At last, class was over. Li Su was beginning to question his sanity.
After all, Devil Yi and the students sitting around him had all been so serious. No, they were too serious.
Why was this happening?
"Listen, Old Li, you've got guts. You actually dared to doze off in Devil Yi's class? This is the most important course there is. It can save your life!!!"
Before he could open his book, a voice cut in.
It sounded familiar.
He didn't even need to turn around to know who it was.
Wang Meng, his childhood friend. They'd been together from kindergarten all the way through college.
Still, making martial arts novels a required course was one thing, but what the hell did "save your life" mean?
Wang Meng said earnestly, "Old Li, take it from me: now's really not the time to mess around. You've got to make the most of every second and study hard. If you don't understand what's going on in that other world, forget seizing an opportunity—you might die in there if you're not careful.
"Besides, simply becoming a Raider doesn't mean much anymore. There are just too many of them. Way too many.
"Just look at last year's graduating class. The number of graduates reached an astonishing million.
"I heard that because of this, the cutoff for this year's college entrance exams went up again in the capital.
"You have to either reach a world analysis rate of thirty percent or obtain an ability rated C-minus or higher."
"It's not just the capital. Z University's requirements have gone up too: a twenty-five percent analysis rate and a D-plus ability."
Yang Kai chimed in from beside them, his expression grave. "The days when a twenty percent analysis rate was enough to get into a top university are long gone."
World analysis rate? C-plus abilities?
What the hell were those?
"Ugh, the requirements keep getting higher and higher. We're so unlucky—the bar jumped this much right in our year."
"You can say that again."
"There are only a dozen or so worlds we can explore right now. And the information released about each world only covers thirty percent. But that's an interpretation of the overall information, not the local details. Once we go in, we can use at most twenty percent of the information. If we want more, we either have to visit every region or discover something completely new. New information? That's not so easy to find. One wrong move and you could get yourself killed in there."
In an instant, Class Ten erupted into lively discussion about the admission cutoffs.
"Everyone, look! Brother Passerby's started a livestream on Kuaiyin."
"What???"
"Brother Passerby's streaming again? Oh my god, something big is about to happen."
Everyone was stunned, and quite a few hurriedly pulled out their phones.
Wang Meng, Yang Kai, and the others did the same.
Li Su froze again. Brother Passerby? Who was that? Had there been an internet celebrity like that in his previous life?
Curious, he nudged Wang Meng's shoulder. Wang Meng turned around without a word, then held out his phone so Li Su could watch too.
"Hello, everyone. It's me again—Passerby King."
"I'm really sorry. A while back, I livestreamed Mo Wuque's battle with Sect Leader Xiao, but their followers hunted me down for a whole month. I ended up missing several livestreams."
"To make up for it, I'll skip the small talk and get straight to the point."
"As for the title: the Murong Consortium faces off against the Mobei Consortium. Will Murong Tianxiu's Star Shift prove invincible, or will Dharma King Tianlun's Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art be peerless?"
"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap!!!"
"Last time, it was Yi Hua Jade-Transferring Technique against the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms. This time, it's Star Shift against the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art. Brother Passerby really is something else!!!"
"Damn, another clash between top-tier experts. I've got goosebumps all over!!!"
In an instant, the class went wild.
It wasn't just Class Ten. The whole school went wild as the news spread.
Soon, after a burst of static, the screen showed a vast grassland.
At its center stood two men.
One was in his mid-twenties; the other, in his mid-fifties.
Murong Tianxiu said, "I've long heard of the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art's astounding power. They say it has thirteen levels, and that whoever completes the training can ascend to the celestial realm. In the World Fragment, even Dharma King Jinlun, whose talent and insight were no less than Yang Guo's, only managed to cultivate ten levels, yet he was already invincible in his time. How about you, Master?"
Dharma King Tianlun pressed his palms together. "Amitabha Buddha. This humble monk is unworthy. I began practicing at sixteen, and even now I've only just reached the ninth level. As for that legendary realm, I have no hope of attaining it."
Murong Tianxiu said, "Is that so? What a pity. I'd hoped to witness the true might of the dragon and elephant."
Dharma King Tianlun replied, "There is no need for you to be disappointed, benefactor. Though I have only the power of nine dragons and nine elephants, I have yet to meet anyone who can defeat me."
After they finished speaking, neither said another word. Only the wind drifted over the grassland.
Suddenly, Dharma King Tianlun raised a hand. Dragons and elephants surged into the sky, a terrifying force sweeping across heaven and earth. Savage dragons and ferocious elephants let out deafening roars.
Roar!
"Heaven's Collapse!"
One dragon could overturn a mountain.
One elephant could shatter the earth.
Nine dragons and nine elephants could destroy heaven and earth.
With a single move, the wind and clouds reversed, the earth turned upside down, and even the heavens seemed ready to come crashing down.
Facing this terrifying technique, Murong Tianxiu stood unhurriedly in the distance and raised a hand.
In an instant, heaven and earth lost their color. The cosmos spun around, and countless stars appeared.
It was the peerless art, Star Shift!
The moment the divine art manifested, a swirling torrent of stars swept up Dharma King Tianlun's nine dragons and nine elephants. Their force could topple the heavens; their might foretold destruction. Yet Murong Tianxiu turned the entire attack back on him, sending it crashing toward its source.
Dharma King Tianlun laughed. "Good! It truly lives up to Star Shift. But, Young Master Tianxiu, just how many times can your Star Shift redirect my Dragon-Elephant Art?"
His power undiminished, the dragons and elephants rose again.
Two forces of equal strength collided in a sudden, thunderous clash.
Rumble!
Mountains and rocks shattered, sand and gravel whipped through the air.
Two unprecedented, terrifying forces swept across the land in an instant. Even the footage, filmed several miles away, shook violently. The scene was utterly shocking.
Hiss!!
In the classroom, Li Su drew in a sharp breath at the sight.
The hell was this, martial arts???
He stared at the shattered earth, the dark clouds swirling overhead, and the terrifying dragon-elephant energy in the footage—the force that overturned mountains and churned seas.
You were filming immortal fantasy and telling me it was martial arts???
The video didn't give the distance, but from what he could tell, the two fighters were at least several hundred meters apart. Their clash had affected an area hundreds of meters across—across, mind you. Even a smaller missile wouldn't have that kind of destructive power. If Yang Guo in the novels had been this strong, the Mongol soldiers would've been wiped out long ago. If he and Dharma King Jinlun fought for a while, the hundreds of thousands of Mongol soldiers would probably have broken and fled on the spot, wouldn't they?
If Star Shift and the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Art were already like this, did the Six Meridians Divine Sword punch through the clouds and kill enemies from a hundred miles away?
Apologize to martial arts, you bastard.
Wang Meng couldn't help exclaiming, "No wonder he's a Level Seven Raider. That's terrifying!!!"
A Level Seven Raider?
Li Su couldn't help glancing at Wang Meng. What the hell was that supposed to mean?
Looking at the shocked, envious faces all around him, Li Su began to feel a growing sense of urgency.
He had to figure it out. No matter what, he had to understand what kind of world this was!!!