Outside, the wind carried the dust of hundreds of footsteps. Candidates moved between trials with focused eyes and strained limbs, some barely holding their breath, others striding forward with quiet confidence. Among them, Lin Hao and Qingyue walked side by side, having completed the first set of physical evaluations.
Behind them, dozens of other recruits continued their respective trials. Grunts of exertion echoed across the training fields. Shouts. Impact. The occasional metallic clang of someone failing too early.
But far from the noise—above, in a sealed observation hall—a different group watched everything unfold.
A dozen high-ranking officers stood before a massive wall of spiritual monitors. Formed by overlapping image arrays, each screen projected a separate testing area in real-time. The room was cool, silent, thick with tension and experience.
At the center stood a tall man with a shaved head and bronze armor. His arms were crossed behind his back.
General Rong Tiechuan, commander of the Southern Field Corps. A veteran of seven beast tide campaigns.
To his right stood Colonel Mei Jinsu, head of talent selection and special recruitment. Her sharp eyes missed nothing, her mind rumored to be sharper than any blade in the arsenal.
On the left, leaning against the wall with casual posture, was Lieutenant Commander Fei Lan, head instructor of the academy's elite combat unit.
Rong Tiechuan narrowed his eyes at the readings.
"Candidate #427," he said. "Lin Hao."
A projection hovered before him, displaying Lin Hao's trial data:Strike Force: 985 kg Agility Speed: 62.3 m/s Endurance Score: Stable-High
"That agility is already past the initial threshold for Iron Body," he murmured.
Colonel Mei nodded. "He's still listed at Stage One. But that speed isn't normal for the peak of Marrow Washing. And that strike—just a bit more force, and he'll break the next wall."
Fei Lan whistled under his breath. "He's one clean step away."
Another display showed Qingyue's numbers:
Strike Force: 991 kg Agility Speed: 59.7 m/s Endurance Score: Stable-High
Colonel Mei pointed. "She's even closer. If I had to guess, Yuan Qingyue will touch Iron Body within the month. Her muscle control is already shifting."
Rong Tiechuan didn't reply immediately.
He turned toward the other officers in the room—each overseeing a different regional intake.
"Remind me," he said, "what's the expected benchmark for a proper Stage One candidate?"
One of the instructors answered quickly. "850 kilograms of strike force. Fifty meters per second agility minimum. Stable vitals during resistance tests. Those three form the line between early completion and instability."
"And for a newly-advanced Stage Two?"
"About 1000 kilograms. Sixty to sixty-five meters per second. Endurance must be able to hold under Stage Two spiritual pressure fields for at least twenty minutes."
The general gestured at the monitors.
"Then what we're seeing here is two recruits brushing against that line."
Lieutenant Commander Fei leaned forward. "They haven't even shown mental cultivation yet. But judging by their efficiency and reaction timing, they're already trained in tandem movement. I'd wager these two have sparred together for years."
Colonel Mei flicked her hand, and the feed zoomed in on Lin Hao and Qingyue standing near the second arena.
"They're not just compatible," she said. "They're synchronized. That's rare. And dangerous—in the right way."
Another instructor, standing near the back, crossed his arms. "So we've got a batch of eighty percent mediocrity, ten percent passables… and two monsters."
Rong Tiechuan grunted. "Not monsters. Prospects."
Then he looked away from the screens, as if seeing a battlefield only he remembered.
"If they survive the rest of the trials," he said, "we may be looking at two of the future bastions of the human defense lines."
No one disagreed.