427: Chapter 427 Departure to the Celestial Hunting Grounds!

The day to depart for the hunting ground had arrived.

Now, everyone from the Haoyue Plan and the qingyun plan had begun arriving at a plaza on the Central Continent.

They were waiting for the spaceship that would pick them up shortly.

Combined, the Students from the two plans numbered over a thousand.

At a glance, several hundred people had already reached the plaza, with only a few yet to arrive.

Unsurprisingly...

There was still a clear divide between the geniuses of the Supreme Seat Domain and those of the Outer Seat Domain.

Within those groups, the Students of the Haoyue Plan and the qingyun plan were also distinctly separated.

Thus, one could see...

Although there were only a few hundred people on the field, they were split into three or four distinct groups.

However, regardless of which group they were in, their topic of conversation was the same: the Hunting Assembly in two days.

After three months of preparation...

The group was already quite impatient for the Hunting Assembly to begin.

As time passed, more and more Students arrived, until almost everyone was present.

But soon...

With Li Fan's arrival...

The discussions on the field vanished instantly, replaced by a sudden silence as everyone's gaze shifted toward Li Fan.

It couldn't be helped.

Li Fan, the peerless dark horse from the Outer Seat Domain, hadn't shown his face since the Sequence Assessment ended.

Seeing him again now, it seemed his strength had grown once more!

"Li Fan actually showed up? He's been missing for so long, I thought he wasn't going to participate in the Hunting Assembly."

"I thought he was going to miss it too. But where on earth has he been these past few months?"

"I'm not sure, but he looks even stronger now. He must have come across some kind of opportunity!"

"I heard some company higher-ups gave him special training because they favored his talent!"

"Huh? Special training from the higher-ups? For real? Is this the treatment you get for being first in the Sequence Assessment?"

...

After the silence came a wave of whispers.

Of course, Li Fan paid no mind to these discussions and headed straight toward Wu Chen, Golden Flash Bear, Jiang Yunxu, and the others.

But before he could reach them...

Halfway there, he was blocked by Sang Yuening, who had walked over.

Sang Yuening stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Li Fan huffily.

"Um, I'm really sorry. Some things came up recently, and I forgot about our duel..." Knowing he was in the wrong, Li Fan immediately frowned and scratched his head in explanation.

But before he could finish, Sang Yuening interrupted him.

"No need to explain. This isn't over!"

"We'll set a time for the duel after the Hunting Assembly is over!"

"Aren't you protective of your own? If you dare to stand me up again, I'll go and give everyone from your Wushan Seat a thorough beating—I won't spare a single one!"

Sang Yuening clenched her fists and lowered her voice, warning Li Fan.

With that...

She turned and left without even giving Li Fan a chance to respond.

Seeing this...

The crowd couldn't help but look on with expressions of eager curiosity.

It seemed there would be more excitement to look forward to after the Hunting Assembly.

Meanwhile, Li Fan was left between laughter and tears.

Sang Yuening had quite a temper, but it was tinged with a bit of childishness.

Then again, it suited her seventeen or eighteen-year-old personality.

As for Sang Yuening's threat, he didn't take it to heart at all.

His previous failure to show up was indeed due to unavoidable circumstances.

This time, there wouldn't be so many complications, so it was naturally impossible for him to miss it.

...

"Big brother, when we get to the hunting ground, Sang Yuening won't take her anger out on us, will she?"

"Maybe you should go explain things again, big brother?"

When Li Fan reached Wu Chen and the others, Wu Chen couldn't help but lower his voice and speak to him.

Beside him, Golden Flash Bear also softly agreed.

"Yeah, it felt like the way Sang Yuening looked at us just now wasn't quite right."

As for Jiang Yunxu, he didn't say anything, but his deeply furrowed brow spoke volumes.

Not only was he one of Li Fan's few friends in this Hunting Assembly, but he was also from the Wushan Seat—a double whammy of buffs.

So, he might be caught and beaten by Sang Yuening in the hunting ground.

And if Li Fan stood her up again...

He would very likely be the first one targeted for a beating.

That would make it two beatings!

"It's fine, don't worry about it. Don't overthink things. Geniuses from super-powers like them don't have the time to focus on us; they're waiting to bring glory to their families."

Li Fan was somewhat speechless at their reactions.

Just a look and a few words from her, and these guys were already chickening out?

After hearing Li Fan's words...

The three of them finally breathed a sigh of relief.

True enough, in this Hunting Assembly, those people probably wouldn't have the leisure to pay attention to small fries like them.

Shortly after Li Fan finished speaking...

A massive black spaceship suddenly appeared in the sky above the plaza.

As the spaceship descended...

Tai Fang and four instructors slowly walked down.

Tai Fang scanned the distribution of people on the field, and his face immediately darkened.

"Who taught you to stand like this?!"

Tai Fang's voice was laced with anger, echoing across the plaza like a clap of thunder.

Instantly...

The expressions of all the Students turned solemn.

Then, the groups that were originally split into three or four reluctantly closed the distance, barely managing to look like they were standing together.

Seeing this, Tai Fang's face was still filled with fury.

"I don't care what kind of internal discrimination exists among you! I'm not going to waste my breath trying to make you get rid of it."

"But right now, you must be united against the outside world. Tie yourselves together like a single rope!"

"Those sons of bitches from the Lingxu Company are your real opponents!"

"In this Hunting Assembly, I want you to trample them under your feet! Only then can I go and show off in front of those Lingxu Company higher-ups!"

"If anyone dares to attack a companion, causing our Cosmic Cloud Company's total score to fall behind Spirit Ruins and making me lose face in front of those guys, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Is that clear?!"

Tai Fang's voice was incredibly powerful and full of infectious energy.

With just a few sentences, he had everyone on the field feeling their blood boil with excitement.

Although the prejudices between them weren't exactly erased, they were temporarily ignored at this moment. Their focus shifted to what Tai Fang had said: crushing those sons of bitches geniuses from the Lingxu Company!

"What? Are you all mute?"

"I'll ask one last time: do you have the confidence to crush them?!"

Tai Fang's voice rang out once more.

The next second...

"Yes!!"

A collective roar resounded throughout the plaza; the Students' emotions were completely stirred up.

Afterward...

The group boarded the spaceship and headed for the hunting ground of this Hunting Assembly.

The Zhou Tian Hunting Ground!