Chapter 88: Chapter 70: Doomsday City District

As the blinding white light receded like a tide, Li Wen opened his eyes again to the smell of gunpowder mixed with rust and damp rot assaulting his nostrils.

He found himself kneeling on one knee on a small mound of rubble.

As far as the eye could see stretched the vast ruins of a city that had suffered a cataclysm: the Doomsday City District.

Broken overpasses, like dying steel serpents, were twisted and smashed into the cracked asphalt, their rust-covered rebar skeletons exposed to the air.

The remaining glass of a half-collapsed skyscraper’s curtain wall refracted an eerie light in the dimness, illuminating the burning car wrecks and toppled billboards scattered across the street below.

A fine gray dust filled the air. A broken neon sign for the "Star Department Store" still flickered, its light wavering against a wall pockmarked with blackened craters, creating a particularly desolate scene.

The streets were clogged with debris and concrete fragments. Discarded newspapers swirled in the whining wind that poured through the gaps in the high-rises.

Farther in the distance, a building shaped like a greatsword pierced the clouds. It was the New Era Energy Tower, standing tall in the city’s heart and emanating a cold, blue light. Something seemed to be lurking in the shadows at its peak.

The blood-red light of the setting sun slanted through the city’s collapsed skeleton, outlining the ruins in a menacing silhouette and stretching the shadows of countless lurking figures across the ground.

In the silence, there was only the whining wind and the distant groaning of stressed metal. A heavy sense of danger pressed down on him.

Reality—Bluestone County—High School Viewing Areas

At the same time, on the sports fields and in the grand auditoriums of every high school in Bluestone County, enormous light screens lit up. They were split into hundreds of shifting feeds, each broadcasting a live stream of one of Bluestone County’s top candidates in the virtual battlefield.

Throngs of first and second-year students were packed together, a cacophony of discussion filling every corner.

Everyone craned their necks, cheering on the upperclassmen they recognized.

Bluestone First Middle School:

Massive cheers erupted one after another in the viewing area for the First Middle School.

"Look! It’s Senior Jiang Lingyun! That sword is so cool!"

"On top of a residential building! Quick, look! Two in green and one in blue are attacking him at the same time!"

"Whoa! ’Light-Splitting Shadow Sword’! So powerful! He wiped out all three of them in an instant! His points are shooting up!"

All eyes were fixed on Jiang Lingyun. Clad in robes whiter than snow, his movements were fluid and graceful. He moved like a Sword Immortal descended to the mortal realm, weaving through the treacherous ruins. Wherever the flash of his blade appeared, Low Tier virtual enemies fell.

Bluestone Second Middle School:

"Go, Brother Tang! Smash them with your chain hammer!" The atmosphere in the Second Middle School’s viewing section was boisterous and aggressive.

On the screen, the burly Tang Jin swung his chain hammer as he charged into an overturned bus. The heavy weapon came crashing down, deforming the vehicle’s frame. The two blue-clad swordsmen ambushing inside instantly dissolved into streams of data, and his score steadily climbed.

"The ’Tough Guy of Second Middle’ really lives up to the name!" the students exclaimed, high-fiving in excitement.

Bluestone Third Middle School:

The atmosphere on the Third Middle School’s field, however, was charged with a long-suppressed yearning and an excitement on the verge of eruption.

The gazes of students and teachers alike were locked onto a few select feeds.

One figure in particular—

"Senior Li Wen! There he is!"

A first-year student shouted excitedly, pointing to the feed in the top-left corner.

On the screen, Li Wen was crouched behind a low wall, his sharp eyes scanning the street ahead.

"It’s really him! The Unity Realm! After all these years, our Third Middle School has finally produced another genius who reached the Unity Realm before graduation!"

A second-year student clenched his fist, his voice trembling with pride.

"What rank do you guys think he’ll get in the county this time?"

"Top thirty is a lock! In previous years, that was basically the private playground for the First Middle School!"

"Top thirty? You’re seriously underestimating the Unity Realm! There are only a dozen or so publicly-known Unity Realm students in the entire county! Senior Li Wen will definitely make the top ten!"

A boy adjusted his glasses, his tone firm and certain.

"That’s right! And don’t forget the physical assessment earlier. With a physique score of 8.0, he unleashed a terrifying punch with the force of a 10.8!

"That means Senior Li Wen is already well along the path of the Unity Realm. He definitely has a shot at the top ten! If he’d only just entered the realm, he’d be lucky to break the top twenty."

Someone beside him immediately chimed in, his voice filled with excitement.

"You’re right, he could even make the top five!" More and more people felt their confidence soaring, their eyes glued to Li Wen’s feed with fiery intensity.

The Third Middle School had been in the shadows for too long. They desperately needed a standard-bearer like Li Wen to emerge.

「A few minutes earlier.」

Virtual: Doomsday City District—Core Rules Activated

A cold, emotionless mechanical voice sounded in the minds of all the candidates:

[Assessment Mode Loaded: Trial by Combat (Melee)]

[Terrain: Doomsday City District (Randomly Generated)]

[Enemy Tiers (by Attire/Power; darker colors indicate greater power):

Black (Advanced Blade Technique: Entry Level)

White (Advanced Blade Technique: Minor Achievement)

Red (Advanced Blade Technique: Major Achievement)

Orange (Advanced Blade Technique: Perfection)

Yellow (Peak Blade Technique: Entry Level)

Green (Peak Blade Technique: Minor Achievement)

Cyan (Peak Blade Technique: Major Achievement)

Blue (Peak Blade Technique: Perfection)

Purple (Unity Realm)]

[Additional Threat: "The Black and White Powers" (3x Power Realm Powerhouse Simulacra, Ultimate Hunters. Respawn stronger upon death!)]

[Mode: Point-Based (Prioritize high-value targets), Active Hunt (Enemies will actively seek and surround candidates)]

[Assessment Countdown: 119:59...]

In almost the same instant, figures of various colors emerged like phantoms from the city’s empty corners, its shadows, and the rubble of its broken walls.

Virtual enemies clad in black, white, red, and orange held cold, standard-issue longswords, their hollow eyes locking onto the scattered "life sources" within the battlefield.

Like activated killing machines, they began moving toward the nearest candidates at varying speeds and with different strategies. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

They made no sound, save for the faint whistle of their blades slicing through the air and the crunch of their footsteps on the rubble, ratcheting the already tense atmosphere to its breaking point.

"Active Hunt mode? Interesting!"

On a street corner, Tang Jin from the Second Middle School licked his lips. Hoisting a heavy shield, he took the initiative and charged toward a fast-moving squad of three green-clad enemies.

...

Time passed quietly.

Divine Techniques were unleashed from all directions as the melee began.

Bluestone First Middle School · Jiang Lingyun (Live Score: 1520)

He moved like a white phantom between the high-rise facades, his Body Technique incomparably nimble.

Three cyan-clad figures had just lunged from a shattered window when a flash of sword light swept past them like a flowing cloud.

FWIP! FWIP! FWIP! Three heads flew into the air, their bodies dissolving into light before they even hit the ground.

His movements were as fluid as flowing water, filled with a transcendent rhythm. On the light screen, his score leaped upwards.

The viewing area for the First Middle School erupted in even louder cheers. "Sword God! Lingyun Sword God!"