Chapter 524: Perhaps I Can Win

Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, Assessment Area.

Two groups of people were confronting each other aggressively; one side had hundreds of soldiers, looking every bit like heroes, while the other side possessed an astonishing aura, worthy of being called ambitious overlords.

Weapons flickered with the radiance of Spirit Power, and the air was filled with a murderous aura; even the leaves blown by the wind seemed as if they would be split in two. Judging by the scene, although the side with fewer numbers did not lack the heart for a death struggle, human strength ultimately had its limits, and the power of will could not bridge the gap in strength.

The side occupying the advantage was wary of the other side's desperate struggle, which could lead to their own forces suffering damage and allow other petty people to reap the rewards like the oriole behind the mantis.

Therefore, the scene between the two sides was like tigers and wolves meeting; the wolves feared death, and the tigers feared injury, so for a time, they were deadlocked.

Such a scene could not last forever. Finally, a person stepped out from the side with fewer numbers, clearly occupying a leadership position.

"I am Long Tianyu of the Beiyuan Long Clan. Could the brother opposite give me some face, let us leave, and there will surely be a generous reward in the future."

"Hmph!"

"Beiyuan Long Clan? What kind of backwater place, what nameless Soldier dares to announce their family name?"

The crowd on the other side parted, and a sword-wielding figure walked out, their entire body filled with an untamable air. As Long Tianyu's expression grew increasingly ugly, they said contemptuously:

"When I was bathing in blood on the Spirit Road, you didn't even know where you were playing with mud!"

"Spirit Road?!"

Hearing this familiar name, Long Tianyu and the others were all shocked. Conversely, the other side revealed a look of pride, as if they shared in the honor.

As a talent selection mechanism jointly organized by the Five Great Academies, the selection standard for the Spirit Road had only one point: talent! Regardless of cultivation or background, everyone who walked out of the Spirit Road was a top-tier genius chosen from ten thousand.

This person in front of them was actually from the Spirit Road; this was a thorny situation!

Long Tianyu's expression was grave, and he subconsciously gripped the Ring-Headed Broadsword in his hand.

"Yo? You still want to make a move?"

The sword-wielding leader noticed the former's small movement; while feeling disdain, they were also slightly surprised. One had to know, many people would run away immediately upon hearing of their Spirit Road background, and the more pathetic ones would even surrender directly—it was simply shameful!

Suddenly encountering a brave soul willing to fight made the leader unable to help but feel a surge of excitement.

"Kid, in consideration of your bit of courage, I will give you all a chance."

"As long as you can last ten moves under my hand, you and everyone under you can all leave."

"Is what you say true, Excellency?" Long Tianyu and the others' expressions shifted; they hadn't expected such an unexpected joy!

"A gentleman's word is as good as a team of four horses."

"However..."

The leader then changed their tone, lightly stroking their long sword, and said with a sinister air,

"If you lose, then don't blame us for being impolite."

Hearing this, Long Tianyu took a deep breath, and then his eyes suddenly turned fierce. He brought the broadsword down toward the leader's head.

"Please, Excellency, grant me your guidance!"

The broadsword arrived in an instant, the sharp aura blowing against the skin, making one feel horrified. Seeing this, the leader viewed it with indifference, not even using their sword. Their body was like a phantom, and with light, agile steps, they met the blade's edge. With the boldness of a master, they moved in empty-handed, slapping the blade with their palm, and the momentum of the attack was immediately interrupted.

Then, their movements changed, and the sound of metal clashing rang out. Long Tianyu's eyes widened; that seemingly indestructible, terrifying blade was actually caught barehanded and could not move!

"Bang!"

"I said it before, you aren't good enough!"

The palm, which had turned golden, crushed the Ring-Headed Broadsword to pieces. The leader's entire body almost teleported in front of Long Tianyu, and then they struck out with a fierce palm, heavily imprinting it on—

"Boom!"

Long Tianyu's body flew backward, smashing through several trees as thick as a person's embrace before landing heavily on the ground, motionless.

The leader flicked their finger, and Spirit Power shot out from their fingertip, precisely shattering the Jade Pendant at the former's waist and sending them out, declaring the end of the other party's Northern Heavens journey.

"Hehe~"

Having easily finished off the opponent in front of them, the leader turned around nonchalantly. A sinister smile echoed among the crowd as they looked at the hundreds of shivering "lambs."

"Kill!"

The great battle was on the verge of breaking out. One side had many people and great momentum, strong soldiers and sturdy horses, and was led by a powerhouse, like a tiger entering a flock of sheep.

The other side fought like trapped beasts, their ferocity rising, but they were a group of dragons without a head, having only the power to parry.

