Chapter 563: Make a Decision! Xia Lan

The sky blazed with bright sunlight, utterly cloudless for miles.

Before the main gate of Lei Ting Martial Arts Academy, people came and went.

Some were psychics here on official business; others were tourists visiting the site.

The spine bone of a dragon-like beast standing outside the academy's main gate left many tourists in awe.

Xu Jingming leaned casually against a wall over a hundred meters away from the spine bone.

While waiting for Song Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu to arrive, he pondered the data he had just retrieved through Eva.

Dayangzhou,

located southeast of Daxia, roughly thousands of kilometers from Ningnan City.

Even by military aircraft, it takes over nine hours to reach.

Dayangzhou covers a total area of eight million square kilometers, four-fifths of which are beast territories.

The remaining one-fifth hosts two massive fortress cities built by humans.

They are named Mocheng and Nixi.

The former spans 600,000 square kilometers; the latter is slightly smaller, at 400,000 square kilometers.

Over two hundred years ago, both cities belonged to Ao Country.

But unfortunately, Ao Country was surrounded by sea on all sides.

With a small population, it was wiped out during the early stages of the beast invasion.

Today, Mocheng and Nixi are two super-large cities with a combined population exceeding two hundred million.

They belong to no single nation but are managed in rotation by the six major powers of the United Nations, including Daxia.

In Dayangzhou, over seven million square kilometers are beast territories.

It is the region on the entire Blue Planet with the highest concentration of beasts.

As a result, it draws a large number of high-grade psychics.

What Su Su Qingli said—that nearly half of the Blue Planet's sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade psychics are there—is no lie.

"Mocheng and Nixi, two cities.

Almost every ten days or so, a small-scale war breaks out.

The frequency of these wars is the highest on the entire Blue Planet.

More importantly, even without war breaking out, I can still enter the wilderness and hunt beasts.

Seven million square kilometers of beasts—no matter how hard I kill, I can never wipe them all out..."

Xu Jingming thought silently.

The psychic points required for advancement keep increasing; ordinary wilderness zones can no longer satisfy his needs.

He was already beginning to feel drawn to Dayangzhou.

"After tomorrow's Genius Competition finals, I'll ask Ling Shuang when she's leaving.

If the timing works, I'll go with her; if not, I'll go ahead on my own."

As he pondered, a clear, melodious voice reached his ears:

"Captain Xu, long time no see. What have you been busy with lately?"

Xia Lan appeared before him, holding Zhou Zhou Xiaoman, her blue-stone-like eyes sparkling with a faint smile.

Ningnan City, approaching December, had grown chilly; pedestrians wore thick autumn coats.

Xia Lan wore only a light jacket and a summer-style light-blue denim skirt.

Her tall figure, paired with her exquisite features, made her appear youthful, radiant, and full of vitality.

Since returning from Myanmar, Xu Jingming had spent his time either in competitions, the wilderness, or the frontlines.

Back at the academy, he either stayed with his teacher or in his villa.

This was his first encounter with Xia Lan in over two months, so he smiled and replied:

"What else could I be busy with? Just training for the Genius Competition."

"Isn't that all? I heard you returned from outside with Director Su two days ago.

Others in the Tianjiao Training Camp said you went to the southern border frontline?"

Xia Lan's fair face was filled with curiosity.

Xu Jingming, the man who had risen like a comet.

He seemed to have a peculiar fervor for hunting beasts.

She had noticed this during their mission together in Myanmar.

"I did go there with Teacher Su." Xu Jingming did not deny it.

"Impressive! With the Genius Competition so intense, you still found time to slip away to the frontline."

Xia Lan couldn't help but admire.

More importantly, Xu Jingming had directly advanced into the top four of the Genius Competition!

His time management was a skill everyone would envy.

"By the way, isn't Teacher Ling planning to take a group to Dayangzhou soon?

Many in the Tianjiao Training Camp have signed up—have you?"

Xia Lan paused, then asked with quiet anticipation.

Xu Jingming was surprised—so Ling Shuang wasn't going alone?

But he quickly understood.

Dayangzhou was dangerous, but only for those involved in battlefield combat.

After all, beast surges occurred once or twice a month, each with a death rate above forty percent;

very few psychics survived six months on the battlefield.

