Chapter 472: Upper Plane Invasion?

The following days passed without any major disturbances.

Well, at least for Gray.

After his duel with Kaedran, his name had spread throughout the Demon Academy, and several Student Council members had already expressed interest in challenging him.

However, none of them had managed to catch him alone, mostly because he spent his free time cultivating, eating with Scarlett, or visiting the academy's library whenever he had the opportunity.

He had also received several invitations to meet students from other classes, though he had politely declined most of them.

Scarlett, on the other hand, had developed a new habit of asking him increasingly strange questions about his innate talent.

Gray had answered every single one with the same response.

"Innate Talent."

By the end of the second week, she had stopped asking.

And so, Gray's peaceful life continued until the morning his first-year class received an announcement that changed the entire atmosphere of the academy.

...

"An Upper World Invasion?"

Gray leaned back in his chair, staring at the demon standing at the front of the classroom.

Their instructor, a tall, grey-skinned woman with two curved horns and a long black tail, nodded as she crossed her arms.

"Correct. Your first major inter-year competition will begin in three days. The first-year and second-year students will be participating in an academy-wide hunting event, and unlike the ordinary competitions you've experienced so far, this one will take place in the Upper World."

The classroom immediately erupted into discussion.

"The Upper World?"

"Are we actually going to invade it?"

"Wait, aren't the academies there filled with geniuses? I've heard some of their students possess divine bloodlines!"

"Forget divine bloodlines! What about their cultivation levels? Are we supposed to fight them directly?"

The instructor struck the floor with the end of her staff.

THUDD!

The sound silenced the room.

"Quiet. If you have enough energy to shout, you have enough energy to listen. I'll explain the rules once, so pay attention."

Gray rested his chin against his palm.

'An event in the Upper World, huh?'

Now this was interesting.

He had spent the past several weeks gathering resources and trying to find information about the Undying Snake's Orb, but his progress had been slower than he wanted.

The academy's restricted collection contained useful records, yet gaining access to the more valuable sections required either special permission or a sufficiently high position within the institution.

An event involving the Upper World, however, presented a different kind of opportunity.

The Upper World possessed its own academies, noble families, old bloodlines, and countless treasures.

If the Demon Academy was organizing a competition there, the participants would have opportunities to encounter resources and information that were difficult to obtain through ordinary means.

Gray's eyes brightened slightly.

'Three days? That's enough time to prepare.'

The instructor continued.

"The purpose of this event is simple. The Demon Academy will send its first-year and second-year students into a designated region of the Upper World. There, you'll compete to hunt as many students from the Upper World's participating academies as possible."

A student near the front raised his hand.

"Instructor, when you say 'hunt,' do you mean we're supposed to kill them?"

The instructor looked at him as though he had asked whether the sky was blue.

"What else would you expect from a hunting competition?"

Several students swallowed nervously.

She allowed their reactions to settle before continuing.

"However, the academy has established rules to prevent this event from turning into a pointless massacre. Your primary targets are students officially registered with the participating academies. You are expected to defeat them and claim the corresponding hunting marks. Killing an opponent who has already surrendered or been incapacitated is prohibited, and doing so will result in severe punishment."

She paused, her gaze sweeping across the classroom.

"Of course, if your opponent refuses to surrender and continues fighting, you are permitted to defend yourselves with lethal force. The Upper World is not a training ground, and its students will not necessarily show you the same mercy you show them."

The students' expressions grew more serious.

Gray, however, was already considering the scoring system.

'So, hunting marks. Does the academy reward students based on the number of opponents they defeat, or does it assign different values depending on the opponent's cultivation?'

He raised his hand.

The instructor looked at him.

"Yes, Gray?"

"How are hunting marks calculated? Does every student have the same value, or do we receive more marks for defeating someone with a higher cultivation rank?"

"An excellent question."

The instructor waved her staff, and a projection appeared above the classroom. It showed several symbols representing different hunting marks, each surrounded by faint lines of mana.

