Monster Paradise

The battle drill that stretched over three days was a miserable one. Among the 3,000 students, only 800 of them completed the drill, which was barely a quarter of them. Most of them were brought back by the guardians after suffering severe dehydration. Still, the 800 students who completed the assessment almost cried when they heard the drill was finally over. Many teachers could not help but laugh when they watched the students crying for help from the surveillance cameras.

”What a great assessment venue the dean picked! I’m sure the students will remember this battle drill for the rest of their lives and figure that the real wild zone isn’t as simple as they thought.” Qin Tianxing drank with Lin Huang during the first couple of days. He vented out his crush towards Hong Zhuang while sobbing. He ended up feeling much better after that. However, Lin Huang did not tell him that Hong Zhuang was still alive.

”It was I who suggested the venue to the dean,” Lin Huang whispered into his ear.

Qin Tianxing was speechless.

The assessment results came out on Monday. Among all of the Year 1 students, the highest passing rate came from Lin Huang’s Sword Dao Class 2 whereby among the 50 of them, 36 students had passed. In contrast, no other classes had more than 20 students who passed. 19 students passed in Saber Dao Class 1 and 16 from Sword Dao Class 1. Therefore, Sword Dao Class 2 became the dark horse of the assessment and achieved the first place among the entire Year 1. They did not only surpass Sword Dao Year 1 but also Saber Dao Class 1.

Of course, there were two most outstanding students. One of them was Mu Xiao from Saber Dao Class 1. He had leveled up to bronze-level rank-3 during the past few months. It was obvious that he did not take it easy on himself at all. Another one would be Lin Xin (Ling Xue). Lin Xin’s combat level was actually the same as Mu Xiao’s, but she had concealed her real abilities. She used gunfighting technique during the battle, and she was only 12 points away from Mu Xiao, which was far away from the third best student.

Looking at the results, Qin Tianxing could not help but ask Lin Huang, ”Did you tell the students about the assessment venue before the battle started?”

”Definitely not. I know the rules, I’ve never ever mentioned the battle drill’s venue.” Lin Huang shook his head as he looked dead serious.

”Then, how do you explain your students’ excellent passing rate?” Qin Tianxing was still skeptical.

”I’ve always taught them the ways to handle different terrains. You’ve sat in my classes before. Besides the desert, I’ve taught them the survival skills to go through islands, glaciers, and the ocean,” Lin Huang explained. Qin Tianxing thought about it and recalled that Lin Huang really did talk about all those during his class and had gone through them thoroughly in his explanation.

As the results were announced on Monday, many of the students who did not complete the battle drill thought that they would fail, but Liu Ming gave all of them a pass and explained the purpose of the battle drill. The assessment left a deep impression on all of the students. After the results were announced in the morning, the students sat in class as usual. It was the last week of class in this semester. All of the cultural studies’ examinations would end this week.

Knowing that all of them passed the battle drill, the students were relieved. In the following days, Lin Huang proceeded with his routine. He basically memorized all of the information that he had studied in the library. He even had copies of the information stored in his Emperor’s Heart Ring. Soon, it was Friday, the students’ last day of the semester.

In the battle training ground, Lin Huang gathered his 50 Sword Dao Class 2 students and taught them the sword skill that he had promised them - the Great Sword Scripture (simplified). The Great Sword Scripture was actually an advanced sword skill which Lin Huang had first learned. It formed a solid foundation for him and made the learning of other sword skills easier for him. There were 36 forms in the complete Great Sword Scripture, which belonged to the transcendent-level combat skill and was challenging to learn. If Lin Huang had not learned it by accumulating card pieces, it would have taken him one and a half years to master this sword skill.

To make it easier for the students, Lin Huang broke the sword skills down into 12 forms and downgraded it to a gold-level combat skill. It was now much easier to pick up.

”The sword skill that I’m teaching today is called the 12 Great Swords. It comes from a transcendent-level combat skill…”

”A transcendent-level combat skill?!” All of the students’ eyes lit up when they heard that.

”This is the last sword skill that I’ll be teaching you guys. I hope that you’ll learn it properly.”

After the simple introduction, Lin Huang started performing the 12 forms three times before letting the students train. The students were serious during this class where they trained from 2 p.m. until past 11 p.m. None of them left. Some of them who had bought tickets to board the Demonic Crystal Spaceship postponed their ride. Lin Huang looked at the 50 students who were present and gave his farewell message.

”I hope that all of you can shine at what you’re good at after you graduate two and a half years later. I believe I’ll be proud of you when I meet any of you in the future.”

”Sir Lin…” Many of the girls started weeping, and some of the boys even had tears rolling down their faces.

”Alright, the class ends here. Class adjourned!” Lin Huang looked across the room and beamed.

”Sir Lin, please don’t go yet. I still have questions for you!” Shangguan Hui raised her hand.

”Sir Lin, I have questions too!” Zhou Ling and the rest echoed Shangguan Hui. The students raised their hands one by one.

Lin Huang smiled awkwardly as it was already past 11 p.m. but the students still refused to leave.

”Alright then, each of you gets to ask one more question, and then you’ve got to stop messing around. Go back to your dorm after this! It’s okay if you don’t need rest, but the management lady deserves her holiday!”

”Sir Lin, which division are you going next year?” Somebody asked immediately.

”I think this has nothing to do with your learning.” Lin Huang was irritated.

”Sir Lin, please tell us that!” A couple of students insisted.

”Alright then. I’m considering going to Division 3,” Lin Huang answered helplessly.

”Sir Lin, Sir Lin, I heard the girls saying that Ling Xue from Class 1 is your sister. Is that true?” The students went into gossip mode.

”She’s my cousin.” Lin Huang nodded and admitted. As Lin Xin was using a different alias now, he had to say that she was his cousin.

”Sir Lin, are you really only 16?” Another girl asked.

”I’m 17 this year.” Lin Huang smiled.

…

The students asked their questions rapidly. Most of them were merely gossip that had nothing to do with their studies. None of them followed Lin Huang’s rule of one person getting only one question each. They chatted until 3 a.m. and soon, the sky was getting bright. Lin Huang stopped the questions as some of the students were evidently sleepy.

”Alright, return to your dorms to rest. Go back home during the holidays and spend more time with your families. I won’t delete the group chat, so I’ll see whatever you guys are talking about. You can talk to me personally if you need to. I’ll still be in Division 7 before New Year’s Eve.”

The students left unwillingly. Lin Huang watched the battle training ground after sending of the students. He knew that it was the end for him and the college…