Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

  The freshmen from Agricultural University were the last batch of fighters to arrive at Shattered Starlake.

  Over the past half a month or so, the upperclassmen from the universities had already started fighting.

  The military school was in a somewhat unique situation. It had sent most of its students to become the main force in clearing out Shattered Starlake.

  When the freshmen entered the ten-thousand-man tent at the center of the camp, the air had a bloody scent that was as strong as a tidal wave. A thick layer of blood and grime covered the floor boards.

  The students who had arrived ahead of time had long since lost their naivety from university. Most of the boys had stubble on their faces and looked a little shaggy. They had an air of fierceness about them. The girls looked just as heroic. Their gazes were as aggressive as a saber.

  The five universities of the alliance had their own unique features.

  The students from the University of Technology wore strengthened exoskeletons with complex structures. They carried foldable unmanned fighting vehicles, and a few of them had intelligent fighting vehicles controlled by brainwaves. They were running around the group.

  The military school students had all sorts of guns and ammunition belts bound to their bodies. They were like moving ammunition storages. Some of them had the heroic spirits that were commonly known as Predecessors floating behind them. They looked incredibly mysterious and mighty.

  The University of Science was skilled in superbrain technology. Their students might not have looked strong, but their gazes were profound, and they looked as if they could see through a person’s heart with just one glance.

  As for Medical University, their life sciences could even rival those of Dragon City University. The students from Medical University were not just skilled in saving people, but in killing people too. They could also unlock the mysterious power in the depths of human cells to turn themselves into all sorts of strange shapes.

  When the freshmen from Agricultural University saw their allies and their unique features, they refused to appear weak. The freshmen from the martial arts course released the beast souls they had just learned so that their spirit flames would bare their teeth. The freshmen from the monster controller course used their brainwaves to stimulate their biochemical beasts gently so that they would growl.

  It attracted some nonchalant gazes and kind smiles.

  When they reached the center of the ten-thousand-man hall, they saw the most eye-catching thing in the tent—ranking boards posted on more than ten monitors.

  There was a ranking based on the number of monsters killed on that day, the grade of monsters killed, dangerous mission completion rate, viewer count received on their fighting videos in the livestreaming platform, the number of positive comments, and a Heroic Rank, which showed the accumulative score based on the ranks a student obtained from the other ranking boards.

  Each of the ranking boards was meticulously divided into more categories, so everyone could judge who was the best one-star superhuman in a particular battle, who was the two-star superhuman with most monster kills, who was the most popular three-star superhuman, and so on.

  Dragon City was a lone army in a foreign land. It did not have an export market, so it was impossible for them to rely on mass producing civilian industries to deal with the shortage of jobs.

  Ever since the 3D farms, genetic technology, and the automated planting technology solved the basic problem of food, the agricultural industry could no longer provide much work for the citizens.

  And when the first and second major industries could no longer provide a lot of work for the citizens, the third major industry faced the future where it also reached that stage all too soon.

  In Dragon City, aside from heavy industries related to building bases, mining, refinement, or work related to the military, there was only one industry that could provide enough work for new members of society—killing monsters.

  Dragon City’s civilization could be said to be a hunting civilization armed with high tech and superweapons.

  Then, through the other businesses, they could exploit the benefits of killing monsters to the last drop of their blood.

  Aside from harvesting monsters to turn them into materials to develop their lives and the city, they could use all sorts of competitions, gambling games, and ranking boards to attract multiple citizens’ attention, which would use up their energy, stimulate their passion for cultivating and fighting, and let them see hope in rising to the top in one go. It also presented a sense of “fairness”.

  Hence, it ensured the general stability in Dragon City, even if there was a huge lack of jobs, and the gap between normal people and superhumans was only getting larger.

  That was why ranking boards were no joke.

  The competitions and rankings in the northern offense were treated with utmost importance.

  The Griffin Li Yingzi was the teacher who led the freshmen from Agricultural University to join the fight. She told everyone that the government and the famous corporations in Dragon City had poured a lot of money into the fight. They would provide great rewards based on different achievements and ranks.

  Agricultural University’s monster coins, the military school’s iron-blooded coins, the University of Technology’s machine coins, the University of Science’s soul coins, and Medical University’s willow coins, which were the internal currency of the five universities, could now be used between universities, because the channels to use these coins were now connected with each other.

  If a freshman from Agricultural University killed a monster and got themselves monster coins, they could go to the trading stations from any university to get all sorts of items, weapons, lessons, and services.

  “This is a rare chance. The rewards you’ll get for killing monsters and completing missions are higher by 20% to 30%. In fact, you might even get more money than a superbeast is worth!”


  Li Yingzi told everyone that the government provided two-thirds of the funds that were estimated to be needed by the army for the northern offense. The remaining one-third was pooled together by the major industries in Dragon City.

  If they managed to develop a new region, the benefits they would gain would reach astronomical figures. All the rich mega industries wanted to have a hand in it, and the industry that would get the development rights would be the one who gave a lot of money to invest in the northern offense in the beginning.

  “If we just focused on the residential area construction project in the new region alone, how many real estate developers do you think have been tempted to invest here?” Li Yingzi asked. “The government has planned out to give dozens of middle-tier real estate projects and high-end real estate projects. The real estate developers who joined the bidding had to provide real money and a lot of resources to reward the ones who did outstandingly during the war.

  “In this era, the richest people are the real estate developers, so don’t hold back. Kill as many monsters as possible and make contributions so that you can get as much money from the real estate developers as possible and get more glory for yourself!”


  With just a few words, she managed to make their blood burn with passion.

