The Dragon Abomination’s claw meat had only been a small piece, yet it fetched thirty academic credits. Even if ten catties of this Three-Month Pig meat weren’t as valuable as claw meat, it should still sell for over a hundred credits. That would be more than ten thousand yuan!
Huang Xiu mentally calculated the potential price of ten catties of Three-Month Pig meat, and her eyes instantly lit up.
Her gaze, as she now looked at the Three-Month Pigs, had entirely transformed.
Pork worth over a thousand yuan per catty… This wasn’t just a pig!
It was practically a walking gold mine!
“How adorable… These Three-Month Pigs, eat up.”
Huang Xiu smiled, watching the Three-Month Pigs in their enclosure.
To be honest, after staring at them for a while, the Three-Month Pigs did seem quite endearing.
Despite their three heads being somewhat grotesque, their expressions were remarkably simple-minded and lovable.
Their black bristles, clearly sturdy, might even make excellent material for brushes.
****
“Alright, the combat special training begins now. Will anyone volunteer to be the first group to enter?”
Teacher Yuan finished speaking, his gaze, sharp as a torch, sweeping over the students of Class One.
Every student instinctively averted their gaze, lowering their heads.
No one wanted to be the first.
The Three-Month Pigs’ strength and behavior were unknown. The later one entered, the more detailed their observations would be, and naturally, the greater their advantage.
Going in first was undoubtedly the biggest disadvantage, especially without the use of abilities.
“No one is willing?” Teacher Yuan sounded a little disappointed. “In the future, when you venture into the Void Realm or travel to Touchpoints, you will always encounter enemies with unknown methods. Analyzing and observing an enemy’s tactics during combat is a crucial skill for an Awakened individual.”
“Teacher, I’ll go!”
A male student, carrying a long sword, stepped forward. He had delicate features and a small braid at the back of his head.
‘Fu Yue,’ Huang Xiu’s mind supplied his name, but that was the extent of it.
While she remembered everyone’s names in her class, her close acquaintances were limited to the few people she’d initially met.
Perhaps it was because she carried too many accolades, creating an invisible gap between her and her classmates.
Few in her class actively sought her friendship, let alone invited her to play.
Her relationship with her classmates was more akin to familiar strangers.
“You’re Fu Yue, correct? Very good.” Teacher Yuan looked at the student with approval, then quickly scanned the rest of the class. “Anyone else?”
Everyone exchanged glances, their thoughts varied.
Some wanted to step forward but feared embarrassing themselves with a poor performance.
Others believed their weapon combat skills were strong enough to contend for first place, making a delayed entry a safer bet.
Huang Xiu’s thoughts were similar to the latter; she aimed to secure the top spot.
Of course, some were simply socially anxious and didn’t want to stand out.
Thus, after a considerable wait, only Tian Rong, the class monitor, emerged, holding a short saber the length of his forearm.
“No one else? Can it be that out of over thirty people, not even three are bold enough? What about the girls? Why are there no girls? Awakened individuals are very much equal regardless of gender. Don’t think I’ll give you preferential treatment. A poor performance is a poor performance; everyone is held to the same standard.”
After waiting a moment longer, no one else volunteered. Teacher Yuan abandoned his plan of having students come forward willingly.
“Fine, for the last person, I’ll just call out a name!”
His gaze pierced through the crowd, seemingly selecting a target.
Those whose eyes he met, especially those he lingered on, secretly prayed not to be chosen.
*Swish!*
The bald man’s gaze settled on the short-haired girl, who had been quietly chatting with her friend beside her.
Feeling his gaze, she instinctively looked up, her eyes meeting Teacher Yuan’s directly.
‘Oh no… he didn’t pick me, did he?!’ Huang Xiu’s heart dropped instantly. She then saw Teacher Yuan’s lips twitch slightly.
“Where is the Practical Affairs Committee member? Step forward. As the class committee member responsible for students’ practical training, this is the time to lead by example!”
The Practical Affairs Committee member… that S-rank Huang Xiu.
Upon hearing the name, the students in the class stirred, turning their heads to look at the girl in the middle of the crowd.
The students in front of her proactively moved to either side, clearing a path straight to the front.
“…”
Sensing the numerous gazes from her classmates and looking up at Teacher Yuan at the very front, Huang Xiu’s face was devoid of expression, her lips twitching slightly.
She had been the Practical Affairs Committee member for almost two months and had initially been quite content with the role.
The workload was minimal, usually just distributing campus part-time jobs to classmates each week.
Who would have thought that because of this position, she would be called out by a teacher to be among the first to enter combat?
Nevertheless, she had been called.
