51: Chapter 51 Regional Gathering

The portal had just opened when seven or eight interview poles were thrust in front of Lu Jin's face.

The people at the very front were all wearing the grey-blue short robes of the Competition Media Station. The Competition Media Station was a live broadcast station that specialized in tracking the popularity of the league; they would chase whoever was currently a hot topic. Lu Jin had just taken the title of the number one freshman at Zhuixing Academy last night, and today he had been assigned to the same competition zone as Ji Mingxiao. It would have been strange if they didn't block him now.

“Lu Jin, answer one question first.”

“What do you think about the grouping for this competition zone? Cangting Divine Academy is also in Zone E-7, and so is Ji Mingxiao.”

“One more thing: the competition zone's hot list just refreshed, and your popularity has already surged to first place. Do you feel you deserve this position right now?”

“Many people outside are saying that while you're the New King at Zhuixing, you might not be able to stand so high once you reach the competition zone. Do you have a response?”

Questions were pushed forward one after another.

The academy team passage behind the teleportation platform was nearly blocked.

Ning Yanqiu took a step forward first. The main Frost Crow on her shoulder flapped its wings, gently brushing aside the interview poles at the very front.

“Make way.”

“Check-in and the drawing of lots are both later. If you really want to ask questions, come back during the unified interview for the competition zone.”

The people from the Competition Media Station clearly didn't want to let them go just like that.

“Ning Yanqiu, your batch at Zhuixing Academy is now a dual-core. You're also at the top of the list. Do you think Lu Jin's current wave of popularity is a bit too high?”

Ning Yanqiu glanced at the person, her voice very flat.

“Whether the popularity is high or not, ask yourselves.”

“Whoever you thrust your cameras at will be popular.”

After saying that, she turned her head to look at Lu Jin.

“Give them one sentence, then let's leave.”

Only then did Lu Jin stop his pace.

He looked at the reporter from the Competition Media Station at the very front, his tone neither fast nor harsh.

“The roster just came out, and the competition hasn't even started yet.”

“Anything I say now about how far I can go would sound like empty talk. Popularity or 'New King,' let those titles hang for now. After the first match is over, people will see for themselves whether I've held my ground.”

The reporter still wanted to press further.

“But you're in the same zone as Ji Mingxiao this time. Everyone outside is waiting for you two to clash again.”

Lu Jin replied very directly.

“Then wait for the schedule to be set first.”

“Before it's scheduled, I'll be looking at the maps.”

As soon as those words fell, the people from the Competition Media Station nearby actually went quiet for a moment.

What they wanted to chase was exactly this kind of talk.

Not arrogant, not evasive, and not pretentious.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan walked out from behind. With a sweep of his black-silver robe, he finally forced the entire passage open.

“The interview ends here.”

“The Zhuixing Academy team will check in first. We won't be taking any more external interviews before the drawing of lots.”

Only then did the people from the Competition Media Station back off.

Lu Jin followed the passage out of the teleportation area. The first thing he saw when he looked up was the main gate of the Zone E-7 main city.

This place had a completely different flavor from the Zhuixing main academy.

The competition zone main city, to put it bluntly, was a competition city specifically built for several divine academies to hold inter-academy matches. The outer ring was filled with Merchant Alliance corridors, hot list walls, and interview platforms; the middle ring consisted of residential areas, resource zones, and the lot-drawing hall; only the innermost circle was the official battleground.

As soon as they entered the gate, the high walls on all sides were covered with glowing words.

On the left was the Arrival Hot List.

On the right was the Championship Odds Board.

The largest main mirror in the middle was repeatedly playing replays of the famous battles of the freshmen from each academy.

As soon as Lu Jin looked up, he saw his own replay hanging in the center of the main mirror.

In the footage, during the final match of the Starfall Unified Exam, grey smoke filled the sky, and bone chains tightened section by section, forcibly dragging down that high-altitude sacrificial altar. The scene was playing right at its most intense moment. That was what everyone outside was now loudly calling the 'Famous Heaven-Dragging Scene'.

In truth, to be honest, it wasn't that mysterious.

It was just him dragging Ji Mingxiao's high-altitude sacrificial altar, along with the wind pillars and the thunder-wing god statue, back to the ground during the final stage of the Unified Exam.

But when placed in front of a giant mirror in the competition zone main city, accompanied by those lines of text next to it, the impact was completely different.

