Train Survival: Can I get a treasure chest by touching my goddess?

Shen Wen was about to press for more information when the girl suddenly changed the subject.

"How many stations after the beginner area did you arrive at?"

Shen Wen glanced at her: "What does it matter?"

"Of course it matters," the woman said matter-of-factly. "The fewer times you stand on the platform, the faster your strength is growing. That determines how many questions I can answer for you."

Shen Wen remained silent for two seconds.

"Five platforms."

"Five platforms is too weak..." The girl shook her head, meaning there were a full ten platforms.

"I mean, five in total."

The girl's expression froze.

Her mouth was agape, her eyes were wide open, and she looked as if she had been put on pause.

"Five in total... huh?"

Her voice rose eight octaves, drawing the attention of several people around her.

She quickly lowered her voice and moved even closer, almost touching Shen Wen.

"Five platforms? Are you kidding me? Who can reach the Iron rank limit in the newbie zone?"

She looked Shen Wen up and down, her gaze sweeping over him several times, as if searching for some flaw.

"Furthermore, in the beginner area, you can only get the assessment guide at most... You can't possibly meet the advancement requirements within five stations."

Shen Wen said calmly, "It's your question that you asked. You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

The girl's mouth was open, unable to close.

She stared at Shen Wen for several seconds, then closed her eyes, and a very faint halo appeared between her brows.

Talent is at work.

Three seconds later, she opened her eyes, and the expression on her face changed.

It wasn't surprise, but something more complex, a mixture of confusion and wariness.

Her talent paid off, and Shen Wen hadn't lied.

But there are five platforms...

She took a deep breath and then exhaled, as if trying to process some unacceptable information.

"Never mind what I said."

She turned to leave.

Shen Wen spoke up: "Wait a minute."

The girl stopped and turned to look at him.

Shen Wen took out a bottle of light blue potion from his spatial backpack and tossed it in his palm.

"A bottle of Black Iron-grade Constitution Potion adds ten points to Constitution. Tell me about this upgrade platform."

The girl's eyes lit up.

She stared at the bottle of medicine for two seconds, then looked at Shen Wen, her lips slowly parting to reveal a row of neat white teeth.

She reached out and took the medicine, quickly stuffing it into her bosom, her movements as swift as catching a coin tossed to her on the street.

Then she chuckled, and the smile on her delicate face looked somewhat... lewd.

"Actually, there are about five hundred people involved in this promotion mission."

She lowered her voice and spoke very quickly, as if reciting a text.

"But there are only twenty spots available."

Shen Wen frowned slightly.

Five hundred becomes twenty.

A 4% pass rate.

The girl continued, "The first level involves dealing with monsters that are also at the Black Iron limit. Each person takes on one, and everyone works simultaneously without interfering with each other. If you kill one, you pass; if you fail, you're eliminated."

"On the second level, the remaining people will engage in a free-for-all. The last ten remaining will qualify for advancement."

Shen Wen quickly went through it in his mind.

The selection process narrows down from 500 to 20, with a pass rate of 4%.

But that's not the most crucial point.

"So what does your Aurora Club's 'guaranteed spot' mean?" he asked. "With 500 people competing for 20 spots, how do you guarantee a minimum number?"

The girl blinked and smiled meaningfully.

"Because there's a difference between these twenty spots. We're only filling the last ten spots."

Shen Wen frowned: "What's the difference?"

The girl counted on her fingers, speaking rapidly like a machine gun.

"The ten who remain will continue to fight. The longest they survive will determine their ranking."

"The first place winner will not only break through to the Bronze level, but will also gain a second talent, as well as 100 attribute points and three Bronze-level items."

"Second place, fifty attribute points and two bronze-grade items."

"Third place, 20 attribute points and a bronze-grade item."

"Rankings four through ten will be rewarded with a Black Iron-grade item, decreasing from five to one, with the eighth, ninth, and tenth place receiving only one item each."

"From tenth to twentieth place, there was nothing."

Shen Wen raised an eyebrow.

One hundred attribute points.

Three bronze-grade items.

Second talent.

These things combined are enough to more than double the combat power of a peak Black Iron level fighter.

"Is the reward for first place really that generous?" he couldn't help but ask.

The girl nodded, a hint of envy in her voice: "Of course. Every time I advance a level, as long as I get first place, I can quickly get through the weakened period."

"The period of weakness?" Shen Wen asked again.

The girl glanced at him, her eyes seeming to say, "How come you don't know anything?"

But she still explained that it was probably because the bottle of medicine was given out so readily.

"Once you break through to the Bronze level, the danger level of the next platform will increase instantly."

If one simply becomes a Bronze-level cultivator, it's essentially no different from a peak Iron-level cultivator.

She paused, then her tone turned serious: "So the next two stations are actually the period of weakness."

Many bronze-level enemies also die on these two platforms.

Shen Wen's brows furrowed even more.

So there are twists and turns here.

The 100 attribute points and three bronze-level items for the first place winner are not just icing on the cake.

It was a timely help.

It's a lifesaver.

"So, your Aurora Club's 'guaranteed spot'," Shen Wen looked at the girl, "is it ten to twenty spots after that?"

The girl nodded: "Yes."

"How do you guarantee a spot? Will your people fight for you during chaotic battles?"

The girl shook her head, her tone becoming serious: "It's not about helping you fight. It's about forming an alliance."

During the chaotic battle phase, members of the Aurora Club will cooperate with each other to eliminate other competitors.

"As long as you ally with our people, they won't harm you; they'll even protect you from harm."

