9: A four-person team

On the road, a Range Rover drove across the flat terrain.

At this moment, Director Liu was still driving, and Xiao Yuan sat in the passenger seat, his tall frame making it seem like he had nowhere to put his feet.

In the back row were Qi Tian, Fang Bai, and A Xiu.

The special recruits picked up by the Martial Arts Academy had all arrived!

However, the atmosphere among them was a bit strange.

Fang Bai had his eyes closed, not knowing what he was thinking about.

The swelling on Qi Tian's face in the middle had not yet faded, and his shifty eyes kept darting around.

Beside him, A Xiu turned her head to stare blankly out the window, a small hand clutching the crescent pendant around her neck.

Fang Bai was currently immersed in the system space, looking at his virtual panel.

There were ten days left until the deadline for him to complete his mission.

Seeing the excellence of his teammates now, it would be a lie to say he wasn't anxious.

However, as long as he could kill Demonic Beasts, he would be able to catch up quickly!

Thinking of this, Fang Bai suddenly asked Director Liu, who was driving: "Leader, what is the specific content of our assessment this time?"

Director Liu laughed: "Naturally, it is to kill Demonic Beasts!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the eyes of the others in the car sharpened.

Kill Demonic Beasts?

"No way, starting off by killing Demonic Beasts? Isn't that just going to be served as a dish?"

Qi Tian reacted, shocked.

Among them, he had the most contact with Demonic Beasts, so he naturally knew what that meant.

They were all rookies without any combat experience!

Director Liu smiled: "Don't worry, I'm not asking you to go to the front lines, just to handle some of the lowest-level mutated Demonic Beasts."

He continued: "Fang Bai applied for the Second Year Student assessment, and this standard is actually in line with the assessment content."

Upon hearing this, Qi Tian looked at Fang Bai in disbelief: "Wait, Old Bai, you actually applied for the Second Year Student assessment?"

Fang Bai was puzzled: "Is there any problem with that?"

"The problem is huge! Do you understand the Martial Arts Academy? Do you know what kind of people the Second Year Students are? You, a First-Tier Beginner, without any training, dare to rush to the front line—you are this! (Thumbs up)"

In Qi Tian's view, Fang Bai was the weakest in their team, and also just a newcomer who hadn't experienced brutal beatings. Facing Demonic Beasts like this, what was the difference between that and seeking death?

Fang Bai shrugged and said: "We have to face it sooner or later, why panic?"

Qi Tian said with a strange expression: "Do you know what kind of monsters in the Martial Arts Academy can pass the Second Year Student assessment?"

Fang Bai was confused.

Qi Tian pointed to himself and A Xiu, saying: "People like us."

Fang Bai: "..."

A Xiu glanced at him without speaking.

Director Liu glanced at the rearview mirror and smiled: "Qi Tian is right, which is why I confirmed it with you several times at the time."

Fang Bai's mouth twitched. He had to admit he was a bit nervous now. Judging by this, it might be difficult for him to take down a normal Demonic Beast on his own strength. However, he had no retreat. Compared to dying an unexplained death from the system self-destructing, dying in battle was more glorious.

Qi Tian looked at Fang Bai with some sympathy: "Old Bai, good luck. I'll burn paper money for you this time next year."

Fang Bai had black lines all over his face: "Get lost!"

"Um, let me clarify, all four of you must undergo the Second Year Student assessment!"

Director Liu's leisurely voice drifted over.

Upon hearing this, Qi Tian's face stiffened, and then he widened his eyes: "What the hell?!"

Director Liu smiled: "I have already requested instructions from above. Because your situation is special, and you are special recruits, the academy has decided to give you a test. Of course, the first year is already full, so your only path is to advance to the Second Year Student level."

"Damn! You can't play like this, right?!"

Qi Tian wailed.

A Xiu glanced at him, displeased: "You are loud!"

Qi Tian lowered his volume, looked at Director Liu, and negotiated: "Old Liu, my second uncle is the Vice Dean. If I accidentally die, he will definitely hold someone accountable."

The subtext was whether he could turn a blind eye and let him pass the assessment through the back door.

Director Liu revealed a strange smile: "Sorry, making you all participate in the assessment was your second uncle's idea!"

"Nani?!"

Qi Tian immediately broke down: "Damn his Qi Baichuan's second uncle! He clearly wants to put me to death so he can inherit my property!"

Director Liu's mouth curled up: "Since you want to join the Martial Arts Academy, you must be prepared to face danger at any time. The Martial Arts Academy isn't a place just anyone can enter."

Qi Tian wilted completely: "I was careless. If I had known, I would have stayed in the villa and enjoyed life."

Regarding the knowledge that they had to accept the assessment, everyone except Qi Tian appeared very calm.

Fang Bai had no other choice.

Xiao Yuan was illiterate and didn't understand anything.

A Xiu was indifferent.

Fang Bai patted Qi Tian's shoulder and said: "Old Qi, accept your fate. Let's charge through it together; maybe there's still a chance."

Qi Tian slumped on the seat and gave up: "Don't talk to me, I want to be quiet."

"Who is Jingjing?"

Xiao Yuan turned his head to look, purely.

Qi Tian: "..."

Fang Bai smiled, then asked: "Leader, give us a hint about this assessment!"

Director Liu glanced at him and then slowly said: "You might not know, but recently, there have been many fluctuations of Alien Space in various areas on the outskirts of the Demon Capital."

"Alien Space?"

Fang Bai and Qi Tian's expressions became serious.

They both knew about Alien Space; the fall of Blue Star was because of the arrival of Alien Space!

Could it be that the Demon Beast Army had invaded?

