"Suddenly?" Baili Pangpang scratched his head. "I think this should be called a surprise."
"Besides, what's wrong with having a holiday? Why think so much?"
Lin Qiye was silent for a moment, then nodded. "I hope I'm just overthinking it..."
Lin Qiye returned to his dormitory and packed his luggage briefly. However, he didn't really have much to pack, since Hongying had all the daily necessities at home. Perhaps this was one of the advantages of living close to home.
In the end, Lin Qiye went to the training ground to assemble with only a light backpack, while Baili Pangpang was even more outrageous, his hands were empty, he didn't bring anything.
"You're just leaving like this?" Cao Yuan, dragging his suitcase, asked in surprise when he saw Baili Pangpang.
"Yes."
"Where are your clothes? Where are your daily necessities?"
"Just have someone buy me a few more sets."
"..."
Damn rich people.
When the new recruits arrived at the training ground, several buses were already waiting, and next to the buses were piles of long black boxes.
The moment Lin Qiye saw these boxes, his eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew what was in those boxes, and the many new recruits present could also guess roughly what they contained.
"This holiday... must be something serious." Cao Yuan frowned.
Instructor Hong stood before the new recruits with his hands behind his back and spoke loudly:
"Everyone is carrying the Star Blade for this leave from camp! However, it must not be used unless absolutely necessary!"
"Even in special circumstances, we should try to avoid being in the public eye and not cause panic among the people!"
"Did you understand?!"
"We understand!"
"Get the sword!"All the new recruits lined up in a long queue, took their black boxes from the ground in an orderly manner, and then boarded the vehicle in sequence. The whole process was carried out in an orderly manner.
Lin Qiye got into the car carrying the box, scanned it with his spiritual power, and sighed.
"What's wrong?" Cao Yuan, who was sitting in the back, poked his head out.
"There's no name engraved on the knife, so it's probably a standard-issue knife that's only on loan. It needs to be returned when you get back."
"That's for sure." Cao Yuan nodded. "Only after graduating from the training camp will each person be issued their own sword, cloak, and emblem. Our Star Blade should still be under forging."
Baili Pangpang tapped the black box in his hand and sighed, "The quality of this knife is not bad, but it's still a bit inferior to forbidden items."
"...Shut up."
Once everyone was seated, the buses slowly started moving and drove straight out of the training camp.
As they gradually drove out of the training camp area, suddenly, everyone felt a lightness in their bodies, as if some heavy weight that had been suppressing them had disappeared, and their spirits were refreshed.
The moment this pressure disappeared, it felt as if a shackle had been broken. A cool sensation flowed from their brains throughout their entire bodies, cleansing every inch of their skin.
Lin Qiye's body trembled, and the next moment, he felt clear-headed like never before!
"This is..." Lin Qiye stared blankly at his hands, a look of shock appearing in his eyes.
"I broke through? I broke through!"
"Me too!"
"What happened? I broke through too!"
"Holy crap! I've finally reached the 'Pool' realm, hahaha!"
"..."
It wasn't just Lin Qiye; the same thing happened to all the new recruits who left the training camp.
Just then, Instructor Hong, who was sitting in the passenger seat, stood up and chuckled.
"Do you think that we used that precious forbidden artifact simply to suppress your forbidden ruins? While your forbidden ruins are being suppressed, your spiritual energy flow will also be suppressed!"
"That forbidden object suppressed you for more than five months. Now that it has been suddenly released, your spiritual power, which has been suppressed for so long, will rebound violently, allowing you to easily break through the shackles of the 'Pool' Realm and enter a brand new realm!"
"This is a perk we offer to every new recruit in our training camp! It's also a reward for successfully surviving five months of hellish training!"
As soon as Instructor Hong finished speaking, the atmosphere on the entire bus became excited.
Lin Qiye carefully sensed the flow of spiritual energy. Both the total amount and the speed of recovery were far beyond what the "Zhan" realm could compare to.
This time, his spiritual power truly completed its transformation from "a lamp" to "a pool".
While most people were sensing the changes in their cultivation levels, Baili Pangpang touched his forehead in bewilderment and looked at Lin Qiye with a puzzled expression.
"You broke through too?"
"Mm."
"Tsk... I can't sense the level of spiritual power, I can only feel that my whole body feels much lighter."
"That means your mental strength has also been greatly enhanced," Cao Yuan said slowly. "Although you don't have the forbidden realm and can't specifically perceive mental strength, it still objectively exists. After your mental strength is improved, the power of forbidden items you use will be greater in the future."
"Sigh, I really envy those of you who possess forbidden ruins."
"...Put your hand on your conscience, look at all those forbidden things on your body, and say those same words again?"
"This can't be compared. Forbidden items are ultimately just external things; no matter how powerful they are, they're not truly yours..."
Just as Baili Pangpang was talking at length, someone suddenly pointed out the window and shouted!
"Holy crap!! What are those?!"
The crowd immediately fell silent, following his finger, and were all taken aback.In the azure sky, five unknown objects streaked swiftly across the clouds, leaving white trails as they hurtled towards them.
"That, that is..." Lin Qiye's pupils suddenly contracted when he saw this scene!
"Missiles!!!"
"That's a missile!!!"
"Everyone drop to the ground and grab onto something!!!"
Instructor Hong, sitting in the passenger seat, roared loudly!
Whoosh—!
Six missiles pierced the air, three of them grazing overhead and heading straight for... the training camp behind them!
The moment the three missiles landed in the training camp, a dazzling burst of fire erupted!
Boom—!!!
Amidst the earth-shattering explosion, blinding flames raged like a raging dragon, and thick black smoke gathered into a massive mushroom cloud that slowly rose into the sky!
Half a second later, a terrifying blast of air crashed from behind the bus, causing the entire bus to shake violently!
Lin Qiye gripped the seat brace tightly and looked back at the training camp. Amidst the raging flames, a faint golden light could be seen.
At that moment, one more missile also landed...while the remaining two missiles were restrained by chains before being forced back and hurled into the sky.
One of the shells landed at the military checkpoint they had just passed, and with a deafening explosion, the entire checkpoint was razed to the ground.
The last one... fell right over everyone's heads!
Lin Qiye's pupils suddenly contracted. He saw Instructor Hong suddenly stand up, about to do something, when a long spear wreathed in rose-red flames shot out from a distance!
The spear moved at an astonishing speed, its trajectory almost impossible to detect with the naked eye. It streaked across the sky in a long red line, precisely intercepting the missile in mid-air!
Boom—!!!