Lantern Sister is still very capable.

Chapter 123 The Strongest

"Welcome to the Deep Sea Training Base." The woman in the white suit stood on the podium, looking down at the 15 students sitting below. "I can tell you all directly that you are here to become stronger. Perhaps some of you will ask, why make such a big deal out of a training exam? It won't affect your university admission."

Bai Hongxue and the others held their breath in silence.

"Many of you have already sensed it, haven't you?"

Upon hearing this, at least half of the fifteen people changed their expressions.

Xie Muyun looked up at Hu Lan on the stage, whose suit was tattooed with blooming orchids.

"I don't understand!" someone shouted. "What does it mean?"

Hu Lan stood on the stage and raised her palm.

"For this—"

Flowers made of water appeared out of thin air, their blue liquid shimmering with a unique light under the auditorium lights, a beauty that brought tears to one's eyes.

"For this—"

Hu Lan raised her hand and waved, sending water droplets drifting diagonally from the air toward the fifteen people in their seats. Just before they touched them, the water suddenly changed shape, transforming from beautiful, harmless flowers into deadly weapons. Sharp ice spikes emerged from the flower stamens and pressed against their skin.

"For this—"

Hu Lan chuckled softly, her outstretched hand clenching into a fist. The chilling icicles shattered instantly, and the flying ice shards landed on their faces like diamond fragments, bringing a chill.

Chu Deng licked the ice from the corner of her mouth, and her gaze towards Hu Lan changed.

"In order for humanity to survive in this perilous world, you, the soon-to-awaken ability users, will become the spark to fight disaster." Hu Lan turned to face them, allowing them to see the video footage playing behind her.

This is the northern Xinjiang desert, and a search and rescue mission is currently underway...

Several people in military uniforms walked across the desert. The person in charge of filming did not appear on camera; only their voices could be heard.

[...a sinkhole was discovered on the way to the location where the last signal from the missing person was detected...]

The dark yellow sand concealed whirlpools; someone threw a stone in, and it was swallowed up in the blink of an eye.

A swarm of earth-elemental mutated scorpions has taken over this place...

The scene shifts to a group of black scorpions, their stingers raised, surrounding a fallen person. The camera is positioned in a relatively secluded spot, suggesting that the information was recorded from a hidden location at great risk.

"...I'm the only one left in the rescue team, and I'm about to be melted by the mutated scorpion's venom...Save me, I don't want to die—"

In the very end, no one appeared on screen. In the pitch black, a voice filled with despair came out and stopped abruptly with a hissing sound, which sent chills down the spines of the fifteen people watching the video.

Silence. The entire room was completely silent.

It is both a sign of respect and a moment of silence.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Hu Lan said, her voice lowering. "But!"

She suddenly raised her voice and looked around at everyone present, "The world is changing, and we are trying to adapt to the changes. Superpowers are the result of adaptation by all species! And you are the vital force of humanity, a powerful weapon against superpowered plants and animals."

The next video explained the classification of superpowers, and the students, having gained a preliminary understanding of their special abilities, became excited, their eyes fixed intently on Hu Lan on the stage.

"Of course, you are not yet awakened, you are just in reserve. You should know that your current peace and security is because someone is bearing the burden for you. Therefore, I sincerely hope that those who awaken during this training camp will choose to join us."

The screen behind Hu Lan displayed the words "Shanghai Superpower Base".

"This is not only for our own future, for the future of our relatives and friends, but also for the future of our country."

The video suddenly showed the flags of five major countries, with five people standing under them. However, due to differences in image quality, it was clear that the images were composited, and the five people were not actually in the same shot.

The first to appear was from the United States, introduced in the subtitles as "Dominic Smith". In the scene, he was on a wave, with the seawater surging up below him and swallowing an island.

The second character is "John Jonathan" from the United States. It's also related to water. Giant creatures emerge from the treacherous sea from time to time, and tons of fish surround the shore, enough to trigger trypophobia. The camera zooms in, and these fish all have sharp teeth and eerie blue eyes. In the scene, he simply makes a gesture of pressing down, as if he is conducting the orchestra at a concert. One after another, the strange beasts in the sea explode, like a fireworks show, or like playing a movement with their own lives. The bright red blood stains the ocean, and the soaring blood energy seems to overflow the screen.

Some people in the audience were already feeling nauseous, disgusted, or frightened.

The third to appear was "Valery Vladislav" from the Russian Bear Country, whose middle name was probably omitted. Unlike the previous two, he did not show any terrifying or thrilling battle scenes. Instead, he stood quietly in the snow with his back to the camera. But in front of him, crystal-clear icicles kept emerging, and geometric aesthetics appeared silently. An ice castle appeared out of thin air on the empty ground.

"Elsa!" Jin Xiaoyue shouted excitedly, only to be quickly and sternly shushed by the people sitting in front of her, at which point she belatedly covered her mouth.

Chu Deng patted her leg reassuringly, but didn't say anything.

The fourth to appear was Melissa Bernard from Gaul, the only woman among the five. She wore a gorgeous white dress, her golden hair shone, her blue eyes were as beautiful as jewels, and she wore a white flower in her hair. She looked holy and elegant.

She sat quietly in the chair, casually tending to the brightly colored hydrangeas in the flowerpot, looking serene and content.

Just as she picked up the teacup on the table to moisten her throat, a group of people suddenly appeared in the scene, each wielding a weapon and attacking Melissa. But Melissa merely touched her soft lips with her red-nailed fingers, and the hydrangea in front of her instantly burst forth, its exaggerated roots extending from the flowerpot and instantly entwining all the approaching arms. The veins in the arms of those entangled bulged, and within seconds, they were drained of blood. Everyone collapsed, pale and powerless, their bodies strewn across the scene. Melissa tapped the blood-stained roots of the hydrangea with her fingertip, "Bons enfants."

The last one was Jiang Guoqiang from China. When they saw that it was one of their own, the students sitting down got excited and stared intently at the screen.

Jiang Guoqiang, the strongest wind-type ability user in China, stood in the air in military uniform, facing several giant ships. With a simple wave of his hand, invisible wind blades, like the giant axe of Pangu splitting the world, cleaved the giant ships in half. The sunken ships formed huge whirlpools on the sea surface, dragging the wreckage into the deep sea, where it could not calm down for a long time.

"These are the five most powerful superhumans in the world right now," Hu Lan said slowly. "I hope you can have such a future too."