Huang Xiu was quite confident in her weapon combat skills and saw no need to invent excuses to avoid being the first.
She couldn’t bear to lose face like that.
“Xiao Yu, I’m going in!”
Huang Xiu lightly patted her friend, Ying Zhiyu, on the shoulder.
“Go for it!” Ying Zhiyu pumped her small fist, her face filled with trust in her Sister Xiu.
“Mhm!” Huang Xiu nodded.
Then, holding her Senluo long spear, she walked through the crowd with her head held high and chest out, meeting everyone’s gazes as she moved to the front.
“Student Huang…” Fu Yue greeted her softly.
Huang Xiu nodded, treating it as a response, then stood to the right of the two boys.
“We still need a study committee member. Then our three class committee members will be grouped together,” Tian Rong said to Huang Xiu with a smile.
“There will be other opportunities later,” Huang Xiu replied casually, then fell silent, beginning to take deep breaths to regulate her rhythm.
“Open the gate!” Teacher Yuan gestured with a wave of his hand.
A Senior Male Student, who had been waiting by the gate, nodded and pulled a thick, brown rope to the side.
The heavy black wooden gate scraped a deep gouge into the ground, emitting a groaning sound.
The passage to the breeding area now lay open before the three of them.
“Go in!” Teacher Yuan said. “Unless absolutely necessary, I will not intervene to save you. So, if you don’t fight with all you have, expect to be tossed around and injured by the Three-Month Pigs!”
Huang Xiu and the other two had no doubt about the truth of Teacher Yuan’s words.
Teacher Yuan said he would only intervene if absolutely necessary.
That meant he would only act when they were battered and bruised, utterly unable to continue.
Eight weeks of combat classes had already taught them that this teacher never lied.
An unprecedented close-quarters battle lay before them.
Huang Xiu’s heart was filled with complex, inexpressible emotions.
Heaviness, fear, nervousness, and even a hint of excitement…
She didn’t know what expression to wear at this moment.
So, she simply kept a blank face and, along with the two beside her, strode into the breeding area.
*Creak*
As soon as the three entered, the wooden gate behind them closed again, cutting off their retreat.
Huang Xiu, holding her Senluo long spear, stood by the entrance, immediately observing her surroundings with vigilance.
The area was riddled with numerous treacherous mud pits.
If a fight broke out later and they weren’t careful, stepping into a mud pit would spell disaster.
The entire area was roughly the size of three or four football fields, yet Huang Xiu’s gaze swept across it without finding a single Three-Month Pig.
Before they entered that morning, the Senior Male Students from the stronghold had already herded the Three-Month Pigs from this section into other areas.
This was a necessary measure to ensure the smooth conduct of the training.
Otherwise, with hundreds of Three-Month Pigs in one area, if they all went berserk and attacked, not just three people, but even thirty people without abilities, wouldn’t be able to handle them.
It wouldn’t be practical training; it would be serving delicious afternoon tea snacks to the pigs.
****
Returning to the main topic.
Outside the area, Teacher Yuan led the remaining students onto the elevated iron walkway above the section.
This structure had been specially designed for easier feeding and management, but now it served as the best vantage point for everyone to observe the battle.
“Release three of them first, let’s test the waters!” Teacher Yuan held up three fingers.
In the distance, a Senior Male Student instantly understood, a flash of white light appearing in his eyes as he used his ability.
[Mud Manipulation]
In another section, black mud, influenced by the ability, flowed and converged on its own.
It eventually formed a six-meter-tall mud giant.
“Oink oink…” Nearby, several Three-Month Pigs were happily engrossed in eating the bloodied meat and organs that had fallen from above.
Since they had been confined to this place, although their activity area was restricted, their appetites had grown daily.
They had already become much fatter compared to when they first arrived.
Suddenly, the sound of rumbling footsteps echoed nearby, but before the puzzled Three-Month Pigs could look up, a massive shadow covered the ground.
A gigantic hand, vast enough to blot out the sky and moon, descended, snatching up a Three-Month Pig.
“Away you go!” the Senior Male Student shouted, and the mud giant hurled the Three-Month Pig into Huang Xiu’s area.
Following the same method, two more innocent Three-Month Pigs were soon thrown over by the mud giant.
“The three of us are a team. If you have any strength to spare during the fight, we must help each other out.”
Near the enclosure, Tian Rong was giving quiet instructions.
As the class monitor, his duty was to manage his classmates, so he naturally began to instruct them immediately.
Both Huang Xiu and Fu Yue nodded.
As classmates, mutual assistance was an expected courtesy.
