Willow Leaf Town.
At this moment, the entire town had already been reduced to ruins.
A thick stench of blood permeated every corner. Corpses littered the ground, and blood had dyed the earth red.
Among those corpses were not only humans, but monsters as well—though there were far more monster corpses.
The gray-clad soldiers were clearing the battlefield, each of them bearing injuries to some extent.
On a shattered stone statue sat a middle-aged man. Beside him was a battle saber, its blade stained red with blood!
Qi Zhen lit a cigarette. After taking a deep drag into his lungs, he slowly exhaled a cloud of white smoke.
His deep gaze rested on the otherworld in the distance.
Everything around that otherworld had been razed flat, replaced by countless monster corpses.
Those monsters were all the lowest-ranking fodder, sent out specifically to scout the way.
"Captain Qi, we've finished collecting the Monster Cores."
A soldier with bloodstained clothes came over to report.
Qi Zhen asked, "What about the casualties?"
"We lost more than ten fighters, including four Tier 2 Martial Artists and twelve First-order Martial Artists!"
The soldier shouted. The moment the words left his mouth, his own eyes reddened!
They were all his brothers! One second, they had been smoking and chatting together; the next, they had fallen in pools of blood.
Qi Zhen fell silent for a moment. Then he slowly rose to his feet and said, "Vice Captain!"
"Here!"
A burly man hurried over!
The aura around him was exceptionally powerful. He was clearly a Tier 3 Martial Artist!
The squad's Vice Captain—Fan Gang!
Qi Zhen said in a low voice, "Take a few men and guard the spatial entrance! Everyone else, rest where you are. Don't hold back! Digest every last Monster Core resource in your hands and recover your strength!"
"Yes!"
Fan Gang gave a low shout, then left without hesitation!
Qi Zhen took out a Monster Core as thick as an arm from his Space Ring and began circulating his power to absorb it.
Threads of Exotic Energy from within the Monster Core flowed into his body through his hand, replenishing the Exotic Energy he had expended.
A great battle awaited them.
At that moment, the roar of an engine came from nearby, drawing the attention of many people.
Qi Zhen froze for a moment, then looked into the distance. A white Land Rover entered his sight.
"Are the people from the Martial Academy here?"
The Land Rover stopped at the roadblock under the soldiers' interception.
Fang Bai and the others got out of the vehicle one after another, curiously looking around.
"Cough, cough, cough! What a strong bloody stench!"
Qi Tian pinched his nose, his face full of disgust.
Fang Bai's gaze landed on the scene before him, and shock appeared on his face.
This... was a battlefield?
How tragic!
All kinds of monster corpses—mutated wolves, tigers, lizards, rats as large as dogs...
It was his first time seeing such a sight!
It was practically a spectacular feast for the eyes!
A Xiu calmly surveyed her surroundings. Her gaze suddenly landed on the middle-aged man in the distance, and her eyes narrowed.
Xiao Yuan, meanwhile, was somewhat curious. "So many wild beasts! They're not quite like the ones in our mountains!"
"This is your assessment site!"
Director Liu stepped out of the driver's seat and spoke calmly.
Qi Tian smacked his lips. "Tsk, tsk. This doesn't look like a very nice place!"
Fang Bai pointed curiously at the enormous vortex in the distance. "Sir, is that the otherworld?"
Director Liu nodded. "That's right. The otherworld forms a world of its own. It is filled with extreme dangers, but also many opportunities. Monster tribes inhabit it."
Fang Bai stared at the otherworld. To others, it might have been a land of great peril, but in his eyes, that was fucking experience points!
Qi Zhen walked over from nearby and spoke as he approached. "Only you people came?"
Only then did Fang Bai and the others look at him. From him, they sensed a pressure that made their hearts palpitate!
A Tier 3 Martial Artist!
Director Liu stepped forward with a smile. "I'm Liu Ye, Director of Human Resources at the Martial Academy."
"I'm Qi Zhen, captain of Squad Four, Fifth Battalion, Shanghai Branch of the Monster Slaying Army."
Qi Zhen glanced at him and said blandly, "You actually sent an HR guy over? Your Martial Academy really doesn't do human things, does it?"
Everyone: "..."
Director Liu chuckled. "I'm responsible for transporting the students. I brought them here for their assessment."
Qi Zhen raised his brows in surprise, his gaze sweeping across Fang Bai and the others.
"Are you sure? This is the entrance to an otherworld."
He could tell that Fang Bai and the others were not very strong.
And each of their faces still carried a measure of innocence.
They were probably freshmen from the Martial Academy.
They actually dared send these kids here to die. The Martial Academy was fucking impressive!
Director Liu nodded. "Exactly. Next, they will enter the otherworld with Captain Qi."
Qi Zhen smiled. "Fine, but I can't guarantee whether they live or die. You know, monsters love tender-skinned little children."
"Hey! Who are you calling little children?! Who are you looking down on?"
Qi Tian retorted indignantly.
Qi Zhen glanced at him, a strange smile curling across his lips. "Aren't you? You should be Tier 2, right? But I'd guess you've never experienced real combat. A single one of my soldiers could take care of someone like you with one hand!"
Perhaps because they had spent too long fighting on the battlefield and had seen too many partings in life and death, people like them held little goodwill toward city folk!
In many people's eyes, these people lived without a care in the peace that they had bought with blood and life!
In truth, he was not bragging. Even their First-order soldiers had fought and killed their way up for real. Every one of them could solo a monster of the same rank!
Only people like that deserved to be called the Monster Slaying Army!
Qi Tian was instantly displeased and was about to argue, but Fang Bai pulled him back.
"Old Bai, why are you pulling me? Let me show him what I can do!"
Qi Tian said unwillingly.
Fang Bai said calmly, "Now isn't the time. Save your strength for killing monsters."
After saying that, he looked at Qi Zhen again. "Captain Qi, right? We'll do our best to prove ourselves. Later, during battle, you don't need to protect us either. Life and death are ruled by fate—we'll be responsible for ourselves!"
Hearing this, Qi Zhen gave him a somewhat surprised look, then nodded faintly. "Fine. But it's too early to say that now. Just don't piss your pants from fright later."
"Someone! Issue them battle sabers!"
A soldier came over carrying four battle sabers and placed them on the ground.
Qi Zhen said, "These are Alloy Battle Sabers forged from special materials. They're very sharp and can easily cut through the thick hides and tough flesh of monsters, but they're very heavy..."
As he spoke, he looked at A Xiu. "A girl might not be able to lift one."
A Xiu glanced at him, then walked up, casually picked up a battle saber, and swung it through the air a few times. It was no different from holding cotton.
Qi Zhen was somewhat surprised, then realized he had misjudged her.
Fang Bai and the others each picked up a battle saber as well.
Feeling its weight in his hand, Fang Bai was somewhat surprised.
It really was quite heavy.
Qi Zhen glanced at them and said, "Get yourselves ready. In ten minutes, we'll begin entering the otherworld!"
"One more thing: once you enter, any spoils of war can only be obtained through your own strength."
After saying that, he left.
Director Liu looked at Fang Bai and the others. "Prepare yourselves. Really—make sure you are mentally prepared!"
After saying that, he too walked toward Qi Zhen.
Before you continue