Forbidden Land and Giant Beast Ecology

Mech General Knowledge Class ended at noon.

Luo Yan arrived at the cafeteria.

He got his meal and found an empty table to eat lunch.

He ate very slowly.

This was a habit formed from living on the surface.

During those three years of extreme scarcity, eating once every two or three days was perfectly normal.

Because hunger was so severe, he couldn't eat quickly.

Over time.

Even though the Academy cafeteria's food was now tasty, he still didn't eat fast.

"Can I sit here?"

A voice sounded.

Luo Yan looked up. It was that classmate named Li Bohang.

The tall, lean, clean-cut young man didn't wait for Luo Yan's agreement before sitting across from him.

The youth extended his hand.

"Can I be friends with you?"

Luo Yan glanced at him and continued eating.

Li Bohang wasn't offended. He smiled and said, "I really admire your courage, whether facing the Wolf Tick alone or fighting in the Death Match."

"But I admire even more your experience of living on the surface for three years. That must have been incredibly hard, right?"

"Anyway, if it were me, I probably couldn't have lasted even a year. You're amazing."

Luo Yan paused his chopsticks for a moment, then went back to devouring his meal.

Li Bohang kept talking to himself: "I know you don't want to make friends."

"The first time I saw you, I felt you were the type who likes to walk alone."

"You trust yourself more."

"But if you want to be a pilot, a Mech Master."

"Then you need friends."

"Every time there's a mission, Mech Masters basically have to go out in squads."

"There will be three to four mechs executing a mission at the same time, so to complete it smoothly, you need to integrate into the group."

"You need to learn to trust."

Luo Yan heard the words but showed no reaction.

He wouldn't decide to be friends with the other person just because of a few sentences from Li Bohang.

Friends.

For him, that was too much of a luxury.

There was a wound on his chest, a gift from someone he'd once called a friend.

Li Bohang smiled and started eating.

While eating, he said, "Let me give you some advice."

"When you go to exchange for cultivation resources, don't exchange for 'Cloud Water Agent.' First, it's a potion meant to be used with intermediate or advanced cultivation methods."

"Second, each vial costs 5 credits."

"Third, in fact, its effect is only about 20% better than 'Calming Agent.'"

"'Calming Agent' can still be used even when training intermediate methods. You can switch to 'Cloud Water Agent' when you start training advanced methods."

"The important thing is, 'Calming Agent' only costs 1 credit to exchange. Good quality and cheap."

After saying this, Li Bohang quietly finished his meal, packed up, and stood: "I'll go first. I have combat class this afternoon, so I need to head back and prepare."

He turned around and suddenly heard Luo Yan say softly, "Thanks."

Li Bohang looked back and smiled: "Don't mention it."

Luo Yan didn't say thanks just to be friendly.

It was simply that the other person had given him well-meaning advice. Whether he took it or not, saying thanks was the right thing to do.

That was a principle.

After Li Bohang left, Luo Yan finished his last bite of food and was about to leave.

Suddenly someone walked over, glanced at Luo Yan, and chuckled: "So you're the New Student Di Zheng recommended?"

Luo Yan looked up and said coldly, "Two months from now, the Death Match. If I'm not dead by then."

Then he walked away.

The man was stunned for a long moment before he called out, "Hold on, do you really have to be like this?"

"I only asked one question."

"I wasn't planning to cause you any trouble."

"Don't just throw down a challenge letter and demand a death match at the drop of a hat."

"I'm not fighting!"

"I'd rather die than fight."

Luo Yan heard it all but kept walking, not stopping as he left the cafeteria.

The man finally shook his head. "What a lunatic."

In the blink of an eye, Luo Yan had arrived at the Undercity. It had already been two weeks since he entered the Academy.

Over these past days.

For the first time, he practiced the Visualization Technique under a mentor's guidance.

He encountered Combat Skills and Mystic Arts for the first time.

He participated in Empathy Training for the first time...

So many firsts.

These two weeks had been more thrilling than the entire eighteen years of his life before.

He also gained a deeper understanding of his mutated Pupil Technique.

For example, he now knew what the Bright Yellow Light and the numbers on himself or others represented.

They represented Primal Energy and its corresponding value.

Beyond that, Luo Yan could also use his mutated Pupil Technique to observe the Primal Energy between heaven and earth.

He could detect its distribution range and density.

Finally.

In terms of Visualization Technique cultivation.

He felt he was close to a breakthrough.

After two weeks of training, he had already let Primal Energy permeate his limbs and torso.

