Farewell, Chu Ming

The students got off the buses, dressed in their respective school uniforms, and began the first trial of their lives.

In the Wilderness, a vast circular area had been cordoned off. Drones circled overhead, while armed troops stood ready on the ground.

Inside the office, the large screen displayed the faces of one student after another.

Shen Donglin said, "Director, assign a camera to follow that child named Ai Ning."

Liu Hair-Ren was ecstatic inside. For the first time, he had tasted the flavor of "privilege" in the presence of a provincial official.

Looks like the leader thinks highly of Ai Ning. Maybe I can get transferred sooner because of this, he thought happily.

Seeing that he could not avoid those iron boxes, Jiang Yan simply stopped dodging and openly began hunting Fierce Beasts.

The iron boxes did not give Jiang Yan much screen time. They flew straight past him to follow other students.

Along the way, Jiang Yan encountered quite a few students in school uniforms. Some were from Linjiang First High School, while others wore uniforms from high schools he had never even seen before. Coupled with the drones above their heads, Jiang Yan immediately understood what was going on.

"Did I accidentally wander into someone else's trial grounds?"

"No, I've been here for days. They should be the ones who wandered into my territory." Jiang Yan thought smugly.

He did not dwell on it any longer and devoted himself wholeheartedly to killing Fierce Beasts.

With the boosts from his Traits and talent, the current Jiang Yan killed Second-Order Ferocious Beasts as easily as cutting melons and chopping vegetables. He no longer had the same desperate drive he once did.

Just as he was about to cut down a Green-Furred Beast, a fireball suddenly shot toward it.

Bang!

The Green-Furred Beast fell in response.

Jiang Yan frowned slightly and looked toward where the fireball had come from.

It was an unfamiliar student. The words "Huangshui Middle School" were printed on the chest of his uniform.

Fortunately, Heaven Rewards Diligence was not a system where killing monsters dropped experience. Otherwise, if his prey kept getting stolen like this, Jiang Yan would have greeted this student's family.

Before Jiang Yan could say anything, the person from Huangshui Middle School spoke first.

"Hey, obediently hand over your Points to this lord!"

"Points?" Jiang Yan raised a brow, realizing that this was probably the metric they used to calculate scores.

"But that tone... it really pisses me off."

Jiang Yan cracked his wrists. The long blade embedded in the ground trembled, then flew into his hand on its own.

The drone's propellers whirred overhead, but Jiang Yan could not be bothered with any of that. With an Explosive Step, he shot forward.

"Points, huh? Today, this lord will teach you what Calculus is!"

Seeing Jiang Yan charging at him, the student's pupils shook violently. He swiftly activated his ability. "Mighty Annihilation Fireball!"

Sizzle!

Jiang Yan cleaved the fireball apart with one slash, passed through the blazing flames, and closed in before him. The crimson blade reflected his wicked face.

Slash!

A huge, glaring gash appeared across the student's chest.

"Ah!"

The Huangshui Middle School student fainted from fright on the spot.

"Trash. You dared ask me for Points?"

Jiang Yan sheathed his blade and left.

The entire scene had been captured perfectly by the drone's surveillance cameras.

Shen Donglin watched the scene with a grave expression, even temporarily ignoring the highly anticipated Ai Ning.

He ordered the assistant beside him.

"Replay the footage."

The video began again. Shen Donglin stared carefully at every detail on the screen, afraid of missing even the slightest thing.

The others had clearly noticed the scene as well, and every face was a sight to behold.

"That person isn't wearing a school uniform. Could he be a Wilderness Hunter?"

"That can't be right. He looks pretty young. How could he be a Wilderness martial artist? Could he be some student from a school who disobeyed the rules and didn't wear his uniform?"

"I wouldn't say so. Did you notice? That young man's blade technique is highly skilled. He must have immersed himself in the way of the blade for a long time. How could a student achieve that? Maybe some old fellow disguised himself and came here."

Only Liu Hair-Ren's eyes were wide as saucers, while a stormy sea churned in his heart.

"Jiang Yan! Why is he in the Wilderness? And why has he become so strong?"

His expression flickered uncertainly, making him look like a thief with a guilty conscience. Fortunately, everyone's attention was on the blade-wielding youth, and no one had the time to care about him.

Liu Hair-Ren's eyelids twitched even harder.

It was not until a Principal tried to smooth things over, saying, "Hahaha, even Wilderness Hunters are competing so fiercely these days. Kids of eighteen or nineteen are already entering the business."

Liu Hair-Ren and another Principal chimed in as well, and no one found anything strange about it.

Wilderness Hunters were the most common sight in the Wilderness, so it was not unusual for them to appear during a trial.

However, the assistant whispered into Shen Donglin's ear, "Should I send someone to drive these Wilderness Hunters away? If they affect the Joint Exam..."

Shen Donglin shook his head. "Wilderness Hunters are also part of the Wilderness. Let everything proceed as normal."

These students were already adults. They should know who they could provoke and who they could not. Shen Donglin did not want to look after them as though they were children.

He continued watching the instant Jiang Yan drew his blade, his eyes filled with complicated emotions as though he were thinking of something.

The competition proceeded as normal, and everyone turned their attention back to the students who were performing well.

Drones patrolled the entire area overhead, while Jiang Yan occasionally beat into submission a few people who came looking to demand "Points" from him.

Jiang Yan was too young. Even without a school uniform, people still took him for a student. But when the killing intent around him spread out, it would be time for those blind little bastards to regret it.

"What is one thousand minus one?"

"I... I don't know."

"Trash. You don't even know that, yet you dared come ask me for Points? Go down and temper yourself a little."

Jiang Yan slapped a troublemaker who had come looking for a fight until he was dizzy and disoriented.

He had figured it out. As long as he did not kill anyone, the officials organizing this trial would not interfere with him at all.

He gave an evil grin. "Have they made me part of the trial?"

"Then we'll see whether your students can stop me."

Just as he finished teaching a math-impaired fellow a lesson, a shout from ahead caught his attention.

"Jiang Yan, it's you!"

Their eyes met—could this be anything less than morning and night... Cough, cough, no, that wasn't right!

Jiang Yan smiled at the person before him.

"Young Master Chu, long time no see."

"Heh, Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan. I finally found you. I didn't expect you to come here after dropping out. What, were you afraid I'd take revenge on you?"

"Tsk. Your hand healed? And you still dare point fingers at your father?"

At the mention of his hand, Chu Ming flew into a rage. Back then, Jiang Yan had broken his hand. He had suffered for quite some time afterward and had even cried in front of the entire class, utterly losing face.

Pointing one hand at Jiang Yan, he roared furiously, "Don't think I'm still the same person I was back then. Let me tell you the truth—I've already broken through to Body Tempering Perfection. Crushing you will be as easy as breathing."

As he spoke, he shook his hand and fixed Jiang Yan with a venomous gaze.

"I'll show you just how terrifying the gap between us is."

While Chu Ming was making threats, Jiang Yan had already shamelessly drawn his blade.

"Explosive Step!"

Chu Ming's eyes widened. "You fucking ambushed me again!"

Jiang Yan said, "Idiot, take a slash from your grandpa!"