33: Chapter 33 The First Lesson Upon Admission

The moment the broadcast ended, the entire train of divine railcars seemed to be flipped open by a giant hand.

Crack!

The latches at the bottom of the seventh car all snapped open. Seats, shattered glass, bloodstains, and the new students who hadn't yet steadied themselves sank downward together. The narrow car floor folded open to both sides, revealing a black iron floating platform suspended high in the air below.

Wind surged up from beneath their feet, slicing across faces like blades.

"Jump platform!"

"Core combat zone deployed!"

"Hold the core of the floating platform! Senior student interference begins!"

Inside the car, chaos erupted half a beat later.

Some hugged their boxes and rushed out; some instinctively summoned their larger-sized familiars, only for their divine patterns to flare just as a giant armored bear got stuck in the half-opened door, its owner knocked down by those behind. Others wanted to wait for the broadcast to explain, but the floor beneath their feet split open, and they plummeted with a scream.

Lu Jin moved the instant the floor flipped open.

"Grey Pupil, secure the platform core first."

"Cart-pulling Rats, land on the left beam. Black Shield, erect the edge."

"Digging Squad, don't touch the platform surface. Go below."

"Fire Oil line, follow me on the right flank."

Two Black Shield Bone Carriages were dragged directly through the car's opening. Their wheels slammed onto the edge of the floating platform with a heavy thud. Ten Cart-pulling Rats, braced against the wind, clamped onto the bone ropes and pulled, forcibly erecting a slanted shield wall on the left side of the platform. Grey Pupil leaped down from the carriage edge, his ceremonial staff striking the ground right on the black circular core at the center of the platform.

The core was no more than three zhang in diameter, its surface covered in cracked star patterns.

There was no ground, no slope, no hole around it.

Only the broken ends of three bridges, several suspended iron beams, and the crisscrossing steel framework and old tree roots beneath the platform. The high-altitude wind wormed through the gaps, making the entire platform tremble slightly.

The first thing Lu Jin looked at upon landing wasn't the people; it was the structure.

This place was off the ground.

But it wasn't a flat surface.

The platform's bottom had hollow spaces; iron beams could accommodate rats; the roots of the broken bridges could hold ropes; below the platform's central core was an entire ring of load-bearing framework. The Earth Burrow Flow couldn't open holes here, but it could open paths.

When the third broadcast sounded, the senior students arrived.

Not from the bridgeheads.

They descended from the sky.

Three dark figures plummeted along the wind, their wingspans first sweeping past the platform's outer edge, followed immediately by a silver net spreading from high above. The net's eyes were filled with fine, sharp light hooks, heading straight for the platform core. The leader stood on the back of a green-feathered long falcon, a Zhuixing senior student insignia pinned to his chest. He looked down at the entire platform of freshmen, a smile playing on his lips.

"First lesson, teaching you one thing."

"Zhuixing's resources aren't for those who cling to textbooks waiting to be fed."

As the words fell, the silver net already descended.

Grey Pupil looked up, his staff held horizontally. Six Fire Oil Throwers around the core simultaneously swung their arms. The fire sacs weren't aimed at people; they all smashed into the four corners of the net's edges. Gray-red fire paste ignited along the silver threads, causing the entire net to sink abruptly. The senior student on the green-feathered falcon raised an eyebrow, about to pull the net back, when the Black Shield Bone Carriages on both sides of the core surged forward.

Boom!

The silver net was knocked half a foot off course, skimming past the edge of the circular core and falling diagonally, directly ensnaring two slower-reacting freshmen.

Before their screams subsided, the second wave of attacks arrived.

From the left bridge's break, a squad of obsidian short spearmen charged onto the platform in three rows. Their numbers weren't large, only twelve, but they wore wind-patterned boots, their charge steady and swift. From the right broken bridge rolled three fist-sized black iron spheres. Before landing, the spheres exploded, transforming into three iron-winged discs with hooked blades, whirring and spinning in mid-air, specifically targeting legs and necks.

The faces of the freshmen in the car who had never seen the academy's lessons paled.

"The hell is this 'first lesson'?"

"Seniors are really going all out?"

No one answered for them.

