Entering Qijia Town, A City Invaded by Plants

Zeng Chang's original expectation for Li Yuan was to fight for a spot in the top thirty.

As long as Li Yuan achieved that result, it would at least be enough to provide some justification.

But now, the originally designated contestant from Lingshan City had become a contestant from Chishan City.

The top thirty—this black pot was still impossible to throw off.

For Li Yuan and Zeng Chang, the pressure had multiplied several times over.

To give the city's decision-makers a proper explanation, the only way was for Li Yuan to defeat Jin Fan.

If he could accomplish that, then no one would dare question giving the spot to Li Yuan.

The accusations other units had leveled against the Municipal Education Bureau would also lose their footing.

But could Li Yuan really beat Jin Fan in the Youth Martial Tournament?

No wonder Zeng Chang's tone was so full of dejection.

This gamble—before the Youth Martial Tournament had even begun—had already declared him the loser.

Although everyone knew that Deputy Director Zeng Chang had stepped up to face the difficulty this time, easily taking that black pot onto his back.

But knowing that didn't change anything; once the pot was on, it was on.

In this battle for the director's position, he was out early.

The two of them were silent on the phone for a long while.

After the silence, Deputy Director Zeng Chang forced himself to laugh magnanimously.

"You don't need to feel any guilt toward me.

Since I decided to take a gamble, I already considered the possibility of losing.

As for you, don't waste the training opportunities—improve as much as you can.

After this Youth Martial Tournament, most of those training chances will likely be out of your reach..."

Li Yuan expressed his thanks, and the two hung up.

Li Yuan could understand Zeng Chang's dejection and disappointment.

The Municipal Education Bureau had invited Jin Fan to participate in multiple research sessions, and he had also been part of the Municipal Bureau's topic discussions.

They had a clear understanding of Jin Fan's strength.

It was precisely because of that understanding that Deputy Director Zeng believed Li Yuan could never surpass him.

As the team leader for this Youth Martial Tournament, he would inevitably bear most of the black pot.

The other half, barring any surprises, would fall on Li Yuan.

But compared to Deputy Director Zeng's disappointment and dejection, Li Yuan was not intimidated.

Others had no confidence in him, but Li Yuan had confidence in himself.

His martial arts strength was far greater than what others saw.

Li Yuan had thoroughly read two combat manuals, and with the help of the [Enlightenment to Perfection] talent, his understanding was far deeper and more penetrating than others.

True, he currently lacked firsthand experience.

But in Li Yuan's mind, various counter-strategies had already been stored.

The two "Enlightenment"-type talents helped Li Yuan learn quickly and deeply.

By Li Yuan's own judgment, he was even capable of leading a team to carry out missions on the border.

Facing all kinds of emergencies, he had corresponding strategies and methods in his mind.

Even if Jin Fan was participating, so what?

Competing against him didn't necessarily mean losing to him.

In fact, during that Saturday's sparring match, Li Yuan had thought Jin Fan would be the one to compete.

He hadn't expected it to be his junior disciple, Gu Yu.

Even back then, Li Yuan had been confident enough to face Jin Fan.

So what if he was a Grandmaster's disciple? They weren't immortals or gods.

His mastery of various martial techniques, their proficiency and depth, far exceeded ordinary people.

Gu Yu lost—it wasn't solely a problem with the Cloud Extreme Fist.

He thought it was just because he couldn't see through the Cloud Extreme Fist's patterns.

In reality, the Cloud Extreme Fist Li Yuan used was also different from others.

With the help of the [Martial Recruitment Accelerator] moves, his application of the Cloud Extreme Fist was like that of a martial artist who had refined it for over a decade.

This Youth Martial Tournament wasn't even a direct head-to-head competition.

The possibility of defeating Jin Fan was even greater!

Besides, he was only a little over eighty experience points away from claiming that fourth Talent Point.

He would definitely secure it before the Youth Martial Tournament.

With one more Talent Point to aid him, his chances of victory in the tournament would be even higher.

Since Deputy Director Zeng Chang had invested in him, he would repay that investment with an opportunity!

Having thought this through clearly, Li Yuan took out his pass card and swiped it to enter the passage.

His training in Qijia Town officially began.

"Wuling Education, welcome to Qijia Town. May your journey be safe and smooth."

As he swiped through, a woman's voice announced.

For the time ahead, he would be roaming this area under the identity of Wuling Education.

In this kind of training, the first thing to experience was danger and cruelty.

The most common problem for martial artists who trained solely at school was underestimating danger.

There were two typical manifestations of underestimating danger.

One was arrogance—recklessly charging into peril.

The other was an inexplicable compassion, an unwillingness to be harsh toward the beasts.

The beasts roaming around Qijia Town were mostly D-level Beasts.

A fourth-rank martial artist could handle one alone with some care.

Since the beasts around Qijia Town were ordinary in strength, why did people die here every year?

The core reason was underestimating danger.

Li Yuan, a thirty-year-old middle-aged man, hadn't acted on impulse in a long time.

Even competing for a spot in this Youth Martial Tournament had been a carefully considered decision.

After weighing the pros and cons, he had chosen to offend the school leadership to fight for this benefit.

During his training in Qijia Town, he would never fall into danger by underestimating it.

He walked forward, stepping into what had once been the urban area of Qijia Town.

The weather was fine today—bright sunshine, excellent visibility.

Entering this area where beasts roamed felt like crossing into another world.

Walking along the road, Li Yuan could see various man-made urban structures.

But these old districts had moss creeping up the walls, and trees growing from the rooftops.

It was more like a city abandoned by humans, now overrun by animals and plants.

Desolate. Lonely.

Martial artists who had seen normal cities would feel a lump in their throats at this sight.

This was what the world looked like after human extinction.

Seeing such a scene truly stirred fear in many people's hearts.

In fact, this was also part of the training in Qijia Town.

On the battlefield, a martial artist could lose their life at any moment.

If it was due to lack of strength, they could accept death.

But if they died because of panic, fear, or other psychological reasons, they would die with regret.

Coming here to train meant first passing that psychological hurdle!

When truly on the battlefield, facing terrifying beasts, a companion might die right before your eyes.

A qualified martial artist must calm their mind and continue to respond steadily.

Neither fear nor rage was the best response.

Some thought that if a comrade fell, they should go all out and make the beast pay.

But even if they killed the beast, so what?

How hard was it to train a martial artist? Throwing their life away to die together with a beast—how was that worthwhile?

Li Yuan walked forward, spotted a middle school, and went inside.

The school was completely empty; the playground was overrun with weeds.

Not just the playground—even the stairwells and classrooms of the teaching building had plants growing in every crack.

Qijia Town had been destroyed forty years ago.

This school was even older, its buildings all displaying an antiquated style.

The glass in the windows was still that blue or green tint.

Back then, colored glass like that was very popular.

He walked all the way up to the rooftop of the teaching building, stood at the high point, and looked around.