Departure

Li Hong approached with a gentle smile.

Chu Yuan asked abruptly, "What relation is Li Chen to you?"

"Li Chen is my cousin." Li Hong seemed oblivious to Chu Yuan's cold reception. "The family has already investigated the truth behind his death; it truly had nothing to do with you. I apologize for the trouble caused to you some time ago."

Chu Yuan was somewhat surprised by his attitude, but he merely nodded without saying anything further.

Li Hong continued, "After all, the spot for the Jianmu Project was purchased by our Li Family from Principal Qi, so it cannot go to waste. Therefore... I have come. It has nothing to do with you, so you can rest easy."

"You certainly know quite a lot..."

Li Hong smiled and did not say anything more.

Seeing this, Chu Yuan ignored him and chatted with Yang Yi instead.

Only then did he learn that on the day of the Day of Vengeance attack, Yang Yi had initially been taken away by personnel from the Martial Suppression Bureau. Although his father, who was in the Supernatural Realm, had sensed that something was wrong, he had been temporarily conscripted by the Martial Suppression Bureau, so he could not come to protect him immediately.

As it turned out, just as Jiang Fei had said, the Martial Suppression Bureau martial artists responsible for protecting Yang Yi's group had simply found a random hiding spot to stash them before leaving to search for their own families.

For those who were not within the range of the Blood-Sucking Array to begin with, such behavior was actually of no consequence.

However, seeds like Yang Yi had been marked by the Blood-Sucking Array from the start; without a high-level martial artist to help suppress it, the blood energy within their bodies had been constantly devoured!

Fortunately, it hadn't lasted long, so it didn't cause any irreversible consequences, though their foundations were still slightly damaged.

For the past two days, Yang Yi had been at home, having his foundation repaired by his father using secret techniques.

"Sigh, I was almost screwed to death..."

"Being almost screwed to death is still better than actually being dead."

"That's true, I suppose..."

While they were talking, a minibus slowly drove into the school.

Qi Da walked over and urged, "The Martial Suppression Bureau martial artists will be accompanying you. Be careful along the way."

The Secret Realm was, of course, not inside the school, nor was it even in Chenyang City.

"We will head to the Prefecture first, then enter the Secret Realm through the teleportation array at the Prefecture's Martial Suppression Bureau. The entire journey will take less than ten hours. If you want to sleep, get some rest; if you're truly bored, then cultivate," Jiang Fei said lazily. His attitude wasn't exactly bad, but it wasn't exactly good either.

First High School had three spots, and naturally, Second High School and Third High School also had spots, three each as well.

Jiang Fei's task was to take them to the Prefecture and bring them back after the trial ended—he was essentially a babysitter.

"Um... Teacher, would you like some water?" A girl nervously handed over a bottle of drink.

Jiang Fei chuckled, took it, and drank a mouthful before turning his head to look at Chu Yuan with a meaningful expression.

Chu Yuan: "..."

Seeing that Jiang Fei had accepted her goodwill, the girl breathed a sigh of relief.

"Teacher, are there many people participating in the Secret Realm trial this time?"

The others in the bus also pricked up their ears to listen.

"Of course. Chenyang City alone has nine people. Looking at the whole country... how many do you think there are?"

"Are there... several tens of thousands?"

"Not quite several tens of thousands, but one or two tens of thousands is likely."

"Ah?" A look of dejection appeared on the girl's face. With ten or twenty thousand people, plus the heaven-gifted geniuses from places like the Divine Capital... how could she possibly compete with them? No matter how generous the rewards were, they were just pies in the sky she couldn't reach.

"Scared?"

"A little..."

"It's fine. Everyone has one head on two shoulders; what is there to be afraid of? At worst, just treat it as gaining some experience. There are rewards for the top hundred. If you can't take first place, can't you at least strive for the hundredth?"

Perhaps it was the words of this powerhouse from the Martial Suppression Bureau that gave the girl confidence, as the look of worry on her face dissipated somewhat.

"Thank you."

Jiang Fei waved his hand. "Besides, quite a few martial academies are keeping a close eye on this trial.

If you perform well, even if you don't secure a top ranking in the end, it will still be of great benefit for your college entrance exams!

You might even get scouted for early admission..."

He casually dangled another carrot, and the girl returned to her seat, her fighting spirit soaring.

The atmosphere inside the vehicle was relatively quiet, filled with hushed whispers that made one feel somewhat drowsy.

Chu Yuan watched the scenery receding outside the window; it was completely devoid of human life.

Ever since the resurgence of martial arts, things like rural villages and townships had ceased to exist; everyone lived in cities.

This was because the first wave of enemies humanity faced wasn't the Alien Race, nor was it the supernatural.

It was the wild beasts that had mutated from the creatures of nature...

Under their threat, living in the wilderness was a highly dangerous affair.

Although humanity later cleared away this threat, the habit had already been ingrained...

"What are you thinking about?" Jiang Fei sat down beside him.

"Nothing... Have you finished your sick leave?"

"As if. The bureau is short-handed, so I'm back on duty while still recovering." Jiang Fei sighed, then lowered his voice. "Be careful of that Li Hong from your school."

Chu Yuan nodded. "I know."

At the very least, as far as he could tell, Li Hong held no hostility toward him.

His initial instinct was that Li Hong had come for him, but upon further reflection, a major family like the Prefecture Li Family, while powerful, had many mouths to feed.

The resources allocated to each person were certainly limited; if you took an extra bite, I would have one less... Li Chen's death might not necessarily be a bad thing for Li Hong.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to take Li Chen's spot...

"As long as you're aware of it."

"But I still don't understand, how can he be at the Internal Breath Realm?" Chu Yuan asked curiously.

In the past, having a few martial artists at the Internal Breath Realm before the college entrance exams was already quite impressive. How was it that with half a month left until the exams, anyone you picked at random was already at the Internal Breath Realm?

Were geniuses really that common now?

He was using a cheat, but could Li Hong be using one too?

Jiang Fei curled his lip. "They used underhanded methods, that's all. Didn't you notice he's been cultivating ever since he got on the bus?"

"Forcing growth?"

"Mhm."

"No, is it really worth ruining himself just for a single Secret Realm trial?"

"You don't understand. That cultivation technique is truly precious... If his foundation is damaged, he can find ways to repair it later.

But if he misses out on that technique, he'll never get another chance.

His situation won't be rare among those participating in this trial."

"You've made me a bit curious now... What kind of technique is it?" Chu Yuan asked, also filled with anticipation for his own future cultivation techniques.

"The Martial God Record! Its creator was a supreme powerhouse at the Ninth Realm of martial arts!

Unfortunately, he was careless and fell into a trap on the Outer-Heaven Battlefield, where he was surrounded and killed by the Alien Race..."

"Ninth Realm..."