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"Run! That's definitely a Sixth Rank beast! If we don't run, we're all dead! Xu Yunqing can't protect us this time either!"
"Damn it, don't push me! I'm going to find Taotie and surrender! Only Boss Ling might be able to handle a Sixth Rank magical beast!"
"Brothers, my magical beast can carry one person! Anyone wants to come with me?"
"Take me! Take me! I'll give you my sister's contact information! My sister is the village beauty!!"
The group scattered in all directions, each scrambling for their own safety, but surprisingly, they all ran in the same direction: towards the island in the middle of the lake where Ling Qingxue's team was.
Xu Yunqing could no longer lead them; only Ling Qingxue could.
"Damn it, the person who chose the Insect King Secret Place as their military training location is a complete bastard! They don't treat us like human beings at all!"
Xu Yunqing cursed angrily but still joined the fleeing group, heading towards the island in the middle of the lake with Su Yan.
Beiming Feng, who had originally planned to do something mischievous, smiled upon seeing this scene.
"This saves me the trouble. They're all strung together now—not bad."
On the island in the middle of the lake.
Ling Qingxue and the others had already landed, and Wu Liang returned only about twenty minutes later.
"Little Xuexue, you guys are pretty quick! You've looted all that Heavenly Spirit Spring water in such a short time. You have the potential to be bandits," Wu Liang laughed.
Ling Qingxue smiled faintly. "There's quite a bit of Heavenly Spirit Spring water this time. Do you want some? I can share it with you."
"No need. During the last insect swarm, I devoured a large number of insects, already meeting the requirements for a breakthrough. If you hadn't held me back, I would have been at the Fourth Rank peak long ago. Grumpy Empress, you need to work a little harder. Even if I'm incredibly strong, it's still difficult to carry you. When are you going to unleash your full potential?" Wu Liang complained.
Ling Qingxue's face darkened.
She… she'd clearly worked very hard!
She'd worked so hard and still got criticized. It was so unfair...
"Breaking through ranks isn't difficult for me at all, it just… takes a little time. What I truly care about is Martial Wills, domains, and even the control of laws. Only these things are my true reliance for ascending to Godhood in this life. Anyway, I'm not weaker than you!"
Ling Qingxue gritted her teeth silently, like a tigress.
Wu Liang smirked. "You make it sound like all those things are incredibly difficult. Don't be so stubborn, Grumpy Empress."
Ling Qingxue remained silent and walked away quietly.
Key point: It's not that she couldn't argue; she simply didn't want to fight over it!
She was not angry at all!!
Back in the large tent, the dozen or so people who had been on the mission were already waiting for their "spoilers."
The final distribution was that Ling Qingxue got 50%, and the remaining 50% was divided among the others.
It was only fair that she received 50% of the Heavenly Spirit Spring; the team had been able to hold out this long largely thanks to her and Wu Liang.
Everyone's efforts were indispensable, but her contributions were crucial.
With half of the Heavenly Spirit Spring's essence, and aided by the refining speed of the 'Ten Thousand Sources Returning to One' technique, she was certain she could break through to the Third Rank peak, or even the early stage of the Fourth Rank, before the end of the military training!
Suddenly, a commotion erupted outside the tent for some unknown reason, and everyone immediately rushed out.
"Holy crap, is it another insect swarm? Look at that scene over there, isn't that an insect swarm?"
"It really looks like an insect swarm! A whole bunch of trees have been knocked down. What else could it be but an insect swarm!"
"Hey, wait a minute, what's that? I think those are people over there?"
Several figures, flickering in the distance, appeared in the direction of the lake, gradually becoming clearer.
As they looked closer, everyone realized that these people were all survivors of Xu Yunqing's team, running wildly as if they had taken stimulants.
Their faces were contorted with fear, as if some ferocious beast was lurking behind them.
"Why are they acting like a bunch of defeated soldiers? Did that idiot Xu Yunqing run into a Sixth Rank beast?"
