Chapter 108: Changes in The Capital City, Li Hao’s Battle Invitation

In the evening, dozens of freshmen who had just finished their meeting flooded into the third-floor cafeteria.

Some of these students looked hesitant, some excited, and others wore expressions of envy and regret as they discussed the situation in Kyria in pairs or small groups.

Xia Youhui also seemed somewhat excited as he said, "Ah Chu, what do you think about us applying to go to Kyria as well?"

Chen Chu thought for a moment and shook his head slightly. "The trial will be over in half a month. Let's not get involved in this mess. It's a bit dangerous over there."

With the new regime in Kyrola being established, most cities had been cleared of cultists and rebels. A couple of days ago, Liu Feixu had mentioned in the group chat that they could go back to school by the end of the month. The plan was to use the remaining time to root out the last few cultists and rebels who were still lurking among the ordinary people or hiding in the remote mountains and forests..

Several major cities, however, had experienced a backlash. Kyria, the capital city of Kyrola, had been outright attacked yesterday. Blood Cultists at the Second and Third Heavenly Realms, fanatics from the Giant Cult at the Fourth and Fifth Realms, Blood Emissaries at the Fifth and Sixth Realms, and even high-ranking bishops had all suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere, causing significant panic and chaos in their sudden outbreak.

While the military’s elites had moved swiftly to suppress and defeat the cultists, it had resulted in considerable casualties. As a result, the teachers stationed in the other major cities had all received orders to dispatch a portion of their skilled personnel to provide support.

The meeting had been to discuss precisely this. Tomorrow morning, Liu Feixu and Xiao Hai were going to be taking a plane to Kyria, while Zhao Zhilong was staying behind to continue overseeing the trial. Any students who had broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm could apply to accompany the leaving teachers, but so far, no one had volunteered.

Hearing Chen Chu's reluctance, Xia Youhui scratched his head. "But Lin Xue and the others all want to sign up. Wouldn't it be a shame if we don't go?"

"They..." Chen Chu furrowed his brow slightly.

An hour ago, in Kurutoor City, Lin Xue and her squad members, Lin Yu, Yi Rui, and Luo Fei, had also received the notification, and they had all expressed their desire to sign up.

They had discussed this matter in the group chat, but at the time, Chen Chu and Xia Youhui had still been in their meeting.

Unlike Chen Chu, who had already broken through a month ago, and Xia Youhui, who had broken through half a month ago, Lin Xue and the others had been breaking through one after another during these past few days, with the latest being Luo Fei three days ago.

Among the classmates over there, only Jiang Jiameng was still a little short of the Third Heavenly Realm, so she couldn't go.

It wasn’t just them. Fifty-seven students from Nantian had signed up for the trial. Except for a few unlucky ones who had gotten injured at the start or killed, half of them had already broken through to the Third Heavenly Realm. Even the others who hadn't broken through were at the peak or late stage of the Second Heavenly Realm, ready to step into the Third at any time.

This number would seem exaggerated to many people, but when these freshmen had first arrived in Kyrola, they had been plunged right into the fighting, experiencing multiple life-and-death situations. Along with the acquisition of a large amount of resources, rapid progress was normal in these circumstances. It shortened what would originally take half a year or a year to break through into just two months.

Chen Chu was the most abnormal one of them all, with how much more exaggerated his strength gain had been. Just breaking through to the middle stage of the Third Heavenly Realm within a month already surpassed... Almost everyone.

While he wouldn’t claim that his current Realm was the highest just yet—not without getting an update on An Fuqing’s monstrous progress—in terms of combat power, he was confident that he was superior to all of his classmates. His physical strength had reached a point where a regular beginning stage Fourth Heavenly Realm practitioner probably wouldn’t be able to withstand a single blow from him.

However, the current situation in Kyria involved too many powerful members of the demon cults, a situation distinctly different from Leisteru City, where they had mainly been small fries in the First and Second Heavenly Realms.

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

With the trial starting to wind to an end and his avatar gradually gaining strength, he simply wanted to quietly finish the trial, which diminished the urgency for contribution points.

