Chapter Forty-Six: Entering the Illusory Isle

As soon as the words fell, a stir broke out among the students below. The man standing on the stage was one of the rare second-level mech warriors in the entire city of Ruxia! For those who aspired to become mech warriors, he was an object of reverence and the highest honor.

“It’s Principal Yang!”

“He hardly ever shows up at the academy!”

“Yes, I heard he went to support one of the cities near the safety perimeter recently…”

Yang Long listened to the murmurs below, raising his hand to signal for silence before announcing in a clear, resonant voice, “Virtual Island will open precisely at ten o’clock and end at four in the afternoon, lasting six hours in total! For every two hours in the real world, a day passes inside; the assessment will conclude within three days, and only the last three students remaining on the island will be named Distinguished Students!”

“Now, those whose names I call, step forward onto the stage! Year Three: Xu Zian, Tuoba Lin…”

As his deep voice faded, thirty-six students emerged one after another down the central aisle of the square, coming to a halt before the circular platform. Under Liu Xiuyuan’s guidance, they quickly formed a neat line.

The students below immediately fell silent, watching the thirty-six with envy. Every student on the field wished they could enter Virtual Island—even if they couldn’t become Distinguished Students, they longed to experience the prowess of a first-tier mech warrior. After all, breaking through to the first tier was just too difficult!

Otherwise, so many senior students wouldn’t be stuck right on the cusp of becoming first-tier physical cultivators.

“Year Two students…”

A few minutes later, after another thirty-six Year Two students had assembled, the voice continued: “Year One: Gao Xinyu, Tuoba Feng… Gao Jianming, Nangong Kexin, Mu Jian, Gu Yun, An Qier, Nangong Yuchen, Lu Ling…”

Thus, three students from each of the twelve classes stepped forward as well, following suit.

Yang Long surveyed the crowd; with all one hundred and eight students present, he began to announce the rules of the competition.

“Upon entering Virtual Island, your physical abilities will instantly break through to the first tier. Each of you will have half an hour to select your mech, after which you will be randomly transported to a different corner of the island. From that moment, any student could be your enemy. I don’t care what means you use to eliminate your opponents—only when three remain will you be considered to have truly advanced.”

“As for elimination, the standard is the same as outside: upon receiving a fatal attack and dying, you will be transported out!”

“The mechs inside are the same as the real world; each person can only equip two pieces! Except for special physical cultivators!”

“Finally, once you enter, you’ll each receive a map device showing the locations of all students on the island!”

With that, he turned and exchanged a few quiet words with Liu Xiuyuan on the platform.

“Except for special physical cultivators?” At the back of the line, Nangong Yuchen was momentarily stunned. As far as he knew, first-tier physical cultivators could equip at most two mechs. Of course, as one advanced to the second and third tiers, the number increased. But what did Principal Yang mean by this statement?

Could it be that special cultivators like himself and An Qier, with two or three specialties, could equip more?

The thought sent a powerful shock through his heart. He had never considered equipping three, four, or even up to six pieces of mech gear!

At that moment, Yang Long suddenly called out, “Time’s up! Virtual Island, activate!”

Over a hundred people on the stage withdrew from the center, and with a thunderous rumble, the circular platform split open again—this time, only within a three-meter radius in the center. A pitch-black energy gate slowly rose from below!

“So… this is the entrance to the simulation?” The crowd erupted with astonishment, including the Distinguished Students seated off to the side, who looked on in shock at the five-meter-tall black energy gate standing on the platform.

Nangong Yuchen was snapped out of his daze by the sudden commotion, staring blankly at the swirling colors within the gate. He hadn’t expected Virtual Island to manifest before everyone in such a way.

“Enter in order—quickly now!” Yang Long urged, seeing the competitors frozen in place. Every second wasted consumed massive amounts of energy; that was why the timing was so strictly enforced.

“Oh… just walk in like this?”

The thirty-six Year Three students at the front swallowed nervously. They had no idea what awaited them inside, but at Yang Long’s urging, they began to step forward.

As the first student entered, the black energy gate underwent a sudden transformation, illuminating the entire square and emitting a transparent blue energy shield that wrapped the platform.

Next, the nine massive crystals suspended above flickered to life. The scenes inside seemed to come alive, shifting and changing!

“Look! That’s Xu Zian—he’s appeared in one of the crystal spheres!” A boy nearest one of the crystals cried out in surprise as his gaze caught the image within.

Immediately, all eyes turned to the crystals. When they saw Xu Zian inside a shop, they exclaimed, “So many mechs! Xu Zian is choosing his equipment!”

The second student entered, appearing in a different crystal sphere—also in a mech shop, but unlike Xu Zian, who was in a speed-type shop, this one was in a neural reflex store!

“So much equipment—so many guns!” The students below could barely contain their excitement. They had never seen so many mechs before; now, Virtual Island had opened their eyes, and their enthusiasm could not be suppressed.

“What are you standing around for? Hurry up and get inside!” Yang Long urged again.

Tuoba Lin snapped back to reality and quickly strode into the gate. As he entered, he shot a hostile look at Nangong Yuchen—a gaze full of ill intent.

Soon, all seventy-two Year Three and Year Two students had entered Virtual Island. The nine crystal spheres divided their screens into seventy-two segments, displaying the environment for each competitor.

Now, it was Year One’s turn. As they began to enter, Nangong Kexin, however, hung her head, completely unresponsive.

Behind her, Lu Ling and Tuoba Feng lost their patience, shoving her aside and hurrying in ahead.

Yet as they entered, one looked back and sneered, “Nangong Yuchen, just wait to be eliminated in Virtual Island!”

With that, they vanished into the swirling colors.

Nangong Yuchen paid no attention to their taunts. He could easily handle them outside; once inside, as a first-tier mech warrior, what was there to fear?

“Kexin?” He stepped to his sister’s side, gently patting her shoulder.

Nangong Kexin lifted her delicate hand, gripping his arm tightly, then turned to look at the ten Distinguished Students seated off-stage.

“Lu Shijie!” Her eyes, clear as water, burned with intense hatred. From the moment she had seen those two, the hatred in her heart had never abated. For her, becoming a Distinguished Student was secondary; what she wanted most was to kill her enemy.

“Kexin, let’s go in first.” Nangong Yuchen pushed down his own turmoil, taking her by the hand as they quickly entered.

At the very last moment, he looked back—his deep eyes flashing with a cold, murderous light at Lu Shijie and Mu Ningxue before he disappeared.

“Heh… how amusing. Who would have thought that brother and sister would even qualify for the Distinguished Student assessment? At best, they’re just a pair of flies.” Lu Shijie curled his lips in disdain. He had sensed their stares earlier but hadn’t bothered to respond. His words seemed both muttered to himself and addressed to the dazed Mu Ningxue beside him.

On the platform, as the Year One students continued to enter, only An Qier remained. She turned curiously to glance at the Distinguished Students’ area before stepping through and vanishing from sight.

When all one hundred and eight students had entered, Yang Long shouted, “Seal it!”

With a crackling sound, more than a dozen teachers followed him off the stage. The colored vortex at the center of the black energy gate slowly stilled and faded, growing inert and lifeless.

The blue, transparent energy shield then solidified…

As everyone stared unblinkingly at the scenes within the nine crystal spheres, Xia Ruli stood in a corner of the crowd, murmuring in lonely self-talk, “Nangong Yuchen…”

She had never once looked away from him since the beginning. Though she did not understand the hatred on the faces of Nangong Yuchen and Nangong Kexin, her sensitive intuition told her that Nangong Yuchen looked at that beautiful girl differently…