A Special Welcome Ceremony — Life on the Line

The handsome black-haired youth standing beside Lu Yuan immediately frowned in displeasure. "Who exactly are you calling little white rabbits?!"

The others furrowed their brows as well, visibly unhappy. They were, after all, prodigies of the Talent Camp — proud by nature. Being dismissed the moment they arrived left them quietly seething.

The bald man grinned. "What? Think I've got it wrong? I hear you're supposed to be prodigies from the Talent Camp. The way I see it, you're all hothouse flowers — never been through a real storm in your lives."

Maige's brow furrowed slightly. "Sir, that's not really fair. We've hunted plenty of Feral Beasts and fought other races in the Land of Origin. We're not hothouse flowers."

Maige's words drew laughter from the uniformed soldiers.

"Ha! Hunted Feral Beasts in the Land of Origin? Fought other races?"

The bald man curled his lip in contempt. "Dying in the Land of Origin just sends you back to the real world. If you're so tough, try dying here."

The words drained the color from Maige and the others' faces. In the real world, you only had one life. Dead meant dead — there was no coming back.

A beautiful girl with long, wavy hair lifted her chin defiantly. "Even in the real world, we're not weak!"

"Is that so?"

The bald man's smile gave nothing away.

His gaze swept over the ten of them, pausing briefly on Lu Yuan's impassive face. Then a strange, sly grin spread across his features.

"Our commander has prepared quite the welcome ceremony in your honor. Come on — follow us."

Without waiting for a response, he and the others turned and walked away. Lu Yuan's group exchanged glances, then followed.

Watching the Southern Guard soldiers walking ahead, the black-haired youth who had spoken up first wrinkled his brow. "Lu Yuan, any idea what kind of welcome ceremony they're planning?"

His name was Zhu Zhengyang — Lu Yuan had taken note of it when names were called earlier.

"Yeah, Ah Yuan," Maige added. "They don't seem to like us much. What should we do? You're the strongest among us — give us your read on this. We'll follow your lead." The others turned to Lu Yuan as well.

Lu Yuan smiled. "Don't overthink it. If Southern Guard headquarters assigned us here, they'll accept us in the end. Right now they probably just don't trust our abilities and see us as dead weight."

"Dead weight?!"

A stocky brown-haired youth scowled at the officer's retreating back. "We're not even twenty and we're already Second-rank, all of us with at least Boss Grade genes. We're stronger than the vast majority of people in this camp — and they're calling us dead weight? Unbelievable. The nerve." His name was Xiu Mu.

The others wore equally irritated expressions.

"Exactly," said the wavy-haired girl — Yan Jing. "Those guys up front are all Second-rank Elite Grade at best. Even the bald one is only a bit stronger than that. What makes them think they can look down on us?"

Lu Yuan shook his head. "We'll see how it plays out. We're here now, regardless."

The group exchanged glances, resigned.

The defensive camp was divided into a military district for the Southern Guard's training and daily life, and a civilian zone open to adventurers. The military district stretched four kilometers long by three kilometers wide — a broad rectangle capable of housing tens of thousands of Guard members. They had landed at a small airfield on the district's outer edge, isolated from everything else by a considerable distance.

After a long walk, they arrived at an enormous plaza. Along one side stood a white stone fighting stage roughly thirty meters across. The stone bore fresh bloodstains and spiderweb cracks. Around it sat hundreds of uniformed Guard soldiers, cross-legged in perfect silence.

As Lu Yuan's group approached, every head turned in unison to watch them. Not a word was spoken — just silent, appraising stares. Lu Yuan scanned the crowd and estimated several thousand people. Probably everyone who wasn't out on assignment. He glanced back at Maige and the others. They all looked equally unsettled.

"They brought us to a fighting stage just to put us in our place?" Zhu Zhengyang said coldly, his expression dark.

The rest of them didn't look much better.

The bald man led Lu Yuan's group down a path that had been deliberately cleared through the crowd, stopping at the base of the stage. Three figures stood atop it, hands clasped behind their backs.

