65: Chapter 65 From Wilderness to Modern City

The modernized cities were not fabricated out of thin air; their settings were modeled after famous cities across the major star systems.

For example, the one Chen Xing arrived at was the city where the competition was being held—Tianhe City.

Of course, Tianhe City was incredibly vast, much larger than some planets, so it was impossible to replicate in its entirety; only a portion of its landscape was used.

On a high mountain opposite the city, Chen Xing stood at the edge of a cliff, overlooking the entire metropolis.

He activated his Minds Eye and finally saw clearly what kind of Challenge Beast was sitting in the city's central plaza.

"That's... the Head of Department?!"

At the same time, the audience in the outside world and the students of the Tianhe Academy in the Loser's World were all dumbfounded.

The entity sitting in the center of the city was no Yao Beast; it was clearly the Head of the Element Department of Tianhe Academy—Ouyang Dao.

"What?!" At that moment, the Head of the Element Department himself was shocked and instinctively stood up.

"Rest easy, this was arranged long ago." On the chairman's platform, Yue Shanhai spoke, offering a soft word of comfort.

"You didn't even mention this to me, this is..." Ouyang Dao's mouth twitched.

"That Challenge Beast marked in black and red isn't a Vicious Beast, but a human!"

This revelation immediately set the website forums ablaze, with the bullet chat screen flooded with question marks and exclamation points.

"That's right, it is exactly as you see." Elder Xuan spoke slowly, his deep and majestic voice reaching every corner of the land.

"In the most ancient of eras, the Human Race was weak, huddling together in the wilderness to survive while being bullied by Yao Beasts. And above those Yao Beasts were even more powerful Vicious Beasts and Divine Beasts."

"But later, the world changed. Our Human Race rose, establishing civilizations and building cities. From the primitive to the modern, from being bullied to confronting the Demon Alliance... this is our Human Race!"

His speech became increasingly passionate, his voice resonant.

At this moment, everyone finally understood the design of the competition map.

In the beginning, the contestants were in the outermost regions where only ordinary Yao Beasts existed, which weren't troublesome to deal with.

Later on, the environment gradually improved or became harsher, but the Challenge Beasts that appeared became fiercer one by one, with even Divine Beasts showing up.

In the final area, the high mountains disappeared, the rivers were tamed, and the wilderness was gone, replaced by modernized cities belonging to humanity!

"In the ten cities, every [Challenge Beast] guarding them is a teacher from the various academies. Their cultivation will not exceed the Divine Sea Realm."

"However!"

Elder Xuan continued, "These teachers all possess cultivation in the Jue Tian Realm. In the simulated environment, only their cultivation is suppressed; their combat experience and Concepts remain the same!"

These words were like a giant boulder crashing into water, stirring up a thousand waves.

You're saying these students have to face these old monsters who have lived for hundreds of years, using their combat Concepts of less than ten years to fight against centuries of experience?

The Three Heavens Realm is the fifth major Realm, divided into three 'Heavens': Heaven Transforming Stage, Tong Tian, and Absolute Heaven Stage. One step further is the Tribulation Transformation Realm.

The gold-tier bodyguard who once escorted Chen Xing, Yang Qishan, was a Hua Tian Realm powerhouse.

"Department Head?" Chen Xing's eyes darted rapidly as he adapted to this startling news.

"I'll go check elsewhere..." To verify his suspicion, Chen Xing immediately set off for the cities where other Challenge Beasts were located.

When he reached the second city, he saw clearly that the person sitting inside was also a human—a purple-haired woman!

"Department Head!"

Now, it was the Shengyuan Academy students' turn to be shocked, because that was the Head of their Tool Dao Department, whose ability was the B-rank Heaven Sword!

"As I thought!" Chen Xing said in a low voice.

"What do you mean 'as you thought'? What did you see?" Li Baxian asked urgently, thinking something had happened to him.

"I understand now. Those marks stained with black are all humans, not Yao Beasts!" Chen Xing said.

"What did you say?" The two were stunned.

"Listen to me. The city I was just at was Tianhe City, and the person sitting there was our Head of the Element Department. This second city I found also has a human. If I'm not mistaken, the other cities are likely humans too—they might even be teachers from other academies!" Chen Xing explained succinctly.

"Humans?!"

Both Su He and Li Baxian fell into deep thought upon hearing this answer, their hearts already churning with shock.

The guardians of the ten cities closest to the center were actually ten human powerhouses!

"Those are Three Heavens Realm powerhouses. How are we supposed to deal with them? Do we just go up one by one to die?" Li Baxian couldn't help but say.

"No, looking at their aura, they should all be suppressed to the ninth level of the Divine Sea Realm. It won't exceed the limit," Chen Xing countered.

"What? Only the ninth level? Isn't that just giving away the win? Honestly, with our Department Head's meager strength, even I could take him on," Li Baxian said, feeling surprised.

"How do you know the Department Head isn't capable? He's still a B-rank regardless," Chen Xing asked.

"Ah, that. It's because he's my mentor. Don't I know exactly what level he's at?" Li Baxian said bluntly.

"..." Chen Xing was speechless.

"You little brat!" Hearing this, Ouyang Dao, who was outside, was so angry he almost jumped up.

"Don't get angry, the kid is just being immature." Beside him, his good friend held him back. Although he was offering comfort, the smile on his face was more mischievous than anyone else's.

"He's over twenty years old, and you call him a kid?!" Ouyang Dao's face was flushed with rage.

This scene made everyone burst into laughter.

"I don't think it's necessarily that simple," Chen Xing said, holding a different view.

"What is it? Did you find something else?" Li Baxian asked.

"Yes. The competition organizers must know about this issue. Logically, since the Department Head only has a B-rank ability, someone that 'weak' wouldn't be placed in the final few areas," Chen Xing said.

"You..." Ouyang Dao almost spat out blood.

Just a moment ago, he thought Chen Xing was going to praise him and felt a bit happy, but why did he immediately belittle him again?

What's wrong with B-rank? Is B-rank weak? I won't stand for this!

"True, there must be a catch here," Su He agreed with his reasoning.

Li Baxian frowned slightly and said, "What else could it be? Surely the organizers didn't let them keep their combat experience and Concepts from the Three Heavens Realm?"

The two fell silent, saying nothing.

At this, even Li Baxian himself froze.

No way, right?

If that's how they're playing, how many people could win? Unless they gather a group to gang up on them.

"I knew the organizers weren't that kind-hearted!" Li Baxian cursed.

"Stop complaining so much. While there are still a few Challenge Beasts in the outer areas that haven't been cleared, kill them quickly and then meet up with Chen Xing," Su He spoke.

"Fine."

"..."

Hanging up the communication, Chen Xing didn't rush in. Instead, he scouted the surroundings to confirm who exactly was inside.

On the way, he even saw the Zhenyan Academy group; they were actually together with the Shengyuan Academy!

"There's no other way. We'll cooperate this once, otherwise we have no chance of winning," the leader of the Zhenyan Academy spoke.

"Alright, but... you have to listen to me!" Zhang Zhiyu nodded, but set a condition.