In comparison, if one avoided war and simply trained in the wilderness, the death rate was actually low.

Domestic wilderness zones prohibit large-scale hunting of beasts by sixth-grade and above psychics.

The sixth-grade top student at the Tianjiao Training Camp had nowhere else to go—Dayangzhou was indeed a good option.

With Ling Shuang going, and an eighth-grade Grand Master leading them, crossing over thirteen thousand kilometers would be far safer.

"I'll probably go, but not necessarily with Teacher Ling. When is she leaving?" Xu Jingming asked.

"December 1st, the day after the Genius Competition ends," Xia Lan replied eagerly.

Hearing this, her eyes lit up.

"That should be fine," Xu Jingming nodded.

The Genius Competition finals end tomorrow, followed by five consecutive days of siege battles.

After the matches, I can join them.

As for the reward of entering Qingfeng Secret Realm—one of the prizes—

the chance to repair the incomplete essence might also lie there.

According to past tradition, the secret realm opens ten days after the Genius Competition ends; the timing doesn't conflict.

"Good. I don't know anyone else signing up—you going means I'll have company."

Xia Lan's joy was unmistakable on her face.

"You're going too? But aren't you only high fourth-grade?" Xu Jingming raised an eyebrow.

Sixth-grade psychics couldn't hunt beasts freely domestically—going to Dayangzhou made sense.

But you, at your level, have no reason to leave the academy.

"Teacher Ling might stay in Dayangzhou for a while.

If she's going, staying here at the academy makes no sense for me as her student."

Xia Lan smiled lightly, then revealed a faint aura: "Besides, I'm no longer a high fourth-grade psychic."

"Oh? You broke through? Congratulations."

Xu Jingming, sensing her aura, offered his congratulations.

"When we first met, I was high fourth-grade. Half a year later, it's time to break through."

Xia Lan's expression carried a touch of reflection.

Half a year ago, at Relic Site 9, she and Xu Jingming were both high fourth-grade.

Now, she had just reached fifth-grade, while Xu Jingming was already a sixth-grade psychic.

The gap in talent was obvious.

"Indeed."

Xu Jingming nodded, then suddenly felt something stir within him.

After advancing the SSS-grade Soul Refinement Technique, "Lei Hai Contemplation," to its third stage, his passive Heart Net perception had strengthened significantly.

Within the Heart Net's sensing range, the taxi carrying Song Song Qiuyun and Jiang Chu had arrived.

He looked up—and there, indeed, two familiar silhouettes stepped down from a roadside taxi.

"My people have arrived. Let's talk another time."

Saying this, Xu Jingming walked straight toward the wide road.

Xia Lan and Zhou Zhou Xiaoman followed his gaze.

They saw two stunningly beautiful girls—one with black hair, one with white.

"Are those... Xu Jingming's girlfriends? No wonder they're all stunning."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoman murmured in amazement.

She had previously thought Xu Jingming wasn't interested in Xia Lan, that he was playing hard to get.

But now it seemed these two girls, in both figure and appearance, were no less than Xia Lan.

"Hair stands on end for a beauty—these two are truly lucky to have Xu Jingming as a boyfriend."

"If only I could find a boyfriend bold enough to kill a Ninth-Stage Councilor's descendant for me."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoman sighed.

She instinctively glanced at Xia Lan beside her, only to find the other girl staring fixedly at Xu Jingming's direction, as if she hadn't heard a word.

"Tsk tsk, you'll bury your eyes in them if you keep looking like that!"

"Others sneak glances; you're drowning him in longing!"

Zhou Zhou Xiaoman teased, then her eyes flickered with interest as she proposed:

"If you're truly interested in Xu Jingming, go after him boldly."

After all, he already has two girlfriends—losing one wouldn't hurt, gaining one wouldn't change much."

"And aren't you all heading to Dayangzhou? That's your perfect chance."

"Zhou Xiaoman!"

Xia Lan finally snapped out of it, her cheeks flushing as she pouted.

"I'm not just saying this for fun—if you miss this chance,

Xu Jingming's rank will keep rising, and soon you might never even see him again, let alone have any future with him."

Zhou Zhou Xiaoman replied with cold logic.

This time, Xia Lan said nothing, only gazed with eyes like sapphires

at the direction Xu Jingming had taken with the two girls, lost in thought...