The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

At 9:00 a.m. sharp, all participants in the Jiuli preliminary training had arrived.

In the huge hall, hundreds or even thousands of people in black trench coats were already seated on both sides.

Wu You glanced around and saw a dense, dark mass of torchbearer geniuses from all over the country, gathered here at this moment.

He also noticed that several people in black trench coats nodded at him in the crowd, both men and women. Although he didn't know who they were, they were all colleagues, and Wu You politely nodded in response.

The man with the buzz cut on the stage cleared his throat. His voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard clearly throughout the entire hall: "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's start with a ranked match."

Wu You, who had been studying the Seven Tribulations Sword Chapter in his mind, opened his eyes: It's finally about to begin.

The man with the buzz cut continued, "I know that everyone here is a genius from different provinces and cities, but—in Jiuli, including those Jiuli members who greeted you at the gate, every single one of them is a genius."

He paused.

"Furthermore, I'm not trying to discourage you. Reaching the fifth rank before the age of twenty-five makes you undeniably geniuses. However, each year, no more than 20% of you can pass the preliminary training."

He glanced at the crowd below the stage, his voice turning serious: "Last year, a total of 1,234 people participated in the training, and only 145 remained. Of those who didn't stay, some returned to their original investigation bureaus, and the rest..."

"They remained forever in the Dark Realm."

The hall fell silent for a moment.

"Some of you will definitely die during this training. And you'll die in the Dark Domain, leaving no trace." The crew-cut man's gaze swept over everyone. "So, anyone who wants to quit can leave now; there will be no punishment."

No one stood up. No one spoke.

More than a thousand pairs of eyes watched the stage calmly; no one was frightened by those few words.

Which fifth-tier torchbearer hasn't experienced brutal battles? Which hasn't faced life-or-death separations?

Withdrawing now would not only be a loss of face for oneself, but also for the recommender, the investigation bureau, and all the torchbearers.

The man with the buzz cut wasn't surprised and nodded: "I'm just saying this as a formality, I don't mean anything by it."

"In Jiuli, strength is everything. High-quality energy stones of various attributes, rare cultivation aids, special weapon materials, and even breakthrough methods beyond the high level—all sorts of things that can't be found outside are available here."

"The premise is that you have the ability."

"If you have the ability, you can take on various missions and earn a lot of contribution points. The missions here are more dangerous than those in local investigation bureaus, and they also give more contribution points."

"Moreover, the tasks here are almost endless, so you don't have to worry about running out of tasks. For example, gathering resources and killing zombies are both permanent tasks, available all the time, and there is no limit to the number of tasks."

Wu You's eyes lit up slightly when he heard this.

The zombie-killing mission is unlimited? Does that mean there are endless zombies to kill here?

But there doesn't seem to be a lot of corpses in these mountains and forests.

He suddenly remembered what Hu Lie had said: they had just returned from the deep dark realm.

So the Corpse Seed is in the deep dark realm?

But how does one enter that so-called deep dark realm?

As he pondered, the crew-cut man continued, "Jiuli is a paradise for the strong. At the same time, it is also the front line against the world of zombies."

He glanced around seriously, his tone suddenly becoming solemn: "At the same time, I have something to warn you about."

"You must cherish your life!"

"Each of you is a valuable asset to the Bureau of Investigation and indeed to all of humanity!"

"As long as you're alive, there's hope."

"Only by living can we have a tomorrow."

"If it weren't for the current situation..." He paused, then waved his hand, "Enough with the chit-chat. Let's begin the qualifying matches before training."

He pointed to the crowd below the stage: "The purpose of this ranking competition is simply to allocate rooms for your training period and to give you an initial amount of contribution points. However, I still want to remind you of something."

"The rooms for different ranks and the number of contribution points given will vary. Here, everything must be earned through your own efforts."

He glanced at his watch and said, "Next, you'll be paired up for the ranking matches. You have five minutes to choose your opponent, and once they agree, you can go up and compete. If you haven't chosen an opponent, the system will randomly assign you to a group. Observational skills are also an important quality, so be careful not to choose the wrong opponent."

At this point, a strange smile appeared on the man's face.

"Five minutes. Start the timer now."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the hall changed abruptly. Pairs of eyes began to scan the surroundings discreetly, choosing their opponents.

Wu You didn't react much, even though he was still in a weak state. Below the eighth rank, there was no second sword strike, not even at the seventh rank limit.

