Chapter Forty: Still Daring to Boast in the War Zone

As Lin Qingyun was struggling against the sandworms attacking him on the outskirts of the abandoned city, battles were erupting everywhere within a hundred-mile radius. Some people had even regained consciousness right in this area. A few were closer to the city than Lin Qingyun. After shaking off several waves of sandworm chases and gradually drawing near to the outer buildings, he finally caught sight of other examinees.

A group of five had teamed up—these were alchemy freshmen who, like Lin Qingyun, had been on the same transport aircraft.

"Hey, look who it is! Looks like we've hit the jackpot!" called out one sharp-eyed student, spotting Lin Qingyun rapidly approaching from atop the fifth floor of a derelict building.

"Heh, right now, some fans who couldn't make it to the freshmen combat trial are offering quite a few rewards for him—add it up, it's not a small sum..."

"Even if there were no reward, I'd still want to teach him a lesson..."

They bantered back and forth: some motivated by the reward, others simply fans of Nangong Lingyue. As they talked, they quickly moved to block Lin Qingyun's path.

A hundred meters away, Lin Qingyun slowed his pace, no longer darting about like a spirit snake, but instead advancing in great strides, covering several meters with each step.

"Lin Qingyun, let's see if you're still so arrogant! Remember what we said back on the transport? Never thought you'd fall into our hands first..." The five spoke as they closed in, forming an encirclement.

"Remember, we're—"

Before the speaker could finish, the ground where Lin Qingyun had just stepped suddenly erupted with force.

A thunderous explosion sent sand surging from back to front, as though propelled by some invisible force, forming a seven-star sand dragon that swept toward the five.

The power of this strike was far more terrifying than the sandwaves kicked up by a dozen or more sandworms of the Qinxin level, the impact even stronger.

"Careful—boom—"

Since the five had teamed up, they naturally had their roles. One, wielding a shield, channeled his magic. His low-grade magic shield swelled to several times its original size, attempting to protect them.

But at the moment of impact, the ordinary low-grade shield shattered instantly, sending its bearer flying. The others were also thrown aside, battered by the force. The team leader, already at the third layer of the Qinxin Foundation, managed to steady himself after several steps, stunned yet preparing to retaliate and restore order to the group. But—

A muffled thud. There was no "then." Just as he regained his footing, a fist appeared before his eyes. From the moment he saw the punch to the moment he lost consciousness, it was but an instant.

The others, though not knocked out, were left barely able to stand, almost devoid of combat strength.

"Lin Qingyun... what do you want... if you dare to—" The shield-bearer, one of those most vocal back on the transport, tried to stop Lin Qingyun as he saw him bend over their unconscious captain.

With a flick of Lin Qingyun's wrist, a handful of sand was forced into the shield-bearer's mouth, shattering his teeth in an instant. All he could do was moan, unable to utter another word.

This display silenced the remaining three conscious members, fear rooting them to the spot.

Lin Qingyun showed no mercy, stripping the team leader of everything—elixirs and magic tools were pocketed, while clothes and food were incinerated with a snap of his fingers and a fire spell.

He then turned to the shield-bearer, even more deftly this time—another snap, and flames engulfed the man's belongings.

It wasn't any special fire, but it was enough to leave the man with scorched, mangled skin. Not enough to kill a Qinxin cultivator outright, but certainly enough to leave him suffering for quite some time.

Lin Qingyun proceeded to the others, stripping and burning clothes and food, taking all their elixirs.

These fellows were rather poor; only the captain and the shield-bearer had magic tools, and Lin Qingyun had just destroyed the latter's low-grade shield.

"Lin Qingyun... how dare you humiliate me..." The team leader had regained consciousness. To have reached the third layer of the Qinxin Foundation within a month of enrollment put him among the top twenty in the alchemy department, yet he had been so easily defeated and humiliated. Proud as he was, he could not bear such disgrace and cried out in fury.

Lin Qingyun strode over, each step spanning more than ten meters. Before the captain could finish, Lin Qingyun slapped him a dozen times, swelling his face and knocking out every tooth, leaving him conscious but speechless.

"You didn't say much on the transport before, but now you have plenty to say. Fine, I'll remember you." Lin Qingyun's cold gaze swept over the others, who all went silent.

He wasted no more time. Since killing was forbidden, the best he could do was ensure their early withdrawal from the trial.

In a way, he was helping them—danger loomed in the days ahead. Of course, Lin Qingyun wasn't acting out of kindness; otherwise, he wouldn't have let Chao and Chu Qing continue their own trials. In this place, danger and opportunity went hand in hand. Avoiding risk often meant missing out on opportunities.

The battered captain and the shield-bearer, both fans of Nangong Lingyue, could only watch helplessly as Lin Qingyun walked away, their feelings impossible to describe.