After returning, it would only take a few months at most to break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm, by which time he would have almost finished the first year of high school. After another six months of evolution for his avatar, he would be able to participate in the mutated beast trials in his second year, at which point his strength would be incredibly terrifying.

Casually slaughtering about ten level 3 mutated beasts would be enough to accumulate 300 contribution points, which would allow him to skyrocket once he exchanged them for high-level arts.

Even without considering all of this, though, there was one other reason; during the meeting, the moment when he had thought of going to Kyria, a strong sense of danger had flashed through his mind.

Xia Youhui, unaware of these thoughts, sighed regretfully. "If you're not going, Ah Chu, then I won't go either. It's not fun to show off in front of Lin Xue and the others alone."

Chen Chu was taken aback. "You're just at the Third Heavenly Realm. What's the point of showing off? Be careful, you might get slapped to death by a Blood Emissary at the Fifth Realm if you go."

"Hey... Ah Chu, don't underestimate me," Xia Youhui said proudly. "Now that I've fully absorbed the earthly aura, my defense is even better than ever. Even if it's a cultivator at the Fourth Realm, I'm confident I can hold my own."

"...Your defense is indeed monstrous." Chen Chu didn't deny this point.

Half a month ago, Xia Youhui's Black Tortoise Earthly Art had been able to withstand the attacks of the Golden-Backed Rampage Ape. With a trace of a king-level bloodline, its combat power at that time had already been close to the middle stage of the Fourth Heavenly Realm.

Of course, also at that time, Xia Youhui had only been able to withstand two consecutive blows; any more and he would have been hammered to death.

After dinner, the group chat brought up the matter again in the evening. Chen Chu sent a reminder.

Chen Chu:

There are too many high-level experts in Kyria. I don't recommend you guys to go. If you encounter someone above the Fifth Heavenly Realm, you might not even have a chance to fight back.

Yi Rui:

I think it's just the opposite.

Yi Rui:

Currently, the military has the upper hand in the capital city. Once all of the supporting experts gather tomorrow, our strength will be more than enough to crush those demon cultists.

Yi Rui:

In this situation, I actually don't think the risk is that high. We just need to follow behind and focus on dealing with the ordinary Blood Cultists.

Yi Rui:

With the strength of our squad, we can almost instantly kill any ordinary Third Heavenly Realm Blood Cultists. And there's also a chance of killing experts at the Fourth Realm, which can earn us a lot of contribution points.

Chen Chu:

Um... Yi Rui, I think I understand why your online name is 'You Only Live Once' now.

Chen Chu hadn't expected that this guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who appeared to be astute and steady, would actually be an adventurer. No wonder he had encouraged everyone to participate in the trial in the first place.

However, his words stirred the others' hearts.

Lin Xue:

We've considered this issue, and we think Yi Rui is right. With a large number of strong cultivators gathering in Kyria, it'll actually be the safest place.

Lin Xue:

As long as we follow from behind and focus on dealing with the ordinary cultists, we can gain a large number of contribution points.

Lin Xue:

Afterward, we can return to school to consolidate our strength. There's a chance I might break through to the Fourth Heavenly Realm before the second-year trials, far ahead of our other classmates.

Luo Fei:

Chen Chu, it seems like you don't want us to go to Kyria?

Chen Chu:

Sort of. I think everyone has made good progress in this trial, so there's no need to take further risks. We should just wait patiently to return.

As the sense of danger from earlier appeared again, Chen Chu couldn't be certain if his feeling was mistaken. After all, Kyria was nearly a thousand kilometers away from here. Even if Chen Chu mentioned it, Lin Xue and the others wouldn't believe it, as it sounded too exaggerated. He could only try to persuade them indirectly.

Unfortunately, that reason wasn't enough. After chatting for a while longer in the group chat, Lin Xue and the other four still decided to go.

Seeing this, Chen Chu didn't say anything more. Regardless of anything else, it was still their choice to make.

The next morning, at the same airport, Chen Chu and the others stood by the runway to see off their two teachers, Liu Feixu and Xiao Hai, and the freshmen who had decided to go and provide support.

Among them were Liu Feng, who had recently broken through, Bai Mu, Yuan Chenghuang, and Li Hao.

