Tian Dao Club, Holographic Intelligent Beast Challenge

When Wang Xian arrived, the lobby of the club was already packed with students.

"Over here!"

Zhou Xukun waved at Wang Xian.

As Wang Xian walked over, he overheard a group of students murmuring among themselves.

"Not just our No.7 High School is here… No.4 High School, Prince’s Martial Arts High, and others are here too…"

"Of course. We have a martial arts class, and so do they… These high schools all have strong programs."

"I heard No.1 High School went to the Rongcheng branch of the Divine Sword Club…"

"The Divine Sword Club? Isn’t that the biggest martial arts club in Dragon Country?"

"That’s way more prestigious than the Heavenly Blade Club…"

Amid the whispers, Wang Xian listened for a while but had no interest in joining the conversation.

After waiting for over ten minutes, he finally saw Ye Miyue walk into the lobby wearing a simple school uniform.

He gave a slight nod to himself.

"Alright, everyone’s here!"

Zhou Dahai counted the students. "Follow me—time to begin training!"

The students nodded in unison and fell silent.

Then, accompanied by Zhou Dahai and a club staff member, they swiped their cards and took the elevator to the fifth floor.

The Rongcheng branch of the Heavenly Blade Club occupied an entire high-rise building with over twenty floors.

Starting from the fifth floor, there were numerous training facilities.

Along the way, the staff member briefly explained the general training process.

With Zhou Dahai’s additional explanations, it was easy to understand.

"For the gravity training chambers, we’re temporarily offering two options for students: one with ten times gravity."

"Your goal is to perform a complete set of your learned martial arts techniques in that environment. Once you can do that, you’ve succeeded in the training."

"The faster you achieve it, the higher your score."

"As for the scores…"

The staff member smiled. "Consider it an evaluation from our club. Don’t worry too much about it. Your score won’t restrict your access to any training equipment."

The group nodded.

"The other option is twenty times gravity, but that’s only for students with a life force above 5."

"It’s not available during winter break."

Not that it would matter anyway.

Forget twenty times—even ten times gravity would make performing a martial arts set incredibly difficult.

"Isn’t the difficulty too high?" one student couldn’t help but ask.

Ordinary people could barely endure ten times gravity.

But enduring it was one thing—moving in that environment was nearly impossible.

And they couldn’t last long either.

As martial artists,

once they reached a life force of 1, they could adapt to such gravity for extended periods.

But adaptation was one thing.

Running, exercising, or even performing martial arts in that environment? That was a whole other challenge.

Even with a life force of 2 or 3, it was extremely difficult.

"We’re not expecting you to succeed on your first try," Zhou Dahai explained. "You have the entire winter break to reach this goal. And we’re only asking for a single complete performance of your martial arts—no need for it to be powerful."

Even so, the difficulty made many students break out in cold sweat.

Martial arts was about rapid growth—speed was everything.

True, this kind of training could lead to massive improvements.

But it was undeniably tough.

"That’s right…" The staff member flipped through a transparent tablet and said with a smile, "According to past records, the fastest a student has achieved this in ten times gravity was from No.4 High School."

"It took them about fifteen days."

"In all of Rongcheng, the record belongs to a prodigy from No.1 High School at the Divine Sword Club—he did it in seven days. His life force was around 5.2 at the time."

He adjusted his glasses.

"Seven days?"

The martial arts class students exchanged stunned glances.

That was insanely fast.

"Next is the holographic intelligent beast training…" The staff member chuckled. "For now, we’re only offering the AI model of a first-tier beast—the Saberfang Wolf. Your goal is to defeat one in the holographic environment. That counts as a successful training session."

"This Saberfang Wolf model only has about a third of the real beast’s strength."

The martial arts class students looked at each other.

"That shouldn’t be too hard, right?" Zhou Xukun smirked confidently. "If it’s only a third as strong… I feel like we could take it down right now…"

The others also thought it sounded manageable.

The staff member just smiled without responding.

At that moment, the elevator doors opened.

The fifth floor was vast, with a large screen at the center.

On the screen, a student was facing off against a ferocious-looking beast.

"Tan Tianze! Come on, man!"

"Damn it, you lasted two hours in the gravity chamber—you’re the best in No.4 High! Don’t let a damn model take you down!"

"That Saberfang Wolf looks way too real… Wait, Tan, why aren’t you moving?"

"Why isn’t he moving?"

"Teacher, what’s wrong with Tan?"

Below the screen, a crowd of students in martial arts uniforms were shouting, their faces flushed with excitement.

Wang Xian and his group also watched the scene unfold.

On the screen, the young man stood completely still, his expression cold—but his body was trembling slightly.

"He’s terrified… can’t even handle the beast’s presence…"

Wang Xian thought to himself.

The hardest part of fighting a beast wasn’t the fight itself.

It was overcoming fear.

Even if the model was only a third as strong as the real thing, its aura was still unnervingly lifelike.

"Ten seconds, max…"

Wang Xian counted silently.

At the ninth second, the Saberfang Wolf let out a deafening roar. The boy flinched, his eyes flickering with fear.

The next moment, the beast lunged—one swipe of its claws tore him apart.

The students watching gasped in shock.

Then,

the Saberfang Wolf suddenly leaped toward the screen.

"Ahhh—!"

"It’s coming out!"

"Run—!"

But the moment the model "emerged," it dissolved into streams of digital data.

The crowd was still shaken.

"That student who just challenged it was the top performer in No.4 High’s martial arts class…" The staff member grinned at Wang Xian’s group. "His life force is 3.5, and he’s mastered the Mountain-Shattering Staff technique—just reached minor mastery."

"And he couldn’t even last one move?" The students took a sharp breath.

