Chapter 2709

Chapter 2709: First Squad Training Session

"That woman will also join our squad...?" Huang Zhi Han mumbled, sounding a little dazed.

After a moment of silence, she continued, "Although I don’t know where she lives, I know where you can find her."

"That woman is quite famous, and it’s not because of her talents. They call her the Training Hall Princess because she spends all of her time training, practically living there."

"The training hall, huh? Alright. Thanks. I’ll contact you again when I have a date for the training session."

With that, Yuan left and headed to the training hall.

After arriving, Yuan entered the building and walked through the training hall to look for Li Jieyu.

However, since most of the training rooms were private, Yuan could only hope to catch Li Jieyu during her breaks.

Some time later, Yuan finished walking through the entire training hall, but alas, he still couldn’t find Li Jieyu.

’Since I am already here, I might as well do some training, too.’

Yuan headed to Simulated Combat to train on the 48th floor.

’My Eternal Essence has essentially doubled since my last attempt on the 48th floor...’ Yuan thought as he entered one of the available rooms and started the simulation, feeling pretty confident about his victory.

Once inside, Yuan immediately started the simulation, and the Void Hunter look-alike appeared before him shortly later.

"Looking at you now, you’re definitely not as strong as the real deal," Yuan muttered as he summoned his sword.

The two started clashing moments later.

’This is doable! I can defeat it!’

Yuan smiled inwardly after just several exchanges.

The difference between them wasn’t great enough for Yuan to overwhelm his opponent with ease. Much like his battle with the Void Hunter, the fight was relatively even, though Yuan still held a clear advantage.

Eventually, Yuan unleashed Shiva’s Eternal Frost with as much Eternal Essence as he could muster, instantly encasing his opponent within a massive mountain of ice. Unlike the Void Hunter, however, this opponent couldn’t break free.

<You have cleared the 48th Floor>

However, Yuan didn’t stop after the first clear and entered the 48th floor again.

This time, his purpose wasn’t to defeat his opponent.

"If I want to defeat the Void Hunter... or Eternals for that matter, I will need to learn how to use Eternal Essence more efficiently."

"Shiva’s Eternal Frost... Since it’s my only Eternal-level technique right now, I should try to reach peak mastery with it before I even think about learning more."

Thus, Yuan started farming the Void Hunter on the 48th floor, using nothing but Shiva’s Eternal Frost.

Meanwhile, those passing by the Simulated Combat area noticed that the rankings had changed once again.

"He’s cleared the 48th floor now..."

"Huh? You know who this anonymous person is?"

"Pretty much everyone knows by now that it’s Captain Yuan..."

"Right? I saw him entering the place not long ago, too. It has to be him."

After it was revealed that Yuan could fight the Void Hunter, almost everyone guessed Yuan was the anonymous individual at the top of the ranking.

"48th floor, huh? This means he’s now only one floor away from reaching Tian Yuchen’s record. How long do you think it’ll take him to finally reach that level?"

"A monster like him? Hard to tell, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already reached Tian Yuchen’s level."

"Heavens... It’s only been an hour, and he’s already dropped his record to ten minutes."

"You think he’ll be able to clear the 48th floor in seconds like before?"

"It’s only a matter of time..."

Sure enough, Yuan eventually cleared the 48th floor in seven seconds.

Someone in the crowd, Li Jieyu, taking a break from her own training, stared at the rankings with a deep frown.

’The difference between us is too vast...’ she sighed inwardly.

Minutes after setting his newest record, Yuan emerged from his training room to a large crowd outside. However, his gaze ignored everyone there and went straight to Li Jieyu.

He walked directly to her and said, "Hey, got some time right now?"

Li Jieyu raised an eyebrow and said, "I guess."

Yuan and Li Jieyu then left the scene quickly, leaving the others wondering about their relationship.

Some time later, once they were alone, Yuan asked her, "Have you decided to join my squad yet?"

"No," she immediately answered.

"Is that so? Well, I’ll be doing a group training session with my squad outside the city, and we need one more member. I’m inviting you to come along."

