Chapter 168: Going to Hangcheng, Participating in the Professionals Tournament

Meanwhile, on the other side, after parting from Jiang Chen, Lin Caier also rushed home without delay.

She returned home and showed off to her grandfather.

She is now a Two-Star Second Lieutenant, which is no ordinary feat!

Jiang Chen finished his conversation with Hong Jishi at Hong Shen Courtyard, then got in touch with Fang Hongxiu and confirmed tomorrow's departure time.

He didn't return to the dormitory, but chose to take the Teleportation Array back to Fortress No. 1.

In Fortress No. 1, people were still fervently discussing matters concerning the Battlefield Ghost King.

Jiang Chen walked while listening and learned some new information.

"Did you hear? The president of the Huangtian Guild got angry, and it seems their team vanished while searching for the Battlefield Ghost King."

"Yes, the Battlefield Ghost King was defeated by others, yet the Huangtian Guild's team mysteriously disappeared."

"This time the Huangtian Guild suffered a heavy loss; I heard even their Young Guild Leader died."

Jiang Chen knew the Huangtian Guild had a terrible reputation among the professionals, so many professionals were pleased with the news.

"No matter who did it, I have to say well done; after all, they usually boss around and bully us freelancers."

The Huangtian Guild's reputation among professionals is very poor.

Seeing their misfortune, most professionals are quite happy.

Jiang Chen knew this incident probably wouldn't be over.

If you want to investigate, go ahead; just try not to expose yourself.

Having killed Li Mingyu, he has not felt any remorse at all.

After returning to Fortress No. 1, he went to the Skill Training Ground and began summoning Skeleton Warriors.

He planned to use the remaining 30 slots to summon Skeleton Warriors, thereby strengthening his power.

Jiang Chen summoned ten in one round

Skeleton Warriors, then meditated, waiting for Spiritual Power to recover.

Within the military Skill Training Ground, his Spiritual Power could fully recover in just over an hour.

Three hours later, Jiang Chen finished the skill training; the summon queue was full, with 170 Skeleton Warriors and 100 Skeleton Mages, forming a massive army.

These powerful subordinates filled Jiang Chen with confidence.

After training, he returned to Shenlong University's dormitory, preparing to rest well for the night.

When Jiang Chen returned to the dormitory area, Lu Qingyu, Feng Xiu, Han Li, and several others walked over.

They also brought two newcomers, one dressed as a Knight, the other as a support.

Lu Qingyu asked curiously, "Jiang Chen, where have you been these past days?"

Jiang Chen replied, "I went to Battlefield No. 3."

Feng Xiu was astonished, saying incredulously, "You actually went to Battlefield No. 3?"

Then he saw Jiang Chen's Military Badge, immediately gave a military salute and said, "Private Feng Xiu, at your service, sir."

The others were puzzled by Feng Xiu's reaction, and Lu Qingyu asked, "What are you doing?"

Feng Xiu explained, "He is a Second Lieutenant, I am a Private; when we see an officer we must perform a military salute."

Jiang Chen nodded, and also noticed that Feng Xiu also wore a Military Badge on his shoulder.

Lu Qingyu, not very familiar with the military, asked, "Is becoming a Second Lieutenant that difficult?"

Feng Xiu explained, "Yes, rising to the Second Lieutenant rank is extremely hard; killing an Ordinary Demon below Level 40 only grants 100 points of Military Merit, and to become a Second Lieutenant you need at least 20,000 points, which many Level 40 professionals may not reach."

"My Feng family is a military family, so I'm more familiar with these comparisons."

"... and understand them better."

Feng Xiu pointed to his own shoulder, which also bore a Military Badge.

The white one has no stars.

The most ordinary Private.

When Jiang Chen first met Feng Xiu, he felt his aura was different from ordinary people.

"So you come from a military family."

Feng Xiu nodded, "Yes, the Holy Sword Feng family; our ancestors were all soldiers, generation after generation."

Jiang Chen asked, "What are you all going to do now?"

Lu Qingyu said, "We're heading to Hangcheng tomorrow; we plan to practice tactics again and aim for good results."

"Who let you level up so fast? Otherwise, we wouldn't need all this trouble."

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, "Then keep it up; you're sure to achieve good results."

After Jiang Chen left, Feng Xiu couldn't help but sigh, "He is probably the youngest Second Lieutenant in the Shenlong Empire."

Lu Qingyu was a bit confused, "Is a Second Lieutenant really that hard?"

She didn't understand anything about military matters at all.

Feng Xiu sighed, "It's extremely hard; as I explained, killing an Ordinary Demon below Level 40 gives 100 points of Military Merit."

"A Second Lieutenant needs at least 10,000 Military Merit, and he is a Two-Star Second Lieutenant, having at least 20,000 points."

"You tell me if it's hard or not."

"Many Level 40 professionals haven't reached the rank of Second Lieutenant."

The few of them were left speechless.

From childhood education, they all knew demons are extremely powerful.

Killing just one is already very difficult, let alone hundreds.

That's far from a little difficulty.

Hope flickered in Feng Xiu's eyes: "How did he manage that?"

The next day, Lin Caier came early in the morning to find Jiang Chen for breakfast.

She hopped about, looking in a very good mood.

Apparently, after returning home yesterday, the events that occurred

were very pleasant.

"Grandpa was scared half to death by me yesterday."

Lin Zhenzi was indeed startled by Lin Caier.

In just a few days, they rose from private to Two-Star Second Lieutenant; it's no wonder they were startled.

Lin Caier is not a Top-tier Professional; a single Skill can wipe out a whole swath of demons.

She is only Level 26, after all.

Jiang Chen smiled, "What happened next?"

