Stare Again and I'll Boil You into Soup

Hongning Base City, airport.

After flying for over an hour, the passenger plane finally reached its destination and landed at Hongning Base City Airport.

Hongning Base City, the Global Headquarters of the Limit Martial Hall, was located in western Asia Continent, relatively close to Europe.

The moment Yang Wu and Yang Hui left the airport, they boarded a private car bound for the Elite Training Camp. Inside the stretched Cadillac, they observed the sights outside the window.

Hong was Chinese and deeply fond of China's ancient culture, so Hongning Base City had been built entirely in the style of ancient architecture.

Yang Wu still greatly admired Hong.

Not for his strength, but for his selfless devotion to the greater good of the Human Race.

If their positions were reversed—if Yang Wu had no memories of his previous life, lacked Hong's sense of racial duty, yet possessed Hong's endless wealth, astonishing authority, and invincible strength—

That would be an extremely terrifying thing. On the first day, he would be Superman. On the second day, Homelander. On the third day, I don't eat beef. On the fourth day, you have invited your own death...

There would be no fifth day!

He could imagine just how severe the consequences would be if he lost himself in power.

Of course, Hong's absurdly profound state of mind was something that, even in the vast universe, few could ever hope to attain.

They soon arrived at the Elite Training Camp.

Yang Wu and Yang Hui got out of the car and entered the spacious gates of the training camp together.

Inside the gates stood a gigantic dragon sculpture. Its enormous dragon eyes met the gaze of anyone who entered and looked up.

The instant Yang Wu met those dragon eyes, an endless aura of darkness bore down upon him. His breathing stalled slightly before he glared right back.

Stare again and I'll boil you into soup!

Beside him, Yang Hui silently swallowed the words he had been about to say.

He was secretly astonished. He himself felt little because he had come here many times and had nearly grown accustomed to looking at it.

Yet this was Yang Wu's first visit, and not only was he unaffected, he had actually glared back.

One had to know that those were the eyes of a King-level Monster, a true black dragon. The entire black dragon sculpture was filled with an invisible majesty because of them.

Ordinary people would be affected just by seeing it, while even martial artists would feel pressure.

On the scales of the gigantic black dragon sculpture was the famous Black Dragon Rankings.

"Today is August 31st, the final day of the Elite Training Camp's annual Life-and-Death Adventure Month."

"The rankings you see at this point were determined last month. Who knows how many of them are still on the list now?"

Yang Hui sighed somewhat. The Elite Training Camp's treatment was enviable, but it also had a brutal selection mechanism: Life-and-Death Adventure Month.

Every year during Life-and-Death Adventure Month, the death and elimination rate approached ten percent.

Seeing Yang Wu looking at the Black Dragon Rankings, Yang Hui explained the rules and benefits of the rankings to him.

In any power, the resources available for allocation were limited.

Even the Virtual Universe Company, one of the Five Great Powers of the universe's Human Race, could not provide unlimited resources to nurture geniuses.

Using resources capable of cultivating a Universe Venerable to produce a King-level Undying was not a reasonable allocation of resources. It was a complete waste of them.

To allocate resources reasonably, the most direct, simplest, and clearest method was to rank the geniuses competing for those resources.

The Black Dragon Rankings were extremely important to the students, because they determined the distribution of the Elite Training Camp's resources.

The higher one's rank, the more outstanding one was considered, and the more resources one received. The more resources one had, the faster one grew, and the more outstanding one performed.

It was a vicious cycle!

To break this cycle, one either had to work hard and desperately catch up, possess exceptional talent and steadily advance, or wait for the other party to complete five years and graduate.

Precisely to prevent such a vicious cycle, where others occupied high-quality resources for too long, the Elite Training Camp had specifically established a five-year program.

In addition, any student who earned the title of War God would be forcibly expelled.

However, Yang Wu noticed that Yang Hui said this very smoothly. Either he had practiced it before, or he had already said it to who knew how many people.

The entire Black Dragon Rankings had fewer than two hundred positions from top to bottom.

Every year, two-thirds of the Elite Training Camp's recruitment slots came from the Basic Training Camp. Only the remaining third was allocated to other places around the world.

In other words, only a little over ten people worldwide could be admitted into the Elite Training Camp each year. Split among the five great nations and the 23 Base Cities—

The number of slots became even scarcer.

This was also why, among the hundreds of millions of people in Jiangnan Base City, it could take several years for even one person to earn a place in the Elite Training Camp.

Of course, none of this had much to do with Yang Wu.

"Yang Wu, come on."

"I'll take you to eat something good first!"

Yang Hui was extremely enthusiastic as he brought Yang Wu to the second floor of Cafeteria Restaurant No. 1.

Afraid that Yang Wu would not be used to the food, he deliberately ordered only Chinese dishes from the menu.

And indeed, with the world's finest chefs paired with rare ingredients, this was the best meal Yang Wu had ever eaten.

No wonder Yang Hui's first stop after arriving in Jiangnan Base City had not been a restaurant, but a bar.

His palate had already been spoiled!

The only drawback was that it was a little expensive. Just enough food for two people cost Yang Hui over a million Hua Xia currency.

But after savoring it for a moment, the flavors of the dishes surged back into his mind.

Worth it!

Since there was still time, Yang Hui took Yang Wu on a tour of the entire Elite Training Camp.

The Ninefold Tower, Jiangnan Pavilion, Store Plaza—aside from a few special areas, Yang Hui even took Yang Wu to see the teachers' dormitory apartments.

The entire Elite Training Camp had no hint of technological style. It resembled an ancient palace complex nestled within a bustling city.

There were antique palaces, elegantly designed pavilions, whimsical artificial hills, and exquisitely crafted gardens...

The only flaw was that the vast Elite Training Camp was currently completely empty. The students' Life-and-Death Adventures were also the teachers' happy vacation.

It was not until dusk that students gradually began returning.

The appearance of the elite students was like flowers adorning a garden, infusing the entire Elite Training Camp with life and vitality.

Yang Hui brought Yang Wu to a secluded pavilion, where he would stay temporarily for the night.

Tomorrow at noon, he would go to the Ninefold Tower for a routine assessment to test Yang Wu's current level.

After that, further arrangements would be made.

After Yang Hui left, Yang Wu went alone to the second-floor balcony of the quiet pavilion and silently looked out over the entire training camp.

As the sun set, the whole Elite Training Camp was bathed in the lingering glow of the evening clouds. The evening breeze drifted past, stepping across the clouds and bringing orange tenderness.

"What a wonderful place!"