Chapter 36

Ding Huan, still hiding in Penglu Mountain, did not know his name had already become famous in Puhai.

After tens of thousands of gene-monsters surged past him, Ding Huan finally let out a breath.

Just moments ago, he had accepted certain death; with his current strength, the chance of surviving such a wave of tens of thousands of gene-monsters was extremely low.

Fortunately, these gene-monsters were merely rampaging in groups, not targeting him.

Wait—that's odd. If these gene-monsters weren't targeting him, then who were they targeting?

The idea that gene-monsters were rampaging in groups was merely Ding Huan's inner muttering; it clearly wasn't true.

Soon, Ding Huan's heart tightened again.

He recalled what had happened months ago when he traveled to Puhai—the high-speed train had been blocked by a group of gene-monsters, later resolved by the military.

Ding Huan knew that incident was not over.

The aftermath of that incident had not yet arrived, yet here, tens of thousands of gene-monsters had burst out of Penglu Mountain.

Despite Penglu Mountain's hundreds of kilometers of range, this area was entirely insufficient to sustain gene-monsters.

These gene-monsters bursting out of Penglu Mountain were seeking new habitats.

Ding Huan didn't need to think—he knew Luzhou City would be the first target.

Luzhou was a large city, yet its defenses were worse than those of the tiny Anhe County.

If tens of thousands of gene-monsters charged there, the consequences…

Ding Huan sighed and stepped out of the cave. He knew his current strength could not stop this from happening.

In his past life, he never learned how Luzhou City ultimately fared; after gaining some freedom, he collected only news about himself and his father, Ding Baishan.

As for gene-monster surges, or the Blue Star's Top Ten Academies' recruitment, they were outside his concerns.

Watching the direction the beast herd vanished, Ding Huan turned resolutely and charged into the depths of Penglu Mountain.

The Two-Horned Fire Lizard was also a mutated beast, but Ding Huan believed this lizard would never join the beast surge and flee Penglu Mountain.

The Two-Horned Fire Lizard carried bloodline of the divine beast Dragon; an ordinary Level Three mutated gene-monster like a Black Ape could not command it or influence it.

Clearly, this Two-Horned Fire Lizard had taken advantage of the beasts' departure to enter Penglu Mountain's depths and claim territory.

Thus, for Ding Huan, this was also his opportunity.

…

The first examination item—the gene fusion rate test—took a full five days.

Nearly two million candidates took the exam; only three hundred thousand passed the first round.

Many candidates had passed their own gene fusion rate tests, even scoring 80% during their personal assessments.

Yet upon reaching the actual examination site, they still failed to reach Grade E.

The second round of the exam would be held two days later.

When Seeing Qu Yi, Qu Fei, and Qu Jiuyi arrived at Tinghuan Hotel, they could not even enter the hotel, let alone meet Ding Huan.

Everyone here had come to see Ding Huan and Geng Qianxing; the crowd had surrounded the entire hotel so tightly not even a fly could get through.

"Little Yi, we probably won't be able to see Teacher Ding," Qu Jiuyi said, her eyes heavy.

Ding Huan was a training instructor at Yujiang University; three of Yujiang University's students achieved S-rank results.

Even if Ding Huan were merely a bystander, merely having once taught those three students made him a target of mobbing.

Seeing Qu Yi remained silent; given this scene, meeting Ding Huan was absolutely impossible.

"Everyone, make way—I'm Teacher Ding's classmate," a clear voice rang out.

Everyone, including Seeing Qu Yi, turned around—the speaker was a beautiful woman.

"You're really Teacher Ding's classmate?" Those unable to push forward seized this as a lifeline.

If they couldn't find Teacher Ding, finding his classmate might still yield news about him.

Geng Qianxing was the main instructor; surely Teacher Ding, as the assistant, had some skill too.

When Luo Xinwei first learned Ding Huan was the tutor for Yujiang University's examinees, she merely thought he had great luck—having landed on a powerful leg right after arriving at Yujiang University.

As for anything else, she hadn't thought much at all, and hadn't even planned to chat with Ding Huan for a moment.

Upon learning that all three of Yujiang University's students had achieved S-rank in the first round, and that their tutor was indeed Ding Huan, she immediately wanted to meet him.

She had even considered—if she secured a recruitment slot for the Blue Star's Top Ten Academies next time—whether she could ask Ding Huan to speak to Teacher Geng on her behalf, to arrange pre-exam training under him.

"Yes, I'm Luo Xinwei. I've been classmates with Ding Huan for four years—we're very good friends. Please let me through; I need to speak with Teacher Ding." The woman was Luo Xinwei.

Strictly speaking, she wasn't even a tutor—she had merely ingratiated herself with the team leader from Luoheshangwu University and been assigned a menial task.

In Luo Xinwei's mind, once she stood before Ding Huan, he would refuse her nothing.

In truth, she was slightly annoyed, because Ding Huan's phone had been unreachable—if she could have reached him, why would she be stuck here pushing through the crowd?

"Luo classmate, is Ding Huan really Yujiang University's training instructor?" Qu Jiuyi asked.

