persistent in hunting down Lin Zhen, which showed that he still had principles. Although he was not a good person, he was definitely not a bad one either, so Lin Zhen had some faith in him.

As expected, Lou Qingfeng’s outstretched hand paused in mid-air, and he looked at the girl, “Where’s your house?”

“Right there!” The girl pointed to a door nearby.

“It’s so close, go back by yourself!” Lou Qingfeng said, turning away from the alley. Then the screen showed the girl heading home, and he didn’t look back.

At this point, the image suddenly ended, and the system gave a score: “6.2 points!”

“Lou Qingfeng, you didn’t help but also didn’t try to steal. Your score is 6.2, you pass, and you advance to the next round!”

People from Ice City breathed a sigh of relief, as Lou Qingfeng finally managed to restrain himself. Although he didn’t help the little girl, it was still quite remarkable, as no one could guarantee they wouldn’t be tempted in such a situation.

A staff member removed Lou Qingfeng’s helmet, and he regained consciousness. Without any expression on his face, he quickly started climbing towards the eight hundred meter mark.

At this time, the other Advanced War Generals also began their tests one after another.

However, these individuals also fared well. Three of them made the same choice as Lou Qingfeng, while another hesitated for a while before helping the girl carry the backpack to her doorstep.

All five Advanced War Generals successfully passed the test, easing everyone’s nerves and making them believe that they would be fine if they went up too.

Advanced War Generals continued to climb, and at this time, Intermediate War Generals also arrived at the first platform, with five of them beginning their tests.

Among the Intermediate War Generals, two people made the same choice as Lou Qingfeng, and two others chose to accompany the little girl to her doorstep.

However, a Martial Artist from Tianfu Base City actually snatched the backpack and fled when the little girl was about to reach her doorstep!

The little girl cried loudly behind him, but he didn’t show any hesitation, sprinting even faster and soon disappeared at the entrance of the alley.

The scene ended there, and the system gave him a score of 3.0.

Those with less than six points would be eliminated, and there was no doubt that he was eliminated!

Many watching Martial Artists laughed loudly, and some people from Tianfu even angrily cursed.

“Damn! What a shameless man! He even steals a child’s money, completely disgracing us Tianfu Martial Artists. His elimination isn’t enough; his situation must be reported back to Tianfu Base City, and he should be left homeless and eventually beaten to death in the street!”

However, many people maintained solemn expressions, realizing that this test was not that simple. It proved that Martial Artists inside could not distinguish illusion from reality and would think it was the real world. The dim alley, weak little girl, and huge sum of money were all objectively designed to tempt people into committing crimes. Not only these bloodthirsty Martial Artists but even ordinary people might succumb to making mistakes under these circumstances.

So many people didn’t laugh but worried about their own fate. They wondered if they could really hold themselves back when the time came. Failing would not only mean elimination, but also a stain on their entire life.

When the eliminated Tianfu Intermediate War General took off his helmet, he looked around and immediately became pale, embarrassingly leaving and sprinting down the way he came up.

He wanted to leave the God Generals Training Camp immediately, but the rules stated that the eliminated would be arranged to leave uniformly. For the time being, his life was bound to be difficult.

After the Intermediate War Generals finished, the Junior War Generals also climbed up to the 400-meter platform, but their speed was not as fast as Advanced War Generals and Intermediate War Generals.

Most of them successfully passed the test, panting as they climbed onto the platform.

Finally, it was Shen Yuhua from the Ice City Base City’s turn.

Whenever a Martial Artist went up, the introduction on the system’s large screen would show. In Shen Yuhua’s case, it read, “Ice City Base City Gale Martial Arts Hall – First-level War General, Shen Yuhua.”

Many Martial Artists present were from Gale Martial Arts Halls in various Base Cities. For example, Jiang Huai from the Advanced War General group was from Demon Capital Gale Martial Arts Hall.

Seeing that Shen Yuhua was also from a Gale Martial Arts Hall, many people cheered for him.

“Go for it, kid! Don’t embarrass Gale.’

“I support you, Ice City brother! You must pass the test smoothly!”

Lin Zhen watched from below. Although he didn’t like Shen Yuhua, as a member of Ice City and Gale Martial Arts Hall, he hoped that Shen Yuhua could pass, especially the first test.

Martial Artist. Just like the Tianfu Martial Artist earlier, his actions had tarnished the entire Tianfu Base City’s reputation.

Shen Yuhua put on the helmet, and the scene appeared.

In the dim alley, the little girl appeared again, calling for Shen Yuhua’s help.

Shen Yuhua looked at the little girl with impatience: “Just walk by yourself; I don’t have time to coax children.”

“Uncle, please help me. This is my dad’s money, and I need to get it back to him.” The little girl pleaded softly.

“Money? What money? Is it your pocket money given by your father?” Shen Yuhua said, but his steps still moved slowly to the little girl’s side.

When the little girl opened the backpack, Shen Yuhua’s eyes lit up. From the observers’ perspective, his eyes sparkled passionately at that moment, like a close-up in a movie, frighteningly clear and sending chills down their spines.

Shen Yuhua smiled and picked up the backpack: “Alright, I’ll take you. But I don’t know where your house is, so you lead the way.”

“Okay, my house is nearby. Follow me, uncle,” the little girl said, hopping and skipping ahead while Shen Yuhua followed.

The Ice City Martial Artists watching breathed a sigh of relief since Shen Yuhua seemed to be doing well.

However, just when they were about to reach the little girl’s doorstep, Shen Yuhua made a move that shocked everyone!

He quietly took out a sword and, taking advantage of the darkness, silently thrust it into the little girl’s back!

There was no scream and no bloodshed. The scene ended there, as this was enough to test a person’s character.. Shen Yuhua’s score was zero! He was eliminated!