Chapter 67: Chapter 67: Sudden Change

Fang Chen looked around the bus. Most of the students were from Class One and Class Two, and sitting beside him was his deskmate, Hu Jiasen.

To his surprise, Yang Fan, who had transferred from Seventh Middle School with him, was also on the bus, along with the remaining three of the Old Twelve Celestial Kings.

"Good lord," Fang Chen thought to himself, "all four True Martial Realm students in the entire school are crammed onto this very bus."

Just then, a military officer standing at the front of the bus clapped his hands and began to speak.

"Students, my name is Yang Chen. Let me first go over our itinerary.

"First, there are a total of 728 examinees from the ten high schools across Jinchuan City. Whether you are applying to Cyan Yang City or Jiangyue City, you will all arrive at the Dream Shadow Forest for the first round of assessments."

Yang Chen’s gaze swept over the entire bus, his tone serious. "Do not underestimate this first hurdle. In every past martial exam, the elimination rate for this round has been over seventy percent."

He paused for a few seconds, letting the number sink in.

"Based on that ratio, out of the three buses here, only one busload of students will likely make it to Cyan Yang City for the second round of the martial exam."

As he spoke, Yang Chen patrolled the aisle. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto one of the students. "You! Where is the Spiritual Crystal Stone on the chest of your Combat Suit?"

The student’s face instantly turned as pale as a sheet. He frantically touched his empty chest.

"Ah! Oh no! My mom was afraid that leaving the Crystal Stone in the Combat Suit would drain its energy, so she took it out. She said it would save energy so I could use it longer later... I forgot to bring it when I left this morning!" his voice was laced with sobs.

Yang Chen let out a heavy sigh.

"Idiots! This happens every single year. You either forget to wear your Combat Suits or take out the Crystal Stones and forget to put them back in.

"You spent hundreds of thousands to buy these Combat Suits and weapons! As Ordinary Martial Artists, how else are you supposed to compete with True Martial Artists?

"Isn’t it by relying on your Combat Suits to close the gap? Well, look at you now. You’re on your own," Yang Chen sneered, his voice raising a few notches.

"Please... can I go back and get it? It’ll be quick, my house isn’t far away..." The student was on the verge of tears.

"In your dreams! You think everyone here is going to wait for you?" Yang Chen refused without a shred of mercy.

Listening to this exchange, Fang Chen couldn’t help but feel a sense of déjà vu. Wasn’t this exactly like his previous life, where someone would inevitably forget their ID or admission ticket during the annual college entrance exams?

Prompted by this incident, the other students on the bus nervously checked their own gear. Fortunately, aside from that poor soul, everyone else had brought their equipment.

The military officer continued explaining the precautions, which were nothing more than wilderness survival skills and exam rules—things the students were already sick of hearing.

After driving for several hours, there was barely any trace of civilization left in sight other than the paved road. Many students curiously peered out at the passing scenery. For most of them, it was their first time stepping foot outside of Jinchuan City.

"So this is what the outside of the city looks like..." someone muttered, pressing their face against the window and staring intently at the outside world.

A few girls whispered among themselves. "I heard it’s super dangerous outside the city. Demon Beasts roam around here..."

"What are you afraid of? We have the military escorting us!"

Fang Chen followed the crowd’s gaze and looked out the window. Although Li Family Village was located in the suburbs, venturing this far away from Jinchuan City was a first for him too.

The landscape outside was starkly different from the wilderness on Earth. The vegetation in the mountains was unusually lush. The trees were startlingly tall, with thick canopies that nearly blotted out the sky, and the weeds and shrubs along the road grew wildly, almost out of control. It felt as if Fierce Beasts could pounce from the shadows of the roadside woods at any moment.

"It seems that Spiritual Qi is the best fertilizer for all living things," Fang Chen thought to himself.

"Huh? Did you guys hear that?" A girl sitting by the window suddenly perked up her ears, a confused expression on her face. "It sounds like... someone is playing an instrument? And singing?"

At her words, the other students quickly quieted down and listened carefully.

"You’re right! It sounds like very soft singing..."

"The melody is so bizarre. I’ve never heard a tune like this before."

"Where is it coming from? It feels like it’s drifting closer, then fading away..."

