Liu Yang glanced at Scarface Mouse and said, "Have someone clean up these bodies. Now that Black Tiger is dead, you'll be in charge of handling the base's daily affairs for me."
"Huh? Me? I can't do that! My strength isn't anywhere near enough," Scarface Mouse stammered frantically. "It's better if Big Sister White Fox takes over the base."
Previously, he didn't even rank among the base's notable figures. How could he possibly be worthy of managing the entire survivor base?
With White Fox's strength, killing ten men like him wouldn't cost her any effort.
Liu Yang replied indifferently, "White Fox is already my woman. She'll be leaving this place with me. The active superhumans in this base are mostly dead anyway, making you the strongest one left. What is there to be afraid of? Besides, with Black Tiger's corpse as a warning, no one will dare step out of line."
Scarface Mouse still wore an anxious, reluctant expression. "This..."
"If you're told to manage it, just manage it! It's only assisting with administration anyway," White Fox interjected sharply, tossing him a glare. "Liu Yang is busy every single day-how could he have time for these minor details? It's not like he's giving you the entire base as your personal kingdom. What's there to refuse? If you mess up, I'll hold you directly accountable!"
She had warned him earlier to call her Sister-in-law instead of Big Sister, yet this guy kept forgetting.
This little mouse was truly exasperating.
However...
Hearing Liu Yang personally declare that she was his woman sent a quiet surge of delight through White Fox's heart.
Liu Yang nodded. "White Fox is right. Moving on-I heard there's a Testing Stele in this base that evaluates a superhuman's combat power. Is that true?"
Scarface Mouse nodded repeatedly. "Yes, there is a Testing Stele. But in this entire survivor base, only Black Tiger, White Fox, and Zhang Jinglin managed to make it onto the rankings. Guys like Falcon and me are way too weak-we don't even qualify to have our names on it."
"Good. Take me there!" Liu Yang's interest was instantly piqued.
Aside from killing Black Tiger, his main goal in coming to this base was to measure his own power and see what kind of rewards he could extract from the stele.
Zhang Jinglin had obtained a top-tier tachi just by passing his test. If Liu Yang took the test, would his reward be even more incredible?
Just thinking about it filled him with expectation.
Led by Scarface Mouse and White Fox, Liu Yang soon arrived before the Testing Stele.
The stele was massive, towering four stories high like a colossal rectangular monument.
Its surface was densely etched with superhumans' names, organized neatly under four distinct leaderboards:
Heaven, Earth, Mystic, and Yellow.
Each list contained exactly one thousand names.
In other words, a candidate had to rank within the top 1,000 globally just to earn a spot on a leaderboard.
Anyone below 1,000 didn't even leave a name.
Scanning the lists, Liu Yang noticed that the top ten spots on each leaderboard were held by individuals from various nations across the world.
The global balance of top-tier superhumans appeared remarkably even.
The number one spot on the Yellow Ranking belonged to someone named Li Tianba-a name clearly originating from the Divine Dragon Empire.
The top spot on the Mystic Ranking was Jackson from the White Eagle Empire.
The top spot on the Earth Ranking was Khamzat Chimayev from the Savage Bear Empire.
And the top spot on the Heaven Ranking was held by Hiroyuki Yamada from the Little Sun Empire.
So these ranking steles were connected globally?
A mere weakling from the Little Sun Empire holding the top spot on the Heaven Ranking?
Liu Yang let out a cold smirk. Just wait until I drag him down under my boots.
"Where's your name?" Liu Yang asked White Fox.
"Over here," White Fox pointed toward a specific line of text. Liu Yang followed her gaze.
Her real name was listed as Bai Ling, ranked 897th on the Yellow Ranking.
White Fox pouted in annoyance. "Dammit! A few days ago I was still around rank 830. In just a couple of days, dozens of people pushed past me. It seems more and more people are awakening abilities-and powerful ones at that..."
Rankings were dynamic, not fixed.
Whenever a newcomer completed a test with a higher score, everyone below them was pushed back a slot.
If pushed back too far, a person would be dropped off the board entirely.
"Can't you retest?" Liu Yang asked.
White Fox shook her head. "I tried, but it's useless. Retesting drains immense time and stamina, and rewards are only granted on the very first attempt. Retesting only updates your ranking position-no new rewards are given unless you manage to break into a higher tier, like moving from the Yellow Ranking up to the Mystic Ranking."
"I see." Liu Yang nodded in understanding. "What is the test like?"
"It's different for everyone, but the core mechanics involve clearing waves of monsters," White Fox explained. "The stele contains 100 stages. When I took the Yellow Ranking test, I only managed to clear Stage 12."
"Interesting. I'll give it a shot," Liu Yang said, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
White Fox pointed to the base of the monument. "Just place your hand on the stele. It will scan you and transport you inside."
"Alright."
Liu Yang stepped forward and pressed his palm flat against the cold stone surface.
Instantly, a faint electric current surged from his palm, sweeping across his entire body in a numbing pulse. A brilliant red light flashed, and he vanished from the spot, drawn directly into the stele.
---
Inside the stele was an immense, cavernous space-a giant square arena measuring a hundred meters in length, width, and height.
Glowing lines of system text floated into view high above the hall:
[Detected Superhuman possesses S-Rank Ability. Current strength meets the entry requirement for the Heaven Ranking Test. Proceed with the Heaven Ranking Test?]
Liu Yang's eyes widened slightly in surprise. This stele can instantly read my power level and ability rank?
Does that mean everyone attempting the Heaven Ranking Test has at least an S-rank ability? A-rank abilities correspond to the Earth Ranking, and so on?
Without a second thought, he spoke aloud: "Begin test!"
[Test Commencing!]
Ten zombies materialized out of thin air.
Unlike ordinary braindead wanderers, these zombies had sharp, focused eyes. They exchanged glances, demonstrating clear tactical intelligence and mutual cooperation.
Each one held a gleaming long blade.
"Weapon proficiency and tactical coordination? These must be at least Level 2 zombies," Liu Yang observed. "Spawning ten Level 2 zombies right at Stage 1? For a normal superhuman, this would be a death trap. Too bad for them, I'm not normal."
Without hesitating, Liu Yang drew his black tachi and burst forward.
"Flash! Flash! Flash!"
In less than ten seconds, all ten zombies were decapitated, their heads rolling across the floor.
Liu Yang's base attributes were currently 16.5 times that of an average human. Level 2 zombies only possessed physical stats roughly twice the human baseline-roughly equivalent to a standard Level 1 superhuman.
While a standard Level 1 superhuman possessed abilities to outmaneuver Level 2 zombies in a 1-v-1 fight, facing ten coordinated Level 2 zombies at once would overwhelm almost any ordinary beginner.
To Liu Yang, however, their movements were painfully slow-like turtles creeping through mud.
Whether it was ten or ten thousand, it made no difference to his blade.
The glowing text above shifted:
[Congratulations on clearing Stage 1. Proceed to the next stage?]
"Confirm! Send in the next stage!" Liu Yang declared.
The arena shifted, and twenty Level 2 zombies materialized before him.
Liu Yang scoffed coldly. "A gap in absolute power can't be bridged by mere numbers. Can't you summon something with an actual challenge?"
Gripping his blade, he charged into the pack once more, severing their heads in a flurry of silver flashes.
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