IWYTBW - Chapter 30

Chapter 30 

Exams Are an Important Stepping Stone in Life.

Yi Zhen took a deep breath, glancing at the vibrant and prominent sign overhead that read: [0 days remaining until the competition begins!]. The neon lights surrounding the number zero had ceased their flickering. Exhaling the remaining tension from his lungs, he started to assess the equipment laid out on the table.

The side quest “A Thousand Poisons and Many Wonders” [A mission that started in chapter 23] had been completed the previous day, rewarding him with an Infinity Quiver and a High-Powered Alloy Crossbow. Unlike its name suggests, the Infinity Quiver didn’t truly hold an infinite number of arrows, but thanks to the technology of the ‘SeedSpace’, Yi Zhen could easily stash tens of thousands within it. The alloy crossbow was compact and exquisite; once strapped onto his wrist, it remained hidden until he pulled the trigger, at which point its crossbow arms would snap open, boasting an impressive range of six hundred meters. It was truly a product worthy of the System.

Beyond these two items, he meticulously arranged thirty dark blue Blood Tribuli, slipped one hundred and twenty Snow Wax Needles into their carrying band, placed three hundred Snake-head White Feather Arrows into the Infinity Quiver, and stowed two tubes containing one hundred and forty-four glinting 5-Calamity Needles into the Seed Leopard pouch. The remaining two hundred ‘Ruthless Thorns’ would serve as ammunition for the alloy crossbow. All of this was the result of two months of hard work.

The Snow Wax Needles were crafted with Snow Bee Wax— a specialty of the Scarlet Dusk Galaxy— as their exteriors, and housed a conceptual essence extracted from the Bone-Eroding Scorpion's venom during Yi Zhen's mental drills. Each wax needle contained a thread of toxin thinner than a hair, capable of silently penetrating the skin, transforming into a waxy liquid that allowed the poison to circulate within the body. Typically, with ordinary wax needles, the toxin would activate only after the wax dissolved throughout the body. However, Yi Zhen’s Snow Wax Needles could claim a life in a mere instant. He would reserve this lethal weapon for special occasions.

The three hundred Snake-head White Feather Arrows were created using a special mold. Each arrowhead was broad, hollow on either side to accommodate two concealed steel blades. The arrows would remain intact until shot into a target; upon impact, the blades would dislodge and splay open within the victim's body. Extracting the arrow would require cutting out a chunk of flesh— if poisoned, the outcome would be doubly cruel. He had made only three hundred of these arrows because the costs were too high, and ordinary competitors didn’t need to face such gruesome weaponry. These arrows were specifically reserved for dealing with other transmigrators— those who crossed boundaries into his world.

Compared to the first two types, the creation of the 5-Calamity Needles was considerably more intricate. The original design required seventy-two needles in a single tube, each no longer than an inch and crafted from legendary cold iron. In this way, as long as the vital points were hit, even beasts like lions, tigers, elephants and leopards would be shocked to death by the cold iron. Where could Yi Zhen acquire cold iron now? He settled for using the remaining meteorite metal from the Wolf Bow to produce these Calamity Needles. 

The Calamity Needles were placed inside a tube equipped with a mechanism and a sliding latch. Upon activation, the latch would open, allowing a single needle to be shot with a simple press, or multiple needles could be released in succession, with trajectory control in the user's hands. After Yi Zhen's modifications, the range extended from eighty to one hundred meters, with each needle coated in Tianma Powder, making them effective for crowd control.

For the Ruthless Thorns, he had also reflected deeply. The original material was brittle steel that would shatter upon entry, coated with a liquid to coagulate blood— the epitome of malice. In this interstellar era, Yi Zhen sourced better materials through She Xing, selecting the barbed quills of the Ironspike Porcupine from the Scarlet Dusk Galaxy. The quills naturally shed from the creature, boasting a steel-like hardness, with points sharper than needles that had a unique property of bursting when exposed to water. He processed the quills to fit the alloy crossbow's arrow slots, melding them with the ‘concept’ extracted from blood-coagulating medicine.

The only downside was the cost; even when purchasing in bulk, he could only afford a limited amount.

Finally, and most importantly, was the composite bow— the Griffin Bow— which combined the features of the Celestial Wolf Bow, known for its ability to harness energy from stars to endlessly pursue enemies, with the HawkEye Bow's targeting skills. Yi Zhen had spent most of the system’s reward of one hundred thousand StarCoins on this essential weapon, managing to avoid touching the two million gifted by Rong Hongxue.

The meteorite metal required for the Celestial Wolf Bow was vital for drawing the star’s energy, and fortunately, Yi Zhen knew which planets hosted the competition. With Tai’a’s assistance, he categorized the twenty competitive planets into regions, finalizing five planets that encompassed most of the competitive areas, purchasing the necessary ore from them as material.

