185: Chapter 185 You Don't Need to Adjust Anymore

After Academic Director Zhao Mingshan finished explaining the rules, the training ground fell silent for a few seconds.

Heavenly King Lin was the first to shoulder his giant axe, tapping the blade lightly against the ground with a dull thud.

"So... what are we supposed to do now?"

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan glanced at him.

"We'll just do a little coordination today..."

He raised his hand to activate the training ground projection, and light blue zone boundaries appeared on the black alloy floor.

"After all, since this time it's on our home turf in the Dragon Kingdom, we have to make use of the home-field advantage."

"The reason we lost so miserably last year was partly because the top-ranked individuals from Navigator Academy didn't go."

Speaking of which, Academic Director Zhao Mingshan's gaze swept over Lu Cheng intentionally or unintentionally.

Lu Cheng held the Little Spirit Fox, pretending not to notice.

"On the other hand, it was because that time was in the Nordic Union."

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan continued.

"They were familiar with the venue and the rules, so our people were at a significant disadvantage during their first encounter."

"So this time, we're going to run through the event process in advance."

Xu Xinglan pushed up her non-existent glasses, her runic pen spinning lightly in her hand.

"Then I suggest we determine our positions first."

"Heavenly King Lin and Ye Beihan can press forward, Gu Changqing can handle flank cleanup, Jiang Xuance and his contracted beast can cover vacancies, Tang Zhiwei will be responsible for long-range suppression, and I will set up formations to control the field."

After finishing, she looked at Lu Cheng.

"As for classmate Lu Cheng... I think he can act as a battlefield free agent, so it's hard for me to assign him a specific role..."

Xu Xinglan paused, and everyone agreed with this arrangement.

Honestly, among this group, only Xu Xinglan had any brains.

The others were either battle maniacs or narcissists (specifically referring to Jiang Xuance).

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan waved his hand. "Alright, since you've arranged it, let's give it a try..."

In the standby area, the crystal cores in the chests of the Source Energy Puppets lit up.

Click. Click-clack. The mechanical joints began to move.

These puppets were nearly two meters tall, crafted entirely from black military-grade alloy, with red lights glowing in their eyes and different types of simulated weapons mounted on their arms.

There were fist-blade types, shield-armor types, and long-range artillery types.

Each one had the standard of the early to mid Meridian Opening Realm.

Of course, the real trouble wasn't the individual strength. It was the quantity...

After confirming everyone's positions, Academic Director Zhao Mingshan said, "First round, follow the normal exhibition match rules."

"Time limit is ten minutes. Start!"

As soon as he finished speaking, one hundred Source Energy Puppets activated simultaneously.

Boom... The training ground shook instantly.

The dozen shield-armor puppets at the front charged in silence, while the artillery puppets in the back deployed their shoulder mounts, and their Source Energy cannons began to charge up light.

Heavenly King Lin grinned and stepped forward with his axe. "Good."

Frost spread beneath Ye Beihan's feet as his black combat boots struck the ground, causing the temperature of the surrounding air to plummet.

Gu Changqing pressed his right hand against his sword, his entire being resembling a blue blade that had just been unsheathed by half an inch.

Xu Xinglan's runic pen had already traced through the air, spreading three Source Array patterns before her.

Jiang Xuance patted the Red-Armored Zheng. "Go!"

Tang Zhiwei flicked her sleeve lightly, and several silver needles as thin as ox hair slid between her fingers.

Everyone entered a combat state. Although their coordination hadn't truly been polished yet, no one selected for the Dragon Kingdom delegation was weak.

But just as they were about to strike, Lu Cheng took a step forward.

The Little Spirit Fox in his arms seemed to sense something, its tail curling gently as it voluntarily jumped to the sidelines.

The next second, gold-white dragon scales spread across Lu Cheng's arms. Holy Dragon Armament. Activate.

Boom! A terrifying pressure instantly blanketed the entire training ground. The movements of the puppets that had just started up stalled simultaneously.

Holy Dragon Roar!! Holy light erupted from Lu Cheng's mouth, and the surrounding puppets exploded directly.

It was like a string of firecrackers going off in the training ground. Three seconds. The entire training ground fell silent.

One hundred Source Energy Puppets. Completely wiped out???

The ground was littered with twisted and deformed military-grade alloy debris, and the crystal cores from their chests were shattered into a pile of light blue crystal powder.

Lu Cheng stood in the center of the field, the gold-white dragon scales on his body fading away bit by bit. He looked back at everyone. "Does this count as finishing the coordination?"

The training ground was deathly silent. Tang Zhiwei still held a poison needle between her fingertips. She remained frozen in place, and as she looked at Lu Cheng, her gaze changed bit by bit.

She knew Lu Cheng was strong. Everyone knew Lu Cheng was strong. After the battle with the Qian Family, no one in the Dragon Kingdom's younger generation would treat Lu Cheng as an ordinary freshman anymore.

