Free Web NovelChapter 219: Chapter 166: News from an Exotic Land
"Mr. Wu, what’s the longest record?"
Mr. Wu seemed to be thinking, then said with some uncertainty, "I don’t think anyone’s ever gone over two hours. No one really keeps official track of it. Usually, a prodigy’s comprehension time ranges from ten minutes to two hours, but it’s rare to exceed one. Among the three S+ prodigies we’ve recruited this year, yours is likely the longest."
Then, he added consolingly, "You don’t need to stress about the opportunity from the Profound Armor Celestial Gate. It only shaves off some training time and won’t cause any fundamental changes.
For an average Martial Artist, it just plants a seed, which might save them that final push down the line. For prodigies like you, it’s just a matter of saving a month or so.
The main thing is that opening the Profound Armor Celestial Gate is quite energy-intensive, which is why it’s only activated for these three days of enrollment. On a normal day, it’s just a regular school gate."
Mr. Wu called it ordinary, but he couldn’t hide the proud tone in his voice.
Yu Fei looked around but couldn’t find the ’yo-yo ball’ tour guide. Du Mingxuan explained, "The little fella ran off as soon as it brought us here, but some teaching assistants are coming to get us."
That’s when he noticed three Martial Artists—two men and a woman—waiting not far off. They seemed reserved, smiling warmly from a distance but not approaching. Oddly enough, all three of them were also wearing glasses of different styles.
"The school posts orientation missions on the internal Shenhan board of the ’Ping Tianxia’ system. Every job they take earns them merit points. They’re probably your upperclassmen!"
Mr. Wu explained from the side.
Yu Fei briefly scanned them with his senses. All three had the aura of a second-realm Martial Artist. However, they kept glancing over his head, as if something were floating there.
Mr. Wu waved them over, and the three approached with utmost respect.
"Mr. Wu!"
Mr. Wu nodded in acknowledgment, then turned to Yu Fei. "The school’s guide bots bring new students to the Profound Armor Celestial Gate, after which we arrange for upperclassmen or TAs to give the regular freshmen a tour of Shenhan University. It’s a school tradition."
This was clearly directed at Yu Fei. Ye Feng had a C-level designation, and Mr. Wu was responsible for both of them. The others should have been picked up long ago, but they hadn’t wanted to leave Yu Fei. Plus, with Mr. Wu’s permission, these three upperclassmen had waited.
Yu Fei understood the implication. Looking at the friends who had traveled with him from Tianning County, he said earnestly, "Thank you again for earlier. Let’s find some time to get together once we’re all settled in!"
"Of course!"
Dongfang Yebai was as cool and spirited as ever. "Just don’t pretend you don’t know us when the time comes, Mr. Yu!"
"Haha, you’re exaggerating."
They said their goodbyes one by one, with only Li Mengyao reluctantly letting go of Yu Fei’s hand.
"Then I’ll be going..."
"Don’t worry. We’ll probably see each other again very soon."
The three of them were escorted away by the exceptionally polite upperclassmen, leaving Yu Fei and Ye Feng standing there.
Mr. Wu took the lead and said with a flourish, "This way, you two geniuses!"
Ye Feng frowned. "That’s strange, Mr. Wu. You said those three upperclassmen were just doing the orientation mission to earn merit points. We held them up for so long, so why were they still so polite to us?"
Mr. Wu laughed, deliberately being mysterious. "As for that question, you’ll find out once you’re officially enrolled!"
The two of them followed Mr. Wu. As they drew closer, they saw that the Profound Armor Celestial Gate wasn’t fully closed; a gap of at least thirty meters remained between the two massive doors, wide enough to pass through.
It took them a walk of a hundred meters to pass through the thick doors, and then the world before them opened up.
The first thing that met their eyes was a holographic giant hundreds of meters tall. It held a spear in one hand, ready to conquer the world, radiating an aura of heroic and domineering might as it looked down on everything.
Ye Feng murmured, "Is that... the Grand Ancestor?"
Beyond the Profound Armor Celestial Gate lay a vast, fantastical city. Countless magnificent buildings soared into the sky, and all sorts of single-person Flying Devices zipped between them, seemingly following invisible rules. A massive city train sped along a wide road before launching into the air.
In the distance, a massive, diamond-shaped structure floated in the sky, with the faint silhouettes of lush, magnificent green plants visible within. A fantastical city, the likes of which could never be seen on the public web, had suddenly materialized before them.
Yu Fei’s and Ye Feng’s pupils contracted involuntarily. They stopped dead in their tracks, utterly stunned by the magnificent sight like a couple of country bumpkins.
A look of satisfaction crossed Mr. Wu’s face. With an expression of both love and pride, he spread his arms wide and declared in a sonorous voice, "Welcome to Shenhan!"
He thoroughly enjoyed seeing the geniuses’ shocked expressions and was secretly recording them with his personal virtual mirror.
In a world where supreme power is held by individuals, the best resources naturally flow to the strongest and most talented. Technology, of course, is no exception.
As an institution that represented the pinnacle of human achievement in technology, martial arts, and military power, its true strength was unfathomable. Even Mr. Wu, a Grandmaster, knew less than ten percent of what Shenhan was truly capable of.
When he turned back around, however, he saw that Yu Fei had already regained his composure, while Ye Feng was still gawking in shock.
’He couldn’t help but marvel inwardly. ’Yu Fei really is an oddball. Even the other S-rank prodigies from his year took a long time to snap out of it.’ What Mr. Wu didn’t know was that Yu Fei was just as astonished as anyone else; his 7x neural reaction speed simply masked it, allowing him to recover his composure much faster than others.
Mr. Wu gestured, and a fiery red, dragon-headed Flying Device floated to a stop before them. It was nimble and silent, making not a single sound, its exterior showing no sign of any exhaust ports.
"Climb aboard, you two!"
Once they were inside, they discovered the view from the cabin was completely unobstructed. Aside from the floor beneath their feet, everything around them was transparent, as if there were no cabin at all.