As for the HawkEye Bow, which relied on the concept of attached spirits, Yi Zhen was hesitant to take lives just for a weapon. His current poison supply was obtained by trading food with the Bone-Eroding Scorpion. He worried that if he began to sacrifice the lives of other innocent creatures in pursuit of his own strength, he would lose something even greater in the future. Thus, he spent fifty thousand StarCoins to buy an automatic scope on the black market as a temporary solution.

He was the protagonist of this world, needing to bear the world upon his shoulders, similar to how a king holds his subjects in the palm of his hand. He couldn’t afford to relinquish that grip, as doing so would equate to dereliction of duty.

The remaining items— the armor-piercing gloves and various simple needles—were all bought wholesale from the workshop. The armor-piercing gloves were specifically for countering small mechs, while the simple needles, made of stainless steel, were a basic diamond shape, sharp on both sides, inexpensive and practical. 

He purchased one thousand five hundred needles in a single batch, getting five batches in total— more than enough to last through the preliminary matches.

[Player, you should get some rest,] Tai’a interjected. [Your preliminary exam starts tomorrow at 15:00. You need to wake up and prepare by 7:30 before traveling for six hours to reach the exam site. If you go to bed now, your sleep time will be limited to six hours.]

“That’s plenty,” Yi Zhen said, polishing his weapons until they gleamed before lining them up on the table. “I’m just a little student excitedly unable to sleep before a spring outing. Even a student can manage to walk ten kilometers after just three hours of sleep.”

[Please don’t spread such nonsense; just go to sleep.] 

“Alright, alright, I got it,” Yi Zhen mumbled. “What’s with the nagging role? I’ll head to bed now.”

The next morning, Yi Zhen finished packing. He strapped the alloy crossbow to his right wrist, slung the Griffin Bow over his back, and stashed the remaining concealed weapons in the  Seed Leopard pouch. He also ensured the Bone-Eroding Scorpion had enough food for two to three days before heading out, feeling light-footed and prepared.

As he stepped outside, he found the old butler ready with luggage, flanked by obedient servants gathered for the send-off. Even Anji had rushed back from somewhere, eager to take him to the exam site.

“Anji?” Yi Zhen was surprised. “It’s been a while since I last saw you. Aren’t you busy? I can go on my own.”

Anji grinned widely. “The championship is a big deal for the whole family! It’s as crucial as the entrance exams, or high school finals back on Earth! I’m a veteran of the championship; it’d be unthinkable for me not to send off my junior!”

As he spoke, he was sweating internally— this was an important mission in broad daylight; how could he dare miss it?

However, even if his superior didn’t mention it, he would still remind Yi Zhen. Due to recent changes in the rewards, the competition format had evolved, and candidates could no longer rely solely on physical and mental evaluations from a simple document like they had in previous years.

While riding in the hovercar, Anji noticed the composite bow slung on Yi Zhen’s back and spoke up. “Actually, this year's preliminary rules have changed.”

“Oh, I figured as much,” Yi Zhen replied. “The competition format hasn’t been announced, so it must’ve been revised.”

Anji smiled. “Though it hasn’t been disclosed, anyone with connections by now should have some understanding of what’s going on.”

He continued, “This year’s all-professional competition will require arena battles.”

“Arena battles?” Yi Zhen questioned, surprised.

Main Quest: Arena Triggered

Quest Objective: I'll take on ten!

Well, what can I say? Should I just chalk it up to protagonist privileges? The moment I registered for this year's competition, the rules changed. Instead of simply assessing physique and mental power levels, it’s now an arena battle where we need to eliminate a large number of contestants.

Fine, let’s fight! It’s not like I haven't done it before!

Quest Rewards:

Skill Points x2

Three-Smiling Butterfly x1

StairCoins x50,000

Yes! A new adorable pet, and even a bonus!

Yi Zhen's spirits lifted immediately.

“Indeed,” Seeing his excitement, Anji explained further, “Ten random arena battles, requiring at least eight wins to pass the preliminaries, while three losses mean disqualification. This is an unprecedentedly strict rule.”

“That’s intense.” Yi Zhen was also a little surprised. “Just a change in rewards, and the competition format changed so drastically?”

Anji shook his head and gestured to him: “The overall champion of the Heroes’ Championship will receive the biological mining rights for the Crimson Cloak Galaxy, or directly receive a mining planet—this news leaked from somewhere and is spreading like wildfire across the Starnet. Great rewards motivate great deeds. This year's registration numbers are at least this many,” he said, slyly holding up six fingers.

“Six… over sixty million people?” Yi Zhen was shocked. “Has every pilot in the star system come running?”

"Don't forget, this is just the all-profession division, not counting the high school division." Anji said, "Let me see your preliminary round code."

Yi Zhen handed it to him. Anji glanced at it and said, "Your testing location is Moon Deer Island, scheduled for the first day of the preliminaries. Hmm… I have to say, you’re very lucky. This means you'll have plenty of time to prepare for the initial rounds."

