Chapter 139: The Seventh Realm’s Trial
"All 2,470 students appear to be here!"
Suddenly, a deep, resonant voice rang out.
A tall, middle-aged man in a dark green officer’s uniform emerged not far away.
His features were sharp and chiseled, as if carved by a knife. He had a stern temperament and an upright posture, resembling a sharp sword.
The soldiers and officers passing by all saluted him solemnly.
The moment he appeared, he became the focus of everyone’s attention, standing atop a massive, elevated platform.
His voice was so powerful that everyone could hear him clearly without the need for a microphone.
Before anyone could react, an intense sense of danger suddenly enveloped Lin Qi.
Danger!!
His gaze grew wary. The next instant, a heavy, imposing pressure bore down like a mountain.
BOOM!!!
A terrifying force, like Mount Tai itself crashing down.
"Aargh!!"
In an instant, an invisible pressure washed over everyone like a tidal wave.
It caught countless people off guard. Innumerable students dropped to their knees in an instant, while some fared even worse, collapsing directly onto the ground.
In a flash, a dense sea of people fell. Only a few dozen managed to remain standing, and even they were forced to bend at the waist under the pressure.
"This is awful!!"
"What is this?!" countless people wailed.
Jiangtao also felt the intense pressure, gritting his teeth to endure it. Li Zhou, Yu Jing, Qi Yuelin, and the others were in worse shape, on the verge of collapsing to their knees.
Lin Qi’s legs seemed to root themselves into the ground. Facing the surging, overwhelming pressure, he released his own aura, which roared like an awakening Vajra Tiger.
The surrounding officers were unfazed; some even had the corners of their mouths turned up in a smirk.
Everyone around was observing the students’ reactions.
The officer on the high platform noticed that five or six students had erupted with powerful auras of their own to resist.
He nodded, a gratified smile appearing on his face.
"Not bad!"
With that, he retracted his immense pressure and turned to leave.
Only then did everyone feel the heavy pressure on them vanish, and they let out a collective sigh of relief.
Some people, their faces pale, staggered to their feet.
Others looked terrified, as if they had just returned from a trip to hell.
And some rubbed their sore rears from the fall.
Jiangtao wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around, his heart still pounding with fear.
"Damn, who the hell was that officer? That pressure was terrifying."
"Barely anyone was left standing."
Lin Qi also scanned his surroundings. Only twenty-some people had managed to stay on their feet.
Lin Qi’s gaze met with Zhou Xiyin, Li Ke, Wang Qiufeng, Chen Li, and a few others.
Those who could remain standing so calmly were by no means weak.
"That officer just now was very likely a Seventh Realm Martial Artist," Lin Qi said with a frown.
He had only ever felt an aura like that from Yue Feng. This was a Seventh Realm expert from the military, and that was probably just a test for them.
"Students!"
Another officer stepped forward. His aura was not as imposing as the previous one’s. He began to speak slowly.
"Welcome, everyone, to the Joint Training Base!"
"What you just experienced was merely our welcome ceremony. We hope it left a deep impression on you."
Everyone complained inwardly. ’It certainly left an impression, all right.’
"You should all understand the purpose of attending this Practical Training Camp."
"It is to fight Calamity Beasts to the death. This is real combat—a clash of sabers, spears, and swords."
"This isn’t some virtual battle in the Red Realm."
"Where you can be instantly revived if you lose, and your wounds can heal immediately."
"In a real battle, Calamity Beasts are nothing but brutes that know only slaughter."
"All they know is how to use their fangs and claws to tear you apart, and how to crush you with their massive bodies."
"One careless mistake, and you will die!"
The officer’s words struck everyone’s hearts like countless sharp blades, threatening to shatter their resolve.
Many students grew agitated, their faces falling silent.
The officer’s lips curled into a smirk as he continued,
"Every year, this Practical Training Camp has a death quota. The mortality rate is 0.5%."
"Of the 2,470 people present, close to 13 will die in combat."
"Thirteen people will die?" the crowd began to mutter among themselves.
The threat of death caused many to waver.
"So I’m going to ask one last time."
"Anyone who wants to quit can leave now. See that sign? Gather over there, and someone will escort you back."
"Those who are staying will sign the death liability waiver on my left and right."
"Does anyone want to quit now?!!"
the officer boomed.
"I quit!!"
Someone raised their hand and shouted. It was a pale-faced girl, and the students around her turned pale as well, grabbing her arm.
"Don’t!"
But she shook them off.
"I don’t want to die! I still have a bright future ahead of me!" With a determined expression, she hurried over to the electronic screen for those who were quitting.
With the first, a second soon followed.
In the blink of an eye, twenty people had chosen to quit.
Many of the chaperoning teachers standing nearby had ashen faces.
Zhang City glared fiercely at the students from Tianhai No. 2 Middle School. ’If any of you dare to quit and embarrass me, you’ll regret it when we get back.’
Fortunately, in the end, no one from Tianhai No. 2 Middle School quit. He was glad he had made some of them drop out beforehand.
"Anyone else?"
Seeing that no one else spoke up, the officer smiled.
"Those who quit, you may leave!"
The twenty students who had quit were led away by soldiers, their heads hung low.
"Those who remain are all brave children. The future of our Xia Country rests on your shoulders."
"Sign the death liability waiver, and someone will take you to your dorms for lunch."
"Everything is free of charge. It’s what you all deserve."
The officer announced loudly for the remaining students to line up and sign the waiver.
Composing themselves, the crowd began to sign the waivers.