Under the massive gap in strength between the two sides, the small group of a mere hundred or so people was quickly wiped out, while the other side paid the price of only a few people.

"Sigh! I am also a kind-hearted and benevolent person!"

"It's all the Academy's fault for making us kill each other."

Having swept the field of opponents, the leader clicked their tongue as if helpless, "tearfully" accusing the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy of its inhumane assessment arrangements.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Just as the leader was feeling sentimental, a series of crisp sounds came from the forest. A team of people slowly revealed themselves from the shadows. The team that had just experienced the great battle gripped their weapons vigilantly.

"This brother is right; the Academy's assessment is indeed too inhumane."

The leader of the group was a smiling fellow whose appearance immediately caused alarm bells to ring in the first leader's heart. They tentatively played along,

"This friend thinks so too? Then we truly share the same views! Hahaha!"

"Since we both believe the Academy's assessment is inhumane, does your Excellency have any plans to resist the Academy?"

A smiling face equals a bad heart; the ancients did not deceive me!

At this moment, the leader had a personal realization of this golden rule.

Resist the Academy? You're planting gourds in front of the door—do you really think you're a master?

What kind of power is the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy? How many powerhouses have walked out of it? What does it mean to have students everywhere?

The leader did not believe that their own small arms and legs could wrestle with such a high-status, powerful family. Whoever suggested this was simply rotten to the core!

Out of respect for the other party's strength, the leader continued to fake a smile.

"I wonder what high opinion you have, Excellency? Can I perhaps contribute a meager bit of effort?"

They would provide everything except help.

"Oh, that's simple."

Smiling, he carelessly fished a palm-sized jade disk from his bosom that looked quite familiar to the leader; just as the latter was racking his brain trying to remember where he had seen it, the former resolved his confusion by inputting Spirit Power and slapping the disk out, causing Spirit Power ropes to appear out of thin air and instantly bind everyone firmly.

"Not good, it's an Array Disk!"

Only then did the leader recall that an Array Disk was a novel gadget for the traditional people of the Da Qian World; he had been caught off guard and fallen into a trap!

What was more critical was that the leader never imagined that, as a mere Spirit Soul Realm cultivator, he was worthy of being served by a Grade 3 Spirit Array; that was treatment reserved for Heaven Fusion Stage powerhouses!

What a great blessing this must be?

Moreover, he remembered that the price of an Array Disk was a cut higher than a Spirit Array of the same level; such a wealthy move made him, a man who had been struggling for eight generations, feel envious, jealous, and hateful.

Really, there was no need! The leader wanted to cry but had no tears; if only you had spent a little less money.

"Rest assured, brother, I will keep your meritorious service of sacrificing yourself for others in my heart."

Smiling, he simply patted the leader on the shoulder and, full of smiles, slit his throat with a blade; a white light flashed, turning the one who came to deliver a "gift" into one who delivered his own head, and under the panicked and pleading gazes of the remaining people, he signaled his subordinates to politely send them out of the area.

After everything was finished, the smile on the smiling man's face disappeared, replaced by a serious expression as he took out a rectangular "Shitou".

"Reporting to Command Headquarters, Team One-Five, Captain Zhou Qing reporting to you, obstacle at 233, 051 cleared. Report finished!"

Not long after, a reply was immediately received.

"Received. Order: Team One-Five proceed to 741, 253, rendezvous with Team Three-Seven, and annihilate the stubborn enemy. Finished!"

"Received, finished!"

After the communication ended, Zhou Qing looked at the brick in his hand with surprise; was communication really this convenient?

The Da Qian World did indeed have long-distance communication methods, but without exception, they required extremely high levels; low-level communication talismans were almost one-time use, and not only were they expensive, but they were also quite troublesome to use.

At least within the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy Kao He Qu, all organizations relied on people for communication without exception; only they had achieved real-time messaging.

There were a total of seventy-two such bricks, each held by a captain of a hundred-man team; not only could they communicate with headquarters, but they could also contact each other, and this massive information advantage made Zhou Qing view other organizations as nothing more than "primitive people."

It was precisely by relying on this convenient communication network that they gradually lifted the fog of information within the boundless Kao He Qu, waiting quietly like hunters for "prey" to slowly step into their death traps.

Until this moment, Zhou Qing finally felt a glimmer of confidence in the plan proposed by Xiao Mu.

At first, he had just been impulsive, acting on the principle of taking a swing at it regardless of whether there were dates or not; with his talent, even if he couldn't successfully enter a top-tier institution like the Northern Heavens Spiritual Academy, he could choose from second-tier academies at will and wouldn't have to worry about having nowhere to go, so he had already prepared himself for the possibility of failing the assessment.

But this time...

Perhaps they could win?