Chapter update reminder: Chapter 86 sounds like a nobody! (Read more at [link]).

She paused, then added, "Of course, the premise is that you can't lay a hand on them. If you do, it's considered breaking the alliance, and you'll bear the consequences."

Shen Wen nodded.

That's one way to do it.

Forming an alliance won't directly help you win, but it can prevent you from being eliminated.

Whether you get a ranking or not depends on yourself.

"Is it difficult to get first place?" Shen Wen suddenly asked.

This sounded good at first glance, and he thought there wouldn't be much difference.

"You don't want to get first place, do you?"

"You just said it was difficult?"

The girl's expression became quite interesting, changing from surprise to helplessness, and then from helplessness to a kind of well-meaning advice from someone who had been through it all.

"It's definitely difficult, impossible. Several large organizations have trained people here this time. The top three spots are almost entirely taken by these large organizations."

She counted on her fingers: "Like our Aurora Club, there's one person with exceptional talent who joined us right after leaving the beginner area."

After only two stations in the beginner area, he already had 100 in both skills and had even mastered several bronze-level abilities.

"Actually, almost all of the top three have bronze-level combat power. They are just using this promotion platform to advance their own level."

Shen Wen remained silent.

Is this what talent is all about?

Having mastered several bronze-level abilities, I achieved a perfect score on both the last two platforms (seven platforms) in the beginner area.

Why does that sound like... a nobody?

He thought about himself.

They already have three silver-level abilities, and their weapons are all bronze-level.

The bronze-level abilities are quite numerous.

Seeing that he didn't speak, the girl thought he was upset, so she patted his shoulder and said in a lighthearted tone, "Don't think too much about it."

"It's already good enough to qualify for the promotion."

She paused, then added, "And you reached the Black Iron limit with just five platforms, which is already quite impressive."

"It's just that you joined late. People in those big organizations had been building their foundations for much longer, so their experience and resources are different."

Shen Wen glanced at her but didn't explain.

The two walked and talked, and had already reached the sandy ground in the center of the arena.

More and more people gathered around, huddled together in small groups, sizing each other up and wary of one another.

The air smelled so strong it was like an explosion was about to happen.

The girl stopped and glanced at Shen Wen.

"We'll have to part ways once we go inside."

"Want to add each other as friends? The cross-regional friend feature is now available, so we can communicate across regions in the future."

Shen Wen thought for a moment.

can.

If he doesn't join an organization, he needs to communicate more with other people to get more information.

He wouldn't have known about the inside story of the promotion platform that the girl just mentioned if she hadn't told him.

A pale blue chain of light extended from the card and disappeared into his wrist. A notification popped up on the screen.

[Cross-region friend request sent, awaiting confirmation.]

The girl clicked "confirm" and grinned.

"My name is Jiang Ling. I'm an outer member of the Aurora Society. If you have any questions in the future, feel free to contact me. Of course, there will be a fee."

Shen Wen nodded.

Jiang Ling turned to leave, but after taking two steps she stopped and looked back at him.

"By the way, what's your name?"

"Shen Wen."

Jiang Ling blinked, as if she remembered something, but didn't ask any further questions. She waved and walked into the crowd, quickly disappearing into the distance.

Shen Wen stood in the center of the arena, his gaze sweeping over his surroundings.

Five hundred people.

Ten spots available.

Melee.

He moved his wrist, and his knuckles made a series of fine popping sounds.

The defensive power of the Steel Body, the mental immunity from the Will to Kill, and the true damage from the Peerless Enchantment.

He didn't believe that any of those five hundred people could withstand a single blow from his blade.

Jiang Ling's words just now went through his mind.

"A genius cultivated by a large organization", "Bronze-level combat strength", "Several bronze-level abilities".

Shen Wen's lips curled up slightly.

If this is the level of geniuses cultivated by large organizations, then he'll have to see just how talented these geniuses really are.

The greyish-white light above the arena began to move.

A deep voice rang out simultaneously from all directions.

The advancement trial is about to begin.

[Please all participants move to the center of the area.]

[Countdown: 60 seconds.]

The crowd began to move.

Five hundred people converged from all sides of the arena toward the center, like countless streams flowing into the same lake.

Shen Wen stood in the middle of the crowd, his hand on the hilt of the butcher's knife, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

He saw those "geniuses nurtured by large organizations".

It wasn't through any special ability that I could tell, but rather because the aura emanating from those people was completely different from that of the other lone wolves around them.

They stood together in small groups, close to each other, clearly having come prepared.

Some wore uniform standard armor with the same insignia engraved on their chests.

Although some were not uniformly dressed, their positions showed clear tactical coordination, forming a defensive triangle and providing mutual cover. He saw Jiang Ling among them.

Some were not wearing anything at all, just a T-shirt, but they exuded an uncomfortable sense of oppression, and people around them consciously kept three steps away from them.

Shen Wen withdrew his gaze.

The countdown has reached zero.

The sandy ground in the center of the arena began to tremble.

Sand seeped down through cracks in the ground, making a soft rustling sound.

One by one, round pits appeared on the ground, arranged neatly, like the holes in a honeycomb.

Each pit is about three meters in diameter, and the depth is unclear. It is pitch black inside, and you can't see anything.

The deep voice rang out again.

[Round 1: Gladiator Duel.]

Each participant is asked to enter a pit.

Defeating the peak-level Black Iron-rank monster inside the pit will allow you to advance to the next round.

[Countdown: 10 minutes.]