Li Su was starting to panic.
Damn, what the hell?
If someone had already learned a top-tier martial art, did that mean no one else could learn it?
And that wasn't all. The Nine Yang Divine Skill and the Northern Dark Divine Skill had both caught people's attention, and they were getting ready to make their move?
How could that be?
If things went on like this, wouldn't he know the stories of those worlds but be unable to learn their martial arts?
At the thought, Li Su grew increasingly anxious.
Was he really going to let a great opportunity slip through his fingers?
For a moment, Li Su felt an immense weight on his shoulders. If he went in too late and the others had already taken all the techniques, what would it matter how much he knew about the World Fragments?
But no matter how worried he was, it wouldn't help.
The time he could enter the World Fragment had already been set.
It was still nearly a month away.
The day of the college entrance exams.
In fact, entering a World Fragment and successfully making it back out was what people called the "college entrance exam."
Li Su was frantic inside, but his adult mindset told him that worrying was pointless. More importantly, compared with getting into the World Fragment sooner, his lack of knowledge was a more serious problem.
For one thing, classical Chinese reading, meridians, and acupuncture points were the top priorities.
He'd given up on learning the language and the customs surrounding food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
There was simply too much to learn. There was no way he could master it all in just one month.
Besides, there were ways around it.
He only needed to possess someone young enough. Meridians and acupuncture points, on the other hand, were things he had to memorize.
Even in that world, it would be difficult to learn all of them.
Once he had them down, they would be a huge help even if he couldn't make much sense of the manuals. If all else failed, at least he could look at the diagrams and recognize the acupuncture points.
Before long, Li Su devoted himself completely to studying meridians and acupuncture points.
As the college entrance exam drew closer, it wasn't just Li Su's school or Z City that fell into an unprecedented state of tension. No, the whole of Huaxia was on edge.
G City, the Xu Family.
"How is it, Yuan'er?"
"Reporting to you, sir. The young master is ready."
"Really? Excellent. After generations of effort, my Xu Family has finally waited for this day. After this, my Xu Family will claim a place in this world."
The Xie Family in J City.
"Have you sent everyone out?"
"They've all been dispatched."
"Good. Keep a close eye on things. If anything goes wrong, kill the one who obtains it immediately."
"Yes, sir."
"The Northern Dark Divine Skill belongs to my Xie Family alone. No one is allowed to take it from us!"
H City.
"Are you ready?"
"Yes, Grandpa. Xiao Bo's memories have been replaced for this day. They're almost exactly the same as Han Bo's in that world. And once he inherits the Dao Heart Demon-Planting Technique, they'll gradually come back to him."
"Excellent!"
"What about the decoys?"
"They're ready too. There are eight of them, hiding in major cities across the country. Even if the Chi Family tries to find Xiao Bo, they won't be able to track him down anytime soon."
"Good. Hurry it up."
Time trickled by.
A month passed—not too quickly, not too slowly—and the day arrived.
Z City.
Li Su's classroom.
They arrived early in the morning.
Everyone wore anxious expressions. They had been looking forward to this day for so long, but now that it was here, they couldn't help feeling nervous. This was the day that would decide their futures. Even Ai Lin and the others, who usually did well in their studies, couldn't hide a hint of worry.
They had prepared for entering the World Fragment for so long, and they had done so much.
But even so, it wasn't enough.
Living a safe, peaceful life would be easy enough.
But if they'd chosen to go in, who among them wasn't hoping to fight for a future? To gain powerful strength?
Once they thought that way, they were bound to face danger. If they were killed, they would die in there.
If they could live, who would want to die?
Before long, Devil Yi arrived.
Today, her expression was even more stern and oppressive than usual, as if she really were turning into a devil.
Looking at the students, Devil Yi said flatly, "I don't want to waste time with unnecessary words. Know your limits. I've told you everything I can and should about what awaits you in the World Fragment. Acting beyond your abilities and clinging to wishful thinking would be the height of stupidity.
"You're not that important. You're not the main characters in a story, so don't overestimate yourselves.
"Nothing matters more than staying alive.
"Now, I'll ask one last time. Does anyone want to withdraw?"
Silence.
After a moment, Devil Yi sighed. "All right. Class Ten, everyone stand up and follow me."
Devil Yi turned and walked out of the classroom. The students in the row nearest the door followed, and the rest filed out after them.
It wasn't just their class. All the senior-year students came out of their classrooms and silently followed their homeroom teachers.
They went straight to the sports field.
By then, people were already gathered there.
