Chapter 63: Information Fence |
When Chen Chu returned to the town with the body of the cultist, the battle there had already concluded.
Approximately a hundred rebels were mostly killed, with around ten surrendering. The soldiers who had guided Chen Chu and his group were cleaning the battlefield, collecting weapons and ammunition.
Meanwhile, the freshmen were chatting excitedly, boasting about their bravery and prowess during the recent conflict. Some students had even taken out their phones, posing with rocket launchers for selfies.
Xia Youhui stood in front of the burning off-road vehicle, striking a pose with his shield held high in one hand, asking classmates to take pictures.
Of course, not everyone had emerged unscathed. The student that had gotten hit by a grenade lay on a stretcher, screaming in pain, though his voice remained strong. With a physique six to seven times that of an ordinary person, coupled with the full-body armor for defense, he had only been slightly wounded by the impact of the explosion.
A few other classmates had also suffered minor injuries. Some had their chest armor pierced by bullets; thankfully, the steel wire underlayers had intercepted, stopping the bullets halfway into their muscles.
In addition, some of the freshmen had already removed their helmets, leaning against the walls with pale faces as they struggled to catch their breath.
In the preceding moments of tension, their composure had held firm. However, once everything had calmed back down, the grim reality of the battlefield left these youths, who had just encountered bloodshed for the first time, visibly shaken. Witnessing severed limbs, bodies cleaved in half, and the gruesome, blood-soaked corpses, some classmates couldn't bear it, and a few even succumbed to vomiting.
In reality, it wasn't just them; even the seemingly excited freshmen were quite nervous. They were simply channeling their emotions in a different way, a sentiment shared by Xia Youhui as well.
As Chen Chu walked towards them, holding his saber in one hand and carrying the disciple's body in the other, realization dawned on the other students.
Yuan Chenghuang looked regretful. "Damn, how could I forget about that?"
Li Meng also wore a rueful expression. "Yeah, I got so carried away that I forgot about the contribution points from the cultists."
"Miscalculation." Liu Feng shook his head.
Xia Youhui approached, curious. "I saw you running towards the back earlier, and I knew something was up. So, Ah Chu, how strong was this guy?"
Chen Chu nodded. "Similar to what the teachers said, weaker in strength compared to their realm. He was equivalent to the peak of the Second Heavenly Realm, but his foundational physique had only reached the limit of the First, and his true power was insufficiently concentrated."
"So weak?" Xia Youhui expressed some surprise.
As Chen Chu spoke, Li Hao, carrying a pillar, also approached with heavy steps. "These cultists rely on external forces for rapid advancement, so it's normal for them to be weaker."
"External forces?" Chen Chu turned to look at him.
Li Hao nodded. "Similar to the empowerment mentioned in Buddhist scriptures, they are strengthened by some stronger fanatics using secret arts. The process is painful, and the success rate isn’t high, but most of the low-level cultists get their power from that..."
The hierarchy among the cultists was quite straightforward. Those below the Third Heavenly Realm were ordinary disciples, while those in the Fourth to Sixth Realms were referred to as fanatics. Those in the Seventh Realm and above were known as bishops, responsible for managing and commanding the followers beneath them.
While Chen Chu and the others discussed these matters, Pang Long, the other teachers, and the second lieutenant returned to the group. Each of them appeared somewhat disheveled.
Unfortunately, the high-level fanatics had been extremely reckless, resorting to desperate measures such as triggering two self-destructs from individuals at the beginning stage of the Fifth Heavenly Realm. It had almost managed to injure them, but they had been prepared for such eventualities and managed to avoid it.
The other three fanatics, all at the Fourth Heavenly Realm, hadn’t been given the chance to self-destruct. They had been swiftly and decisively killed. Combined with a few ordinary disciples at the Second and Third Realms, it had been a near complete annihilation.
Pang Long said in a deep voice, "Even though this wasn’t a weak attack, it also wasn't as strong as we had anticipated. It seemed to be just a probing move. They hadn't taken the bait completely."
The female teacher nodded slightly. "That's expected. The information we released mentioned only one teacher leading the team, with the rest of the reinforcements only being Second Heavenly Realm freshmen. But those guys aren't that easy to fool. They clearly only sent a small squad for reconnaissance.
"If they had received accurate information, half of them would engage the teacher leading the team, while the rest would collaborate with the rebels to attack the students. If the information was wrong, they could still fall back with minimal losses."
Chen Chu walked over, carrying the corpse. He couldn't help but pause as he overheard the conversation among the teachers from a distance.
After all that, it turned out that this ambush had actually been a trap set by Pang Long and the others.
Chen Chu tossed the cultist's corpse aside and politely said, "Sir, there's another cultist here at the Second Heavenly Realm. Fortunately, I managed to kill him."
Pang Long praised, "Well done. I'll input it into the system once we reach the base."
A smile appeared on Chen Chu's face.
