Chapter 87

"Everyone, just a bit further ahead is the Western Hell Academy." Si Jizhao pointed to the small path ahead and said, "Your Western Hell Academy is quite different from other academies. In other academies, senior brothers can lead you in, but your academy is special and requires you to register yourselves. Also, I want to remind you that in other academies, once you complete the registration, you are officially part of the academy. But it's different for you.

"In the eyes of others, you are already part of the Western Hell Academy, but the people of the Western Hell Academy won't recognize you yet. To become a member of the Western Hell Academy, you need to pass their assessment. If you fail, you will have to leave. As for the assessment method, it changes every year. Last year, the senior students of your academy directly dealt with the new students. I don't know what it will be like this year. Senior brother can only wish you good luck."

"This Western Hell Academy is indeed quite special," Zhu Lubin muttered with a laugh. Just as he was about to leave, he heard Si Jizhao softly calling Lin Yiming.

"Lin Yiming, hold on a moment. I have a recommendation letter for you."

Si Jizhao took out a few sealed envelopes from his pocket and handed them to Lin Yiming and the others.

"Is this... Is this the recommendation letter you wrote for us? Thank you so much, senior brother," Zhu Lubin's eyes lit up.

"No, I don't have that authority," Si Jizhao waved his hand and said, "These were written by Teacher Gong Wanqiu. Although some... well, some things happened at the time, she was still very responsible. She wrote the recommendation letters for you and had someone deliver them to me. Not just for you, but for everyone, she prepared the recommendation letters."

After handing the letters to them, Si Jizhao suddenly lowered his voice and whispered, "Junior brother, you must be careful. You are going to the Western Hell Academy. Before you officially become a member, don't believe anything anyone tells you. Only those holding a blood-red token can be trusted. That blood-red token is called the Hell Blood Token, issued personally by the dean of the Western Hell Academy. No one dares to impersonate it. In short, be careful on your journey. I can only help you this much."

"Thank you, senior brother!" Lin Yiming sincerely thanked him. Clearly, Si Jizhao was telling him this separately, giving him a face. Regardless of Si Jizhao's intentions, he would remember this favor.

In the crowd, Li Yiming looked at Lin Yiming with surprise, wondering why this young man, who seemed unremarkable, was treated so specially by Senior Brother Si, and even given special advice before leaving.

Could it be that they already knew each other, or does he have some special qualities?

Lin Yiming and the others deliberately stayed behind, listening to Si Jizhao's words before leaving. By then, others had already walked ahead, passing through the dense forest along the narrow path, and the view suddenly opened up.

A winding stream appeared before them, blocking their path. In front of the stream, three wooden tables were haphazardly placed, and behind the tables, about seven or eight men, who looked like street thugs, were lounging around.

On the tables, there were bowls of strong liquor, and the strong smell of alcohol could be detected from a distance. Some of them had their feet on the tables, leaning back comfortably. A few others were drinking competitively, their faces flushed. The only one who looked relatively normal was a man who had one foot on the table, his shirt open, revealing a chest covered in scars like a spider web.

This man was playing with a dagger that glinted in the light, his other hand resting on his knee. His eyes, filled with a fierce look, were scanning the crowd.

As Lin Yiming and the others approached, he suddenly flicked his wrist and threw the dagger onto the table with a sharp sound. The few men who had been resting with their eyes closed, and those who were drinking, seemed to receive an order and stopped.

"Damn, finally, you slowpokes are here!" The man stood up, his face displeased, and scanned the crowd, saying coldly, "You should know that our Western Hell Academy is different from other branches. We want elites, but every year, the academy always sends us some useless people. There are too many of them, and we don't have the energy to deal with them, nor do we have extra resources to waste on them. So, we have to eliminate some."

He pointed at the crowd and said coldly, "There are a hundred of you. Soon, you will start from here. The first fifty to reach our academy's registration point will be accepted. The last fifty, get lost."

"Senior Brother Si Jizhao was right; this academy is full of weirdos!" Zhu Lubin's eyes scanned the few men in front of him, and he whispered to Lin Yiming. These people were supposed to notify them or guide them, but he had never seen such strange guides before, who were drinking and playing games until they arrived.

"Although they are weird, what this man says can be trusted." Lin Yiming looked at the blood-red token, about the size of a palm, on the table in front of the man, thinking it must be the Hell Blood Token.

"Come, come, everyone, look at this map." Suddenly, after the man finished speaking, the few men who had been sunbathing or playing games came around the tables, holding maps and distributing them to the crowd.

"This is the map to our Western Hell Academy's registration point. There are many routes, and each one can lead you there. You can study the routes yourselves." They were very polite as they distributed the maps and introduced them to everyone.

Soon, Lin Yiming and his three companions each had a map in hand.

"What a detailed map." Lin Yiming looked at the map, and his eyes lit up. The map was very precise, not only marking the directions but also filled with place names and several clearly marked routes, some of which converged. It was a very well-prepared map.

"Wait, there's something wrong with this map." A voice whispered in his ear, and Lin Yiming turned to see Ouyang Aoting cautiously looking around.

"This map is wrong," Ouyang Aoting whispered to Lin Yiming and Zhu Lubin, "It's a fake map."

Lin Yiming and Zhu Lubin looked up at the same time, towards the few men who had finished distributing the maps and returned to the tables.

"Old Lin, there really is a problem. Look, they don't have the Hell Blood Token," Zhu Lubin whispered, pointing at the men. "I said, these people aren't that kind-hearted to give us maps. They must be up to something. Luckily, Fat Master is smart and saw through their plan! We know, but don't say anything." Zhu Lubin specially reminded Ouyang Aoting, as they were competing for fifty spots among a hundred people, and the others were direct competitors.

Seeing that everyone was ready, the man with the Hell Blood Token on the table raised his hand and slapped the table. "Alright, you can start now. If you're afraid, leave now."

"I have a question." A familiar voice came from the crowd. Zhu Lubin looked in the direction of the voice, and his face turned ashen. It was the martial artist with the Iron Bone Transformation, whom he had trapped in a net and tied up.

"I want to know, from now on, will anything I do be considered a mistake, even if I kill someone?" The man's eyes were fixed on Zhu Lubin.

"Of course, if you have the ability, you can kill the other ninety-nine people, and you won't be punished," the senior student sitting in the middle of the chair said with a smile, suddenly drawing the dagger from the table, his face turning fierce.

"You won't be punished for anything you do, but if you dare to do anything to defile a woman, we will make you wish you were dead. Not only you, but your family will suffer the same fate! Remember, we may be bad people, but we are not low-life thugs!" The senior student said, forcefully stabbing the dagger into the table, piercing it through and breaking it, the dagger embedding itself in the ground.

"I am not a low-life, I just want revenge!" The martial artist with the Iron Bone Transformation turned and took a step forward, his eyes glaring at Zhu Lubin, as if they were about to burst into flames. "Fatso, do you remember what I said? I want you to die a miserable death. Remember, the one who kills you is Zhou Kehao."

"Do you have to be like this? I didn't take your woman, do you have to look at me like that?" Zhu Lubin mustered his courage and shouted, but his face turned pale as Zhou Kehao was already in front of him.

"Fatso, remember, in your next life, be a pig, not a human!"

Zhou Kehao's eyes were filled with killing intent, his fingers tightly clenched, making a series of cracking sounds. A fierce aura of spiritual energy burst out, like a storm that had been blocked by a wall for a long time and finally found a way out, surging and violent.