31: Chapter 31 No One Will Accept Us

The two arrived one after the other at a massive open-air training ground behind the base.

On the field, about fifty or sixty students stood in small groups, some whispering, others cleaning their weapons or interacting with their Pet Beasts, the atmosphere heavy and filled with a sense of competition.

Those who could enter the senior Elite Class were all standouts who had undergone three years of brutal elimination and tempering; each possessed a composed aura and sharp eyes, far beyond what any freshman could compare to.

Qin Ce's arrival immediately drew everyone's attention.

"A newcomer?"

"He looks so green; doesn't look like a senior."

"Could it be a transfer student? At this time of year?"

"Wait... I feel like I've seen him somewhere..." Someone stared at Qin Ce, knitting their brows in thought.

Suddenly, a boy exclaimed, "I remember! The opening ceremony! That freshman who gave a 'self-reflection' in front of the whole school and slapped the faces of the Dean and a bunch of first-year rich kids! His name is... Qin Ce!"

"Right! That's him! I was there that day!"

"That savage? Why is he here?"

The whispers spread quickly as many recalled the sensational anecdote from the start of the term, their gazes toward Qin Ce filled with a bit more surprise and amusement.

Amidst the discussion, Qin Ce saw a familiar figure in the crowd—Jiang Ruowei.

She saw Qin Ce too, a flicker of complexity crossing her eyes, but her expression remained unchanged. She merely glanced at him indifferently before looking away.

Qin Ce understood immediately. He had previously rejected her invitation, so this senior probably held some grudges.

Wei Ming walked to the front of the training ground and clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention.

"Students, please quiet down." Wei Ming's voice was not loud, but it carried clearly, "I would like to introduce a new student to everyone. Qin Ce, originally a student from the freshman Elite Class, has been specially approved by the academy to skip grades and join our senior Elite Class starting today. Let's welcome him."

Skip grades?!

And skipping directly from freshman to senior year?!

The training ground instantly erupted in an uproar! All the students showed expressions of shock, confusion, and even resistance!

"Skip grades? Freshman to senior? What a joke!"

"How long has he even had a Pet Beast? Two months?"

"His Pet Beast is at best Black Iron Low-Grade, right? Isn't he just going to hold us back by coming to our class?"

"What is the academy doing? This kind of special approval is just too childish!"

"Exactly! We worked hard for over three years, fought so many battles, and suffered so many injuries just to secure our spot in the Elite Class! By what right does he get to parachute in?"

"Most importantly, resources in the Elite Class are already tight. We only get a set quota each month, and now we have to share it with one more person?!"

After the uproar came irrepressible doubt and dissatisfaction.

Especially when Wei Ming said the words "skip grades," almost every student's expression changed. Their gazes toward Qin Ce shifted rapidly from curious scrutiny to rejection, aversion, and even a hint of hostility.

On one hand, Qin Ce had been contracting a Pet Beast for less than two months at most. Even if he had luckily contracted a strong Pet Beast, could his foundation and experience keep up with these veterans who had been training hard for three or four years?

On the other hand, and most importantly—resources for the senior Elite Class were fixed, and the competition was extremely fierce! Every month, according to the team point rankings, rare cultivation resources, evolution materials, and even rare treasures were distributed!

These resources still had to be redistributed within each individual squad.

Qin Ce's joining meant one more person to share the pie! For example, if a three-person squad originally split resources equally, each getting 33%, now with four people, each could only get 25%! It might seem like everyone only lost 8%, but in reality, for an individual, that was nearly a quarter of their resources gone!

Who could accept this? This was equivalent to touching everyone's core interests!

Therefore, after Wei Ming finished the introduction, the training ground fell into an awkward silence. No one applauded, no one offered a welcome, only cold, exclusionary gazes remained.

Qin Ce stood beside Wei Ming, calmly enduring these gazes.

The warnings from Teacher Sun and Director Tu were still ringing in his ears; he had been mentally prepared. He just hadn't expected the resistance to be so direct and intense.

Wei Ming didn't seem surprised by this scene. He pushed up his glasses and continued, "According to tradition, new students need to join a fixed squad to be eligible for Elite Class resource distribution. Is there any squad willing to accept Student Qin Ce?"

Silence.

A deeper silence.

Members of every squad exchanged glances, some shaking their heads, some curling their lips, or simply avoiding Teacher Wei's gaze; no one spoke.

Only Jiang Ruowei, who had previously tried to recruit Qin Ce, looked natural, even wearing a playful smile. Her attitude was more like watching a show. "Kid, you rejected me back then, now let you taste the feeling of being ostracized and unable to move an inch. However... if this kid couldn't handle the pressure and lowered his head to beg her, it wouldn't be impossible..."

Wei Ming frowned, "No one is willing? Although Student Qin Ce just awakened, his talent is excellent. He killed a Bronze Rank ferocious beast while at the black iron rank—"

"Teacher." A voice rang out from the crowd, "Having good talent is one thing, but actual combat is another. Our squad is going into the wilderness to hunt; if we bring a burden and something happens, who is responsible?"

The speaker was a tall, thin boy with an arrogant look in his eyes.

Someone whispered, "It's Wu Zhou, the captain of the Thunder Squad. It seems his younger brother was beaten up by Qin Ce during the opening ceremony..."

Qin Ce looked at Wu Zhou, who was looking at him provocatively.

Wei Ming's expression was a bit ugly, but he still patiently persuaded, "Wu Zhou, Student Qin Ce's battle record is solid; he is not a burden—"

"So what?" Wu Zhou sneered, "He killed a Bronze by himself? Who knows if he just picked up a bargain? Maybe someone else severely injured the monster and he just finished it off?"

These words drew agreement from some people.

"Exactly, Black Iron killing Bronze, that's too outrageous."

"Maybe a drill instructor helped him at the time?"

"Right, I don't believe it anyway."

Time ticked by second by second, and the atmosphere grew increasingly stagnant. Qin Ce's situation was awkward to the extreme.

At this moment, just as Teacher Wei felt his prestige was being challenged and was preparing to forcibly assign him according to the rules, Qin Ce suddenly took a step forward and walked out from behind Teacher Wei.

He scanned the crowd with a calm gaze, his voice clear and steady, "Since no one is willing to accept me, I'll just be a squad by myself."

...