Director Liu seemed to know what they were thinking and said calmly: "Don't worry, the appearance of Alien Space in various human territories is not a bad thing. Under the obstruction of human ancestors, those powerful Demonic Beasts are blocked outside the 'Wall'. What appears within the borders are just small Alien Spaces, and the Demonic Beasts inside will not be too strong."

"And this is not a bad thing for humanity. From a certain perspective, these Alien Spaces are a treasure trove! After all, not only are there many low-tier Demonic Beasts in the Alien Space, killing them allows for the dissection of many good items, but besides that, there are also a large number of heaven-sent treasures in the Alien Space that can collectively increase the strength of humanity significantly."

Fang Bai asked suspiciously: "Then, if Alien Space descends within the country, wouldn't it cause disasters for ordinary people?"

"That's correct. Even with our current technology, we cannot predict the location of Alien Space descents one hundred percent of the time, leading to many civilians losing their lives at the hands of Demonic Beasts. That is why we exist!"

"And our mission is to cooperate with the Demon Slaying Army to hunt Demonic Beasts in the Alien Spaces that appear within the country! Of course, there will naturally be sacrifices in this, but relatively speaking, it is already a very good outcome."

Fang Bai understood.

Director Liu slowly said: "Your assessment location this time is in a place called Willow Leaf Town. A C-rank Alien Space has appeared there. The Demon Slaying Army has already intervened, and the civilians have been evacuated. Your task is to cooperate with the Demon Slaying Army to clear out the Demonic Beasts in the Alien Space!"

"Ah? Us?"

Fang Bai and the others showed strange expressions.

Are they sure their strength isn't just delivering rations to the Demonic Beasts?

Qi Tian said gloomily: "A C-rank Alien Space, the strongest Demonic Beasts inside have reached the Third-Tier, and there is more than one. There are countless other Second-Tier Demonic Beasts. Can we really come back alive?"

Director Liu smiled calmly: "Otherwise, how could it be worthy of a Second Year Student promotion assessment? Any team picked from the Second Year Students of the Martial Arts Academy could solo a C-rank Alien Space."

Fang Bai was somewhat surprised; he didn't expect the people in the Martial Arts Academy to be so awesome.

"From now on, you are a team! Cooperate with each other. Fang Bai, you are the captain, responsible for commanding the three of them."

Director Liu suddenly announced.

"Ah? Me?"

Fang Bai's mouth twitched, and he said: "Leader, I am the weakest in the team. Are you sure they will all listen to me?"

He could be sure about Xiao Yuan, but the other two were each bigger divas than the last!

Director Liu smiled calmly: "Being strong doesn't mean you know how to command. The choice of captain has to consider many factors, and you have a good brain. If you command, your survival rate will be a bit higher."

He finally understood that in the whole team, Fang Bai was the only normal person.

Whether such a team could develop chemistry was a question.

Qi Tian shrugged: "I don't care."

A Xiu thought for a moment and nodded.

Xiao Yuan smiled honestly: "Me too!"

Thus, this bizarre team was born.

Director Liu glanced at the time and immediately said: "There is still half an hour's journey to the destination. You still have some time, hurry up and get in sync, after all, after half an hour... you will have to risk your lives!"

The atmosphere in the car suddenly became heavy.

Fang Bai narrowed his eyes and then said: "Leader, stop the car."

Director Liu's mouth curled up, and he stepped on the brakes.

A moment later, the four-person team sat in a circle by the side of the road.

And Director Liu leaned against the car body, watching this side with a smile.

Fang Bai spoke first: "My dear classmates, you have also heard that our upcoming assessment carries life risks, so we must be cautious."

Qi Tian suddenly raised his hand and interrupted: "Um... the most dangerous one among us should be you, right?"

Fang Bai: "..."

He rolled his eyes: "No time for jokes, Buddy. We have limited time and aren't familiar with each other, so let's start by introducing our own situations."

"I'll go first. Fang Bai, Lightning Element Awakened, current level is First-Tier Beginner, combat experience: 0."

Xiao Yuan looked at the others, then smiled honestly: "My name is Xiao Yuan, I am a~, um, Earth Element Awakened. What tier was it? Let's say First-Tier. I have great strength and can control the Earth Element."

"The kind that plays with mud really well, right?"

Qi Tian chuckled, then lifted his chin and said: "This young master is Qi Tian, the Qi Tian of the Great Sage Equaling Heaven. Dual-Element Awakened, Light Element Second-Tier, and Wood Element First-Tier. The skills I possess are 【Eight-Part Light Wheel】, 【Holy Light Ember】, and 【Healing Art】."

Fang Bai was a bit envious: "Three skills?"

【Eight-Part Light Wheel】, one can tell just by hearing it that it's an offensive skill, and he also awakened the unique skill of the Wood Element, 【Healing Art】. This is undoubtedly very important for a team.

The three of them looked at A Xiu.

The latter was expressionless, forcing herself to be aloof, and said in a voice with a milky tone: "A Xiu, Space Element Awakened, First-Tier Advanced. The skill I excel at is 【Teleportation】, and the current range of teleportation is forty-three meters."

Hearing this skill, Fang Bai and Qi Tian were immediately envious.

This is way too heaven-defying, right?

Fang Bai cleared his throat and then said loudly: "Since everyone has introduced their situation, next, we must cooperate well! Whether we can pass the assessment and successfully enter the Martial Arts Academy depends on this time!"

Qi Tian: This young master is a pay-to-win player, I'm guaranteed to get in!

Xiao Yuan: Must work hard! Enter school to learn knowledge!

A Xiu: Doesn't matter.