Challenge Competition·Buzhou Mountain Arena (I)
The light dissipated, and four people appeared in the hall.
The announcement then rang out: "Congratulations to the candidates Lin Bai and Yu Qiu..."
Lin Bai didn't listen to the follow-up, her gaze lingering briefly on the freshman leaderboard—she was still number one. She casually opened her laptop, and the flood of information almost instantly flooded the screen.
Invitations from major clubs, recruiting letters from academic societies, invitations to challenge tournaments... Lin Bai casually glanced through them, finding nothing of value. Her eyes flicked across a challenge tournament invitation, pausing briefly before she dismissed it as junk.
It wasn't until I turned to the end that I saw the message from grandma.
[Xiaobai, after the exam, come back to eat the meal grandma cooked.]
This short sentence was like a ray of sunshine that penetrated her heart, instantly warming her originally cold body.
Lin Bai stared at the message, his fingertips tightened slightly, as if he could feel his grandmother's warmth through the few numbers.
She took a deep breath, turned off the computer, and looked around.
In the hall, the freshmen were still immersed in the afterglow of the exam. Some hugged each other in ecstasy, some lowered their heads with regret, and some looked at the list with complicated expressions.
"Lin Bai!"
A familiar voice came from behind her. She turned around and saw Li Dong trotting towards her excitedly, his tail wagging and his eyes brightening. "Did you see the list?! First place! You're first again!"
"Yeah, I saw it." Lin Bai smiled slightly, his eyes gentle.
"That's too much! Those instructors are going crazy, staring at you like hungry wolves!" Yu Qiu was equally excited. "And after two consecutive top ten finishes, you can make your own arrangements before the third weekly exam. You can rest at home or go out and have fun!"
Lin Bai chuckled: "You are also very good. We are both in the top ten. Let's go out and play together then."
A new message suddenly popped up on the computer.
Lin Bai lowered his head and his smile disappeared instantly.
[Candidate Lin Bai, your performance on the weekly exam has attracted the attention of senior management. Please go to the main building of the Federation College at 3:00 PM today for a special meeting.]
Special meeting?
She looked up at Li Dong and Yu Qiu, who were still discussing excitedly and had not received any similar news.
Lin Bai narrowed his eyes slightly, thought for a moment, and finally clicked confirm.
——
At the same time, the atmosphere in the college's top-level conference room was solemn and urgent.
"She awakened Earth Mimicry, right?"
"Yes, but her performance far exceeded our expectations. Especially... the summoning of the gods."
"Ancient legends say that the pure-blooded human who can summon the gods will be the key to defeating the dark beasts."
"We need to see her."
Several senior federal officials exchanged glances with solemn expressions, and at this moment, Lin Bai was on his way.
——
“Knock, knock, knock.”
"Come in."
Lin Bai took a deep breath and stepped into the meeting room.
What caught her eye was a round table, and seated around it were all important figures in the Federation. She had seen them in interstellar news, and each one was a well-known figure in the interstellar world.
She swept her eyes over the crowd calmly, and said in a calm tone: "Hello, what can I do for you?"
The people around the round table exchanged glances, and finally, a white-haired senior executive spoke first: "We are very interested in your situation, especially how you summoned the gods?"
Lin Bai smiled calmly and said slowly, "I dreamt about it."
"Did you dream about it?" The other party obviously didn't believe it and looked at him inquiringly.
Lin Bai's expression remained unchanged as he looked back at them calmly.
Of course she couldn't say that she had traveled through time.
The conference room fell silent for a moment. Several senior federal officials had different expressions, and it was obvious that they were not satisfied with Lin Bai's answer.
"Dreamt?" A middle-aged man sitting on the left frowned slightly, his tone doubtful. "You mean, you received a response from the god in your dream, and then you can summon Him?"
"Yes." Lin Bai's expression was calm, and his tone was neither hurried nor slow. "I'm not sure if this is consistent with your understanding, but this is the fact."
Of course she couldn't tell them the truth about her time travel.
"...The connection between dreams and reality is extremely complex." Another female senior official in a dark military uniform mused, "But her behavior does indeed conform to the ancient prophecy."
Some people were silent, some were whispering to each other, obviously still digesting Lin Bai's information.
After a brief silence in the conference room, the white-haired executive smiled slightly, his tone gentle but unquestionable: "Lin Bai, your ability far exceeds that of your peers and has attracted the attention of the senior management. We hope that you can participate in a challenge competition."
"Challenge?" Lin Bai raised his eyebrows.
"Yes." The middle-aged man on the left nodded, his eyes sharp. "You should have received the invitation to the 'Federation New Summoner Challenge'."
Lin Bai's expression changed slightly.
She had indeed received an invitation to the challenge, but she had only glanced at it casually and ignored it as spam. She had thought it was just an ordinary freshman competition, and she had not expected it to be mentioned here.
"You want me to participate in this competition?" She looked directly at the senior executives, her tone without any emotion.
