CH 69

Chapter 69: Shall We Do the Same?

Xiao Qinglan pouted and said, "Of course, I know that. How could I possibly tell Father? Now that he's been expelled, he's no longer a part of our Xiao family."

"Lan'er, does your school have a freshmen expedition?" Qian Yuqi asked.

Qian Yuqi learned about the tradition of the Royal Military Academy's freshmen expedition from her eldest son, who was also a student there.

"Yes, it's starting in a few days," Xiao Qinglan replied, not understanding why her mother suddenly asked about it. "This time, I will definitely come in first."

"Lan'er, find a way to make that bastard participate in the expedition too," Qian Yuqi said maliciously.

"Why?" Xiao Qinglan didn't want to see Xiao Qingyang, so why would she want to participate with him?

Seeing her daughter's puzzled expression, Qian Yuqi felt somewhat frustrated. She explained, "Every year, there are a certain number of casualties in the freshmen expedition. If something were to happen to him during this expedition, no one would investigate."

After Qian Yuqi's reminder, Xiao Qinglan immediately understood her mother's intentions and began to contemplate it herself.

When Xiao Qinglan looked at Xiao Qingyang again, her gaze became even more malicious, as if she were looking at a dead person.

This time, no matter what, she would not let this waste return alive. She wouldn't allow anyone to annoy her in front of her!

The pre-departure assembly for the freshmen expedition was simple. The principal gave a few words of encouragement and then provided each team with certain supplies.

After all, it was just a freshmen expedition, and the school didn't require everyone to surrender all their personal belongings. They were only allowed to carry the supplies provided by the school.

In this way, everyone could bring some potions for emergencies, which would increase the likelihood of a safe return.

In addition to the supplies, the school also gave each person a small jade plaque. This small plaque served as a scorecard for everyone during the expedition. They could record their scores on the plaque by completing the corresponding tasks.

At the same time, this small jade plaque also served as a life-saving talisman. If they encountered a danger they couldn't handle, they could crush the jade plaque and retreat to a safe place. However, this also meant that the expedition would end for them.

"Lastly, to make it easier for the teachers to remember your teams and the final rankings, each team will be assigned a number," the principal said.

"What does the principal mean?" Xu Kaiyang turned and asked Lin Weiran behind him.

"It means that the team name you came up with is completely useless. We will be called by numbers during the expedition. Haha..." Li Ying gloated and replied.

Xu Kaiyang: ...

The other teammates breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they didn't have to use such a cheesy team name. The principal is amazing!

After the assembly, each team boarded the spaceship in order.

Because there were a large number of freshmen, the school had to deploy five spaceships to accommodate everyone.

"This freshmen expedition will be conducted by teams. You will be deployed to different areas and will be given tasks. The team that completes the tasks first and returns to the designated location will pass. The teams that fail to complete the tasks or return to the designated location within the specified time will be eliminated. During the expedition, teams are allowed to compete for resources and task objectives, but killing is prohibited. Once discovered, immediate expulsion will follow. Understand?" The teacher on the spaceship explained the rules of the expedition seriously and emphasized the no killing rule.

"Understood," the students responded in unison.

The spaceship quickly reached the airspace above the expedition forest in just three hours.

"This expedition will last for one month and no nutritional supplements will be provided. If you want to survive, figure it out on your own or... withdraw from the expedition. If anyone wants to withdraw now, hand over your jade plaque. Once you disembark from the spaceship, the expedition officially begins." The teacher looked at the participating students for the last time.

However, not a single student handed over their jade plaque. They had all come this far, so how could they just give up and leave? Moreover, they all had teammates. What was there to fear?

The teacher looked at the determined expressions on the students' faces, smiled with satisfaction, and opened the spaceship's hatch. Turning to the first team, they said, "First team, get ready, jump!"

With the teacher's command, the ten members of the first team, wearing landing suits, jumped from the spaceship without hesitation.

This was the first time Xiao Qingyang had seen people jumping directly from such a high altitude. He hurriedly climbed onto the window and watched as the several classmates jumped down. In just a few seconds, they turned into small black dots and disappeared from his sight.

"Do we... have to do the same?" Xiao Qingyang couldn't help but swallow his saliva and ask.

He had experienced falling from mid-air before when he was practicing sword flight, but the heights were never too high.

Now, they were thousands of meters high in the sky. Wouldn't they just splatter into a bloody mess if they fell from such a height?

