175: Speedrun

Whether it is the myriad law source liquid or not doesn't really matter, but if everyone is participating and I'm the only one who isn't, wouldn't that make me seem too antisocial?

Tian Tian seemed to have anticipated that Chu Yuan would say this, and she couldn't help but laugh, her steps becoming even lighter.

Chu Yuan felt she had done it on purpose; otherwise, why would she have saved the news about the myriad law source liquid for last? But he had no proof...

The area outside Shendu Martial Academy was equally bustling, with all kinds of supporting life and entertainment facilities readily available.

There were also many choices for places to eat, ranging from ordinary meals to restaurants specializing in exotic beast ingredients.

Of course, it certainly couldn't compare to Tianxiang Tower in Dawn City, but for a Martial Artist who wasn't short on money, it was still a novel experience...

Chu Yuan didn't care for those minor benefits either, so he just chose a quiet little restaurant with Tian Tian.

While waiting for their food, Tian Tian recounted all the news at school that Chu Yuan had missed.

The most important of these was naturally the ranking battle; the rest... nothing else could really capture Chu Yuan's attention.

However, he did learn why the student who had nearly crashed into his courtyard yesterday was so terrified...

"In other words, the sophomores and juniors... are actually not as strong as the freshmen?"

"Mm." Tian Tian nodded. "That's why many senior students feel it's unfair, believing that the freshmen are benefiting from the Jianmu Project. If they had received that level of training..."

"Don't they know that quite a few people died in the Jianmu Project as well?"

Aside from those eliminated early on, later trial participants began suffering casualties while hunting exotic beasts on the snowy mountains.

The third stage of the assessment required fighting across Realms... even more died!

Ironically, in the more dangerous Outer Heaven Battlefield, because of the care provided by the seniors, the casualty rate dropped, yet it still reached ten percent.

At the very beginning, there were thousands of people selected for the Jianmu Project list!

But only about five hundred returned from the Outer Heaven Battlefield...

These five hundred or so people weren't all at Shendu Martial Academy; other martial academies wouldn't agree to that either. Only about one-tenth, which is to say fifty-something people, came to Shendu Martial Academy.

However, the entire freshman class certainly didn't consist of only those fifty-something people. The remaining students included those eliminated from the Jianmu Project, those who survived the Secret Realm No. 7 but weren't selected for the Jianmu Project...

And some who entered through other channels...

"They know, how could they not?" Tian Tian laughed. "But to be admitted to Shendu Martial Academy, who isn't confident?"

"They don't think they will die in the trials... just like our batch of trial participants, didn't we also think we wouldn't die?"

"If we had known in advance that we would definitely die, we would have quit long ago..."

"Since they feel it's unfair, haven't they caused a scene?"

"Shendu Martial Academy has been established for so many years; often, the level of training provided by those above has never been the same."

"If the harvest from the Outer Heaven Battlefield is greater, the training intensity is higher; if the situation in the Outer Heaven Battlefield is bad, the training intensity is lower..."

"It has always been an unwritten convention; it just so happens that this time it coincides with the ranking battle."

"If they feel it's unfair and want compensation, would the many generations of Martial Artists who have already graduated also feel it's unfair and come asking for compensation?"

"Naturally, no one would pay them any mind..."

Regarding these kinds of things, whichever side one stands on, one feels that side is right. Chu Yuan couldn't be bothered to discuss it.

In any case, it had nothing to do with him...

"Let's eat."

...

Inside the combat trial arena, Chu Yuan discovered that this thing was very unfair to him.

First, his Soul attacks were useless... The Puppet seemed to be a technological creation, crafted entirely from some kind of alloy and appearing humanoid in form.

Such a thing naturally had no Soul to speak of, only programming...

Of course, his Divine Sense also had the ability to launch physical attacks, but its power was less than ten percent of its usual strength.

Another point was the space limitation.

The entire combat arena was only the size of a soccer field, which was extremely unfriendly to Martial Artists who excelled in long-range attacks, and it also restricted the advantage of his Flying Sword.

No wonder the top ten weren't ranked based on trial arena scores, but required Immortal Master combat... Presumably, the higher-ups also considered that these limitations were unfair to certain Martial Artists...

However, Chu Yuan's Realm crushed everything, so these limitations didn't really matter.

He looked up at the electronic screen in the distance, where a line of large characters appeared:

[Stage 1! Current Puppet Realm: Inner Breath Realm Initial! Damage: 0%! Time Elapsed: 00:01!]

There was only one Puppet, which would automatically calculate damage based on the Martial Artist's attacks.

For example, if you stabbed it in the head with a sword, even if it didn't seem to scratch the paint, in the System's calculation, that strike was enough to kill an Inner Breath Realm Martial Artist... then the damage progress would instantly soar to 100%!

Furthermore, the Puppet's strength would continue to have its restrictions lifted, entering the next Realm...

The opponent was already charging across the floor, its footsteps heavy; then it leaped high into the air, its right hand swinging the war blade down in a full arc, bringing with it a shrill whistle of wind!

Chu Yuan held ink shadow and flicked it seemingly at random; a streak of extremely condensed sword light shot into the sky, instantly colliding with the Puppet's chest!

A teeth-grinding friction sound rang out, but it only lasted for a moment before sword light pierced through the Puppet's back and vanished into the firmament...

The text on the large screen in the distance flickered wildly as if it had been hit by a virus;

[Stage 2! Current Puppet Realm: Inner Breath Realm Intermediate! Damage: 100%! Time Elapsed: 00:00!]

[Stage 3! Current... Damage: 100%!]

[Stage 4!] [Stage 5...]

The Puppet fell to the ground with a clatter, the light in its electronic eyes gradually dimming;

"What the f*ck!!!"

An exasperated voice rang out, and then someone burst into the trial arena; they then hurriedly ran toward the Puppet, picking it up with trembling hands as if it were not a hunk of metal, but their beloved wife...

Chu Yuan's mouth twitched; he felt he might have caused trouble...

Sure enough, the next moment, a roar erupted! "You bastard! You just had to show off, didn't you!? Do you know how expensive this thing is!!! Do you know how much trouble it is to fix this thing!?? Huh!?? "

"How was I supposed to know this thing was so fragile? Are you trying to scam me? Wait... who are you?"

"Scam you!? I f*cking..." The old man strode over, Aura surging, his gaze fixed and determined, seemingly wanting to teach Chu Yuan a lesson;

"Master Lu! Master Lu, calm down!" "Right, right, it's not worth it, it's not worth it... If you have anything to say, let's sit down and talk it out..." Two powerful figures appeared; one grabbed him by the waist, and the other blocked his path.

Master Lu? Chu Yuan glanced at the 'Lu' character on the shoulder of the ink shadow sword, and silently put the long sword away...