[Zone E-7 Arrival Hot List]

[1st: Lu Jin, Zhuixing Divine Academy]

[Hot Keywords: Unified Exam Heaven-Dragging, New King Joins the Team, Furnace Cave Fortress]

[2nd: Ji Mingxiao, Cangting Divine Academy]

[3rd: Meng Huichao, Zhuixing Divine Academy]

[4th: Wen Zhao, Zhuixing Divine Academy]

A significant wave of discussion immediately broke out in the outer ring of the stands.

“His popularity really did surge to first place.”

“He was just crowned king last night and was the first to arrive today; the Competition Media Station will definitely push him with everything they've got.”

“Popularity is one thing, but the odds aren't ranked like that.”

Those words were absolutely correct.

Lu Jin shifted his gaze to the right and saw the top few lines of the odds board.

The odds board was the win-rate board opened by the Merchant Alliance. Whoever was more favored in the competition zone would be ranked higher.

[Zone E-7 Championship Odds]

[1st: Young Master Pei Tiange, Bei Yue Divine Academy]

[2nd: Ji Mingxiao, Cangting Divine Academy]

[3rd: Meng Huichao, Zhuixing Divine Academy]

[4th: Lu Jin, Zhuixing Divine Academy]

[5th: Ning Yanqiu, Zhuixing Divine Academy]

Wen Zhao stood behind him, glanced up, and snorted first.

“You're first on the hot list and fourth on the odds board. These people from the Merchant Alliance really know how to do business.”

Qiao Ye crossed his arms, taking it quite philosophically.

“This is only normal. Popularity sells a story, while the odds are a bet on who is more likely to win.”

As he spoke, he tilted his chin, pointing toward the name at the very top.

“Young Master Pei Tiange hasn't even arrived yet, but his name is already hanging at first place. That's the treatment for the competition zone's number one seed.”

Lu Jin looked at those three words and didn't respond.

Lu Jin had already heard this name many times over the past few days.

The leading seed for Bei Yue Divine Academy this year, Sun Gold Judgment path, direct descendant of a great family, with an absurdly thick amount of resources in his hands. The evaluation given to him by the outside world was simple: the top of the competition zone.

Meng Huichao also glanced at the odds board, his voice low.

“Don't just look at the hot list.”

“In the competition zone, most of those who can stand in the front row have already touched Apprentice God Realm Controller perfection. Taking first place at Zhuixing just counts as getting an admission ticket here.”

Those words sounded blunt.

But no one felt there was a problem with them.

Because it was the truth.

Being number one in a city was indeed just an entry ticket when placed in the competition zone.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan continued to lead the group further inside.

As they passed through the middle ring corridor, Lu Jin finally truly saw what competition zone scale meant.

Both sides of the corridor were filled with advertising galleries.

Sellers of recovery serums, armor plates, match clips, and support signs were packed in tightly. Every few dozen steps, there was a small interview platform specifically meant to intercept players who had just generated some buzz for a short interview. Further in, there were also temporary signing rooms for the Merchant Alliance, with a row of agents in sharp suits standing at the doors. They would target whoever was popular or had just won a big match.

The innermost residential area was even more direct.

Each divine academy had its own entire row of small buildings, with team flags hanging in front and resource warehouses and training rooms connected in the back. Zhuixing's side was already quite large, but compared to the ones opposite, the gap was still visible.

Over at Cangting Divine Academy, the sky-riding platforms alone were built three stories high.

Wind testers, griffin handlers, lightning-stake workers, and analysts stood in neat rows. Several silver-white high-wheeled transport vehicles were parked on the side, loaded with spare lightning stakes and wind-skeletons. Even their logistics looked like they were preparing for war.

Lu Jin only needed a few glances to understand one thing.

The setup Ji Mingxiao had brought out during the Unified Exam was far from his limit.

What he had seen in that match was only a corner of the Cangting system being revealed.

Ning Yanqiu followed his gaze, her voice kept very low.

“You noticed?”

“Cangting's strength has never been just Ji Mingxiao alone. Their high-altitude system, wind-riders, and griffin lines all work in tandem. In the competition zone, if you want to rely on a single surprise attack to break their entire rhythm again, it won't be that easy.”

Lu Jin nodded.

“I know.”

At that moment, the sky-riding platform across from them suddenly lit up.