But knowing is one thing. Seeing it with one's own eyes is another. Those weren't just ordinary targets.

Every Source Energy Puppet had the level of the Meridian Opening Realm. And these were military training models, with higher defensive capabilities than ordinary martial artists of the same realm.

Yet Lu Cheng had wiped them all out in one go, as if clearing out trash.

Tang Zhiwei suddenly remembered what she had done over the past two days. She suddenly felt that she had been courting death. And she had been courting death very diligently and professionally.

But... she watched the young man in the center of the field retracting his Holy Dragon Armament, a complex glint flashing in her eyes.

This also strengthened her resolve. The Qin Family could give the Tang Family temporary resources. But someone like Lu Cheng, if he could be secured, might provide the Tang Family with a real way out.

At the very least, he had seen through everything yesterday but hadn't turned her in. This was much more humane than those haughty orders from the Qin Family.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Academic Director Zhao Mingshan finally reacted. He rushed to the control console at the edge of the field, and seeing the training ground littered with scrapped puppets, his entire face turned green.

"Lu Cheng!" "Stop what you're doing!"

Lu Cheng spread his hands. "I've already stopped."

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan almost couldn't catch his breath. He pointed at the debris covering the ground, his voice rising a few octaves.

"These things are money!" "The market price for one is nearly a million!"

"And these are special military-grade models that aren't even available on the market!" "You dismantled a hundred of them in one go!"

Lu Cheng was silent for a second. "Can't I get reimbursed?"

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan: "..." Academic Director Zhao Mingshan clutched his chest... it hurt... it hurt so much...

Heavenly King Lin looked at the puppet debris on the ground and remained silent for a long time. "He didn't even use his weapon just now."

Gu Changqing gently pushed his sword back into its sheath, and for a moment, he could only nod. "Yeah."

The Little Spirit Fox raised its head at the edge of the field, its tail swaying gently. It wore a proud expression that seemed to say, "Isn't my master amazing?"

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to hang Lu Cheng up and lecture him.

"Readjusting strategy." "Lu Cheng, you don't need to participate in the early clearing phase for now."

Lu Cheng pointed at himself. "Am I being excluded from training?"

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan was expressionless. "Yes."

"In the official competition, you don't need to use your full strength right from the start."

"The first exhibition match depends mainly on the team's overall kill efficiency."

"If you clear the field right at the start, you can certainly gain an advantage in the short term, but you'll also expose too much."

"And..." He glanced at the scrapped puppets, his tone pained. "The training ground can't afford it."

Lu Cheng: "..."

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan looked at Xu Xinglan, who picked up the conversation. "Simply put, Lu Cheng is our insurance."

"The six of us will farm the monsters normally and maintain our rhythm." "If the count is about to be overtaken by other teams, or if we make a mistake, he will step in to bridge the gap."

Gu Changqing nodded. "That works."

Although Heavenly King Lin was a bit annoyed, he didn't object. After all, what happened just now was too outrageous.

Even if he wanted to compete, he had to admit that the gap between Lu Cheng and them was too large... there was no room for any coordination.

During the subsequent training time, Lu Cheng was completely idle. Academic Director Zhao Mingshan simply arranged for him to watch from the sidelines.

Lu Cheng sat in the first row of the spectator seats, holding the Little Spirit Fox, watching the six of them fighting fervently on the field.

These six were already the top-tier lineup of the Dragon Kingdom's younger generation. Once their coordination took shape, they would definitely not be weak.

Noon training ended. Academic Director Zhao Mingshan announced a break. Everyone left the training ground one after another, preparing to return to the hotel for a meal.

Lu Cheng was walking down the corridor holding the Little Spirit Fox, just about to find a place to sit for a while, when a group of people suddenly walked toward him.

That group was wearing the white and gold uniforms of the Nordic Union, and their temperament was completely different from the Dragon Kingdom representatives. They carried a cold aura that was a mix of snowfields and temples.

Leading them was a silver-haired youth. He didn't look very old, almost like a little boy.

His silver hair was soft, his pupils were a very pale moon-silver, and there was a faint crescent moon mark on his forehead.

He carried a silver bow on his back, and while his figure was slender, he gave off an extremely dangerous feeling.

Reinhardt Moon-Hunter. The Northern European Son of God. Lu Cheng recognized him.

Almost at the same time, Reinhardt's footsteps suddenly stopped. As if he had sensed some danger, he looked up abruptly, staring at the spot where Lu Cheng had just been standing.

But it was already empty. Lu Cheng, holding the Little Spirit Fox, had already reached the corner on the other side of the corridor.

He activated his Moon-Radiance Pulse gently. He turned his head and glanced back. "Did he see me?"

The Little Spirit Fox lay in his arms, its ears perked up slightly. "Ying."

Lu Cheng was thoughtful. This Northern European Son of God also had very keen perception.

Reinhardt stood in place, looking at the empty corridor, his brows knitting slightly.

