Solemnity enveloped the hall which was made of granite.

It was already midnight, but Shu Sanqi, Fatty Middle-aged man, Young Man, and other two drillmasters got together, waiting for something.

When Old Mo followed Young Ke to arrive there, Shu Sanqi asked him directly, “Old Mo, how is the project of remolding the Ziying Battleship going?”

Looking around the room at the other people present, Old Mo was hesitant to reply to him.

Shu Sanqi said, “Since there aren’t outsiders, you might as well speak frankly.”

After thinking for a moment, Old Mo said, “It has been finished a few days ago actually. As its spiritual furnace has been replaced with a brand-new one, the Ziying Battle’s comprehensive power is over twice larger than before.”

When it came to something that he was literally good at, an arrogant expression bloomed in his skinny face, “It is sure that after this update, its speed would is twice quicker than before, enabling to save the people on it from chases of practitioners in Sea Spirit Realm. In the meantime, if the six spiritual tattoo cannons on the Ziying Battleship are fired with the full firepower, it will be a lethal threat to practitioners in Sea Spirit Realm!”

Hearing this, the people present felt shocked with their eyes shining with excitement. The Ziying Battleship in the past couldn’t pose a threat to the practitioners at the Sea Spirit Realm. Just this aspect had proven that the remolded Ziying Battleship was very powerful.

“More importantly, a practitioner at the Gang Spirit Realm is able to sail the ship. Since you all have participated in the wars between our empire and the Voodoo-barbarian Tribe, you know clearly what I mean,” said Old Mo with sparkling eyes.

All of the people were so shocked again that many of them couldn’t keep themselves composed. Of course, they knew clearly his meaning. His words meant that a Gang Spirit Realm practitioner armed with such a Ziying Battleship would possibly kill a practitioner in Sea Spirit Realm!

In a real battle, a practitioner in Gang Spirit Realm would annihilate a Barbarian Hercules, who was equal to a practitioner at Sea Spirit Realm!

“Awesome!” exclaimed one drillmaster.

His name was Dong Lu who was as tall and sturdy as an iron tower. Each inch of his muscle was as hard as a rock. He stood there, with a kind of oppressive momentum.

"How many spiritual crystals does a remolded battleship consume?" asked Young Man suddenly. Her words came to the point, making the others secretly nod in agreement.

Powerful as the Ziying Battleships were, their power was derived from spiritual crystals. If their power was at the expense of too many spiritual crystals, it was not worth the candle.

Old Mo said with a chuckle, "You can rest assured that the spiritual crystals consumed in the process must be fewer than before."

At this time, even Shu Sanqi became thrilled. He exchanged a knowing look with the others, and they saw the excitement and shock in the eyes of each other.

“Is the cost of making a remolded Ziying Battleship higher?” asked Shu Sanqi.

“It’s the same as before, but its procedures became more complex. It takes about a month to refine one, which is 15 days longer than before.”

Having thought for a while, he continued, “Even so, if the spiritual tattooists of our empire’s Academy of Spiritual Implements shoulder the responsibilities to make them, the mass production won’t be a problem.”

Until now, each one was fully aware of the uniqueness and greatness of the remolded Ziying Battleship, and they couldn’t hold back their thrills.

“From now on, our empire will possess a new powerful weapon,” said the Fatty Middle-aged man in a low voice after taking a deep breath.

The others all agreed with him by nodding their heads. Then, someone suggested granting a reward to Old Mo.

Old Mo said abruptly, “Credit for this win actually goes to Lin Xun.”

Lin Xun!

The mentioned name spontaneously reminded them of the formidable Meteors Crossbow he used in the quarterly assessment today.

And, thinking of the powerful remolded Ziying Battleship, Shu Sanqi and the others were stunned. How could a 13 or 14-year-old boy possess so stunning ability in spiritual tattoos?

Which hermit was his mentor?

“About his reward, Old Mo, you ask him what he wants. As long as the demands can be met by us, we’ll promise him.”

Having pondered for a while, Shu Sanqi categorically gave an order, “From today on, nobody can divulge this matter. What’s more, no one can tell others that the designs and ideas on the Meteors Crossbow and the remolded Ziying Battleship come from Lin Xun.”

All people fell into a trance, and then they understood that Shu Sanqi was protecting Lin in another way.

“That’s for sure. If someone dares to be a whistle-blower, I'll be the first one who won't spare him!" Young Man's eyes were clear, but her look was unusually serious.

“Chief Shu, since this boy is of great attainments in terms of spiritual tattoos, I wonder whether he can repair Wolf Fang, your armor with spiritual tattoos, completely.”

Out of the blue, the abnormally sturdy Dong Lu spoke out, which immediately drew each one’s attention.

Shu Sanqi felt tempted, but he finally shook his head, giving up on this topic. He took out a jade-like white document and gave it to Young Ke, saying “Lin Xun has passed the County Test of our empire before arriving at the Bloodthirsty Camp. The State Test has been over a few days ago. Although he hasn’t obtained a chance to participate in the test, I’ve entrusted someone to help him pass the State Test of Green-maple County. This is the certificate, and you deliver it to him.”