A light breeze pressed down from mid-air. First, three Thunder-wing Griffins landed, followed closely by six Silver-feathered Scout Griffins sweeping past from above. Ji Mingxiao stood on the back of the leading griffin, his silver-white short armor as clean as if it had just been washed by the wind.

The surrounding discussions immediately quieted down a notch.

“Cangting has arrived too.”

“Ji Mingxiao is still the same; standing there, he looks like he's already entered the main tournament.”

“He and Lu Jin are in the same zone this time; the show is going to be worth watching.”

Ji Mingxiao jumped down from the griffin's back. His gaze quickly traversed half the corridor and landed steadily on Lu Jin.

He did not walk over.

He only spoke across the crowd.

“The maps in the competition zone are different from the Unified Exam.”

“If you try to apply your previous winning methods to what's coming, you'll die very quickly.”

These words were not polite at all.

But his tone was flat, without the slightest hint of intentionally trying to suppress anyone.

Lu Jin stood his ground, looking at him as he replied.

“I never planned on retracing the old maps in the first place.”

Ji Mingxiao nodded, as if he had heard the answer he wanted.

“That's good.”

“I don't want you to be eliminated too early.”

After saying this, he turned and followed the Cangting people away.

Qiao Ye looked in that direction and first cursed under his breath.

“This guy really speaks bluntly.”

Meng Huichao, however, gave a small smile.

“Being blunt is good. In the competition zone, no one is going to go easy with their blade just because you have a story.”

Instructor Gu Pingchuan led the group into the Zhuixing residential area, and the first thing he did was close the door.

Once the cameras and discussions outside were blocked by the door, he brought down a black-silver light screen.

[Zone E-7 Competition Briefing]

[Participating Academies: Zhuixing, Cangting, Xuanhe, Bei Yue]

[First Round: Single-player Points Battle]

[Subsequent schedule is directly linked to academy team ranking and military training screening]

[After the first round, the competition zone hot list and odds board will be reranked]

Instructor Gu Pingchuan looked over the group.

“Get your heads back in the game first.”

“The title of 'Zhuixing's New King' is useful at Zhuixing. In Zone E-7, it only serves to make more people target you first.”

He said this while looking at Lu Jin, but in reality, it was for everyone in the room.

“Among you, Meng Huichao has touched the edge of Apprentice Perfection. Ning Yanqiu, Wen Zhao, and Qiao Ye are all at the very front of the late stage. Lu Jin has just fully opened the entire Furnace Cave Fortress.”

“Back in your respective cities, any of you would be enough to stand in the front row.”

“But in the competition zone, this is merely the qualification to sit at the table. Never mind Divinity Users, you'll see a whole row of people who have truly touched Apprentice Perfection over the next few days.”

No one in the room spoke for a moment.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan continued to press on.

“There's one more thing; don't pretend you don't understand.”

“Competition zone results will later be sent directly to the frontier military training screening list. Whoever can continue to stand at the front will be the first to reach the doors of the Military Court.”

As soon as those words fell, Lu Jin's eyes darkened slightly.

The lead on his father was currently tied to the Military Court's sealed star charts and the subsequent military training threshold.

He couldn't afford to treat this place casually.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan raised his hand to retract the light screen.

“In half an hour, go to the lot-drawing hall.”

“No training today. First, observe the people, the maps, and the rules. If anyone still treats the competition zone as a tourist trip, I'll be the first to kick them off the roster tomorrow.”

After the short meeting in the residential area dispersed, they each went back to their rooms to change into their competition uniforms.

When Lu Jin came out, he happened to see the small hot list on the outer gallery refresh again.

This time, in addition to popularity, a 'Featured Battle Replay' column had been added.

His heaven-dragging replay was still hanging at the very top, but several new tags had been added next to it.

[High-Altitude Counter-Battle]

[Structural God Realm]

[Nest-Breeding Troop Replenishment]

As soon as these terms were hung up, Lu Jin knew that the competition zone had already begun to deconstruct his methods.

The Competition Media Station chased the excitement.

But the competition zone analysts were looking at how to take him apart.

As Lu Jin was looking up, a louder wave of discussion suddenly came from behind him.

“Bei Yue's side has arrived!”

“Pei Tiange really didn't show his face?”

“I heard he's not taking the outer gallery; he's entering the lot-drawing hall directly from the inner court.”

Lu Jin turned to look and only saw a very orderly heavy-armor team walking past from the other end of the middle ring.

