Chapter 5

Wang Xu and others followed Cui Badao for a moment, passing through the science and technology area of the academy, and directly arrived at the "Jump Room."

The Jump Room was as large as an auditorium, with a circular platform three meters in radius placed in the center. The surface of the platform was densely covered with various letters and numbers, and white light shone through.

At this moment, there were many people in the Jump Room. A quick count revealed at least fifty to sixty people, all of whom were second-stage or higher gene warriors, including several third-stage gene warriors.

"Cui Badao, your class has really made a big splash this time. Your class has swept the top three spots on the points list, and the dean even praised you," a middle-aged man in a blue battle suit walked over, a smile that was not very friendly on his face.

Clearly, this middle-aged man did not get along well with Cui Badao, and they were at odds with each other.

Wang Xu knew this middle-aged man, whose name was "He Shi," with the nickname "Blood Flying Knife." He was skilled in throwing weapons and could often kill insect beasts with just one flying knife. Like Cui Badao, he was also a sixth-stage gene warrior.

Cui Badao glanced at him and said indifferently, "Since you put it that way, our class will continue to sweep the top three spots this time. You can rest assured."

The middle-aged man narrowed his eyes and scanned the twenty or so students behind Cui Badao with deep meaning, especially lingering on Wang Xu and Zhang Xinglin for a moment, before turning and leaving.

There were four martial arts classes. Wang Xu was in Cui Badao's Class 4, while He Shi led Class 1.

Originally, the points list was dominated by Class 1, with half of the top ten spots each month coming from Class 1. After the seniors of the previous class advanced to the elite level and entered the "Inner Court," Class 1 declined, and Wang Xu from Class 4 leaped to the top of the points list, dominating it for a long time, which made He Shi very unhappy.

Now, the top ten spots on the points list were dominated by four students from Class 4, and the top three spots were all from Class 4, which was unbearable for the always arrogant He Shi. Therefore, for this trial, He Shi specifically instructed: as long as they encounter students from Class 4, they should not hesitate to snatch their spoils!

The coach of Class 2 was a seductive and beautiful young woman named Yu Chunyan, who was also a sixth-stage gene warrior, but her strength was below that of Cui Badao and He Shi.

The coach of Class 3 was an old man with a white beard, whom everyone respectfully called "Old Feng." Old Feng had participated in the most brutal insect beast battles and had already been forty years old when he received the gene serum, missing the best period for cultivation. Reaching the sixth stage was already quite an achievement.

"Everyone." Seeing that the students from Class 4 had arrived and all the participants were present, Old Feng stepped forward.

As soon as Old Feng spoke, everyone below fell silent, even the coaches gave him some face and stopped arguing.

"This trial is different from previous ones. Teams with at least two third-stage students must go to the C-level area, while teams with only one third-stage student or all second-stage students can continue to the D-level area. Next, you can step onto the jump platform and perform the time-space jump." After Old Feng finished speaking, he did not explain further and returned to his class.

Wang Xu and others had already known the mission area for this time, so they were not surprised by Old Feng's announcement. However, some students who were not well-informed began to whisper among themselves.

The C-level area had fourth-stage elite insect beasts, which was much more dangerous than the D-level area. If they went there rashly, they might not even be able to return!

Some students were shaken, and teams with two third-stage students began to disband, splitting up to lead second-stage students to the D-level area. After all, this was a trial, not a life-or-death battle. Reducing the risk by even a little bit was beneficial, and the D-level area could still provide training without excessive risk.

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

"Whoosh!"

The jump platform glowed brightly, and in a flash, several students standing on it disappeared. These students who chose to enter the D-level area left early, while the remaining students insisted on entering the C-level area.

The C-level area was dangerous, but it also came with opportunities!

The D-level area had limited third-stage insect beasts, while the C-level area was different. The corpse of a third-stage insect beast was worth 3 points, and if they killed more, not only would their ranking on the points list improve, but they could also accumulate more points to exchange for more cultivation resources.

"Alright, the remaining students are those going to the C-level area. Because the area is special and the risk is high, the academy has specially customized a set of D-level battle armor for each of you. Come up and collect it!" The staff member in charge of the jump platform opened a box, inside which was a set of blue battle armor.

Wang Xu and others exchanged glances, their eyes filled with some worry.

The academy providing battle armor clearly indicated that the C-level area was not just a little dangerous!

"Good! Now everyone close your eyes, relax your entire body, and do not resist at all. The time-space jump is about to begin!"

At the command, Wang Xu closed his eyes, and the next moment, he felt dizzy and a wave of nausea swept over him.

The dizziness came and went quickly, and in just a few seconds, Wang Xu felt a lightness all over his body, fresh air filling his mouth, and then his feet felt empty as he fell down.

"We've arrived!" Wang Xu stood steadily on the ground and opened his eyes.

