Chapter 46

Pausing for a moment, behind the old man in the purple robe, more than ten dull and unremarkable flying swords floated up, swirling chaotically above the heads of the many students. They occasionally performed various rapid dives, turns, and rolls within a small area, causing the students to exclaim in surprise one after another.

The old man in the purple robe smiled and said:

"Students, if the ‘Anti-Demon Beast Defense System’ you saw earlier wasn’t enough to satisfy your curiosity, then take a look at the ‘Unmanned Flying Swords’ recently refined by Deep Sea University. There are two models of these flying swords. The Type A can be remotely controlled by cultivators thousands of miles away through a special crystal brain remote control system. The Type B, which you see here, is completely unmanned, with no cultivator controlling them at all!"

"How can they fly without anyone controlling them?" a student couldn’t help but ask.

"We use a new type of talisman array structure in the main control crystal brain of these flying swords. We can pre-input hundreds of thousands of divine thoughts to simulate all possible combat scenarios and set up corresponding battle plans. This is the secret of ‘unmanned’ flying swords! Of course, the actual development is much more complex than what I’ve described. Unmanned flying swords are just in their infancy and still have many issues. If any of you students are interested, consider applying to Deep Sea University to help us research and improve this miraculous magical treasure!" the old man in the purple robe said with a smile.

Li Yao watched the unmanned flying swords flying around in the air, and his heart stirred, thinking of Black Wing. Black Wing could fly around on its own without his commands and even perch in front of the light screen, humming and dancing, almost like a living being rather than a magical treasure. Compared to these unmanned flying swords, Black Wing’s “intelligence” was clearly a level higher.

However, his father had once said that Black Wing was an ancient artifact he found in the ruins of another vast world. His father spent his entire life trying to decipher its structure but couldn’t even disassemble its outer shell. His father speculated that Black Wing was a product of a higher-level cultivation civilization. It was already quite remarkable that Deep Sea University could refine flying swords that didn’t need cultivators to control them!

At this moment, an unmanned flying sword suddenly flipped and flew over his head. Li Yao’s heart itched, and he quickly reached out to grab the hilt of the flying sword.

Just as his fingertips were about to touch the hilt, the flying sword trembled like an electric eel, emitting a dark blue light. An electric arc instantly struck Li Yao’s fingertips.

"Ouch!"

Li Yao pulled back his hand, and his fingertips had already turned black. Looking at the flying sword, it was still circling above his head, occasionally emitting malicious dark blue electric arcs.

Li Yao stuck out his tongue in fright, shrunk his neck, and didn’t dare to act rashly again.

The old man in the purple robe walked up to him with a chuckle and said, "Student, now you know the power of unmanned flying swords, right? Fortunately, it promptly recognized your ‘civilian’ status. If it had identified you as a demon beast or a practitioner of the evil path, it would have already cut you down! Come, let me see your hand, are you injured?"

Li Yao obediently extended his hand, but his mind was racing, desperately thinking about how to crack the “unmanned flying sword.”

"Hmm?"

The old man in the purple robe’s face showed a hint of surprise and delight, his smile growing wider. "Student, do you often repair magical treasures in your free time?"

Li Yao was taken aback and asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"Your fingers feel different from those of ordinary people. That soft and resilient touch can only be produced after the calluses have formed and worn away, then formed and worn away again, dozens of times. Plus, the subtle reactions of the muscles in your palm—only a seasoned magical treasure repairer could have such hands! So, are you thinking of applying to Deep Sea University?" the old man in the purple robe asked kindly.

Li Yao looked at the “Anti-Demon Beast Defense System” and then at the “unmanned flying sword” circling above his head, and nodded vigorously. "My dream is to become a magical treasure refiner and create the strongest magical treasures in the Federation!"

"Seven out of the ten top magical treasure refiners in the Federation graduated from Deep Sea University. Deep Sea University is the holy land of magical treasure refiners! I am Xie Tingxian, the observer for Deep Sea University at Exam Site 571. You’re quite impressive, and I’ll be paying special attention to you during the competition. Remember to perform well!" The old man in the purple robe patted Li Yao on the shoulder and was quickly surrounded by other students.

"Wow!"

Outside the crowd, Zheng Dongming exclaimed dramatically, "You actually met an observer from Deep Sea University! This is a big shot with the power of ‘special admission.’ If he likes you, you don’t even need to take the college entrance exam and can directly join Deep Sea University! I wish I had let the flying sword shock me too!"

"But you have to be someone he likes first!"

Li Yao said casually, but his heart was pounding with a mix of tension, excitement, and joy. Deep Sea University was his dream university, and he was determined to perform well in the Extreme Challenge Competition to impress this “Xie Tingxian”!

With his first choice determined, the other universities lost their appeal. Li Yao and Zheng Dongming walked around the cabin, not paying much attention to the remaining universities. Just as they were about to leave, they noticed a small exhibition hall in the far corner.

Compared to the luxurious, advanced, and crowded exhibition halls of other universities, this one was extremely shabby. There wasn’t a single student inside, and only a solitary staff member sat at the far end.

Li Yao looked up and saw the sign: “Great Wasteland Combat Academy”!

"Is this one of the ‘Nine Greats’? Why is it so deserted? No one wants to apply to this school?" Li Yao asked curiously.

Zheng Dongming glanced at it and laughed. "The Great Wasteland Combat Academy has the shallowest foundation and the weakest overall strength among the ‘Nine Greats.’ It’s also located in the harsh Demon Beast Wasteland. However, that alone doesn’t explain the lack of interest. The main reason is that the Great Wasteland Combat Academy is famous for its ‘Martial Combat Department,’ which specializes in training ‘body refiners’—those who cultivate their bodies and enter the path of cultivation through martial arts. Some extreme body refiners even reject all magical treasures, believing that the body is the strongest and only magical treasure, and they fight demon beasts with their bare hands. They’re practically a bunch of lunatics!"

Li Yao also found this quite disagreeable. Born in a graveyard of magical treasures, he was most skilled at turning any item around him into a weapon. The idea of fighting enemies with just his fists was utterly foolish.

Zheng Dongming continued:

"The cultivation philosophy of the Great Wasteland Combat Academy makes sense in the harsh and resource-scarce environment of the Great Wasteland. Many complex and powerful magical treasures wear out quickly due to the harsh conditions and become unusable. This extreme environment has fostered body refiners who rely solely on their physical strength! However, in the southeastern region, cultivators are skilled in using magical treasures, and this approach doesn’t work well. Moreover, body refinement is incredibly painful, and the path of body refinement is said to require enduring ‘eighty-one tribulations’ to achieve even a small success. Tell me, who in the southeast would be so desperate to choose the path of body refinement?"

Pausing for a moment, Zheng Dongming suddenly remembered something and slapped his head. "I almost forgot. Your school, Chixiao No. 2 High School, produced a cultivation genius named ‘Demon Blade Peng Hai,’ who chose the Great Wasteland Combat Academy. However, he’s not an extreme body refiner but a sword cultivator."

"Is this the university where Demon Blade Peng Hai studied?" Li Yao’s eyes lit up, and he became interested in the Great Wasteland Combat Academy.