I will eventually become a divine being through accumulating constantly

South District, White Crow Base.

Xue Jing was half reclining on a lounge chair, his right elbow resting on the armrest, his palm lightly clenched into a fist supporting his right chin, with his left hand holding a mobile phone, scrolling through the data on it.

"Xue, what is this?"

Ning Yuantai asked curiously from beside him.

Xue Jing handed him the phone screen for a moment and said,

"The regulations for martial arts examination officers."

Ning Yuantai glanced at the screen, saw over a hundred densely written requirements, and instantly felt overwhelmed. He waved his hand and said with a scoff,

"This stuff is just for writing; who really follows it? Like this Rule 62, forbidding threats, intimidation, insults, or any action that could harm a candidate's mental health… It's ridiculous. If the examiners don't establish their authority, how can they manage the candidates? This is just nonsense for naive parents."

Mountain Demon also came over to take a look and interjected,

"You usually only need to pay attention to the key few rules – just don't kill all the candidates you're responsible for. Trying to follow everything to the letter is endless."

Xue Jing nodded to show he understood and said, "I see."

Ning Yuantai chortled, "Martial arts examinations aren't child's play; they are meant to sift out those suited for fighting and killing. It's pretty normal for two or three people to die in an exam... Hey Xue, which exam venue are you responsible for?"

Xue Jing replied, "The Seventh Metropolitan Circle, Silver City."

"Ah?" Ning Yuantai scratched his head.

His expression changed, and he looked puzzled.

"It's there... Then the death toll might be more than just two or three."

Mountain Demon stroked his chin, "Looks like you are being targeted, Lord Jing, to be assigned to such a hellish place."

Xue Jing responded noncommittally, "Oh? How so?"

"The martial arts examinations, each urban circle, even every city, arranges them differently."

"Those in the Seventh Metropolitan Circle are especially brutal."

Ning Yuantai looked worried.

"The level of development of martial arts there, as well as the atmosphere, is unimaginable for people from other urban circles... I once had a mission there and stayed for over a month, getting a taste of it."

"The atmosphere is intense; it's nearly a case of everyone being a martial artist. When the kindergarteners finish school, those kids shorter than my thigh are all using light-body techniques to climb over the walls and out of the yard."

Mountain Demon added, "It's not that exaggerated, you probably saw a special kindergarten for grooming martial arts talents; it's not everyone who is a martial artist, at most half the population has practiced martial arts."

"That's still pretty exaggerated," Ning Yuantai clicked his tongue.

"Here in the Fifth Urban Circle, if one in fifty people has practiced martial arts, that would be pretty good; those who make a living solely as martial artists are even rarer."

"Anyway, that place is outrageous, the whole range from civilians to government officials is full of hot-tempered fighters, quick to engage in combat which makes many of their policies extremely aggressive, much more thrilling than in other urban circles."

"And as for martial arts exams, others urban circles are relatively mild, such as arranging candidates to duel on a stage with a stop at touch policy, or sending them to regulated crossing areas to babysit and gain experience... Those are the simpler types of exams."

"If the Seventh Metropolitan Circle arranges duels, unless they beat each other's brains out, they won't consider it deciding a winner. They strongly believe extreme situations will bring out a person's full potential, and often there are cases of desperate last-minute turnarounds. And when training in regulated crossing areas, they only send in rescue after confirming that the candidate has completely lost the ability to resist, so you can imagine the casualty rates."

"The most brutal are the 'combined exams'." Ning Yuantai shook his head and sighed.

Xue Jing interestedly asked, "What are those?"

With a grin, Mountain Demon said, "Ever heard of a battle royale? It's pretty similar to that."

"Several or even a dozen examination areas combine, select an appropriate crossed boundary, and enter it together, allowing candidates to disperse either solo or in small teams. If they encounter each other, they fight."

"It continues until only the last team or individual remains, after which, based on the overall situation of the exam, the candidates' performances are assessed and scored."

"Although the rules of each combined exam are different, basically, that's the approach. The martial arts examinations of the Seventh Metropolitan Circle, especially those located in the inner ring, features many enthusiasts of this every year, and the casualty rates are terrifyingly high. There's a baseline of over 30% dead candidates, and twenty years ago, there was the most brutal instance where one exceptionally strong psychopath killed everyone except himself, being the sole survivor."

Xue Jing was also surprised, "Is that even possible? After such a severe incident, the 'combined exams' haven't been abolished?"

Ning Yuantai spread his hands, "That's the perverseness of the Seventh Metropolitan Circle for you... After that incident, they only changed some rules to limit those extreme cases but didn't ban it; the battle royale exam format still prevails."

"But to give credit where it's due, as cruel as it is, this method does indeed tend to produce talented individuals. Almost anyone who survives it achieves great things in the future, though it does often come with some personality issues."

"There are quite a few who have experienced it in Cease-Blades; I've interacted with them, and they are all tough characters."

Xue Jing shook his head, "It sounds a bit anti-human."

Laughing, Mountain Demon said, "It's actually pretty normal; it's mainly a matter of the overall atmosphere. Most people in the Seventh Metropolitan Circle are bloodthirsty, what the leaders demonstrate, the people emulate, and what the people accept, the authorities consider normal. The entire societal structure leans toward being extremely aggressive, so 'an exam where people die' naturally becomes a commonplace, uncontroversial matter."