In the game "High Martial Arts," players start with the blessing of the Martial God.

Chapter 81 Battlefield

When Tianyi Xinggong Jiming arrived at the dormitory, coincidentally, one of his three roommates was Xia Qiwen.

"Haha, Brother Ji, we really are destined to meet!" Xia Qiwen stepped forward and laughed.

Still unsure of the other party's situation, Ji Ming could only respond with a smile.

"Brother Ji, how about we go for a walk outside together?" Xia Qiwen invited.

Ji Ming looked at him in surprise. Teacher Ye Zhou had said never to run around, was this guy not afraid of dying?

"You too—" Then, thinking of his own situation, he couldn't help but ask.

"That's right, Ji, I'm also a special admission student for Tianyi Star Palace this year!"

Ji Ming nodded, not too surprised. This guy was so unfathomable, it would be strange if he wasn't specially recruited.

"Let's go, Ji Ming! I'm known as the All-Knowing Scholar of Great Xia, I can answer any question you have!" Xia Qiwen said proudly.

Then he rubbed his fingers together. "Of course, some of this information is quite valuable, and it wasn't easy for me to get it. It's not unreasonable for me to earn a little extra for my hard work, is it?"

The art style has suddenly changed!

Ji Ming's eyes were strange. Had he really expanded his business to Tianyi Star Palace?

Shaking his head, he went downstairs with him. A towering tower stood out prominently in the academy, almost visible from anywhere.

"Did you see it? That's the Tower of Babel, a top-tier treasure comparable to the Battle Arena. Tianyi Star Palace has more than one such foundational treasure!" Xia Qiwen whispered, pointing at the Tower of Babel.

"A top-tier rare item?"

Ji Ming had heard this description more than once, and couldn't help but ask, "Do rare objects also have different qualities?"

"certainly!"

Xia Qiwen nodded decisively, "I'll give you this kind of information for free. You know the Oddities Ranking, right?"

Ji Ming nodded.

"The Ranking of Wonders records the ninety-nine most powerful supreme wonders in the myriad realms, but some wonders not included in the ranking also possess astonishing power. These wonders are divided into three categories: ordinary wonders, high-level wonders, and top-level wonders!"

Xia Qiwen sighed, "The list of rare items is indeed seldom seen; top-tier rare items are enough to serve as treasures that guard a realm!"

Ji Ming understood, but he didn't know which level the Profound Moon True Essence belonged to, though he estimated it wouldn't be too high.

"Doesn't our Star Palace have any supreme wonders on the list of wonders?" Ji Ming asked casually.

"Who would know about something like that?"

Seeing the fleeting doubt on Ji Ming's face, Xia Qiwen looked around and lowered his voice, saying, "Ahem! I've only heard about it! It seems that Tianyi Star Palace has a supreme artifact, but it hasn't appeared in the world for a long time. It should be in the hands of Palace Master Lu."

"Hey! Don't tell anyone about this, it'll cause trouble!"

You actually know that?!

Ji Ming was shocked. Just who was this guy? However, he could definitely sense that the other party was being friendly, so he was probably a friend, not an enemy.

"Supreme wonders—" He murmured these words to himself. Sure enough, the four star palaces were not just a simple academy; they could all be regarded as the top forces in the Xuanhuang Realm!

For example, Tianyi Star Palace was passed down from the sect era, and the water inside is far deeper than ordinary people imagine.

Ji Ming suddenly smiled enigmatically, "Since you call yourself the all-knowing scholar, do you know who Luo Zhao's enemies are in the Tianyi Star Palace?"

"Well----"

Xia Qiwen paused. Was he no longer pretending?

After a moment's thought, he smiled. "Of course I know! But this information—"

He rubbed his fingers together.

Ji Ming put on a sincere smile and placed his hand on Xia's shoulder. "Old Xia, don't you think it's necessary to establish trust before doing business? Don't you just look at the money? Shouldn't you send me a few messages first to verify their authenticity?"

Xia Qiwen was dumbfounded, his understanding of Ji Ming was completely refreshed. How shameless! So all the information I just told you was nonsense?

It contains information about the Ranking of Rare Items! If he sells it to the Heavenly Demon Sect or the Abyss Sect, he can get a lot of treasures in return!

Of course, he would never do that!

"Quickly, tell us!" Ji Ming urged.

Xia Qiwen hesitated for a moment, then said, "Fine, this is the last time!"

"You know that Senior Luo comes from the Qian Tian School, right?"

"Of course not anymore. Don't ask why; I really don't know!"

He looked into Ji Ming's eyes and slowly said, "Senior Luo's enemies can be divided into two categories. One category is those who were trampled on on their path to rise. You don't need to worry about that. As long as they have any shame left, they won't target you!"

"Furthermore, there are the enemies created through factional infighting!"

