To Wang Zhan's surprise, not long after he hung up the call with Deng Chaofan, he received a call from Song Dongming.

As soon as the call connected, Song Dongming asked, "Are you going to the Beast Tide in Chang'an City?"

"I just heard the news and was preparing to set off tomorrow," Wang Zhan said in surprise. "Wasn't the news supposed to be locked down? How did you find out?"

"Oh, you knew? I thought you weren't aware, so I figured I'd tell you," Song Dongming explained. "Huang Fu told me. That guy snuck off to Chang'an City and just sent me a bunch of pictures to show off."

"How could he hog all the fun? And why tell you but not me?" Wang Zhan said indignantly. "When we get there, I'm going to settle the score with him."

"Should I come find you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, book a ticket for me too. Let's meet at the E District train station tomorrow."

"Okay."

After ending the call with Song Dongming, Wang Zhan browsed online for a while. Sure enough, there was very little information about the Beast Tide in Chang'an City.

Even the ordinary people in Chang'an City were unaware of this major incident.

As for Martial Artists, they were even less likely to spread such things online.

Additionally, Wang Zhan received a new email containing a bunch of pictures from Huang Fu; all of them were photos of him with beast corpses, the guy even giving a thumbs-up with a smug grin.

A Beast Tide, huh? I wonder what the situation is really like.

「Early the next morning, Wang Zhan met Song Dongming at the E District train station.」

After checking their tickets together, they boarded the train to Chang'an City.

Nowadays, airplanes were rarely used, as the sky was no longer humanity's domain. Many raptors could fly at altitudes of ten thousand meters with ease, making airplanes seem not only cumbersome but also more fragile in comparison.

Thus, in this era, the only means of intercity transit left was the maglev train. This was because humans could ensure that the areas along the train tracks were constantly monitored within a ten-kilometer radius.

This guaranteed the train's safety.

As for the powerful, traversing regions was naturally not an issue.

Seven or eight hours later, it was already afternoon.

Wang Zhan and Song Dongming finally arrived at Chang'an City.

"Follow me," Song Dongming said, expertly leading Wang Zhan out of the train station. He then hailed a cab into the downtown area of Chang'an City.

Wang Zhan asked, "This isn't your first time here?"

"Mm, I've been here a few times. The Chu State Military Academy and the Chang'an Martial Arts Academy had exchanges in the last two years," Song Dongming explained.

Soon, the taxi stopped in front of a skyscraper some seventy or eighty stories tall.

"This is the Martial Arts Association. I presume you haven't registered here before?" Song Dongming led Wang Zhan into the skyscraper.

"No, I've never even heard of the Martial Arts Association," Wang Zhan asked curiously. "What is this place for?"

"The Martial Arts Association is an institution under the Federation, responsible for registering all Martial Artists' information," Song Dongming explained. "Of course, generally, only those at the Martial Artist level or above register; those below Martial Artist don't need to. It's normal that you don't know. We academy-types usually register after graduation. This place mainly serves Martial Artists from martial arts schools and some freelance Martial Artists."

"The Martial Arts Association handles the acceptance and issuance of missions, playing the role of a middleman. Additionally, the Association can provide assistance with cultivation."

"Help with cultivation? How so?" Wang Zhan asked curiously.

"It's simple. As long as you can afford it, theoretically, the Martial Arts Association can arrange for any powerful individual to guide you."

"What about a Warlord?"

"As long as you can afford it, and they are willing," Song Dongming said with a half-smile.

Seeing Song Dongming's expression, Wang Zhan instantly understood.

"So, this place is essentially just a middleman organization," Wang Zhan remarked.

"More or less," Song Dongming nodded.

As they spoke, the two arrived at the Martial Artist registration area.

Song Dongming, familiar with the process, exchanged a few words with a staff member before leading Wang Zhan to a computer.

"Classmate, open your personal terminal and go to the student ID page," the staff member reminded him.

Wang Zhan complied.

Soon, Wang Zhan's information was entered into the Martial Arts Association's database.

A few minutes later, a staff member came over with a card.

"Classmate Wang, this is your Martial Artist ID. Please keep it safe." After saying this, the staff member left.

The entire process took less than fifteen minutes.

"That's it?"

"Yes. For Martial Artists from academies, most of their information is already in the Martial Arts Association's database. We just came over to confirm it, that's all," Song Dongming continued. "This time, we're here in Chang'an City to fight the Beast Tide as ordinary Martial Artists, no longer connected to our academy. So, to enter the wilderness outside Chang'an City, we must have this ID card. Our Military Academy personal terminals are useless here."

"I see."

Having settled the Martial Artist registration, the two boarded an intercity train and soon arrived outside the perimeter wall of Chang'an City Base City.

After swiping their cards to enter the Military Camp, they found it was already pervaded by a solemn atmosphere. Many soldiers were hurrying about, and occasionally, they saw wounded being carried on stretchers.

