"Goblins, Kobolds, Burrower Monsters, Burrow Spiders, Rotting Wood Puppets, and all sorts of Fierce Beasts."

"To think there are so many Demons suppressed beneath Sea City Military Academy!"

"I know, right? Just thinking about how we'll be going down there to hunt these Demons in the future gets me incredibly excited. Compared to the real combat of Cave Hunting, the Simulation Battlefield feels like child's play!"

"It's exciting, but it's also genuinely dangerous. The Demons in the Caves are not to be trifled with! In just one day, three elite candidates have been eliminated, and one female Mage was even severely injured."

At this moment, a student exclaimed, "Quick, look at the intranet! The instructors have uploaded a highlight reel of today's exciting battles."

Soon, the cafeteria's large screen began broadcasting the highlight reel. The instructors had carefully selected twenty clips from the battle livestreams of the 180 elite candidates, editing them into this video.

The twentieth clip was the one just mentioned by the student, where a female Mage, through a moment of carelessness, was ambushed by a Demon. She was severely injured, lost her combat ability, and had no choice but to activate her Life-saving Scroll, leading to her unfortunate elimination.

As the students watched, their previously impassioned hearts slowly cooled. Today, their main focus had been on the battle livestreams of powerful individuals like Fang Zhou, Meng Hongzhuang, and Ye Fan. After watching for so long, they had unconsciously developed the illusion of, I could do that, too.

Now, seeing this video where the female Mage paid such a heavy price for a single moment of negligence—losing her chance to become one of the military academy's chosen elites—they finally had a rude awakening. The Cave was a real battlefield. Only Skilled Warriors could survive inside. The fact that the female Mage had been on the elite candidate list proved her combat proficiency was definitely superior to that of the students watching from the outside. Nevertheless, she was eliminated on the very first day of the Cave Hunting.

The students couldn't help but ask themselves, If it were me, could I really handle it?

The subsequent clips in the highlight reel were also spectacular.

There was Meng Hongzhuang commanding her Natural Beasts to flawlessly kill a group of Fierce Snakes without any losses.

There was Ye Fan using his Fallen Heaven Strike to behead their Warlock from within a crowd of Kobolds, retreating completely unscathed.

There was Gu Zhiqiu taking advantage of the terrain, commanding a storm to slay several Petrifying Lizards.

And there was Zhao Yuan, clad in Armor, who carved a path through swarms of Fierce Rats, charging in and out seven times without a scratch.

Of course, what stunned the watching students even more were Fang Zhou's highlights. The protagonists of the top three clips—Top 1, Top 2, and Top 3—were all Fang Zhou.

Top 1 was Fang Zhou's opportunistic battle in the goblin cave.

Top 2 was Fang Zhou taking advantage of the jungle terrain to face a swarm of Fierce Ravens head-on.

Top 3 showcased the practical techniques Fang Zhou had employed throughout the day to conserve his Spiritual Power and enhance his sustained Combat Ability.

After watching these twenty battle highlights, all the first-year students fell into silence. Never before had they seen so clearly the enormous gap that existed between themselves and these elite candidates.

Everyone had only been Awakened for two months, so why were the combat instincts of Fang Zhou and Ye Fan so terrifying?

Is this purely due to Talent?

These first-year students all knew that top-ranking elites like Fang Zhou, Ye Fan, and Meng Hongzhuang were all fanatics when it came to Cultivation and combat. Over the past two months, they had almost never rested. Every day was spent either studying or engaging in Cultivation, and when not cultivating, they were fighting. It was because of this accumulated experience that they could navigate the Cave Hunting as if they were fish in water, putting on such an amazing performance.

The first-year students couldn't help but reflect. They were also students of Sea City Military Academy. To the outside world, they were all heaven's chosen few, the future hope of the Human Alliance.

Would they willingly continue to be so lazy and complacent? Would they be content to remain as mere background characters and spectators for the rest of their lives?

In a corner of the cafeteria, Fang Zhou's young fan diligently saved the highlight video.

She wasn't as smart as Fang Zhou. But diligence can make up for a lack of talent! Someday, she would catch up to a prodigy like Fang Zhou and become a qualified soldier of the Human Alliance.

Watching the renewed spirit of these first-year students, the nearby instructors exchanged knowing smiles, their faces filled with gratification. This was precisely the purpose behind their efficient editing of the battle highlight reel. It was not only to make the observing students recognize their own deficiencies and shortcomings but also to inspire them to emulate elites like Fang Zhou, striving to become the future of the military academy and the backbone of humanity.

Thinking about it now, this must have been Principal Su Tiankuo's reason for dispelling all opposition, launching the Cave Hunting ahead of schedule, and demanding a full livestream.

After decades of the Human-Demon Blood War, everyone understood one thing. To defeat the locust-like Abyssal Demons, top-tier experts are crucial. But the hundreds of millions of mid- to lower-tier soldiers are even more so. Sea City Military Academy must not only cultivate prodigies like Fang Zhou but also foster the ordinary students who may not have stellar Talent but were all promising prospects. In the face of the threat from the Abyssal Demons, only this approach could ensure a continuous supply of fresh blood for the Human Alliance and ensure the flame of human civilization is passed down and never extinguished.

「In the Cave, darkness fell.」

In the pitch-black darkness where you couldn't see your hand in front of your face, the wind that had howled during the day had not ceased. Its cry had only grown deeper. The roars of Demons, only heard occasionally during the day, were now much more frequent. Rustling, buzzing, chirping—all sorts of strange sounds emerged in the night. Some Demons that had remained hidden during the day slowly extended their sharp fangs and claws.

In the goblin cave, Fang Zhou lay in his tent. He ate a can of warm military rations and let out a comfortable sigh.

Suddenly, he furrowed his brow, looking toward his Hunting Recorder. The thermal imaging radar was alarming again, indicating something was approaching. Fang Zhou pressed his ear to the ground, faintly hearing some squeaking and rustling sounds.

"SQUEAK SQUEAK..."

The cacophony grew clearer, and the ground began to tremble, thumping like a drum. Then, the Soul Fires of the few Skeletons guarding the entrance to the goblin cave flickered violently, having sensed the invading enemy.

It was a surging tide of Fierce Rats!

Looking up, there were hundreds, if not thousands of them, sweeping across the Desert. A small portion scrambled up the hill where the goblin cave was located, baring their teeth as they advanced into the entrance.

Fang Zhou quickly sprang to his feet and stepped out of his warm tent. After these few hours of rest, much of his Combat Ability had recovered. Dealing with these reckless Fierce Rats would naturally be no problem at all.

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