Arctic Trial

"So, did you find anything out?" Feng Qingmo couldn't help lowering his voice too.

"You know those two were from the Boria Mercenary Group. Their base is in the Bering Strait, between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. They didn't say so, but I suspect the U.S. was behind it. I don't know anything more specific..."

"That doesn't matter. As long as we're prepared, they won't get the chance!" Li Ping refilled the teacup in front of Feng Qingmo. "What I wanted to tell you is something else..."

"Maybe he was trying to save his own life, but Wang Xiangying revealed something. His mercenary group is based not far from the Arctic, and they often go there to hunt monsters. But in recent years, several members have mysteriously disappeared in the Arctic. The Communication Watches they carried all had tracking functions, yet their locations couldn't be determined. If they'd been killed by monsters, their watches shouldn't have stopped transmitting their locations..."

"Their mercenary group's leader searched the Arctic several times, but found nothing. That led them to a theory..."

Li Ping gazed at Feng Qingmo with a smile. "What do you think their theory was?"

Feng Qingmo wanted to roll his eyes at him, but unfortunately, his eyes wouldn't cooperate.

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he blurted out, "...An Ancient Civilization Ruin!"

"Exactly!" Li Ping clapped his hands and lowered his voice. "They suspect there's an undiscovered Ancient Civilization Ruin in the Arctic. The chief once entered an Ancient Civilization Ruin himself, so he agrees with their theory. That's the most important reason this life-or-death trial is being held in the Arctic..."

"But," Feng Qingmo couldn't help saying, "shouldn't something like this be handled by the higher-ups? What good would sending a few War General Level fighters do?"

Li Ping let out a soft sigh. "They've already been. The chief went himself for more than half a month, and they even sent over a dozen War Gods. But after a month of searching, they found nothing!"

"I see..." Feng Qingmo nodded, then frowned. "Maybe there isn't a ruin at all?"

"That's why I'm not telling any of the other trainees. If there's no ruin, then it's just a regular life-or-death trial... If there is one, then it'll come down to who's lucky—or unlucky—enough to find it..."

A thought struck Feng Qingmo. "How strong were the missing members of that mercenary group?"

Li Ping smiled. "You really are sharp... That's right. Every one of the missing members was a War General Level fighter!"

"Then what about our trainees..." Feng Qingmo hesitated.

"Qingmo," Li Ping said gravely, his eyes deep and serious. "You need to understand that everyone's life follows a different path. There's no such thing as a completely safe place. Even ordinary people living in a Base City might get hit on the head by a flowerpot falling from above while walking down the street, or be struck by a car running a red light...

"If these trainees find a ruin in the Arctic, or even enter one, or so much as trigger it to appear, they'll be the first to benefit—as long as they survive. Even if they turn it over to the country, the country won't shortchange them. Of course, they have to survive first...

"And if there's no ruin, or they don't find it, then it's just a regular life-or-death trial... You need to understand why the words 'life or death' are part of the trial's name. The trial itself is a test!"

Feng Qingmo nodded silently.

"Brother Li, did that mercenary group's leader ever go back and search the Arctic?" Feng Qingmo asked, puzzled.

"No." Li Ping shook his head with a smile. "The leader of that mercenary group was a High-level War God. He spent nearly half a year covering almost the entire Arctic, but in the end, he gave up..."

On July 1, the 119 Martial Artists at Intermediate War General Level or above from the Training Camp, together with Feng Qingmo and the six teachers leading the group, took a bus to the airport in Kyoto Base City. The other 118 Junior War General Level and Warrior Level trainees were headed to a different designated area for their trial.

The 126 of them boarded a plane chartered by the Training Camp and flew straight to the Arctic.

Kyoto Base City wasn't all that far from the Arctic as the crow flies. At the speed of modern passenger aircraft, the flight took a little over two hours.

On the plane, the screens that had been showing movies began playing an introduction to the Arctic. It covered maps, basic facts about the polar region, monster species, their distribution, and more.

All of it could mean the difference between life and death, so every trainee watched attentively. Some even recorded the presentation so they could review it later if they forgot anything.

Feng Qingmo listened carefully to the presentation too. In the days before the trip, he had collected a number of maps of the Arctic, both broad overviews and detailed ones. But no ordinary humans had set foot on Arctic soil for decades, and the Martial Artists who did go there generally weren't much good at drawing maps.

Fortunately, they had satellites. But satellites were mainly used to monitor powerful monsters like King-Level Monsters. In places like the Arctic, where no King-Level Monsters had yet appeared, they passed over far less often.

Many of the trainees watched Feng Qingmo with curiosity. Some had never met him, but had heard of him. After the third group approached him to invite him to team up and he turned them down, no one else bothered trying.

Once the video ended, the plane soon reached the outskirts of the Arctic. After flying farther in, it began to descend.

When the passenger plane came to a stop, more than a hundred people poured out of the cabin.

A world of silver-white stretched before them. There were no buildings, not even a trace of green. The frigid weather had blanketed everything in snow and ice.

"All trainees, listen up!" One of the leading teachers climbed onto the plane's wing and called out, "Use your Communication Watches to record the precise coordinates of this location. It's 12:13 p.m. on July 1. Your task is to survive for 28 days in the region north of latitude 80 degrees. Our plane will be back at this exact spot at noon on July 29 to take all the trainees back to Kyoto Base City."

"Your life-or-death trial begins now!"

The six War God teachers returned to the plane. It took off at once, then streaked away as a flash of blue and vanished into the distance.

As the familiar trainees gathered in groups of three or five, Feng Qingmo took out a pair of sunglasses and put them on. Then he set off alone ahead of everyone else.

"Look at him, acting like he's so cool. I wonder if he can last the full 28 days..." one trainee who'd tried to invite him to join a team muttered sourly to his companions after Feng Qingmo had gone some distance.

His voice wasn't loud, but plenty of people heard him. Some trainees looked as if they agreed, others didn't care, and a few seemed worried. Most were busy checking their own weapons and equipment.

Feng Qingmo was already some distance away, and the wind was loud, but his Spiritual Force still let him take in the different reactions. He was surprised at first, then shook his head with a smile and quickened his pace, soon disappearing into the blowing snow.

Walking over ground covered in ice and snow was a novel experience for him. It snowed in Jiangnan Base City every winter too, but the snow usually didn't last long.

He drew in a deep breath of the icy air, then couldn't help letting out a long howl.