Even a regular eighth-tier fighter can be manipulated to some extent.

His weakness is only that he cannot engage in high-intensity combat for extended periods, but beings at the seventh rank and below have no strength to speak of.

He raised an eyebrow and noticed that several eyes were already on him.

The young man with medium-length hair who was closest to him stood up, holding a sword in his hand, and walked straight towards him.

"Hello, may I choose you as my opponent?" the young man asked, his gaze sweeping over Wu You. "I see you're carrying a sword, so you must be the type who combines abilities with swordsmanship."

Wang Qi glanced at him, a subtle look in his eyes: Who is so brave?

Wu You readily agreed, nodding, "Of course."

The men in black trench coats who had been watching this area suddenly gave each other a regretful look, as if some good thing had been snatched away by someone else.

Two people had already moved quickly to the middle of the platform before them, leaving Wu You and the young man with medium-length hair to wait in line behind them.

Seeing that someone had already chosen their opponent, the man with the buzz cut announced loudly, "The ranking matches begin. There are no restrictions during the matches, except for the prohibition of using lethal or crippling techniques. Even if you get injured, you can be healed here at any time."

Then he tapped on his watch.

The various pieces of equipment that had been placed on the stage slowly sank into the ground, transforming the empty stage into a temporary arena. As the two figures walked onto the stage, a transparent light curtain rose from all sides, enveloping the arena.

The two men in black trench coats nodded to each other after they went on stage.

"Morin, ID NY-14, Rank 5."

"Li Yun, ID number HJ-20, fifth rank."

The battle began as soon as the words were spoken.

Fine blue arcs of electricity suddenly crackled and popped from Morin's body. He raised his hand and sent several arcs of electricity flying out, transforming into silver snakes that slashed towards Li Yun.

The Tang sword in Li Yun's hand was still sheathed when he flashed, so fast that he left an afterimage in his place.

The electric arcs passed through the afterimages and struck the ground, creating several charred craters.

Li Yun is extremely fast, not only in his movement but also in his attacks.

While dodging, he kept getting closer to Morin, and then a five-colored light was unleashed.

The moment they were close, a glint flashed in Li Yun's eyes, and his unsheathed Tang sword slashed at various parts of Mo Lin's body.

The Tang sword made of five-colored crystal seemed weightless in his hands, and he slashed it one after another without end.

Morin, however, remained calm and composed. He abandoned his ranged attacks, withdrew all the electric arcs, and distributed them to various parts of his body, making him look as if he were wearing a layer of lightning armor.

He threw a punch with tremendous force, forcing Li Yun to dodge to the side.

The two engaged in close combat, their movements a mix of electric arcs and flashes of blades, but Li Yun was clearly faster and had better perception.

His knife always managed to slip through the weakest gaps in Morin's electric arc cover, once, twice, three times, leaving shallow scratches on Morin's trench coat with the tip of the blade.

Finally, in the brief moment when Mo Lin missed his punch, Li Yun's Tang sword was placed against his chest.

The knife tip didn't pierce through; it simply remained there steadily.

Morin glanced down, dissipated the electric arcs on his body, and nodded, saying, "Excellent swordsmanship, I concede defeat."

Li Yun sheathed his sword and nodded in return.

The two stepped off the stage at the same time, both with relaxed expressions after their sparring match.

"Next group."

Wu You and the young man with medium-length hair walked towards the ring.

Everyone's attention was drawn to them.

No, to be precise, it was Wu You who attracted him.

That face that shouldn't exist in the mortal world, that head of snow-white hair, has been the focus of the entire hall since just now.

Moreover, everyone wanted to see what level of strength this extraordinary-looking guy possessed.

The two stepped onto the ring and stood facing each other.

"Gongsun Baizhan, ID ZB-42, Rank 5," the young man announced, slowly drawing his sword.

"Wu You, ID LH-36, Rank 7."

Gongsun Baizhan stopped drawing his sword.

Seventh rank?

He slowly turned his head to look at the man with the buzz cut by the stage, his eyes full of question marks: Isn't this a preliminary training program that only those under 25 can participate in? Under 25, level 7? Are you kidding me?

The man with the buzz cut raised an eyebrow, his expression clear: What do you think?

Gongsun Baizhan turned his head with a somewhat dazed expression.

He looked at the white-haired figure opposite him, and only one thought came to his mind—if he wasn't a guy, would he be fighting a level 7 opponent?