At dusk, when the setting sun was about to disappear from the horizon, Li Tianlan entered the Sky Academy again.
After three years, the surface of the Sky Academy had not changed much, but its atmosphere inside was more intense than it had been.
The final maneuver of the two academies of this year would begin in a month.
It was a battleground for young talents, but it was also the last chance for some who didn’t have enough credits.
As sophomores, Li Tianlan’s classmates officially had classes in the Sky Academy three years ago in early September.
The final maneuver would take place in a month, between late July to September.
The classes of the Sky Academy and Deep-sea Academy would be suspended a month before the final maneuver.
For the teachers of the two Special Warfare Academies, in the last two months, they must complete the assessment of the combat effectiveness and comprehensive quality of each student and draw up their career directions after graduation. At the same time, they needed to confirm the students’ intention, count their credits, and then put the information together to report to the leaders of each course group.
After the group leaders confirmed the accuracy of the students’ materials, they would sort out and summarize the students according to their credits and different career directions, and then divide their future careers into categories of civil service and war service.
Civil service included tactical advice, inquisition by torture, intelligence collection and analysis, electronic intrusion, and other categories.
War service, however, was much simpler. According to students’ daily performance and teachers’ comprehensive evaluation, it was easy to determine the students’ future development directions.
At the very least, real sharpshooters were unlikely to be in the same department as close combat cadets.
After the group leaders had sorted out the categories, each group leader would gather for a meeting to discuss and put the students of the same category together to form the final list.
The final list would be submitted to the teaching affair office.
The teaching affair office would rank students in the categories that had been sorted out according to their levels of credits.
The students with the highest credits were the most advanced, and they were sure to enter the most elite departments after graduation. The different level of credits of the students of the same grade directly determined their different treatment after graduation.
The so-called treatment meant military ranks, levels, resources, and everything that they could obtain.
After the teaching affair office finished dividing the ranks, they would transfer the final list to the Political Department.
The Political Department would have meetings with the leaders of free forces that had taken shape in the academy before their graduation to confirm their plans for the future.
If the free forces were so well organized that no one wanted to quit, the members of the free forces who were on the final list would be singled out, and the names of the forces would replace their names.
In the end, a list of students and another of the forces would be formed.
The Political Department would then present the two lists to the principal.
The principal would convene a meeting of senior leaders and course group leaders in the academy and grade the two lists.
After the meeting, the principal would directly submit the list of the most elite level to the cabinet and Kunlun City.
The students on the secondary list would be recommended under the name of the Special Warfare Academy to the various sensitive departments, such as the Headquarters of the General Staff, the Ministry of State Security, the Shadow Sting Army, the Border Control Corps, etc.
The students on the list a level lower than the previous one would be crammed into Special Warfare Departments everywhere.
The process was complicated but extremely rigorous. Therefore, for each graduate, except a few who could not graduate with insufficient credits and those who voluntarily stayed on campus after meeting the requirements, others would get a better arrangement.
For students, the month of the maneuver and the month before that were both priorities.
Everyone would adjust their state while trying to destroy that of the opponents.
The one-month-long final maneuver involved all courses, from individuals to teams. Every victory, defeat, advance, retreat, and fluctuation in credits were enough to affect the future path of students.
So it was no exaggeration to say that the month of the final maneuver was a contest of strength and wisdom.
The month before the final maneuver, however, was a contest of intrigues and tricks.
The only similarity between the two contests was cruelty.
Students either lived or died.
The academy was not going to stop it, because, at the bottom, it was competition.
Although such competition seemed deadly and sinister, it was the most common thing in the Dark World.
Gu Youlan challenged Li Baitian.
That was merely the beginning of a series of contests.
Their battle would take place on the No .1 training ground.
At a quarter past six in the afternoon.
There were still fifteen minutes left before the battle.
But the training ground was already full of people.
There were even some people who were clearly not the students of the Sky Academy among the crowd.
People in military uniforms, plain clothes, and camouflage mixed together, making the spot extremely lively.
Li Tianlan stood at the periphery of the crowd without anyone noticing him, but he was not surprised to see it.
This was the time when the Sky Academy had the most people.
Every student was thinking about their future.
And all the forces in the Special Warfare System of Zhongzhou State were also looking for the talents they needed.
This Special Warfare Academy was no longer closed to the military and Special Warfare System of Zhongzhou State. Any department could come here to recruit talents and negotiate freely. The academy wouldn’t interfere in it. However, after they came to an arrangement, they must report the matter to the academy, which was the only requirement.
Li Baitian, Gu Youlan.
The two represented the top combat strength not only in the Sky Academy but also amongst the young generation of Zhongzhou State. They may not be as excellent as Wang Shengxiao or Gu Hanshan, but as long as they grew up, they would definitely have the presence that could not be concealed in the future. Such figures would naturally interest many powerful departments.
And the battle was the prelude to what was supposed to be a formal contest between the young generation of Zhongzhou State before the final maneuver of both academies began. In every respect, the battle had been given so many special meanings that it would surely attract unexpected attention.
Time lapsed little by little.
There were more and more people around the No .1 training ground.
Li Tianlan quietly stood in the crowd, looking at the empty platform of the No .1 training ground and waiting silently.
In his ear were the murmurs of the crowd.
Comments from all directions came into Li Tianlan’s ears in succession.
“Ten Skills of True Martial Arts vs Great Void Sword Master… Well, what do you think of the battle?”
“I am optimistic about Gu Youlan. After all, she is the last disciple of an Invincible Realm expert. Mount Shu… is relatively weak.”
…
“Great Void Sword Intent is slightly stronger. I’m not saying its really more powerful than the Ten Skills of True Martial Arts. Li Baitian is Great Void Sword Master, and Great Void Sword Intent suits him the most. He should behave slightly better than Gu Youlan.”