  “If your performance is exceptionally outstanding, you will even have a chance to be chosen as the Daily Star or Weekly Star. Your name will immediately spread through the alliance of the five universities and the mega industries that share a close relationship with the alliance. Soon, you’ll get all sorts of sponsors and investors coming to your doorstep, and the cultivation resources as well as weapons they’ll be lavishing on you will make you faint. You won’t be able to even use them all.”


  Li Yingzi pointed at the largest monitor and said, “Look, this is the Daily Star who killed thirteen superbeasts in a row yesterday and destroyed their superbeast nest. He killed more than one hundred normal monsters in passing as well.

  “He’s an alumni who has recently graduated from Agricultural University’s martial arts course. Now, he’s known as the Weeping Reaper, an incredibly popular person on the livestreaming channels. I shouldn’t need to tell you just how popular he has been with the corporations lately, do I? If there’s a chance, I’ll have Lin Chuan share some of his fighting experiences with you. Work hard and learn from him!”


  The person who appeared on the monitor was a tall young man. He had fair skin and was stupidly handsome, but he gave off a rather depressed air. He seemed like he had just graduated recently.

  His appearance had not only caused the freshmen from Agricultural University’s martial arts course to cry out in surprise, even the monster controller course’s freshmen, who always treated the martial arts course as a thorn in their sides, stared at the monitor. In fact, even the students from the University of Technology, Medical University, the University of Science, and the military school could not help but cast their gazes at the monitor.

  “It’s Weeping Reaper!”


  “Lin Chuan! He’s my idol!”


  “He’s so cool! Even if the monitor zooms in on his face, you still can’t find a single flaw on his face. As expected of the internet celebrity who is as famous as Ripple Princeess Yan Feirou!”


  “Ha. Yan Feirou is nothing. She hasn’t even graduated from university and reached Heaven Realm. How can she compare to Lin Chuan? You should know that Lin Chuan reached Spirit Transformation Realm and Spirit Gathering Realm within two years. He’s one of the youngest Heaven Realm elites and is one of the fastest improving ones too!”


  “I heard that he’s fearless and fights bravely. His performance has been incredibly outstanding, and he has already been chosen thrice as the Daily Star and once as the Weekly Star.

  “He attracted a lot of attention from research centers and mega industries. Even Agricultural University’s martial arts course wants to hire him to be a lecturer, but he refused all the high-paying positions and projects that offer him a bright future. He said that he wants to stay in the wild to kill all the monsters and take revenge for his comrades.”


  “Weeping Reaper, how devoted and loyal you are!”


  The girls discussed him with adoration practically gushing out of their eyes.

  Meng Chao stared at the handsome depressed man on the monitor, and his emotions surged while his blood burned.

  It was due to a simple feeling of wanting to uphold justice, though. In truth, he did not have a lot of interest in handsome guys, no matter what sort of handsome they happened to be.

  After he had been set up by his class rep, Zuo Haoran, he stayed far away from the dashing and righteous-looking people.

  But Weeping Reaper Lin Chuan was an exception.

  Just like the girls, Meng Chao treated him as his idol.

  It was not just because he was one of the youngest people in Dragon City to reach Heaven Realm and improved the fastest nor because he was an alumni of Agricultural University’s martial arts course. It was because Lin Chuan shared a similar background to Meng Chao. Both of them came from poor families and did not have a strong background. They gained their achievements with their own hands.

  Lin Chuan came from Joyous Heavenly Garden, which had public renting houses built by the same corporation that built Meng Chao’s Blessed Heavenly Garden. The distance between them was no more than five hundred meters, so they could be considered to be neighbors.

  But even though Lin Chuan came from a poor family, he managed to get into Agricultural University’s martial arts course. This in itself was a miracle that provided a lot of motivation to others.

  Due to him not having inborn talent, a firm foundation, and resources, when he was in university, he did not perform outstandingly. When he graduated, he was just a two-star superhuman at Earth Realm.

  It was then that his legend began.

  He had nothing, and to obtain cultivation resources, he joined a superhuman fighting squad to carry out incredibly dangerous scouting and hunting missions.

  However, his luck was terrible. In the first three missions he carried out, he ran into high-grade superbeasts or a space-time rift. His squad was either beaten up and scattered or swept up into the currents of the space-time rift and relocated even deeper into the fog.

  Many of the Heaven Realm elites who were two or even three realms higher than him died in the wild.

  But through astonishing bravery, willpower, and adaptability, an amateur who had just become a member of society struggled out of hell step by step. He even reached Heaven Realm when he released explosive attacks at death’s door.

  Lin Chuan became really famous from it and had a bright future ahead, but he sank into deep guilt. He believed that he was the reason why his squadmates died in his first three missions.

  Everyone tried to convince him otherwise, telling him that the mortality rate of superhumans in Dragon City had always been much higher than that of normal people. The scouting teams and hunting teams danced on the reaper’s blade. Life and death were predestined, so he should not blame himself.

  Besides, during the subsequent two missions, while he escaped, he managed to save two other squadmates as well, which turned him into a true hero.

  But he could not let it go, and like an aseptic monk, he started killing in the wild with the most insane methods.

  And when he killed monsters, he cried in spite of himself.

  The doctors said that it was a symptom of PTSD. Some patients released stress when their minds faced great stimulation.

  Lin Chuan himself said that his tears were for his comrades who died tragically under the claws of the monsters and the millions of citizens who were murdered.

  He was handsome, had a tall stature, and after all his trials and hardships, he was filled with determination. His fighting power was also head and shoulders above that of his peers. His act of weeping silently while he killed monsters was a topic in itself, and soon, he was picked out by the livestreaming channel. After they packaged him carefully and created an image for him, they promoted him with a lot of grandeur, and the Weeping Reaper’s name instantly shook the entire city.