Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Psychic

They paid no attention, and some grew even more smug.

In truth, Lin Qingyun had rarely been seen around Haicheng University, but during freshmen registration, when he helped Chao and Chu Qing sign up, he was present. He had wandered through the campus before, and it wasn’t as though no one had seen them. At most, a few muttered to their friends or whispered after Lin Qingyun passed by. Of course, unless one encountered a diehard fan or a particularly hostile opponent, most simply followed the herd.

“A bunch of bastards, so arrogant…” Chao grumbled, his chest still heaving as he sat down.

“Quiet.”

Fortunately, the commotion drew the attention of the student council members responsible for discipline, and they quickly intervened. Afterward, though murmurs persisted, they were much less obvious.

Chu Qing wasn’t as agitated as Chao, but her curiosity was piqued—she glanced at Lin Qingyun, and Chao too looked at him in confusion.

What puzzled them was how Lin Qingyun could endure without retaliating. Despite the crowd’s numbers, they had come to trust Lin Qingyun, almost unconsciously believing that he could not be troubled by such situations, no matter how many were against him, no matter how angry the mob became.

“When you reach the combat trial site, you must be careful. Though it’s forbidden for freshmen to kill each other, fighting and plundering are not prohibited. Your prey might be stolen, your equipment and supplies may be taken. If your survival skills are strong, you may have a chance to continue; if not, you’ll have to withdraw quickly.”

Seeing their puzzled expressions, Lin Qingyun spoke casually.

The two immediately understood—he was warning them, but also explaining why he wasn’t retaliating now. These people were merely brainwashed fans or those swept up by the herd mentality; arguing with them was pointless. Moreover, this was the university—there was little he could do, and he wasn’t facing someone like Li Daoze or Mao Yiqiang, who would confront him directly. Lin Qingyun didn’t bother to say another word; everything would be settled at the combat trial site.

Soon, everyone had boarded, and the transport aircraft wasted no time. No one gave any more instructions as if teaching children; what needed to be taught had been taught, what information needed to be given had been given—the rest depended on their abilities.

At first, there were still whispers, but gradually, everyone closed their eyes and began to adjust their breathing, preparing for the impending combat trial.

After nearly five hours on the plane, in a haze…

“Disembark.”

As if in a dream, his body became uncontrollable, like a puppet manipulated by invisible strings.

Yet Lin Qingyun’s case was unique—at this moment, he realized something was amiss.

Instinctively, Lin Qingyun tried to regain control and resist the command.

Meanwhile, across several sections, students began leaping from the transport aircraft, now flying at a mere ten meters above the ground. When it came to Lin Qingyun’s turn, his body, which was about to stand, suddenly tried to sit back down.

“Hmm?”

Everyone aboard the plane seemed to lose consciousness, oblivious to what was happening. Naturally, they didn’t notice the woman who had just stepped out of the cockpit. She wore a military uniform; her posture was upright as a pine, her short hair outlined sharply under the desert sun, her eyes sparkling like cold stars, full of decisiveness and resolve.

Nearly half of the students had already exited, and as the aircraft reached another area of the desert, Lin Qingyun’s sudden pause and strained expression caught her attention.

“Major Bai, what’s wrong?” A mentor from the university side, also responsible for the students, noticed the disruption and immediately inquired.

“It’s nothing, just encountered a rather unusual student. He hasn’t reached the Cloud Ascension realm, yet his soul consciousness is so strong he can resist my spiritual influence…” Major Bai replied offhandedly.

Soon, more students began to leap out like puppets, while Major Bai approached Lin Qingyun, her eyes gleaming as she intensified her spiritual force.

“Something’s wrong—not a dream; this state feels like hypnosis or confusion…”

In his semi-conscious state, Lin Qingyun resisted instinctively, feeling his awareness grow ever more hazy. Deep within, he vaguely sensed the cause.

“Buzz…”

On the deepest subconscious level, Lin Qingyun instinctively tried to activate the Creation Cauldron. Though just a cauldron, it was a treasure; he could use it to vibrate his soul or protect it…

Wait—Haicheng University, transport aircraft, combat trials…

As if in a chaotic sleep, Lin Qingyun suppressed his urge to resist and, following the guiding force, moved forward and jumped.

A student able to resist her spiritual influence—Major Bai was intrigued and wanted to investigate further, but as she controlled the other students, the one who shouldn't have jumped yet suddenly burst out.

“Bang! Bang!”

He knocked down two people ahead of him and leaped out.

“Major Bai, what’s happening?” The mentor, alarmed by the disturbance, pressed urgently.

“Stop.” Major Bai barked, and everyone halted; those knocked down stood up, no longer moving erratically.