The front of the team carried the deep gold flag of Bei Yue, followed by two full rows of escort transport vehicles. The vehicle bodies were covered in cold gold embossing, with a ring of thin sun-runes carved into the corners. The vibe was different from both Zhuixing and Cangting; it immediately carried the order and wealth bred by a great family.

But the very front of that team was indeed empty.

Pei Tiange had not shown himself.

The pressure had arrived before the man himself.

Wen Zhao stood to the side and said in a low voice:

“This guy really knows how to put on airs.”

Ning Yanqiu, however, shook her head.

“This isn't putting on airs.”

“Once some people reach that kind of position, they simply don't need to show their faces first every time.”

The sentence wasn't heavy, but its weight was substantial.

Lu Jin watched that team of deep gold escort vehicles pass by the end of the corridor, and the outline of the competition zone in his mind became a bit clearer.

Popularity, odds, analysis, sponsorship, great families, academy team systems.

This place was more exciting than Zhuixing, and also more dangerous.

If you were even half a step slow here, an entire string of people behind you would step all over you.

As the sky turned dark, the lot-drawing hall finally opened its doors.

Freshman seeds, instructors, competition deacons, and the Competition Media Station from the four academies of Zone E-7 all crowded into the main hall together. In the center of the main hall hung a giant black-silver battle map platform. The light screens on all four sides were lit up; whoever drew which map and who they were matched against would be displayed there on the spot.

By the time Lu Jin and the others entered, the hall was already quite full.

The Cangting people were on the left.

The Bei Yue people were in the front row.

The people from Xuan He Divine Academy sat quietly in one area, all dressed in green, not even speaking loudly.

The competition deacon stood at the front of the platform and first explained the rules.

“Zone E-7 first round: Single-player Points Battle.”

“Tables will be assigned based on initial ranking and competition zone avoidance rules.”

“The first round does not look at previous city rankings; it only looks at the results on the field.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of those in the main hall who were still smiling became more serious.

After arriving at the competition zone, previous titles could indeed only be used to get through the door.

Once truly standing on the stage, everyone had to fight anew.

The competition deacon didn't delay.

He pressed his hand down, and the battle map platform lit up with a boom.

Countless tiny light spots assembled in mid-air, quickly growing into a complete map.

When the first image appeared, the entire lot-drawing hall went silent for a moment.

Because on that map, there was no ground at all.

Grey-black floating islands of various sizes hung in mid-air. Between the islands were bottomless empty zones, with only turbulent winds, broken clouds, and half-severed old iron chains below. Several thick, withered roots hung down from high above, barely connecting a few peripheral islands, but the main island in the center remained isolated.

The competition deacon's voice followed immediately.

“Zone E-7 first round map.”

“Sky Island Chokepoint.”

“The entire map is off the ground, with no stable terrain. The height difference between floating islands ranges from three to twelve yards. Passable points between islands are limited; broken bridges, withered roots, and old chains can all be utilized.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a wave of low-voiced discussion erupted all around.

“A sky island map?”

“They're using this for the first round?”

“This map heavily favors mobility and structure; the cavern path will be very uncomfortable.”

The person who said this didn't name names.

But many gazes still subconsciously drifted over to Lu Jin's side.

Everyone knew that his most famous methods involved caverns and fortifications.

Now, the first match had taken away the ground.

Wen Zhao subconsciously frowned.

“This map is not friendly to you.”

Qiao Ye also looked at those islands floating in the void and let out a breath.

“Never mind you. If I bring my three bears up there, it'll be easy to step into thin air if their strides are too large.”

Ning Yanqiu, however, was in no hurry to speak discouragingly.

She stared at the battle map platform, looking first at those broken chains, then at the withered roots hanging down.

“No ground doesn't mean there are no paths.”

After she finished, she turned to look at Lu Jin.

“What are you looking at first?”

Lu Jin's gaze had been fixed below those floating islands.

After looking for a while, he finally spoke.

“I'm looking at the load-bearing points first.”

“Whether the chains can be locked, whether the roots can be used for hanging, and which segment between islands is the easiest to break.”

He spoke very flatly.

As if he were looking at an ordinary map.

But the few people beside him understood.

The first match of the competition zone had taken away the ground.

So he was going to look first at which places in the sky could be used as ground.

The light from the black-silver battle map platform reflected quietly in his eyes.

The gates to the competition zone had fully opened.

The first bite was suspended in the sky.