The next day, a bus carrying the students pulled into the lush mountain area.

"Where are we going?" someone curiously asked as they watched the city district growing more distant.

"I heard that the battle is going to take place in a primitive forest, and there are even wolves inside!"

"Wolves! That's terrifying." A timid girl said, her face turning pale with fear.

"Wolves are nothing. I heard there are monsters and wandering ghosts too!" a boy said mysteriously.

"Ah!" The girl was so frightened that she turned pale.

"Don't worry, as long as you follow our young master Zhou Da, wolves, wandering ghosts, all can be handled in minutes. It's only dangerous if you end up with the useless team," Sun Peng said with a laugh, glancing at Lin Chen who was deep in thought.

"Oh, may God bless me, please don't let me be assigned to Lin Chen's team," the girl prayed with her hands together and a devout face.

"Hey, Sun Peng, what nonsense are you talking about?" Hao Lin said discontentedly.

"I'm stating the facts. Ask anyone here who would want to be in Lin Chen's team?" Sun Peng said righteously.

Hao Lin looked around the bus, and everyone was keeping their heads down, clearly afraid of being chosen by Lin Chen.

"You've got to be kidding, being on Lin Chen's team and asking for a beating," a boy whispered.

"Exactly, he can't even control fire, yet he leads a team, what a joke," another boy remarked, curling his lip.

"Hmph, looking down on others," Hao Lin said angrily as he sat back down.

"I'm willing to go." At this moment, from a corner of the bus, a girl wearing headphones suddenly spoke up.

"It's Qin Mengfan!

"She must be in cahoots with Lin Chen!"

"Probably, this is going to be interesting!"

A few students whispered among themselves.

Lin Chen opened his eyes and looked in Qin Mengfan's direction, noticing her intriguing gaze fixed on him.

"Hmph, just wait to be beaten up if you're on Lin Chen's team." Seeing that someone dared to join Lin Chen's team despite the risks, Sun Peng, frustrated that his desired effect was not achieved, huffily sat back down.

After another hour, the bus finally stopped at a basin-like clearing.

Everyone got off the bus and lined up properly.

Lu Xiaofeng stood in front of the teams, with a handsome man standing beside her.

The handsome man scanned the participants with a cold voice, "Good day, candidates, I am Wang Wei, the examiner for this test, and I will be supervising the whole process."

Wang Wei looked very handsome, and despite his young age, he exuded a mature aura.

"For this combat drill, everyone will wear special protective suits. If hit by a spell, you'll feel the pain but will not be physically injured, and the system will automatically score you based on your performance during the fight. I hope you all perform well," Wang Wei said in a deep voice.

Lu Xiaofeng then stepped forward, holding a booklet, "For this competition, we will be dividing into two teams. Based on previous scores, Lin Chen and Zhou Ming will each lead a team into battle. Each team will be given a battle flag, and the team that captures the opponent's flag will win."

Upon hearing Lu Xiaofeng's introduction, the team members started whispering among themselves.

"May the gods bless me to be placed in Zhou Ming's team."

"Gods of the east and west, please ensure I'm not assigned to Lin Chen's team!"

Hearing the prayers around him, Lin Chen smiled bitterly. Am I really that untrustworthy?

After a moment of thought, Lin Chen suddenly stepped out of the line, "Instructor Lu, I know many classmates don't want to be on my team, so let's do this: anyone who is willing to join my team please step forward, and I won't force those who don't want to."

"This isn't quite fair, is it?" Lu Xiaofeng was taken aback.

At that moment, Wang Wei's gaze fell on Lin Chen, and a playful smile appeared on his face, "Interesting, let's do it his way!"

Here, Wang Wei was the chief examiner, so his decision was the final verdict.

Lu Xiaofeng sighed, "Lin Chen, I know you did this for the sake of the other students, fearing that you would drag them down, but this way, you won't have a chance to compete for first place. If you are willing to change your mind, then I can communicate with Examiner Wang."

"It's okay, I am very confident about getting first place," Lin Chen said confidently.

Lu Xiaofeng was taken aback for a moment, puzzled by where Lin Chen's confidence came from.

With no other choice, she shook her head helplessly and said, "Alright, those willing to be on Lin Chen's team, please step forward."

At that moment, Hao Lin was the first to step forward.

Next to him, Qin Mengfan also stood up.

"Anyone else?" Lu Xiaofeng asked, furrowing her brows.

The team was silent, everyone's heads hung low, fearful of being chosen to be on Lin Chen's team.

Being on Lin Chen's team meant failure, and failure meant points deducted; nobody wanted to be the loser.

Just then, another figure stepped out of the line.

Seeing this figure, Lin Chen was startled; it was Sun Keke.

Sun Keke was bowing her head, a face flushed with shame.

"Sun Keke has gone mad, actually choosing to be on Lin Chen's team," someone muttered.

"Haha, perfect, one less burden. Having her would only complicate things more," another mocked.

Lin Chen's gaze also fell on Sun Keke; he too was a bit taken aback, that besides Qin Mengfan and Hao Lin, there really was someone else daring enough to join his team.

"No one else?" Lu Xiaofeng asked once more.

This time, no one else came forward in the line.

"Alright then, it looks like it's just the three of you with Lin Chen," Lu Xiaofeng sighed.

Fourteen against four, this battle was simply impossible.

"Haha, this is great, it's like picking up points for free!" someone exclaimed.

"If we fourteen lose to these four, we might as well disembowel ourselves!" another declared.

The crowd all let out a long sigh of relief, as they saw no suspense in this match—they had already won.

Zhou Ming stared intently at Lin Chen, his eyes emanating a cold glare, "Kid, you're digging your own grave."

Before participating in this battle, the Zhou Family Head had specifically sought him out, instructing him to use this battle to cripple Lin Chen, or even better, kill him.

Although everyone was wearing special battle suits, ensuring spells cast would not cause injury, his launcher had been tampered with, meaning that if hit by a spell, he would actually be injured.

Lu Xiaofeng approached Wang Wei with the list in hand, "Examiner Wang, don't you think this allocation is a bit unfair?"

Wang Wei glanced at the list and smiled faintly, "This is their own choice, and since they have chosen, they should be aware of the consequences. Now, let's distribute the equipment."

At that moment, several staff members handed out a vest and a launcher to the students.

The vest, made of special materials, was immune to low-level spells, and the launcher, worn on the hand, could minimize the damage output of spells. Combining these two, even if hit by a spell, the system would automatically trigger the body's pain switch, while the body itself would remain unharmed.

When issuing the launcher to Zhou Ming, the staff member glanced at him and discreetly handed him a prepared launcher.

Others' launchers only had a switch, but his had a small adjustment button which could control the output rate of the spell.

Zhou Ming accepted the launcher, glanced at Lin Chen not far away, and sneered, "Lin Chen, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

(First update delivered! Four more chapters to go. Thanks to Liunian and User ㄣ嶶笑de風度99 for their generous donations! Please favorite, vote, comment, reward, and follow!)