IWYTBW - Chapter 31

Chapter 31 

 A Mother Worries About Her Child Even From a Thousand Miles Away.

The surrounding area was teeming with people, a cacophony of noise filling the air. Long lines had already formed in front of the venues. Anji's aircraft was the latest model, the Flying Ark VII, but it was still outpaced by contestants who had arrived even earlier.

“A real mixed bag… all sorts of people here…”

He had initially worried that carrying his antique-style composite bow would attract attention, but now it seemed he had overthought it. Some guys rode in on their spirit animals, some had metallic mechanical skeletons fused to their bodies, and there were many extraterrestrials of varying skin colors and forms. His bow was utterly unremarkable, and he blended seamlessly into the crowd.

[This is normal. The first round already finished this morning, and while a batch of contestants have been eliminated, the number of intelligence brokers and weapons merchants fishing in troubled waters has increased.]

“So chaotic,” Yi Zhen put on noise-canceling earmuffs and muttered to Tai’a, “People are fighting outside the testing venue, and no one seems to care… Or are the examiners hoping to let the contestants wear each other down from the start?”

[I believe that’s the case. After all, the number of participants has drastically exceeded previous years. The initial chaos is beneficial for later eliminations.]

Yi Zhen slowly moved forward with the queue. “Not surprising at all.”

He glanced down at his optical computer. At least two weeks had passed. Li Youdeng had chatted with him several times, exchanging exam codes and preliminary testing locations. She Xing, however, had only contacted him once. And in that single contact, he hadn’t said anything, just quickly sent information on Iron-Quill Porcupines and a trader’s information before immediately logging off. No matter how Yi Zhen tried to contact him afterward, there was no response.

This made Yi Zhen start to worry that he had been presumptuous. Perhaps he shouldn't have given the Blood Tribulus to She Xing so quickly. This situation clearly indicated that his family had discovered it… He just didn't know what the Desnians would find on it.

Soon, it was his turn. Yi Zhen scanned his iris and pressed his fingerprint. His facial image, name, gender, age, and exam code automatically appeared on the translucent screen.

The staff responsible for assessing contestant levels were all bionic AIs, both male and female, with beautiful faces. The female AI in front of Yi Zhen smiled politely: “Welcome to the Moon Deer Island testing venue, Mr. Yi. Please draw lots to determine your venue.”

Yi Zhen mimicked the contestant before him, lightly tapping the center of the screen.

“Your venue is B3. Please keep your venue access card safe. Losing your card means forfeiting your eligibility to enter the venue.”

In other words, elimination from the preliminaries.

Yi Zhen shrugged, picked up the access card, and opened the map Anji had sent him, following the path deeper into the island. The path was lined with lush jungle, the atmosphere tranquil, with occasional chirping of unknown birds in the trees. He wondered where all the other contestants had disappeared to.

“Ah,” After walking for about twenty minutes, the noise of the crowds became faint and distant. Yi Zhen suddenly stopped. “Is it starting already?”

His voice echoed in the deserted path. “You’ve already been discovered, so why keep pretending? Do you want to come out yourselves, or do you want me to drag you out?”

He didn’t need to use his mental power; his internal energy alone allowed him to clearly sense everything within a fifty-pace radius.

From the jungle twenty meters ahead, heartbeats emanated from three directions: left, right, and above. Before he spoke, the heartbeat from above had been faster than the other two. After he spoke, it pounded as if it would leap out of its owner's chest.

“Not coming out?” Yi Zhen asked. “Then there’s nothing more to say.”

His figure vanished abruptly.

The person hiding in the bushes was startled, wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. How could a living person disappear into thin air? Unless he used optical camouflage… but the small energy-disrupting fields placed around the area weren't just for show. They had used this method to disable the access cards of the six people who passed by earlier. This young man should have been the seventh, yet he could still use his equipment?

A thud suddenly came from behind him. The person hiding in the bushes on the right didn't even have time to think. His hand swiftly deployed alloy claws, and he pounced towards the source of the sound like a tiger, claws ripping through the air, aiming for his target’s head—

No, wait!

