Heroes Return

"And this one? The Longquan Ancient Sword, you can take it home for 698, and I'll also give you the Juque Ancient Sword forged by Ou Yezi."

"This design is quite nice," the customer remarked, but his gaze fell upon a beautifully crafted bow.

"You have good taste. This Tear of the Stars is a high-grade weapon, but it's a bit pricey, 1,980. I'll also throw in a Demon Fang Club for you."

"My girlfriend would probably like this. I don't want that spiked club, it's too big. I'll take this bow."

"Yes, sir, no problem."

After paying, the customer suddenly looked at the four ancient swords floating behind Lin Jie.

"These four look quite interesting," the guest said, walking towards the four swords.

"Those are exhibits, not for sale! Hey, don't touch them!" Lin Jie said to the customer, but it was too late.

Before the guest's hand could even touch the suspended longsword, his fingers vanished, blood spurting out. A scream echoed through the alley.

"Damn it, I told you not to touch it! These are the Four Swords of Zhuxian, weapons that can destroy everything in their path! How dare you touch them?" Lin Jie said to the person in front of him, "You touched them recklessly, so I'm not paying for your medical bills."

"What's there?" Several people in urban management uniforms ran into the alley upon hearing the sound.

"Damn it, the city management officers are here!!" Lin Jie quickly packed up his things.

Chapter Six

Looking at the massive, ultra-modern building in front of him, Lin Jie couldn't help but sigh, "They really are incredibly wealthy."

“Of course, the Hero Association is a product of the world’s strongest heroes and the most advanced science and technology.” With that, Xiao Zhan led him to the hall: “This is a brand new order that was born thanks to the efforts of many superhero predecessors.”

After speaking, Xiao Zhan pointed to the statue in the middle of the hall and then to Lin Jie.

The leading statue is a person completely shrouded in a black robe.

“I know the one in the lead is Zero, but who are the people behind him?” Lin Jie asked, pointing to the other statues.

"What have you been doing all these years staying at home? They are all superheroes who fought alongside Zero, and it is thanks to their efforts that the Hero Association exists today," Xiao Zhan said.

"Really?" Lin Jie thought to himself, "How come I have absolutely no recollection of fighting alongside these people?"

"Let me tell you, the people on these statues are all SS-level superheroes. They represent the most powerful guardians of order in the entire World Federation." Xiao Zhan continued to enthusiastically introduce the origins of the people on the statues to Lin Jie.

"To be honest, I always thought this was a product of the superhero registration bill from five years ago," Lin Jie said.

"Let's not talk about this anymore, because this bill has caused the World Alliance to lose a lot of superheroes."

Upon hearing Lin Jie mention the "Superhero Registration Act," Xiao Zhan's expression changed.

Unbeknownst to Lin Jie, while he was at home, the heroes opposing the Superhero Registration Act had engaged in a fierce conflict with those supporting it. Ultimately, the superheroes, backed by the World Government, emerged victorious. After all, the government had tight control over media coverage at the time, and the military had also joined the conflict.

The protests ultimately ended in defeat for the opposition, and many of the superheroes who were active at the time were labeled criminals after the incident, some even being imprisoned.

"Let's not talk about this anymore," Xiao Zhan said. "We're here to give you a superhero qualification exam, and we can't concern ourselves with anything else."

Before long, the two arrived at the place where superhero registration was processed. After paying a certain processing fee, Lin Jie was led to a room.

A bald, burly man was standing there at that moment.

"Name?"

"Lin Jie".

"I'm asking you for the name of your superhero."

"Whatever," Lin Jie said.

He then saw that the big man had indeed written the four characters "Casual Warrior" on it.

"What type of ability do you have? We'll conduct a system test for you," the burly man said.

"To kill someone."

"Are you kidding me? There are plenty of people who can kill; almost all superpowers can kill. Be more specific, are you talking about superpowers or physical skills?"

"This..." Lin Jie couldn't quite describe it for a moment: "It's like picking it up and swinging it around with force."

As he spoke, Lin Jie made a chopping motion.

"A strength-based class? You brought your own equipment, didn't you?" the burly man said.

"Yes."

"Alright, come with me." With that, the burly man led Lin Jie into the sword training room. "Alright, enough talk. Take out your weapon. If you can last 3 minutes under my attack, I'll give you a passing score of 60. If you can last more than 3 hours, I'll give you 100."

