NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 168 - Training Exercise 16
With Mai Dongzi’s help, Durant successfully advanced to the initial stage of a level five warrior.
This ignited hope among the members of the Phantom Squad.
Originally, they felt that the overall combat strength of the Phantom Squad was too low, and they would be satisfied just to reach the top sixteen.
But now, aside from their captain, there were three level five warriors in the Phantom Squad, which made them think they could aim for the top eight.
Wang Yiyi, who had previously been stronger than Zhuang Huaiya, found herself in an awkward position after Zhuang Huaiya surpassed her in cultivation. She had even lost her spot as the top student in her first year.
However, the girl had a good character; although she had felt frustrated and disheartened at times, she quickly adjusted and didn’t hold any resentment towards Zhuang Huaiya. Instead, she threw herself into training, silently trying to catch up.
Seeing Durant advance to level five with Mai Dongzi’s assistance, Wang Yiyi looked at Mai Dongzi with longing in her eyes.
“Yiyi, if you train well over these next few days, you should be able to reach your critical point when we return. At that time, you can try to level up,” Mai Dongzi offered Wang Yiyi a glimmer of hope.
In reality, Wang Yiyi might not reach the critical point for leveling up that quickly, but encouraging her could provide the motivation she needed, and it was possible she would achieve it.
Mai Dongzi’s words filled Wang Yiyi with hope, as if she had been energized.
Feeling that she shouldn’t favor one over the others, Mai Dongzi looked at the other three first-year students and said, “Since I am your captain, even after this competition ends, if you encounter difficulties in leveling up during these next two years, you can come to me for help. I will do everything I can to assist you.”
Mai Dongzi genuinely wanted them to succeed, which is why she made this promise. She didn’t intend to make an absolute commitment; she wanted to see how things would develop. If these individuals changed and no longer seemed worthy, she wouldn’t expend the effort.
However, Tony and the others, like Wang Yiyi, looked at her with hope and joy in their eyes. Their captain was so impressive; as long as they worked hard, they wouldn’t fear the challenges of leveling up.
Thanks to Durant’s advancement and Mai Dongzi’s promise, as they continued on their journey, they felt rejuvenated, walking significantly faster than usual.
At this pace, they were sure they could cover more than twenty kilometers today.
However, they were soon forced to stop. Everyone accepted this pause willingly because their captain announced that she had located a water source using her mental power.
It was a small stream, trickling down from the hill into the valley, forming only a tiny pond.
This water source was about four kilometers off their intended route, and without their captain, they would never have found it.
Such a flowing water source was the best drinking water for them. Moreover, they had already consumed half of the drinking water they brought, so being able to refill was perfect.
If possible, they could at least wash their faces; God knows their faces were so dirty that they were afraid to look at themselves.
Just as the members of the Phantom Team were excitedly about to rush towards the water source mentioned by their captain, they were stopped by Mai Dongzi.
“You all start a fire to boil some water; I need to take care of something,” Mai Dongzi said with a smile.
Her smile looked sweet and pleasant, but for some reason, the members of the Phantom Team felt a chill at the back of their necks.
“This damned hill seems endless! When are we going to get out of here? At this rate, we won’t be able to reach our destination on time,” Wei Bangdi said, gazing at the seemingly infinite hills with a hint of frustration.
“Being impatient won’t help; it won’t increase your speed, but it will slow you down and affect everyone else’s mood,” Wang Zhelan replied, displeased.
Wang Zhelan was the captain of the Ability System Team One. She was the highest-ranked student among the Ability System students at the Imperial Capital University and was a powerful gold-type ability user, making her a natural choice for captain.
Wang Zhelan had a tenacious and stubborn personality. To cover more ground, she mandated that the members of Ability System Team One travel every day until they were utterly exhausted before resting.
Although the members of Ability System Team One were all ability users of the five elements, their physical stamina was only on par with level three warriors.
This relentless pace pushed them to their physical limits every day, and with insufficient rest, they were extremely fatigued. Over time, although the main team members couldn’t blame the captain, they were becoming increasingly irritable.
Fortunately, their team had water-type ability users, so accessing water was not a problem. Additionally, with their abilities, hunting magical beasts for food was quite easy.
If they hadn’t been unfortunate enough to be dropped into the hilly area, they would have been doing just fine without needing to cover over double the distance.
“I saw other types of terrain on this barren planet from the starship earlier. I believe we’ll soon be out of the hilly area,” Meng Qing reassured his irritable teammates.
As a water-type ability user, he had the best temperament among the members of Ability System Team One.
“Let’s take a break. We’ve been walking for over six hours,” Shi Yuxuan suggested.
Because the person on duty last night, Shi Yuxuan had half the rest time of the others, and after walking for such a long time today, he was already very tired.
Seeing the fatigue on everyone’s faces, Wang Zhelan nodded in agreement. Although she wanted everyone to keep moving as much as possible, since the others had voiced their concerns, she had to yield to the majority.
“Alright, let’s find a place to rest,” Wang Zhelan said.
However, she did not see any signs of happiness or relaxation in her teammates’ eyes; instead, they were staring wide-eyed behind her, their pupils suddenly dilating…
Wang Zhelan quickly turned around, taking a defensive stance. When she saw the girl standing three meters behind her with a charming smile, she barely managed to stop herself from stumbling back three steps.
“Hello, everyone!” the girl greeted the members of Ability System Team One with a bright smile.
Although only this one girl appeared in front of them, none of the members of Ability System Team One dared to let their guard down, as this girl had previously defeated their captain.
“Do you need something from us?” Wang Zhelan quickly asked, regaining her composure after the initial shock.
Since they couldn’t beat her, it was better to be straightforward and see how things would play out.
“I’ve studied the rules of the training team competition, and there are no regulations prohibiting one team from eliminating another,” Mai Dongzi said, still smiling sweetly.
However, to the members of Ability System Team One, this was nothing short of a threat.
Wei Bangdi, known for his fiery temperament as a fire-type ability user, reacted immediately upon hearing what the girl said. A fire dragon shot towards her with confidence, given the close distance.
Wang Zhelan didn’t even have time to intercept; she could only watch in horror as the fire dragon was about to “devour” the girl. However, it merely circled around her and then lunged at Wei Bangdi with even greater speed, “swallowing” him before he had a chance to react…