“Glory Martial Univerisity?” Xiang Ning thought for a moment. Although he hadn’t spent much time in Heavenly Star City, he knew that there were many universities there, and that was one of the more famous ones. It was one of the top hundred universities in the world; it was a prestigious institution indeed. 

“Yep, but based on your abilities, it’ll be very simple for you to enter Glory Martial University,” Chu Long said with a smile, much to Long Xiaoqi’s irritation. Simple? Very simple? 

“Hmph, that brat? Maybe he’ll make it if he works hard,” she muttered. 

Xiang Ning smiled. She didn’t sound like a very nice person, but she was cute, and with that tone, it sounded like she was a little spoiled.  But he was interested in what Chu Long said, so he asked, “Why do you think so?” 

“Last year, the Federation launched the Limit Project. I’m sure you were involved, right? I know that many students achieved tier three, or even four in less than a year. Although there are few of them, they’re talented and powerful,” he said.

Long Xiaoqi, who was listening next to him, had obviously heard of the Limit Project too. There was a bit more respect in her eyes, but she was still muttering like a girl waiting to be comforted. 

“Mm, I guess so.” 

Chu Long nodded, his expression saying ‘I knew it.’ This Xiang Ning in front of him looked like he was at least tier three, maybe almost tier four. If he was going to train, he must be there to improve himself. Chu Long himself was stuck at tier four, nine-star, much to his resentment. 

The two of them happily chatted while Long Xiaoqi unhappily pouted, waiting for someone to talk to and comfort her. But she had underestimated their focus on their conversation with each other.

As time passed, she surrendered. Weren’t they tired? Thirsty? Parched? How could they have so many topics to talk about? But it didn’t matter, they would be arriving in Hang City in half an hour. Then they would go their separate ways and maybe help each other out if they met in battle one day. 

......

The train ride didn’t go as smoothly as expected; sometimes people referred to events like they were fated. And what happened next was one of those events. 

The train suddenly braked, causing the moody Long Xiaoqi to almost choke on her fruit juice. Xiang Ning and Chu Long remained as stable as ever, while the little girl and her mother next to them were startled. Thankfully, the seatbelts were of good quality, and with Xiang Ning’s help, they were okay. 

“What happened?” 

“Why’d we stop?” 

“We aren’t at Hang City yet.” 

The train grew noisy. 

Xiang Ning frowned, activating his Combat Instinct. He sensed a threat approaching, and while it wouldn’t be a huge threat to him, there were many civilians here. 

Chu Long saw Xiang Ning’s furrowed brows, and although he didn’t know what happened, he asked, “Are you alright? Where are you hurt?” 

Xiang Ning waved, implying that he was fine, and Long Xiaoqi became jealous. She had almost choked, why wasn’t he worried about her? 

Xiang Ning looked at the barriers outside the windows. It looked all too familiar. Not far away, about ten beasts suddenly appeared and the already noisy carriage became even more chaotic. 

“What the hell? Beasts? Why’re there so many of them?” 

“Mama! Mama! I’m scared!” 

“Wow, today’s my unlucky day!” 

“Why isn’t the train moving?!” 

Frantic conversations spread throughout the carriage. Chu Long and Long Xiaoqi frowned. Beasts? Was their train blocked by beasts? 

Very quickly, the speakers came alive. “Attention passengers, a powerful beast has blocked the front of the carriage, therefore we are unable to move forward. But we’re being protected by barriers, so please don’t worry. We’ve already contacted Hang City for help and they’ll arrive in less than half an hour.” 

Though the conductor announced that, it wasn’t enough to comfort the passengers, though the voices quietened down after ten minutes when they realized the beasts couldn’t get in. Then everything changed when a pale blue beast appeared. 

The first person to notice it was Chu Long, or rather Xiang Ning, but he didn’t know what species it was. Only his Combat Instinct told him that it wasn’t a small threat. 

“A Thunderclap Mastiff. Four meters tall, weighs three tons, a beast that only evolved two years ago. It has cells like an electric eel—each one is like a stackable battery, and whenever it wants to release electricity, its nerves will trigger the cells to release electrons. It’s similar to an electric eel, but much more powerful,” Chu Long explained. “It’s very dangerous.” 

“Wait... if it’s here, does it intend to destroy the barriers?” gasped Long Xiaoqi. 

Chu Long hesitated, then replied, “I don’t think so?” “It’s just one Thunderclap Mastiff, and while their electricity is indeed effective against barriers, it isn’t strong enough. The barriers can regenerate too fast, they don’t stand a chance.”

Just as he finished speaking, the Thunderclap Mastiff sizzled and a flash of lightning struck the train, badly scaring the passengers. 

Chu Long was stunned by the lightning strike. 

“How was that possible?!” 

A huge hole had formed in the barrier, enough for smaller beasts to enter. Very quickly, the barrier regenerated… but if the beasts were quicker, they would have already gotten through it! And what would the consequences be? The answer was obvious. 

Xiang Ning deeply frowned, while Long Xiaoqi tugged at Chu Long’s hand, “Brother Long….”

Chu Long wanted to comfort her, but wasn't in the mood. He thought about it, then unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up. She looked at him and he said, “Don’t worry, I’m just going to check.” 

Xiang Ning stood up, too. Within the carriage, all of the martial artists stood up. It didn’t matter if they recognized the beast, they were all weirded out and headed toward the exits of each carriage. 

“Mama, where’s big brother going?” 

The mother looked at him, then held the girl’s hand. “Don’t worry. He’s a big hero, he’ll protect you.” 

Speaking about the Mastiff, there's a new pokemon called Mabostiff and I love it so much!!!! Look at that chonky boi!