Especially the captain—he'd believed that no matter how strong Lin Qingyun was, he and his team could handle him. But the defeat had been so absolute.

"Captain..." One of the team members suddenly shouted in alarm.

In the distance, sandwaves were approaching. The commotion had drawn the sandworms, and there were many of them.

There was no time to think; those who could move dragged those who couldn't, fleeing as best they could—naked and badly burned.

Lin Qingyun had no idea if any high-level experts or strong cultivators were observing these trials. With such a large-scale freshmen combat test, even the military had designated it a war zone; it would be no surprise if experts were watching.

Therefore, instead of stashing his loot in the Creation Cauldron, he took out a folded backpack and packed everything away.

"Look, isn't that Lin Qingyun? Damn, we've struck gold! You said he was on your transport—he's got a huge bounty on him now..." On a rooftop dozens of meters away, two more people had spotted Lin Qingyun.

"This guy seems tough. Even if we teamed up, we might not win; we're both only at the Qinxin level. Better find some others to help us deal with him..."

Their voices were low, and given the whistling desert winds, Lin Qingyun couldn't possibly have heard them from so far away. But he had already spotted them.

In several swift leaps, he closed the distance.

By the time he appeared before them, the two were still gaping in disbelief at how quickly he had arrived.

A flurry of punches—teeth shattered, faces swollen beyond recognition, but not enough to knock them out.

Then came the flames, the screams, and the collection of their belongings.

The one who had just called out in excitement was now rooted to the spot in terror. Just witnessing Lin Qingyun's speed was enough to paralyze him with fear; he didn't even dare to run.

Lin Qingyun glanced at him. Since this one hadn't been on the same transport, Lin Qingyun let him be.

He knew perfectly well that word of his actions would reach the higher-ups soon. Whether they called it revenge or not, he had his reasons. Unless he ran into Li Daoze or Mao Yiqiang's group, or others who targeted him first, he'd leave the rest alone.

He was sure there would be no shortage of troublemakers, and things would only escalate from here.

That was why he spared this one.

As Lin Qingyun vanished with a few flashes, the last onlooker collapsed, legs giving way as if all strength had been drained from him.

He had once thought that, even if Lin Qingyun had reached the Qinxin Foundation before enrollment, gathering a few allies would be enough to take him down. Now he realized how foolish that was.

In the enormous command center, a general from the military, a deputy minister from the Ministry of Education, nearly a hundred university presidents and vice presidents, and hundreds of staff were present, yet the room did not feel crowded.

At this moment, however, all these leaders were gathered to receive one man. Dozens of guards in ancient silver armor appeared first, followed by a figure clad entirely in golden armor—even his eyes were hidden, and his cloak was golden as well.

If not for the fact that many of the Desert Wind King's followers were kneeling in greeting, one might have mistaken him for a gold-obsessed nouveau riche.

"Greetings, General Feng. It's been a while, Lord Wind King..."

The old general, Qin Xiong, dressed in military uniform, offered a formal salute to the Desert Wind King before smiling in greeting.

The Desert Wind King held an honorary general's rank in the military; it was ceremonial, but Qin Xiong treated it with utmost respect.

"The Wind King's reputation remains undiminished. You've given us great support this time. The Minister asked me to thank you on behalf of the Ministry of Education for helping us establish the new freshmen combat trial zone."

The slightly overweight, kindly smiling Deputy Minister of Education, Feng Shouyi, also greeted Nangong Aoshe, the Desert Wind King.

For a long time, Nangong Aoshe's outfit had been the subject of much gossip—some said he fancied himself an ancient emperor, others likened him to the oil tycoons of a century ago. But whatever was said, after decades as a regional powerhouse, no one dared dismiss him.

"General Qin, you flatter me. You’re my idol! If you hadn’t been wounded saving the city back then, you’d be the leader of the military now—those guys all came up under your command," Nangong Aoshe replied warmly, and his sincerity was obvious.

"Alright, alright, if you don't want to talk about them, I won't bring it up..." Seeing Qin Xiong wave it off, Nangong Aoshe let it go with a smile.

"Deputy Minister Feng, you’re too kind. Please convey my respects to the Minister—after all, we’re all one family. And don’t forget the promise to open more universities here; this is part of our alliance, and there are nearly a hundred million people in this region, after all." Establishing such a training zone had cost Nangong Aoshe dearly, not to mention his increased support for freshmen. He expected something in return. The Ministry of Education had already agreed to greater investment in the coming years.

"General... Deputy Minister Feng, something’s wrong..." As the dignitaries were still exchanging pleasantries and had yet to inspect the proceedings, someone hurried over to report, unable to hide his exasperation.