Chapter 20: The Endless Wilds

Chapter 20: The Endless Wilderness

On the very first morning of high school, Li Hongshen woke up early. After a bit of exercise and a quick breakfast in the cafeteria, he returned to his dormitory, freshened up, and climbed into his virtual pod to await the start of class.

At nine o'clock, a massive auditorium appeared before his eyes—identical to the real one at Peng City No. 1 High School.

Well, it seemed that even in virtual classes, there was no escaping the endless speeches from the school leadership.

After thirty minutes of the principal’s address and another thirty minutes of the dean, Uncle Xia, speaking, there followed the teacher representative and finally a third-year student representative.

After two hours of this ordeal, his vision blurred and he found himself inside a multimedia classroom, a vast room where he was the only student, accompanied only by the AI teacher at the podium.

This was because each student learned at their own pace; large classes might hold some students back. Thus, Peng City No. 1 High School used one-on-one instruction in the virtual classroom.

The lessons began with “Notes for New Lords,” then moved on to “Territory Construction,” and “Choosing and Establishing a Management System.”

After that came “Division of the World,” “Career Planning for Lords,” and “Classification of Energy Intensity and Power.”

Finally, there was “How to Use the Novice Period to Integrate Better into the Endless Wilderness.”

By evening, Li Hongshen crawled out of the virtual pod, dashed on all fours to the bathroom, and vomited violently.

He sat in the shower for a long time before finally recovering. Leaning on the sink, he gazed at his reflection in the mirror.

His face was pale, lips tinged blue, eyes bloodshot and ringed with dark circles. Sweat clung to his hair. One hand gripped the sink, the other braced his waist—he looked utterly drained.

He had thrown himself into study too intensely, lost track of time, and passed his threshold, resulting in adverse reactions.

Stripping off his clothes, Li Hongshen slipped into the bathtub. Soaking in the hot water, he reflected on the day's lessons.

“Classification of Energy Intensity and Power”

“Before the Lord Era, Blue Star possessed advanced space-time technology, traversing the Sea of Worlds. The Blue Star civilization was open to learning the power systems of other worlds, blending and integrating them.

This led to a hundred schools of professions flourishing within the civilization, but each level had different names.

For example: Qi Cultivator, Foundation Builder, Golden Core, Nascent Soul...

Or: Fighter, Battle Master, Grand Battle Master...

Then there were Wizards, Magicians, Arcanists, and the like.

And beyond these, there were dual cultivators of magic and martial arts, those who specialized in the body, and so on.

Thus, the classification of professional ranks became hopelessly chaotic.

In the end, the Civilization’s Professional Research Institute was established to reorganize and standardize the ranks.

Taking into account factors such as physical strength, energy power, and mastery of laws, they divided the system into twelve ranks.”

———

“Career Planning for Lords”

“Before reaching the Transcendent rank, a lord must pass through the stages of Tribe, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Diamond, and finally ascend to Transcendence.

Each promotion requires an assessment of the territory’s energy intensity, the enlightenment of the populace, resource distribution, and so forth.

Because each rank has different energy requirements, a low-level lord’s domain can never support high-level citizens.

If a powerful being enters a low-level territory, they may downgrade due to insufficient energy absorption.

Forcing energy absorption can destabilize the energy system, causing the territory to collapse. This is why the Education Ministry warns parents not to provide their children with high-level citizens.”

———

“About the Endless Wilderness”

“This continent was created by legendary lords.

Here, you will find all manner of feral beast hunting grounds, extraordinary resources, and countless exotic races.

The Endless Wilderness is divided into the Outer Ring, the Middle Belt, and the Inner Circle. The energy levels differ across these zones—the Outer Ring being the lowest, the Inner Circle reaching Tier Three.

Besides the many rare beasts in the Inner Circle, there are also numerous recruitment stations set up by elite academies. If students meet the criteria, they can be specially recruited without waiting for the university entrance exams.

One day in the Main World equals one year in the Endless Wilderness. The first thirty days are a novice period, during which no source points are required.

After that, aside from a monthly quota, each day costs a thousand source points.

If you lack source points, you can obtain them by hunting wild beasts, acquiring blood crystals, and exchanging them at the Lord’s Heart—Tier One blood crystals are worth ten points, Tier Two a hundred, and Tier Three a thousand.

If you cannot pay, you must exit the Endless Wilderness and wait until the next month to re-enter.

…”

The next day, Li Hongshen woke up from bed, looking nothing like the wreck he’d been the night before—once again, he was the energetic, handsome young man.

He arrived at the White Jade Plaza, which was packed with waiting students. According to the signs, new lords were to stand on one side, returning students on the other.

There was little conversation on the plaza. The freshmen were excited yet nervous, while the upperclassmen looked unfazed, with the air of veterans.

Due to the large and somewhat chaotic crowd, Li Hongshen only took a quick glance around before being pulled into his class lineup, standing in the very front row. There was no way to look back, so he failed to notice the beautiful, elegant girl in the freshmen crowd who was secretly smiling at him.

The principal walked to the podium at the front of the plaza, drawing the attention of all present.

“Greetings, students. I won’t repeat myself for the returning students. As for the new ones, please take note: the Endless Wilderness is not without danger. Proceed with caution, and if anything seems amiss, exit immediately.

Every year, some students lose their lives in the Endless Wilderness, or their Lord’s Heart is shattered. The teachers cannot always arrive in time.

If you exit this month, there will be another opportunity next month. Do not gamble with your lives; I do not wish to see my own students perish out of greed.

You should have a general understanding of what the Endless Wilderness is by now, but what you read in books is always superficial, just like the Lord’s Trial. I wish you all the best. Thank you.”

As the principal finished, a pillar of light shot up from the White Jade Plaza. When the radiance faded, all the students had vanished.

“How long do you think the new batch will last this year? Will anyone make it to the Middle Belt during the novice period?”

“I’m sure there will be. Li Hongshen, Wu Bin, Li Fuzhen, Li Bingbing… there are several promising candidates. Don’t worry.”

“Last year a genius from the capital reached the Inner Circle in the novice period and was probably specially recruited.”

“Perhaps. The new students really do get stronger each year—I wonder about our own school…”

The teachers’ voices faded into the background. The beginning of each month was their most leisurely time, as everyone had gone to the Endless Wilderness. Only after a week would students start to return as their quotas ran out.

When Li Hongshen regained his senses, he found himself in a city. He knew this was the reception city set up by his school on the outskirts of the Endless Wilderness.

Sure enough, a melodious voice sounded in his ear,

“Ding! Endless Wilderness detected. You can now check in!”

After checking in, Li Hongshen’s next task was to leave the city and find a suitable spot to establish his territory.

He claimed his novice resources from the city, then set out from the south gate. After a full week’s journey, he reached his chosen site.

My first contract as a newcomer—many thanks to Editor Tian Qi of the Fifth Editorial Department at Qidian for accepting my debut.

And as always, I beg for recommendations, comments, and reviews.

(End of Chapter)