20: Primary Trial Field

Weiyang City has five training grounds, located in the four corners and central area of the city, with a total of four Novice Training Grounds and one intermediate training ground.

The one Lin Feng was heading to was a Novice Training Ground located in Weibei District, which only provided teleportation arrays for entering Black Iron Level dungeons.

Upon arriving at the entrance, Lin Feng immediately noticed the difference between this training ground and ordinary buildings; its alloy walls were inlaid with many magic crystals, and a layer of energy barrier with a cold, faint glow slowly flowed over them.

The air here seemed different from other places, filled with the pungent smells of gunpowder, ozone, blood, and residual elemental energy.

Scorched marks, claw prints, and traces of ice freezing left by energy impacts were visible everywhere on the walls and ground, and occasionally, fragments of weapons deeply embedded in the alloy could even be seen—these were silent imprints left after high-intensity battles.

This showed that the attack by The Fallen the previous night had caused a considerable impact even on this iconic building.

The training ground's revolving door continuously admitted various Awakeners, and on both sides of the entrance were elite City Defense Force members, strictly verifying the identity badges of those entering.

Lin Feng showed his academy badge and smoothly stepped inside.

In an instant, a cacophony of noise and a complex yet rich energy aura surged over him like a tide.

The place was like a huge metal warehouse, neatly divided into more than a dozen small, equally sized squares, each with a faintly glowing dungeon teleportation array at its center.

The colors of the teleportation arrays varied, corresponding to different dungeon monsters.

Lin Feng walked straight to the Black Iron Level area, and along the way, he could see that next to each dungeon teleportation array was a comprehensive information board introducing the monster situations and difficulty levels within the different dungeons.

Goblin Camp: “Low-lying shantytown, groups of goblins roam. Beware of their encirclement and crude thrown weapons. Primary threat: numbers.”

Spider Lair: “Damp, dark underground cave, covered in sticky webs. Poisonous fangs spiders and a small number of mother spiders lurk. Primary threat: poison, ambush.”

Abandoned Mine: “Deep, winding mine tunnels, filled with decay and rock dust. Inhabited by rock beetles, mutated mine rats, and possibly elite guards. Primary threat: narrow terrain, elite monsters.”

Walking up to the service desk, the first thing that caught his eye was another huge electronic screen! The scrolling “Registration Fee” made Lin Feng’s heart sink involuntarily.

“Basic Physical Training Ground: 500 crystal coins/hour”

“Black Iron Level 1 - Goblin Camp (Easy/Normal): 10,000 crystal coins/entry”

“Black Iron Level 2 - Spider Lair (Easy/Normal): 15,000 crystal coins/entry”

“Black Iron Level 5 - Abandoned Mine (Easy/Normal/Hard): 30,000 crystal coins/entry”

...The money from selling the magic crystals, even without renting a house for his parents, wouldn’t last long here.

Energy was tight, and prices were said to have risen by 10%... That little money was merely a drop in the bucket.

Just then, the attendant responsible for processing Black Iron Level dungeon entry qualifications looked over.

“Student, entering a dungeon? Please show your personal identity token.”

The attendant’s voice was flat, carrying a hint of programmatic fatigue.

Lin Feng had originally wanted to leave directly, but since he had already come! He still placed the identity token on his wrist onto a dedicated induction device on the counter.

The device screen lit up, quickly scanning Lin Feng’s identity information.

The attendant’s gaze casually swept across the screen, and when he saw a certain data item, his pupils suddenly constricted, and his professional fatigue was instantly replaced by astonishment!

“10 points... Dungeon points?!”

He exclaimed in a low voice, subconsciously rubbing his eyes, and reconfirmed the number on the screen.

Although the sound was not loud, it still attracted the attention of several people queuing nearby in the noisy environment.

The attendant suddenly looked up, staring at Lin Feng in disbelief, his tone becoming incredibly solemn.

“Lin... Lin Feng Student? You... you soloed the Wolf King’s Lair on normal difficulty yesterday? And got 10 points?!”

Lin Feng calmly nodded.

“Yes.”

The attendant’s surprise grew even stronger; he quickly tapped a few times on the control panel, seemingly retrieving more detailed records.

A few seconds later, he took a deep breath, looking at Lin Feng with admiration and a hint of almost imperceptible reverence, and was about to speak...

“Lin Feng?”

A mocking voice pierced through the surrounding noise and interrupted what the attendant was about to say.

Lin Feng frowned slightly and turned to look.

He saw Xiong Gang, wearing brand-new Silver-level light armor, embracing the beautiful Su Wanqing, pushing through the crowd. Xiong Gang’s face was etched with undisguised anger.

“Lin Feng, you were truly in the limelight yesterday! Soloing the Wolf King’s Lair on easy and normal difficulty! And even breaking the clear records consecutively! Impressive, truly impressive!”

Xiong Gang said viciously, his tone cold, then his words suddenly took a sharp turn, his volume rising even higher to ensure everyone around could hear.

“But... how did I hear that you relied on Miss Qin Yuyan’s ‘generous assistance’? A four-star magic pet egg? Silver-level armor? Haha, I knew it, how could a one-star trash Summoner like you achieve such results? So you latched onto Qin Yuyan and became a kept man!”

These harsh remarks immediately ignited discussions among the onlookers.

“Oh? Soloed the Wolf King’s Lair? Is that true or false? A one-star Summoner?”

“Tsk, didn't Brother Xiong say? He relied on a woman's equipment! Just for show!”

“Relying on a woman? Tsk tsk, disgracing us men!”

Su Wanqing covered her mouth and chuckled, her voice clear like a poisoned knife.

“Lin Feng, you still consider yourself a genius, relying on equipment resources bestowed by a woman to clear novice dungeons, where is your face? I think you have no shame left! Now, without that little slut Qin Yuyan’s ‘rewards,’ you can’t even enter the cheapest Black Iron Level dungeon, can you? Can you afford ten thousand coins? Do you want me to ask Brother Xiong to lend you some?”

She deliberately pressed close to Xiong Gang’s arm, her voluptuous and graceful body practically clinging to him.

The crowd of onlookers gradually grew, and the excitement on Xiong Gang and Su Wanqing’s faces intensified, as if they had already seen Lin Feng lose all face in front of everyone.

Xiong Gang scanned Lin Feng’s faded academy uniform, then glanced at the glaring “10,000 crystal coins/entry” on the service desk, a look of undisguised condescending pity and mockery on his face.

“Wanqing, our ‘genius’ Student wouldn’t deign to borrow money; he just needs to work hard for one night, and he might earn a lot of money!”

The surrounding people burst into laughter at his words.

“Hmph! Speechless? Aren’t you capable? Didn’t you solo dungeons? What now? Can’t even afford ten thousand coins?”

“Just a pauper! No money to enter dungeons, how will you level up? By just staring here? You’ll be trash at Black Iron Level for life!”

Xiong Gang proudly shook the silver-glowing crystal card in his hand, deliberately making a crisp tapping sound on the service desk, and loudly addressed the attendant who had just been surprised by Lin Feng’s points.

“Hey, ignore that pauper! Come, get us two entry tickets for ‘Spider Lair (Easy Level)’! Hurry up!”

He provocatively squinted at Lin Feng, his eyes full of ridicule.