His attack missed. He had to miss. The alloy claws awkwardly struck the ground beside his target. This “heavy object” that had fallen to the ground was none other than his accomplice who had been hiding in the tree.

“Martial arts…” A thoughtful murmur came from behind, so close it seemed to be whispered right against his back.

The man turned around in horror, throwing out an elbow, but before his defensive move was halfway complete, his tailbone was struck hard. A sharp pain shot through him like lightning, his vision turning white as he instantly lost consciousness.

[It’s in his pocket.]

Yi Zhen pulled out the small card and snapped it in half.

“Just you left then,” he said. “How long are you going to hide?”

Yi Zhen sighed. “Stop panting, you sound like a cow. Afraid I wouldn’t know where you are?”

A thin, swift gust of wind suddenly blew towards him. A sharp whistling sound cut through the air, like a snippet of an oriole’s song stretched a thousand times longer.

Yi Zhen’s eyes narrowed, and he reached out two fingers!

Don't underestimate this simple action. Thousands of years ago in the martial arts world, this move could have earned him a fearsome title like "Thunderbolt Finger." For over sixty days, he had persistently trained to use his mental intuition to dodge stray bullets and arrows. Coupled with his own expertise in crafting hidden weapons, the moment he heard the whistling, Yi Zhen had already judged the type of projectile and its trajectory.

As if striking gold against jade, his fingers clamped down on a row of three three-inch-long black needles. The tails of the needles were perfectly still, while the tips quivered slightly.

No way!

The man was stunned. Before he could react, the back of his neck was struck hard, the force sending him sprawling onto the path.

Yi Zhen pocketed the needles and glanced at him.

“You call that using hidden weapons?”

He pulled the access card from under the man’s optical computer and snapped it in half, then confiscated his needle gun.

Within five minutes, he had eliminated three contestants who tried to ambush him. Yi Zhen brushed off his clothes and departed, his deeds done in anonymity, leaving behind three unconscious men lying scattered across the path.

“I didn’t expect people to use such shady little gadgets here.” Yi Zhen said to Tai’a.

[They’re not like you,] Tai’a replied. [They typically use hidden weapons in conjunction with energy suppression fields to restrict their target’s equipment functionality for effective attacks.]

“I see,” Yi Zhen tossed the needle gun in his hand. “No wonder it didn't work on me.”

He continued walking, encountering no further ambushes along the way. Presumably, not everyone had the time or energy for such tactics. However, small traps casually left behind were still common, clearly intended to annoy and drain his energy, even if they couldn't seriously injure him.

Yi Zhen dismantled every trap he encountered. He didn’t feel particularly irritated or annoyed. He simply felt that it was a good opportunity to hone his reflexes with these small obstacle-like contraptions. When playing games, he enjoyed one-life clears, and in fighting games, he preferred perfect victories. Now, presented with such an excellent opportunity, why not make the most of it?

Thus, the contestants who followed him on this path only saw three burly men lying unconscious on the road, their pockets emptied by some passerby… as well as a potholed path, a trail of broken mechanisms, and a swathe of flattened forest.

An examiner, taking a break from his duties, glanced at the monitoring screen and couldn't help but let out a hum.

“What’s wrong?” His colleague was focused on the contestants battling fiercely in the arena. “Found another rule breaker?”

Examiner: “Not really… just found an interesting contestant, that’s all.”

“Finally here!” Yi Zhen looked at the magnificent building before him. “That was a long walk.”

[The journey was long because you destroyed every mechanism you could find, which delayed you considerably.]

“Can’t blame me for that,” Yi Zhen smiled, swiping his card. “Some traps were crude, but others were quite ingenious. How could I pass up the chance to appreciate them?”

The door dispensed a slip of paper confirming Yi Zhen’s identity verification, and the gates opened to either side.

“Let’s see… my arena number is 052. So it’s a defense battle.”

The venue was divided into three levels – upper, middle, and lower – with a total of sixty arenas. New arrivals acted as defenders, accepting challenges from others. Successfully defending eight victories meant passing the preliminaries and entering the initial rounds. However, losing even one of the first eight arena battles meant transferring the defender role to the victor and leaving the current arena to challenge other defenders.

