Chapter 81: The Strength of a Top-Tier Student

"Hey, junior, what are you thinking about?"

Just as Nangong Yuchen stood deep in thought, Yi An, who was in front of him, suddenly turned around and greeted him.

"It's nothing!" Nangong Yuchen looked at the handsome, yellow-haired youth before him. The boy’s clear eyes gave him an innate sense of closeness, so he asked, "How should I address you, senior?"

"Hehe, my name is Yi An. Looking forward to working with you!" Yi An smiled sincerely and held out his hand.

"Nangong Yuchen!" Nangong Yuchen reached out as well, and after a brief handshake, they pulled away.

"How does it feel the first time?" Yi An asked with a chuckle.

Nangong Yuchen remained silent for a few seconds before replying, "I'm just very curious about our human technology."

"Haha, don't worry, there’s even more novel stuff to come!"

At that moment, Shangguan Mulong called out to the third squad: "Muling Squad, you are to hunt 100 demonic beasts. It’s been a while since the three of you broke through to the first rank; an average of 30 each shouldn't be a problem, right?"

"There is a problem!" Yi An quickly turned around and protested, "30 each is fine, but what about the extra 10?"

Shangguan Mulong smiled slightly, his face displaying a confidence that suggested he had everything under control. He then looked toward the beautiful girl with red hair in the third row on the right and teased, "Since you don't agree, why don't we leave the excess for Qingxue to handle?"

As the words fell, Yi An immediately looked embarrassed and said, "Never mind, leave the extra ones to me!"

Before Shangguan Mulong could speak, Muling, on the left, pushed up her glasses and corrected him firmly: "It’s not 'leave it to you,' it’s 'leave it to us!'"

Qingxue offered a gentle smile and added, "That's right, leave it to us."

Shangguan Mulong nodded in satisfaction and assigned 100 demonic beasts to the fourth squad. Although the three of them were somewhat reluctant, they ultimately accepted the task.

"Alright, everyone get ready, I'm initiating! Virtual demonic beast battlefield, activate!"

"Boom, boom..." As soon as Shangguan Mulong finished speaking, a three-meter-wide gap split open in the classroom floor. All the elite students equipped with mechs were sucked into the fissure, leaving behind only the four newcomers—Nangong Yuchen, Nangong Kexin, An Qi'er, and Gao Xingyu—along with Cheng Shiyu, who possessed no mech.

A few seconds later, the floor returned to its original state, and the classroom shifted back to its previous blue hue. As the elite students descended into the virtual battlefield, the wall at the front of the classroom began to project the scene within.

The first to catch everyone's eyes was Shangguan Yueling. From the start, she summoned her most powerful weapon: the bombardment sniper rifle! With a barrel larger than the mouth of a bowl, she aimed at the demonic beasts directly ahead and pulled the trigger. A yellow shell shot out, landing instantly amidst the swarm and triggering a massive explosion.

In the projection, seven or eight beasts were blown to pieces. Within the ten-meter radius engulfed by the yellow shell, nothing remained but a massive, deep crater.

"Hiss!" Nangong Yuchen, Nangong Kexin, and the others watching gasped in unison. "So that is the difference between a bombardment sniper and a cannon-type sniper?"

One covered a ten-meter radius, the other only three. The gap was truly immense! At the same time, he began to understand why there were no bombardment sniper weapons in the Phantom Island competition; otherwise, speed and power-type students wouldn't stand a chance—one shot, and they would all be...

A moment later, the scene shifted to the second squad: Lu Shijie and Mu Ningxue.

At this moment, Lu Shijie held a purple spear and wore cyan combat boots, fighting the beasts in close quarters like a god of war. Just then, three more beasts lunged at him, but Lu Shijie remained calm. His boots flared with light as he leaped into the air, his spear glowing with purple energy. It transformed into a massive, three-meter-long spear image, which he thrust violently down at the beasts below.

"Pfft! Pfft!"

In just two seconds, four low-level beasts were pierced through by the spear image, leaving behind bloody holes. They collapsed to the ground, dead.

"So strong!" Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin felt a pang of distress. The strength of their enemy was truly daunting, leaving them with a sense of powerlessness, especially considering he had the backing of the entire Lu family!

Beside them, Mu Ningxue had already swapped her shoulder-mounted bombardment sniper for a heavy machine gun.

She didn't hide in the distance to fire; instead, she charged directly into the swarm, spraying bullets. Every time a beast attacked, she dodged with agile movements while keeping up her relentless fire. This frantic fighting style made Nangong Yuchen break into a cold sweat. After all, it was his first time seeing Mu Ningxue fight; he had known nothing of her strength until now.

"See that? How well my cousin and Ningxue match?" Cheng Shiyu said suddenly, her face indifferent.

The voice wasn't loud, but it reached Nangong Yuchen’s ears clearly, igniting a surge of hostility in his heart. He had kept this pain buried deep for so long, but that didn't mean he had forgotten.

It was only for the sake of Kexin and his parents that he had temporarily suppressed his personal feelings. Now that it had been provoked, how could Nangong Yuchen endure it? He glared at Cheng Shiyu with murderous intent and said coldly, "Don't worry, it won't be long before I kill your cousin myself!"

"Heh!" Cheng Shiyu scoffed at the remark. She found it laughable—a piece of trash who didn't even know when he could reach the first rank dared to spout such nonsense?

Their exchange was quiet, but it still drew attention. Shangguan Mulong, in particular, noticed the hostility radiating from Nangong Yuchen. He had learned of the grudge between Nangong Yuchen and Lu Shijie two days ago, but he was unaware of the history between Mu Ningxue and Nangong Yuchen.

Just as the atmosphere in the classroom grew heavy, Shangguan Mulong broke the silence: "How do you four feel watching them fight?"

"So strong! So amazing!" Gao Xingyu answered first. With her mother’s condition gradually improving over the last two days, she seemed much more cheerful than before.

"It’s good to think that way, but there’s no need to rush. Sooner or later, you will all become true mech warriors just like them!" Shangguan Mulong said with a smile.

Gao Xingyu nodded, then asked the question weighing on her mind: "Mentor, will the seniors be in danger down there?"

"Haha, this virtual battlefield is the same as the Phantom Island where you were assessed. When a student takes fatal damage, they are automatically teleported out, so they are not in real danger. Of course, the strength they display inside is their true, actual power."

"Oh~" Gao Xingyu nodded, indicating she understood.

Shangguan Mulong turned his gaze to Nangong Yuchen, An Qi'er, and Nangong Kexin. Seeing they had no further questions, he said, "They won't be out until the afternoon, so the four of you, come with me first!"

With that, he walked toward the classroom door. An Qi'er followed, but noticing Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin standing dazed, she reached out and pulled them along toward the exit.

Shangguan Mulong led them to a room at the very end of the corridor and stopped. He turned to the three of them and asked, "Do you know about the cultivation that comes after becoming a first-rank mech warrior?"

As the words fell, the three of them stopped in their tracks, stunned.