[First Place -- Jiang Qiu -- Kill Count: 2100]

[Second Place -- Yang Yu -- Kill Count: 1301]

[Third Place -- Lu Renjia -- Kill Count: 102]

[...]

Yang Yu had managed to create a tenfold gap between herself and the students ranked below her. Liu Qi was slightly surprised, but he mostly attributed it to the large number of Flying Demon Beasts inhabiting the Iron Forest and the fact that Yang Yu’s own progress had been impressive.

But Jiang Qiu’s lead over Yang Yu was staggering. The stark difference was like a ruler forcing Liu Qi’s eyes open. He was silent for a long while before a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I never thought that with only a month left before the college entrance exams, the Outer City could still send us such an outstanding student."

"This cohort of students must be the strongest one since General Mo took over the Tianjiao Project. The competition for this year’s top ten Tianjiao will be that much more intense than in previous years."

"That means we’ll have more exceptional Tianjiao to revitalize Gao Yuan City, and even the entire Northwest. Good."

As he finished speaking, Liu Qi’s gaze fell upon Jiang Qiu again, as if he were watching Polaris itself rise into the sky. ’The Optimizer slot from this Military Department test... it should be his. The access privileges for the Virtual Training Pod should be his as well. Who knows? In just one short month, he might make a huge leap forward in his Martial Arts thanks to it.’

Immediately, he took out a whistle, puffed up his cheeks, and blew with all his might.

SHREEEE—

The piercing cry of the assembly whistle, like the shriek of a goshawk, drew everyone’s attention.

"The Demon Beast count is complete! We will first rest for a period to recover our Qi Blood, then we’ll leave the mountain and find the temporary assembly camp. From there, we’ll take armored vehicles back to the Military Department’s Tianjiao Base in Gao Yuan City." Liu Qi’s voice boomed like thunder, making the Iron Trees within a hundred-meter radius tremble. "But before that, I’m going to tell you what we’ll be doing once we get back to base!"

"We suffered heavy losses in this Military Department test. Two students from the Tianjiao Project were killed in action, over twenty were seriously injured, and nearly two hundred Middle Level Non-commissioned Officers sacrificed their lives, with most of the rest wounded or disabled!"

"I’ll have men come into the mountains to retrieve the bodies. Now, salute them!"

WHOOSH—

Not far away, dozens of rows of bodies had been laid out by the Non-commissioned Officers. The gazes of over a hundred people converged on them, and everyone saluted in unison, as if they had known the order was coming.

At that moment, Jiang Qiu’s body trembled slightly. All his personal thoughts fell away, replaced by the heavy, pounding beat of his own heart against his ribs.

His gaze swept over Sun Yongsheng, Qiu Hu, and Liu Qi, their hands raised to their foreheads in salute. It passed over the burly men and young boys standing with ramrod-straight backs, before finally returning to the corpses in the distance.

WHOOSH.

A surge of righteous conviction swelled in his chest. He clenched his left fist, raising his flat right palm to his forehead.

Jiang Qiu stared at the bodies, still clad in their shattered Armor, as a slight breeze rustled the blood-stained locks of hair across his forehead.

’Ten times more people died this time than during the training hunt. And this was just a Military Department test—the most insignificant part of the entire Dongqi Lake operation.’

’Killing a few thousand, or even tens of thousands, of Iron Feather Birds and Cyan Feathered Birds couldn’t change the overall war. Yet the sudden appearance of a single, heavily injured King Niu had instantly sent the casualty count soaring, and could have easily wiped everyone out.’

’The war between the Demon Race and the Human Race has been raging for a century, and this... this had just been a single hour on the outermost perimeter of Dongqi Lake.’

’These thoughts surfaced unbidden, feeling like the weight of a couple of history books on his shoulders—not crushingly heavy, but impossible to shake off.’

"Dismiss!"

With Liu Qi’s shout came the sound of hands lowering in unison. Jiang Qiu gently exhaled a breath he’d been holding in his chest. A dark light flickered in his eyes as he slowly lowered his right hand, clenching it into a fist.

’Without enough strength, I could have been one of them, lying on the ground.’

’A tiger cub can’t intimidate a pack of fierce wolves. A lion cub can’t protect its wounded pride.’

’I have to keep growing. I have to get stronger.’

’At the very least, I must eliminate the King Niu that got away!’

...

Dawn had quietly broken overhead, and the shadows of the Iron Trees all stretched in the same direction. Able-bodied Non-commissioned Officers bent over to count the scattered Demon Beast corpses, while the seriously injured Tianjiao and those depleted of Qi Blood rested against the tree trunks.

Jiang Qiu put on a black shirt from his Storage Ring. He then tugged at his trousers—which were so shredded they were practically just strips of cloth—and hesitated.