Before long, it was Lin Qi’s turn. He picked up the waiver and began to read it.
"Brother Qi, if you die here, your family gets a compensation of three million Xia Country Coins. That’s a lot," Jiangtao remarked.
Lin Qi nodded. Three million Xia Country Coins was a sum an ordinary family could never produce.
However, the geniuses who came here were all talented enough to sign D-level contracts or higher.
’If they died, no amount of money could make up for it. It wasn’t worth it!’
He quickly signed his name on the waiver.
[Lin Qi]
"Everyone from No. 2 Middle School, over here!" Zhang City called out with a smile. He was flanked by four upperclassmen from Celestial Sea Martial Arts University, including the pretty girl in blue.
The group headed toward the dormitories together.
The girl in blue projected a map and introduced with a beaming smile:
"Our dorms are in the middle. Past the dorms is the cafeteria, and just over that wall is our Celestial Sea University."
"You’re all very welcome to come visit us at Celestial Sea Martial Arts University."
"Whether it’s the accommodations, the cafeteria food, or the training environment, it’s all twice as good as the training base!!"
This piqued everyone’s curiosity.
A few moments later, the group arrived at the dormitories, which were housed in a massive building.
They began to assign the rooms.
「Ten minutes later, in Room 301.」
CLICK!
Lin Qi and Jiangtao swiped the room card to open the silver-gray metal door and walked inside.
It was a dorm room with a simple black-and-white aesthetic. The first thing they saw was a spacious living room that took up several dozen square meters, complete with a kitchen and a bathroom.
"This is a double room. It has a bathroom, a bedroom, and even a Martial Arts Room."
"It’s just a little small!" said the pretty upperclassman who had escorted them.
"You call this small? It’s bigger than my entire house!"
Jiangtao said as he quickly toured the room.
The pretty girl handed them two blue cards. "These are your cards. They’ve already been linked to you. You can use them to open your door and buy nutritional meals."
"You can even use them to eat at our Celestial Sea Martial Arts University cafeteria."
"Everything is free for the duration of the Practical Training Camp."
"Thanks!!"
Lin Qi took the two room cards, and the girl continued, "If the two of you decide to come to our Celestial Sea Martial Arts University..."
"We will arrange for a private villa for each of you to use as your dormitory."
"It will come fully equipped with a Martial Arts Room over five hundred square meters, a Rehabilitation Pod, a Punch Force Tester, and other Cultivation Equipment."
"You’ll even get your own private Virtual Cabin!"
Lin Qi was inwardly shocked. ’These terms are ridiculous.’
He had never lived in a private villa in his entire life.
So he smiled and said, "Alright, we’ll consider it."
"Great! I won’t disturb you any longer, then!"
With that, she smiled and helped close the door behind her.
Jiangtao walked over, took a room card from Lin Qi’s hand, and sighed.
"Celestial Sea University really is sparing no expense to recruit us."
"Too bad for them, it’s useless."
"Of the thirty-six Martial Arts Universities in the country, Celestial Sea University can rank in the top ten."
"But it’s a far cry from the three top-tier academies!"
"We’re in the top ten of Cang Province. As long as we get into one of the three top-tier academies, we’ll get all these perks anyway."
Lin Qi nodded. He had just been thinking the same thing.
After all, he was a top-100 genius in the entire country. If he entered one of the three top-tier academies, he would also enjoy the best treatment.
"Brother Qi, want to go check out Celestial Sea University? Or should we just head straight over there for lunch?" Jiangtao asked expectantly.
Lin Qi shook his head. "You go on your own. I’m having them deliver it. I need to start my Cultivation."
"Alright, I’ll go by myself. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back."
After Jiangtao left, Lin Qi took out his Superpower Phone and found the dedicated app for Celestial Sea Martial Arts University.
After a simple registration, he started ordering takeout.
After ordering two portions, he put down his black backpack and opened the bedroom door on the left. Inside was a large bed, about the same size as the one at his home.
There was also a desk, a wardrobe, and other simple furniture.
It was a little smaller than he had imagined.
Besides the bedroom, there was another room. He opened the door to find the Martial Arts Room.
Lin Qi frowned. It was half the size of the spacious Martial Arts Room he used at the Red Dome Martial Arts Dojo.
「A moment later.」
DING-DONG~ Lin Qi opened the door to see a cylindrical food delivery robot.
Its stomach automatically opened, revealing two nutritional meals packed in special containers.
He took out the steaming hot nutritional meals, returned to the living room, and began to eat.
「A few minutes later.」
After finishing both portions, Lin Qi let out a breath and thought to himself as he looked at the empty containers:
’This is better than the nutritional meals at No. 2 Middle School. The nutritional content is very high. The meat slices were most likely from a Second-Level Calamity Beast.’
’And we can eat it for free. How luxurious. This is a great perk for us.’
Lin Qi decided to eat a few more portions for dinner, since it was free anyway.
After his meal, he entered the Martial Arts Room, sat down with his legs crossed, and began his daily Source Energy Cultivation.
WHOOSH~
He assumed the Five Hearts Facing Heaven Technique with his hands, adjusted his breathing, cleared his mind of distracting thoughts, and allowed his heart to become completely tranquil.
His consciousness began to visualize the Vajra Tiger, using thirty-six thousand strokes to sketch out its complete form.
ROAR~
The Vajra Tiger threw its head back and roared, and countless points of light in the surroundings answered its call, surging toward it rapidly.
Lin Qi was inwardly astonished. The concentration of Source Energy Particles here was even higher than in his Martial Arts Room.
...