34: Chapter 34 Kuroi Squad

After the three words "Black Well Class" appeared on the light screen, the edge of the Broken Bridge Floating Platform went silent for a moment.

Immediately, there was laughter.

"The top scorer of the Unified Exam is joining Black Well?"

"Zhuixing really knows how to bury talent."

"Obscure paths, unpopular niches, and heretical rites—it fits a trash class perfectly."

Lu Jin raised his hand to wipe the blood from his arm, ignoring those words.

Grey Pupil stood behind him, a scrap of blood-stained wind-rope still hanging from his ritual staff, his grey eyes sweeping coldly across the surroundings.

The few who had intended to stare a bit longer immediately looked away.

The senior student leading the team blew a short whistle.

"Class A and Class B, go to the Middle Ring."

"Black Well Class, follow me to the Lower Ring."

The main tower of Zhuixing Divine Academy was in the clouds, its black-silver walls adorned with flowing starlight patterns, and wind bridges extending upward layer by layer; from a distance, it looked like a suspended forest of blades.

While other classes headed toward the bright areas, the group from Black Well Class was led all the way down, passing through abandoned observation decks and stepping over rusted elevators, until they reached the darkest circle of the main academy's Outer Ring.

The wind was cold here.

A cafeteria by the roadside had just opened, and two lines of new students were queuing in front of it.

Some swiped their tokens, and steaming spirit meat soup fell into their bowls; others finished swiping, only for two grey-white nutrition bricks to drop into the bottom of their bowls.

The dark-skinned, thin boy froze: "I defended the floating platform, so why is it still this?"

The mechanical arm in the window didn't even pause.

"Not enough contribution points, cannot upgrade the meal."

"Next."

The boy's expression turned ugly; just as he wanted to say something else, the person behind him shoved him aside.

The senior student guiding them didn't even turn his head.

"Zhuixing has no free meals for newcomers."

"If you have the skill, eat meat. If you don't, gnaw on bricks. If your contribution points hit rock bottom, you won't even get bricks."

The group fell silent.

The location for Black Well Class was at the very end of the Outer Ring.

A Black Well.

A real well.

The wellhead was a full ten zhang wide, the walls built from old-era star-patterned bricks, many places cracked, with dark green fungi growing in the crevices.

Seven or eight iron cables spanned the well, and hanging beneath them were broken bridges, ruined platforms, old mechanical wheels, and three black iron docking chambers plastered with stabilization talismans, looking as if they had been cobbled together from a junk pile.

A dozen or so people were already standing by the well.

Someone was holding a waste copper beehive, tiny Copper Needle Bees still crawling out of the opening; someone had damp green sleeves, with a few mist-spitting fungus children crouching by their feet; and there was a tall, thin youth with three salt-white hard-shelled conchs hanging behind him, the shells covered in old marks worn by tow ropes.

Unpopular niches, broken paths, and divine lineages that no one invested money in—they were all here.

Lu Jin's gaze swept over them, and the fire in his heart stirred slightly.

Back-shell hauling conchs, stable for transport.

Mist fungus children, good for obscuring vision and protecting against injuries.

Copper Needle Beehive, capable of dismantling parts and repairing machinery.

What others saw as scrap, when placed in areas like waste warehouses, broken bridges, or narrow passages, could all be put to use.

"Is everyone here?"

A hoarse voice came from behind the well.

The newcomer was tall and thin, his black robe faded to white, his left hand consisting of five black iron prosthetic fingers, the knuckles covered in burn scars.

He walked to the edge of the well, his gaze sweeping over the crowd as if selecting a pile of used goods for sale.

"Instructor Wu Heng."

"Instructor of Black Well Class."

"How long you live is not my concern. How much you can seize is what I watch."

Someone was unconvinced: "Instructor, why is Black Well Class assigned to the Lower Ring?"

Instructor Wu Heng didn't even look at him.

"Because you are cheap."

"Popular routes are snatched up by others, assault routes have sponsors, and orthodox divine lineages have mentors fighting to recruit them. Your strange paths, broken paths, and money-losing paths—Black Well takes them."

"If you want to move, earn contribution points, earn rankings, and climb out yourself."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flicked his hand.

A dozen or so tokens flew out, landing in everyone's palms.

Lu Jin looked down.

[Student: Lu Jin]

[Current Contribution: 18]

[Class: Black Well Class]

[Note: Divine Temple Joint Investigation File, Ritual Path Observation]

The last eight characters were a deep, heavy black.

The people nearby saw it too, and their expressions changed immediately—some wary, others eager to watch the show.

Instructor Wu Heng said indifferently: "The Divine Temple's reach is long; be careful. If you truly stray from the path, the academy will shut your doors first, then dismantle your Divine Domain."

After he finished, he turned and pointed to the three black iron docking chambers above the wellhead.

"Repair your own battle damage from the train trial."

