Wang Xu and others followed Cui Badao for a moment, passed through the academy's technology zone, and went straight to the "Jump Room".
The Jump Room was the size of an auditorium, with a circular pillar with a radius of three meters placed at its center. The surface of the pillar was densely covered with various letters and numbers, with white light emanating from it.
At this point, many people were standing in the Jump Room, roughly counting, there were at least fifty to sixty, all of whom were Tier Two Genetic Warriors, with several dozen Tier Three Genetic Warriors.
"Cui Badao, your class really made a big impression this time, taking all the top three spots on the points leaderboard, the dean even praised you." A middle-aged man clad in Blue Battle Armor walked over, with an unfriendly smile on his face.
Obviously, this middle-aged man didn't have a good relationship with Cui Badao, and the two sides couldn't get along.
Wang Xu knew this middle-aged man, named "He Stone," nicknamed "Blood Flying Saber," was skilled in using hidden weapons, often needing just one Flying Saber to kill an Insect Beast. Like Cui Badao, he was also a Tier Six Genetic Warrior.
Cui Badao glanced at him and said coldly, "Since you say so, the top three spots this time will again be taken by our class, rest assured."
The middle-aged man squinted his eyes, scanning the more than twenty students behind Cui Badao with deep meaning, particularly lingering for a moment on Wang Xu and Zhang Xinglin, then turned and left.
The Martial Arts Class had four classes, Wang Xu was in Class Four led by Cui Badao, while He Stone led Class One.
The original points leaderboard was dominated by Class One, with half of the top ten every month coming from Class One. Since the senior students moved up to Elite Level and entered the "Inner Courtyard," Class One declined, and Wang Xu from Class Four leaped to become the leaderboard's number one, occupying it for a long time, which made He Stone dissatisfied.
Currently, Class Four had taken four of the top ten spots on the leaderboard, and the top three were exclusively theirs, which was hard for the always arrogant He Stone to accept. Therefore, in this trial, He Stone specifically instructed: If you encounter someone from Class Four, don't hesitate to seize their spoils!
The coach of Class Two was a charming, beautiful lady named Yu Chunyan, who was also a Tier Six Genetic Warrior, though her strength was below that of Cui Badao and He Stone.
The coach of Class Three was a bearded elder, respectfully called "Feng Lao" by others. Feng Lao had participated in the most brutal Insect Beast wars and was already forty when he accepted the Genetic Potion, having missed the best period for Cultivation. Reaching Tier Six was already quite an achievement.
"Everyone." Seeing that Class Four had arrived and all the trial participants were present, Feng Lao stood out.
When Feng Lao spoke, everyone below quieted down, and even the coaches gave Feng Lao some respect, ceasing any arguments.
"This trial is different from before; any team with two Tier Three members must go to the C-level area, while Tier Two or teams with only one Tier Three member can still enter the D-level area. Next, everyone can step onto the jump platform and perform a Space-Time Jump." Feng Lao finished speaking and returned to the class without explaining the reason.
Wang Xu and others were already aware of the task area this time. Upon hearing Feng Lao's announcement, they weren't surprised, but some students who weren't well-informed started whispering below.
The C-level area had Tier Four Elite Insect Beasts, which were much more dangerous than the D-level area. If they recklessly went, returning was uncertain!
Some students began wavering, and teams originally having two Tier Three members started breaking up to lead Tier Two members to the D-level area. After all, this was a trial, not a desperate battlefield. Reducing danger, even a little, was worthwhile, and the D-level area could still provide training without excessive risk.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
The jump platform flashed brightly, and in a blink, several students standing on it disappeared. Those choosing to enter the D-level area left early, while the remaining students insisted on entering the C-level area.
The C-level area was dangerous, but it also held opportunities!
In the D-level area, Tier Three Insect Beasts were limited, while it was different in the C-level area. Each Tier Three Insect Beast corpse represented 3 points. Killing more not only raised the leaderboard ranking but also accumulated points for more Cultivation Resources exchanges.
"Alright, the remaining students are going to the C-level area. Due to the area's special nature and high danger level, the academy has specially crafted a set of D-level battle armor for each of you, come up and collect it!" The staff in charge of the jump platform opened a box containing a set of blue battle armor.
Wang Xu and others exchanged glances, with a hint of worry in their eyes.
The academy issuing battle armor showed that the danger in the C-level area was no small matter!
"Alright! Now everyone close your eyes, relax completely, don't resist in the slightest, start the Space-Time Jump!"
Following the order, Wang Xu closed his eyes. The next moment, his head started spinning, a nauseating feeling swept over him.
The dizziness came and went quickly. In just a few seconds, Wang Xu felt a lightness in his body, fresh air filled his mouth, and the ground beneath him disappeared; he was falling.
"We've arrived!" Wang Xu stood steadily on the ground and opened his eyes.
In front of him was a dense forest with several buildings in ruins, overtaken by moss and wild grass, making it difficult to see their original appearance.
Several lights flashed, and Zhang Xinglin, Zhou Ge, Song Zhen, and others all arrived.