This training seemed even harder than the gravity chamber.

Now that they thought about it,

wasn’t defeating one of these models in seven days way too demanding?

But how strong were real beasts?

No one knew.

Rongcheng had a special defense system—even if beasts attacked, most people would never experience it firsthand.

At this moment, these sheltered students finally grasped the terrifying power of beasts.

"One more thing…"

The staff member continued, "For students like you, the Heavenly Blade Club has a beast model challenge… The more models you defeat before the martial arts exam, the greater the rewards we’ll offer."

"If you can achieve ten consecutive wins, we’ll sign a Class-D investment contract with you in advance."

Zhou Dahai nodded in agreement.

"Holographic intelligent beast training will be the core of your future cultivation."

"Because in this year's Martial Exam, the weight of practical combat scores has reached 40%."

The breakdown of Martial Exam scores:

Liberal arts account for 10%, while a martial student's life force makes up 30%.

Originally, innate talent strength was 30%, and practical combat was also 30%.

Now, practical combat has gained an additional 10%, clearly holding greater importance.

The nation is placing even more emphasis on real combat.

In fact…

Wang Xian also knew that in a few years, this proportion would increase to 60%.

This year's reform of the Martial Exam was a precursor.

A sign that hordes of exotic beasts would soon flood toward Blue Star like a tidal wave.

"As for the final agility training…" The staff member pondered before continuing, "You’ll need to survive a simulated battlefield under a hail of bullets to pass."

"Generally, we recommend completing gravity training and agility training first before attempting the holographic intelligent beast challenge."

As another door on the floor opened,

A young man walked out, his expression strained.

It was Tan Tianze from No.4 High School.

"Teacher, I’d like to give it a try." Xia Sichen’s eyes burned with determination as he looked at the large screen.

"Anytime." Zhou Dahai nodded slightly. "But it might affect your condition."

Xia Sichen glanced at Tan Tianze before stepping into the simulation room.

Fifteen seconds later,

He walked out, his face ashen.

"……" The group fell silent.

That was way too fast.

"You need to defeat ten just to get the lowest-tier investment contract?" Zhou Xukun clicked his tongue. "This one alone feels like it might take me the entire winter break to beat. And the Martial Exam is only three or four months away…"

"Mainly, the beast’s aura was overwhelming…" Xia Sichen frowned. "I couldn’t suppress my fear—I couldn’t even raise my sword to fight back. And of course, its speed was insane…"

Ten victories just for the lowest-tier contract.

It felt completely unbalanced.

"The lowest-tier, Class-D contract…" The staff member said plainly, "We invest at least five million in you annually, not including tailored combat gear, genetic enhancement serums, agility martial techniques, foundational energy cultivation methods, and exclusive martial arts secrets from our Heavenly Blade Club."

The group collectively gasped.

This contract was absurdly generous.

"All you need to do is provide a set number of contribution points to the club annually once you become a martial artist in university."

"The contract lasts a minimum of three years."

The staff member’s expression turned proud. "Currently, in Rongcheng, among high school students, only two in the past decade have earned even our Class-D contract."

At that, no one dared to criticize the "lowest-tier" contract anymore.

"Alright, everyone’s heard the training details…" Zhou Dahai clapped his hands. "Go change and get ready!"

The group scattered.

Only Wang Xian remained.

"You got something to say, kid?" Zhou Dahai smiled faintly.

"Yeah." Wang Xian nodded. "I have a request."

"Go on."

"Well… After today, I’d like to skip training until the semester starts." Wang Xian coughed awkwardly.

"?" Zhou Dahai stared at him, baffled.

What the hell?

What are you thinking?

Principal Xia drilled it into me—

You’re our school’s ace this year.

Whether we can outperform No.4 High and No.1 High depends on you.

And now you’re telling me you don’t want to train?

Are you out of your mind?!

"No!" Zhou Dahai refused outright, then lowered his voice. "What’s going on in that head of yours? Let me remind you—Principal Xia and I fought hard to get you a shot at the Heavenly Blade Club’s Class-D contract!"

"We even lowered the requirements for you…"

"If you just tough it out over winter break, even if you only meet two of the training goals, the Heavenly Blade Club would still consider signing you out of respect for Master Bai…"

"With those resources, you’d soar straight to the top in the Martial Exam!"

Wang Xian stayed silent.

It was indeed a good deal.

Just then,

A hearty voice called out from nearby:

"Old Zhou, you’re here?"

"So this is Wang Xian? Not bad, not bad—looks like a real talent!"

Wang Xian turned to see a dignified middle-aged man approaching.

"Vice President Zheng?"

Zhou Dahai waved in greeting, smiling. "What brings you here?"

This was Zheng Changhong, deputy head of the Heavenly Blade Club’s local branch.

He was also something of a disciple to Bai Hongtian—the two had been classmates.

They exchanged a few words, shaking hands warmly.

"I overheard just now…" Zheng Changhong looked at Wang Xian kindly. "Master mentioned you. Why don’t you want to train? Are you facing some difficulties?"

"If so, you can tell us."

Wang Xian thought for a moment before speaking plainly:

"These training methods won’t help me much right now."

The moment the words left his mouth, Zhou Dahai froze. Zheng Changhong did too.

Seeing their silence, Wang Xian added:

"How about this—if I complete all the training objectives you’ve set…"

"Teacher Zhou, can I skip training until the semester starts?"

Zhou Dahai opened his mouth to speak,

But Zheng Changhong cut him off with a wave.

"Deal. We’ll do it your way!"

"Xiao Bai, go personally prepare the training setup!"

A nearby staff member acknowledged the order, giving Wang Xian a strange look before leaving.

With that settled, Wang Xian finally went to change…