On the other side, Xiang Ning’s team returned with a bountiful harvest. Their total hunt value had exceeded seven million dollars, which would be included in their prize in addition to the original prize for being the top-ranked team. He giggled like a maniac all the way home on the tank. 

“I’ve done the calculations. We’ll receive fifty million dollars from the organizers for first place, then another thirty as a reward from our school. Adding that to the seven million dollars from our hunt, we have about eighty million dollars!” Li Zimo’s eyes shone. 

Everyone there except for Xiang Ning came from a wealthy family, but eighty-seven million was no small sum. When divided five ways, each of them would have about seventeen million dollars. 

That’s right. All five of them were now newly minted decamillionaires. 

However, that would never be enough, because being a cultivator was far too expensive. One good skill or weapon was around a million dollars, or even a hundred million dollars. Like Lu Shiyu’s assault rifle, for example. It was worth ten million dollars, and each bullet cost two hundred thousand dollars. During the hunt, every time Xiang Ning had seen Lu Shiyu fire a bullet, he could barely hold himself back from killing the beast himself. If he did that, they would save two hundred thousand dollars! 

Thirty minutes later, Xiang Ning and the rest arrived at Fortress Three. It was nine in the morning. After a routine check, they were led for physical examinations by pretty nurses. They had survived the wilderness for half a month, after all, it was necessary to disinfect and treat any wounds. 

Although Xiang Ning was injured, his injuries were minor. After some disinfecting and bandaging, he was good to go. All he wanted was to meet his little sister in Marsh City. It had been half a month since he had received news from her. That was both comforting and worrying at the same time. 

It was comforting because it meant she had managed to survive half a month without him, but worrying because she might be keeping any problems to herself in fear of worrying him. 

Before he could leave the hospital, two soldiers led him into the main building of Fortress Three. 

“Could you please tell me what is going on, Sir?” Xiang Ning looked around, marveling at the awe-inspiring inner structure of the fortress. It was a weapon in itself, built with solid iron and containing many scientific inventions and weapons. 

“Instructor Lei told us to bring you to him. We don’t know why either, though since your team was placed first in the wilderness activity, it’s probably because of that.” The soldier shrugged. He was only in charge of bringing Xiang Ning over. To be honest, the soldiers of Fortress Three didn’t care for the students who had come there for the training. To them, the students were worse than new military recruits. They would be frightened by anything in the wilderness. 

While there were indeed people like that during the first few days, they started paying attention to those who managed to survive the entire half month. They saw them as potential masters in the future. It would be beneficial to get to know them. 

Very soon, Xiang Ning arrived at the administrative section after passing an array of mesmerizing scientific equipment. Standing before a door, the soldier took out a card and swiped it. Xiang Ning pushed the door and entered. 

While the equipment outside could be described as futuristic, consisting of advanced weapons, within was a completely different world—a white-themed, futuristic universe.

Xiang Ning quickly approached, staring at the people below the railing. Every one of them was clad in white robes and glasses, looking like intelligent maniacs pacing the room in a frenzy. 

“Xiang Ning, over here,” rang a familiar voice. Xiang Ning looked up and saw Lei Zhongyuan and Dong Qianyi. There was a large computer before them. Although he didn’t know what it was, his eyes lit up when he saw the flickering numbers on it. He walked over. 

“Instructor Lei. Mr. Dong.” Xiang Ning bowed before the two seniors. 

Lei Zhongyuan looked at Xiang Ning. This kid’s full of surprises.

“Xiang Ning, I’ve got to say you’re very talented, so talented I’d like to kidnap you for the military,” said Lei Zhongyuan without holding back. Dong Qianyi, one of the Twelve Great Prodigies, nodded too. Initially, they had been worried that Xiang Ning advancing both his physical and mental capabilities at the same time would take too long, but they seemed to have been proven wrong. They also thought Xiang Ning would need at least half a year to break through to tier two, but he had done it in less than a month. That was a huge surprise. 

“Uh… I’ve already made my decision,” Xiang Ning said, scratching his head. He had made his decision the moment they called him over. 

Lei Zhongyuan and Dong Qianyi looked at each other. “Tell us your decision then. No matter who you choose, we’ll both do our best to train you.” That was a huge promise to make. The pacing researchers slowed down and looked at Xiang Ning, a previously unknown kid. Why did the two bosses take him so seriously? Especially the boss from the Twelve Great Prodigies. 

“Mr. Dong Qianyi, I look forward to learning from you.” Xiang Ning bowed before Dong Qianyi, whose lips curled slightly. He took his hands out of his robes and helped Xiang Ning up. 

“Good, you’re now my disciple! I’ll train you well. Believe me, you’ll become an excellent inventor!” Dong Qianyi guffawed. Lei Zhongyuan didn’t look surprised, but merely smiled bitterly. 

“Sigh, I thought I had a chance.” Lei Zhongyuan smiled. He had already guessed Xiang Ning’s decision because he’d noticed something in Xiang Ning other than strong cultivation abilities—an incredible sense of comprehension. Two martial skills at Peak Mastery and great Mental Power. That meant that Xiang Ning was incredibly talented in comprehension. It was a skill that scientific inventors required. 

On the other hand, Xiang Ning was so talented that he could achieve tier two at sixteen years old, plus Peak Mastery in two skills. That meant he didn’t need to train cultivation too purposefully and could manage on his own. 

That was the true reason why Xiang Ning chose to be an inventor. Did he need to further train his martial skills? Or to cultivate? With the system and enough Fury Points, it wouldn’t be a problem. 

Therefore.… 

“Master. Hehehe,” Xiang Ning chuckled when he looked at Dong Qianyi. 

Dong Qianyi was confused by the sudden mischievous chuckle. 

“Uh, don’t you usually give gifts to new disciples?” Xiang Ning asked shamelessly. 

Lei Zhongyuan tried hiding his laughter as Dong Qianyi’s cheek twitched. 

Fury Points +11