Aji walked out of the inn, intending to meet someone by the lake. Aji quickened his pace. The person Aji wanted to meet was Aaman. Aaman himself had left a letter for Aji with the inn's servant. Aaman had just finished inspecting and reporting on several branches of the intercontinental security forces.

Before he could go far, a woman walked in the opposite direction. In front of the inn, the woman was none other than Alicia. Alicia had long hair, some loose and some braided. Her face was graceful and beautiful. They passed each other.

Alicia paused for a moment as Aji continued walking away.

"Excuse me, young man!" Alicia, along with her two friends, Rosa and Yara, stared at Aji's back. Rosa and Yara paid little attention to Aji, but they stopped too because Alicia called out to him.

Aji stopped and turned around. "Can I help you, Miss?"

Several passersby felt a little envious of Aji. The woman was Alicia, a national favorite, and the granddaughter of the most powerful legendary warrior, Yonan's grandson.

"Um..." Alicia hesitated to continue. She noticed that the man was unassuming in appearance. However, she sensed that he possessed a very different and unique ability compared to others. Alicia sensed that this man could be relied upon someday. The faint energy radiating from his walk was rarely felt by others.

Unlike Alicia, who could sense a person's inner strength, she herself had been with her beloved grandfather, Yonan, since she was a child for about four years.

"Excuse me, I'm Alicia. You're a member of the Heavenly Troops, on Barsha's team, aren't you?" Alicia smiled, and indeed, any normal man who saw that smile would be captivated by it.

Aji didn't care much about that, but he knew that the woman before him was Yonan's granddaughter. So, Aji smiled slightly, albeit stiffly, "Okay, my name is Aji Bagaskara, just call me Aji."

The words were cold, flat, and stiff. Alicia felt that this man named Aji was indeed special. "Okay, Aji, please help me in the future. We'll work well together if we pass the Sky Troops exam tomorrow."

Alicia's smile reminded Aji of his good friend, Yonan. Aji simply nodded, "Okay, Alicia, I hope we can work well together in the future. And..." Aji seemed to stop short of his sentence, "You look very much like your grandfather, Yonan. Well then, see you again at the exam tomorrow."

Aji turned and continued walking briskly. Alicia was still stunned by the young man, who seemed unresponsive. How could she not be? Alicia always received attention from everyone. And then, the man just walked away from her. He was indeed very modest in his attire. However, Aji's appearance left a deep impression on Alicia.

But... that wasn't the only thing that captivated Alicia. But Aji's last words were telling him that he resembled her grandfather, Yonan. Was Aji a fan and admirer of her grandfather, so he understood his character so well?

Oh well!

Rosa and Yara had been waiting for her, and Alicia invited them into the restaurant for breakfast.

Aji continued on his way. He entered a forest, and at the edge of the forest, his companion was waiting. Aji slipped through the forest, moving swiftly from tree to tree, continuing to be stealthy.

Aji knew someone had been following him. The person following him also felt he had lost track of him. He quickly searched for him and slipped from a tree branch above. His eyes darted around, but he couldn't find Aji.

"That bastard's so fast!" It was a woman's voice. The woman was Barsha. She was annoyed and wanted to find out Aji's identity. Barsha herself was also annoyed because she saw that Aji had been chatting so intimately with Alicia.

Was it jealousy? No! Barsha shook her head. It wasn't jealousy; it was Barsha's suspicion of Aji. The final attack method in the second test of the Heavenly Troops had left a deep impression on Barsha.

As a level 7 assassin, Barsha had experienced the immense power of a high-level assassin moving at breakneck speed. Her eyes couldn't even keep up with the speed of the movement and the energy clashes.

When Barsha regained consciousness, she saw only three remaining members of the assault team, and they seemed shocked and unable to do anything. Then, Barsha easily incapacitated them quickly when the energy mist cleared, allowing Barsha to easily incapacitate the remaining three.

Barsha suspected that the lightning-fast attack was carried out by Aji. However, she couldn't be sure, as such speed could only be achieved by a super assassin with a skill level of perhaps 9. The Aji Barsha that he had known so far was a figure with warrior strength and basic attack power.

Warriors are known for their powerful, wide-area attacks, not quick, deadly attacks, but they lack strong defense. Could any human possess the abilities of both a warrior and an assassin?

It seems impossible.

Then, when the lightning attack struck, taking down dozens of attacking examiners, the time span was incredibly short, perhaps even a second. At that moment, even Barsha could still feel Aji's energy lingering nearby. This meant it wasn't Aji who executed the lightning-fast assassination attack.

Or was someone actually intervening, at Aji's request, to help them complete the second test?

These mysteries left Barsha's head spinning. Aji also suddenly disappeared, as if he knew he was being followed.

Barsha was increasingly convinced that Aji was hiding something from everyone. Who was Aji, this figure who had supposedly just come down from the mountain and had no identity? It was as if he had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

And the fact that he was good friends with her cousin Aaman was odd. Was it because he had only recently discovered that Aaman was friends with Aji?

Barsha needed to know who Aji really was.

***

"Have you been waiting long, Aaamn?" Aji approached Aaman, who was leaning against a tree on the edge of the clear lake.

Aaman was sure that Aji would come to see him soon after receiving the letter. He had information to share, and this information was very important to him.

"You're too early, my friend, Aji," Aaman began to greet Aji with a familiar greeting, Aaman learning to speak normally like a friend, "Sit down, there's something important I need to tell you."

Aaman's face looked serious. Aji realized that there was a serious air about what Aaman wanted to convey to him. This wasn't a joke. Was it about the dark forces? Aji followed Aaman, who sat on the edge of the clear lake water. Aman tried to sense the energy around them, Aman!

"Be careful, Aji. I have important information: the dark forces will interfere with tomorrow's test." Aaman lowered his voice slightly, not wanting anyone to hear this important information.

"Has Mondu made his move yet?" Aji looked into Aaman's eyes.

Aaman was also surprised. How did Aji know about Mondu? This meant that the figure before him was indeed the real Lightning Striker. Believe it or not, Aaman was now even more convinced that the young man before him was truly the Lightning Striker.

The term "Mondu" is a secret term that not everyone is allowed to use. This is because the Mondu have spread throughout the country, and their existence is top secret. Alliance security forces from across the continent are aware of this, but they dare not casually call or judge any official as a "Mondu."

The Mondu truly exist and have infiltrated government bodies across the continent, but if they accuse them wrongly, the consequences are significant for daring to slander them.

Valid information indicates that important figures from the Dark Forces will infiltrate and sneak into the third test of the Heavenly Forces. Whether they will be disguised or otherwise, we have not yet been able to confirm exactly what they want.

Aaman explained what the security forces were investigating. This was due to the limited information they had. The third test itself was unknown, and only the elders knew about it. Aaman then told Aji about it. The specifics of the third test were unknown, but confirmation that a dark force would be sneaking in had been obtained.

The intentions of the dark forces who infiltrated and sneaked into the third test remain unknown. Their mission is unknown, as are the specifics of the third test.

So, the security personnel speculated that the dark forces' infiltrators likely wanted to derail all the participants as Heavenly Troops. That was perhaps their only conclusion. Sensing the danger, Aaman passed this information on to Aji, warning him to be cautious in facing any potential consequences.

He even advised him to guard Barsha in case anything happened during the test.

"They've always preferred to hide as long as their leader, Lord Demon, isn't ready to rule the world. If they come, just destroy them."

Aji's confidence made Aaman feel justified in informing Aji as quickly as possible. Aji was a great hope for the current martial arts world. His strength was crucial if Lord Demon truly came and sought to rule the world.