Xia Qiwen sighed, "This is troublesome. When Senior Luo was still alive, the Original School was severely suppressed. Now that they want revenge, as long as it's within the rules, no one can say anything!"

"Of course, if you are just an ordinary genius who barely made it into the Tianyi Star Palace, the Origin School won't care. They haven't paid attention to the students the Qiantian School has taken in in recent years either."

"But you're a martial artist who's taken a step towards godhood, and you did it all in a small, resource-poor place. That makes your achievement all the more impressive!"

Xia Qiwen said seriously, "Don't expect them to be careless or underestimate you!"

Ji Ming frowned slightly. "What will they do?"

"It's nothing," Xia Qiwen said casually. "Using the big to bully you is courting death. Most likely, they'll just let the top students of this year challenge and suppress you. You basically can't refuse these kinds of things because resources are limited. If you back out, you won't get a turn. If you don't have enough resources, you'll fall behind, and the gap between you and others will widen. That's how they achieve their goal."

"For example, this Astral Trial is like an entrance exam for us students who were specially recruited in advance. The core spots are reserved for us. The Origin School will definitely arrange for someone to target you. If you don't get a core student spot, it will be even more troublesome for you later."

"I see!"

Ji Ming sighed, a sudden glint of lightning flashing in his eyes. "So, all I need to do is suppress my peers?"

Xia Qiwen turned to look at him in astonishment. Suppressing one's contemporaries—these four words carried immense weight, and few throughout history have been able to achieve them.

"Haha, good!" Xia Qiwen laughed, "Of course, as long as you can do it, then all the problems will no longer be problems."

He suddenly stood up defiantly, declaring, "The older generation would never dare to interfere, unless they really want to die!"

Ji Ming nodded silently, then turned and went back to the reception area dormitory.

can you do it?

Xia Qiwen watched his retreating figure, his mind filled with countless thoughts.

Palace Master Lu doesn't manage affairs. In recent years, the Origin School has become the external representative of Tianyi Star Palace. However, not everyone agrees with some of their ideas, but there's nothing that can be done about it.

Many people are dissatisfied with the actions of Tianyi Star Palace in recent years, but outsiders cannot interfere, and these problems can only be solved by insiders.

He didn't actually hope that Ji Ming could change these things—that was unrealistic—he just thought that stirring up the situation might bring about some changes, given Ji Ming's rather sensitive identity.

Luo Zhao, it's really interesting that you're taking on students at this time, and such outstanding ones at that!

Back in the dormitory, Ji Ming had already guessed Xia Qiwen's identity.

The surname "Xia" was not unusual in the Xia Kingdom. Of course, this is a new era, and the Great Xia no longer has an emperor.

In the present day, the Great Xia Dynasty is governed by three departments: the Department of Political Affairs is responsible for finance, administration, household registration, and public works; the Department of Military Law is responsible for war and law; and the Department of Education is in charge of all academies.

The Military Law Division has always been dominated by the Xia family, and the reputation of Xia Tianhou, the military commander, is known throughout the world!

"Xia Qiwen, a member of the Xia family?" Ji Ming pondered to himself, wondering what exactly he was referring to.

After thinking for a long time and still not understanding, Ji Ming simply stopped worrying about it. He just needed to keep walking forward until there were no more obstacles in his way!

"The School of Origin —"

Sigh, I just want to study and cultivate myself properly, why do you have to force him?

Ji Ming sat cross-legged on the bed, the long sword lying across his legs trembling slightly and emitting a low groan.

The following day, Ji Ming's right hand ring suddenly lit up, emitting an electronic voice: "The 998th Star Realm Examination will begin in ten minutes. All candidates, please confirm your identities."

"drop!"

A light screen was projected in front of Ji Ming, and he clicked to confirm.

"Please place your destiny card and identity card!" the electronic voice announced again.

Without hesitation, Ji Ming summoned two cards and slowly brought them close to the light screen.

"Beep, identity verification complete!"

"Attention Ji Ming, you will be teleported to the Battle Arena in ten minutes. Please bring your weapons and equipment. Please refer to Article 214 of the Examination Regulations: Do not bring any prohibited items! If you have any objections, please reply to Virtual AI #1!"

"Wishing Ji Ming the best of luck in his exams and that he achieves top marks!"

Ji Ming breathed a sigh of relief and retrieved his life and identity cards. This was why he had been constantly loading the [As If in Calculation] ability; without this heaven-defying feature, his underwear would be exposed!

"It's already the 998th Grand Examination!" he thought to himself. The four star palaces do have a long history, but the Star Realm Grand Examination never existed before. The true new era began 998 years ago, giving everyone the opportunity to enter the supreme academy of Xia Kingdom. The Xuanhuang Realm has come from the era of sects, and the reforms and bloodshed it has experienced cannot be explained in a few words.

Ten minutes later, "Ji Ming, be careful. See you at the Battle Arena!"

