CHAPTER 91: CHAPTER 91: DANGER ARRIVES!_1

The Federation Official waved his hand dismissively and, without even greeting Lv Liu, walked out of the campus on his own.

Wang Zhan and the others were momentarily confused and subconsciously looked towards the two Academy deans.

"Go with him," Liu Zhenfeng chuckled. "Don’t think he’s putting on airs. The Federal Martial Arts Tournament affects the resource allocation for the entire Academy system for the next year. Therefore, everyone involved is required to maintain this attitude throughout the process to prevent anyone from finding a loophole. It’s not just us at Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy; even the Federation Officials visiting the ’Four Great Academies’ have the same attitude."

Hearing this explanation, Wang Zhan and the others finally understood.

"I knew it! Putting on airs in front of a Grandmaster, and another who is also a Grandmaster—that’s quite outrageous!" Huang Pufeng, who was always straightforward, blurted out.

Then they saw the Federation Official, who was self-importantly leading the way, suddenly stop and cough lightly.

"I can hear you!"

Huang Pufeng was extremely embarrassed, while Wang Zhan and the others merely found it amusing and teased him a bit.

...

After leaving the Academy with the Federation Official, the group of seven boarded a car parked outside the gate.

Once inside, all the windows were tightly shut. The passenger compartment was completely sealed off from the driver’s cabin, making it feel less like riding in a car and more like prisoners being transported.

"This is a bit too strict," Wang Zhan couldn’t help but remark.

About half an hour later, the car stopped, and the door was pulled open.

Only after Wang Zhan and his group exited the car did they realize they were at an airport, with a huge airplane parked beside them.

Calling it an airplane isn’t quite accurate, Wang Zhan thought. This thing is so massive it could almost be called a flying fortress.

Not to mention its incredibly sturdy-looking fuselage, a cursory glance at the externally mounted weapons, like missiles, told Wang Zhan there were definitely no fewer than thirty.

"So this is an airplane? I’ve only ever seen them in books and online. Today, I’ve finally seen a real one!" Zhou Weiya, one of their companions, suddenly exclaimed.

Hearing this, everyone nodded. Only Huang Pufeng explained, "There are fewer than a hundred of these types of airplanes in the entire Federation. After all, the skies are extremely dangerous. Only these costly, solidly built aircraft, fully laden with weapons, can barely ensure safety during flight."

Huang Pufeng came from a prominent Family, so things that ordinary people rarely saw were not particularly novel to him.

Hearing this, Wang Zhan frowned slightly. "You just said ’barely ensure safety’?"

"Yes," Huang Pufeng replied calmly. "No one can predict what might be encountered during a flight. If we were to run into some leader-level or King-level beast, no amount of weaponry would be effective. That’s why I said it ’barely ensures safety’."

As they were talking, staff members began to urge them to board.

Guided by the staff, the group of seven boarded the airplane.

Soon, the airplane took off, heading towards distant Oceania.

...

Situations similar to Wang Zhan’s group were unfolding in every Martial Arts Academy across the Federation.

Moreover, departure times for competing students from various regions also varied, depending on how long it took each Academy to reach Oceania.

To ensure the absolute fairness of the tournament, high-level Federation officials even prohibited competing students from arriving at the venue prematurely.

In this solemn atmosphere, the moment Wang Zhan and the others stepped onto the airplane, the Federal Academy Tournament had, in effect, already begun.

...

About six hours into the flight.

Suddenly, a staff member entered the cabin where Wang Zhan and his group were seated and took seven identical backpacks out of his Storage Ring.

"From now on, surrender all personal belongings except for your weapons," the staff member said expressionlessly.

Wang Zhan and the others were somewhat puzzled but still obediently handed over everything they had on them, keeping only their weapons.

Wang Zhan tucked his soldier-level dagger into his belt and slung the recently acquired Liyun Blade onto his back.

The Liyun Blade was a standard giant blade, one and a half meters long. To carry it easily, Wang Zhan had specifically used academic credits at the Academic Credits Exchange Office to get a sheath designed for carrying large blades on one’s back.

The sheath alone had cost him thirty thousand academic credits, more expensive than a complete soldier-level suit.

However, you get what you pay for. The sheath, made of some unknown material, was not only extremely tough but also highly malleable. The Liyun Blade fit snugly inside, perfectly secured, yet Wang Zhan could draw it smoothly whenever needed.

According to the staff at the Academic Credits Exchange Office, this type of standardized equipment generally possessed such characteristics to accommodate the diverse weaponry of Martial Artists.

Definitely worth the price, anyway, Wang Zhan thought.

Only after Wang Zhan and the others had surrendered all their items did the staff member distribute the seven identical backpacks.

"The backpack contains a personal terminal exclusively for this tournament. Besides communication between teams, its only other function is SOS. If you encounter a crisis you cannot handle, you can use it to call for help. However, due to the complex environment in Oceania, we cannot guarantee that rescue will arrive in time."

