Chapter 60 Chapter 60 "Randomly matching opponents............
The team evacuated overnight and rushed through the woods on the edge of Chongyue Territory. The moonlight shone through the gaps between the branches and leaves, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.
Zhu Tianba in Jiang Qing's arms was still in the state of digesting energy. His breathing was steady but his body was radiating a faint green light. The warm feeling from the seal of the contract was stronger than the previous two times, as if something was quietly transforming inside his body.
"The canyon boundary is just ahead!" Teacher Sun suddenly stopped and pointed at a vaguely visible energy barrier ahead.
That is the temporary dividing line between the Fifth Beast Taming Academy and Chongyue Realm, and also the edge of the "Lock Information Network".
She immediately took out the repaired signal transmitter and pressed the button on the top. The red signal beam pierced the night sky, and finally a weak but stable communication signal appeared on the screen.
"Connect the college emergency channel!" Teacher Qin came forward, his voice carrying a barely perceptible urgency.
The voice of the on-duty teacher from the academy's logistics department came over the communicator. Teacher Qin immediately explained the situation in Wind Whispering Canyon one by one, concluding with a final emphasis: "We must report this to the academy's leadership immediately. We must also inform the Fourth Beastmaster Academy of this information. We hope they will conduct a thorough internal review. This concerns everyone!"
Jiang Qing stood aside and quietly touched the compass jade in his pocket.
The gray mist on the jade spoon has completely faded, and the entire spoon is light green. Fine lines are faintly visible on the spoon, as if reflecting the energy changes in Zhu Tianba's body.
She looked down at Zhu Tianba in her arms. In just a short while, light golden spots began to appear among its mane. Its originally half-foot-long body seemed to have grown a little bigger. Its blue-black mane became smoother and had a faint metallic luster.
"Jiang Qing, look at this." Lin Qingzhou suddenly handed over a test report containing the analysis of a crystal fragment from the rock spider's abdomen. "The mutant factor within the fragment perfectly matches the energy signature of the 'Energy Tempering Technique' used by the Fourth Beastmaster Academy's early secretaries. Furthermore, this factor is spreading faster than we anticipated. If it had been a few days later, it would have spread to the border villages of Qiuluyuan."
Zhao Peng also added, "I checked the academy's historical archives. Ten years ago, the Fourth Beastmaster Academy suddenly terminated its exploration project in Wind Whispering Canyon. At the time, they claimed it was due to 'geological instability.' Now it seems there's a big problem. Perhaps the experiment went out of control, leading to the mutation of a large number of exotic beasts!"
The team finally walked out of Chongyue Territory and stepped onto the plains of Qiuluyuan.
Teacher Qin contacted the academy again to confirm that the emergency alert had been conveyed and the Fourth Beastmaster Academy had also received the information, but the other party's reply was extremely perfunctory, only saying that "someone would be sent to check" without mentioning any experiments or specific plans.
Teacher Qin frowned, his face solemn.
......
After returning to the academy, Jiang Qing immediately took Zhu Tianba to find Chen Ming.
In the laboratory, Chen Ming looked at Zhu Tianba's energy data on the detection instrument, his eyes filled with shock. "The degree of divine awakening has directly increased to 44.571%, which is three times faster than I expected. This pure beast core source power is simply tailor-made for it."
Zhu Tianba has woken up at this time and is lying on the experimental table gnawing on the energy crystal.
His body was a circle larger than before, and he looked even stronger at half the height of a human. The diamond-shaped mark on his forehead glowed with a faint green light, and occasionally a golden light flashed.
It seemed very satisfied with its changes. From time to time, it rubbed its head against Jiang Qing's palm and made gentle humming sounds in its throat.
"Has there been any change in its current abilities?" Jiang Qing asked.
Remembering that Zhu Tianba was able to release the "space cage" and "township" before, she was very curious about what new abilities this transformation would bring.
Chen Ming adjusted the instrument parameters, and the screen immediately displayed Zhu Tianba's ability map: "The strength of space tearing has increased by 50%, and a new basic ability of 'space folding' has been added."
"Simply put, it can now fold space over a short distance and carry you for quick movement. Although the distance is not far, it is enough to deal with emergencies in battle." Chen Ming explained.
Zhu Tianba listened to the conversation between the two people, suddenly stood up, and stepped lightly on the ground with his hoof. Jiang Qing only felt that the scene in front of him was slightly distorted, and the next second he appeared at the other end of the laboratory, a full five meters away from his previous position.
She looked at Zhu Tianba in surprise, who was wagging his tail proudly.
Jiang Qing was busy during the rest of the summer vacation.
While helping Teacher Qin organize the evidence materials in Fengyu Canyon, she also took Zhu Tianba to practice his new spatial ability. In the middle of the process, she returned home and enjoyed some time alone with her family.
When they were in the academy, Zhao Peng, Li Xiu and Lin Qingzhou would occasionally train together, and the four-member team cooperated more and more tacitly.
Zhao Peng's Iron-Armored Bull is responsible for defense and exploration, Lin Qingzhou's Flowing Phoenix provides long-range support and purification, Li Xiu's Rabbit is good at reconnaissance and control, Jiang Qing and Zhu Tianba are the core combat forces, who can use spatial abilities to interfere with the enemy and launch surprise attacks at critical moments.
During this period, the Fourth Beast Taming Academy finally responded, but still denied the existence of the alienation experiment, and even accused the Fifth Beast Taming Academy of "spreading rumors and causing trouble."
At first, everyone was very surprised about the experiment, but later they heard that it was because of Principal Ji's intervention that everyone learned about all the activities of the Fourth Beastmaster Academy in Wind Whispering Canyon.
