Chapter 72: He’s a Freshman—You Didn’t Know?
The moment the Phantom of Chi You appeared, it shattered the students’ team from a psychological standpoint.
One boy from the Archer class refused to believe it. He raised his bow and loosed three hurricane arrows straight at the Phantom of Chi You.
The instant the arrows struck, they failed to leave even the slightest mark. They simply lost all force and fell to the ground.
They could not hurt it at all!
The strength of Primordial Phantom was based on Panda’s own attributes, multiplying them to manifest the phantom’s power. With attack power at this level, it did not even qualify as a scratch.
“What the hell? This opponent in the special training camp is way too ridiculous!”
No one knew who shouted it, but every genius present felt the same way.
It was not that they had given up resisting. It was that the enemy before them was simply impossible to resist!
In previous special training camps, the instructors were usually no higher than second rank. Even if someone above the third rank appeared, they would deliberately restrain their strength...
After all, this dungeon type was called Battle Royale.
Its main purpose was to test combat between teams, the coordination of these geniuses with one another, and their ability to adapt in dangerous situations. It was training for future international battlefields and Abyss exploration.
But this time, the instructor was basically a full-fledged boss!
What team cooperation mission?
They had never intended to let them live at all!
Seeing how badly shaken everyone was, Ye Ze, as an instructor, immediately prepared to offer some guidance and encouragement.
“If you’re weak, train more...”
“Oh, no, that’s not quite right. I should say... forget it. Anyway, your future is still full of promise. Keep working hard.”
The thirty students on the other side felt even more conflicted.
Ye Ze, however, was in a fine mood. He waved at them with a smile.
“Goodbye.”
The instant his words fell, the Phantom of Chi You stepped forward.
Accompanied by a massive surge of Martial Saint Aura, that single step shattered the entire Vanguard City.
The violent tremor was like a mountain collapsing. Across the wasteland covered in jagged boulders, cracks spread out in patterns like a tortoise shell, and the crushing force swallowed the crowd like the heavens themselves were breaking apart.
【Trial participants killed *30. Experience gained +30000!】
【Ding! Your level has risen to: 16!】
【Talent — You have gained one ‘Infinite Golden Traits’ draw opportunity!】
“Awesome!”
As the city collapsed with a thunderous roar, Ye Ze received such a huge wave of experience all at once for the first time!
His experience bar, which had still been more than half a level short, was instantly filled and even went halfway into the next level.
【Level: 16 (15075/31600)】
And on top of that, the Phantom of Chi You’s stomp had even earned him more than ten thousand Military Merit Points...
When headquarters created the role of instructor, they probably never imagined that one could earn tens of thousands of Military Merit in the special training camp!
...
In truth, headquarters had not just failed to imagine that...
They had never imagined that a single instructor could eliminate every last student!
And that he would actually possess the strength to do it!
“Wan Feipeng, is this what you call below the third rank?”
“If this is below the third rank, I’ll eat that projection screen right now!”
Several senior officials from headquarters, as well as the people in charge of West China, South China, and North China, could no longer hold themselves together.
From what they had seen in the projection, the final attack of Primordial Phantom belonged at the peak even among third-rank combatants!
The crowd looked at Wan Feipeng with grim expressions, only to find that he was still staring blankly at the projection.
Wan Feipeng was equally shocked inside. What the hell? When did that brat Ye Ze become this terrifying?
“Old Wan, you really went too far this time.”
The person in charge of North China let out a sigh. “You’d better be ready to explain this to the special training camp students and the powers behind them.”
In the judgment of most of the people present, they all believed Wan Feipeng had brought in a third-rank expert disguised as a second-rank instructor to stir up trouble in the special training camp.
As absurd as that sounded, Wan Feipeng absolutely was the kind of man who would dare do it!
And now, with all the students eliminated, it was practically the same as holding the entire special training camp for nothing...
Adding up all the losses, great and small, it amounted to far more than just a few hundred million.
And on top of that, having all the students eliminated by an instructor would inevitably leave the powers behind these geniuses deeply dissatisfied...
Not only had their time and effort been wasted, but had this not also dealt a crushing blow to their younger generation?
Sure enough...
Before the dungeon had even fully ended, a whole crowd of elders from various clans stormed into the Monitoring Division. At the front were representatives from Central China’s Leng Clan and West China’s Zhu Clan.
“Wei Zheng! Give us an explanation!”
“What is the meaning of this instructor? His strength is clearly against the rules!”
“You’re the ones running this special training camp, and then you let your instructor wipe out every student? Are you playing games with us?”
“And forget smashing up my Leng Clan’s mech—why could the instructor even rob equipment? And he stole five pieces!”
“And my son Zhu Xiao—”
The elders from the great families and martial clans charged in indignantly, all demanding an explanation.
It was a miserable scene for the guards. There were simply too many people for them to stop.
Yet the one in charge, Wei Zheng of Central China, remained calm and composed in the face of the crowd, seemingly not worried at all.