Lu Jin had already crouched down, pressing his palm against a crack in the floating platform.

His divine will sank. The Return Fire Well within the Dead Ash Mine trembled slightly. Twenty Tunneling Rats and ten Ambush Rats didn't charge the surface. Instead, they slid down the bone ropes secured beneath the bone carriages, their claws hooking, all hanging into the steel framework layer beneath the platform.

Wind swept beneath their bellies; below was a sea of clouds and empty sky.

Yet the rat swarm was eerily quiet.

The discipline from Grey Pupil's earlier layering now showed fully. Tunneling Rats specifically gnawed at corroded nodes; Ambush Rats occupied the shadows of crossbeams; Cart-pulling Rats were responsible for dragging ropes back and forth between roots and steel framework. Not a single one scrambled chaotically; not a single one tried to rush upward.

The strands of faith tightened section by section, settling into Lu Jin's Sea of Consciousness, heavier than during the mine battle.

These things were already beginning to adapt to his style of combat.

Only when the squad of obsidian short spearmen from the left bridge had charged halfway did Lu Jin speak.

"Black Shield, retreat half a step."

The Cart-pulling Rats simultaneously loosened the ropes.

The left bone carriage gave way, opening a two-foot-wide gap, as if pushed out of position by wind pressure. The short spearman at the front of the charge brightened, speeding up, their spears pressing forward in unison, black light at their tips aimed directly at the platform core.

The moment they stepped into that gap, the left edge of the platform suddenly shuddered.

Not a ground split.

It was a section of the load-bearing crossbeam beneath being gnawed through by Tunneling Rats.

The entire edge plate tilted sharply. The front four short spearmen lost their footing simultaneously, their bodies leaning outward. Six Ambush Rats hidden behind the bone carriage immediately pounced through the gap, specifically biting at ankles, knee hollows, and spear-wielding wrists. The rear spearmen tried to fill the gap, but the bone rope that had long been hung beneath the platform surface was pulled taut by the Cart-pulling Rats at that moment.

Whoosh!

Two old tree roots from the broken bridges flipped up from beneath the platform, like two living whips, lashing into the middle of the formation.

The short spear formation scattered instantly.

Grey Pupil struck down the foremost person with his staff. Fire Oil Throwers hurled three blobs of fire paste along the broken edge, sealing the half-tilted left bridge entrance into a line of fire. Two short spearmen tried to raise their shields to rescue, but forced back by the fire, they could only retreat hard onto the broken bridge.

The three iron-winged discs from the right had already sliced in.

Lu Jin didn't even turn his head.

"Down."

Three Cart-pulling Rats immediately lowered their bodies, the front shields of the bone carriages sinking accordingly. The iron-winged discs grazed the shield edges, crashing into a rear pillar, sparks flying. Before they could bounce back, two Ambush Rats had already shot out from beneath the carriage, pouncing onto the disc axles from left and right. Rat teeth bit into the central axle gap. The disc blades spun wildly, instantly shredding half of one Ambush Rat's body, but the other clung on stubbornly.

Lu Jin raised his hand, pointing a fingertip.

An extremely thin strand of black fire pressed along the faith line into the central axle of that iron-winged disc.

Boom!

The disc's core was originally a wind-inflated structure. With this spark igniting it, it exploded into a shower of scrap metal on the spot. The remaining two disc blades were knocked off course by the blast; one flew off the platform, the other slammed diagonally onto the right bridge, slicing a bloody gash from shoulder to back on a freshman who was just charging up.

Only then did the senior student on the falcon above lose his smile.

"Not bad."

"Daring to play with structure even on open ground."

He raised his hand and flicked it. Three cyan-white feather spikes fell simultaneously, precisely nailing into three corners of the floating platform.

Hum.

The wind paths across the entire platform instantly changed.

The wind that originally swirled up from below now all flowed horizontally across the platform surface. Debris on the platform was blown about chaotically; even the bone carriage wheels screeched under the force. More troublesome was beneath the platform. The layer of "aerial burrow" formed by steel framework and roots was instantly exposed. The Tunneling Rats and Ambush Rats hanging below had nowhere left to hide; even the bone ropes were blown taut.

These seniors weren't fighting randomly at all.

