Setting the Stage? Raising Gu?

Chu Yuan did not manage to catch up to Li Ji, only coming across a few corpses of Blood Beasts.

After all, he had never learned any tracking techniques.

However, he did not dwell on it; since their routes were the same, he would encounter him sooner or later.

If he met him, he would deal with him; if not, so be it. The trial was more important.

Chu Yuan looked at the Blood Beast before him; a human-like fear appeared in its eyes as it crouched low, emitting a threatening low growl.

The Blood Beast did not look grotesque; the reason it appeared as a red mass from afar was that its entire body was covered in red fur.

Its overall appearance and facial features were somewhat similar to a tiger, fierce and majestic.

Their hearts were the primary ingredient for refining Blood Qi Pills, and consuming them raw could even increase a martial artist's blood qi!

The Blood Beast in front of Chu Yuan had the strength of a Blood-Qi Realm martial artist, but in a real fight, most Blood-Qi Realm martial artists would likely be no match for it.

A martial artist's strength grew as they progressed; at the Blood-Qi Realm, most martial artists had not even mastered a decent martial skill, making them unable to overcome the innate combat instincts of such exotic beasts.

As Chu Yuan observed it, the Blood Beast finally seemed unable to endure any longer.

It pushed off with its paws and lunged toward Chu Yuan with a roar!

But what greeted it was a sharp gust of wind...

"Chu Yuan should be accumulating points by now..."

"Jiang Fei, what are you thinking about?"

"Teacher, it's nothing."

The woman sitting at the head of the table glanced at him and asked, "Is everyone clear on their respective tasks?"

"Clear, Teacher." Several voices rang out in unison.

"Mm." The woman pondered for a moment before speaking, "Prioritize your safety. If a situation truly becomes impossible... just retreat. After all, you are not the main force."

"Teacher, what if no one comes?"

"Isn't it better if no one comes?" The woman smiled. "You all may leave first. Jiang Fei, stay behind."

Once the conference room was empty, the woman looked at Jiang Fei and sighed, speaking bluntly, "What exactly is going on with you?"

"Teacher..."

"Before, when I asked you to go to the Outer-Heaven Battlefield, you made every excuse to avoid it. Now, Chen Bai and Zhou Xue are about to advance to the Fifth Realm! Yet you are still standing still! When I first took you as a disciple, your talent was the best among all my students! Now, even those with less talent than you have surpassed you!"

Jiang Fei was silent for a moment before finally saying, "Teacher, I'm sorry..."

"Sorry? What are you sorry for?" the woman said coldly. "You are wasting your own talent! Why do you refuse to go to the Outer-Heaven Battlefield? Are you afraid of death?"

She understood this disciple of hers; Jiang Fei was not the type to fear death, but she said this deliberately to provoke him.

After all, the danger level of the Martial Suppression Bureau was not actually much lower than that of the Outer-Heaven Battlefield, as evidenced by the disaster that nearly unfolded in Chenyang City a few days ago.

Jiang Fei shook his head, offering no explanation, and only said, "After this, I will go to the Outer-Heaven Battlefield."

Hearing this, the woman's expression softened slightly, and she did not press further.

"Three years. I give you three years to step into the Supernatural Realm."

"...Very well."

"Mm, go."

Jiang Fei hesitated for a moment, then asked in a low voice, "Teacher, why did the higher-ups come up with this plan? Aren't they afraid that something might actually go wrong?"

He had wanted to say this for a long time, but had held his tongue until now.

The task the teacher had just assigned them was none other than something related to this secret realm trial.

But it was not inside the secret realm; it was outside!

They, as Fourth and Fifth Realm martial artists, were to form teams and stand ready to kill any invading enemies!

Jiang Fei keenly sensed that the teacher seemed certain that someone would definitely come to attack this place.

He did not know what the higher-ups had arranged, but he felt that doing this was not quite right.

"Something go wrong? What could possibly go wrong?"

"What if... the secret realm is truly breached, and the students inside..."

The students in Secret Realm No. 7 gathered the absolute elite of this year's Great Qin. If they were truly lost inside, it would be a massive blow to Great Qin!

"Then don't let them breach the Secret Realm!" the woman said without a moment's hesitation.

"..." Jiang Fei was speechless, thinking to himself, You say don't let them, so it won't be breached? If you, my esteemed elder, possessed such a divine ability to make your words reality, why not just say a single sentence to wipe out the Alien Race entirely?

"Furthermore..." a flicker of ruthlessness crossed the woman's eyes.

"Even if that 'what if' you mentioned truly comes to pass, they are merely students!

As long as we can ambush and kill a few of their powerhouses... then their sacrifice will be worth it."

Jiang Fei muttered, "Is it worth it..."

"In all the years of the college entrance exams, even among the most gifted... how many true powerhouses have emerged?" The woman's gaze was profound. "Three hundred years of martial arts, and those who currently serve as the pillars of our Great Qin;

They were the ones who fought their way out of a sea of blood and a mountain of corpses since the dawn of the martial era!"

Jiang Fei had no heart to debate values with his teacher, so he simply asked in a low voice, "Teacher, has the situation changed?"

The woman looked slightly surprised and gave him an appreciative glance. "You are still as sharp as ever;

You guessed correctly. On the Outer-Heaven Battlefield, the situation for our human race is not looking good.

Those at the top believe that the current training model for martial artists might need to change!

This Secret Realm trial itself is, in fact, an experiment;

You could think of it as... raising Gu!"

"But these students... even if they cannot become pillars, with their talent, given time, they might well become the backbone of Great Qin;

Can we not give them some time?

Most of them are currently only in the Blood-Qi Realm, and they haven't even mastered any martial techniques yet..."

"Once they learn martial techniques, will you then say they aren't proficient enough?

Once they are proficient, will you then say they are about to advance to the Impermeable Realm?

Once they advance to the Impermeable Realm...

How long are we supposed to wait?

We can afford to wait, but the enemies of the human race will not." The woman said indifferently, "However, why does your tone imply that they are all doomed?

Do you have so little confidence? Great Qin allows for sacrifice, but it does not allow for sacrifice in vain."

"No... that's not it, I mean, I have confidence..."

Green light raged like a storm, and a rain of blood flew through the air!

As a pile of severed limbs fell, Chu Yuan's expression grew heavy.

This was the second day since entering the Secret Realm, and he didn't know if it was because he had ventured too deep, but he felt that the Blood Beasts he encountered today were different from yesterday.

Not only did they lack any fear of humans, but they were also filled with aggression!

Once they saw a person, it was a fight to the death!

Furthermore, he rarely encountered lone Blood Beasts anymore; they moved in groups of at least a few, and sometimes dozens!

It was as if... they were hunting?

However, this change was actually a good thing for him when it came to accumulating points...