NOVEL WEB Chapter 156 - Training Exercise 4
Mai Dongzi discovered mutated fish in the lake.
These mutated fish could detect their presence from over a thousand meters in the air, quietly swimming below and following their movements, clearly waiting for the moment they landed to pounce on them.
Their combat suits were sufficient to prevent attacks from beasts above level six, but who knew what would happen once they hit the water?
Mai Dongzi scanned the surrounding terrain and selected a better landing spot before using her mental power to push everyone across the lake’s surface.
This time, because Mai Dongzi was using the wind to assist their movement, they were traveling with the wind. The members of the Phantom Team didn’t notice at first; it was only when they got closer to the water’s surface and their flight changed to going against the wind that they realized their captain was adjusting their landing point.
In the end, just one minute before they landed, the Phantom Team finally left the lake’s surface and descended into a valley not far from the shore.
Although, aside from Mai Dongzi, the others had no idea what secrets the water held.
But they weren’t completely clueless; they knew that landing on solid ground would be safer than in the water, so they were all very grateful for Mai Dongzi’s intervention.
The members of the Phantom Team landed safely, and the two instructors hidden in a nearby hovercar breathed a sigh of relief.
These instructors had thoroughly prepared for bringing students here for training, fully understanding the conditions of the planet.
They knew the dangers the Phantom Team would face if they landed in the lake.
While training could promote their growth, falling into the lake could lead to someone being eliminated, which would be too quick.
The level eight instructor said to the mountain instructor, “To fly against such strong winds, it seems that Classmate Xi’s mental strength is quite high.”
“She’s at the late stage of level six,” the mountain instructor replied somewhat proudly.
“She’s a genius among geniuses. She concealed her level to enroll in the Art Department, which ended up benefiting you in the Command Department,” Instructor Li, the level eight instructor, said with some regret; all the combat department instructors shared this feeling of regret.
“Among the four level six cultivators in our university, three are in your Combat Department. You should be content with that. The Ability Department is really struggling; they haven’t gotten a single level six cultivator. Just think, if Classmate Xi hadn’t concealed her level to enroll, she would have almost certainly been snatched up by the Ability Department. Wouldn’t that have made you even more regretful?” Instructor Shan frowned, clearly indicating that martial artists tended to have simpler minds.
Mai Dongzi’s mental ability surpassed that of martial artists. If she hadn’t concealed her true level when enrolling, she would definitely have entered the Ability Department.
As a result, two years later, when the three level six cultivators in their third and fourth years graduated, the Ability Department, with Mai Dongzi, would definitely overpower their long-time rivals, the Combat Department.
Instructor Li hadn’t thought about this point before, but now, hearing Instructor Shan say it, he realized that even though he knew instructor Shan was trying to fool him, it did make sense. Compared to the Ability Department, he was indeed more willing to let the Command Department, the perennial third place, take advantage of this situation.
However, despite thinking this way, Instructor Li still refused to back down: “A genius like her is impossible for you to teach.”
“In terms of cultivation, we certainly can’t teach her; her level is almost catching up to mine. But she has Major General Su as her mentor, so she doesn’t need our guidance in that area at all. Besides cultivation, there’s still plenty we can teach her—our Command Department has the most comprehensive knowledge,” Instructor Shan said earnestly.
Instructor Li was at a loss for words. Instructor Shan made a valid point; while the Combat and Ability Departments also taught other essential knowledge beyond cultivation, they didn’t cover it as comprehensively and deeply as the Command Department did.
For a prodigy like Mai Dongzi, studying in the Command Department was indeed the best choice.
The Phantom Squad was among the later landing teams, so while the two instructors were talking, all twenty-six teams had already landed on the surface of the planet.
They had surveillance footage of all the squads on their hovercraft, allowing them to view each team’s landing situation.
Only the Phantom Squad and the Sunfire Squad managed to gather together without getting dispersed.
Other teams were all in disarray, with some spreading out significantly. Without communication and positioning, it was quite difficult to regroup.
“General Ye’s son did well; he thought of this problem even before leaving the starship. Other teams only realized the issue after jumping out, but they don’t have Classmate Xi’s ability to pull everyone together,” Instructor Shan said.
Hearing instructor Shan praise his student, Instructor Li was naturally pleased.
He thought about how Classmate Xi had snatched the overall championship from Ye Zhengyan in the personal competition, but the Phantom Squad still didn’t even have the ability to compete with the Sunfire Squad. This made Instructor Li even happier.
“In the past, wilderness survival training was held on Emperor Capital Star. They didn’t have any experience with parachuting, so it’s not surprising. What’s puzzling is that Classmate Xi has parachuting experience; why didn’t she remind the Phantom Squad? That way, they wouldn’t have to expend so much mental energy,” Instructor Li said, a bit confused.
“Probably wants them to learn a lesson; after all, she has the ability to pull everyone back together,” Instructor Shan replied.
Although he hadn’t formally taught Mai Dongzi, he paid close attention to her training of the Phantom Squad, so he could somewhat guess what her actions meant.
Mai Dongzi’s abilities were very strong, but she wasn’t the type to want to completely control the entire squad for her own success; she preferred to help everyone grow.
Because Instructor Shan recognized Mai Dongzi’s character, he thought without hesitation that her actions were for the good of the Phantom Squad.
…
Due to school regulations, they were not allowed to carry any items; otherwise, they would be eliminated.
Parachutes also counted as items, so once everyone had landed, they had to remove their parachute backpacks and leave them on the ground; they could not take them away.
They landed on a patch of crimson ground, with a water area on one side and a valley on the other.
Perhaps because of the valley, the wind on the ground was even stronger than that in the air.
The strong wind carried sand and gravel, pelting them. Everyone had to turn their backs to the wind to avoid having sand and rocks hit their faces.
The seven members of the Phantom Squad supported each other, preventing themselves from being blown away. Only their captain seemed unaffected by the wind; after leaving them, she still walked steadily.
The members of the Phantom Squad intended to follow their captain, but after she made a gesture for them to wait in place, they stopped and watched her examine the surrounding geographical environment alone.
About five minutes later, when the captain signaled for them to come over, they quickly helped each other and followed her.
The wind was too strong; although Moonlight team member and Zhuang Huaiya were leading the way in front, no one was blown over, but everyone was moving much slower than their captain.