Chapter 137: The River Geyser!

Indeed, it was a correct piece of nonsense.

Friendship first, competition second.

Since White Egret Academy was offering only a single quota, would anyone really give up the fight for first place merely for the sake of friendship? Yet, by voicing it aloud in front of everyone, Si Yinchuan appeared all the more sincere and endearing.

After finishing his speech, Si Yinchuan turned to look at Chen Bing, who was standing beside him, and asked, "Director Chen, would you like to say a few words as well?"

Chen Bing nodded, turned her gaze toward the students of the Imperial First Military Academy participating in the assessment, and said, "Those of you with the courage to stand here are already the cream of the crop in our school. I am proud of you."

"Just as President Si mentioned a moment ago, there is only one quota for this assessment... Which means that in the end, there will only be one lucky person who can enter White Egret Academy."

"However, this does not mean the rest of you are failures. Failing to enter White Egret Academy still leaves plenty of other academies to choose from. Even if you continue your advanced studies right here at our Imperial First Military Academy, you can still achieve dazzling success. The prominent figures who have walked out of our school far outnumber those from White Egret Academy, don't they?"

Everyone chuckled.

White Egret Academy produced pure martial artists, but the Imperial First Military Academy produced politicians, military strategists, diplomats, designers, celebrities, and so on and so forth...

Because of its large enrollment and massive base, those who managed to enter the Imperial First Military Academy were originally top achievers in various fields.

After pursuing advanced studies at this prestigious institution, it was easy for them to step onto the peaks of their respective lives.

Take Phoenix and her two older brothers, for instance; they would rather choose the Imperial First Military Academy than White Egret Academy... Why?

Martial artists could be recruited and bought over.

However, assisting talents for governing a country and strengthening the military—people akin to Zhuge Liang—could only be found in schools of this caliber.

"All roads lead to the stars. I believe that as long as you maintain a spirit of brave struggle, remain humble in victory and unyielding in defeat, you will achieve tremendous success no matter where you go."

"Here, I wish you a triumphant return."

Once she finished speaking, Chen Bing looked at Si Yinchuan and said, "President Si, shall we begin?"

Si Yinchuan waved his hand grandly and said in a resonant, powerful voice, "Let the assessment begin."

With that, guided by the staff, the students queued up according to their previously assigned serial numbers and entered the brain-computer interface room.

"Hmm?" Tang Fei spotted a tall, straight, and familiar figure right at the front of the line.

Some people were simply like that—even in a vast crowd, you could recognize her at a single glance. You could even locate that familiar aura and atmosphere purely by intuition.

This was what people called a "magnetic field" and "frequency resonance."

"Why is she here?" Tang Fei was filled with confusion.

"Could it be that she also wants to fight for that first place? Surely not? If she wanted to compete... she should have given me a heads-up beforehand..."

"As a princess of the Phoenix Empire, if she wanted a quota for White Egret Academy, wouldn't it be as simple as having her father drop a word to them? Although White Egret Academy is aloof and arrogant, people always say that a group of old immortals live on that mountain..."

"Still, it is ultimately located within the territory of the Phoenix Empire and relies on the empire's financial and various other forms of support... Could they really afford to completely disregard the imperial family's face?"

"If they truly possess that much backbone, Tang Fei would be willing to crawl before Xuanyuan Mingjing, the head of White Egret Academy, and call him 'Master'..."

"Though he'd better act swiftly; after all, Shang Xiulin currently held him in quite high regard. If Shang Xiulin made his move too late, he himself would end up as one of Shang Xiulin's beloved disciples..."

Tang Fei's serial number was 49, which meant he would be using brain-computer machine number 49.

Guided and assisted by the martial arts gymnasium staff, he arrived in front of cabin number 49, lay down inside, and let the staff connect him to the brain-computer interface.

That cool, tingling, oxygen-rich sensation washed over his entire body once more. However, they were still in the preparation stage; once everyone was successfully connected, the system would transport them into that unknown virtual world.

***

"I hope it's the forest map," Tang Fei stared at the silver-white dome of the cabin, praying silently in his heart.

After an unknown passage of time, a synthesized mechanical female voice echoed in his ears: "All assessment members successfully connected, preparing to log in. All assessment members successfully connected, preparing to log in..."

Whoosh!

Tang Fei was whisked away and brought before a mighty, surging, endless river. Appearing alongside him were all the other students participating in this assessment.

The river was so immensely wide that standing on this bank made it impossible to see the opposite shore.

As far as the eye could see, there was only a vast expanse of whiteness, with no indication of where the end point might be, nor could a single foothold be found.

The current flowed with terrifying swiftness, crashing against the banks and churning up huge waves with a deafening roar, as if it could sweep away everything in the world.

There were neither bridges nor boats upon the river's surface, yet everyone understood clearly that they had to find their own way across.

"What on earth are we supposed to do? There's no bridge and no boat, are we all expected to fly across?"

"No matter how powerful Qi-manipulation techniques are, they only allow for movement within a limited range... We can't even see where the opposite bank is, so how are we supposed to cross? We aren't immortals."

