Chapter 63: The Abyss of Corrosion

The Abyss-Erosion Realm is one of the primary extraterrestrial worlds at war with Great Xia. It is also the opponent that Great Xia is about to face in the upcoming cross-world war in the Luoxiao Mountains.

Compared to the Nether-Dark Realm and the Blazing Flame Realm, the Abyss-Erosion Realm is the most difficult to deal with and causes the biggest headache for all nations on Blue Star. This is because it is an otherworldly realm shrouded in the Power of Erosion.

Enveloped by a thick layer of corrosive Qi, this world constantly erodes the living beings and environment within it. Due to this long-term corrosive environment, the creatures of the Abyss-Erosion Realm have evolved a unique ability known as Erosion. They can inflict this corrosive power upon the creatures of other worlds, causing them to undergo terrifying mutations.

The intelligent race that holds the dominant position on this land is directly named the Abyss-Erosion Race by the official authorities of Great Xia. Highly organized, their society is built upon the foundation of formidable corrosive power, forming a strict hierarchy.

At the very summit is the Abyss-Erosion Royal Family, possessing the most potent corrosive abilities and supreme wisdom, responsible for ruling the entire Abyss-Erosion Realm. Below them are the nobles of various ranks, whose corrosive capabilities are second only to the royal family, governing different territories and resources. Following them is the warrior class, the main force behind the outward military campaigns of the Abyss-Erosion Race. At the very bottom are the commoners, who possess the weakest corrosive abilities and are tasked with production and daily manual labor.

All of this intelligence has been gradually gathered through decades of continuous warfare between Blue Star and the Abyss-Erosion Realm.

The most terrifying aspect of the Abyss-Erosion Race is their ability to establish a mental link with corrupted creatures through their corrosive power. This link resembles a form of telepathy, enabling the Abyss-Erosion Race to perceive the thoughts and actions of the corrupted creatures. Furthermore, through this mental link, they can directly transmit commands and intentions to the corrupted creatures, achieving instantaneous control over them.

This erosion and mental link act like a plague. If not effectively contained from the beginning, an ever-increasing number of creatures will become corrupted, rolling like a snowball until the situation spirals out of control and complete collapse ensues.

Deep within the oceans of Blue Star, there was once an island spanning tens of thousands of square kilometers that was eroded by the Abyss-Erosion Realm three hundred years ago. Because of initial negligence, the creatures across the entire island were eventually mutated and transformed into corrupted entities. To prevent the corrosive energy from spreading further, the Blue Star Coalition of Nations combined the power of the five major superpowers to seal these islands with a triple barrier, renaming the island the Gloom-Erosion Isle.

...

All the students in the municipal elite training class were watching intently as everything related to the Abyss-Erosion Realm was presented. From time to time, tall members of the Abyss-Erosion Race clad in heavy armor walked past right in front of them, comprehensively displaying their physical forms to these elite students.

Various weapons used by the Abyss-Erosion Race were also demonstrated, such as the erosion-energy spears used by ordinary soldiers, the giant battleaxes wielded by leader-tier warriors, and long-range weapons like the Abyss-Erosion Sky-Breaking Crossbow.

Equipped with specially crafted erosion-crystal arrows, this Sky-Breaking Crossbow packs immense destructive power; even martial artists at the perfection of the Foundation Establishment Realm are utterly incapable of resisting it. Only martial artists at the Meridian Opening Realm can barely withstand it once or twice. However, the Sky-Breaking Crossbow can fire three consecutive waves of erosion-crystal arrows, with twelve arrows in each wave!

Therefore, upon encountering such a weapon on the battlefield, one must dodge whenever possible!

After a two-hour lecture, the session transitioned into individual training and combat drills, allowing these fledglings to personally experience how to fight against the various creatures of the Abyss-Erosion Realm.

Watching a hundred times is inferior to practicing even once. At this moment, Xu Boyuan appeared with a smile. "The final ranking in this training session will also affect the scores of individual schools and students. So, everyone, give it your all and strive for excellence!"

