He actually still harbored wishful thinking about this guy—how naive. Ethan Brooks's hands, which had been gripped, suddenly reversed and squeezed back. With a gentle force, Chubby flew out more than ten zhang like a plump, floating cloud, landing with a thud and spitting out a mouthful of malt syrup.

"Get lost!"

It felt so good to finally speak his mind.

Ethan Brooks dusted off his hands nonchalantly, and while he was at it, checked the money pouch in his chest. Chubby's hands were incredibly quick—impossible to guard against.

Chubby climbed up from the ground, covered in dirt and dust.

In the distance, the assembly whistle sounded from the camp, and both of them fell silent at the same time.

The time to part had come; this was the last assembly. Ethan Brooks was about to head to Five Elements Heaven, while Chubby would return to Old Earth. The quickly setting orange-red sun stretched their shadows long and far.

"Ethan Brooks, stay alive!"

"Yeah."

Chapter 2: Reporting In

Ethan Brooks stood among the crowd with a worn-out luggage bag on his back, his face gloomy—he was in a terrible mood. Just now, when he took out his money pouch and opened it, all the money had vanished, leaving only a pile of stones.

Damn Chubby, he still made a move on me!

He swore to himself that when he returned to Old Earth and saw that guy again, he would hang him up and give him a beating.

After spacing out for a moment, he let out a long breath, silently praying that Five Elements Heaven really did provide food and lodging like Chubby said. If not, then... he'd just have to hit Chubby even harder next time.

For now, he put the money issue out of his mind and focused on what was in front of him.

It was still early for check-in, but the entrance to the induction field was already crowded with students. They greeted each other excitedly, chatting and asking questions in groups of three or five.

After three years in the wild—quiet, grim, and full of danger—Ethan Brooks was not used to such a noisy scene. In the wild, if anything came within five meters of him, he would be on high alert; it had become instinct.

But now... there were fourteen people squeezed within five meters of him.

He uneasily adjusted his posture, but it was no use. He could only do his best to suppress the urge to either run away or take out all fourteen targets. In the wild, if an unknown creature approached, those were his only two options.

Alright, here we go again—"in the wild"...

He hadn't even entered the induction field, but Ethan Brooks already sensed how out of place he was. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm the anxiety in his heart. He knew this was a psychological hurdle he had to overcome.

A moment later, he braced himself and squeezed toward the entrance of the induction field.

After pushing through the surging crowd, Ethan Brooks was left with his hair standing on end and his clothes in disarray. He was panting heavily—those fifty meters felt more exhausting than walking fifty kilometers.

Standing before the entrance to the induction field, Ethan Brooks looked up at the towering gate.

The gate was massive, probably over sixty meters tall, pieced together from irregular iron plates. The workmanship was rough, making it look like a giant, patchwork rag. The gate was covered in rust and scars everywhere.

In front of the iron gate, a stone slab had a straight, half-meter-wide trench cut into it. Years of erosion had rounded its edges, and there was a shallow pool of water inside.

Ethan Brooks silently gazed at the little trench.

In Five Elements Heaven, everyone knew about this little trench. Ethan Brooks knew of it because it was related to sword cultivators.

It was called the "Final Line of Defense."

In the darkest years of the wild invasion, this shallow trench—only half a meter wide and two hundred meters long—was the last line of defense in that life-and-death battle.

The last sword cultivator in history with a known name burned his life to unleash the most brilliant sword strike, killing the enemy chieftain and carving out this final line of defense. Inspired, humanity fought back tenaciously and held on until Five Elements Heaven opened.

The battered iron gate was pieced together from scrap dragged back from the battlefield at that time. The induction field was built here because the founders of Five Elements Heaven wanted future generations not to forget those years, nor the original purpose of Five Elements Heaven.

Faces and smoke fade with time, but remembrance and legend are passed down from generation to generation.

The induction field holds a lofty status in Five Elements Heaven, likely because of this.

Ethan Brooks's knowledge of the final line of defense came from the sword manuals he organized at the sword cultivator dojo.

Almost every sword manual that mentioned this line of defense praised that sword strike to the skies. For example, calling it the sword that separated life and death for humanity, or the sword that divided two eras. In the hearts of those who remembered the sword cultivators, that sword marked the end of the cultivation era and the beginning of the Five Elements Heaven era.

None of this had much to do with Ethan Brooks. He had sorted through many sword manuals, but never had any foolish ideas about reviving sword cultivation.

Yeah, the boss was just that foolish, which is why the business failed, he was left with a mountain of debt, and even lost his life. Still, being able to see the ruins mentioned so many times in the sword manuals, Ethan Brooks felt pretty good about it. Except that thinking of the boss made him a little sentimental.

He quickly returned to normal. After three years of tempering in the wild, having seen so much life and death, he was less and less moved by these bygone memories. The living must strive to live; the dead will rest in peace.

After paying his respects to the ruins, he quickly retreated from the crowd, all the way to the outermost edge. The ever-present anxiety faded, and he let out a long sigh of relief.

Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, Ethan Brooks caught sight of a familiar figure, and his expression instantly darkened.