Shocking the Entire Crowd

"The commander-in-chief is my brother!"

Zhou Sining said it with such righteous confidence that Mu Bai could only stare.

He was about to ask why when Su Zhe finished gathering the seven deputy company commanders.

"Deputy Commander Jiang Bowen will tell you about your next assignment."

With that, Su Zhe stepped aside for Jiang Bowen.

Looking down at the fresh recruits, Jiang Bowen turned stern. "Perhaps many of you are unhappy. Why, of all the universities, is Ancient Capital Academy the only one that seems so heartless?"

"No grand opening ceremony. No lively welcome show. Not even time to settle in. You've barely finished registering, and we've sent you straight to one of the cruelest battlefields in the country—indeed, in the world—to face the infamous Undead Empire!"

"As your senior and the second commander of the Third War Zone, I can tell you this with complete certainty: it isn't because the academy is heartless. It's because this is the responsibility you must shoulder!"

"Beyond the city, Demon Beasts lie in wait. Every night, the Outer City Wall faces endless waves of undead. At any moment, you might watch a comrade die!"

"So why do so many mages still climb the Outer City Wall, one after another?"

"Because behind you stands the home your families and friends depend on!"

"Because behind you are countless homes lit against the dark!"

"Tell me, students! Now that you've learned magic and gained this power, could you stand by and watch the people you love die before your eyes?!"

"No!"

The students were at an age when passion burned hot. Jiang Bowen's stirring speech swept away their resentment and left a conviction pure to its core.

The conviction to protect those they loved!

If Pearl Academy sought to raise supreme mages capable of changing the world and bearing humanity's mission,

then Ancient Capital Academy raised mages willing to lay down their lives to defend those countless homes!

Its students could lack lofty ambitions. They could pursue rank and wealth. But they could never forget the most basic duty that came with being a mage!

"Now is your chance to show what three years of hard work have made of you! Are you ready to face the damned undead that would harm the people you love?!" Jiang Bowen roared.

"We're ready!!!" The students, carried away by fervor, shouted at the tops of their lungs.

"Good! I believe in you!"

Jiang Bowen continued, "The better your company performs, the more cultivation resources each of you will receive. And the top three on the undead kill rankings will each earn a chance to train at the Wild Goose Pagoda!"

The already fired-up students erupted at his words.

The Wild Goose Pagoda in Ancient Capital was a renowned cultivation sanctuary. Unlike Pearl Academy's Three-Step Tower, it was not reserved mainly for students.

Opportunities to train there were jointly controlled by the Education Bureau, universities, the Magic Association, and the Hunters' Alliance. They were awarded to mages who had made exceptional contributions.

That was a major reason so many people still came to Ancient Capital despite its hardships.

Zhou Sining had trained at the Wild Goose Pagoda before. He knew just how terrifyingly fast a mage could cultivate there.

Perfect!

If I can go back to the Wild Goose Pagoda soon, I can definitely advance all three of my Elements by one level!

Then I'll be a powerful mage at the Intermediate Level in all three Elements. My Fire Element will even reach Intermediate Level 3—a height most people wouldn't dare dream of. I'll stand above them all!

"Commander, when can we start killing undead? I can't wait!" a student near the front asked.

"Hahaha! Don't worry. There'll be plenty of undead for you to kill tonight!" Jiang Bowen declared.

With that, he and Su Zhe left, turning things over to the seven company commanders and the freshmen.

Excited as they were, the students did not dare get too rowdy under their stern-faced commanders. They quickly settled down.

At the front of the Fire Element company, Zhou Sining stood beside Company Commander Han Ruijie.

Zhou Sining knew Han Ruijie. He was twenty-five, had served in the military for three years, and commanded a battalion. In the Third War Zone, only Su Zhe and Jiang Bowen outranked him.

"Good to see you again, Brother Zhou. With you here, I might as well be on vacation," Han Ruijie said with a grin.

"I was counting on you to carry me, Commander Han. If you slack off, how am I supposed to earn my chance to train at the Wild Goose Pagoda?" Zhou Sining replied.

"Me, carry you?" Han Ruijie looked as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. "More like you'll be carrying me!"

Han Ruijie knew Zhou Sining, of course, and knew he was an Intermediate Mage.

Besides, Zhou Sining had saved his superior, Su Zhe. His joke about Zhou Sining carrying him held more than a little truth.

Watching Zhou Sining and Han Ruijie chat so happily, the other students in the Fire Element company grew irritated.

For fuck's sake. He volunteered to be deputy company commander. Big deal.

And now he's talking like he's already earned a chance to train at the Wild Goose Pagoda. Does he think this is still high school and he's the only one with talent?

Commander Han Ruijie's shirking his duties too. The other companies have started going over the rules, while he's still here trading compliments.

Zhou Sining noticed their mood and knew his behavior was inappropriate.

But what the hell did he care?

If you don't like it, close your eyes.

I'm not your dad. Hell, even your dad might not indulge you.

Han Ruijie finally got serious. "All right, I'm going over the rules now. Listen closely. Don't come asking me later why you can't do this or that!"

There were plenty of rules, but they boiled down to one thing: obey orders!

Listen to the company commander. Listen to the commanders. Do what they told you to do, and neither ask questions nor do anything else.

Zhou Sining already knew all of that by heart, so he could not be bothered to listen. He simply zoned out.

By the time Han Ruijie finished, it was time for dinner. He took the thirty students to eat.

After dinner and a short rest, they returned to the Outer City Wall. Night had fallen.

Black, velvety clouds rolled across the sky, hanging so low they seemed to press down on the flat, shadowed land where countless creatures stirred.

One by one, nameless things crawled from graves in which they had long lain buried, surveying the world with eerie green eyes.

A gust of wind struck their faces with the stench of rotting earth. It was the smell of death.

Suddenly, the wandering undead stopped their mechanical shuffling. As though possessed by demons, they surged toward Ancient Capital at terrifying speed!

From a distance, their dark bodies looked like a crowd of refugees racing toward food. But as they packed together and slammed against the city wall like a flood of rot, their hideous faces and ravenous eyes made countless mages' scalps prickle!!!

This was the terrifying sight that greeted the thirty members of the Fire Element company at the edge of the wall!

"Don't panic! Follow my orders!" Han Ruijie, experienced enough to see the students growing restless, hurriedly roared.

Zhou Sining took a more direct approach. At some point, a dazzling Star Map had flared beneath his feet!

The fierce aura of flame instantly drew every eye. Under their shocked gazes, Zhou Sining clenched his right fist and drove it toward the horde of corpses!

Boom!

A fist of white flame, packed with devastating force, hurtled into the horde and exploded the instant it struck!

In the space of a breath, white fire engulfed a seventy-meter radius. The densely packed rotting corpses within it were blasted so thoroughly that not a scrap remained!

Seventy meters! Far beyond the normal range of Fierce Fist!

It was utterly terrifying!

That power was already beyond the students' comprehension. A moment ago, fear had sent them into a panic. Now every one of them stood frozen, staring straight at the man before them.

Cloaked in white flame, Zhou Sining seemed to be the only light in the gloom. He turned slowly and swept a cold gaze across the crowd.

"Can you be quiet now?"