Zhou Wenshan used his Spiritual Power to lift the ten competing students and flew them all the way from Dongli University to Dongping Airport.

Aside from Zhou Wenshan and Pei Wuhua, a female school doctor from Dongli University, who specialized in healing skills, also accompanied the group.

Although the event organizers would provide medical staff, they felt more at ease having one of their own.

A crew from Dongli TV Station also joined them, as they would be broadcasting the entire exchange tournament live.

The group boarded the plane and took off for the Peninsula Country.

On the plane, the other nine team members were jittery with excitement, chatting amongst themselves to ease their nerves. Su Ze, however, hadn’t slept in four days, so he simply reclined his seat and began to catch up on his rest.

Zhou Wenshan glanced at the team’s condition and couldn’t help but shake his head with a small laugh. He turned to Pei Wuhua beside him and said, "That kid, Su Ze... his composure is really something else for a seventeen-year-old."

The other members were all trying to make small talk to ease their tension, but Su Ze just knocked right out. It was as if he didn’t even know the meaning of the word ’nervous.’

"Let’s hope he can give us a pleasant surprise in the team tournament," Pei Wuhua said with a smile.

Having witnessed Su Ze’s insane defensive capabilities, he was now counting on him to play a crucial role in the team event and help them secure a good result.

Zhou Wenshan nodded. "Our focus really needs to be on the team event this time. But since the tournament is at Island University... those guys from the Peninsula Country can be pretty shameless."

Pei Wuhua seemed to recall something and frowned as well. The people of the Peninsula Country were notoriously shameless and masters of playing dirty.

...

The Peninsula Country was located in the southernmost part of the Lin Hua Continent, a long way from Dongli.

Crucially, the journey required them to cross two other nations: the Luofan Country and the Mu Country. They had to land for identity verification upon entering each one before being allowed to proceed, which wasted a lot of time.

Su Ze felt a bit uneasy when they landed in the Mu Country, half-expecting the Mu King to suddenly appear and attack. Fortunately, their stop passed without incident.

Su Ze’s group had departed on the 18th, so by the time they arrived in the Peninsula Country, it was already the 19th.

The Peninsula Country was surrounded by the sea on three sides, leaving it constantly facing the threat of invasion by Marine Beasts and under immense pressure to defend its borders.

As a result, the entire population of the Peninsula Country was militarized. All adult men had to perform military service, and all evolutionists, regardless of gender, were required to serve a two-year tour of duty in the coastal regions.

Their destination, Island University, wasn’t actually built on an island. Instead, the entire school was constructed from reefs taken from the sea.

Island University was located in a coastal city in the Peninsula Country. It had a long-standing tradition: for students in the practical combat department to graduate, they had to travel to a nearby island, retrieve a piece of reef rock, and add it to the school’s walls.

This journey was extremely dangerous, as students could encounter all sorts of Marine Beasts along the way. Only those who successfully brought back a piece of reef were allowed to graduate from Island University.

Using the reef rocks brought back by generation after generation of students, Island University had grown larger and more magnificent over time.

When Su Ze and his group arrived at Island University and saw the towering compound walls built from reef rock, they couldn’t help but be impressed by the sight, which was both rustic and spectacular.

’The people of the Peninsula Country might be a bit shameless, but they have to be given some credit for managing to thrive in such a harsh environment, surrounded by the sea on three sides.’

Zhou Wenshan and Pei Wuhua, on the other hand, looked unfazed. This wasn’t their first visit to Island University.

"Welcome, welcome! Mr. Zhou, long time no see!"

A vigorous, white-haired old man emerged from Island University to greet them.

"Mr. Jin, you’re looking well," Zhou Wenshan said, stepping forward with a smile.

A young teacher accompanied Mr. Jin of Island University.

Zhou Wenshan and Mr. Jin walked off, chatting and laughing, leaving the young teacher to arrange accommodations for Su Ze’s group.

Island University had arranged for them to stay on the third floor of a dormitory building.

The entire dormitory had been cleared out specifically to house the competing teams from the other five nations.

The team from Luofan Academy was staying on the floor below them, while the team from the Great Desert Kingdom was on the floor above.

The teams from the Mu Country and the Ancient An Country were staying on the fifth and sixth floors, respectively.

The first floor housed a cafeteria where Island University provided the five nations’ teams with specialty cuisine from the Peninsula Country around the clock. But Su Ze lost all interest after a single glance. ’Spicy cabbage and instant noodles count as a specialty cuisine?’

’And then there’s that hodgepodge of a stew they fancily call "army stew." Isn’t it just a bunch of random stuff thrown together?’

’The Peninsula Country’s food is only marginally better than the Luofan Country’s.’

Fortunately, there was a kitchen on the third floor, so Su Ze and his teammates could cook for themselves.

The third floor had a dozen or so rooms in a row, one for each of them. Su Ze had just entered his room and set down his luggage when a teacher from Island University came looking for Pei Wuhua.

They had come to collect the list of participants, including the entries for the individual competition and the roster for the team event.

It was already the 19th, and the tournament would officially begin the next day. Therefore, all six university teams had to submit their final rosters to Island University today.

Dongli University’s roster had been finalized long ago, so Pei Wuhua submitted it on the spot.

A short while later, Island University published the complete rosters for all six participating nations.

The members of the Dongli University team gathered together and began to discuss the lists animatedly.

Pei Wuhua called Su Ze over as well. He scanned the rosters, but he hardly recognized any of the names.

The only familiar names were a few on the Mu Country’s list. He was able to recall information about them from Zhao Lingxiao’s memories—they were all well-known geniuses from the Mu Country.

"Each country’s strongest contenders will definitely be competing in both the individual and team events," Li Zhi analyzed. "So, we just need to identify those people and pay close attention to them."