Lin Caier, while shoving food into her mouth, said, "Later I recounted what had happened these past days, and then grandpa got angry, saying he would go tear down Hong Shen's house."

What on earth is this?

Jiang Chen couldn't understand why they would tear down Hong Shen's house.

Is there any causal link between the two?

Lin Caier explained, "Since Hong Shen sent you to such a dangerous place, I went along too, but didn't tell him."

So that's how it is, Jiang Chen let out a helpless laugh.

"Anyway, it's fine; those two have been quarreling for who knows how many years, and everyone's long since gotten used to it."

"A few days ago they even went together to the Ancient Roman Church, leveled the Ancient Roman Church to the ground, and also completely killed that guy Luoji in the process."

Jiang Chen was left speechless.

Hong Jishi hadn't told him about this.

Needless to say, it was all done for themselves.

Jiang Chen knows well that Hong Jishi treats him well.

Lin Caier also mentioned the killing of Li Mingyu, and at the same time warned Lin Zhenzi not to spread the word.

Lin Zhenzi naturally answered affirmatively, for otherwise the consequences would be severe.

After eating, Lin Caier bought a bunch more food, reasoning that in case Hangcheng's food was unpalatable, it's better to be prepared.

Jiang Chen smiled and followed her; it wasn't a problem.

Hangcheng, as one of the few super‑metropolises in the Shenlong Empire, is not far behind the capital Shenlong City.

Hundreds of Teleportation Arrays line up in a single file, countless professionals

continuously walk out of the arrays.

For this 100th Professional Competition, the Shenlong Empire made thorough preparations.

It built a great many facilities to supply the professionals who rushed from all over the world to compete.

Lodging is ample, food is ample, and everything is the best.

And all of this is free.

It showcases the Shenlong Empire's great power; the vast empire is far beyond any ordinary small nation.

"So many people!" Lin Caier widened her eyes in curiosity.

She had never seen such a scene—dense, countless heads, all professionals.

Fang Hongxiu smiled and said, "Here are only Below Level 40 professionals; the Second Transcendence high-level professionals are elsewhere, and there aren't fewer people there either."

For professionals, reaching Level 70 and achieving Third Transcendence may be hard, but most can complete Second Transcendence.

It can be said that Below Level 70 professionals account for over 95% of all professionals.

Therefore, when designing the competition's level brackets, only Below Level 70 professionals were considered.

Professionals Above Level 70 will not compete.

The Below Level 70 professionals are further divided into groups of Level 10 each for the contest.

This makes it relatively fair.

The rules have been passed down for centuries; now it's the 100th edition, and no one has raised objections for a long time.

Fang Hongxiu has long understood all the competition rules.

She is like an older sister, leading everyone to the Shenlong University base.

Along the way she explains the specific competition rules to the group.

"These rules are unprecedentedly grand, surpassing any previous edition."

"According to incomplete statistics, the teams coming to compete will exceed 10

ten thousand."

Several people showed shocked expressions upon hearing it.

Lin Caier stuck out her little tongue, "With so many people, it'll take ages to finish."

Jiang Chen couldn't help patting her little head.

If she can think of the problem, could the Empire's higher-ups not?

There must be a countermeasure.

Fang Hongxiu smiled and said, "So tomorrow there will be a Sea Selection."

"Only teams that pass the Sea Selection are qualified to stay and continue competing."

"Although we don't know the exact Sea Selection rules, the Empire has announced that this Sea Selection will eliminate over 90% of the teams."

"I think the Sea Selection difficulty shouldn't be low; we must be well prepared."

Lin Caier calculated, "Even if 90% are eliminated, there will still be ten thousand teams left, which is still a lot."

Liu Cui giggled, "The Empire says it's over 90%, and 99% is also over 90%."

Fang Hongxiu added, "The Empire also said that for this Sea Selection, every team faces the same Difficulty, it's all about hard strength, with no luck at all."

"The Empire announced to the whole world that the tournament will be absolutely fair."

The three women were a whole show.

They kept arguing nonstop all the way, chattering, giving Jiang Chen and Zhang Yang no chance to interject.

Jiang Chen didn't say much to begin with; just listening was enough.

But Zhang Yang couldn't hold back, tried to interject several times, only to be snapped back by Liu Cui.

Later he also listened obediently, saying nothing more.

This time, the teams coming from Shenlong University to compete numbered in the hundreds.

Five per group, the teams were massive.

Jiang Chen searched through the crowd, finally showing a hint of disappointment, not seeing Jiang Ruo in the crowd.

Lin Caier noticed the disappointment in Jiang Chen's eyes, took his hand and said:

"Don't worry, you'll definitely meet them."

Jiang Chen hummed, "Maybe they haven't arrived yet."

The group arrived at the Shenlong University garrison.

For this competition, the Shenlong Empire built many garrisons for the professionals to live in.

Fang Hongxiu went over to complete the paperwork and received a room card.

Each accommodation set had five separate cabins, just right for five people.

After finishing the paperwork, the few of them walked outside to get familiar with the surroundings.

Inside the garrison, professionals kept coming in and out.

Looking around, they were all professionals below Level 40.

Clearly, those above Level 40 also have their own garrisons.

Lin Caier jogged over, "I asked, and the Top College teams aren't here."

"But it's confirmed that Top College has teams participating; after we pass the Sea Selection and the tournament officially starts, we can go over to watch."

"The list will be released then."

Lin Caier deliberately inquired; she knows Jiang Chen wants to find Jiang Ruo.

"Thank you."

From nearby, a dissatisfied voice suddenly sounded, "If you want to flaunt affection, go do it elsewhere; if you want to roll around in bed, go to a room. Don't stand here blocking the way."

The tone was very unfriendly, making Jiang Chen frown as he listened.