Now only the area around his head and heart remained.

At this moment.

Inside the Training Hall.

Luo Yan picked up a bottle of pale green Inhalant.

'Calming Agent'!

These days, Luo Yan always trained with the 'Calming Agent'.

This agent could settle the Mind and Spirit, strengthen communication and resonance with Primal Energy, and improve training efficiency.

Each bottle of 'Calming Agent' cost only 1 credit.

Over these days, Luo Yan had spent over a dozen credits.

Adding the 3 credits spent on his first day of enrollment.

And the 20 credits deducted for the Chen Yongsong incident earlier.

Luo Yan had started with 98 credits upon enrollment.

Now he had only 48 credits left.

Looking at the other New Students.

The number of students who could afford to use 'Calming Agent' for every training session could be counted on one hand.

Most couldn't be as extravagant as Luo Yan.

Some even thought Luo Yan was wasting his credits.

Luo Yan didn't see it that way.

In two weeks, he would have to fight the Death Match.

Facing Luo Beichen, who had no less resources than him.

If he had to save these credits now.

That would be laughable.

Focusing his mind.

Luo Yan slowly exhaled, then opened the agent and brought it to his lips.

He took a deep breath.

He drained the medicinal liquid from the bottle in one go.

Luo Yan immediately entered a state of absolute tranquility.

He keenly sensed the Primal Energy permeating the air around him.

Then he adopted a specific breathing technique.

Drawing that Primal Energy along with the air into his body, circulating it, retaining the energy, and exhaling the air.

Time passed.

Gradually, beads of sweat as large as beans formed on Luo Yan's forehead.

They soaked his hair, traced the lines of his face, and gathered at his chin.

Dripping down one by one.

Luo Yan felt his entire skin growing tougher and more resilient under the nourishment of Primal Energy.

Moreover, a stronger force was gradually surging from within his body.

This force soon encountered resistance.

It was as if an invisible barrier had blocked its path.

So it seethed and erupted.

With a deep breath, Luo Yan drew in even more Primal Energy from the world around him.

All of it converged into this force.

A single breakthrough!

Shattering the barrier!

Suddenly.

Luo Yan's entire body trembled. His muscles first tensed, then slowly relaxed.

Bringing him an indescribable sense of comfort.

He opened his eyes, raised his hands, and saw that the texture of his skin had become finer and denser.

Like the grain of rock, exuding an aura of toughness.

He finally understood why Wei Fenghua had said that when the time for a breakthrough came, he would know it himself.

So that was it.

That day.

Luo Yan broke through.

First Grade, Second Layer.

On the way back to the dormitory.

Luo Yan overheard many classmates talking.

"What Divine Treasure did you awaken?"

"Mimicry: Violent Bear."

"And you?"

"Me? Heh, I'm Super Physique: Iron Clothes."

"Pretty useful."

And so on.

Unlike Luo Yan.

Many New Students had only started cultivating the basic Visualization Technique after enrollment.

Most had only awakened their Divine Treasures in the past day or two.

But people like Luo Beichen had probably already been cultivating before enrollment.

He wondered what kind of Divine Treasure he would awaken.

Suddenly, Luo Yan stopped.

Luo Beichen and a few students were walking toward him from ahead.

The Pale-faced Youth beside him snorted and called out loudly to Luo Yan, "Isn't this Classmate Luo?"

"Looks like you just got back from the Training Hall?"

"Classmate Luo is very diligent. How about it? What layer of the Visualization Technique have you reached?"

"Have you practiced any Combat Skills or Mystic Arts?"

"There are only two weeks until the arena match."

"Don't wet your pants in fear when you face our Brother Luo."

The few people around Luo Beichen cooperatively burst into laughter.

Luo Yan looked at them like they were clowns.

Suddenly, his gaze turned vacant.

Luo Yan activated his Divine Treasure, the Qi Gazing Eyes!

He looked.

Luo Beichen's blood energy was 173, and his Primal Energy was 124 Jun.

Luo Yan compared it to himself.

His blood energy was now 207, and his Primal Energy far exceeded what he had when he first enrolled, reaching 149 Jun.

From this, it was clear.

Luo Beichen should also be at Primary Level Two.

But he cultivated Observing Mountains and Seas, which emphasized foundation.

Whether blood energy or Primal Energy, he was superior to the other.

Luo Yan then looked at the pale-faced youth.

He saw that within that mass of gray-white light, the red light representing blood energy was dim, and the yellow light representing Primal Energy was faint, almost nonexistent.