The one at the front was a lean middle-aged man with dark green short hair. He wore a smile that had narrowed his already-small eyes to slits.

Beside him stood a towering blond man — well over two meters tall and built like a siege weapon. He had one natural eye and one mechanical replacement: a crimson mechanical eye that rotated on its own, tracking Lu Yuan's group as they moved. His head and good eye hadn't moved at all. The effect was deeply unsettling.

The third was a beautiful red-haired woman. Her black form-fitting uniform did nothing to hide her striking figure. Her lips were full, her eyes the deep crimson of burning coals, and her whole bearing radiated wild energy. She was watching Lu Yuan's group with obvious amusement.

Once the bald man had brought the group to the base of the stage, he snapped a sharp salute. "Commander! Reporting — all personnel have been brought."

The green-haired commander nodded, his smile unchanged, and turned his gaze to Lu Yuan's group. After a brief appraisal, the smile settled into something warmer.

"Talent Camp prodigies, as advertised. So young, already Second-rank, and every one of you radiating serious presence. Gene quality isn't bad either."

At those words, Maige and the others visibly relaxed. The commander's manner was far easier to deal with than the bald man's sneering.

The commander continued, his voice mild and easy. "That said — you're technically new recruits. Before headquarters sent you my way, I knew nothing about any of you. I need to see what you're capable of so I can assign you to positions that suit your strengths."

A glimmer of understanding passed through the group.

Zhu Zhengyang stepped forward with a cold laugh. "Fine by me. Honestly, I've been curious how strong the Southern Guard actually is."

The commander glanced at him and nodded pleasantly. "Then let's begin."

The three figures stepped down from the stage. Zhu Zhengyang stepped up.

He swept his gaze over the thousands of assembled Guard soldiers and smiled coldly. "I'm Zhu Zhengyang. Anyone who thinks they can impress me — come on up."

"Anyone who wants to challenge him, go ahead," the commander said.

At that, more than a dozen soldiers shot to their feet at once.

"I'll go!"

"Me! Get out of the way — I want to see just how talented these Talent Camp prodigies are!"

"Back off, all of you! Let me go first!"

Over a dozen men were jostling for the chance.

Up on the stage, Zhu Zhengyang's expression darkened. He felt utterly dismissed. "All at once, then," he said icily.

The commander chuckled. "No need to pile on — Bai Dun, you go." He pointed casually at one of the black-haired men.

Bai Dun's eyes lit up with undisguised delight. The others stiffened, then reluctantly dropped back into their seats.

Bai Dun hopped onto the stage and flashed a broad grin, showing his teeth. "Zhu Zhengyang? Name's Bai Dun. Let's get started."

Black battle armor materialized over him, twin black longswords appearing in his hands. Standard military issue — unmistakable at a glance. An Assault Type Gene Warrior.

Watching Bai Dun's eager expression, Zhu Zhengyang's face went cold. *A Second-rank Elite Grade warrior? Is this actually an insult?* Sure, he was nothing special at the Talent Camp — at Second-rank, his imprinted genes were only Boss Grade. But sending an Elite Grade warrior against him? That was a statement of contempt.

A crimson robe materialized around him, a Staff appearing in his hand.

"Come on, then." He tilted his chin up and stared down at Bai Dun.

Bai Dun rolled his neck. A flash of white light swept over him — and in the next instant he surged forward in a burst of speed.

Zhu Zhengyang's expression was cool. He swept his Staff through the air, Spirit Power surging, and a massive five-meter flame serpent erupted onto the stage — a summoning Combat Technique, rare enough to draw a few eyes. The serpent let out a hissing roar and lunged at Bai Dun.

Simultaneously, Zhu Zhengyang whipped his Staff again, and a sword of condensed flame shot toward Bai Dun.

Bai Dun had barely evaded the flame serpent when the flame sword was already on him. His speed wasn't exceptional, but his face was utterly calm — he tilted his head just enough. The blade of fire carved a charred gash along his cheek, leaving a scorched wound.