"That's right," the female officer in a dark military uniform continued. "This challenge, while ostensibly an internal competition among freshmen at the academy, actually holds a deeper meaning. This year's event will be open to spectators. Not only will the Federation War Department and the Research Institute be able to watch, but all citizens of the Federation will be watching. Only the best freshmen will receive this honor."
"Your performance was truly impressive." The white-haired executive gave a meaningful smile. "We hope you can unleash your full potential."
Lin Bai narrowed her eyes, sizing up the opponent with a sharp gaze. This match was no ordinary contest; it was more like a comprehensive test for her.
She pondered for a moment, then raised her lips with a confident smile: "Okay, I accept this challenge."
The white-haired executive nodded with satisfaction, and a hint of approval flashed in the eyes of other executives.
"Very good," he said slowly. "The challenge officially begins in three days. I hope you won't let us down."
Lin Bai nodded slightly, his face calm, but he had already started to think about it in his heart.
——
The next morning, Lin Bai received a message from Li Dong, inviting her to go out for fun. However, considering the upcoming challenge, she chose to decline.
At this critical moment, Lin Bai hopes to know more information.
Because this year's challenge was open to the public, it attracted a lot of attention from the public, and Lin Bai learned a lot of information.
The contestants came from five schools under the five core military regions of the Federation: the First Federal Academy, the Pingling Military Academy in the East, the Chris Military Academy in the West, the Labix Military Academy in the South, and the Lizwood in the North.
Each school can invite up to three contestants, for a total of fifteen. All of these fifteen are the best in their respective schools, and generally speaking, all fifteen will accept the invitation to the challenge.
The challenge is similar to the weekly test and is also a single-player challenge, but the format is richer. During the competition, participants need to complete tasks, hunt dark beasts, and accumulate points. Points can be exchanged for resources and ranked.
In the list of participants from the First Federal Academy, in addition to Lin Bai, there are also Chen Wen and Rock, the mechanical race member from the Awakening Hall.
Needless to say, Lin Bai is the only human who has summoned the Earth God and is ranked first among the freshmen.
Chen Wen pioneered the multi-dimensional skills of the Luoxi Star God and ranked third among the freshmen.
As for Rock from the Mechanical Clan, he developed a new combat method for the "Wall" god and ranked second among the freshmen.
In addition to his classmates from the academy, Lin Bai also checked the information of other contestants on StarNet.
No matter what, this challenge is not only a test of personal strength, but also a stage for the secret competition between the five major military regions.
Since Lin Bai has agreed, he must make good preparations.
——
Three days passed in a flash, and the challenge officially kicked off.
The contestants from the four major military academies have already arrived at the capital planet.
During the challenge, all major colleges suspended all activities, even the weekly exams were temporarily put on hold. This made Lin Bai feel a little relieved, at least she didn't have to be distracted by extra exams.
She and fourteen other people stood in the huge waiting hall, surrounded by countless cameras, with the electronic countdown on the radio playing in their ears.
three
two
one
Lin Bai's eyes blurred, and before she knew it, she had already entered the arena.
The breeze blows on your face, and the air is filled with a faint fragrance. What comes into view is a fairyland-like painting of mountains and rivers.
Lin Bai looked around and saw a pillar piercing the sky looming in the distance.
It seems to support the heaven and earth, standing still and emitting an indescribable majesty.
A sense of familiarity washed over Lin Bai. Recalling past myths and legends, she realized this place resembled Mount Buzhou.
According to legend, Mount Buzhou was the pillar supporting heaven and earth. In the past, Gonggong angrily crashed into the mountain, causing the heavens to collapse and the earth to sink, and flooding to the earth. Now, this legendary sacred mountain has been brought to life as part of the competition venue.
Lin Bai was puzzled as to why there were scenes of Earth mythology in the competition and examination halls, while all the Earth mythology was missing, but he had no time to think about it in the competition hall.
She collected her thoughts and quickly looked around. After all, this was a competition venue. This fairyland-like Buzhou Mountain competition venue must be harbouring hidden dangers.
Thunder rumbles and the wind and clouds change.
Lin Bai looked up at the sky. A virtual screen slowly emerged from the dark clouds, and a cold electronic sound echoed between heaven and earth.
[Survival Challenge has begun. Candidates must survive for five days in the tranquil and beautiful mountains and rivers.]
Quiet and beautiful?
Lin Bai frowned and looked around.
The mountains and rivers are picturesque, the streams are clear, the air is fresh, and the birds are singing. It is as quiet as a paradise.
But a strange sense of unease emerged in her heart.
Sure enough, the moment the screen disappeared, she noticed subtle changes in her surroundings.
The wind stopped.
The birdsong suddenly stopped, the air seemed to freeze, and the entire forest fell into a deathly silence in just a few seconds.
The stream in the distance was still gurgling, but Lin Bai could hear no sound.
It turns out that the key to the four words "quiet and beautiful" is "quiet"——
The contestants' hearing was blocked!
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