"Black Well Class only opens one stabilization chamber today, for the duration of one incense stick."

"Whoever gets in first, uses it first."

The atmosphere by the well tightened instantly.

A single stick of incense's worth of stabilization docking was crucial for new students.

Their Family had just finished the Broken Bridge Floating Platform battle; many were injured or crippled, and their Divine Domains were still in unfamiliar academy territory. If they were a step too slow, the attrition would snowball.

A broad-shouldered, thick-backed youth stepped forward, grinning.

"Then I'll follow Black Well rules."

"Pay the well tax first."

A black light flipped at his feet, and five Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs stepped directly onto the bridge over the well.

"Shi Jiukui."

"If you want to enter this room, give me five contribution points first."

Someone's expression changed.

"Are you robbing us?"

Shi Jiukui held his hook-spear horizontally: "So what if I am?"

No one in Black Well Class spoke up for the victim.

Instructor Wu Heng stood by the well and watched, like looking at a pack of wild dogs fighting over a bone.

Shi Jiukui's gaze quickly landed on Lu Jin, his smile turning more ferocious.

"Top scorer of the Unified Exam, show some respect."

"You pay first."

Lu Jin glanced at the well bridge.

The bridge deck was narrow, with no railings on either side, and four old iron cables hung beneath it. The second load-bearing brick on the left was already cracked; once the herd of pigs charged, if the center of gravity shifted even half an inch, this bridge would kill on its own.

He looked up: "You only have five pigs, but your appetite is quite large."

Shi Jiukui's face darkened. "Charge!"

The lead Armor-Splitting Mountain Pig surged forward, pressing down on the bridge, making it tremble.

Lu Jin didn't retreat a step. "Grey Pupil, go under the bridge. Two Cart-pulling Rats, bite the left cable. Fire Oil, aim for the front hooves."

The grey shadow dropped down first.

Grey Pupil slid almost against the belly of the bridge, his ritual staff hooking onto the left iron cable, suspending himself.

Two Cart-pulling Rats burrowed under the bridge and began to apply force to the second old cable.

Three Fire Oil Throwers lay on the edge of the well, and as soon as the lead mountain pig stepped on the cracked brick, the fire sacs were thrown simultaneously.

The fire didn't hit the head. It all landed on the front hooves and the brick crevices.

With a hiss, the oil fire exploded.

The Armor-Splitting Mountain Pig's foot slipped, and the entire bridge tilted to the left by half.

The four behind were still pushing hard, their weight pressing down, and the old cable under the bridge was suddenly yanked by the Cart-pulling Rats, snapping instantly.

Clang!

The well bridge tilted.

The two mountain pigs in the lead, along with the Family on their backs, slid out, half their bodies hanging over the well.

Shi Jiukui roared, trying to stabilize the formation, but Grey Pupil had already flipped onto the side of the bridge along the iron cable, sweeping his ritual staff horizontally and striking the knee of the small dwarf holding the hook-spear.

The sound of bone cracking was crisp and quick.

The dwarf fell off the bridge, and the mountain pig behind, startled, began to thrash about, pushing its companions even further off balance.

"Bite the hind legs."

Lu Jin's voice was calm.

The four Ambush Rats lurking under the bridge belly darted out simultaneously, gnawing fiercely at the tendons behind the pigs' knees.

The Armor-Splitting Mountain Pigs had thick hide, but the area behind their legs wasn't as tough; once blood spurted out, the charge of the entire unit immediately disintegrated.

Shi Jiukui's face changed, and he wanted to force the last two pigs to charge.

Lu Jin had already stepped onto the bridge head. "Grey Pupil, break his flag."

Grey Pupil stepped onto the suspension cable, used the momentum to leap up, and brought his ritual staff crashing down from above; the earthy-yellow flag on Shi Jiukui's chest snapped in two on the spot.

Once the flag was broken, the remaining mountain pigs' morale immediately scattered.

The bridge was in chaos for only three breaths.

Shi Jiukui was forced to retreat five steps, his foot finding empty air, and he ended up dangling on the edge of the well.

Lu Jin stood at the bridge head, the fire oil still burning behind him; Grey Pupil stood to his left, ritual staff in hand, and several Red-Eyed Rats, their mouths covered in blood, crouched on the broken bricks of the bridge railing, their eyes staring fiercely at the crowd.

No one stepped forward again.

Instructor Wu Heng finally raised his eyelids.

"Wellhead Number One, Lu Jin."

"Shi Jiukui, record your own battle damage."

Shi Jiukui's face was ashen, but he didn't dare utter another word.

Lu Jin swiped open the stabilization chamber, his consciousness sinking into the Dead Ash Mine.

The fire pressure by the Return Fire Well was heavier than before.