He glanced around and saw a young man with a buzz cut limping toward him. A cyan feather was skewered through the young man’s right leg. Behind him, many of the Inner City Tianjiao were craning their necks to watch.

"My name is Cheng En. Thank you for saving me just now."

Meeting Cheng En’s burning gaze, Jiang Qiu’s eyebrow twitched almost imperceptibly. "It was nothing."

’I don’t know him,’ Jiang Qiu thought. ’Perhaps I saved him in passing when the King Niu was about to target him, since his leg was injured.’

"I will repay this debt."

Cheng En clenched his fists. The buzz cut seemed to make his sweaty cheeks look even more resolute.

"The important thing is that you’re alive." The corner of Jiang Qiu’s mouth lifted slightly. "You don’t need to repay me."

Cheng En was stunned for a moment, then broke into a knowing smile. "I always repay what I owe."

With that, he limped away, his footsteps uneven. His return caused many of the Inner City Tianjiao to start talking, occasionally glancing over. Their voices were too low to hear, but judging by their surprised expressions, it seemed some prejudice of theirs had just been shattered.

"I knew it! The Outer City has exceptionally talented and powerful students too, enough to make those snobs from the Inner City see us differently."

Five meters away, under another Iron Tree, Qiu Hu let out a hearty laugh. His tiger-like eyes turned to Sun Yongsheng, who wasn’t far off. "And you kept saying how Zone Eight’s conditions are poor and how your talent sucks. Jiang Qiu is from Zone Eight too, and he got the highest kill count! Took down a One-eyed Owl with two arrows, crippled the King Niu’s right arm with a single spear thrust..."

"Alright, stop nagging," Sun Yongsheng said, waving a dismissive hand. He leaned the back of his head against the cool trunk of an Iron Tree and let out a long sigh. "I just want some quiet."

"Quiet my ass, you goddamn slacker."

"Curse all you want, it won’t change anything."

The short exchange made the other Outer City Tianjiao roar with laughter. The intimidating light in Qiu Hu’s eyes grew even stronger, and he practically spat as he spoke.

But Sun Yongsheng remained as unmovable as a stone from Taishan Mountain. Only his eyes shifted stealthily to the far corners of their sockets, reflecting the image of Jiang Qiu resting against a tree.

’My grandfather is a powerful Martial Artist who has manifested a Dharma Aspect, and he’s the principal of Gao Yuan City’s Outer City Eighth Middle School. My father, like Officer Liu Qi, is the captain of a Martial Arts Team in the Military Department.’

’I was born with more talent than my peers, always the center of attention. I figured that even coming from Zone Eight, I’d be able to make a name for myself in the Tianjiao Project, become an Optimizer, maybe even snag a top-ten Tianjiao title to make Grandpa and Dad proud.’

’I never expected it would be like a chicken standing among a flock of cranes. There were people everywhere who were more talented than me and worked even harder. My best test result was barely cracking the top fifty.’

’I tried for a while. Then I realized there wasn’t much difference between being last and being near-last, so I just gave up.’

"Spear and Bow Dual Cultivation, Steel Bone Realm Power," Sun Yongsheng muttered. A thought tickled him, and he shook his head with a small, self-deprecating laugh. "I wonder how long it’ll take me to reach a level like that..."

TAP. TAP. TAP.

A set of light, uneven footsteps shattered his train of thought. He casually glanced toward the sound, and his pupils suddenly constricted. He gestured vaguely. "Stop yelling at me. Look."

"Look at what? Always sticking your nose in other people’s business," Qiu Hu grumbled, turning his head. His eyebrow shot up. "Yang Yu?!"

"Don’t tell me she’s going to try and kill Jiang Qiu because she didn’t get first place, is she?"

"Uh... well... she’s been fighting desperately and killing demons this whole time to become an Optimizer and clear her brother’s name. Everyone thought it was in the bag for her, but... fate plays cruel jokes."

"She’s fierce, but it’s not like she’s ever actually attacked one of us. Besides, Jiang Qiu is stronger than her. What’s there to be afraid of?"

At the center of the Outer City Tianjiao’s collective gaze, Jiang Qiu slowly lifted his head. In his eyes, now as calm as still water, the reflection of a girl with a short ponytail grew larger as she approached.

Her shattered Armor was gone, replaced by a light blue jacket draped over her upper body. The shirt underneath was stained with blood. His own reflection stared back at him from her cool, clear eyes.

"Hello. I’m Yang Yu. May I sit here?"

Her voice was somewhat deep, as if she rarely used it. As she spoke, she pointed with a scraped and bloody index finger toward an Iron Tree trunk two meters across from Jiang Qiu.