"Alright, I've given you everything I was supposed to give."
Instructor Jing yawned, having absolutely no intention of revealing his clever little arrangements. For once, he planned to be an unsung hero.
He walked to the staircase. "Go on back. I've seen your performance on this mission, and you all scored perfect marks. Pack up and head back to the academy to get some sleep."
"What about you?" Yin Chen asked.
"Me? I still have missions to do, of course." Instructor Jing looked completely nonchalant. "If you want to help me, wait until you reach the ninth tier."
He wasn't lying. After sorting out the affairs of these kids, he was heading into the heartland of the monster race.
If he dropped these kids in there as well, they wouldn't even know how they died. Strong as he was, he wasn't that arrogant.
What he needed to do now was wait. Wait for this younger generation to fully mature.
Just like he did many years ago.
The searchlights in the air raid shelter flickered a few times before finally going out completely.
Yawning, Instructor Jing bundled the three of them—along with their three pets—into a military transport plane.
During the two-hour flight, the atmosphere in the cabin was indescribably bizarre.
Yin Chen sat by the window, his legs together and his back straight, maintaining the dignity of a noble young master.
But at his feet, the Siberian Husky—transformed from an eighth-tier Frostbone Wolf—was panting with its pink tongue hanging out. Ice shards dripped down with its drool, freezing into a layer of crystal-clear ice on the floor.
Hong Yuan sat cross-legged on the floor, cradling the Profound Tortoise in her arms.
The turtle was sleeping soundly; no matter how much Hong Yuan shook it, it remained as steady as a mountain.
As for Chen Guan, he leaned quietly against his black coffin.
The fifth-tier Lightning Cheetah was curled up into a ball, acting as a fleshy footstool beneath him. It kept its breathing extremely low, terrified of drawing the attention of the "Husky" next to it.
After all, according to its animal instincts, the aura of an eighth-tier monster was enough to turn its bones and muscles to jelly.
The bullet comments had disappeared again, as if they had only come to witness the scene of the three of them picking out their pets.
After some time in the air, the plane landed on the tarmac of Huaqing Academy.
Instructor Jing didn't even have the interest to escort them back to their dorms. He simply waved his hand, boarded the plane in his flip-flops, and flew straight off.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Over these forty-eight hours, the freshmen who had participated in the practical exam returned to the academy one after another.
A large number of students who had just gotten off their vehicles gathered in the academy's central plaza.
The combat uniforms on most of them were in tatters, covered in dried blood and mud.
Some supported each other, while others simply slumped by the fountain pool with vacant stares. The cruelty of Battlefield No. 3 had far exceeded their imaginations. Even in the outer zones, the surprise attacks from the monsters were enough to make these pampered geniuses from the ivory tower suffer tremendously.
In contrast, the vibe of Chen Guan and his two companions seemed completely out of place.
Yin Chen had changed into a brand-new, custom-made silver-gray school uniform, sporting a Windsor knot at his collar. Beside him was the energetic Husky.
Hong Yuan carried her giant axe on her shoulder. The Profound Tortoise was hung in a net bag on the back of her backpack, looking like a weirdly shaped keychain.
Chen Guan stood beside the two of them, his long black trench coat completely free of wrinkles. The massive Lightning Cheetah followed by his side; the originally intimidating fifth-tier monster was now as meek and submissive as a large house cat.
A commotion broke out at the other end of the plaza.
An Changqing jumped down from an armored personnel carrier. His uniform was a bit dirty, but overall still relatively neat.
His gentle, sunny face bore unconcealable exhaustion, yet his eyes remained bright.
Su Yuehe followed closely behind him. Her condition looked even better. Bringing up the rear was Long Ao, who still carried a faint air of arrogance.
The first thing Long Ao did was sweep his gaze across the entire plaza.
An Changqing and Su Yuehe followed his line of sight.
By the fountain pool at the edge of the plaza stood three people and three living creatures.
The condition of these three didn't look at all like they had just narrowly escaped death from a perilous exam site; it looked more like they had just gone on a shopping spree at a suburban pet market.
The freshmen gradually gathering in the plaza, most of whom were covered in mud and utterly exhausted, looked at Chen Guan's group, whispering to each other with faces full of existential doubt.
Wait, did we really go to the same place?
An Changqing walked up. "Classmate Yin, looking at your condition, it seems the practical combat over the past few days was very easy for you."
Yin Chen adjusted his tie knot with one hand, his movements composed. "It went smoothly enough. I just changed clothes, that's all. Can't let the grime stay on for too long."
He would absolutely never mention the fact that he was almost frozen into an ice sculpture by the Frostbone Wolf.
Because the person in front of him was An Changqing—the "neighbor's kid" his dad constantly compared him to.
Su Yuehe stood slightly behind An Changqing, her gaze sweeping over the turtle on Hong Yuan's leg before finally landing on the cheetah.
Her intuition told her there was something wrong with that leopard, but it didn't emit the slightest fluctuation of monster energy, as if it had been completely domesticated.
Long Ao bypassed the crowd and walked straight up to Chen Guan.
Only when he got close did Long Ao belatedly notice the cheetah's abnormality.
"Where did this come from?"
He clicked his tongue in wonder and asked bluntly.
Chen Guan's expression was placid as he lied without blushing or skipping a beat, "It insisted on following."
Long Ao's eye twitched. Did you even believe that yourself?
The cheetah also wore a resentful expression: Yes, yes, I followed on my own accord. It's because I just don't love nature.
Before he could press further, a piercing microphone feedback sound echoed from the high platform at the front of the plaza.
