Forbidden Zone of the Human Race

Chapter 63 Countdown

One hundred teams would be in this exercise, and every one of them would be fighting for one spot. Xiang Ning had a headache just from thinking about it; that was at least five hundred people! He remembered there were eight academies in Marsh City, and Qiling Academy only ranked third amongst them. 

“Haha, don’t worry about it. Team chemistry is the most important thing if you want to kill beasts quickly and survive together in the wild. This activity isn’t just about killing beasts, it’ll involve skills from all different aspects of your life. Your instructor will explain further this afternoon. All I can say is do your best,” Su Muhan said with a smile. 

“I understand. Thank you, Miss.” Xiang Ning bowed. Su Muhan had taken great care of him since the beginning of the semester, and he took her kindness to heart. 

After lunch, he headed straight for the inner courtyard and everyone else also arrived within five minutes. There was still a lot of time before class started, but every student had a feeling that an announcement regarding the wilderness activity would be made. That was why they arrived as early as they could. 

“Xiang Ning, you’re here.” Lu Shiyu broke into a smile when she saw him, which led to multiple guys clenching their jaws. Lu Shiyu had arrived with Fang Rou. Since they were classmates as well as teammates, she was one of her closest friends here. 

Lu Shiyu was the stereotypical ice maiden to the other guys, often saying no more than two sentences in a row, yet she seemed to melt whenever she saw Xiang Ning, which attracted a lot of envy. 

Xiang Ning greeted them, not expecting them to have arrived so early. Furthermore, much to everyone’s surprise, Lei Zhongyuan and Dong Qianyi were early, too. 

“Hahaha, looks like the kids are anxious.” Lei Zhongyuan was in a good mood today. “That’s right, you’ll all be heading out to the wilderness for your training activity tomorrow. Before that, please confirm your consent for this activity. You don’t need to confirm immediately, but please do it within five minutes.” As he spoke, a soldier distributed a document to the crowd. 

He stood with arms crossed, watching the students quiet down and read. It was a consent document that they must sign before participating in the practice. If they became disabled or died from the activity, the Federation would hold no responsibility for it. That was their right, as nothing was certain in the wilderness. Even masters beyond tier seven could die out there, and these tier one kids were just too green. 

Five minutes later, not a single person had stepped out. That made Lei Zhongyuan nod in approval as he asked, “Are you all sure?” 

“We are, Instructor Lei. As martial artists, it’s our responsibility to fight the beasts on the battlefield and grow as people!” 

“That’s right, we can’t be held back by fear!” 

Dong Qianyi nodded. “Looks like our first batch of special training participants isn’t bad at all!” 

In truth, these students were all looking forward to the wilderness, so why would they back out now? They had already undergone many days of training and were used to killing beasts. 

“Very good. This activity will last half a month. You’ll be given three days’ worth of dry food and water at the start, but for the rest of the time, you have to figure out a way to survive the wilderness. There are houses with special markings in the wilderness with some food and a source of water if you need shelter. Of course, one house only fits two teams, and they aren’t easy to find, either. 

“Other than our teams, the other academies of Marsh City will also be sending their own, making the number of participants close to five hundred people,” announced Lei Zhongyuan. 

The crowd exploded in disgruntled conversation. 

“Didn’t you say we were the only school, Sir?” 

“Yeah, since when was this a city-wide activity?” 

Lei Zhongyuan rubbed his head. “Did I say that? I don’t think so. This activity will take place in the vast wilderness, you won’t even feel a difference if we sent a thousand people.” 

“And… there are as many beasts as humans in the city anyway.” Lei Zhongyuan sneered like the devil. 

The students could do nothing but accept their fate. 

“Don’t worry, my promise is still a promise, though our school’s number one team must be at least in the top ten amongst the rest of the schools,” Lei Zhongyuan solemnly concluded. 

Students who thought it would be an easy win changed their minds. Ranking in the top ten wouldn’t be easy. 

Xiang Ning looked at his team and found them all as energetic and passionate as ever. Sure looked like a sure win, then. He drooled as he thought about the three million dollars and martial skills—and those were just the prizes from their school; there should be better prizes for the main event. 

“Alright, I’m done here. Please submit a list of all the weapons you’ll need for the activity, the Federation will provide free weapons and combat attire.” 

Xiang Ning immediately listed out his weapons. “One class two iridium sword and two class two throwing knives.” A class two iridium sword was made with the spine from a tier three Tiger Beast that was added during the forging process. This made the sword capable of killing tier two beasts. 

“Flying knives? Why not a shield?” Fang Rou was surprised. “You aren’t a tier one spiritual cultivator already, are you?” She looked at him like he was a monster. 

He chuckled and admitted, “It was just luck, but I broke through the first tier.” 

Fang Rou rolled her eyes, though she knew that his improvement would be a major upgrade to their team. 

The rest of the teammates made their weapon selections. Fang Rou picked a longsword and a flying knife, while Li Zimo picked only one class two iridium sword.

Liu Ruoxue picked the weapon she had used before, an MX39 Pulse Assault Rifle. However, she requested more rounds, so it could hold eighty bullets. Like Xiang Ning, she also requested two throwing knives. 

Lastly, Lu Shiyu picked a sickle. As for her long-range weapon of choice, she had made up her mind. It would definitely shock Xiang Ning! She grew delighted just from imagining how he would react when he saw her weapon. 

After a busy three hours, class was dismissed. Lei Zhongyuan didn’t ask the students to train any more that day, but rather for them to go home and get some rest.