The Academy Alliance intervened in the investigation, but the investigation came to a standstill because the Fourth Beastmaster Academy destroyed most of the evidence.
Teacher Qin was helpless about this, but he could only comfort everyone: "At least we have stopped the experiment from continuing. Now we can only wait for the final decision of the alliance."
Two months passed in the blink of an eye.
In early September, the Fifth Beastmaster Academy ushered in a new semester.
At the flag-raising ceremony on the first day of school, the head teacher stood on the podium and announced a piece of news with a serious face: "The annual 'Five Colleges Battle' will be held in three months."
"This melee is not only about the honor of the academy, but also about the alliance's allocation of resources to each academy. All students in their third year and above must participate, and lower-year students can sign up voluntarily."
Below the rostrum, students were whispering to each other, and the discussions surged like a tide.
"The Five-House Melee? Is it finally going to start this year?"
"Our school was at the bottom again last year, right? I wonder if we can turn things around this year."
"I heard that this year's resource rewards are particularly generous, including earth-level evolution materials and rare skill crystals!"
"Third grade and above are required to participate... It's over. With my level, wouldn't I be a pushover?"
Jiang Qing stood in the crowd, listening to the discussions around him, his mood fluctuating.
She had heard of the name of the Five Academies Melee long ago. It was the highest level competition stage for young beastmasters in the Yuncang Continent, and it was also a trial field where risks and opportunities coexisted.
Zhu Tianba, who was at her feet, seemed to have sensed the change in atmosphere. He looked up, his amber eyes gleaming with curiosity and eagerness. He nuzzled Jiang Qing's calf and asked, "Can we go too?"
The head of grade raised his hand to silence the clamor and continued, "The academy will hold internal tryouts in a month to select five main players, two substitutes, and one hundred members of the school team who will enter the 'Ten Thousand Beasts Battlefield.' The selection criteria will comprehensively consider individual strength, teamwork, tactical awareness, and the potential of the spirit pets. I hope that everyone will actively prepare and fight for the honor of the academy!"
After the ceremony, the crowd dispersed, but the discussion remained heated.
Zhao Peng squeezed over excitedly, fists clenched tightly. "Five-Academy Brawl! We've finally gotten this chance! This time, we must show the other four academies that we, the Fifth Beastmaster Academy, are not to be trifled with."
Li Xiu seemed a little worried. "A melee is very dangerous. The Ten Thousand Beasts Battlefield not only has opponents from other academies, but also many wild high-level exotic beasts. I heard there are casualties every year... I'd better not participate."
"Qingqing, what about you?" Li Xiu turned and asked Jiang Qing.
Zhao Peng interrupted her: "Members of the school security team must participate, even if she doesn't want to."
Jiang Qing nodded and shrugged with a bitter look on his face.
Li Xiu looked at her sympathetically.
Jiang Qing looked at Zhao Peng's excited face, then looked down at Zhu Tianba who was eager to fight at his feet, and sighed helplessly: "The school guard's duty is to protect the academy. I really have no reason to shirk something like a melee that concerns the honor of the academy."
Moreover, she does need a broader stage and more abundant resources to allow Tianba to continue to grow.
Zhu Tianba raised his head, barked twice, and said, "Jiang Qing, don't worry, it's no problem, I'll take care of it!"
After the morning meeting, in the afternoon, the college directly released the rules of the selection competition on the forum.
There are three rounds in total:
The first round: individual strength audition, all applicants enter the simulated battle cabin and are randomly matched for battle. The top 200 will be selected based on comprehensive scores such as win rate and battle performance. The duration is one month.
The second round: Team collaboration trial, 200 people are randomly divided into 40 teams of 5 people to complete designated high-difficulty collaboration tasks. The top 20 teams will be selected based on the task completion and team cooperation scores. The trial will last for two weeks.
The third round: a simulated actual combat melee. Finally, these 100 people will enter a scaled-down version of the "Ten Thousand Beasts Battlefield" simulation environment for a three-day survival and confrontation competition. Finally, based on personal points and comprehensive evaluation, the strongest 7 people will be selected, that is, 5 main players plus 2 substitutes, and the remaining 93 school team members.
In previous years, the main members were all members of the school guard team, but there were some unexpected situations, such as guard team members being injured or out, resulting in a shortage of manpower, and they would continue to select from the remaining personnel.
Anyone can participate in the first random match. During the month of the qualifiers, all training grounds will be free. No money is required for either challenges or training. This is a good opportunity to earn points for free, and most people will not miss it.
Due to the limited number of simulation training grounds in the academy, each person has a daily time limit. The standard duration is two hours and the maximum duration does not exceed three hours.
Even so, the training ground's daily reservation system was almost overwhelmed instantly, and long queues formed outside the various simulation battle halls that were usually deserted.
Some of those who were impatient even carried out real battlefield training directly in the wild.
Fortunately, the school guard team’s own training camp has a special simulated cabin, so Jiang Qing doesn’t have to squeeze into the daily limited training room with everyone else.
She walked into the familiar silver-white simulation cabin and the door slowly closed.
[Identity confirmed successfully, Name: Jiang Qing, Contracted Beast: White-haired Scaled Pig (Zhu Tianba), Current Points: 80, Available Time Today: 03:00:00.]
A cold electronic sound rang out.
[Randomly generating the battle environment... Environment confirmed: Ancient Arena.]
[Randomly matching opponents...]
There was a flash of light before his eyes, and Jiang Qing found himself standing in the center of a dilapidated ancient Roman-style arena, surrounded by illusory images of cheering spectators.
Zhu Tianba maintained his half-human-height combat form, standing vigilantly beside her, his amber eyes scanning the tall stone pillars and stands around him.
On the opposite side, light condensed and a figure slowly emerged.
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