"What if I defeat you?" Lin Jie asked curiously.

"Hahahaha." The man laughed loudly: "Almost 80% of the newcomers who come to register ask this question, but let me tell you, that's impossible! Do you think someone without strength can come here to be your examiner? Let me tell you, I am a B-rank hero with the title of 'War Tank Atan'."

"Oh, I'm relieved to see you're so strong," Lin Jie said.

"Now, do you see the one-way glass around here?" The burly man pointed to the one-way glass high up and said, "Perform well, and maybe some senior will take a liking to your abilities and invite you to team up. High-level heroes often pass by here."

“Oh, okay, I already have teammates,” Lin Jie said.

"Alright, kid, enough with the nonsense. If you can last 3 minutes, I'll give you a passing grade."

As he spoke, a metallic luster appeared on Atan's body, his hands transformed into two greatswords, and sparks flew from his legs: "Let me remind you, kid, I'm a superhero with speed, attack power, and defense all in one. Don't blame me if you accidentally get hurt."

"Don't worry, it should be fine." Lin Jie said, taking out his spiked club from his pocket.

"Alright, let's begin."

As soon as he finished speaking, Atan's legs unleashed tremendous power, shooting towards Lin Jie in a streak of fire. Lin Jie, however, had just raised his spiked club.

"Tch, this guy's only at this level. Looks like he won't even last 5 seconds." War Tank Atan thought disdainfully to himself, then swung his greatsword at the person in front of him.

At this moment, Lin Jie suddenly increased the speed of his hand, and the spiked club fell towards Atan's head at an extremely fast speed.

"Did you think this kind of attack would work on me again?" A mocking smile appeared on Atan's lips, and one of his hands suddenly transformed into a huge alloy shield.

The next moment, the spiked club collided with the alloy shield. A huge shockwave reverberated throughout the training room.

……

A chilling sensation washed over Atan's face, and he slowly opened his eyes.

"Where am I?" Atan asked blankly, then looked around. "Training room?? Right, I was just testing new recruits."

"Did you finally remember?" A beautiful girl with long silver hair was standing next to Atan.

"Miss Dong, what are you doing here? What happened to me?" Yatan asked in surprise. He then tried to stand up, but after several attempts, he was unable to do so. Only then did he realize that his entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

"Did you notice?"

"I... I was defeated? It was that kid from earlier. I only remember we just started fighting... and then... I... I can't remember anything? What happened, Miss Dong?" Atan looked at the person in front of him in confusion: "You were there just now, weren't you?"

Miss Dong nodded: "I saw it."

“Tell me, what happened after we exchanged a single blow?” Artan asked. “Why can’t I remember anything after that?”

"Because after that there was nothing left; you fell to the ground after one blow."

"You...you mean I was instantly killed by that newbie in one hit?" Artan said incredulously.

Miss Dong simply nodded: "He's very strong; judging from his current strength, he's at least A-level."

"What about the others?"

"Two hours ago, because we couldn't wake you up, we had someone else take him to the written test."

"Really? I was unconscious for over two hours? I didn't expect there to be such a strong guy. Thinking back to how I looked before, I really looked like a clown." Artan sat there dejectedly. "You didn't come to see me get instantly killed, did you?"

"Yes."

……

In the written exam room, Lin Jie was looking at the questions in front of him.

Why do you want to be a superhero?

"To avoid being punished by my sister," Lin Jie wrote.

Q: What is our primary mission as superheroes?

"Hmm... Slay people, slay monsters."

'As a superhero, how should you present yourself to the public?'

"Anything is fine, it's so annoying."

What should you do if you encounter a criminal taking hostages?

"It was cut down as quickly as possible."

What's the most effective method when you encounter a monster?

"Chopped."

'When you encounter someone from another world...'

"Chopped."

'When you encounter extraterrestrial life...'

"Chopped."

'When you...'

"Chopped."

'...'

"Chopped."

……

After looking at the entire scroll filled with the word "cut," Lin Jie looked at the last question with satisfaction.

Write down your ideals of heroism.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Jie picked up his pen and wrote: "A hero? I stopped wanting to be one a long time ago. Because I don't understand if everything I've done is truly righteous? Can I really be called a hero?"

……

After handing in his exam paper, Lin Jie received his results.

"How are your grades?" Xiao Zhan asked as he approached Lin Jie.