That pale-faced youth felt uncomfortable under Luo Yan's gaze.

As if all his secrets were being seen through.

He was about to lose his temper.

But he saw Luo Beichen had already walked far away.

He quickly caught up.

When passing Luo Yan, he even bumped him with his shoulder.

Trying to shove Luo Yan aside.

Luo Yan stood still.

Bang.

Under the collision, it was the pale-faced youth who bounced off instead.

He fell on his backside.

Luo Yan looked straight ahead and walked away with a swagger.

The next day was Friday.

In the morning, it was supposed to be Xiao Shi's general knowledge class, but Wei Fenghua walked into the classroom instead.

Wei Fenghua coughed twice and said, "Next Monday, the Surface Exploration Legion is going to Forbidden Zone 3, 'Misty Canyon,' to carry out a mission. This is a rare opportunity, and the Academy helped you apply for the chance to go along."

"This is your chance to come into contact with a forbidden zone and get a firsthand look at the daily work of a Mech Master."

"So there's no general knowledge class today. I'll be teaching you about forbidden zones."

Luo Yan immediately perked up.

He didn't want to miss a single word.

Wei Fenghua wrote the words 'Forbidden Zone' on the blackboard.

Then he said.

"Forbidden zones are special areas formed after the 'Giant Beast Calamity.'"

"No two forbidden zones are the same size, and the types of giant beasts and parasites within them are also varied."

"But all forbidden zones share one thing in common."

"That is, every forbidden zone contains a 'Giant Beast Ecology' that is vastly different from the environment of the Outside World."

Li Bohang raised his hand and asked, "Teacher, what is 'Giant Beast Ecology'?"

Wei Fenghua pressed his palm down, signaling Li Bohang to lower his hand, and then continued.

"The so-called 'Giant Beast Ecology' is the special ecology derived from the giant beasts within a forbidden zone."

"As for what kind of 'Giant Beast Ecology' will emerge, it is determined by the 'Overlord Level' giant beast in the forbidden zone."

"This is just a reference, not absolute."

"But for an area to become a forbidden zone, there must be an 'Overlord Level' giant beast present."

Luo Yan's breath grew heavy.

In the previous Giant Beast General Knowledge Class, he had already learned.

The humans of the Undercity divided giant beast levels into Lower, Middle, and Upper tiers.

Above Upper tier was Overlord, and above Overlord was the 'Nightmare' level.

Furthermore, from the teacher's words, it wasn't hard to tell.

Besides the 'Nightmare' level, there seemed to be even higher levels.

When he came to the Undercity.

In the city where Luo Yan had lived for three years.

He had already seen the lower-tier 'Lili' and the mid-tier 'Taotie'.

Lili was one thing.

But Taotie was already quite terrifying.

And that was only mid-tier.

Luo Yan couldn't imagine how terrifying those 'Overlord Level' or even 'Nightmare Level' Giant Beasts must be.

Although the others didn't have Luo Yan's wealth of experience, they were exposed to plenty of information on a daily basis.

They naturally knew how fearsome 'Overlord Level' Giant Beasts were.

Hearing that there would be 'Overlord Level' Giant Beasts in the forbidden zone, quite a few students were already starting to back out.

Wei Fenghua glanced at the students and said, "Don't worry."

"Overlord Level Giant Beasts are usually found in the deepest parts of the forbidden zone, and for this activity, the Exploration Corps will only operate in a few relatively safe areas of the forbidden zone."

"You won't, and won't have the chance to, encounter an Overlord Level Giant Beast."

"However, you still need to understand some information about 'Misty Canyon'."

"Among it, the most important."

"Is, of course, the information on that 'Overlord Level' Giant Beast."

Wei Fenghua turned around and, with a few swift strokes, wrote some information on the blackboard.

Codename: Huan (pronounced like 'huan')

Level: Overlord Level 3.

Type: Caterpillar.

Traits: Mist Generation, Wind Raising, Hallucinations, Sonic Boom, Beast Taming!

Weakness: Unknown.

Wei Fenghua coughed a few times and said, "This Overlord looks like a cat, with one eye and three tails. Because it possesses the abilities of 'Wind Raising' and 'Mist Generation'."

"Forbidden Zone 3 is perpetually shrouded in mist, thus forming a unique ecosystem."

Next.

Wei Fenghua went on to explain the Giant Beasts currently discovered in 'Misty Canyon', as well as the various parasitic swarms.

What kinds of flora and fauna existed in the forbidden zone, and which areas required caution.

And so, a whole morning passed.