Instructor Black Crow stood in front of the microphone, holding a thick stack of printed papers.
With the screeching of the mic, the noisy plaza quickly quieted down.
"Let me just say this first: the fact that you are still standing here proves that you aren't completely useless trash." Black Crow's opening remark was straightforward.
Black Crow flipped open the pages in his hand.
"Enough nonsense. I'm announcing the rankings for this practical exam. You all know the rules—it's based on points."
"First place." Black Crow cleared his throat, his voice spreading across the entire plaza through the loudspeakers. "The team of Yin Chen, Hong Yuan, and Chen Guan."
No loud gasps of surprise erupted from the crowd.
Yin Chen was a top-tier genius of both the ice and wind elements, Hong Yuan's giant axe had astonishing lethal power, and although Chen Guan was low-key, his strength was nothing to scoff at.
Many people were mentally prepared for them to take first place; after all, they were always first.
An Changqing looked at Yin Chen and said, "Congratulations. It seems you found some good prey. I wonder how many points you beat us by?"
According to past trends, the point gap between first and second place was usually around a few hundred points.
Comparisons went both ways. When he first arrived, his scores were slightly lower than Yin Chen's, and his dad had already interrogated him about it.
Who could blame them when their dads had also been competing with each other for their entire lives?
Black Crow sped up his speech and threw out the data directly: "Total points..."
"Nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine."
"That is the maximum limit of our tracking system, not their actual final score."
ut it can buy an entire year of absolutely perfect training results! Su Yu stared at his empty wallet and decisively opened up various online loan platforms. “Borrow a thousand bucks! Recharge my vitality!” Boom! His vitality broke a hundred points, shattering the limits of the human body! “Borrow ten thousand bucks! Recharge my combat skills!” Boom! A basic punching technique so common it was everywhere instantly maxed out, revealing the ultimate assassination technique of Five Elements Unity—Inner Force! When a rich kid hired assassins for a midnight ambush, aiming to break both of his legs, they instead ran headfirst into a monster—a human-shaped tyrannosaur, brimming with dragon-like vitality. With just two fingers, Su Yu snapped a steel staff reinforced with alloy. Staring at the killer’s stash of stolen cash—a staggering quarter-million dollars—he showed a corporate-sincere smile: “Thanks for the pre-exam gift pack, Mr. Zhao! I’m gonna go re-invest this!” Three days later, at the National Martial Arts College Entrance Exam, while everyone else struggled just to reach the passing line, Su Yu threw a single punch—and more than a thousand vitality points literally detonated the entire arena!
ine. During your journey, you save an abandoned baby girl and become her elder brother】 【You rely on each other, becoming each other's support】 【At the end of the simulation, you shield the now-grown girl with your life, sacrificing yourself to block numerous demonic cultivators. You die, and the light in the girl's eyes fades】 …… 【Second Simulation: You are transported to a world where steam and magic coexist】 【You immerse yourself in the study of magic, obsessed with its research. One day, while out, you encounter a half-blooded demon girl wandering the streets. You take her in as your student】 【You teach the demoness what it means to be human, show her the beauty of the world, and nurture her into a miracle that surpasses even the gods】 【At the end of the simulation, you die of old age in front of the nearly immortal demoness due to your mortal lifespan】 …… One simulation after another, one encounter after another. Xu Xi suddenly felt something was off: "Wait, you said you're coming to the real world to find me?"
e bizarre and supernatural had descended. The previous emperor was a thoroughgoing tyrant; no longer satisfied with human women, he had set his sights on a stunningly beautiful supernatural entity. He met his end in his bedchamber, drained of all his vital essence. As the legitimate eldest son and crown prince, Wang Hao was thus hastily enthroned, becoming the young emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty. No sooner had he awakened the "Imperial Sign-In Intelligence System" than he was assassinated by a Son of Destiny—a classic villain's opening. The Great Zhou, ravaged by the former emperor's excesses, was in national decline. The great families within its borders harbored their own treacherous schemes, martial sects began to defy the imperial court's decrees, and border armies, their pay and provisions in arrears, grumbled incessantly against the central government. Fortunately, the central capital was still held secure by the half-million Imperial Guards and fifty thousand Imperial Forest Army who obeyed the court's orders, along with the royal family's hidden reserves of power, barely managing to suppress the realm. As the Great Zhou's finances worsened and supernatural activities grew ever more frequent, the court sat atop a volcano. Ambitious plotters everywhere dreamed of overthrowing the dynasty, and even some reclusive ancient powers emerged, attempting to sway the tides of the world. At the first grand court assembly, the civil and military officials nearly came to blows, fighting tooth and nail over the allocation of fifty million taels of silver from the summer tax revenues. The spectacle opened Wang Hao's eyes—the Great Zhou's bureaucracy was not only corrupt but also martially proficient, a cabinet of all-rounders. Some officials even had the audacity to suggest the emperor release funds from the imperial privy purse to address the emergency. Wang Hao suddenly felt weary. Let it all burn.
ing gift was a patch of barren land, and disciples were all picked up along the way. He spent fifty years diligently building three "ramshackle little sects," thinking he could finally live a carefree life relying on his disciples. But right at the fifty-year mark, he was suddenly swept away by a spatial rift and exiled to the Chaos Desolation, the Disorderly Ruins. There was no spiritual energy there, only slaughter. Relying on the cultivation feedback from his disciples, Gu Changyuan hacked his way through a sea of blood for eleven hundred years. When the system finally fished him back out, he discovered the ramshackle little sects he'd built back then had developed a rather... unusual style. Hold on... I vanished for a thousand years, so how did my ramshackle little sects become holy lands?!
