TL: Etude
"Ye Tian, are you really going to sign up for the trial? Although reaching the level of martial disciples allows participation in the trial, those who do not have the strength of 500 catties should avoid participating, as they could easily die during the trial," said Teacher Yue Cheng of the Fifth Academy, advising Ye Tian.
He had seen several students like Ye Tian before, who always thought they were lucky enough to obtain beast blood. They didn't think about the fact that even if the small wilderness area was free of ferocious beasts, some of the mighty beasts were enough to kill most martial disciples. The students who had just become martial disciples were like ants in front of these mighty beasts, unless they relied on numbers or powerful weapons.
"Teacher, I've formed a group, and we should have a chance to obtain some good gains by relying on our numbers!" Ye Tian intentionally said.
"Well then, it's your own business, but you must sign a life-and-death contract to register. Once the contract is signed, even if you die in the small wilderness area, the Fifth Academy will not provide any compensation!" Teacher Yue Cheng reminded.
"I know!" Ye Tian calmly signed the contract.
"Come to the Fifth Training Field of the Academy before eight in the morning ten days from now, and a teacher will take you there!" Teacher Yue Cheng instructed.
"Yes, Teacher!" Ye Tian responded.
Successfully registered, Ye Tian breathed a sigh of relief.
In the following ten days, he didn't want to waste time. Although confident in his abilities, he was still weak and needed to make some preparations, like purchasing weapons and equipment.
In this era, there was little regulation on weapons, and anyone could carry them. Weapons were categorized into several levels, such as ordinary steel weapons called common weapons, and those crafted with elemental materials, suitable for the flow of a warrior's elemental force, called elemental weapons.
Ye Tian couldn't afford elemental weapons, nor did he need to buy them. The quality of ordinary elemental weapons was almost the same as that of common weapons, only having additional elemental properties.
After a trip to the weapon shop, Ye Tian bought a fine iron-crafted blade, a bow, and some arrows.
These weapons cost him 5000 yuan (Chinese currency), his entire yearly expense. Originally, Ye Tian had only 20,000 yuan, and now he was left with only 15,000, but purchasing these weapons was necessary.
In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.
Ye Tian didn't mention the trial to his younger sister, Ye Yu, only telling her that the Academy had organized an activity that would take three days, and that he would return afterward.
Ye Yu naturally didn't think much of it; otherwise, she would have definitely not allowed Ye Tian to go to the small wilderness area for the trial.
...
Fifth Academy, Fifth Training Field.
When Ye Tian arrived, he saw nearly 100 students, and he knew this was not all of them.
He estimated that at least 150 students were participating in the trial.
"The value of beast blood is incredibly strong. For students with low talent, it represents hope!" Ye Tian thought to himself.
"Ye Tian, aren't you coming?" Zhang Bao's voice reached him.
Ye Tian looked at Zhang Bao and calmly said, "I didn't say I wasn't coming, I just didn't want to form a team!"
"Did you find an expert to lead you?" Zhang Bao was shocked.
Ye Tian remained silent, keeping his thoughts to himself, while Zhang Bao's eyes showed envy, clearly thinking that Ye Tian had found an expert and that's why he didn't want to team up with them.
Ye Tian didn't explain Zhang Bao's misconception, as the misunderstanding was actually better for him.
After waiting for about half an hour, the students were mostly gathered, totaling about 160.
These 160 students were mostly of mediocre talent, and most were rather old, with some even in their twenties.
Young apprentices like Ye Tian were rare, after all, youth represented a lower level of strength. Among so many students, many might not return, but in this era, without strength, one could die at any moment. Just like the incident with the Silver Moon mink not long ago, many ordinary people were affected. It could really be said that trouble had come home. Strength was everything!
"Everyone's here, so get on the bus!" a teacher shouted at the students.
Soon, several buses similar to those of the past appeared before the many students. It was the first time all the students had seen a vehicle; they had only seen such vehicles from before the apocalypse in their textbooks.
"Teacher, aren't the cars from a hundred years ago unusable now, since the rules of the world have changed so drastically?" a student curiously asked.
"This is the latest research bus, powered by Yuan energy. It's technology traded from a major base by the higher-ups of Linhai Base, just recently put into use. Only warriors are eligible to buy cars. I believe you'll soon see various cars on the streets!" the teacher replied.
"A car powered by Yuan energy!" a group of students exclaimed in realization.
Some among them had heard of such Yuan-powered devices, but they hadn't expected Linhai Base to have them too.
The students boarded the buses, which then headed towards the outside of the base. An hour later, the buses passed a city gate and headed into the wilderness.
Once in the wilderness, many students became a bit panicked. The wilderness was known to be home to many ferocious beasts, and these martial disciples had no means to fight back against them.
"Don't worry, not long ago, the big shots of Linhai Base cleaned up this area of the wilderness. Within a radius of three miles, you won't encounter any ferocious beasts, and our destination is just a mile away in a small wilderness area," the lead teacher said with a smile.
Hearing the teacher's words, the students breathed a sigh of relief. Moreover, with over ten teachers protecting them on the buses, and each teacher being a warrior, their safety was ensured.
Before long, a valley appeared before them.
"This valley is our destination," the teacher introduced.
There were several buses parked at the entrance of the valley, belonging to other academies.
"It's the students from the Fifth Academy, haha! This garbage academy sent people too? Are they trying to be wiped out?"
"The students of the Fifth Academy probably haven't seen blood, right? They're nothing like us from the First Academy, where our teachers even capture fierce beasts, even weak ferocious ones for us to practice on. Our fighting strength can't be compared to theirs. I bet they might cry at the sight of a fierce beast!"
"The students of the Fifth Academy might not be up to par, but the head of the Fifth Academy is a big shot in Linhai Base. Let's ridicule them less. If we offend the head of the Fifth Academy, it won't end well for us!"
These mocking students were naturally from the First Academy, while students from other academies were not much better than the Fifth and had no ground to ridicule.
"Damn, these students from the First Academy are too arrogant!" many students from the Fifth Academy said angrily.
But they only dared to grumble and didn't dare to confront the students from the First Academy, knowing the gap between them.
After getting off the bus, Ye Tian's eyes were fixed on the students from the First Academy—
"The talents of the students of the First Academy are at least basic-tier, and I might encounter a student with a medium talent. My copying ability is ready to replicate again. This time, I might be able to copy a decent talent!"