Not bad, getting some points right after arriving.
The other two teachers and the second lieutenant couldn't help but size up Chen Chu.
In the chaotic situation of their first encounter with combat, this student actually had the presence of mind to pursue and kill a cultist, and did so without sustaining any injuries.
"I remember… you're Chen Chu from Class Three, right?" the female teacher asked.
Chen Chu nodded. "Yes, ma’am."
The female teacher smiled and said, "I'm Liu Feixu from Class Nine. I'll be in charge of teaching the second group of new students next semester. If you're interested, consider joining my class."
Uh... Chen Chu was taken aback.
Pang Long grumbled, "Liu Beauty, I'm still here. If you want to steal someone, at least wait for a moment when no one's around."
Liu Feixu shrugged. "I just noticed that this freshman has good character and talent. I'm afraid someone who's obsessed with cultivation all day long might mislead the younger generation."
"You're just slandering me. I focus on cultivation, but I handle my responsibilities too," Pang Long retorted, feeling unjustly accused.
Liu Feixu smiled mischievously. "Is that so? But I heard someone only showed up once during the first class of the semester and then completely shirked their responsibilities."
"The Meditation and Body Refining Arts all have templates. Whether one can master them depends entirely on talent. Even if I'm present, it's not much help. There's no need for me to stay around all the time, right?"
Cough!
The second lieutenant coughed awkwardly. "Teachers, it's getting late. Why don't you take the students and continue to the convoy? I'll take care of things here."
"Alright." Pang Long went along with the diplomatic intervention, realizing that he was a bit in the wrong.
When the school year had started, he had happened to feel a breakthrough, so he had handed the Foundation Building responsibilities to the class monitor and the martial arts representative before going into seclusion.
He was correct in that his involvement or absence wouldn’t have made any impact on any of the students’ progress; with the systematic cultivation templates provided by the school, success or failure was entirely dependent on one’s talent.
It just didn't sound too good when he said it out loud.
Eight soldiers were left to guard the prisoners while the remaining two led the group through the town. Continuing along the dilapidated road for several kilometers, they finally spotted a convoy of over ten transport and armored vehicles parked at the edge of the forest.
Pang Long and the other two teachers went to talk with the convoy's major, while Chen Chu and the others boarded two separate transport vehicles. Soon, they were headed towards Leisteru City.
"Ah Chu, what do you think of this caption?" Xia Youhui, who had taken off his helmet once they had gotten in, held his phone up to Chen Chu.
"What is it?" Chen Chu took the phone and saw that Xia Youhui was updating his social media. However, instead of sharing food pictures, he had posted several of the photos he had taken earlier.
The initial photo depicted him beside the off-road vehicle destroyed during the battle, followed by a snapshot of a rocket launcher. The third image showcased a pile of rebel corpses and the wreckage of the town.
The accompanying caption read, "The winter break approaches. As a mercenary on an expedition to Kyrola, I've just experienced an intense battle upon arrival, slaying over a hundred enemies. Truly exhilarating!"
With enthusiasm, Xia Youhui exclaimed, "How about that, Ah Chu? Isn't my caption giving off a chaotic apocalyptic vibe?"
Chen Chu handed the phone back to him and commented with a smirk, "I didn't catch that chaotic apocalyptic vibe, but the overwhelming sense of show-off smugness is definitely there."
Xia Youhui disagreed, saying, "Ah Chu, you're lacking joy in life. It's not showing off, it's just sharing the joy."
With that, he chuckled and posted. In no time, a string of comments appeared below.
It wasn't just Xia Youhui. Several other classmates were also sharing updates on their social media. In their posts, they were showcasing various achievements, boasting about how many enemies they had defeated, highlighting their bravery, and so on.
One thing they all had in common, however, was that they had all blocked friends who weren’t also practitioners on their social media. This was a requirement set by the school, outlined in the contract signed after they had built their foundations. It stipulated that excessive mentions of cultivation matters were prohibited in front of ordinary people, including talking about various resources, arts, and other cultivation-related information.
When Chen Chu had chosen to participate in this trial, the contract he had signed had also included confidentiality clauses, preventing him from disclosing too much about Kyrola to ordinary people.
It seemed that the Federation had been deliberately obscuring information about practitioners surpassing ordinary people, a rather terrifying idea. Ninety percent of the people in this world lived within their own cocoon of information, with their perceptions, knowledge, and thoughts confined by layers of barriers.
Ordinary people mainly received information from media like the internet and television. Popular searches, trends, and various popular topics dominated their information consumption. It seemed like they received a lot of information every day, having access to events happening worldwide; upon closer reflection, however, it appeared that they hadn't gained much other than emotional responses.
But with the continuous outbreaks of chaotic events in Kyrola and other small allied nations, the boundaries that shielded the fact of these transcendent individuals’ superiority above ordinary people seemed to be gradually breaking down.