As Gao Neng was thinking this, his phone started ringing.

He glanced at the screen. It was Fang Tangtang.

’It’s only been three days. Does absence really make the heart grow fonder?’

He casually answered, and was immediately met with Fang Tangtang’s earth-shattering, ear-splitting shout...

"Gao Neng, get back to the academy, quick! Something big has happened!"

"How big?"

"Really big!"

"..."

He hung up the phone.

Gao Neng thought about it carefully. The matter of issuing a mission could be put on hold for now. After all, he still hadn’t decided what kind of mission objective to set.

’I should head back to the academy first.’

After giving Hua Quanquan a heads-up, Gao Neng took Gao Xiaomeng and returned to the military academy.

As soon as he reached his dorm, he found Fang Tangtang waiting for him.

"Huh? You bought a cat?" Fang Tangtang spotted Gao Xiaomeng at once, her big eyes sparkling. She reached out, ready to pet her.

"MEOW!" Gao Xiaomeng cried out.

"We can talk about the cat later. First, tell me what happened." Gao Neng slapped away the hand Fang Tangtang was about to use to pet Gao Xiaomeng and plopped down onto a chair.

"Our Invincible Team has been abandoned! Bald Shark is kicking us out of the battlefield observation group!" Fang Tangtang immediately snapped back to the matter at hand.

"Eh... Why?" Gao Neng was stunned. They weren’t being allowed to go to the battlefield? Hadn’t the list for the observation group just been announced a few days ago?

He had even gone out of his way to get a suit of inner armor just for this!

To put it bluntly...

He’d already dropped his pants.

And now they weren’t letting him go?

Is there no justice in this world?!

"Bald Shark said our strength is too low, and that he can’t guarantee our safety once we enter the battlefield, so he adjusted the list," Fang Tangtang replied.

"Too weak? Do you believe that?" Gao Neng didn’t buy that nonsense for a second.

If that were the real reason, they never would have been selected for the observation group in the first place. After all, the Invincible Team wasn’t at the bottom of the list.

’Something must have gone wrong somewhere.’

"Of course I don’t believe it! But those two cowards, Kong Kun and Feng Qingqing, actually bought it. I talked to them before you got here, and they both said we should obey orders!"

"You don’t want to obey?"

"Hehe, who am I? I’m Death God Fang Tangtang! I’m not scared. It’s not like I’ve never been to a battlefield. I went to one right after I reached the second tier, and I even earned a commendation. Otherwise, how do you think I got my rank as a Lieutenant?"

Fang Tangtang had a proud look on her face. Seeing Gao Neng’s disbelief, she continued, "Ever heard of Zhao Zilong of Changshan? Well, I, Death God Fang Tangtang, have a nickname too: In-and-Out-Seven-Times. I can’t brag about much else, but when it comes to survival, if I, Death God Fang Tangtang, claim to be second, no one would dare claim to be first!"

"Heh heh..." Gao Neng could only laugh dryly.

He remembered what Fang Tangtang was like back at that small building. If he hadn’t forcefully suppressed those three mid-tier enemies, she would probably be long dead by now. ’In and out seven times? Yeah, right.’

"Just tell me if you want to go to the battlefield or not!" Seeing Gao Neng’s expression, Fang Tangtang’s lips pouted and her face flushed with anger.

"I think since the academy isn’t letting us go, it might not be a bad thing to just play it safe and steady," Gao Neng said, voicing his thoughts.

"Play it safe? Gao Neng, don’t you get it? We’re already a reserve team in this ’revolution.’ The Human Alliance’s real focus has always been on cultivating fifth and sixth-tier elites. If we miss this chance to go to the battlefield, we’ll definitely be excluded from the ’revolution plan’!" Fang Tangtang was getting anxious.

"It’s just one observation mission. When we reach the third or fourth tier and go to the battlefield then, won’t we be able to perform even better?" Gao Neng naturally knew Fang Tangtang was trying to provoke him.

’As for opportunities?’

’There’ll be plenty more in the future!’

To be frank, this trip to the battlefield was just for observation. With their group’s strength, mostly third-tier, there wouldn’t be many chances for actual combat.

’And they’d be cut from the revolution plan just because of this one time?’

’Is that even possible?’

Gao Neng had always understood the principle of "sharpening the axe won’t delay the cutting of firewood."

Building up strength first, then aiming to prove himself once he reached the third or fourth tier—in a way, it was a much safer approach.

Although he didn’t know why the military academy had suddenly gone back on its word and kicked them from the battlefield observation group, he figured it wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.

"You’re really not going?" Fang Tangtang seemed a little disappointed.

"We don’t have a spot anymore. How could we go?" Gao Neng retorted.

"Actually, I dug up some information. If you really don’t want to go, then forget it. But I can tell you for sure, this trip is definitely not as simple as just going to the battlefield to watch. Do you remember what Sister Ning’Er said? Maybe... we’ll be able to learn the secret of the other races’ resurrection this time."

"You think I’ll believe that?"

"It’s true! I, Fang Tangtang, swear on my reputation! If this information is false, then I’ll... I’ll give you a hundred million, how about that?"

"A hundred million? Alright, I’m listening." Gao Neng’s eyes lit up slightly. ’Classmate Fang Tangtang really gets me,’ he thought. ’It’s all about money with her.’

’So willful!’