Hearing this, Sheng Jianxing could not help but glance at Shi Yu. Although Number One High School ranked first in the school's total score, in terms of individual scores, Shi Yu had already pulled away from the rest of the pack. Just before the official classes began today, this proud prodigy from Yali High School had revealed that his cultivation had already reached the second tier of the Qi Condensation Realm. Without a doubt, this made him number one in the entire elite class.

Everyone felt this pace of cultivation was only natural.

Sheng Jianxing mentally evaluated his own cultivation progress; no matter how fast he was, he would only reach the second tier by this weekend. Xu Shuo should be around the same, with at most a difference of a day or two. In other words, starting today, Shi Yu had opened up a substantive gap between himself and the other students in the elite class.

Moreover, in terms of martial arts techniques, Shi Yu had already reached the realm of [Entering the Chamber]. Sheng Jianxing had focused on sword practice since his freshman year of high school, taking half a month to progress from [Glimpsing the Threshold] to [Mastering the Basics], and reaching [Accomplished and Fluent] after a year.

As for him, he was still some distance away from [Entering the Chamber]; even with diligent and grueling practice, he would not reach it until at least May or June of next year. For a high school student to attain this realm—which grants the title of [Weapon Master]—before the college entrance examination was undeniably talented and worthy of being called a prodigy.

Yet, a prodigy always maintained a considerable distance from a true monster.

Over this period, Sheng Jianxing had gradually shifted from being brimming with confidence and high fighting spirit to recognizing his true self. He was the "Sword God" of Number One High School, but not the "Sword God" of Star City. Among the high school students of Star City in this generation, there was perhaps only one "Sword God".

This moniker, "Sword God," had gradually spread within the municipal elite class, propagated by Jiang Chenchen and Wan Song, the two students from Yali High School with level-eight spiritual souls. Although Sheng Jianxing had not yet voiced it aloud, he helplessly acknowledged it in his heart.

By the time this training combat segment concluded, Shi Yu's score would likely lead by an even wider margin. He was well aware of this "Sword God's" combat capabilities. That record on Mount Yuelu—clearing the trials in three and a half minutes—was a feat that Sheng Jianxing had absolutely no possibility of achieving right now.

As Sheng Jianxing's thoughts churned, he concluded that his own goals should be more pragmatic: to surpass others step by step with steady, down-to-earth efforts.

His gaze shifted toward Xu Shuo. This tall, thin boy from Changjun High School possessed a spiritual soul only 0.5 levels higher than his own, and his attitude toward cultivation was rather ordinary.

"Xu Shuo, you should be the primary target I need to surpass!" Sheng Jianxing muttered to himself.

In the distance, Xu Shuo inexplicably sneezed.

"What is going on? Could someone be thinking of me?" Xu Shuo muttered, completely baffled.

...

Xu Boyuan's voice echoed inside the virtual combat pods, ringing in the ears of every student.

"The ordinary combat stage consists of three levels in total."

"The difficulties have all been readjusted, making them suitable for raw recruits like you who are stepping onto the battlefield for the first time."

Xu Boyuan said coldly, "The opponents you will encounter in these stages have all appeared in the videos you watched earlier."

"You should already be clear on their strengths and weaknesses."

"Therefore, do not make any excuses."

"Lastly, I will reiterate the scoring for the stages."

"The first stage is worth 10 points."

"The second stage is worth 20 points."

"The third stage is worth 40 points."

"Once the ordinary stages are cleared, a special stage will be unlocked."

"I will not introduce that beforehand; we will discuss it once someone manages to unlock it."

"Fellow students, enjoy yourselves!"

"Improves yourselves through combat!"

"Here, you still have the chance to start over."

"But once you are truly on the battlefield, to lose means death!"

...

As Xu Boyuan's voice faded, the figures of the students, who had previously been gathered together, vanished in a flash. Each of them appeared within their own independent combat world.

Meanwhile, the combat feed for every single student was displayed on the large screens inside the control room.

Xu Boyuan immediately fixed his gaze on Shi Yu. Before departing for the Luoxiao Mountains, Xia Xingqiu had specifically instructed him to keep a close eye on Shi Yu. Xu Boyuan himself was extremely curious to see just how formidable the combat power of this Star City prodigy—who had drawn widespread attention from multiple quarters—truly was!