Qu Jiuyi knew Ding Huan was Yujiang University's training instructor; hearing Luo Xinwei claimed to be his classmate, he sought to strike up a connection.

Luo Xinwei frowned slightly, then said, "Of course—he and I both graduated from Luoheshangwu University; he was assigned to Yujiang University as a tutor, and I was assigned to Luoheshangwu University as a tutor."

In truth, Ding Huan was assigned to Yujiang University as a tutor, and she was merely a tutor too.

"Yes, I can confirm. My tutors are Teacher Ding and Teacher Geng," another voice spoke up.

"Your tutors are Teacher Geng and Teacher Ding? What's your name?" a bald man asked in surprise.

"I…"

Huang Chengwei blushed; his tutors had indeed been Teacher Ding and Teacher Geng—but he had foolishly run away.

Under constant pressure from his family, he had gritted his teeth and come here, hoping for another chance to join the Blue Star's Top Ten Academies' recruitment.

"Forget it, don't brag," someone sneered.

Luo Xinwei glanced dismissively at Huang Chengwei and pushed through the crowd.

After learning Luo Xinwei was Ding Huan's classmate, the crowd still parted a path—no one wanted to offend an acquaintance of Teacher Geng and Teacher Ding.

Seeing a path appear, Qu Jiuyi hurriedly squeezed through after it.

He was an internal strength martial artist and easily followed Luo Xinwei to stand before Geng Qianxing and Yujiang University's president Tan Bei.

This was because Tan Bei and Geng Qianxing needed to accept interviews at the hotel, which is why they were stuck on the first floor of the lobby.

"President Tan, is Ding Huan here?" Luo Xinwei walked in and asked with a smile.

"Who are you?" Tan Bei looked at Luo Xinwei, and behind her, Qu Jiuyi and the others, with confusion.

Luo Xinwei explained, "I'm Luo Xinwei. I was Ding Huan's classmate at Luohé Upper Martial Arts University. After graduation, we were assigned to the same job—I ended up here, while Ding Huan came to Yujiang University."

Geng Qianxing quickly said, "Teacher Ding isn't here—he left suddenly for an urgent matter, and I don't even know where he went."

"Teacher Geng, I only hope you can train my child for one day. No—even half a day would do. Here's your payment…"

A woman who had squeezed in urgently spoke, then placed a leather suitcase before Geng Qianxing.

Without opening the suitcase, everyone knew it was filled entirely with cash.

Someone who could bring a whole suitcase of cash here and dare to publicly offer it to Geng Qianxing wasn't an ordinary person.

Some martial arts experts, upon seeing the person carrying the suitcase, guessed this might be a martial artist nearing the Yellow Rank.

Geng Qianxing was utterly helpless; Tan Bei was equally helpless.

Has it come to this—no subtlety at all? Handing out money in a crowd? Who taught you this?

But Tan Bei understood this parent—after all, there were only two days left before the second round of assessments.

If she didn't use this method to offer money, she had absolutely no chance.

Not even the chance to meet these two teachers.

The woman offering money truly thought this way: two days from now was the second round of assessments—who knew if Teacher Geng would even show up after today? She had neither time nor opportunity.

"Teacher Geng, my child is also willing to train under you. No matter how much money, we're ready to pay…"

It was as if two people had ignited a bomb—everyone now claimed they were willing to offer even more money, and even if they didn't need money but something else, they could still make it happen.

Tan Bei looked at the crowded crowd and helplessly pressed his palm to his forehead; the interview could no longer continue.

He had always dreamed that Yujiang University would astonish everyone in this admissions assessment—but this was too astonishing. No, this was shocking the entire world.

Seeing the crowd so packed they could barely breathe, Geng Qianxing finally said, "Everyone, listen to me."

At Geng Qianxing's words, the crowd finally fell silent.

Geng Qianxing took a deep breath, then stepped onto the coffee table and spoke loudly, "I understand all your feelings, but I must tell you the truth.

Yujiang University trained three students, and indeed, all three achieved excellent results—I myself was deeply shocked and puzzled.

I swear to heaven, I had nothing to do with any of the training—it was all personally guided by Teacher Ding Huan.

Teacher Ding Huan isn't here now. If he were here, he would definitely come forward."

"Then where is Teacher Ding Huan?" With Geng Qianxing having sworn, those present could only search for Ding Huan.

Geng Qianxing shouted, "Teacher Ding left suddenly for an urgent matter—I don't know when he'll return. If you want to find Teacher Ding Huan, wait until after the assessments and go to our school…"

After speaking, Geng Qianxing wiped the sweat from his forehead—he could only follow Ding Huan's instructions and pass the burden onto Ding Huan, who wasn't here.

Hearing that Geng Qianxing wasn't the training teacher, and that the real trainer was Teacher Ding Huan—who wasn't here—the crowd slowly dispersed.

They didn't give up; instead, each used their own methods to find connections to Teacher Ding Huan, preparing to send their children for training.

(Thank you to DemonCat for becoming another patron after the Mythos arc, and also asking for monthly votes. Today's update ends here—friends, good night!)