High Martial Arts: Slay enemies to become stronger, forge invincibility from billions of corpses.

Song Chen looked at Lin Qingxue's fair face, wanting to say something, but ultimately swallowed his words.

He understands many of her thoughts, but he simply chooses not to think about them.

I didn't think about it before, but now that I'm about to face the strange beasts, I have no time to care about personal feelings.

He sheathed the knife and carried it on his back.

"Thanks."

I'll return it to you when I get back.

"No need to pay it back."

Lin Qingxue's voice suddenly lowered: "You...it's good that you came back alive."

"I will, I definitely will."

Song Chen responded with a smile.

"Oh, so lovey-dovey this early in the morning?"

A shrill sound suddenly broke in.

Zhao Wei walked over with two henchmen, a disgusting, mocking smile on his face.

Today he was wearing a brand-new black and red combat suit, with a small energy shield device attached to his chest.

He carried a broad-bladed alloy battle sword on his back, the hilt inlaid with a red psionic crystal, which looked quite valuable.

"Qingxue, that's not fair of you."

Zhao Wei leaned closer, staring at the battle sword on Song Chen's back: "I begged you so many times to give me those C-grade swords from your family, and you just turned around and gave them to this piece of trash?"

Lin Qingxue glanced at him coldly: "These are my things, I can give them to whomever I want. Also, don't call me Qingxue."

"Okay, okay, I'll do whatever you say."

Zhao Wei raised his hands in surrender, then turned to Song Chen, his gaze sweeping over his entire body.

Song Chen wasn't wearing a standard combat uniform; it was just a faded, ordinary jacket.

Zhao Wei burst out laughing, dramatically clutching his stomach: "Song Chen, Song Chen, you went out of town dressed like this?"

"Are you going for practical training or begging? You don't even have a combat suit, just this cheap stuff from a street stall. What can it protect you from a monster's bite? The wind?"

The two henchmen immediately joined in the laughter.

Song Chen stared at him expressionlessly, without saying a word.

After laughing enough, Zhao Wei took a step forward and lowered his voice, saying, "Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, I also signed up for this practical training."

Song Chen's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

Zhao Wei grinned, revealing a set of white teeth: "Surprised?"

"My dad said that if I do well in this training, he'll buy me three bottles of Qi and Blood Circulation Medicine."

"Once I get into a top martial arts university, we won't be on the same level anymore."

"By then, a piece of trash like you won't even be worthy of carrying my shoes."

Song Chen looked at him and suddenly smiled.

"That's good. We can have another spar outside the city."

"I'd like to see how much your strength has improved."

His voice was soft, yet it carried a strong sense of threat.

Zhao Wei's face instantly darkened.

The last sparring match was the greatest humiliation of his life.

He held a grudge for three months after being defeated in front of the whole class by a weakling with only 0.6 HP.

He gritted his teeth and said, "Song Chen, don't be so smug."

"The area outside the city isn't a school; it's a real battlefield of life and death. If you're unlucky enough to be targeted by a monster, no one will save you."

"Don't worry, I won't die."

"you……"

"gather!"

A sharp shout came from afar.

A middle-aged man dressed in a formal martial arts uniform stood in the center of the playground, holding a megaphone.

"All training students, assemble immediately! Anyone who fails to arrive within three minutes will be disqualified!"

The crowd surged toward the playground in an instant.

Lin Qingxue tugged at Song Chen's sleeve: "Ignore him, be careful in everything."

Song Chen nodded and walked towards the meeting point.

After taking a few steps, he suddenly turned back.

Zhao Wei was walking towards the equipment area with his entourage. His brand-new combat uniform gleamed in the sunlight, making him stand out from the students around him.

Song Chen withdrew his gaze, touched the battle sword on his back, and clenched his fist.

enough.

Years of hard training have been for this moment.

Song Chen strode towards the assembled group.

On the training ground, the martial arts instructor leading the team was taking attendance.

"Song Chen!"

"arrive."

The martial artist looked up at him, his gaze lingering on him for a second, before moving on to the next name.

In the distance, Lin Qingxue stood outside the crowd, gazing at him from afar.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent, her eyes filled with worry.

As the sun rose higher and higher, it bathed the entire playground in a golden glow.

Three minutes later, everyone had assembled.

Three armored vehicles drove in from outside the school and stopped at the edge of the playground.

The vehicle body is covered with heavy alloy armor, the windows are welded with protective netting, and two psionic machine guns are mounted on the roof.

"Get on the bus!"

The martial artist gave a loud command.

The students lined up and boarded the bus one by one.

Song Chen stood in the middle of the line, looking back towards the school gate.

Lin Qingxue was still standing there when she saw him turn around, and she waved vigorously.

Song Chen didn't wave, but simply nodded slightly before turning and getting into the car.

The car door slammed shut behind him.

The armored vehicle started up, slowly drove out of the school gate, and headed towards the city wall.

The carriage was quiet, with only the roar of the engine.

Armored vehicles travel through the city streets.

Song Chen looked out the window through the protective netting.

Anning City is vast, with skyscrapers standing like a steel forest.

Each building's exterior wall is covered with a giant holographic logo, playing promotional videos for martial arts training institutions and gene-based drugs on a loop.

The streets were bustling with traffic, and psionic hovercars sped along at low altitudes, with martial artists occasionally leaping over the roofs of the vehicles at such speeds that they were just afterimages.

The closer you get to the city wall, the more somber the atmosphere becomes.

High-rise buildings are gradually decreasing, being replaced by low-rise military buildings and dense checkpoints.

Every few hundred meters there is a sentry post, with heavily armed soldiers patrolling back and forth, and the number of drones overhead has increased exponentially.

Fewer and fewer people were on the street, until only soldiers and martial artists hurried along.

"First time leaving the city?"

A voice came from beside me.

Song Chen turned her head and saw a tall, thin boy wearing glasses flipping through a manual.

The boy had a refined appearance and a kind tone: "This is my first time too. My name is Zhou Ming, I'm in Class 7, and my Qi and Blood value is 1.1. What about you?"

"Song Chen, Class 3, 0.6"

Zhou Ming's smile froze instantly, and he subconsciously repeated, "0.6?"

He immediately realized his blunder and waved his hand, "Sorry, I didn't mean that, I just..."

Song Chen replied calmly, "It's nothing, I'm used to it."

Zhou Ming awkwardly shut up and lowered his head to continue flipping through the manual.

Song Chen glanced at it; the cover read "Survival Guide Outside the City".

The carriage fell silent again, with only the roar of the engine and the sound of the carriage bumping against the ground.

About twenty minutes later, the car gradually slowed down.

"arrive!"

Someone shouted from ahead.