Losing three matches resulted in automatic deactivation of the contestant’s wristband. All facilities within the testing venue would then be inaccessible, leaving the eliminated contestant with no choice but to leave.

The rules were simple and straightforward.

Yi Zhen stepped into the bustling venue. Because the use of small mechas was permitted, each arena was surprisingly large.

His gaze swept over the numerous battling contestants, quickly locking onto his target: Arena 052.

…It seemed a minor conflict had arisen.

He walked over and gleaned the gist of the situation.

Like some other arenas, Arena 052 constantly had new arrivals, but no one wanted to be the first defender.

Veterans who had lost once or twice wandered over, their demeanor suggesting they considered the newcomers in this arena easy targets. Eager to advance, they crowded around, provoking and instigating the newcomers.

Some newcomers, exasperated by the harassment, retorted that this was Arena 052’s business, and all unrelated parties should stay away. This was like poking a hornet's nest. The situation escalated, with the arena empty while the area around it was close to erupting into a brawl.

Life is tough, Yi Zhen sighed.

He grabbed the edge of the arena, pulled himself up, and slowly climbed onto the platform.

Calling it an "arena" was a bit generous. It was more of a square platform with no railings, no padding below, and all four sides completely open. Falling off meant losing, plain and simple.

“Anyone want to challenge me?” he called out below. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

Someone below hurriedly shouted, “Quiet, quiet! The defender is up!”

“Silence, everyone be quiet! Whoever wants to challenge, come up. Stop showing off down there!”

The commotion gradually subsided. The contestants looked up at the young defender, watching him stand idly on the platform, his sleeves fluttering in the breeze. He occasionally watched the fights in the other arenas, occasionally patted nonexistent dust off his pants… as relaxed as if he were on a picnic.

But it was this very casualness that made some people quietly retreat from the front rows. This was a competition of strength and martial skill. Being relaxed implied indifference, and indifference implied a strong hidden hand.

Silence fell over the crowd for a moment, then finally, a man climbed onto the platform and said gruffly, “Putting on airs? Let me see what you’re made of!”

The two faced each other. Yi Zhen raised his hand and clasped his fist with a “Pa,” a standard martial arts gesture before a duel. His moon-white wide sleeves billowed like waves in the air, momentarily stunning the man opposite him.

“Please excuse my poor display.”

He wasn’t intentionally trying to show off. It was simply that he was a sentimental person, and his usual light gray narrow-sleeved jacket had been taken for cleaning by the old housekeeper yesterday and hadn't been returned yet… that was all.

“Ah…”

While the man was still dazed, the young man had already vanished. The next moment, the man’s view slowly shifted to the venue’s ceiling, the bright, dazzling lights, and the surrounding people’s gaping mouths and wide eyes.

A dull pain finally spread across his chest, as if a powerful tide had crashed into his body, churning through his blood. It wasn't until his back hit the ground with a heavy thud, his limbs colliding, that he finally registered what had happened.

He had been slapped off the platform by the defender.

It was fast, too fast!

This was the only comment the onlookers had about Yi Zhen's debut. Before they could even react, the first match was over.

The counting AI at the side smiled brightly, raising a sign and marking a "1" next to the defender's profile picture, indicating the result of the match was valid.

“You have my respect.” Yi Zhen said. “Next.”

The surrounding area buzzed with excitement. A boy nervously climbed onto the platform. This time, he equipped himself with a single-person mecha before addressing Yi Zhen: “Co-competition first, friendship second!”

Without a word, Yi Zhen used a Four-Ounces-Move-a-Thousand-Pounds technique, pushing him off the platform with the same single-palm strike.

“So you’re just fast, huh? Well, I have optical imaging capture lenses. Let’s see how you escape me!”

“Ah!”

“Take this, you monster! Plasma energy sword!”

“Dammit!”

“Running around doesn't make you a hero! If you have the guts, face me fist to fist!”

“Urk!”

Yi Zhen didn’t waste any words. His speed in eliminating opponents was truly breaking venue records. The usual process was the challenger stepping up, then Yi Zhen disappearing, followed by the challenger being slapped off of the platform from some unpredictable angle. No broken limbs, no blood or sweat, just supreme efficiency.