Soft murmurs echoed through the bus as everyone’s attention was drawn to the faint, ethereal singing. Fang Chen concentrated and listened closely. He could indeed hear the wispy vocals. The melody was ancient and unfamiliar, making it eerily out of place in this desolate wilderness.

He frowned slightly, a nagging sense that something was wrong creeping into his mind. Just then, he felt his deskmate, Hu Jiasen, pat him on the shoulder.

Fang Chen turned his head. "What is it?"

"Boss Fang." Hu Jiasen chuckled. Nowadays, most of the students at school who were close to him were used to calling him that. "Hehe, do you know what the specific test in the Dream Shadow Forest will be?"

"How would I know?" Fang Chen shook his head.

Hu Jiasen mysteriously lowered his voice. "I do."

Fang Chen gave him a questioning look.

"Actually, there are only a few wilderness testing sites, and they generally rotate every three years. The last time they used the Dream Shadow Forest, those who took the exam came back and said the content was exactly the same as the time before that," Hu Jiasen explained. "What I mean is, it’s highly likely that this time will be just like the previous ones."

Fang Chen raised an eyebrow. "And then?"

Seeing that Fang Chen seemed to buy it, Hu Jiasen leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"First, they’ll scatter all of us and make us enter the forest from different entry points.

"Then, they’ll order us to scavenge for supplies. These supplies are actually playing cards or other trinkets autographed by the officers or the principal. Each item is worth one point.

"Everyone is required to collect at least ten points and must make it out of the forest within four hours."

Fang Chen let out an ’oh’ of realization, immediately understanding the crux of the matter. "So they’re forcing everyone to fight over limited resources, making conflicts inevitable when push comes to shove. They want to see who can battle their way out."

"The military officers will definitely announce all this later anyway." Hu Jiasen waved his hand; that wasn’t the main point. "What I’m talking about are the places where they frequently hide these things! Someone tallied up the high-frequency spots. This is intel I spent a lot of money to buy!"

As he spoke, he sneakily pulled a hand-drawn, rudimentary map from his jacket, offering it to Fang Chen.

Fang Chen didn’t take it. Instead, he looked at him in confusion. "Couldn’t you just keep this intel for yourself? Why give it to me?"

Hu Jiasen offered an awkward smile, a hint of flattery on his face. "Hehe, when the time comes... Boss Fang, do you think you could... take me with you..."

BANG!!!

Before he could finish his sentence, a massive noise exploded from the front, sounding like something impossibly heavy had violently smashed into the road!

"What’s going on?!"

The bus instantly descended into a commotion.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Immediately after, a series of muffled thuds echoed from the rear as heavy objects crashed to the ground one after another. The entire convoy was forced to screech to an emergency halt.

"What’s happening?!"

"What’s going on?!"

Standing at the front of the bus, Military Officer Yang Chen’s expression drastically changed. He bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Not good! Hurry! Everyone, pull down the hoods of your Combat Suits! Activate your Energy Crystal Stones!!"

He reacted with lightning speed, reaching out to yank the door switch while shouting, attempting to check the situation outside.

The very second the bus doors opened with a loud PSHHH—

CRASH!!!

A blindingly fast, shadowy figure shattered the window glass like a bolt of lightning and violently tunneled into the bus!

The thing moved too fast for the naked eye to track. Only a blurry afterimage could be seen as it shrieked through the air, shooting straight toward Military Officer Yang Chen, who had just opened the door!

SQUELCH!

With a muffled thud, the dark shadow pierced straight through Yang Chen’s forehead!

It tore out a spray of red and white matter, blowing a fist-sized hole out the back of his skull.

Military Officer Yang Chen’s body abruptly went rigid. His face was still frozen in an expression of shock and urgency, but his eyes instantly glazed over. He toppled forward stiffly, crashing heavily onto the floor.

Then, at a speed visible to the naked eye, his body began to shrivel and blacken. His skin turned rapidly brittle and charred, as though it were being roasted by a scorching flame.

In just a few breaths, his crisp military uniform caved in. The body inside had already turned into a small pile of ashen black dust.

A living human had been reduced to ashes in front of everyone’s eyes!

AHHHHHH!!!

After a brief, dead silence, shrieks of utter terror erupted throughout the bus.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.