Major Bai flashed to the hatch, gazing at Lin Qingyun, who had already leaped out.

“What’s that student’s name?”

The mentor swiped his communicator, instantly bringing up Lin Qingyun’s details and location.

“He’s called Lin Qingyun. Is there a problem?”

“No, continue.” Major Bai memorized the name, said nothing more, and resumed letting people exit the aircraft.

“Bang…” A ten-meter fall posed no harm to someone at the Heart Melody realm’s foundation stage, especially onto soft sand. Typically, it took some time for them to regain consciousness.

But Lin Qingyun, already resisting spiritually, was jolted awake by the impact.

He looked up; the plane hadn’t flown away, and more people continued to drop from it in the distance.

“So that’s it.” Lin Qingyun immediately understood.

No wonder every year during the freshmen combat trial, everyone said their arrival was random, and none knew where they’d landed; when they woke, they were already in the battle zone.

They would then face all kinds of environments and difficulties—many had speculated, but with no consensus.

Now, Lin Qingyun experienced it firsthand and realized an expert was influencing the students.

“Good thing I didn’t resist…”

Lin Qingyun was relieved he hadn’t fought back. A little odd or special was fine, but if he could resist the mental force of someone at least at the Cloud Ascension level, it would attract attention—not just from the school.

As he came to this realization and felt grateful, the plane had already flown away.

Lin Qingyun immediately surveyed his surroundings: yellow sand, swirling dust, scorching sunlight, an endless desert.

Here, the communicator signal was gone, with only basic functions remaining. Those who had formed teams would have landed together and could communicate at close range.

He checked the surroundings, recalling some coordinates given during the combat trial briefing.

Though he couldn’t communicate, it was easy to determine his position. After setting his direction, Lin Qingyun stretched and leaped.

With a spring and a bound, he moved like a nimble monkey, instantly covering dozens of meters. Landing, he suddenly propelled himself forward like a serpent slithering through sand.

He tried several movement techniques, settling on the most suitable for rapid travel.

Lin Qingyun knew many movement arts, cultivation methods, combat skills, and spells. In the past, growing so quickly, he only borrowed or understood them superficially; now he could choose what best fit his needs.

Moving swiftly, he noticed a few others who had just regained consciousness, but paid them no mind and pressed on.

Actually, Lin Qingyun could glide low over the ground like Lu Hang with his Wind-Chasing Legs or Lin Qingfeng, but he chose not to. First, to conceal his strength; second, to conserve his energy.

He had plenty of pills, especially with the Creation Cauldron, which served as a spatial storage item—inside were enough medicines. Still, he didn’t wish to show off.

Not far away—just over ten miles—when Lin Qingyun reached another dune, he could already make out the outline of tall buildings.

Clearly, it was an abandoned city. The battle zone was marked here; crossing a certain line meant entering the war zone.

“Shhh…”

The faint sound of shifting sand—someone newly at the Heart Melody realm wouldn’t notice unless they paid close attention, but Lin Qingyun leaped instantly.

As he jumped, the dune where he stood formed a vortex, sand pouring downward, and a four-to-five-meter-long predatory insect erupted from below, jaws gaping.

“Bang…”

Lin Qingyun was no stranger to combat as a newcomer. In midair, he punched down, exploding the sandworm’s body with a resounding crash.

This sandworm was at best a seventh or eighth rank of the Phoenix Initial realm. If Lin Qingyun didn’t mind the disgust, he could have stood there and let it bite him—it would barely scratch him.

But Lin Qingyun knew the sandworm’s habits: killing one would attract many more. They’d first devour the corpse, then relentlessly attack; unless one could fly, the number of sandworms would only increase.

As the sandworm burst apart, sand waves began to ripple beneath the dune.

“Boom! Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Seeing the surge below, Lin Qingyun landed, and a burst of flame erupted beneath his feet.

In public, at the university, Lin Qingyun hadn’t had a chance to act—even when sabotaging Mao Yiqiang’s plans, he only needed to operate from the shadows.

After reclaiming the Creation Cauldron and absorbing some of the Divine Lightning’s fire, his mastery of fire spells had grown formidable.

Neither Mao Yiqiang nor the two alchemists could imagine that Lin Qingyun, only at the Heart Melody realm’s foundation stage, could control fire so violently, without needing to act as they’d thought.

Now, flames exploded beneath his feet, turning the sand below into molten lava. Though the area was only about a dozen meters, it killed more than ten sandworms that rushed in.

Of course, killing so many sandworms so quickly made the sand waves below surge even more violently. He could vaguely see a gigantic sandworm, over ten meters long, charging toward him.

Lin Qingyun borrowed the momentum, swiftly darting away, his figure gliding across the sand. In the blink of an eye, he was several hundred meters distant.