Published: February 19, 2025
Chapter 1: The Rankings
On the morning of the second day, the task hall at the front of the square was bustling with people coming and going.
Cultivators dressed in ordinary battle armor or more domineering and stylish extraordinary battle armor entered and exited.
Most of these individuals had auras above the three heavens, with quite a few at the four heavens stage. Each person carried enormous weapons on their backs, some even emitting a faint glow.
It was clear that these were extraordinary weapons.
"Taishan Squad is looking for two members to carry the corpses of mutated beasts. Bring your own anti-gravity disks. Interested parties, come quickly! Minimum requirement: three heavens."
"The Divine Sword Team is recruiting, looking for two members above the early stage of four heavens. Our target is fifth-level mutated beasts, so possessing extraordinary weapons is best..."
Amidst the lively crowd, Chen Chu and Luo Fei, clad in battle armor, followed Xia Youhui as they upgraded their personal smart devices at the nearby equipment.
After completing the connection with the Heavenly Base Satellite, the map was updated.
Once they finished, the three arrived outside the task hall, where Liu Feng and others, dressed in battle armor and carrying weapons and supplies, were already waiting.
Xia Youhui waved his hand, "A Chu, we’re heading off first. We’ll contact you when we return."
Chen Chu nodded, "Go ahead, be safe, especially protect Luo Fei. Although her single-target attack power is high, her close defense is too weak."
Li Meng patted his chest and assured, "Don’t worry, Chen Chu, as long as we’re here, she won't get a scratch. This is a promise from a man."
"Right, don’t worry." Yuan Chenghuang nodded in agreement.
Liu Feng added, "Exactly, don’t underestimate our Chaotic God Squad. We are quite strong among the teams at the three heavens, managing to kill fourth-level mutated beasts without injury each time."
"Why do I feel like you guys think I have no close combat ability at all?"
As she spoke, the girl, carrying a sniper rifle and several magazines and small bombs on her waist and back, clicked as she holstered a loaded high-power pistol on her thigh armor.
She appeared quite heroic.
Chen Chu smiled and shook his head, "It’s different. You are a shooter, and you’re definitely going to be less durable than these meat shields. If there's danger, they should handle it."
As they joked, the group waved goodbye to Chen Chu and then turned to leave.
Just as Luo Fei and the others left, Li Chen, carrying a heavy sword, approached Chen Chu, standing on the steps with a sigh, "After coming here, I feel like the three heavens are just cannon fodder."
Chen Chu nodded, "No need to feel that way; here, three heavens are indeed the foot soldiers."
Li Chen immediately fell silent, "Chen Chu, I was just expressing my feelings. You really don’t have to be so direct."
Chen Chu laughed, "This isn’t discouragement, it’s the truth. But compared to them, I have higher hopes for you."
"Think about it, they’ve cultivated for two or even three years to reach three heavens, while you caught up in just one semester. Isn’t that more potential?"
"So, keep it up, young man."
"Now that sounds more like a person. Goodbye! I’m heading out too." With that, Li Chen waved to Chen Chu and strode towards the base exit.
The first-year students who arrived early were all geniuses, and geniuses tend to have pride. Only a few had close relationships; most preferred to go solo.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Chu prepared to set off.
But at that moment, the large screen on the side of the square lit up again.
"An Fuqing, with initial stage four heavens cultivation, reversed the assault on Martial High Bai Hong, with sword intent of life and death, unrivaled in attack. Current ranking on the battle achievements list: nine hundred forty-eight."
Suddenly, Chen Chu halted, surprise evident in his eyes as he, along with other students, looked up at the glaring red characters on the big screen.