18: Struggle

Only 52 Trainees from Anqiu City remained in the hall.

The few people from Linhai County walked over and found the rows of seats a bit strange.

The first two rows consisted of a hundred seats in total; they were sofas that not only looked luxurious but also came with snacks and drinks.

The next few rows were plastic chairs.

As for the last few rows, it was even more ridiculous—they were actually wooden stools less than a foot tall.

"Xiao Weiqing, come over here and sit."

Xiao Weiqing and the others turned their heads and walked over.

"Are you Qin Sheng?"

Qin Sheng nodded. "Yes, it's me. This is Zhu Dong."

"Xiao Weiqing, did Senior Jiang tell you about the seating?"

"The seating?"

"Yeah. Anqiu City was the first stop for the zhi yong ship. Over the next hour, it will pick up new Trainees from Luohe City, Donglin City, and Yueshan City in turn."

Xiao Weiqing nodded. "I see, but what about the seats..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Weiqing realized something and asked, "How long does it take to get to Luo Jiang Prefecture?"

"Seven hours," Qin Sheng said.

"Are you saying they'll fight for the seats?"

Qin Sheng replied, "Exactly. There are 642 seats in total, which is the total number of recruits from our four cities this year.

But there are only a hundred sofa seats, which come with a lavish feast at noon. Behind them are two hundred plastic chair seats with no food."

"Huh? That's too big of a gap! No food?" Zhang Dawei exclaimed.

"More than that, there's not even water."

Zhu Dong smiled. "Don't worry, the key is the ones at the very back—the wooden stools. Your butt will be sore by the time we get there."

Someone said weakly, "Can I go somewhere else? Even lying on the floor is fine."

"No," Qin Sheng said coldly.

"This is a tradition of Luo Jiang Academy; it's meant to make us compete."

"And we must compete. It's not just about the food; it's about our pride. If we give up, we'll be mocked once we reach Luo Jiang Academy. Although our Anqiu City's strength has always been at the bottom among the thirty-odd cities in Luo Jiang Prefecture, we have never been known to give up."

Zhu Dong agreed, "Qin Sheng is right. If you're already thinking of backing down when you've just stepped into the extraordinary, what kind of future can you have?"

Qin Sheng continued, "Xiao Weiqing, you might not like to hear this, but those of you from the orphanages haven't suffered much before the age of eighteen. You've always been protected by policies, with no worries about food or clothing.

But we are different. We all have siblings—at least a dozen, sometimes dozens. This is the survival mode for big families under the Extraordinary Talent system. We have no choice but to compete."

"You have to fight for it. If you don't fight, you'll have nothing. The better your talent, the more you have to fight because everyone is watching, and everyone wants to trample you down. To walk the path of the extraordinary, you must have a competitive heart, or you are destined to achieve nothing."

By the end, Qin Sheng's face was almost contorted, looking a bit terrifying.

Zhang Dawei said, "You big Family people really know how to play."

Zhu Dong shook his head. "There's no other way. Different classes have different problems, unless you stand at the peak—like a God!"

Xiao Weiqing nodded, remembering what the seniors had said on the forum: Cultivation is a struggle against people, against demons, and against the heavens.

"What are the rules?"

Zhu Dong said, "Since we have fewer people, each city should field a few Trainees for a gauntlet-style battle. Whichever side falls first loses. Of course, the specifics depend on what both sides agree upon."

Qin Sheng spoke again, "Xiao Weiqing, your fire-element True Art, even if you've just started to Cultivate, should have decent combat power. We need you. Of course, even if you don't participate, we won't give up."

Li Fangnan stood up and said, "Of course I'm in. Can we use weapons?"

"Yes, but they're wooden," Qin Sheng said, pointing to a rack on the side.

"Xiao Weiqing, what about you?"

"I'm in."

Xiao Weiqing nodded. It was just a small episode on the path of cultivation; there was no reason to back down.

"Good, it's settled then."

Jiang Peng and Wang Fu were in a small room, watching everything in the hall clearly through a screen.

"Old Wang, is that Qin Sheng from the Anqiu Qin Family?"

"Yes."

Jiang Peng exclaimed, "Good grief, what's his rank? 70th? 80th?"

Wang Fu smiled bitterly. "He's ranked 78th. This year, eight members of the Qin Family participated in the Extraordinary Awakening. One has a Level 2 'Skill' and one has a Level 4 'Tool'—that's Qin Sheng. His Extraordinary Talent is the Raging Waves War Spear."

"Does he have a companion weapon?"

Wang Fu rolled his eyes. "companion weapons are rarer than True Arts. How could just any Level 4 'Tool' have a companion weapon?"

"If I could recruit a Trainee with a companion weapon, I'd have my cultivation points for next semester."

"Are they rare?" Jiang Peng rubbed his chin.

"They do seem quite rare. In our year, within the 'Martial' category, there were over a hundred Level 4 Extraordinary Talents and ten Level 5 ones. Only Ye Hanmei and I have companion weapons. Mine is a 'Skill' type, and hers is a 'Tool' type."

"Get lost!"

Wang Fu really wanted to throw his size 45 shoe at Jiang Peng's face.

While they were talking.

The zhi yong ship began to slow down.

Jiang Peng said, "Looks like we've reached Luohe City. The show is about to begin. By the way, who's in charge of recruitment for Luohe City?"

"I don't know. Luohe City and Donglin City should both be handled by people from the Middle Academy." Wang Fu shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.

"What about Yueshan City?"

Wang Fu grinned playfully. "Your arch-rival."

Jiang Peng's eyes widened. "No way, Ye Hanmei? How does she have time for freshman orientation?"

As the only two Trainees in the junior class with companion weapons, Jiang Peng and Ye Hanmei were often compared.

However, since Ye Hanmei has a Level 5 'Tool,' there is a significant gap in their strength, and Jiang Peng has always been the target of ridicule.

"It's probably because someone in her Family participated in the Extraordinary Awakening and got a good Extraordinary Talent."

Jiang Peng nodded. "That's the only possible reason. Damn, those big Family people are truly disgusting, using human wave tactics. I heard they've been doing the Bloodline Stream thing lately, using eugenics for people with Advanced Extraordinary Talents.

If this continues, in a few hundred years, the people on Blue Star will only have a few surnames left, and there won't be any ordinary people."

Wang Fu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "I should be the one saying that. Aren't you from a Family too?"

"Don't mention it. We had a falling out. They practically treated me like a breeding machine. My old man actually wanted me to have a few kids first. In a fit of rage, I ran away and later brought Wei Lan out with me."

"Hahaha... From a probability standpoint, it's feasible. Otherwise, Blue Star's population wouldn't have kept growing over the last thirty years."

"However..."

Wang Fu's tone shifted. "The Wei Family's situation is different from yours."

Jiang Peng snorted coldly. "What's there to fear? Just wait until I reach the Fifth Realm. Then I'll beat up every single one of those so-called Geniuses."