Lin Xun was openmouthed since he had never seen a fellow who cursed himself for insulting the opponent before. It was so frenzied!
Hu Long was excessively angry, and soon he also realized his words were inappropriate. But it was too late for him to explain more.
Hearing the laughter of the people in the cabin, Hu Long's face changed and he hated Lin all the more. If Lin Xun didn’t scold him as a dog first, how could this happen?
Lin Xun was too hateful!
Hu Long, who was feeling very embarrassed, suddenly saw that Lin Xun’s expression was somewhat gloomy. He could not help sneering, “Funny. Can’t someone withstand this kind of attack by innuendo, either?”
Lin Xun sighed and doubted how mindless Hu Long could survive the quarterly assessment. It was unnecessary to evaluate his IQ.
However, Hu Long seemed to find a chance to vent his anger upon Lin’s silence. Hu Long raised his arrogant head and said coldly, “Go ahead. Don’t you have a glib tongue? Cut the crap. Dare you beat me directly? Dare you?”
Trainees kicked up a fuss immediately. Knowing that it was in the cabin that all trainees were present, so no one dared to act recklessly in this place, Hu Long wasn’t too foolish, trying to provoke Lin Xun with such words.
Would Lin Xun be afraid?
Certainly not.
But would Lin Xun take action?
Might not, either.
This trick was similar to that used by Lin Xun, who asked Hu Long to prove whether he was a dog or not.
Boom!
It was surprising that Lin Xun didn't talk nonsense in the face of Hu Long's provocation. He got up immediately, rushed at Hu Long and threw a punch.
Hu Long didn’t expect that Lin Xun really dared to beat him. As a result, he was severely hit on the abdomen by Lin’s punch.
With a bang, Hu Long felt as if his stomach was about to burst. The terrible power rushed into his body like tides. All the internal organs seemed to shift. With his whole body arched like a boiled prawn, and he howled in pain.
“Lin Xun, fuck you...”
Hu Long was slapped on the back before he could finish the whole sentence, and he lay prone on the ground like a toad then. He could only scream with tears and snot flowing down in pain.
The crowd burst into an uproar and felt it unbelievable.
However, Lin Xun laughed at leisure, looked at the people around him and said, “Everybody has heard that this guy asked me to beat him on his own initiative. This is the first time I have heard such a request. How can I refuse his invitation?”
The crowd was speechless for this reason.
Hearing Lin Xun's words, Hu Long was so angry that he almost vomited blood, which made his pain worse.
With a bang, the cabin door was opened, an extraordinarily stalwart figure appeared, giving trainees in the cabin a sense of pressure by standing still only.
It was Dong Lu, the Drillmaster who was in charge of leading trainees from Camp 39 to Demon-cloud Ridge to participate in the battlefield assessment.
“What's the matter? Who wants to experience the punishment for violating rules?” Dong Lu coldly glanced at Lin Xun and Hu Long lying prone on the ground.
“Drillmaster, Lin Xun beat me first!” Hu Long wailed and struggled to get up. But Lin Xun firmly stepped on Hu’s back to prevent him from getting up.
“Little boy, what do you want to explain for this?” Dong Lu asked Lin in a low, muffled voice, with an unkind look on his face.
“It's not my fault. He asked me to beat him on his own initiative. Everyone in the cabin witnessed this. I'm not interested in bullying such a weakling.”
Lin Xun answered earnestly.
Dong Lu was stunned and looked at all the people present, who did not refute Lin Xun's explanation. Dong’s face became a little odd.
“You lie!” Hu Long was as mad as a hornet and shouted.
“Have you ever seen such a person, Drillmaster Dong? He must suffer mental disorder since he has asked for a beating but does not admit it.”
Lin Xun sighed helplessly, “I think this guy is really a jackass.”
Dong Lu came to understand what had happened and his face turned odder. He stared at Hu Long, who was almost mad on the ground, for a long time before snorting, “That's the end of the matter. Don’t let me find you are fighting again. Whatever the reason is, you’ll be eliminated!”
Then, he turned and walked out of the cabin and slammed the door.
But at the moment of closing the door, many people with sharp ears heard Dong Lu mutter, “He seems to be a jackass to ask for an insult!”
The expressions of many trainees turned odd at once, and they looked at Hu Long with pity.
Lin gave Hu Long a beating for his provocation and Hu was deemed to be a jackass by the drillmaster. Hu Long could only blame himself.
Lin Xun returned to his seat calmly as if everything that just happened had nothing to do with him.
“Amazing,” Shi Yu raised his thumb.
“Excellent,” Ning Meng laughed.
Lin Xun smiled and said nothing.
The episode was over, but the eyes of many trainees in the cabin showed indistinct fears when they looked at Lin Xun.
No one dared to despise those who didn’t act according to common sense.
…
Eight Ziying Battleships flew in the sky for seven days, and eventually landed at a military base called “Reshahar” on the northern frontier of the empire in the evening of the seventh day.