“Later, let’s not separate too far. It’s best to form a triangular formation, maintaining some distance and fighting back-to-back.”
Tian Rong seized the last moments, rapidly outlining the tactics.
“And…”
Before he could finish, a huge dark shadow suddenly flew over from beyond the wooden wall of the distant area.
It then landed heavily in a mud pit not far from Huang Xiu, creating a loud thud and splashing mud several meters high, interrupting Tian Rong’s words.
Before anyone could speak, two more dark shadows flew in, landing precisely in two other mud pits around them.
“They’re here!” Huang Xiu’s expression turned serious.
In the mud pits to her front, left, and right, three Three-Month Pigs, each about two meters long and one meter tall at the shoulder, slowly and shakily stood up, swaying their heads.
They had three heads, arranged in a triangular pattern.
Each head possessed sharp, long tusks, and their thick hog bristles stood out distinctly, like black needles.
Three heads… on the body of a normal-sized wild boar.
This clearly defied biology, but it perfectly matched Huang Xiu’s impression of Void Realm creatures—grotesque, bizarre, and illogical.
“One for each of us?” Huang Xiu held her long spear horizontally in front of her, staring intently at the Three-Month Pig, and asked without turning her head.
“Alright!”
It was the most suitable grip for thrusting with force.
Given that the Three-Month Pigs had been thrown over without immediate injury, their defenses were undoubtedly high.
Therefore, ordinary slashes might not be very effective.
‘Understood!’
Fu Yue gripped his long sword firmly.
At this moment, the Three-Month Pigs still seemed somewhat disoriented, not yet fully recovered from the dizziness of their high-altitude fall.
Huang Xiu immediately decided to seize this opportunity to launch an offensive.
‘I’m going first!’
Without waiting for Tian Rong and Fu Yue’s replies, she charged rapidly towards the Three-Month Pig closest to her, the one in the muddy ground to her right, spear in hand.
Tian Rong understood Huang Xiu’s intention and immediately turned to say, “Let’s go too!”
Fu Yue nodded, and the two of them, in unspoken agreement, charged towards the Three-Month Pigs in front and to the left.
*Thump-thump-thump-thump…* A series of rapid footsteps.
Her white athletic shoes quickly pounded the ground, splashing the slightly damp mud from the sides of her soles.
The edges of her shoes inevitably became stained with black mud.
The two ribbons of her white gaiter socks fluttered up and down along her fair calves, dancing like butterflies.
Huang Xiu’s distance from the Three-Month Pig was originally just over fifty meters, but now, under her rapid sprint, it was quickly closing.
Ten meters, nine meters… four meters, three meters!
The grotesque figure of the Three-Month Pig magnified in the girl’s eyes, gradually filling her entire vision.
Two meters!
The Three-Month Pig was now within Huang Xiu’s attack range!
At this moment, her eyes saw only the Three-Month Pig; nothing else around her could capture her attention.
“Hah!”
She let out a soft cry to aid her exertion, her right foot stomping the ground, her waist and abdomen twisting with her spine to generate force.
The immense power, gathered from her entire body, propelled the long spear forward from the girl’s graceful waist.
This thrust was simple and unadorned, yet incredibly swift—a testament to Huang Xiu’s five weeks of diligent weapon combat training.
Any master of spear techniques would commend it; even Teacher Yuan nodded in approval.
*Whoosh!*
A tiny whoosh of air suddenly sounded as the long spear fiercely thrust towards the Three-Month Pig’s neck.
Yes, the neck, not the head.
Huang Xiu’s experience from several battles and her brief observation just now led her to this choice.
Perhaps all three heads were weak points of the Three-Month Pig, or perhaps damaging one would be utterly harmless.
But the Three-Month Pig only had one neck!
Huang Xiu didn’t want to gamble, so she decisively made the safest choice.
The Three-Month Pig couldn’t react and took the full force of the blow.
Its extremely thick hide, combined with solidified mud, had always been the Three-Month Pig’s best armor.
But even that couldn’t block this swift thrust!
*Pfft!*
The long spear met slight resistance, but after piercing the thick hide, it broke through like a bamboo shoot, impaling the Three-Month Pig’s thick neck.
The matte, rhomboid spearhead emerged from the other side of the neck, its blood groove carrying fresh, pulsating chunks of meat.
Acrid blood instantly sprayed from the wound.
*Oink oink oink oink!*
The Three-Month Pig’s three heads let out painful squeals in unison, their overlapping sounds causing an ear-ringing din.
The slight breeze from the squeals ruffled the girl’s ear-length short hair, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly, carrying a hint of mockery.
‘Slaughtering pigs, I’m best at that.’