The spines of two Cart-pulling Rats were crooked, one Fire Oil Thrower's front claw was burned through, the left wheel of the Black Shield Bone Carriage had a long crack, and the wind-rope parts and spirit nails brought back from the Broken Bridge Floating Platform were still piled by the well, waiting to be remelted.

Grey Pupil stood on the well rim and immediately reported.

"To repair spines, two portions of repair paste."

"To stabilize the White-Bellied Mother Rat and the crystal core, one vial of stabilization fluid."

"Wind-rope parts can modify the carriage, but we need star-patterned bricks and workshop fire."

Lu Jin calculated in his mind.

The most urgent needs would cost over sixty contribution points.

He only had eighteen.

The talisman fire in the stabilization chamber had burned halfway when he withdrew his consciousness and turned to leave.

Not far outside the well was the exchange corridor for Black Well Class.

A whole wall of price tags was lit up, as cold as a blade.

[Basic Repair Paste: 12 Contribution]

[Stabilization Fluid: 30 Contribution]

[Star-Patterned Brick: 6 Contribution/piece]

[Workshop Fire Rental: 8 Contribution/hour]

[File Index Application: 100 Contribution + Top 50 on New Student Leaderboard]

[Sealed File Access Application: 300 Contribution + Top 10 on New Student Leaderboard + Mentor Signature]

Lu Jin's gaze stopped on the last two lines.

The grey-robed administrator in the window glanced at him, first recognizing the black text on his token.

"Lu Jin?"

"That Divine Temple file of yours was delivered to the academy this morning. Ritual Path Observation, Black Label."

"Workshops, files, external loans—all require an extra layer of verification."

Lu Jin asked directly: "Can I access files transferred from the Military Court?"

The administrator raised his hand and tapped those two lines of price tags.

"Come back when you meet the requirements."

"The index layer requires passing the contribution and ranking thresholds first. Sealed files are higher. Whose old case are you looking for?"

"Lu Dongling."

The administrator's eyes flickered slightly; he didn't ask further, just pushed a small black crystal tablet to the window.

"I've noted the name."

"If you really want to touch that line, raise yourself up first. The file is on you; the Divine Academy won't give you any back-door favors."

The few Black Well new students nearby heard it.

The tall, thin youth carrying the three hauling conchs looked up at Lu Jin with deep eyes; the girl with damp green sleeves also knitted her brows slightly, saying nothing; the short-haired girl holding the beehive tucked the Copper Needle Beehive into her arms, as if afraid of getting into trouble.

Lu Jin remembered the three people.

The tall, thin youth was named Duan Chenzhou, and his token read "Broken Tide Salt Bay".

The girl with damp green sleeves was named Zhu Qinghe, her Divine Domain "Mist Fungus Wetland Corridor".

The girl holding the beehive was named Zhong Xiaoqi, her Divine Domain "Waste Copper Bee Court".

One for hauling, one for obscuring vision and healing, one for repairing and dismantling machinery.

All poor. All cold.

All perfectly stuck in the gaps that many popular routes found troublesome.

Black Well Class was not a pile of waste.

This was a pile of blade blanks left in a corner, just waiting for someone willing to grind them.

Suddenly, the light in the entire exchange corridor dimmed.

Immediately, a huge weekly leaderboard light screen crashed down from the sky above the Outer Ring, hovering directly over the Black Well wellhead.

A female voice resounded throughout the Lower Ring.

"New Student Weekly Contribution Leaderboard mission released."

"Mission Map: Waste Machinery Warehouse Zone 3."

"Mission Type: Hauling Battle."

"Free to team up, can form teams within the class, can compete for transport across classes."

"Scoring rules: Waste machinery into the warehouse, cutting off opponent transport, occupying warehouse points—all three count."

"First place this week, reward of eighty contribution points."

The voice paused for a moment.

Everyone looked up.

The female voice continued, as sharp as a knife nailing into one's eardrums.

"Bonus reward."

"One-time access to the outer directory of the Star Map Library."

The exchange corridor was silent at first, followed by an uproar.

"Star Map Library outer directory?"

"It's being released this week?"

"Waste warehouse hauling—those Heavy Transport lineages in the sponsored classes are going to make a fortune."

Shi Jiukui wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and cursed through gritted teeth: "Black Well Class has no chance of winning."

No one responded to him.

Duan Chenzhou stared at the mission light screen, the three hauling conchs behind him slightly opening their shells.

The fungus children at Zhu Qinghe's feet spat out a small cloud of grey mist.

The Copper Needle Beehive in Zhong Xiaoqi's arms buzzed.

Lu Jin stood before the price tags, his gaze slowly falling back onto the few of them.

What others saw was hauling.

What he saw first was the warehouse zone, blind paths, broken bridges, abandoned vehicles, suspended rails, and a group of unpopular Family that could perfectly fit into every crack of the waste warehouse.

The Star Map Library outer directory was hanging right up there.

He took a look and remembered it.

First place this week—he would take it.