The Reshahar Army was a large-scale legitimate army on the northern frontier of the empire. It had 300,000 soldiers stationed and 50,000 military practitioners. The army was under the control of Wu Shinglie, a lieutenant with high military merits in the empire.
The sunset glow was as red as fire.
The flags in the camp with strict discipline were flaunting in the wind.
In one open ground, 237 trainees from the Bloodthirsty Camp came out of the warships and were led by their respective drillmasters into eight prepared tents.
“Old Song, I hand these little boys and girls over to you. Three months later, I will come and check the results,” in one of the camps, Dong Lu said to a middle-aged man coming up to him.
This middle-aged man was dressed in martial attire covered with silver armor, with a resolute and steadfast appearance and murderous momentum. It was obvious that he was battle-seasoned.
He was Song Ling, a senior colonel in the Reshahar Army.
“No problem.”
Song Ling was obviously a man of few words. He nodded after having a look at all trainees.
He sent people to fetch and distribute maps and bags to trainees immediately, and then he announced, “From today on, you are members of the Reshahar Army. Although your identity is unusual, you will also be dealt with by military regulations if you fail to finish the task!”
A few words were so forceful that everyone felt daunted.
When Dong Lu saw this, he left the tent without any trace. His task had been completed, and he just needed to come here and pick up people three months later.
“Tonight, you will carry your own equipment and go into the Demon-cloud Ridge to fight alone.”
“Your task is killing all the barbarians who you meet, and every Totem Barbarian Tattoo that you get is equal to a military merit.”
“The duration of the task is three months. During this period, any deserters will be executed!”
“Any traitors will be executed!”
“Any fratricides will be executed!”
Song Ling’s three “executed” in succession made all the trainees realize that everything here was really different from that in the Bloodthirsty Camp.
Here were the real barracks, the front line of fighting with the enemy, and the most ruthless battlefield. Here military commands and military discipline were highest criteria!
Finally, a touch of fierce and dazzling light crossed Song Ling’s eyes, as he glanced at the trainees, “Most importantly, nine kindred clans of the defector will be executed!”
This was the most terrifying punishment!
…
At this dark night.
The sky of the Demon-cloud Ridge was covered with thick clouds. Only a few wisps of dim moonlight squeezed through the clouds, sending out a grey oppressive glow.
In a mountain, Lin Xun flew among rocks and trees like a nimble leopard cat. The environment here was so dark that the hand in front of you couldn’t be seen clearly.
Lin Xun's vision was greatly influenced. Fortunately, his soul perception was so powerful that he could clearly detect all the situations within about 133-meter area.
All the trainees who came here to take part in the battlefield mission entered the Demon-cloud Ridge before night fell.
Some people chose to form a team to take care of each other, and the others chose to act alone like Lin Xun.
“According to the news, there are many scattered barbarians, including overmatches who act alone and some groups, in the Demon-cloud Ridge. It seems that I have to be careful.”
Lin Xun held the saber tightly as he pondered on the information he obtained before.
This saber was a kind of spiritual weapon made by the imperial army. It was called “Army Breacher”. Its quality was not very good, but it was sharp enough.
In addition to a saber, Lin Xun had a map, a suit of inner armour and a whistle for rescue in the equipment bag.
The map of Demon-cloud Ridge was extremely rough. It was only for reference, since it was not reliable.
The inner armour was called “Iron Scale Armour”, which was also a kind of the imperial equipment. Its defensive power was passable.
The whistle for help was unique, small and exquisite, like an eagle's beak. As long as it sounded, it would emit a special whistler-type noise and fluctuation, which would be perceived by the top masters outside the Demon-cloud Ridge.
But once the whistle was blown, it meant elimination. And it didn’t guarantee that the whistler would get timely help.
So this thing was not essential actually, and one was on his own to survive.
“The three months will be tough because I need to fight with endless enemies, without material supply…”
“It seems that I must make a plan before action. I should not be impatient to kill the enemy. It is imperative to adapt to the environment here.”
While thinking, Lin Xun seemed to perceive something suddenly. He quietly jumped up a low hill, clung to the rock and covered his Qi.
Soon after, a black leopard came out of the distant grass, agile like a ghost looming in the night.
It was just a black spiritual leopard comparable to a practitioner on the eighth level of the Martial Realm. As a fierce beast, it couldn’t pose a threat to Lin Xun.
As Lin Xun was going to get up and leave, a trace of inappropriateness suddenly rose in his heart, and he was keenly aware that he seemed to have neglected something.
He released the power of soul perception like a tidal wave, and soon noticed that behind the black leopard was a figure perfectly merging with the night like a wisp of dimly discernible black smoke, which could not be detected by the naked eye!
“What a cunning fellow! He takes advantage of a black spiritual leopard to explore the way, hiding himself in the dark. If I showed up just now, he would lock onto me in an instant.”
Lin Xun had a lingering fear!