Chu Yuan didn't catch up with Li Ji. He only came across some Blood Beast corpses;
after all, he hadn't learned any tracking techniques...
But he didn't dwell on it. Their routes were the same, so they'd run into each other sooner or later;
if they did, he'd deal with Li Ji along the way. If not, so be it. The trial was more important.
Chu Yuan looked at the Blood Beast before him. Humanlike fear showed in its eyes as it lowered its body and let out a threatening growl;
the Blood Beast didn't look strange. The reason it seemed like a red blur from a distance was that its entire body was covered in red fur.
Its overall appearance and features resembled a tiger, fierce and imposing;
its heart was the main ingredient for refining Blood Qi Pills. Eating one raw could even increase a Warrior's blood qi!
The Blood Beast before Chu Yuan was probably as strong as a Blood-Qi Realm Warrior. But in a real fight, a Blood-Qi Realm Warrior would most likely lose to it.
Warriors grew stronger as they advanced. At the Blood-Qi Realm, most hadn't even mastered a decent martial skill, and couldn't match the innate fighting instincts of a beast like this...
As Chu Yuan watched, the Blood Beast seemed to finally lose patience;
it planted its paws, roared, and lunged at Chu Yuan!
But what greeted it was a fierce gust of wind...
"Chu Yuan should be racking up points by now..."
"Jiang Fei, what are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, Teacher."
The woman seated at the head of the table glanced at him and asked, "You all understand your assignments, right?"
"Yes, Teacher." Several voices answered at once;
"Good." The woman pondered for a moment, then said, "Stay safe. If things really become impossible... fall back for now;
you're not the main force, anyway."
"Teacher, what if no one comes?"
"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" The woman smiled. "You can all go. Jiang Fei, stay behind."
Once the meeting room was empty, the woman looked at Jiang Fei and suddenly sighed, asking bluntly, "What's going on with you?"
"Teacher..."
"When I asked you to go to the Outer-Heaven Battlefield, you made all kinds of excuses;
now Chen Bai, Zhou Xue, and the others are about to reach the Fifth Realm! And you're still standing still!
When I took you as my student, you had the best talent of all my disciples! Now even those who were less gifted than you have surpassed you!"
Jiang Fei was silent for a moment, then finally said, "Teacher, I'm sorry..."
"Sorry? What are you apologizing for?" the woman said coldly. "You're wasting your own talent!
Why won't you go to the Outer-Heaven Battlefield? Are you afraid of dying?"
She knew her student well. Jiang Fei wasn't the sort to fear death; she was only provoking him on purpose.
After all, the Martial Suppression Bureau was no less dangerous than the Outer-Heaven Battlefield. Just a few days ago, Chenyang City had nearly suffered a terrible disaster.
Jiang Fei shook his head and offered no explanation. He only said, "After this, I'll go to the Outer-Heaven Battlefield."
At that, the woman's expression softened a little, and she didn't press him further;
"Three years. I'm giving you three years to reach the Supernatural Realm."
"...All right."
"Good. Go."
Jiang Fei hesitated, then asked quietly, "Teacher, why did the higher-ups come up with a plan like this?
Aren't they afraid something might really go wrong?"
He'd wanted to ask for a long time, but had held it in until now!
The assignments their teacher had just given them were related to the Secret Realm trial!
But not inside the Secret Realm—in the area outside it!
Warriors from the Fourth and Fifth Realms would each form teams, ready to kill any enemies who came to attack!
Jiang Fei had keenly sensed that his teacher seemed certain someone would come to attack the place?
He didn't know what the higher-ups had planned. He just felt this wasn't right...
"What could go wrong?"
"What if... the Secret Realm is really breached, and the students inside..."
The students in Secret Realm No. 7 represented the very best of this generation in Great Qin. If they were lost inside, it would be a devastating blow to the nation!
"Then don't let them breach the Secret Realm!" the woman replied without hesitation;
"..." Jiang Fei was at a loss for words. You can just say that and it won't happen? If you had the power to make whatever you said come true, why not just say the Alien Race should be wiped out?
"Besides..." a trace of ruthlessness flashed in the woman's eyes;
"even if the worst you described really happens, it's only one generation of students!
If we can ambush and kill a few of their powerful fighters... then their sacrifice will be worth it."
Jiang Fei murmured, "Worth it...?"
"Across all the college entrance examinations, how many of even the most talented have become great warriors?" The woman's gaze was deep. "Three hundred years into the path of martial arts, the pillars of Great Qin today;
they all emerged from the early days of martial arts, fighting their way through seas of blood and mountains of corpses!"
Jiang Fei had no interest in debating his teacher about values. He simply asked in a low voice, "Teacher, has the situation changed?"
The woman looked at him in surprise, then gave him an approving glance. "You're still as perceptive as ever;
you guessed right. The situation on the Outer-Heaven Battlefield isn't good for humanity.
Some of the higher-ups believe the way we train Warriors may need to change!
This Secret Realm trial is itself an experiment;
you could call it... raising gu!"
"But these students... even if they can't become pillars of the nation, with their talent, they could still become the backbone of Great Qin in time;
can't you give them some time?
Most of them are only at the Blood-Qi Realm, and some haven't even learned a martial skill..."
"Once they learn martial skills, will you say they still aren't proficient enough?
Once they're proficient, will you say they're about to reach the Impermeable Realm?
And once they reach the Impermeable Realm...
how long are we supposed to wait?
We can wait, but humanity's enemies won't." The woman spoke calmly. "But why does everything you say make it sound like they're doomed to die?
Have so little faith in them? Great Qin allows sacrifices, but it doesn't allow sacrifices to be made for nothing."
"I don't... No, I mean, I have faith..."
Stormlike green light crisscrossed the sky as blood rained down!
A pile of severed limbs fell to the ground. Chu Yuan's expression turned grave;
it was the second day since he entered the Secret Realm. He wasn't sure if it was because he'd ventured too deep, but he felt that the Blood Beasts he encountered today had changed compared with yesterday.
They no longer feared people. Instead, they were full of aggression!
The moment they saw someone, they fought to the death!
And he rarely encountered lone Blood Beasts anymore. There were a few at the least, and dozens at the most, all moving together!
Almost as if... they were hunting him?
But this change was actually a good thing for him when it came to racking up points...
Before you continue