Shen Heng stared quietly at the figure on the television screen.
" Martial Arts Association, martial artists...?"
Because their numbers were small before, they never had a unified name.
Previously, they were most often referred to as ability users or inspectors.
Among them, "inspector" is a position and obviously cannot be used as a general term for practitioners.
Therefore, Shen Heng originally thought that headquarters would choose "ability users" as the general term for cultivators.
Unexpectedly, headquarters selected a different martial artist.
Martial artists, martial arts, if you want to fight, you need to learn martial arts, so there's nothing wrong with thinking that way... Shen Heng nodded slightly.
Just as Han Ling just said, there may be some unscrupulous people who do evil in the future.
Therefore, a dedicated organization is needed to manage them.
The Supervision Bureau is also responsible for handling reports of Calamity Beast incidents from its jurisdiction, so it can't afford to spend so much time managing other people's affairs.
Therefore, the Martial Arts Association is an organization established by the state to manage martial artists in the civilian population.
The government only published courses on perceiving the Origin Power.
Once you sense the Origin Power, if you want to continue cultivating, you need to register with the Martial Arts Association.
If you register, it will be much easier to find someone if something happens later.
Of course, you can choose not to register.
As long as you can tolerate the slow rate of absorbing Origin Power.
Moreover, the Martial Arts Association also offers other benefits to martial artists in the community.
It not only provides guidance for subsequent training, but also offers the exchange of some official resources.
Given that the news of the Calamity Beast has been released, and considering that martial artists from the common people will inevitably appear in the future, sooner or later, Calamity Beast will die at the hands of these martial artists.
Apart from the Origin Crystal, which can be used directly, most of the other parts of the Calamity Beast need to be processed before they can be used.
For most people, without official channels, the remaining corpses of the Calamity Beast are practically useless.
However, this is just wishful thinking about the future.
As mentioned in the news report, it's still extremely difficult for ordinary people to sense the Origin Power.
It will probably take quite some time before the Martial Arts Association can be truly established, perfected, and expanded.
Shen Heng looked up at the television.
Besides the Martial Arts Association, there is another matter.
Capital University, late at night.
The streetlights cast a dim, yellowish glow, illuminating the asphalt road with a hazy, warm hue.
Two tall, slender figures stood silently on the main road of the academy, their shadows stretched long.
One of them had long, flowing hair that cascaded down to her waist, and skin as fair as Moonlight. She exuded a cool and ethereal aura, like a wisp of mist in the night.
The other person had their hair tied up in a high ponytail, with the ends hanging neatly behind their head. Beneath their smooth forehead, their eyebrows and eyes were exquisite, exuding a touch of heroic spirit.
Their gazes simultaneously locked onto the same direction—
Not far away, a huge electronic screen is embedded in the exterior wall of a gray-white research building.
At this moment, the screen is flashing glaring live news footage.
The host's voice came through the loudspeaker, sounding particularly jarring in the quiet campus.
They stood there quietly, staring at the content displayed on the electronic screen.
Like them, there were quite a few others who stood still and watched.
Everyone tacitly remained silent.
After a long while, the girl with the high ponytail came to her senses. She turned to look at her friend beside her and said, somewhat shocked:
" Shuning, I thought we'd always lived in a normal world. I never imagined there were Ruins Realm and Calamity Beast!"
Xiao Bai'er's mouth gaped slightly, feeling as if her worldview of more than ten years was being violently shaken.
Shen Shuning nodded slightly; she was also somewhat shocked, but...
After pondering for a while, Shen Shuning asked in a low voice:
" Bai'er, do you remember the accident that happened at our school last year?"
"An accident?" Xiao Bai'er was a little confused, but she quickly recalled, "You mean the time when there was a dangerous substance leak in the school's chemistry lab?"
"Mm." Shen Shuning nodded slightly.
"I remember, how..." Xiao Bai'er's eyes widened, "Wait, are you saying that accident was also caused by the Calamity Beast?"
"Hmm." Shen Shuning looked calmly at Xiao Bai'er, "Don't you find it strange that we've all forgotten exactly what happened that day?"
"Oh, that seems to be true! If that's the case, we did encounter the Calamity Beast quite a while ago," Xiao Bai'er said, as if suddenly realizing something.
"Yes!" Shen Shuning nodded gently.
"So many people died back then, it's amazing we're alright!" Xiao Bai'er said, still shaken.
Shen Shuning nodded, and just as she was about to say something, her attention was suddenly drawn to the electronic screen.
The announcer, dressed in a neat suit, began to speak.
"... Two Martial Arts Academy, one in the north and one in the south, will be established."
"Each Martial Arts Academy plans to enroll 2,000 students, with the academic year yet to be determined."
"Students who join the academy only need to focus on cultivation."
"All tuition, accommodation, and meal fees will be waived during this period."
Citizens aged 18 to 35 can go to the designated location of their local Supervision Bureau to undergo a Origin Power affinity test.
"Those who meet the requirements will be admitted and notified by August 1st."
"Additionally, it's worth noting that..."
"The academy's recruits are essentially enlisted in the army; once conscripted to resist the invasion of the Ruins Realm, they cannot refuse without cause..."
"Note that there will be casualties in the resistance against the invasion of the Ruins Realm, that is, in the battle against the Calamity Beast, and the casualties will be considerable."
"These casualties are expected to continue to rise in the future, and the casualty rate may even exceed 50%."
"Therefore, I hope those who wish to register can approach this calmly."
"Us..."
Shen Shuning listened quietly to the content on the screen. After a moment, she suddenly turned to look at Xiao Bai'er.
" Bai'er, are you signing up?"
Xiao Bai'er, who had been listening to the broadcast, suddenly widened her eyes and immediately looked at Shen Shuning.
"No, Shuning, do you want to sign up?"
"Mm." Shen Shuning nodded gently.
"But didn't you hear what he just said? The casualty rate is very high, and it might even exceed 50% in the future," Xiao Bai'er said anxiously.
"I know." Shen Shuning nodded gently.
"Then why are you still going!" Xiao Bai'er raised her voice.
She genuinely didn't understand why her friend would do that.
Shen Shuning didn't reply immediately; she turned to look at the electronic screen that was still broadcasting.
After a moment, he said softly:
"Last year, the school managed to cover it up, but now the whole thing has been announced, which shows that the situation is continuing to worsen."
"Furthermore, as the announcer just mentioned, the mortality rate for those who join in the future may continue to rise."
This indicates that the country believes the future is likely to lead to a rather poor outcome.
"If a country that possesses the vast majority of information makes this judgment, then the future is unlikely to be good."
"So..."
Shen Shuning paused, her gaze calm yet firm as she looked at Xiao Bai'er.
"We can't escape it!"