Xia Qiwen suddenly sent a message, along with information on another person: "If I'm not mistaken, the person the Origin School sent to ambush you is him!"

Before he could examine it closely, the badge on his chest suddenly lit up, and a strange power enveloped him, his body seemed to be twisted, and the long sword he was holding disappeared along with it.

The sky above the battlefield was blood-red, and the ground was scorched earth and embers. Standing here, Ji Ming felt as if he had truly arrived at the battlefield.

Welcome to the Battle Arena!

"The rules for this Astral Exam (Eastern Region) are hereby announced: Killing a mid-stage Tier 2 alien race grants 1 point, killing a late-stage Tier 2 alien race grants 3 points, killing an early-stage Tier 3 alien race grants 10 points, and powerful races such as the Celestial Demons and Abyssal Demons receive double points. Team kills will have their contributions assessed and points distributed by the Spirit of War!"

"Defeating other trainees will plunder half of their points; each trainee can only be plundered once every 24 hours. Note:"

If you suffer a fatal wound, you will be immediately teleported out of the Battle Arena and cannot re-enter afterward!

"The Battle Demon Points Ranking is now open. All candidates can view it in real time. The top 400 can freely choose to join a Star Palace, and the top 1500 can freely choose to join one of the Ten Holy Lands!"

"The leaderboard is locked after 72 hours; the exam is over!"

"The Astral Trial begins now!"

As the words fell from the sky, the entire Battle Arena seemed to instantly stir.

Ji Ming looked around and saw that he was all alone; there were no other students or aliens.

Instead of going hunting, he opened his bracelet to check the information Xia Qiwen had sent him.

Name: Yuan Dongqing Realm: Jade Uncarved Fifth Level (One Step Towards Godhood)

Introduction: Yuan Dongqing is the number one genius of Donghai City. His father was a mid-level instructor of the Origin School, but his legs were severed by Luo Zhao when he was young, creating a deep-seated grudge. Yuan Dongqing was born with extraordinary talent, his innate talent being the superior transcendent: Sunlit Candlelight. When fully developed, its power is comparable to a low-ranking divine fire (click to view detailed information on Sunlit Candlelight). He has mastered three Heavenly Rank martial arts techniques, all of which have reached their first characteristic, making him incredibly strong and capable of ranking among the top 100 freshmen in the Great Xia Dynasty!

This was the second martial artist on the path to godhood that Ji Ming knew of besides himself, but unfortunately, he was an opponent.

"The local genius of Donghai City —"

Ji Ming murmured to himself, "It seems the Origin School didn't send anyone from the central region to deal with him. Was it because they couldn't, or because they felt it was unnecessary?"

Judging from their strength on paper, his chances of winning against him in a head-on confrontation are indeed very low. His realm, martial arts skills, and talent are no weaker than his, and may even be stronger. The fact that the Origin School sent him to snipe them is already a great honor for him.

Indeed, it was difficult for Ji Ming to win. His only trump card was the Heaven-Breaking Kill, but others also had their own special methods.

So it's impossible to say for sure.

"Yuan Dongqing—this must be one of the strongest people in the eastern region, right?"

Ji Ming murmured, having to admit that he was finding it difficult to withstand this kind of strength!

Is this just the strength of the top 100 students in this cohort? Could someone really break through to the third rank before even entering the school?

"Sigh, Master Luo really has a lot of enemies!"

Ji Ming sighed. He didn't have anything to complain about. He was already mentally prepared. Without Master Luo's help, he would have had a hard time getting to this point. He accepted the consequences.

Fang Yuan had reminded him on the way here that these people weren't exactly enemies, just the Alliance of the Disillusioned. They weren't just from Tianyi Star Palace, but also from other academies, so there was no way to avoid them.

The rise of a strong person is always accompanied by the fall of a large group of people.

He wasn't too worried. The battlefield was huge, and just because he wasn't a match for them now didn't mean he wouldn't be later. There were still three days until the end of the big exam!

Ji Ming looked at the Battle Arena with excitement on his face. He seemed to be able to smell the aura of the alien race. The fourth characteristic was within reach!

He was currently at the foot of a mountain peak. Looking into the distance, he could see a forest with several faint black orbs of light visible.

"What is that?"

Ji Ming frowned as he looked at the several very conspicuous black lights.

After thinking for a moment, he used the Rainbow Strike to enter the forest. He hadn't gone far when he sensed a presence and quickly stopped on a tree.

Dozens of meters away, on an open ground, three alien creatures with leopard heads and human bodies were eating. Their food was an ordinary wild beast. The Battle Demon Arena could be seen as a small world with a complete ecosystem. These alien creatures were captured from the Battlefield of Myriad Realms.

"The Spirit Leopard Clan?"