"The situation seems more serious than we imagined," Wang Zhan said, his tone heavy.

Before they could observe further, an officer suddenly approached them.

"You two, are you Martial Artists here to help in the battle?"

"Yes," Wang Zhan and Song Dongming nodded quickly.

"Your strength?"

"We are both level 6 Martial Artists, from an academy," Song Dongming replied quickly.

The officer initially seemed a little disappointed, but his eyes lit up when he heard they were from an academy.

"Follow me! No time to delay!"

The officer strode towards the wall. Though Wang Zhan and Song Dongming were puzzled, they didn't dare to delay and quickly followed.

As they walked, the officer said, "The Chang'an City garrison thanks you both for coming to help. Every Martial Artist assisting us will be granted temporary military status. All contributions you make in resisting the Beast Tide will be recorded as military merits. You won't be treated unfairly."

"We're not here for military merits. We just want to kill beasts," Wang Zhan said.

"I know. Many Martial Artists are like you! That's why our army is very grateful."

Wang Zhan and Song Dongming exchanged a glance, both visibly moved.

The officer asked again, "What are your capabilities? I mean actual combat strength, not just your rank or theoretical limits."

"I can probably kill a level 6 beast, fight a level 7 beast to a standstill, and only hold my own against a level 8 beast," Song Dongming said.

"And you?" the officer turned to Wang Zhan.

"Anything below Soldier-level, I'll kill as many as they send!" Wang Zhan stated confidently.

At this, both the officer and Song Dongming stopped in their tracks.

"You've improved again?" Song Dongming found it hard to accept. How does this guy improve so quickly?

"Are you serious? This is no place for jokes! Bragging will only get you killed!" the officer said gravely.

Ignoring Song Dongming, Wang Zhan nodded solemnly to the officer. "I have awakened my mental energy."

"So that's it!" The officer's delight was palpable.

As they spoke, the three of them had crossed the wall and entered the wilderness area.

The officer pulled them into an off-road vehicle parked nearby, then slammed the accelerator, and the vehicle sped off.

"The Beast Tide is currently about twenty kilometers beyond the wall. The previous major wave of beasts just passed last night. Now, there are still scattered battles in a few locations because the front line is too stretched, and we're short on manpower."

"I'm Yang Hu, captain of the Third Squad. I was originally returning to the Base City to pick up a level 9 Martial Artist, and together we were to form a rapid support team to reinforce various points. However, I just learned that the level 9 Martial Artist has already been sacrificed."

Wang Zhan and Song Dongming were both intelligent; from Yang Hu's brief words, they had already gleaned a great deal of information.

Although the large-scale Beast Tide had temporarily ended, it didn't mean there wouldn't be more.

Furthermore, many Martial Artists were still engaged in bloody battles.

And Yang Hu, a squad captain, acting alone... it likely meant his squad had mostly been wiped out.

In the mere fifteen minutes or so since entering the Military Camp, Wang Zhan and Song Dongming had witnessed true carnage and cruelty.

This was different from the cruelty of hunting beasts before; this was the cruelty of watching their own kind use their physical bodies to block the beasts, sacrificing themselves heroically.

「A few minutes later, Wang Zhan could already sense the aftermath of battles from afar.」

Without hesitation, he closed his eyes, sensing the fluctuations of Spiritual Energy around him. In mere seconds, he had activated his mental energy and achieved resonance with the Spiritual Energy of the area.

"Ahead is..." Yang Hu began, but Wang Zhan cut him off.

"Two level 8 beasts, one level 9 beast. Fewer than twenty Martial Artists, the strongest only a level 7," Wang Zhan said grimly.

This was the perceptive ability granted by his mental energy. While he could only control Spiritual Energy within a ten-meter radius around himself, if used purely for detecting the strength of beasts or Martial Artists, its range could extend to nearly three hundred meters.

At this moment, the distant battlefield came into view.

"I'm going on ahead!"

As he finished speaking, Wang Zhan pushed open the car door and jumped out.

After an agile landing, he broke into a sprint, and in the blink of an eye, he overtook the speeding off-road vehicle.

A distance of one or two hundred meters was covered in an instant!

At this very moment, the level 7 Martial Artist leading the humans was already covered in blood. He stood at the very front, facing a colossal Green Mane Tiger ten meters long.

Seeing the Green Mane Tiger open its gaping maw, the Martial Artist, already at the end of his rope, was powerless to resist.

Just as he had resigned himself to death, Wang Zhan arrived.

Green Mane Tiger, a level 8 beast!

Saying this, Wang Zhan, carrying the momentum from his sprint, leaped high and viciously kicked the level 8 beast's jaw.

The Green Mane Tiger, so imposing moments ago, was sent flying by the kick. Its massive body soared forty to fifty meters into the air before crashing heavily to the ground, clearly dead.

The Human Martial Artists were stunned speechless. The powerful beast that had been on the verge of annihilating them couldn't even withstand a single blow from this unknown Martial Artist?

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