Young Ke was in a trance, “Chief Shu, do you give him a chance to continue to attend to our empire’s Province Test after he leaves the camp?”

The others felt confused, too. There was no need for a genius like Lin Xun to attend to tests at different levels since he had been quite qualified for a more important position. What Shu Sanqi did undoubtedly squandered Lin’s abilities.

Shu Sanqi was silent for a moment and then he said, “Everything about Lin Xun has been scheduled for a long time, and we’re not at liberty to change it.”

Young Ke asked spontaneously, “Is it Heiyao Shrine?”

They all felt a chill at heart, and then they narrowed their eyes as if they clearly knew that how formidable this existence was.

Instead of replying to them, Shu Sanqi said in a calm voice, “It’s our responsibility to train military talents for our empire, and it’s not our business to worry about the other things.”

They all lapsed into silence.

“You should get yourselves prepared, for we’ll lead all the trainees to the northern frontier. The training field our empire has arranged for our trainees is located in Demon-cloud Ridge of the northern frontier.”

Shu Sanqi said those words with his voice down.

...

In Old Mo’s warehouse.

Lin Xun received the certificate proving that he had passed the State Test of Green-maple County, and it wrote-

Name: Lin Xun.

Native Place: Feiyun Village, Donglin Town, Green-maple County, Southwestern Province, Ziyao Empire.

Age: 14.

Cultivation: The Eighth Level of Martial Realm.

Talent Property: None.

Occupation: Spiritual Apprentice.

Score of the Test: Upper Level.

Comments of Chief Examiner: Diligent, studious and upright, he was recommended to attend the Province Test of Ziyao Empire.

Just upon a glance, Lin Xun smiled, knowing that the certificate was real, for it bore the official Ziyao-flower seal of the empire, which was impossible to fabricate.

But deep down, he was also aware that the certificate had been definitely obtained by the Bloodthirsty Camp by some special means.

He couldn’t help sighing in his heart that since a County Test was very important, countless practitioners attended it, and many of them were eager to pass it and rise to fame swiftly.

However, beyond their imagination, as long as there was a special relationship, someone could get the certificate without participating in the test.

The matter made him finally realize that for those possessing enough power and mighty authority, the so-called rules would turn out nominal.

“Boy, do you have any complaints about the disposition of Ziying Battleship and Meteors Crossbow?” asked Old Mo standing next to him.

“Of course, I do,” said Lin Xun with a smile. “It’s my idea, but they gave all the credit to you, which has really disappointed me.”

Old Mo said with his voice full of embarrassment, “What they did was to protect you...If you’re indisposed to accept the arrangement, I’ll go to argue with them for you!”

Lin Xun quickly replied to him, “Don’t! I’m just kidding. You can’t take it seriously.”

Nonetheless, Old Mo still felt uneasy and he didn’t want to steal Lin’s thunder at all, and then he said, “Shu Sanqi said he will meet all your demands as long as he can do that.”

That was what Lin wanted to hear. Hearing this, Lin Xun said, “Old Mo, you can tell him that I want nothing but a debt he owes me.”

Old Mo was taken aback, “A debt of gratitude?”

Lin Xun said seriously, “Yes, a debt of gratitude.”

He didn’t give a further explanation, but Old Mo seemed to understand something. Old Mo looked at him admiringly, “You’re a smart boy who knows that treasures have prices while a debt of gratitude is priceless.”

Lin Xun smiled without saying more.

Shu Sanqi wrinkled his eyebrows and fell into silence upon hearing Lin’s demand. After a while, he said coldly, “Tell him that a debt of gratitude is changeable. I can repay a debt within my abilities, but I won’t do something against my will.”

Lin Xun burst into laughter when he received the reply. Chief Shu promised him!

“What the hell is your purpose?” Old Mo couldn’t hold back his doubts.

“I just want to make a plan B for myself. Whether I will use the debt or not remains uncertain,” lying on the chair, Lin Xun was lost in thought with his eyes becoming deep.

He thought of Shia Zhi, Master Lu whose life and death remained unknown, as well as his purpose of coming to Ziyao Empire.

Staring at Lin Xun, Old Mo suddenly found that there seemed to have many mysteries and unknown concerns on this 14-year-old boy’s mind.

...

Lin Xun returned to Camp 39 the next morning.

Now that the quarterly assessment was over, the dull, cruel, and freak training resumed in the camp.

As the training in the morning drew to an end, a bunch of people rushed into Camp 39 out of the blue. They claimed that they wanted to measure their strength with Lin Xun and see what abilities the top one trainee of the quarterly assessment boasted.

With the number of over 10, the bunch of people came from different camps. Apparently, they refused to accept the result that Lin Xun won the first place yesterday.

Promptly, the entire Camp 39 became uproarious. Even many trainees in the Camp 39 wanted to be lookers-on, seeing whether Lin Xun dared to accept the challenge.

Without any hesitation, Lin Xun refused such a requirement decisively. Were they kidding? Obviously, they were trying to stir up trouble instead of measuring their strength with Lin Xun!