Ji Ming recognized the race of the three alien beings: the Spirit Leopard Clan, a subordinate race of the Heavenly Demon Realm, barely ranking in the top 1000 of the myriad realms, and hostile to the human race.

He looked at the three Spirit Leopard Clan members; the black light was emanating from them and was very conspicuous.

"Could this be a warning from the Battle Arena to the alien races?"

The moment the thought crossed Ji Ming's mind, he shook his head. Impossible. Searching for alien races was part of the assessment, so why would he be specifically reminded of it?

"So that's my own ability? The black light, does it represent the opposing faction?"

Upon realizing this, Ji Ming was delighted, but then puzzled as to why he hadn't shown this when facing the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Could it be that factions only mark different races?

Or perhaps it's because of the identity cards. Humans have identity cards, even the traitors of the Heavenly Demon Sect, but these alien races don't, so they are as obvious to him as candlelight in the dark.

I don't understand it for now, but whatever the reason, it's a great thing!

There's no need to search carefully; his efficiency in hunting alien races in the Demon Battlefield is undoubtedly greatly enhanced. Most importantly, this ability will be even more useful when he enters the Battlefield of Myriad Realms in the future!

Ji Ming turned his attention back to the three spirit leopards not far away. The weakest alien race in the Battle Demon Arena was at the mid-stage of the second tier, while the three in front of him seemed to have just reached the fourth level of the second tier, belonging to the bottom level of the alien races in the Battle Demon Arena.

Of course, this is not easy for most students who have just reached the registration line for the Star Realm Grand Exam, which is why they need to form teams. Even if they form teams, they are not easy to deal with. It is foreseeable that most students will work hard for three days and in the end they will probably only get a few points. They are just cannon fodder.

Ji Ming felt no pressure whatsoever. He gripped his longsword tightly, and with a flash of rainbow light beneath his feet, he appeared between the three spirit leopards.

"Humans? Die!"

The three spirit leopards looked at him as if they had encountered a long-time enemy. Having been imprisoned for many years, their resentment towards the human race had reached its peak, and they immediately howled and tore at him with their claws.

Ji Ming's gaze turned cold, his will as firm as iron. A deep black light appeared on his alloy longsword, and before the sword was even moved, a crack appeared in the ground.

Sizzle!

With a swift slash of his longsword, Ji Ming moved sideways, and a leopard's head fell to the ground.

In another flash, the four leopard claws separated, and the stench of blood filled the forest.

"you!"

The two remaining leopards, with severed limbs, were terrified and no longer wanted revenge. They staggered and tried to escape.

Ji Ming didn't move an inch. He poured out his source power and simply slashed out two source power blades. The two men were then turned into four pieces of corpses and fell to the ground.

Sheathe your sword!

Ji Ming was not arrogant. It was just a race that barely made it into the top 1,000 in the myriad realms. It was normal for him to crush them. If he were facing the Heavenly Demon Clan, he would never have been so relaxed.

He had just approached the corpse of the Spirit Leopard Clan on the ground when a beam of light enveloped it, and when it dissipated, the corpse had vanished.

Seeing this, Ji Ming curled his lip, thinking, "How stingy!"

The corpses of the Spirit Leopard Clan were actually worth some money, but it was clear that the Battle Arena hadn't prepared any for them. It's worth mentioning that there were no merits awarded for killing alien races in the Battle Arena this time.

However, all of this is understandable. It already took a lot of effort to capture these alien races as assessment targets, so Ji Ming didn't think much of it.

Moreover, he also gained something, as three prompts flashed across his vision.

[Slayed a mid-stage Tier 2 Spirit Leopard Clan member, Faction Value +1]

There were three identical messages, and this time he gained three points of faction value, bringing his faction value to nine points!

"It seems like getting a hundred points isn't that hard!" Ji Ming thought with a hint of delight.

At the same time, three points were added to his bracelet.

The leaderboard shows that there are 3052 test takers in the eastern region.

[Points Leaderboard]

First place: Wan Jue (31 points)

Second place: Zhou Youran (26 points)

"Depend on!"

Ji Ming couldn't help but curse inwardly. It had only been a few minutes, and these two beasts already had twenty or thirty points!

"People from the eight central provinces?" He realized.

Looking further down, we see Yuan Dongqing in sixth place with 12 points, while he himself is ranked 168th with three points.

Of course, this is just the beginning and doesn't prove anything. Some people might be lucky enough to be teleported to a place with a large number of alien races they can deal with, and they might gain a lot of points in one go. But what comes next will depend on their true strength.

"Let's continue!"

Ji Ming let out a breath and quickly rushed into the forest. With the special ability granted by his identity card, his disadvantage in searching for alien races would be somewhat compensated, since he was alone and could not compare to a well-established team.

Those top teams might have members specifically tasked with searching for alien races, but he is inferior. Black light can only be seen with the naked eye, making it less efficient than those with sensory talents.