"Every student from the participating academies will carry a registered mark. The value of the mark depends on their cultivation, academy ranking, and individual combat record. Defeating a student who has demonstrated exceptional talent or achieved an unusually high ranking will earn you more marks than defeating an ordinary student at the same cultivation level."

Gray nodded.

'Good. At least they're not rewarding quantity alone.'

The instructor continued.

"Your results will be recorded individually, but the competition will also include a comparison between the first-year and second-year classes. The students who earn the highest number of hunting marks will receive special rewards, and the class with the highest total will be granted additional cultivation resources and access to facilities normally reserved for higher-year students."

Now the atmosphere changed.

'Restricted facilities...'

One demon with red horns raised his hand.

"Instructor, does this mean we'll be competing directly against the second-years?"

"Yes."

The answer caused another wave of murmurs.

A young demoness sitting near Gray frowned.

"But second-year students are already at the Ruler Realm, aren't they? I've heard that some of them have even reached the Middle Ruler Realm. How are first-years supposed to compete with them?"

The instructor smiled faintly.

"That is precisely why the event is a competition rather than a classroom exercise. Second-year students possess a significant advantage in cultivation, but first-years have one advantage of their own."

The students leaned forward.

"And what is that?"

"Your opponents won't be limited to second-year students. You'll be hunting the same pool of Upper World academy students, and your individual rankings will be compared against those of your peers. If a first-year student earns more hunting marks than a second-year student, the first-year will receive the higher individual ranking."

The classroom immediately grew louder.

"So we're competing for the same targets?"

"That means we need to find the strongest opponents first!"

"Or we could hunt weaker students before the second-years get to them!"

Gray listened to the discussion with mild amusement.

The instructor waited for the noise to settle before adding one final detail.

"There's also a reason the academy has chosen academies as your targets rather than the Upper World's sects."

That caught Gray's attention.

The instructor waved her staff again, and the projection changed. Several symbols representing the Upper World's sects appeared, each accompanied by a warning mark.

"The academies of the Upper World recruit students across a wide range of cultivation levels. Some are ordinary cultivators who have only recently begun their training, while others possess noble bloodlines, rare physiques, or exceptional combat talents. This makes them suitable opponents for a competition involving students from different years."

She pointed toward the symbols representing the sects.

"The situation is entirely different with the major sects. Their recruitment standards are far stricter. Even their ordinary disciples are often required to reach the Apex Realm, the peak of the Mortal Realms, before earning a place among their ranks."

The classroom fell quiet.

Apex Realm.

The final stage of mortal cultivation before entering the so-called Divine Realms.

Even the strongest 4th-year students had a long way to go before reaching that level, and many would never reach it during their entire time at the academy.

The instructor continued in a flat voice.

"Do not mistake this event for permission to challenge the Upper World's strongest organizations. The sects are not your targets, and their disciples are not included in the hunting competition. If you encounter them, you will withdraw unless there is no other way to protect your life. Anyone foolish enough to provoke a sect and endanger the other participants will answer to the academy."

'Lyra's in a place that strong, huh?'

The instructor dismissed the projection and looked across the room.

"The designated region will be divided into several hunting grounds, each with its own level of difficulty. You'll be assigned to different areas based on your cultivation rank, although the academy reserves the right to make adjustments according to your combat record."

She paused.

"Your objective is to collect as many hunting marks as possible within the allotted time. You are free to form temporary groups, but every mark will be credited according to the rules established by the academy. Don't assume that traveling in a group will protect you from the consequences of poor decisions."

A student near the back raised his hand.

"How long will we have?"

"Seven days."

The room erupted again.

"SEVEN DAYS?!"

"That's the same length as Hunting Week!"

"Seven days in the Upper World, fighting students from other academies? What happens if we get trapped there?"

The instructor tapped her staff against the floor.

"You will be provided with a return token. Activating it will transport you back to the designated extraction point, but doing so will end your participation in the event. The academy will also monitor the hunting grounds and intervene if circumstances exceed the limits of the competition."

Several students looked relieved.

'...The Upper Plane... mhm. I can finally make some contact with pure Mana again.'