"Let's go, find a safe area." Wang Xu waved his hand, and a long knife suddenly appeared in his hand as he led the way into the forest.
This is "Space Folding Technology", capable of independently creating a separate space in rings, belts, gems, or other items, a miraculous technology developed by scientists using Cosmic Energy.
Zhang Xinglin and the others didn't waste words, taking out their weapons and following Wang Xu's lead.
Wang Xu casually glanced over and noticed Zhang Xinglin wielding a Black Sword, clearly made from Ancient Bronze. Wang Xu was slightly surprised; contemporary weapons are crafted with minerals and technology, and it's rare to see weapons forged using such ancient skills.
At the same time, he also saw Tang Yan draw a Soft Sword from her waist. This Soft Sword was extraordinary, likely beyond B-level, reaching the A-level standard.
Wang Xu did not ponder much further and began searching for a safe area using the Radiation Exploration Device on his wrist.
Years ago, to combat the Insect Beasts, humanity used every trick in the book, even deploying radiative bombs. As one can imagine, such bombs would fill the blast area with radiation, making it uninhabitable for humans. Moreover, the radiation lasts for fifty years. However, similarly, Insect Beasts cannot enter radiative zones as they have a natural aversion to radiation.
Therefore, each time they set out for trials, the first priority is to find a radiative area as a safe zone for trainees.
Radiation has a significant impact on Insect Beasts, but a relatively minor effect on humans, as long as they don't reside there long-term, their bodies remain unscathed.
"Found it, the radiation level here meets the standards, we can settle here." Once they found a place, Wang Xu and the others began setting up camp.
"Wait, there's an Insect Beast approaching!" At this sentence, everyone immediately became alert.
In field trials, sensing danger is critical; even the slightest movement cannot be overlooked.
"I see it, it's a Tier Two Red-armored Beetle Beast, I'll take care of it." Zhang Xinglin quickly locked onto a target, surprising Wang Xu and the others, as they hadn't seen any sign of an Insect Beast, yet Zhang Xinglin had.
Red-armored Flying Insects are a type of Tier Two Insect Beast and belong to the weaker category, but they have extremely keen hearing; the sounds Wang Xu and the others made alarmed it. Although the Red-armored Flying Insects posed no threat to them, they couldn't afford to be complacent. If it summoned other Insect Beasts to attack, Wang Xu and the others might find themselves in a perilous situation.
Immediately, Zhang Xinglin dashed off and disappeared into the forest. Wang Xu and the others continued setting up camp, no longer worrying.
With a brief scream from the Insect Beast coming to an abrupt end, the feeling of being watched vanished instantly, and Zhang Xinglin emerged from the forest, a few specks of fresh blood on his black clothes.
......
Jump Room
A massive screen was divided into dozens of sections, showing the trial progress of various teams.
"He Stone, you're really generous!"
Four coaches stood before the screen, and the enchanting woman was immediately surprised upon seeing He Stone's team.
In the footage, He Stone's trainees had already begun hunting Insect Beasts, but what was surprising was that each of these trainees held a blue vial.
The enchanting woman recognized these vials as the costly "Body Enhancement Agent", a potion with a high concentration and strong side effects. Such enhancers are prohibited in the market by the government and can only be bought on the black market.
A single Body Enhancement Agent costs ten thousand Earth Coins; it's not particularly expensive to a coach, but for each trainee to have several bottles and quite a number, the cost easily reaches hundreds of thousands, even millions!
It's just a trial, yet the coach was willing to spend such an expense, no wonder the enchanting woman was astonished.
"Hmph! It's just a million Earth Coins' worth of Body Enhancement Agents, nothing more than a drop in the ocean to me." When He Stone heard this, he smirked dismissively, as if a million Earth Coins were insignificant to him.
The enchanting woman glanced at Cui Badao, clearly understanding that He Stone was spending so much to compete against Cui Badao for a spot on the performance rankings.
Cui Badao remained expressionless; he also understood He Stone's purpose for splashing out, which was to knock Wang Xu and the others off the performance rankings and secure the most dazzling positions.
Also, to compete for the sole spot to enter the "Inner Courtyard".
The coaches had all surpassed their prime cultivation ages and were ineligible for the Inner Courtyard, but each year the Inner Courtyard offers a single extra spot to the most outstanding coach.
This year, Cui Badao and He Stone are the most promising contenders for this spot, as the two secretly competed, both aiming to enter the Inner Courtyard.
Once inside the Inner Courtyard, no matter how lacking his talent, at the very least, upon leaving, he would be a Tier Seven Genetic Warrior, at the "Master Level", with greatly elevated status!
Though Cui Badao's team has long dominated the performance rankings, the Inner Courtyard also sees He Stone as equally impressive, and their ability to enter the Inner Courtyard largely hinges on this trial.
Cui Badao's face turned grim, as he hadn't anticipated He Stone's extravagant move.
"Heh, Cui Badao, after competing with you for so long, it's time to settle the score." Seeing Cui Badao's gloomy visage, He Stone felt immensely pleased inside.
Feng Lao and the enchanting woman exchanged glances, realizing that He Stone's massive investment in this trial had nearly guaranteed his victory.