“Everyone, there’s no need to get agitated.”
With a faint smile, Wei Zheng gestured for everyone not to crowd together, then nudged Wan Feipeng.
“Go on, explain it. Don’t leave me here getting cursed out alone.”
Anyone unfamiliar with Wei Zheng might have thought this meant, Debts have their debtors—let Wan Feipeng carry the blame himself.
But Wu Ming did not see it that way...
He, Wan Feipeng, and Wei Zheng had grown up together. They were close friends, brothers, and comrades-in-arms. Wei Zheng was the oldest of the three, and calling him the big brother of the group would not have been wrong.
Even if Wan Feipeng had truly made a mistake, Wei Zheng would definitely step in, send everyone away, and only then turn around to teach Wan Feipeng a lesson in private.
But now...
Wu Ming was certain that Wei Zheng had recognized Ye Ze. He had recognized that Ye Ze was one of this year’s freshmen!
And if Ye Ze was a freshman, then did anything he had done still count as a problem?
Yet seeing Wei Zheng’s expression, Wu Ming instead became wary... It feels like East China’s talent might not be safe anymore!
At that moment, Wan Feipeng stepped forward.
There was not the slightest trace of guilt on his face. On the contrary, he was smiling broadly, high-spirited and full of swagger!
Pointing at the dozens of angry clan elders in front of him, he said, “Actually, I think our instructor had a pretty good line...”
“If you’re weak, train more!”
At those words, the elders of those dozens of geniuses nearly exploded with rage.
“What do you mean by that, Wan Feipeng?!”
“What, are you planning to use your sixth-rank strength to force all of us to keep quiet?”
“We may not be sixth-rank, but that doesn’t mean we’re easy to bully!”
The crowd that had come to demand an explanation was seething with fury, rolling up sleeves and clenching fists, yet no one dared step forward again.
Wan Feipeng waved a hand. “I’m saying the talents you lot raised are too weak!”
“If they lost and got eliminated, isn’t that only natural?”
“Besides, if this weren’t a dungeon, then forget stealing a few pieces of equipment from you—even if they had been crippled, it would only mean they were outmatched!”
With a snort, Zhu Xiao’s father, a fifth-rank martial artist, stepped forward.
“Hmph! Of course I know that! I came up through the same system myself!”
“I don’t care how the younger generation fights among themselves!”
“But the instructor you arranged was obviously above the third rank! Do you think I can’t tell?”
Hearing the old martial artist speak, the other parents all nodded, their momentum rising even higher.
Wan Feipeng’s grin spread wider and wider, becoming openly wild.
“Fine, then. Let me show you this instructor’s file...”
“Oh, right. After you see it, every last one of you is signing a confidentiality agreement for me!”
...
Outside the Monitoring Division, near the medical tents.
The students who had failed and been eliminated from the dungeon were all still there, treating injuries if they had them and resting if they did not.
Liu Anran was leaning against the side of a tent, listening to Luo Yao sob sadly while clinging to her.
“Wuwu~ We tried so hard, and we still couldn’t beat him...”
Liu Anran sighed helplessly and patted Luo Yao’s head as if soothing a child...
During her time being specially recruited in Central China, only Luo Yao had become especially attached to her, and that had not changed even now that the special training camp was over.
Hearing Luo Yao’s words, Chu He, who was not far away, spoke in a flat tone devoid of joy or sorrow.
“Shouldn’t I be the one crying?”
“All my scrolls are gone... The college entrance exam is only four days away. I have to redraw everything from scratch!”
Chu He did not even dare imagine how many sleepless nights those four days would require.
At that, Luo Yao turned to glance at him and said weakly, “Then you can only cry by yourself...”
With that, she hugged Liu Anran even tighter, as though staking her claim.
The veins around Chu He’s eyes bulged.
Just then, Leng Feng came looking for them. The moment he saw Liu Anran, he was overjoyed.
“Anran! Captain Anran, the special training camp might be restarted!”
“My family elders have already gone to headquarters. That instructor’s strength was against the rules. Our failure wasn’t our fault!”
“But I already knew it. If it hadn’t been for running into a third-rank instructor, there’s no way I could have lost that badly...”
Leng Feng ended with a confident laugh, trying to salvage a bit of his pride.
And if the special training camp were reopened, perhaps he would get another chance to show himself properly!
That was what he was thinking when he heard Liu Anran say with a strange expression,
“Third-rank?”
Liu Anran shook her head and laughed. “Oh, right. You people probably don’t know Ye Ze...”
“He’s one of this year’s freshmen too. His level can’t be any higher than first rank. If we couldn’t beat him, then that can only be a problem with our own strength. How could the special training camp possibly be restarted?”
The moment those words came out, the surrounding area fell completely silent, as though everyone felt there must be something wrong with their hearing.
Leng Feng in particular froze for a moment, then asked in a stiff voice, “What... did you say? A freshman?”