“Moon Deer Island is a venue with a capacity of 400,000. A total of 400,000 preliminary candidates will participate in this important competition—or rather, exam, there. Forty main examiners, sixty assistant examiners, screening 30,000 people a day. The Moon Deer Island trials will conclude within three weeks at the latest. Now, imagine that scene.”

Yi Zhen closed his eyes, picturing the situation he would face, and his heart surged with excitement, blood running hot.

“Haha, it seems you’re not nervous at all, but rather eager to give it a try.” Anji laughed. “There are ten venues on the island, A1 to A5, B1 to B5. I’ll send a map to your optical computer later. Memorize it. You’ll draw lots to determine which venue your preliminary round will be held in.”

“Okay,” Yi Zhen nodded, “I’ll remember it.”

The hovercar arrived at the station. The surrounding area was bustling with contestants participating in the preliminaries, along with their families and friends. Anji instructed the driver to stop there. He got out of the car and helped Yi Zhen with his luggage, then suddenly let out an "Ah."

He got back into the car, closed the door, took out an earpiece, and stammered to Yi Zhen, "Well, uh, Yi Zhen, there's, cough, someone who wants to talk to you."

Yi Zhen: "?"

Could it be Rong Hongxue?

He hesitated for a moment, then, for Anji's sake, put the earpiece in. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Xiao Zhen."

…Ah, as expected.

Rong Hongxue’s tone was calm, giving no hint of their unpleasant parting that night. “I should have come to see you off, but I'm in Crimson Cloak and can't get away.”

“No, actually, we’re not that close…”

“Your competition is on the first day. Moon Deer Island is quite a distance from the Imperial Capital. Don't rush home after the competition; that would be too tiring.” He advised, “There's a hotel I own on the island. You can enjoy the hot springs and admire the ocean view around the island. If it’s at night, when the moon rises, the scenery is even more beautiful. Of course, it’s all free, consider it a congratulatory gift for your triumphant start.”

Yi Zhen's feelings were complicated. He wanted to ask if Rong Hongxue had lost his mind again, but then he thought, it would be stranger if this guy was normal. Occasional bouts of eccentricity were just part of his protagonistic charm.

“…How do you know I’ll win?” Yi Zhen said. “It’s not certain yet. It’s still early.”

Rong Hongxue chuckled. “And how do you know I won’t die in Crimson Cloak?”

“Has prolonged space travel finally driven you completely insane?”

“Ah, never mind, my break is over.” Rong Hongxue’s tone was light. “When I return, I’ll come and see how much you’ve grown, Xiao Zhen.”

He ended the communication and straightened up in good spirits. His adjutant, Luo Rui Owen3, stood beside him, handing him a paper report.

“This is the anticipated list of questions and demands the opposing Sage Priests will raise in the second half of the negotiations. We have already formulated countermeasures and corresponding clauses, but some key sensitive issues still require your personal decision.”

“I understand. Let’s go.” Rong Hongxue sighed contentedly. “As expected, a little recharging makes all the difference! Even my vision is brighter.”

As for what kind of recharging, and what was being recharged, Luo Rui Owen stared straight ahead, his mind clear, wisely choosing not to inquire.

The signal cut off.

Yi Zhen, expressionless, placed the earpiece in Anji’s hand.

“Uh… are you alright?” Anji asked.

“I accidentally heard the noise of a cosmic monster, and my mood has been polluted.” Yi Zhen sighed. “Talk about starting the day off on the wrong foot.”

Anji could only offer a dry laugh. He and Yi Zhen boarded the scheduled hover train towards the harbor.

Moon Deer Island was a competition venue floating on the sea. Once the contestants arrived at the harbor, they could take aircraft to their final destination.

Yi Zhen dozed on the train, the《 Jade Alchemy of the Eastern Sea 》 continuously circulating and cultivating within him. The moment the train stopped, he opened his eyes before Anji could even call out to him.

“Have we arrived?”

“Yes,” Anji got off with him and summoned a shuttle-shaped aircraft. He let Yi Zhen board, then chattered lightly to ease his tension. “Ah, a small tip, manned aircraft and spaceships aren't allowed on the competition planet during the initial rounds. Of course, if your mecha has flight capabilities, that’s fine.”

“I see.”

“Once we arrive at Moon Deer Island, I won’t be able to accompany you,” Anji said, as the air current stirred by the aircraft created three persistent white waves on the sea surface. “Everything will depend on you. But after the competition ends, remember to send me a message, and I'll come pick you up."

“Okay,” Yi Zhen said quickly, “I’m sorry to trouble you so much.”

“It’s nothing, just what I should do.”

The aircraft slowly descended, hovering thirty centimeters above the ground. Yi Zhen jumped down and waved to Anji.

Not far away, a security cordon surrounded the entire island, preventing the myriad aircraft from crossing the boundary.

Yi Zhen turned and looked ahead, murmuring, "Here we go, Tai’a."

[Good luck, Player. You can do it.]

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