The car raced along, its driving style becoming even wilder once it left the city. The group couldn’t help but grip the handholds for dear life. Despite their considerable strength, they still needed something to brace themselves against amid the violent jolting.

The small windows on the sides of the vehicle were sealed shut, completely blocking their view of the outside. Under these circumstances, trying to close their eyes and meditate felt a little self-deceptive.

Five hours passed, and they still hadn’t reached their destination, but the atmosphere among the group had gradually grown more familiar.

The young man sitting next to Yu Fei was named Fu Bin. Like Yu Fei, he was a second-realm Martial Artist with an orange talent.

The chatterbox, Cha Qizhe, was a third-realm Martial Artist with a red talent.

And the last girl to get on, Tang DanDan, also had a red talent. To their surprise, however, she was already an Inner Qi powerhouse.

Yu Fei had acquired his red talent a bit later, so he lagged far behind in his cultivation realm.

Thanks to Cha Qizhe’s relentless efforts during the trip, the atmosphere finally livened up, and the group learned the reason behind Tang DanDan’s cold expression.

After the purple-haired punk mocked her, she had tried to fight back. This girl had a fiery temper; ever since she started her martial arts training, she had been the center of attention and had never been so disrespected. But Yu Wen Baji suppressed her effortlessly. With several other people still waiting in line to register, Yu Wen Baji had forced Tang DanDan onto a table, grabbed a stool, and spanked her to establish his authority.

The man in glasses had intervened, allowing her to leave. She was just a young girl, after all; the fact that she hadn’t cried on the spot was a testament to her strong will. But then she ran into Cha Qizhe, who was as persistent as sticky candy, so it was no wonder she couldn’t muster a pleasant expression.

Of course, Tang DanDan didn’t mention the part about being spanked; she had to save face, after all.

United by Yu Wen Baji’s vile behavior, the group couldn’t help but jointly rail against him. Only then did they realize that the purple-haired punk had humiliated every single one of them, making sure to flaunt his Gang Qi Realm strength each time.

Everyone was sharp enough to realize this was likely an intimidation tactic. According to Cha Qizhe’s intel, Yu Wen Baji was only a junior in college, yet he was already at the sixth realm of Gang Qi and had even slain a non-human Grandmaster. His power was immense. A person of his caliber surely wasn’t just bored; the group’s imaginations immediately started running wild with possibilities.

"By the way, Cha Qizhe, how do you know so much about that guy?"

Tang DanDan asked.

"We all just met for the first time. Is your intel reliable?" Fu Bin asked, also skeptical.

Cha Qizhe couldn’t hold it in any longer; he had just been waiting for someone to ask.

"Yu Wen Baji wasn’t his original name. He used to be called Yuwen Shu. The guy was a total rebel growing up, always getting into fights. Later, he secretly ran off to the public security office to change it. His nickname went from ’Class Rep’ to ’Xiaoji-ba.’ After he started training in martial arts and his talent was revealed, no one dared to call him by his nickname anymore."

Yu Fei asked thoughtfully, "So you know him?"

"He’s an upperclassman of mine," Cha Qizhe said excitedly. "We go to the same school."

Tang DanDan whispered to herself, "’Xiaoji-ba’?" A blush suddenly crept onto her face.

Fu Bin sounded confused. "Class Rep? His whole vibe is the complete opposite of that."

"Yuwen Shu... ’Yuwen Shu’... it sounds like the word for ’Chinese textbook.’ He was probably the Chinese class representative!"

Yu Fei guessed, making a mental note of the name ’Xiaoji-ba’.

The vehicle screeched to a halt, sending everyone lurching.

"Alright, students, we’ve reached our destination. Please disembark."

A voice they hadn’t heard in hours sounded from overhead.

The hatch opened. They disembarked one by one, retrieved their luggage, and found themselves standing on a massive training ground.

As they breathed in the long-awaited fresh air, much of their physical discomfort instantly faded. A Martial Artist’s constitution could endure the bumpy ride, but the physiological unease still lingered.

The sky was now dark. Countless floodlights blazed to life, illuminating rows of combat vehicles of all types and sizes.

"Welcome to Base 269, under the command of the Guihong Military Fortress. Everyone, please follow me."

A soldier with a ramrod-straight posture gave them a military salute, then gestured for them to follow. As they walked, he gave them a brief overview of the schedule.

They were to be given three days to rest. Once all the prodigious Martial Artists on the list had reported in, a unified assessment would be conducted.

Yu Fei noticed the man used the word "assessment," not "matches." He suspected the so-called Celestial Pride Positioning Competition wouldn’t be a simple series of arena bouts and likely had other formats.

Cha Qizhe asked this very question, but the stern-faced soldier simply replied that it was classified and they would find out in due time.

The group received their ID tags, had their phones confiscated, and were each assigned to individual rooms to rest. They were also strictly warned not to leave their rooms without being notified. Fighting among participants was especially forbidden; anyone discovered would be disqualified and ejected from the competition.

This serious attitude was enough to make even the perpetually chattering Cha Qizhe hold his tongue.

Room 0915. This was the room Yu Fei was assigned. The others weren’t even on the same floor, and the hallways were filled with surveillance cameras.

Once inside, he discovered the organizers had been crazy enough to install surveillance cameras in the room itself. Aside from the bathroom, not even the bedroom was spared.

The interior of Room 0915 was extremely spartan. The bedroom contained only a bed, a cabinet, and a desk. The outer area was an empty room of about thirty square meters, and nothing else.

Other than being spacious, the decor was worse than a fifty-yuan-a-night motel.

Yu Fei put his things down and went into the outer room, intending to cultivate for a while.

He had been cultivating in the second realm for nearly half a year now. He had practiced the Taiwei Profound Origin Pillar to the point of great mastery, allowing him to absorb more five-elemental vital energy with each session. The mystical power of his five viscera had grown much stronger as well. The only thing currently limiting his cultivation speed in the second realm was that it hadn’t been long enough since his five viscera were "opened." Consequently, their tempering was still somewhat lacking, and he was unable to proceed to the next stage of cultivation. This was a defect of his martial body’s talent.

Among all the red-level talents, the Void Martial Body was not considered exceptional.