"This time, we’re going to the battlefield for a real fight!" Seeing Gao Neng nod, Fang Tangtang immediately leaned her head in and whispered.

"A real fight? You mean they were fake fights before?" Gao Neng was a bit speechless. ’What kind of news is that?’

"What do you know? The other races and humans have a tacit understanding. To put it simply, there are restrictions on the combat zones. For example, the other races won’t lead an army to attack the Human Alliance’s City of Hope, and likewise, the Human Alliance won’t attack the core territories of the other races!"

"Are you saying this time they’re going to attack a core territory of another race?"

"Right. And I even know where they’re attacking and for how long."

"Where?"

"The territory of the Dark Night Elf Clan. The attack will last for three days. In other words, we’ll have three days to venture deep into the Dark Night Elves’ core region, and there’s a lot of good stuff in there."

"What good stuff?"

"The Spring of Life, the fruit of the Elf Tree, and ores... Magnetic Crystal Ores! Do you know why Lin Ying is known as the number one student at Eastern Capital Military Academy?"

"Why?"

"It’s because he once obtained Blood Essence from a Blood Pool—a thumb-sized vial of it!"

"A thumb-sized vial of Blood Essence is enough to become the number one student at Eastern Capital Military Academy?"

"Of course! The fruit of the Elf Tree, the Blood Essence from the Blood Pool, the Holy Water from the White Tower—these are all treasures that come from the ’Source.’ And you know about the Spring of Life, right? The Seed Burst Pills contain Spring of Life, but the amount is pathetically small. Even so, you’ve seen how powerful they are, haven’t you? The Spring of Life is even rarer than Magnetic Crystal Ore, and I hear they have it in the Elf Race’s core territory!"

"..." Gao Neng fell silent.

’This is good stuff!’

’He wanted it all...’

But the reality was definitely not as simple as Fang Tangtang made it sound.

If it were really that easy to get, Lin Ying wouldn’t have become the number one student at Eastern Capital Military Academy with just a small vial of Blood Essence. The danger involved was easy to imagine.

"If you want to get stronger, there’s always going to be some danger. But with me, Death God Fang Tangtang, around, you can relax. I’m very familiar with the battlefield, and I even have a perfect plan!"

"Your plan?" Gao Neng didn’t think it sounded reliable at all.

"That’s right! Even though we’re going to the battlefield, we’ll wait for the main force to arrive before we move. All we have to do is get to the battlefield ahead of time and wait. When Bald Shark and his people get there, we’ll show ourselves. He can’t possibly kick us out then, and we can follow behind and fish in troubled waters. How about that? A perfect plan, right?"

"Follow the main force?"

"Of course!"

"If it’s such a perfect plan, why are you so insistent on dragging me along?" Gao Neng asked the crucial question.

"Because there’s one problem with the plan. The period when we enter the battlefield early, before the main force arrives, is a bit risky."

"So, you want me to be your bodyguard?"

"I, Death God Fang Tangtang, am a ranged fighter, you know? I can’t go alone. If we really run into danger, you just have to tie them down, and I can finish them with one shot. How about this: I’ll throw in a Seed Burst Pill? If we run into a fourth-tier, you eat the Seed Burst Pill. If we run into a fifth-tier... well, we’ll leave it to fate. How does that sound?"

"Besides the Seed Burst Pill, you must have other things, right?"

"Of course! I also have a Life-saving Pill, and... uh... I’ll give you another Life-saving Pill. They’re worth eight million Alliance Coins each on the market! They can heal injuries quickly!"

"Two Life-saving Pills and two Seed Burst Pills!"

"Gao Neng, I thought we had a pure friendship that didn’t need to involve money, but I never expected you to be this kind of person... I, Death God Fang Tangtang, was wrong about you!"

"Three Life-saving Pills, three Seed Burst Pills."

"Fine, two it is! We have a deal then. It’s not like I’m short on money anyway. Oh, right, there’s something else I want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"Do you have any life-saving escape skills?"

"A life-saving escape skill? Hmm... Not at the moment, I don’t think." Gao Neng thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Oh, then I’m relieved!" Fang Tangtang immediately broke into a smile. She then headed for the door, but turned back as she reached it to add, "It’s a deal, then! Whoever backs out is a puppy!"

"Deal my ass! When did I say I agreed? I only said I’d consider it. We’ll talk about it in a couple of days. I might just change my mind." Gao Neng wasn’t falling for that.

"Gao Neng, you’ve changed! You weren’t like this before!"

"SLAM!"

Gao Neng shut the door directly in her face.

That girl Fang Tangtang’s pitch was all bells and whistles, but her last sentence revealed her true nature.

’You’re relieved that I don’t have a life-saving escape skill?’

’Hmph!’

’We’ll see who runs faster when the time comes!’

Since he had decided to go to the battlefield to fish in troubled waters, it was time to put "learning an escape skill" on the agenda. Otherwise, he might really get sold out by that girl Fang Tangtang.

And so, the question was...

Should he ask Gui Zian for an escape-type combat technique and then evolve it with the ’Wordless Celestial Book’ skill, or should he issue a mission to obtain an escape skill?

(I celebrated Chinese New Year so hard I ran out of stockpiled Chapters. I got a bit of writer’s block, so this update is late! I really need to keep some Chapters in reserve from now on...)