“Gu Youlan is in the stabilization phase of the Thunder-shocking Realm. Her realm is slightly higher than that of Li Baitian.”
“Li Baitian will surely die!”
…
“The four great forces of the young generation… I thought they would put on a fierce fight, since they are evenly matched opponents, at the end of the maneuver, but if anything happens to Li Baitian today…”
“They still have potential, but they already lacked a truly dominant leader.”
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“Indeed. As for the four forces of the young generation, the Three Thousand World has Jiang Shangyu, the Phantom Palace has Song Ci, and the Jilei Mountain is relatively weak. But Gu Youlan’s relationship with the Three Thousand World is no secret. The East Emperor Palace, however… I heard that some time ago Song Ci seriously injured Xu Chu in Tiannan. If Gu Youlan were to kill Li Baitian today, the East Emperor Palace wouldn’t have any top fighter.”
“It has a top fighter, in fact, if His Highness comes back…”
“He… Has he been missing for three years? It’s a good thing he’s not coming back. Rumor has it he has started over. No matter how fast he makes progress, he will never get back to the state he had when he was in Heaven Capital.”
“That’s why I’m sorry. If he had grown up normally till now, he would never be weaker than Wang Shengxiao.”
“So what? If so, the East Emperor Palace may face the joint attack from the other three forces. A tall tree catches the wind. There can’t be another result.”
“Now the result is almost the same, isn’t it? The three forces are launching a joint attack at the East Emperor Palace to stop it from joining the final maneuver.”
…
“The three Thousand World… has more than 40,000 credits. I wonder if it can surpass the 100,000 credits of the East Emperor Palace after the maneuver.”
“There’s a gap of 60,000 credits. Are you kidding me?”
“The Jilei Mountain has nearly 40,000 credits. If the Three Thousand World can beat all the enemies in the final maneuver and get a lot of credits, it’s likely to surpass the East Emperor Palace in terms of credits, when it merges with the Jilei Mountain.”
“Even if that’s not enough, there is still the Phantom Palace. The Phantom Palace’s credits are almost the same as that of the Three Thousand World. Song Ci can never allow the East Emperor Palace to develop smoothly. Some time ago, she seriously injured Xu Chu, and she has already made her position clear.”
…
“I feel pity for the East Emperor Palace. If Li Tianlan comes back…”
“So what? He’s useless. How powerful could he become over the three years?”
“Useless? Hehe. If the Heavenly Son of Zhongzhou State is useless, then who is useful? The Heavenly Son of Kunlun City or the so-called Heavenly Son of Beihai?”
“Bullshit. If he hadn’t destroyed his martial arts in Heaven Capital, how could he be so mighty? What a joke!”
…
The noise came in fits and starts from different directions.
Li Tianlan listened without expression or any redundant action.
The public comments were clear enough to let him at least know something.
Jiang Shangyu founded the Three Thousand World, Gu Youlan established the Jilei Mountain, and a person named Song Ci severely injured Xu Chu and set up the Phantom Palace.
The four forces of the young generation formed, with the participation of the East Emperor Palace.
And the other three forces seemed to have the intention of uniting together to surpass the East Emperor Palace’s credits.
Many people were still hoping for his return.
Li Tianlan slightly twitched the corner of his mouth.
Whatever the mood of those who wanted him back, he was not prepared to disappoint them.
He stood quietly in the crowd, but the noisy crowd seemed far away from him.
He just stood there, not trying to hide, but he was so unreal that no one noticed him.
The bell rang in the Sky Academy.
It sounded loud and ethereal.
The sound of the bell swept through the entire training ground and then spread out.
A blue arc suddenly appeared on the edge of the training ground.
The arc spread through the air, heading straight for the high platform of the No. 1 training ground.
The space above the platform twisted without warning.
A tiny, almost lusterless streak of lightning formed abruptly in the twisted space.
The color of the lightning was so subtle and dim that it seemed to disappear at any moment.
But the dimly discernible sword intent suddenly covered the whole high platform.
The arc, which was rushing to the high platform, diffused instantaneously.
Dense light beams filled everyone’s vision.
The pale lightning on the high platform, however, grew dimmer.
The dimly discernible sword intent continuously condensed.
The lightning seemed to be fading away, and suddenly there was a sword shadow with subtle blue light flashing in the air.
The sound of the bell continued to spread.
The subtle shadow of the sword intermingled with the spreading arc in the twinkling of an eye.
There was a sudden wind on the spot.
A bolt of straight and dazzling blue lightning appeared between heaven and earth.
The thunder reverberated and shook the fields after the lightning appeared.
Two shadowy figures touched and parted in the spreading light and then fell on an incredibly substantial platform intermingled with a great deal of alloy.
The light faded away.
Gu Youlan and Li Baitian stood at the two ends of the platform.
After a brief, tentative fight, neither of them profited.
“Ahem…”
A sudden cough of an old man was heard.
Zhuang Huayang, the head of the Sky Academy, appeared on the platform.
His spirits were drooping, and he seemed to be listless.
Gu Youlan and Li Baitian bowed to the old man and greeted him at the same time.
Zhuang Huayang casually nodded and asked, “Are you all ready?”
“No problem,” Li Baitian replied calmly.
…
Under the platform, Li Tianlan slightly frowned. His eyes grew colder and colder as he looked at Li Baitian’s pale face.
Li Baitian was injured.
And it wasn’t a minor injury.
Then why did he promise to fight today?
“Me, too,” Gu Youlan said softly.
…
“Fine.”
Zhuang Huayang nodded. Before his figure disappeared, he looked at Li Baitian intentionally or unintentionally and then said, “Let’s start.”