"Well done! Good thing I left early. If I had hesitated any longer, I'd be running for my life like them."
A tremendous roar echoed from the dense forest, and the ground tremors were felt even on the island in the lake.
A golden light flickered in and out of sight.
"That looks like the Golden Centipede! Could it have just happened to pass by where Xu Yunqing and the others were hiding, scaring them into running amok?"
Xu Yunqing's stealth abilities couldn't fool any beast above the Sixth Rank; the Golden Centipede could easily spot them.
Furthermore, the Golden Centipede was already enraged by them, and now it wanted nothing more than to devour all two-legged beasts alive.
Not long after, figures on the lakeshore jumped into the water to avoid being hunted by the Golden Centipede.
The Golden Centipede stood on the shore, its eyes filled with hatred as it looked at the island, but it didn't want to go into the water.
After standing there for several minutes, it finally chose to retreat.
Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
If the Golden Centipede had chosen to attack, that would have been a real problem.
Xu Yunqing and Su Yan climbed out of the lake onto the island, their faces burning and their gazes unfocused.
Standing before Ling Qingxue, they hesitated for a moment before speaking.
Xu Yunqing sighed. "We lost. Relying on hiding was ultimately just wishful thinking..."
He stared intently at Ling Qingxue and Beiming Yan, his expression still showing some resentment.
"You two, one first in the martial arts exam and the other third, if you work as a team, your final result will definitely be the best, and you'll receive more training resources afterward.
But Su Yan and I also want to compete. Our talent isn't that much worse than yours. With enough training, we might not be inferior to you. Although I lost, I don't regret it!"
Without striving, one will eventually sink into mediocrity; for a martial artist, a single step behind leads to falling further and further behind.
Xu Yunqing had read all the information about Ling Qingxue.
From an unknown student at the bottom of her class to a dark horse who shocked the Great Xia, she consistently embodied the word "strive."
Better performance led to more training; this was true for all martial arts universities, which was why he wanted to take a gamble.
Even knowing he would lose, he would still gamble, because... he too refused to be mediocre!!
Ling Qingxue nodded calmly. "I don't care if you can surpass me, in my eyes... you can never do it!"
Wu Liang also smiled disdainfully.
"As long as I'm here, first place is naturally mine!"
Xu Yunqing and Su Yan's eyes widened, their faces filled with disbelief.
This was far too arrogant!!
They were sixth and ninth place, respectively; their achievements were indeed less impressive than first place, but didn't they even have the qualifications to compare with her?!
Was this arrogance, or boundless confidence in Taotie?!
Ling Qingxue's gaze fell on Xu Yunqing.
"Do you think your goal is simply to survive two months in the Insect King Secret Place? And that, as long as you can achieve that, your score will definitely be good, even the best?"
"Isn't that right?" Xu Yunqing's face was filled with confusion.
Surviving two months in the Insect King Secret Place was practically an impossible task. If they could do it, wouldn't they be the undisputed number one?
Only by surviving can you achieve the goal. How high an achievement can you get if you're eliminated early?
A hint of disdain appeared in Ling Qingxue's smile.
"This is one of the reasons I said you couldn't possibly surpass me. Because your choice from the very beginning was wrong, completely betraying Instructor Feng's original intention in choosing the Insect King Secret Place as the military training location!
Two months is the longest duration of military training, but it's not the only standard. The rules never stated that failing to complete two months constitutes a failure.
Besides, do you think a group of mere Third Rank freshmen could possibly contend with a Seventh Rank Insect King?
Even if you hid well and successfully endured the two months of military training, what... what would you gain?"
Hiding in a dark corner for two months, wasting two months of cultivation time, and lacking the determination of a top prodigy to fight to the end.
As one of the three most prestigious martial arts universities in the Great Xia, how could Beiming Martial Arts University allow its students to spend so much time playing hide-and-seek?
The sole purpose of the three martial arts universities was to cultivate top martial artists, powerful enough to even change the entire human race!
As for teaching and nurturing students, that was the responsibility of other schools!