What met his eyes was a dense forest, with several buildings that had already become ruins scattered among it. The old buildings were covered with moss and wild grass, almost unrecognizable.

Several flashes of light, and Zhang Xinglin, Zhou Ge, Song Zhen, and others also arrived.

"Let's go, find a safe area." Wang Xu waved his hand, and a long knife suddenly appeared in his hand, leading the way into the forest.

This was "spatial folding technology," which could create an independent space for rings, belts, gems, or other items. It was a magical technology developed by scientists using cosmic energy.

Zhang Xinglin and others did not waste words, taking out their weapons and following Wang Xu.

Wang Xu casually glanced around and noticed that Zhang Xinglin was using a black sword, clearly made of ancient bronze. Wang Xu was slightly surprised, as modern weapons were usually made from minerals and technology, and few people used weapons forged with ancient techniques.

At the same time, he saw Tang Yan draw a flexible sword from her waist. This flexible sword was clearly extraordinary, likely surpassing the B-level and reaching the A-level.

Wang Xu did not dwell on it and began to search for a safe area using the radiation detector on his wrist.

In the past, humans used every means to fight insect beasts, even using radiation bombs. These bombs, as expected, filled the explosion area with radiation, making it impossible for humans to live there again, and the radiation lasted for fifty years. However, insect beasts could not enter the radiation area either, as they had a natural aversion to radiation.

Thus, every time they came out for a trial, the first priority was to find a radiation area as a safe zone for the students.

Radiation had a significant impact on insect beasts but a lesser impact on humans. As long as they did not stay for a long time, their bodies would not be affected.

"I've found it. The radiation here meets the standard and is suitable for living." After finding the place, Wang Xu and others began to set up their residence.

"Wait, an insect beast is approaching!" At this word, everyone immediately became alert.

In the wild, they were most sensitive to danger and could not relax even for a moment.

"I see it. It's a second-stage red-armored insect beast. I'll take care of it." Zhang Xinglin's gaze quickly locked onto a target, and Wang Xu and others were surprised because they had not seen the insect beast, but Zhang Xinglin had.

The red-armored flying insect was a second-stage insect beast, relatively weak, but its hearing was particularly acute. The sounds made by Wang Xu and others had startled it. Although the red-armored flying insect posed no significant threat to them, they could not be careless. If it summoned other insect beasts to attack, Wang Xu and others might quickly find themselves in a dire situation.

Zhang Xinglin immediately rushed out into the forest, and Wang Xu and others continued to set up their residence without further ado.

With a sudden insect beast's scream, the feeling of being targeted immediately disappeared, and Zhang Xinglin emerged from the forest, a few spots of blood on his black clothes.

...

Jump Room

A large screen was divided into dozens of sections, showing the progress of each team's trial.

"He Shi, you're really willing to spend so much!" Four coaches stood in front of the screen, and the seductive young woman was surprised when she saw the image of He Shi's students.

In the image, He Shi's students had already begun hunting insect beasts, but what was surprising was that each student held a blue vial in their hand.

The seductive young woman recognized these vials as the expensive "body enhancement agents." These agents had a high concentration of drugs and strong side effects, and the government did not allow them to be sold on the market; they could only be purchased on the black market.

One body enhancement agent cost 10,000 Earth coins, which was not expensive for the coaches, but with each student having several vials and a considerable number of them, this amounted to hundreds of thousands or even millions of Earth coins!

It was just a trial, yet the coach was willing to spend so much, which was why the seductive young woman was surprised.

"Hmph! So what if it's a million body enhancement agents? It's just a drop in the bucket for me." He Shi sneered, showing no concern, as if a million Earth coins were nothing to him.

The seductive young woman glanced at Cui Badao, clearly understanding that He Shi's willingness to spend so much was to compete with Cui Badao and vie for the ranking on the points list.

Cui Badao's face was expressionless, and he also understood what He Shi's purpose was: to push Wang Xu and others off the points list and occupy the most prominent positions.

At the same time, it was for the sole slot to enter the "Inner Court."

The coaches had already passed their best years for cultivation and were not eligible to enter the Inner Court, but the Inner Court opened an additional slot each year for the most outstanding coach.

This year, the most hopeful candidates for this slot were Cui Badao and He Shi, who were secretly competing to enter the Inner Court.

Once they entered the Inner Court, even if their talent was poor, they would come out at least as a seventh-stage gene warrior, a "Master," with a greatly elevated status!

Although Cui Badao's class had long dominated the points list, the Inner Court also considered He Shi to be excellent. Whether he could enter the Inner Court largely depended on this trial.

Cui Badao's face was dark, clearly not expecting He Shi's willingness to spend so much.

"Hehe, Cui Badao, we've been competing for so long, and it's time to see who wins." He Shi looked at Cui Badao's dark face and felt a great sense of satisfaction.

Old Feng and the seductive young woman exchanged glances, understanding that He Shi had spent a lot for this trial and was almost certain to win.