One of his companions asked in a low voice, "Lord Son of God?"

Reinhardt did not answer immediately. A moment later, he withdrew his gaze. "It's nothing. It just seemed like a... very dangerous dragon passed by."

The next day. Training continued as usual. Academic Director Zhao Mingshan, having learned from yesterday's painful lesson, looked directly at Lu Cheng before training began.

"You will sit and continue resting today." Lu Cheng: "I haven't said anything yet."

"You don't need to say anything." Academic Director Zhao Mingshan pointed to the spectator seats. "Sitting there is your greatest contribution today."

Lu Cheng: "...Fine."

So for the entire day, it was just the six of them coordinating. Tang Zhiwei would come over to pester Lu Cheng whenever she had the chance...

"Brother Lu, are you tired?" Lu Cheng glanced at her. "I've been sitting all day."

Tang Zhiwei smiled sweetly. "You can get tired even from sitting all day."

The Little Spirit Fox immediately let out an unhappy cry. "Ying!"

Tang Zhiwei looked down at it. "Are you tired too?"

The Little Spirit Fox turned its head away. It didn't want to pay attention to her.

Evening. The hotel's special cafeteria. Because representatives from all countries were in the Imperial Capital, food safety had been elevated to the highest level.

The dinner for all participating students was jointly supplied by the hotel and the Dragon Kingdom's security department. Ingredients were tested in advance, chefs underwent background checks, and tableware was scanned for source patterns.

Academic Director Zhao Mingshan's exact words were: "I'd rather it be a bit more troublesome than let any of you have an accident because you ate the wrong thing."

Lu Cheng understood this. After all, if anything happened to this group of people, it would be a huge problem behind the scenes.

In the cafeteria, the Dragon Kingdom delegation sat at a long table. As soon as Lu Cheng sat down, Tang Zhiwei sat next to him very naturally.

Then she picked up the serving chopsticks and placed a piece of roasted spirit poultry meat on his plate. "Brother Lu, eat more."

Lu Cheng glanced at her. Tang Zhiwei's smile was sweet... so Lu Cheng ate it very naturally.

Tang Zhiwei's eyes curved slightly, and she placed a piece of source vegetable on his plate. "This replenishes Qi and blood." Lu Cheng continued to eat.

"This soup is also good." "Mm." "This spirit fish meat is very tender." "Put it here."

"Does Brother Lu want to drink some fruit juice?" "Sure."

The two of them, one feeding and one eating, were coordinating more and more naturally.

Xu Xinglan, who was to the side holding her bowl, fell completely silent.

Jiang Xuance looked at Lu Cheng, then at Tang Zhiwei, and finally lowered his head to look at the Red-Armored Zheng. "What do you think is going on with them?"

The Red-Armored Zheng lowered its head to chew on some meat. It didn't know. It only knew the meat was delicious.

The Little Spirit Fox lay on Lu Cheng's lap, so angry that the tip of its tail was bristling. It looked up and let out a cry at Tang Zhiwei. "Ying!"

Tang Zhiwei smiled and picked up a piece of spirit fish meat, placing it in the small dish in front of the Little Spirit Fox. "You eat too."

The Little Spirit Fox looked at the fish meat. Then it looked at Tang Zhiwei. Finally, it lowered its head and ate it.

Lu Cheng looked down at it. "What about your stance?" The Little Spirit Fox pretended not to understand. "Ying."

After dinner, everyone returned to their rooms. Academic Director Zhao Mingshan stood at the entrance of the corridor like a bald guardian deity.

When everyone was about to disperse, he suddenly spoke: "Tomorrow, we will officially make contact with the representatives of other countries." "Everyone get a good rest tonight."

Everyone stopped. Academic Director Zhao Mingshan's gaze swept slowly over Heavenly King Lin and Jiang Xuance, finally stopping on Lu Cheng and Tang Zhiwei.

His tone was serious. "Don't run around." "Don't fight in private." "Don't eat anything of unknown origin."

"And..." He paused. "Don't do anything that consumes physical strength."

The corridor instantly fell silent. Lu Cheng: "...?"

Tang Zhiwei blinked, then lowered her head very obediently. "Understood, Academic Director Zhao."

Lu Cheng looked at Academic Director Zhao Mingshan's face, which was as serious as could be, feeling that no matter if he explained or didn't explain, it would be awkward.

In the end, he could only pick up the Little Spirit Fox. "I'm going back to sleep."

Tang Zhiwei immediately followed half a step. "Good night, Brother Lu."

The Little Spirit Fox poked its head out from Lu Cheng's arms and let out a fierce cry at Tang Zhiwei. "Ying!"

Tang Zhiwei waved with a smile. "Good night to you too."

Before Lu Cheng walked into the elevator, he looked back at her. Tang Zhiwei stood under the corridor lights, smiling sweetly, but hidden in the depths of her eyes was something complex that was hard to describe.

Lu Cheng said nothing, and the elevator door slowly closed.