There were quite a few people on the stage, most of them familiar faces. The principal was there too, but the person drawing the most attention was a stern, disciplined-looking man in black, holding a black case in his hands. He was obviously a soldier. Of course, it wasn't his identity that drew everyone's attention, but the case he held.
Standing among the crowd, Li Su couldn't help drawing in a breath. Over the past few days, besides studying meridians and acupuncture points, he had learned a great deal about the World Fragments.
World Fragments were energy constructs.
Touch one directly, and you would be pulled inside.
But they also had physical properties and could be contained.
Normally, they were kept in boxes like this one. The cases were very special, and only the state and a handful of Conglomerates had them.
World Fragments couldn't be entered whenever one pleased. They operated according to certain rules.
First, they needed to be charged. They charged themselves from within, and on average, one could be fully charged once a year.
Second, there were two kinds of World Fragments: group and individual. Group Fragments were more common, but most were controlled by the state. They contained multiple worlds and could be entered by many people, but could only be opened once a year. Individual Fragments were quite rare. Only one person could enter at a time, but they could be opened multiple times a year, up to ten times.
Third, there were restrictions on entering a World Fragment. After entering once, a person had to wait a month before going in again.
Fourth, the world inside a World Fragment changed each time it was entered. In other words, it was almost impossible to enter the same world twice.
That was everything Li Su currently knew about entering World Fragments. There was probably more, but it clearly wasn't information someone at his level could access.
"Students, hello.
"I'm your principal, Tan Ming.
"I'm sure you all know me.
"After all, we've seen one another plenty of times over the past three years of high school.
"I'll keep this brief.
"First, I'm not going to comfort you, and I have no intention of doing so.
"But there's no doubt that World Fragments are extremely dangerous and deadly for you.
"What do I mean?
"Let me put it this way. The current death rate for the college entrance exam is as high as twenty percent. That means that out of every ten people who go in, only eight come back safely. And that's not all. The death rate rises with repeated entries. By the eighth entry, it reaches a staggering ninety percent.
"There's no doubt about it: this is the most dangerous profession in the world, bar none.
"That's why you spent six years in primary school being kept safe, three years in junior high learning about World Fragments, and three years in high school studying them in depth.
"And during that time, you've all had the chance to withdraw.
"Even now, if you choose to stay right where you are until the entry process is over, you can still withdraw.
"That's right. You can withdraw right up until the second before entering a World Fragment.
"So I'm not going to comfort you.
"What I'm about to say isn't for those who want to withdraw. It's for those who are ready, those who have steeled themselves.
"Raiders enjoy tremendous privileges in today's society.
"Just entering the past once is enough to qualify you for all kinds of subsidies and the rank of private.
"Entering the past twice gets you the rank of noncommissioned officer.
"Three times, and you become an officer.
"Four times, and you become a field-grade officer.
"Five times, and you can enter politics, starting as a village or county-level leader, or begin in the military as a company commander.
"Six times, and you can become a district-level leader or a military commander, with the rank of battalion commander.
"Seven times, and you can become a city-level leader, a lieutenant general, or a division commander.
"You could say that each additional entry grants you enormous power in this world.
"Whether it's power or wealth, nothing others don't have comes easily.
"If you don't want to be beneath everyone else, then you have to fight for it. You have to take the plunge.
"So if you have the resolve, if you're prepared to face what lies ahead, then go after it..."
His brief speech sent a tremor through every student on the sports field. The eyes of those who were fiercely confident and had clear goals lit up.
Power, wealth.
If you wanted them, then go after them.
Twelve years of study, three final years of deliberation—what had it all been for?
Wasn't it for this day?
If you hadn't lived in this world, you could never know how hard life was without becoming a Raider.
Even Li Su had felt immense pressure after just one month.
His parents were both Raiders at the very bottom.
Their family had some money to spare, but even so, after food and other necessities, they had almost nothing left.
In a family like that, you endured minor illnesses and died of serious ones.
At first, he hadn't really felt it. But as time went by, he gradually realized that this world was far more brutal than the one before. And that was in Huaxia, where people still had at least a basic level of human rights. In other places, controlled by Conglomerates, you'd learn what cruelty really meant.
Why hadn't a single student's parents come to see them off, even though they might die today?
Weren't they worried? Weren't they anxious?
Of course they were.
They had simply left the choice in their children's hands. The future was theirs to decide.
Even if they failed on their very first World Fragment mission and died, their families would receive compensation: a basic allowance of two hundred thousand, as well as benefits for the families of Raiders for ten years.
If that was the case, why not fight for it?