If he had known about this segment, he should have spent more time practicing throughout the month. With enough spiritual power in his body, jumping from such a high altitude wouldn't be a problem.

"Of course, everyone has to jump," Xu Kaiyang, who was thick-skinned, didn't notice the implication in Xiao Qingyang's words. It was Lin Weiran who realized it and quickly said, "Don't worry, we're all wearing landing suits. We'll be fine."

"Yeah," Xiao Qingyang repeatedly reassured himself in his mind.

It'll be fine, it'll definitely be fine. People in this world are so powerful that they can fly even without spiritual power. So even without spiritual power, he definitely wouldn't die from falling.

"Team 619, get ready."

Just as he was trying to mentally prepare himself, the teacher's words arrived like a death sentence.

"It's our turn. Let's get ready," Xu Kaiyang excitedly said to his teammates.

They were also lucky. Their dormitory number was 619, and they were assigned the same number for the expedition. It must be fate.

"Qingyang and Xiaotian, jump in the middle and stick close to us. Don't get too separated. If the two of you get separated from the rest, stay in place and wait for us to find you," Lin Weiran carefully instructed the two.

Xiao Qingyang had never jumped from a spaceship before, and he had no confidence in the landing suit on his body. As for Gu Xiaotian, he simply had a fear of heights.

Moreover, these two had almost no combat power, so if they wandered off, they could encounter danger.

"Okay," Xiao Qingyang and Gu Xiaotian nodded and looked down at the tens of thousands of meters below, their legs trembling in fear.

"Let me show you how it's done. It's actually very simple," Shen Yu smiled and said to the two. As soon as he finished speaking, he swiftly jumped from the doorway.

Xiao Qingyang and Gu Xiaotian couldn't help but let out a small scream. This was different from just looking out the window. Their teammate had actually jumped right in front of their eyes, and the impact was nothing like what they had experienced before.

"You see, it's really fine. The landing suits we're wearing effectively reduce our falling speed. The closer we get to the ground, the slower our speed will be. There's really nothing to worry about," Liu Jiaming also joined the team of comforting teammates.

Apart from Shen Yu, Liu Jiaming and Li Ying were arranged to jump first and set an example for Xiao Qingyang and Gu Xiaotian.

After the three of them jumped, Lin Weiran said to Xiao Qingyang and Gu Xiaotian, "It's your turn. Don't think about anything, just jump."

Subconsciously, the two glanced outside the cabin. The training forest appeared extremely small in their eyes, and the terrifying distance filled them with fear.

"Qingyang, Xiaotian, if you don't jump now, you won't be able to catch up with Shen Yu and the others. The distance between us will keep growing, and the assembly time will get longer," Lin Weiran truthfully said.

Almost all the members of the other teams jumped together, so they would land in the same area. Even if some people got separated, they wouldn't be too far apart.

But if they jumped separately and the time gap was too long, the distance between their landing points would increase, which would be disadvantageous for the team.

Before participating in the freshman training, Gu Xiaotian had told himself not to lag behind the team. Despite his trembling legs out of fear, the guilt of dragging everyone down overwhelmed him.

With closed eyes and gritted teeth, seizing the opportunity that guilt and remorse brought, Gu Xiaotian jumped out of the cabin without any hesitation.

"Ah!" a scream echoed through the air.

Seeing that even the timid Gu Xiaotian had jumped, Xiao Qingyang, naturally unwilling to be a burden, took a deep breath and followed suit.

The remaining few team members also jumped without hesitation, keeping a close eye on the landing spots of Xiao Qingyang and Gu Xiaotian, ensuring they would land together or make it easier to find each other later.

At this point, all ten members of Team 619 had jumped, and the spaceship continued its journey. Sitting by the window, Xiao Qinglan blinked her eyes and stared fixedly at the spot where Xiao Qingyang had just jumped, etching it firmly in her memory.

On the other side, as Xiao Qingyang jumped from the spaceship, he experienced the feeling of freefall for the first time. It was much more terrifying than when he was learning sword flight, giving him a sensation of dying once again.

However, this sense of impending doom didn't last long as the falling speed began to decrease.

Still, the feeling of being suspended in mid-air without any support was uncomfortable and made him feel insecure.

Fortunately, not long after Gu Xiaotian jumped, Xiao Qingyang followed suit. Therefore, Gu Xiaotian's figure didn't disappear from his sight, and being able to see a familiar person provided him with a sense of security.