"My swimming skills are decent enough, but the current is too fierce. I'm afraid the moment I step in, I'll be swept away..."

Sighs and complaints filled the air as everyone lamented their plight, utterly stumped by this checkpoint.

What made it even more fatal was that this was merely the very first checkpoint.

Tang Fei circled around to the back of the crowd and found Phoenix, who was observing the terrain before them. He asked, "Why are you here?"

He remembered what Sheng Xinhuai had whispered into his ear before entering the gymnasium—that Phoenix would give him a surprise... Was this a surprise? It was a fright.

Phoenix observed Tang Fei's expression with avid interest, smiling brightly as she replied, "Can't I come?"

"I mean... if you wanted this first place, why didn't you tell me in advance?"

Tang Fei felt quite conflicted inside.

He wasn't afraid of competing with others, but he was afraid of competing with Phoenix.

If Phoenix truly wanted to claim first place, he would find himself in a very difficult position...

"Who said I wanted first place?" Phoenix blinked playfully and said, "What's wrong with me taking second place?"

Wasn't every participant here for first place? White Egret Academy was only recruiting a single candidate; what good would taking second place do?

Although Director Chen Bing had said during her pre-match mobilization speech that those who weren't selected didn't mean they were failures... still, he wanted to be that lucky person who got selected.

Seeing Tang Fei's speechless expression, Phoenix let out a crisp, dainty giggle and said, "Knowing you wanted to take part in this assessment, I had my teacher sign me up as well... I just wanted to come and see what the assessment content was..."

Tang Fei decided to drop the issue. He pointed at the boundless expanse of the river and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

Phoenix shook her head and replied, "None. This isn't something humanly possible... at least, not something our batch of candidates can accomplish."

She picked up a stone from the ground and tossed it into the water, where it vanished without a trace with a splash.

"Who knows how deep the river is, but the current is far too swift. Trying to swim across is completely unrealistic..."

Yet, there were always those unafraid of death. Relying on their decent cultivation, one person cautiously stepped into the water and began walking toward the center of the river.

The first step was fine, and the next step was also barely manageable.

Then, he abruptly broke into a rapid swim toward the opposite side...

***

As he swam, with a sudden *boom*, a ferocious and hideously ugly piranha leaped out of the water and swallowed him whole in a single gulp.

Gasps of alarm rose from the crowd on the shore. Clearly, the water route was blocked.

"What does White Egret Academy mean by this? Are they trying to get us killed?"

"Exactly, isn't this first trial way too hard? Even their Grandmasters might not necessarily be able to cross..."

"I heard Grandmasters can cross a river on a single reed... Is anyone going to try that?"

"We can't possibly fail to even clear the first trial, right? That would be too humiliating for the school..."

People discussed heatedly among themselves, completely at a loss when faced with the situation before them.

Right at that moment, the river surface suddenly churned violently, sending towering waves surging toward the heavens.

A massive volume of river water piled up in mid-air, forming a silver-white water bridge.

What was even more miraculous was that the water inside that bridge continued to flow and ripple, yet the water bridge remained suspended above the river's surface without sinking.

It looked as though a deity had cast a spell upon it.

"A river geyser..." Tang Fei muttered softly.

He had heard of such natural spectacles before, but he hadn't expected to witness one with his own eyes in the virtual world.

Phoenix glanced at Tang Fei in surprise and asked, "Do you know how to cross?"

"I don't," Tang Fei shook his head.

His ignorance didn't mean others were equally clueless. He would just wait for someone else to cross first and then follow their example...

In any case, he had no intention of being the first one to charge out. He wasn't that foolish, nor was he that noble. Playing it safe and holding out until the very end was the only way to survive until the end.

Tang Fei's goal was first place, not to steal the limelight halfway through the race for first. He was a very pragmatic man and disliked those flashy, superficial antics.

Some were awestruck and captivated by the magnificent spectacle before them, but more people were pondering the significance behind the appearance of the water bridge.

Could it be that the invigilators of White Egret Academy had heard the students' complaints and thus provided a "bridge" leading to the other side...

Still, wasn't this bridge a bit too flimsy?

What if someone stepped onto it only to plunge into the river, get swept away by the fierce current, or be devoured by those monsters?

Everyone hesitated, none daring to court danger with their own lives or play the role of the first person to eat a crab.

Misfortunes never come singly; just as everyone was pondering how to cross the river or waiting for someone else to step up and test the waters, rumbling vibrations and collapsing sounds erupted from the ground behind them.

"An earthquake..."

"The land behind us is collapsing. If we don't cross the river now, we're going to fall right into the water..."

"They're forcing us to make a quick choice... The system is truly vicious..."

Someone grew desperate.

With a light leap, their entire body soared into the air.

Their feet landed upon the water bridge, and they sprinted forward for dozens of meters before suddenly plunging into the water bridge with a splash, vanishing without a trace.

It was as if they had been swallowed whole by the water bridge.