They were targeting precisely Lu Jin's type of approach.

A cold female voice sounded in the broadcast.

"The Broken Bridge Floating Platform screens out the trash who only know how to stick to the ground."

"If you can't hold the core, get off now."

Many freshmen on the platform turned pale.

Some finally couldn't help but look toward Lu Jin. The dark horse of the Unified Exam, the one who had cut down the residual spirit on the train—he had now become the pillar everyone subconsciously wanted to grasp.

But Lu Jin offered no words of reassurance.

He first looked at the wind, then at the bridges, then at the landing points of the three feather spikes, his gaze growing colder.

The platform surface was turned into a dead zone by the wind pressure. What was truly traversable were those load-bearing bone positions beneath, cleared of wind by the openings pushed out by the wind.

This setup wasn't denying him ground.

It was forcing him to change ground.

"Grey Pupil."

"Here."

"Split four Fire Oil Throwers to you. Guard the circular core. Kill anyone who enters within three zhang."

"The rest, follow me down."

As these words fell, many freshmen nearby were stunned.

"Down?"

"Are you crazy? It's empty below!"

Lu Jin offered no explanation, turning and flipping over the right edge.

It was at this moment that Ning Yanqiu landed on the floating platform.

The Mirror Frost Crow flock arrived first, she followed.

Over twenty Frost Crows, like a ring of cold blades, cut through the crosswind, first forcing back a wind falcon that tried to dive and snatch someone. Then she stepped onto the edge of the circular core, her black clothes snapping in the wind, a mirror case held horizontally in her hands. Lifting her eyes, she saw Lu Jin flipping over the platform edge.

Her brow furrowed slightly.

"You really dare to jump."

Lu Jin was already hanging onto the second crossbeam beneath the platform. He glanced up at her.

"If you want to hold, hold above."

"If you want to kill, watch the opening I make for you below."

Ning Yanqiu watched for half a breath, then said no more.

She raised a hand and swept it across the mirror case. Six Frost Crows immediately split off, occupying high points around the three feather spikes. Mirror-cold light shone down, pressing a group of senior students closest to the core so they couldn't lift their heads. She herself stood on the narrowest cracked plate at the edge of the circular core, only a thin line of footing beneath her, yet her gaze was cold and hard.

"I'll watch the core."

"Don't die down there."

Lu Jin was no longer looking at her.

The world beneath the platform was completely different.

Iron beams, old tree roots, broken bridge bones intersected into an old net suspended high in the air. The wind paths, pushed askew by the three feather spikes, instead left dozens of brief calm zones between the net layers. Ambush Rats crouched in the calm zones; Cart-pulling Rats dragged ropes along roots winding around beams; Tunneling Rats gnawed at rusted-through rivets and connecting plates.

Lu Jin gave orders as he moved.

"Third crossbeam, break half."

"Right bridge roots, tie them off for me."

"Left load-bearing plate, leave it. Wait for someone to step on it."

This wasn't digging holes in a mine.

This was using the entire platform's bones as a road.

The senior students on the platform soon sensed something was wrong.

The senior on the long falcon had just wanted to lower his altitude when a Frost Crow pecked at the wind lines by his hand. Ning Yanqiu stood on the edge of the circular core, her voice cold as cracking ice.

"Lower a bit more, and I'll freeze your bird into stone."

The senior on the falcon's expression darkened. He didn't dive again, instead ordering the short spearmen from the left bridge and the crack-troop team from the right to continue pressing forward.

He clearly thought the rat swarm, separated from the ground, couldn't stir up much trouble.

Until the first senior student was dragged down from beneath the platform.

It was a senior wearing light-patterned boots, trying to jump onto the core from the side of the left bridge break. The moment he stepped onto the edge plate, the seemingly stable support plate beneath his feet suddenly gave way. Not a complete collapse, but tilting outward by three inches—just enough to throw him off balance.

He reacted extremely fast, his hand already grasping the edge beam.

But beneath that edge beam, four Ambush Rats had long been waiting, clinging to the steel framework.

Rat claws clamped his wrist, rat teeth bit his elbow. Behind them, two Cart-pulling Rats yanked a bone rope. The senior was pulled completely from the platform edge, his chest slamming heavily into the broken bridge roots. The next moment, a rusted iron hook buried at the other end of the roots flipped up, directly catching in the seam of his waist armor.

