Early the next morning, dawn was just breaking.
Ninety-two students had already assembled in the Elite Training Camp's Central Plaza.
A faint air of menace and competition hung in the air.
Most were armed to the teeth, their gazes sharp.
Some spoke quietly among themselves, while others studied one another in silence.
Luo Feng stood alone at the edge of the crowd, his Blood Shadow Battle Blade and shield on his back.
He stood in stark contrast to the students around him, who were gathered in groups of three or five, chatting and laughing.
He could clearly feel several gazes settling on him, some open and others concealed.
Those gazes were curious and probing.
More of them, though, held the distance and faint rejection that had grown out of the disparaging talk.
Luo Feng remained calm, paying them no mind.
Only cattle and horses needed to gather in herds; fierce beasts always traveled alone.
His goal was not here, so why should he care what outsiders thought?
"Board the vehicles!"
The instructor in charge of the combat training gave the order.
The students swiftly boarded several heavily armored transport vehicles.
Engines roared as the convoy left the Training Camp and sped toward the Wilderness Zone.
Inside the vehicles, the divisions remained clear as oil and water.
Students who knew one another gathered together, discussing possible hunting targets and point strategies.
Luo Feng sat alone in a corner, leaning back with his eyes closed to rest, as though all the noise around him had nothing to do with him.
A few students who had initially held a favorable impression of him and wanted to approach him for a chat
saw how he looked as though he wanted strangers to keep their distance.
They abandoned the idea, merely exchanging glances among themselves that said he wasn't worth getting to know.
About two hours later, the convoy reached its destination.
The outline of a ruined city appeared before them: they had reached City 1001.
The doors opened, and the students instantly rushed off in different directions into the city, all eager to seize the initiative.
Luo Feng did not hurry to charge ahead.
He calmly surveyed the terrain.
He chose an area with an above-average density of monsters,
where Horde Leader Level monsters were rumored to appear, and walked toward it at an unhurried pace.
Soon, the slaughter began.
As a Spirit Reader, Luo Feng hunted monsters with astonishing efficiency.
He had no need to fight them at close quarters.
Often, just as a monster spotted him, or even before it noticed him,
several icy glints would silently slice through the air and strike its vital points with precision.
Advanced Beast General Level monsters were like lambs waiting for slaughter before him.
They often crashed to the ground at the first encounter.
Luo Feng walked among the ruins and broken walls like this, his steps steady and his expression indifferent.
Flying knives circled at his side, striking wherever he directed them.
Monsters fell dead wherever he passed.
Some students who had been hunting nearby and had looked down on Luo Feng as a newcomer
happened to witness his fighting style, and every one of them turned pale with shock.
People were just that pragmatic.
When Luo Feng displayed his crushing strength,
the earlier disparaging remarks about his arrogance and unwillingness to fit in
were quickly replaced by amazement, awe, and even a trace of flattery.
The strong would naturally have followers and admirers, even if they were reclusive.
Admiration for strength was a human instinct.
Luo Feng seemed oblivious to the change in the gazes around him.
He was immersed in the rhythm of his own hunt.
By the end of the very first day, when the students began returning to the assembly point that evening,
Luo Feng's points had already sent him soaring like a rocket
from last place at 183rd straight into the top ten of the Black Dragon Ranking!
And those were only the points he had earned from hunting monsters!
He had yet to test his Punch Force Exertion Level or clear the Trial Tower.
His Combat Power Amplitude multiplier was still at the base value of 1!
That meant he still had enormous potential to earn more points!
After returning to the Training Camp that afternoon,
Luo Feng immediately sensed a completely different atmosphere.
On his way back to Jiangnan Pavilion, students kept taking the initiative to nod in greeting.
Even representatives of several small groups came up to him enthusiastically,
trying to invite him to join them or have dinner together.
Their words were full of flattery and a desire to befriend him.
Luo Feng remained cool toward the sudden warmth and invitations.
He politely declined them all, courteous but distant.
He knew clearly that, just like the earlier rejection, this adulation
came from a superficial change brought about by his strength and was not sincere.
His path was destined to be lonely; he did not need these pointless social interactions distracting him.
To obtain a quieter cultivation environment where he would not be disturbed,
Luo Feng made a decision under Lin Mo's arrangements.
He went straight to the Training Camp administration and submitted an application,
requesting to live outside the Training Camp and become a day student.
Luo Feng's decision caused another small stir.
The Elite Training Camp provided the best accommodations and cultivation environment, which the vast majority of students could only dream of.
Almost no one asked to move out of their own accord.
When several Wargod instructors responsible for managing the students heard the news,
they even sought Luo Feng out in person to gently dissuade him.
They mentioned the importance of living together for fitting in, communication, and certain team training exercises.
However, Luo Feng had made up his mind.
His reason was simple: he needed an absolutely quiet, undisturbed environment for deep cultivation.
In the end, the Training Camp respected Luo Feng's choice and approved his application.
After all, the rules did not forbid students from living outside.
That afternoon, Luo Feng packed a few belongings
and officially became one of the few day students in the Training Camp's history.
At that moment, Luo Feng was walking along a bustling downtown street in Hongning Base City.
Unlike the tense, menacing atmosphere among the Fighters in the Training Camp, this place was packed with traffic and pedestrians, its neon lights flashing.
It was full of the vitality and clamor of a modern metropolis.
He had just completed the paperwork for living outside at the Training Camp administration.
He was considering where to live next.
"Teacher."
Luo Feng asked in his sea of consciousness.
"What kind of house should we buy? I have tens of billions on hand now. Buying a villa in Hongning Base City would be easy."
As Luo Feng spoke, he weighed his options.
He planned to find a quiet, fully equipped detached villa.
It would ensure that his cultivation went undisturbed, and it wouldn't be too far from the Training Camp.
"Buy a house?"
Lin Mo's voice was filled with undisguised disdain.
"What do you want to buy a house for? Is this the time for you to enjoy yourself?"
"Time is short. Every minute and every second must be used on the cutting edge!"
"Living in a Base City, no matter how quiet it is, you'll inevitably be disturbed, and then there are all those assorted rules."
Luo Feng was taken aback.
"Then where should I live?"
Lin Mo seemed to have made plans long ago, and his tone even carried a trace of barely perceptible excitement.
"Live right in the Wilderness Zone!"
"The Wilderness Zone?"
Luo Feng paused midstep, almost thinking he had misheard.
Although he was a Fighter, accustomed to battling monsters,
living long-term in the Wilderness Zone, with danger lurking everywhere and its harsh environment-
was that really something a normal person would think of?
"Yes, the Wilderness Zone."
Lin Mo spoke with certainty, then seemed to recall something, and his tone grew a little mysterious.
"What's more, I know a good place."
"I guarantee it'll greatly increase your cultivation speed, especially how efficiently you comprehend secret techniques!"