After spending more than ten days in seclusion, Li Hao's aura had become increasingly terrifying after he absorbed the Golden-Backed Rampage Ape’s essence. Standing at over two meters tall, he looked like a giant, exuding a palpable sense of oppression.

Looking at Chen Chu, Li Hao expressed some regret. "I didn't expect you to not sign up. I even said I wanted to compete with you to see who could kill more cultists this time."

"I'm also a bit surprised you’re not coming this time. You’re the craziest killer here," said Yuan Chenghuang, a look of regret on his face as he carried his heavy sword.

Chen Chu smiled faintly. "I've made some breakthroughs in my cultivation recently, so I want to consolidate my progress. I don't intend to wade into this mess for now."

While the three were talking, Xia Youhui, Li Meng, Liu Feng, and Bai Mu were also chatting and joking around.

They were saying something about how, with Chen Chu and Xia Youhui not going, their slaughter rampage team was being disbanded. Chen Chu was a bit confused listening to this; when did he join a slaughter rampage team?

Li Hao suddenly said, "Chen Chu, do you want to spar when we get back?"

"Spar?" Chen Chu raised an eyebrow.

Li Hao's eyes were filled with fighting spirit as he said in a deep voice, "Indeed, and it will be a battle with all our might."

After more than ten days had passed, and absorbing the essence from a mutated beast with a trace of a king-level bloodline, he had had significant breakthroughs in both his true martial arts and his physical strength, causing his power to soar dramatically.

When he saw Chen Chu again today, however, he could still feel that faint, inscrutable sense of pressure emanating from Chen Chu. Not only had Li Hao's strength surged, but Chen Chu had also undergone a formidable advancement in his cultivation.

This realization had filled Li Hao with an even stronger sense of determination. He was very eager to know just how strong Chen Chu's true power really was.

Faced with Li Hao's challenge, Chen Chu didn't back down. A faint smile appeared on his face as he nodded and replied, "Sure, let's find some time to spar when we get back."

Just as Li Hao was curious about Chen Chu's strength, Chen Chu was also interested in Li Hao's combat prowess after his consecutive breakthroughs.

He was eager to know whether his increasingly terrifying physique made him stronger, or if Li Hao, with his innate divine power and perfect compatibility with primary strength-based arts, was still more formidable.

After that agreement, Li Hao, Yuan Chenghuang, Liu Feng, and Bai Mu followed Liu Feixu one by one onto the aircraft. Soon, the plane ascended into the sky with a roar of its engines.

Watching the plane disappear into the sky, Li Meng suddenly sighed. "Time flies so quickly. It's been almost two months in the blink of an eye."

Xia Youhui also nodded. "Yeah, it's true. We've already broken through to the Third Realm so quickly."

Chen Chu shook his head. "Old Xia, why do I feel like you're not lamenting, but rather showing off?"

"Hehe... Did I show off?" Xia Youhui's face was full of pride. "By the way, Li Meng, why didn't you go this time?"

Li Meng replied as if it was obvious, "If Chen Chu didn't go, there's definitely something fishy going on. So, after some thought, I figured it'd be best not to go either."

"Uh...."

Chen Chu was taken aback. "Just don't blame me later if you end up earning fewer contribution points."

"Hey! No matter how many points you earn, you still need to have your life to use them," Li Meng said nonchalantly.

Many at the Third Heavenly Realm had chosen to go to Kyria this time, with a similar mindset to Lin Xue and the others, believing that the gathering of many powerful individuals there would be safe.

However, Li Meng maintained the same viewpoint as Chen Chu, believing that too many strong individuals could lead to accidents. It wasn't like Leisteru City, where even the cultivators of the Fourth Heavenly Realm were scarce and had been swiftly eliminated by the military at the first opportunity.

After enduring two months of trial, some individuals had become much calmer, even amid their surging strength. Chen Chu was one of them; after witnessing the battle prowess of high-level cultivators like Pang Long, his fearlessness had been tempered and he grew more cautious and careful.

Of course, this was only the mindset of a few individuals. Others, on the contrary, held a more daring and ambitious attitude, aiming to push their limits and enhance themselves under the pressure of Kyria.

With laughter, the trio and their fellow classmates who had bid farewell exited the airport and boarded a special car to depart.