"That all you've got?" Zhu Zhengyang scoffed.

He conjured a volley of flame swords and launched them at Bai Dun. They came fast — too fast for an Elite Grade warrior to dodge cleanly. Some he couldn't fully evade, taking light wounds. His uniform was scored with burn marks and streaks of blood.

Zhu Zhengyang pressed relentlessly, his cold smile never wavering, giving Bai Dun no chance to close the gap. As an Elemental Type Gene Warrior, he knew his physical strength was only average — so he maintained his range with precise, practiced control.

Then something changed. Bai Dun's face twisted into something savage. His skin flushed deep red as blood energy surged through him, and in the next instant his speed jumped another tier. He charged straight for Zhu Zhengyang — and made no move to dodge the flame sword in his path.

**Fsss!**

The sword of fire drove straight into Bai Dun's side. A charred wound bloomed open, blood pouring out. But he'd closed the distance significantly.

Ice shot through Zhu Zhengyang. He hadn't expected Bai Dun to simply take the hit. His expression hardened, and he launched two more flame swords in quick succession.

The flame serpent, still in pursuit, swept its enormous tail toward Bai Dun.

Bai Dun's face was contorted in a snarl. He thrust out his left hand, sword blazing with ferocious intent, and swung at the two incoming flame swords — using Heavy Slash, the most basic of Common Grade Combat Techniques.

*Heavy Slash against flame swords?* The thought barely formed in Zhu Zhengyang's mind before the answer arrived: the flame swords devoured Bai Dun's black sword and tore into his left arm, shredding it open. Blood sprayed across the stone in a wide arc.

But in the brief moment that Heavy Slash offered the slightest resistance, Bai Dun shifted one small step sideways.

At that same instant, the flame serpent's tail connected squarely with his back.

**Boom!**

Bai Dun was launched through the air — directly toward Zhu Zhengyang. Even as he flew, blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, he activated another Combat Technique and accelerated mid-flight. The speed was far greater than before. He was at Zhu Zhengyang's face in an instant, his remaining right hand bringing the sword down toward Zhu Zhengyang's head.

Zhu Zhengyang was already forming another flame sword.

But then he looked into Bai Dun's eyes.

The killing intent there hit him like a wall. Death. Real death. A chill flooded through him from scalp to fingertips, and his mind went completely white. Cold sweat poured down his back. *He's trading his life for mine?!*

On pure instinct, Zhu Zhengyang released his flame sword and retreated. But as an Elemental Type warrior — Boss Grade genes notwithstanding — his speed was no match for Bai Dun, who was still riding the force of the serpent's impact. He was caught almost instantly.

The sword came down and stopped at Zhu Zhengyang's throat. Blood welled slowly from a thin cut. He stood perfectly still, drained of all color, staring at Bai Dun — covered in blood, covered in burns, barely standing — and couldn't quite grasp what had just happened.

Bai Dun grinned. "Looks like I win."

Then his body swayed, and he collapsed forward.

Zhu Zhengyang's mind was still blank when Bai Dun fell directly onto him, smearing blood across his robes.

A white-haired woman in long robes appeared on the stage. She swept her Staff in a practiced arc, and soft white radiance flowed into Bai Dun's battered body. His savage wounds slowly stopped bleeding and began to mend. Then a man in a white robe lifted Bai Dun and carried him away, flashing a grin at the still-dazed Zhu Zhengyang before turning to leave.

Only then did Zhu Zhengyang's senses return to him. He opened his mouth — and found he had nothing to say.

The green-haired commander stepped up onto the stage, smile unchanged, voice mild as ever. "It seems our Southern Guard has won this one."

Below the stage, Maige and the others stared wide-eyed in stunned silence.

Lu Yuan watched it all, and his mind drifted back to that life-or-death fight against Xue Ren in Xili City. Real-world combat truly was different from fighting in the Land of Origin. Dying there wasn't really dying — but here, death was permanent. The prodigies of the Talent Camp had perhaps tasted death in the Land of Origin. But how many of them had ever truly fought for their lives in the real world?