Climbing the Mountain

After Qin Chen jumped out of the car, he watched the taxi drive on without stopping and smiled faintly. "Looks like the Genius Training Camp's test has already begun!"

He turned and headed toward the Mingshan Training Camp.

The taxi began pulling over. The driver got out, and when he saw that Qin Chen had left instead of continuing toward the Martial Arts Association, he looked surprised.

He was an instructor at the Genius Training Camp.

Although everyone selected for the Genius Training Camp was a genius from their respective school, getting in was not that simple.

Only those who actually found the camp and reached it within the allotted time counted as official members.

He was one of the people assigned to make things difficult for these geniuses, and Qin Chen was his responsibility.

Qin Chen's number was 37. It had originally belonged to Wang Qiang of No. 1 High School, and was an approximate ranking based on the usual performance of the more than 150 students. Now that No. 1 High School had replaced Wang Qiang with Qin Chen, the number belonged to Qin Chen instead.

"He's not playing by the rules?"

He stared blankly at Qin Chen's retreating figure.

Qin Chen had surprised him by kicking the car door off, but the fact that he had gone to the Mingshan Training Ground instead of the Martial Arts Association surprised him even more.

Normally, since he had stopped Qin Chen from going to the Martial Arts Association, Qin Chen should have tried to find a way there. The more he was stopped, the more determined he should have been to go. That was how people normally thought.

But Qin Chen had given up on going to the Martial Arts Association without hesitation. The instructor had not expected such decisiveness.

Before long, Qin Chen took another taxi. This time, he watched the road ahead carefully and only relaxed once he was sure they were heading toward the Mingshan Training Ground.

A few hours later, he arrived at the foot of Ming Mountain. He looked up, but the summit was nowhere in sight.

Just as Qin Chen arrived at the foot of the mountain, a boy and a girl were struggling to climb through its forests.

"Ming Mountain really is hard to climb. We haven't even made it a third of the way. If we can't reach the summit before dark, we'll have failed. When we get back to school, won't everyone laugh us to death?"

The girl stopped and spoke between gasps.

Her school had selected her for the Genius Training Camp this time. She had been full of confidence before, but now she could not help worrying.

"Ming Mountain is known as a mountain ordinary people can't climb. Naturally, it wouldn't be easy," the boy said.

He did not seem to be having as hard a time, but it was no easy climb for him either. He was moving much more slowly than when he had first started.

"Xiaoyan, I can't wait for you. I have to go on ahead. It gets harder the higher we go, and I'm afraid I won't make it either," the boy suddenly said.

The girl called Xiaoyan looked furious. "Zhou Lei, you're leaving me behind already? And you still want to pursue me?"

"I..."

Zhou Lei was somewhat embarrassed. He had always liked Jin Xiaoyan, but losing this chance to enter the Genius Training Camp would be too great a loss.

"What are you afraid of? Our two schools are the closest to the Mingshan Training Ground, and we were the first to start climbing. If we can't make it up, then nobody else can either. When the Genius Training Camp ends up with nobody in it, won't they have to obediently let everyone in?"

They were both the best students at their respective schools, and they had arrived at Ming Mountain before everyone else. If even they could not reach the summit in time, the students from other schools would probably have even less chance.

"If the training camp isn't here, then we're just unlucky!"

"But if you leave me behind, don't ever talk to me again," the girl continued firmly.

Zhou Lei's expression changed. He took a deep breath and was about to speak when he suddenly looked down the mountain, a shocked expression appearing on his face.

"Xiaoyan, look!"

"Look? What am I supposed to look at?" The girl was somewhat displeased, but she still could not resist turning to look down.

A figure was rapidly coming up the mountain at an incredible speed.

They had been climbing for an hour and had covered nearly a third of the distance. Under this person's feet, that distance was shrinking rapidly.

Ming Mountain was no famous tourist destination. The only facility here was a training ground at the summit, a place specifically for training geniuses.

As a result, there were no paved mountain paths. Forest covered the entire route, and most of the rocks underfoot were loose, while other places were muddy, making the climb extremely difficult.

Yet under that person's feet, it was as though he were walking on level ground.

The trees did not hinder him in the slightest. The loose rocks would roll under an ordinary person's feet, but when this person stepped on them, he was like a dragonfly skimming the water.

"This..." The girl was completely stunned.

"Could he be an instructor?" Zhou Lei looked puzzled, but that was the only explanation.

Other than instructors, only the students who were to be trained would go up there.

"He's not an instructor!" the girl suddenly cried out.

Zhou Lei looked closely. When he could make out Qin Chen's face, his expression changed. Qin Chen was too young, just like them. He looked like a student.

"How is that possible? He's at least at Late Body Tempering. There's actually a Late Body Tempering student entering the training camp with us this time?"

"I heard before that a few freaks had appeared in this year's group. Could it be true?"

As the two stood there in shock, the figure drew closer and closer, until they could finally see Qin Chen's face clearly.

"F-fellow student, wh-which school are you from?" When Zhou Lei saw Qin Chen approaching, he could not help asking.

Whoosh!

The instant the boy asked his question, Qin Chen's figure swept past the two of them.

"No. 1 High School!"

Qin Chen's voice rang out.

By the time the two recovered and looked up, Qin Chen was already more than a hundred meters away.

"Holy shit!" The boy could not help swearing.

He was too fast. They were struggling their way up the mountain, while Qin Chen was practically flying.

"Wind element. He's definitely a wind-element Late Body Tempering practitioner!" the girl murmured.

When Qin Chen had passed them, it had felt like a gust of wind.

Those in the Body Tempering Realm had yet to cultivate martial arts. Only a body temperer with the wind element could reach such speed.

Qin Chen was climbing the mountain with even breaths. He did not look as though he were climbing at all; he seemed to be enjoying himself.

No wonder it's known as a mountain ordinary people can't climb. It feels like cultivation is a little faster here! Qin Chen was surprised.

It was as though the legendary spiritual qi existed here, making him feel that every breath he took was cultivation.

If he stayed here for a long time, the results would definitely be much better than cultivating at the foot of the mountain.

"I've only seen two people on the way. Looks like I'm first!" He looked up. He still could not see the summit, but he knew he had reached the mountainside and climbed half the distance.

The higher he went, the harder it felt, but his speed did not slow in the slightest. At first, he had only used the peak strength of his wind-element realm. When he felt the strain, he activated his fire-element force as well. By the end, he had activated all three elements.

Boom!

Finally, he took the last step and reached the summit of Ming Mountain.

At that moment, his blood seemed to be boiling. Only after a while did it slowly calm down.