"Outside the city? Doing what? Clean up Void Specters? That’s too boring, so I’ll refuse. However, if you’re inviting me to spar with you, I’ll gladly accept."

"You don’t have to fight Void Specters if you don’t want to. But if you come with us, I’ll spar with you as many times as you want later."

"Deal." Li Jieyu accepted his offer without hesitation.

"Good. Then we’ll leave in seven days."

After forming his squad, Yuan visited Mei Feng to tell her his plans.

"How far out do you plan on going?" Mei Feng asked.

"Not far at all. The Orange Zone, at most. I will also take them into tunnels so they can get some experience there."

"Just make sure you return before the assembly."

After his meeting with Mei Feng, Yuan notified Huang Zhi Han and Mei Xiaoyun of the date. Neither had any issue with it.

A week passed swiftly, and the Nine Heavens squad gathered at the southern entrance early in the morning.

"Before we leave, let’s do a quick introduction, as this is essentially our first mission as a squad."

"I’m Mei Xiaoyun. I worked as a police officer before joining the military."

"Huang Zhi Han, and I came here from Spirit City. As for what I was doing before coming here... I helped with my family’s business."

"Li Jieyu. Ember City." Li Jieyu kept her introduction brief.

"Now, let’s talk about the purpose of this training session," Yuan said a moment later.

"Since you’re all still new to the military, you won’t be required to leave the city just yet. Eventually, however, you’ll be sent outside on missions. Of course, if you want to increase your rank, you’ll also need to take on missions of your own accord."

"I won’t ask any of you to fight Void Specters while we are outside, but if you wish to experience what it’s like to fight one, you may. Of course, I can—and will—guarantee your safety."

"What are we doing outside if we’re not going to fight Void Specters?" Huang Zhi Han asked.

"Since this is our first training session, I was planning to familiarize you with the world outside the city and explore a few tunnels. But I do encourage you to fight at least one Void Specter. Any other questions?"

"..."

"Good, then let’s leave."

After checking out at the entrance, Yuan led them outside the city.

"So this is what the world beyond the city walls looks like..." Mei Xiaoyun muttered, sounding somewhat dazed.

Although her background had given her a rough idea of what to expect, this was the first time she had ever witnessed it with her own eyes.

Meanwhile, Huang Zhi Han and Li Jieyu remained calm, showing no reaction, almost as if they’d been outside before.

Noticing this, Yuan asked them, "This isn’t your first time leaving the city walls?"

"Well, my city isn’t as strict when it comes to this sort of stuff, so no." Huang Zhi Han replied.

"Mine too," Li Jieyu said.

A few moments later, Yuan led them into the barren land and into the Green Zone.

Soon, they encountered their first Void Specter.

"Void Specters in the Green Zone are not aggressive. In fact, they rarely fight back. So if you want to fight one, this is your chance to do so," Yuan said.

"There’s no fun in fighting an opponent that doesn’t fight back," Li Jieyu remarked.

"Its appearance is kind of cute," Huang Zhi Han said.

"I’ll fight it," Mei Xiaoyun said, raising her arm and pointing a finger at the Void Specter before firing a burst of Limitless at it.

The bullet struck the Void Specter’s body and pierced right through it with ease, defeating it in one hit.

"Huh?" Mei Xiaoyun reacted with surprise, almost as if she couldn’t believe how weak it was.

"I barely put any power into that..." she mumbled.

"You’re a lot stronger than you think," Yuan said with a smile.

They continued deeper into the Green Zone afterward, reaching the Orange Zone a few days later.

"The Void Specters here are a little more powerful in the Orange Zone, and unlike the Green Zone, there’s a chance they might attack you unprovoked."

Yuan looked at Mei Xiaoyun and asked, "Want to try fighting one here?"

She nodded and attacked one a moment later, shooting it with Limitless like before but with more power.

However, unlike before, the Void Specter didn’t fall to a single bullet, and it took her several more attempts to finally defeat it.