"Battle royale, fufufufu!"

  Master Jenna looked incredibly excited as she announced the special training to Jyu and Sizhi.

  Of course, the two youths immediately shuddered when they heard it. "What do you mean?" Jyu asked slowly.

  "Rex, you won’t die!" Master Jenna said while ughing loudly.

  Master Jenna’s words didn’t seem like mere nonsense. Because before the battle royale was held, she would train Jyu and Sizhi first.

  At that very moment, Master Jenna immediately began training. How to maximize the power of the soul core and how to use demonic power effectively.

  Jyu and Sizhi were demanded to bring out their best abilities. The training was so intense that sweat and wounds already covered their bodies. But for Jyu, who was already quite skilled in martial arts, of course he could follow this training fairly well. However, for Sizhi, who wasn’t very good at fighting, it was clear she struggled.

  "Channel your soul's core power throughout your entire body. Shatter the stone in front of you with a single punch!" Master Jenna shouted.

  Jyu and Sizhi had tried hard to follow the instructions. But their efforts still failed; in the end, their hands bled from striking the stone. The rge rock before them didn’t break, not even crack.

  The two of them had trained for hours. When evening came, even though no sunlight could reach inside the DV Army headquarters, Jyu and Sizhi finally rested.

  Master Jenna left the two of them.

  "Is your hand okay?" Jyu asked, trying to start a conversation with Sizhi.

  "Yes!" the girl replied.

  Sizhi still kept herself closed off from everyone, including Jyu. But it was clear she was exhausted and constantly holding back the pain tormenting her hands.

  Not long after, a voice emerged from the loudspeaker on the third floor.

  "Fufufufu!" the voice echoed throughout the room.

  "That’s Master Jenna, what is she going to do?" Jyu said.

  "Hello, students of the DV Army academy. There are now 10 students left here, and all of you must participate in tomorrow’s battle royale. Prepare yourselves!"

  Jyu and Sizhi were immediately shocked upon hearing it. "Tomorrow! This person has gone mad," Jyu said angrily.

  ---

  In truth, Jyu and Sizhi entered the DV Army academy almost at the same time, only two days apart. And every student had to undergo soldier training for a full two months. Unfortunately, almost all the remaining students, besides Jyu and Sizhi, were about to graduate. That meant their combat abilities had been tested, and they were ready to fight mystical creatures.

  This was bad news for Jyu and Sizhi. The two of them had received only a matter of hours of training. Yet today they were asked to fight students who were already trained. For Jyu and Sizhi, this was practically suicide.

  Now the two of them had gathered at the training ground along with the other students. But the other eight students seemed to ostracize Jyu and Sizhi. Perhaps it was natural since they were new students who didn’t yet have friends.

  "What exactly did you do to Master Jenna?" Wirtz asked, suddenly appearing beside Jyu. Jyu, who was sitting next to Sizhi, was slightly startled.

  "What do you mean?" Jyu asked in confusion.

  "There’s never been a battle royale held here before. Only the two of you interacted with Master Jenna yesterday, so what did you do?"

  "Sizhi and I didn’t do anything, we were just training," Jyu answered, while Sizhi remained silent.

  Not long after, Master Jenna, Master Felix, and several others arrived at the training ground. They walked together, but Master Jenna was at the very front.

  "For your information, the training at the DV Army academy has a strict curriculum. But now, the curriculum has been disrupted by this battle royale. However, since Master Jenna requested it and she is the most respected person here, we cannot do much."

  Jyu and Sizhi could only stay silent upon hearing the facts behind the battle royale.

  Then Master Jenna and her group arrived. "Today, a battle royale will be held."

  "The rules are simple, the st person standing is the winner. The match is conducted only with bare hands, no weapons or demonic powers allowed. The prize is 10,000. Fufufufu!"

  At that very moment, a roaring cheer echoed throughout the room. The eight students looked extremely enthusiastic about participating in this battle royale. Some of them had even started warming up.

  Now, the training area had been transformed into a fighting arena, a circur ring 20 meters in diameter. All the Masters present surrounded the arena, but only Master Jenna looked excited.

  In the middle of the arena was a strange sight. The students seemed divided into two groups. Eight people gathered together, while Jyu and Sizhi stood side by side. Once again, this fight gave the impression that Jyu and Sizhi had to face those eight.

  "So who should we beat up first?" one of them asked, his voice faintly heard by Jyu.

  "I’m targeting Sizhi," said a student.

  "Me too!" another added.

  Jyu stared at the eight with anger. He assumed they had a cunning strategy. Perhaps they would work together to defeat Jyu and Sizhi at once. After that, they would fight each other for the prize.

  Suddenly, the bell rang loudly, signalling that the battle royale had begun.

  In an instant, the eight of them attacked. Strangely, six of them immediately targeted Sizhi.

  "I’ll take revenge for what your family did, you bitch!" shouted a bald man.

  "Hey, she’s a woman, let me be the one to beat her," said a woman with her hair tied back.

  Those shouts confused Jyu. He began to wonder who Sizhi really was and what problem she was facing that made the other students seem to hold a grudge against her.

  But the questions in his mind had to be cast aside immediately, because in front of Jyu now stood two students attacking him.

  "Hey, you handle that bitch, let this kid be my opponent," Marco said to his friend.

  Now Jyu and Marco faced each other. Their gazes met, ready to attack one another until one of them lost consciousness.

  But Jyu’s focus was truly split here. Sizhi couldn’t do much while being ganged up on by seven people. She was like a rabbit entering a tiger’s den, with nothing but death awaiting her.

  Punches and kicks had already nded on her body, sending her crashing to the ground repeatedly. Sizhi could only run while occasionally blocking their attacks.

  "Sizhi!" Jyu shouted, worried about her.

  Now, Sizhi was surrounded, standing in the middle of seven people ready to finish her off.

  "Sizhi is Ethan Walter’s daughter, you surely know who he is. So it’s only right she receives that kind of oppression," Marco said with burning anger.