Hearing this, a chill ran down the spines of Wang Zhan and the others.

This tournament is likely even more brutal than we imagined, they thought.

The staff member continued, "Inside the backpack, there’s a two-day supply of compressed food for each person, and three bottles of Mixed Essence Pills for restoring stamina and cultivation. These are all your supplies... Oh, right. The backpack is also a parachute."

"A parachute?!" Huang Pufeng’s voice suddenly shot up.

The staff member, however, ignored him and suddenly opened the aircraft’s cabin door.

The moment the cabin door opened, a fierce wind began to howl and tear through, though it wasn’t as extreme as they might have imagined.

"We are currently over Oceania, at an altitude of approximately two thousand meters." The staff member stated flatly, "The area below is where your competition will take place. All information about it is on your personal terminals. You may enter the arena now."

Huang Pufeng cautiously approached the open cabin door, hands gripping the frame tightly. He glanced down at the scene below, and his face immediately paled.

The guy was actually afraid of heights!

"Enter the arena? By jumping straight down?"

The staff member said nothing, clearly implying assent.

Seeing this, Huang Pufeng flinched and asked, "Can’t you land and let us off? We’ve never learned to parachute!"

Wang Zhan couldn’t watch anymore.

He slung on his own backpack, then helped Huang Pufeng put his on properly.

"What are you doing...?" Huang Pufeng was still confused, but too terrified to resist, he let Wang Zhan do as he pleased.

"You’re taking too long! Down you go!" Wang Zhan grinned, then kicked Huang Pufeng squarely in the backside, sending him flying out of the aircraft.

"AHHH!" A scream tore through the air.

Wang Zhan then looked at the others behind him and said, "Let’s go. Don’t keep Huangfu waiting."

With that said, Wang Zhan unhesitatingly jumped out of the cabin.

Seeing this, Song Dongming and the others delayed no further, jumping out one after another.

Parachuting wasn’t easy, but Wang Zhan and his companions were all skilled Martial Artists whose coordination and physical control far surpassed that of ordinary people.

Thus, even though it was their first time parachuting, there were no mishaps.

Even Huang Pufeng, despite his extreme acrophobia, managed to deploy his parachute and land successfully.

Soon, all seven members of the Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy team landed safely and successfully regrouped.

"Let’s check the mission first," Wang Zhan said, ignoring Huang Pufeng’s resentful glare.

He opened the personal terminal he had just received and quickly found the information about the mission.

’Lower-class Soldier-level beast core: 100 points.’

’Intermediate Soldier-level beast core: 500 points.’

’Upper-class soldier-level beast core: 1,000 points.’

’Exploring unknown areas: Point rewards depend on the situation.’

’Mission Deadline: One month.’

These few simple lines clearly outlined the team’s mission for Wang Zhan and the others.

Clearly, the final victory would depend on the number of points accumulated. But what startled Wang Zhan and the others was that the minimum requirement for earning points was to kill lower Soldier-level beasts.

"This is absurd! Lower Soldier-level beasts are creatures that only a Warrior can handle. Even if all seven of us team up, we’d probably only manage a stalemate at best," Zhou Weiya said, his face a mask of disbelief.

His younger brother, Zhou Weiqing, however, remained impassive, merely looking silently at Wang Zhan.

"Lower Soldier-level beasts vary. Not long ago, our team leader single-handedly killed one. So, this mission isn’t impossible to complete," Song Dongming clarified, shaking his head slightly.

Hearing this, the others all looked at Wang Zhan in shock.

Although Wang Zhan was well-known at the Chu State Military Martial Arts Academy, they hadn’t had much interaction with him before and were unaware he had such an impressive combat record.

Wang Zhan, however, remained calm. In this unfamiliar environment, he had no time for boasting.

"Dongming, you weren’t finished, were you?" Wang Zhan knew Song Dongming well and was sure he had more to say.

Song Dongming nodded. "The mission information is brief, but it implies a lot. Firstly, the area we’re in is bound to have a large number of soldier-level beasts! Therefore, our immediate priority isn’t to hunt targets, but to find a secure base of operations!"

"Agreed," Wang Zhan concurred.

Song Dongming continued, "Additionally, there are the supplies needed for survival! Each of us only has three days’ worth of food, so finding more provisions is also a top priority!"

Just then, Sun Kelan, one of the two women in the team, her expression suddenly changed drastically.

"Careful! Underground!"

Sun Kelan excelled at scouting. Although she was only a level 8 Martial Artist, her mental energy was already nearly on par with Wang Zhan’s.

Moreover, when it came to using mental energy for probing, she was considerably stronger than Wang Zhan.

Because of this, the moment her voice rang out, everyone retreated instantly without the slightest hesitation.

Just a few short seconds later, the ground suddenly burst open. Then, a massive, black horn, gleaming with a metallic sheen, was revealed before them.

But Wang Zhan and the others knew that what was even more terrifying was the owner of this horn, still hidden beneath the earth.