However, this was also largely due to the challengers’ skill level. So far, none of the challengers had a physique level exceeding B+. Even when he was still the frail widowed sister-in-law, Yi Zhen dared to challenge Rong Hongxue. Now, dealing with opponents of the same level was like cutting through boiled veggies.

The only one who gave him a little trouble was a girl who used a magneto-fluidic shield that instantly transformed her into a black sea urchin covered in spines… Unfortunately, this also blinded her, forcing her to rely on instinct. Yi Zhen lightly jumped, flicked a dart at the corner of the platform, focused his internal energy on the tips of his toes, and used a mid-air double-step maneuver to buy himself a second and a half. The girl fell for it. Her magneto-fluidic shield couldn't last much longer, and her eagerness to finish the fight quickly betrayed her, propelling her straight off the platform and towards defeat.

In less than half an hour, seven contestants had been defeated, Yi Zhen’s victories all recorded and validated by the AI.

One more win, and he would qualify for the initial rounds.

As Yi Zhen’s victories accumulated, a large number of contestants surrounded Arena 052, recording his matches from every angle. He was undoubtedly becoming a hot topic for the upcoming initial rounds. All contestants who passed the preliminaries might encounter him, so in addition to the direct confrontation in the arena, the silent but equally intense intelligence war had already begun.

—Especially because his prominent performance had also attracted the attention of some already well-known powerhouses.

“It seems I’m your final hurdle in the preliminaries.” The man who climbed onto the platform smiled at Yi Zhen. “What a bother. I originally wanted to pick on the guy in Arena 5, but I’m really curious about your fighting style. Don’t mind losing a match, do you, kid?”

Yi Zhen's breath hitched slightly.

The newcomer was tall and powerfully built, with short black hair styled upwards, revealing a forehead marked with a horizontal scar. The corners of his long, narrow eyes tilted upwards, his handsome features imbued with a roguish charm, the kind that could easily make hearts race.

“It’s him!” Yi Zhen heard the exclamations from below. “Ji Qing, the Ringing Scorpion!”

“The A-rank pilot… A powerhouse capable of mental power materialization!”

Yi Zhen looked up at him. Ji Qing didn’t waste any words, immediately materializing his mental power. It took the form of a massive blood-red scorpion the size of a calf, large enough to serve as a mount for a grown man. Its eight legs were sharp, its pincers menacing, and its long, powerful tail curled around Ji Qing, the tip of its stinger glowing with a diamond-like red light.

If it weren’t translucent, it would undoubtedly become the nightmare of most people present.

Low gasps filled the venue. The five examiners on the first level all looked over.

“Ringing Scorpion… he’s making his move.”

“I’m worried about the other contestant’s safety. Getting stung by that thing is no joke.”

“Wait, isn’t that…?”

“What? You know him?”

The examiner shook his head. “He’s an interesting contestant I saw earlier… What a pity.”

Ji Qing looked at Yi Zhen’s expression with surprise. This contestant didn’t seem to recognize him at all. His face hadn’t changed in the slightest when Ji Qing stepped onto the platform, not even showing fear after hearing the surrounding people call him an A-rank pilot.

He was like a jade sculpture. Most people's first impression would be of his beautiful face. His sleeves rippled in the breeze, soft and flowing, creating a stark contrast with his otherwise still and composed demeanor.

It wasn't until Ji Qing materialized his spirit animal that the young man's eyebrows twitched slightly. But it wasn't apprehension, disgust, wariness, or any other negative emotion. It was more like… Ji Qing couldn’t quite place it. What was it? Relief? Admiration?

None of those felt accurate. After materializing his spirit animal, his perception of his surroundings had been heightened to an almost frightening degree. Therefore, Ji Qing keenly sensed… a benevolent gaze, one could even say.

Yi Zhen sighed inwardly.

His little Bone-Eroding Spirit Scorpion. He wondered if he had prepared enough food for it. He had been feeding it without restraint lately. What if that little rascal took advantage of his absence and devoured its entire supply on the first day? What then?

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