He still struggled, but the swarm of Red-Eyed Rats below had already scrambled up along the roots.

His scream cut off halfway, and he fell into the clouds and mist beneath the platform.

The platform fell silent instantly.

Many freshmen watching felt their scalps go numb.

The senior students' expressions changed for the first time.

"He's built a path down there!"

"Don't go near the edge! Clear the underside first!"

But it was already too late.

Lu Jin's path wasn't one; it was three.

Left side along the roots, middle along the iron beams, right side stepping on broken bridge bones. The openings gnawed open by Tunneling Rats grew more numerous. Cart-pulling Rats tied two spare bone ropes into a rotary cable. Ambush Rats left their teeth at every shadowed opening. As long as the seniors wanted to press the core, they had to step on the edge; as long as they stepped on the edge, they had to put their feet onto Lu Jin's "aerial burrow."

The second one dragged down was the leader of the right bridge crack-troop team.

The third was the senior who had just released the iron-winged discs.

By the time the senior on the falcon finally gritted his teeth and ordered the entire team to withdraw from the edges, the offensive around the circular core had already been cut off.

Ning Yanqiu, alone with her mirror case, guarded the core. Mirror light forced back the last few short spearmen who tried to charge hard. Grey Pupil, with four Fire Oil Throwers, guarded her left rear. Anyone trying to exploit her blind spot to seize the core got gray-red fire paste thrown in their face first. Frost Crows controlled the high air; the rat swarm controlled beneath the platform. The two lines bit down from above and below, actually stabilizing the entire broken bridge floating platform.

The broadcast remained silent for a full three breaths.

Then, a cold concluding tone sounded.

"First round trial combat concluded."

"Records archived. Combat losses retrieved. Scoring based on core defense performance."

The freshmen still alive on the platform seemed to suddenly find their breath again. Some collapsed sitting on the ground; some leaned against cracked pillars, vomiting blood; others stared at the gray-tailed rats now climbing back up the bone ropes from beneath the platform, their expressions changed.

When Lu Jin flipped back onto the platform surface, a wind blade had grazed open a wound on his shoulder, his left arm covered in rust and blood. Combat losses weren't light either: three Ambush Rats fell into the void; two Cart-pulling Rats had fractured spines; one Tunneling Rat was crushed into pulp by bridge bones. But in exchange, he got the first segment score for platform core defense and three senior students judged defeated by falling.

Grey Pupil tossed a wind-line component ripped from a senior student's gear at his feet, his gray eyes bright.

"Can modify the carriage."

Ning Yanqiu also put away her mirror case, the last two Frost Crows perched on her shoulders. She glanced at the few surviving Red-Eyed Rats by Lu Jin's side, then at the now-formed aerial route beneath the platform. Her gaze truly paused for the first time.

"You don't just know how to dig."

Lu Jin raised his hand, storing the wind-line component into a black box.

"Above ground or below, look at the bones first."

Ning Yanqiu looked at him, her lips a flat line.

"Noted."

A massive class assignment light screen suddenly descended from the high altitude.

All the freshmen still standing looked up.

Names scrolled down line by line. Class sequence, evaluation, resource coefficient—all displayed. As the first few classes appeared, waves of low exclamations spread. Until the final column lit up, the sounds on the platform abruptly halted.

[Lu Jin]

[Class Assignment: Black Well Class]

[Evaluation: Strong structural sense. Sacrificial path dangerous. Combat methods ruthless. Recommended for placement in Extreme Observation Sequence.]

The platform immediately erupted.

"Black Well Class?"

"Isn't that the academy's worst garbage class?"

"Unified Exam first place, first segment core defense performance, and still thrown into Black Well?"

Ning Yanqiu looked up at the light screen, her brow slightly furrowing.

But Lu Jin showed little expression.

He only looked at the words "Extreme Observation Sequence," his eyes slowly darkening.

This first lesson at Zhuixing Divine Academy wasn't a welcome at all.

It was picking meat, sorting blades, and casually throwing the hardest piece directly into the dirtiest well.