Hanxu Continent

Chapter 41: Hanxu Continent

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Together with the Tianguo Empire, there were three other important places:

The Qinglan Empire,

the Shouyuan Empire,

and finally, the northernmost and by far the largest and vastest of them all, the Frozen Prison Land.

All of these together made up the Hanxu Continent.

All of these places, except one, were colonized either by humans or other races.

The only place no one had ever claimed was the Frozen Prison Land, and that's because most of the people who ever set foot in there, never came back.

It was separated from the other three empires by a long mountain range stretching from the eastern border of the continent all the way to the western border.

Only a few ever managed to come back, and of those, most were seriously injured, while a handful, though wounded, were lucky enough to escape.

Needless to say, exploring that part of the continent had always been difficult, and even after thousands of years, only a small part of it had actually been explored.

Zhao Tianlei was one of those rare people who not only went there and came back alive, but was also one of the few who went far into it.

And when he came back, he brought with him the corpse of a dragon.

Dragons existed in this world, and you could find them in several parts of the continent, but the one killed by Instructor Zhao was clearly a dragon above the others.

Even in death, according to those who saw it, its presence alone was enough to completely suppress a mortal realm cultivator.

That feat was also the reason why he earned the title of

The Northern Dragon slayer.

In his past life, Zhu Rong never had the chance to set foot in that part of the continent, not just because of his limited cultivation, but also for several other reasons.

But he did have the opportunity to meet many people who had.

So he knew full well how extraordinary this person's accomplishment was.

'I gotta say… that guy's face really hasn't changed one bit,' he thought, remembering a face identical to the one before him now, a face he'd seen even many years after leaving Qiyan City.

As he got lost in his thoughts for a moment, the three instructors finally arrived at the spot and looked around at everyone, before one of them stepped forward.

Next to Zhao Tianlei on his right side was another tall man, a bit older-looking, with a long white beard and equally long white hair tied back into a ponytail.

Even though he looked older, his physique was in no way inferior to that of Instructor Zhao Tianlei.

The other person, on Zhao Tianlei's left, was a woman.

She had long, white, silk smooth hair that fell neatly over her shoulders, and a pair of crystal violet eyes that seemed to reflect the light like precious gems.

Her bearing was calm, graceful, and carried an air of noble elegance.

She was none other than Liang Yuexin, assigned as one of the instructors overseeing this year's second test for the second year students.

Zhu Rong wasn't surprised to see her here.

After all, in his past life, she had also been one of the instructors during the trial.

'Hmm… now that I think about it, she really gave me a hard time back then,' he thought, recalling some events during the trial.

Just like with his theoretical exam, his open field trial hadn't gone great either, in fact, it went even worse than the first.

Back then, he was still halfway through and hadn't even reached the first stage yet,

while almost everyone else was already at the first, with some exceptional ones already at the second.

Needless to say, the test was anything but easy for him.

And in the end… he failed it too.

And when, at the end of the year, he got a chance to make up the credits for that trial, he failed even more miserably.

His second year at the academy was, without a doubt, one of the most disastrous and unlucky times of his life,

since pretty much all his other misfortunes started from there.

That said, seeing that everyone was already here, the instructors didn't waste any more time.

With his usual calm expression, Zhao Tianlei stepped forward and gave a glance at all the students.

His calm gaze swept over them, and many of them felt chills for a moment.

Some avoided his eyes, others lowered their heads just to avoid meeting his gaze.

Only a few stayed calm and met his stare head on.

One of them was Zhu Rong, who was watching the scene unfold like he was bored out of his mind, yawning now and then like he hadn't slept in days.

Zhao Tianlei's gaze lingered on him for a moment before moving on.

In the end, seeing that no one dared make a sound and everyone was paying attention, he finally opened his mouth and started speaking:

"Since you're all here already, let's not waste any more time and get straight to the exam.

I won't bother explaining every little detail since this year's exam will be similar to those of previous years.

All you need to remember are these four rules:

One: This here is the starting point of the exam. At the end of the set time, you'll need to make it back here.

Show up even a second late and you'll be disqualified on the spot.

Two: Just like in previous years, the missions you'll be given are random. Complete them halfway or mess them up, and you'll be eliminated.

Three: You're free to do whatever you want, as long as you don't kill any of your fellow students, and you're not caught cheating, if you do, you're out.

And finally,

four: the exam area is clearly marked by these stakes.

If you're found even a single step outside them, you'll be dealing directly with me."

He spoke with his usual calm expression.