On a mountain peak next to the Trial Ground, Bu Yanhuan held a telescope, watching everything happening within the Trial Ground with keen interest.
She had seen Zhao Mu's performance today and couldn't help but reveal a satisfied smile.
"This kid, he truly is the result of my hard work cultivating him for ten years!"
At this moment, a deep voice rang out from behind her.
"You spent ten years, left the Demon Sealing Army, just to raise a child?"
Liu Weiguo Liu Weiguo of Qingfeng Camp walked over slowly. Bu Yanhuan had already noticed his approach, but merely glanced over her shoulder indifferently.
"Long time no see, Colonel Liu Weiguo."
Liu Weiguo slowly said, "I'm a Senior Colonel now."
"Oh, congratulations."
Bu Yanhuan still had a smile on her face, neither warm nor cold.
Liu Weiguo walked to her side and stood still. "As soon as I saw that child Zhao Mu's fighting style, I knew you must have taught him."
"He has your shadow, but his talent is a bit lacking. An E-grade talent will be very difficult to develop."
He looked at Bu Yanhuan with a face full of suspicion. "Even if you wanted to train a successor, you should find a good one."
A faint smile, imperceptible to others, appeared at the corner of Bu Yanhuan's mouth. She didn't reveal the truth, but merely said calmly, "He is the best."
After speaking, as if to avoid arousing Liu Weiguo's suspicion, she continued to add:
"Ten years ago, during the Demon Sealing War in the Blood Bone Mountain Range, I almost died on the battlefield. His parents exchanged their lives for mine. I promised them I would raise this child well."
"This is what I owe him."
Liu Weiguo nodded in sudden understanding, sighing with emotion when mentioning the past.
"It's been ten years. You accomplished great military feats back then, and you certainly have the right to stay away from the battlefield and live the life you want."
"However, with your abilities, the Demon Sealing Army losing you is a significant loss. The Empire and the Human Race both need your strength!"
"He's grown up now, and if nothing unexpected happens, he can join the Qingfeng Camp. Don't you want to..."
A strange light flickered in Bu Yanhuan's eyes.
"Once he is confirmed to have successfully joined Qingfeng Camp, I will report back to the Demon Sealing Army."
She smiled faintly, "If it weren't for him, I would have wanted to die on the battlefield long ago."
During the Demon Sealing War ten years ago, she lost all her relatives and watched her comrades die one after another beside her.
For ten years, every night she fell asleep, she would dream of that battlefield covered with corpses, seeing her deceased relatives and comrades.
That's why she drank like a fish; only when she was dead drunk could she forget everything.
So she had made up her mind: she would raise Zhao Mu until he was an adult. If he had talent in psionics, she would let him join Qingfeng Camp; if his talent was mediocre, she would use connections to arrange him into the safest unit, at least to leave a descendant for the Zhao family.
As for her?
She wanted to return to that endless battlefield, to offer the blood of the Dark Race as a sacrifice to the souls of her relatives and friends, and ultimately die on that land.
Then, she would have no regrets in this life.
Hearing Bu Yanhuan's words, Liu Weiguo nodded.
At this moment, Bu Yanhuan suddenly put down her binoculars and said to him, "Oh, right, before I leave, could I trouble you, as a local expert, to help me inquire about something?"
Liu Weiguo narrowed his eyes: "What is it?"
Bu Yanhuan's eyes held a hint of reminiscence: "Ten years ago, the massacre of Zhao Family Town in Changning County, Lujiang City."
Lujiang City is located in the eastern part of the Xuanfeng Empire, at the junction of the eastern and northern war zones.
The Blood Bone Mountain Range, named after Blood Bone Mountain on the outskirts of Lujiang City, actually has a long geographical line connecting to the world controlled by the Dark Race.
Ten years ago, the Dark Race launched an attack on the Xuanfeng Empire, and Lujiang City inevitably became a front line of the war.
At that time, village massacres happened frequently, and countless people died.
Liu Weiguo was a bit surprised: "Many people died ten years ago. Was that town special in some way?"
Bu Yanhuan said, "Although Lujiang City was on the front line, it wasn't a military fortress. Coupled with the strict defenses of the Wubei Army, it wasn't particularly affected during the Demon Sealing War."
"But an entire town, thousands of people, were all massacred, and judging by the wounds, it didn't seem to be caused by the Dark Race or mutated beasts."
Bu Yanhuan closed her eyes, recalling that scene from ten years ago.
The entire small town was engulfed in raging flames, and by the time she arrived, there were already corpses everywhere.
She had dug Zhao Mu out of a ruin, an arrow piercing his chest.
A very sharp arrow with a Vampire Clan mark had pierced through eight-year-old Zhao Mu from front to back.
A normal person would have surely died from that arrow, but a miracle happened to that small boy.
He was also the sole survivor of the Zhao Family Town massacre.
Liu Weiguo looked at Bu Yanhuan suspiciously.
"The Military Martial Specialization School is directly under the military, and we usually don't interfere with local administrative affairs. Why don't you just ask the Lujiang City Military Preparatory Force? Ask Garrison Commander Kong Ruhai?"
Bu Yanhuan looked at him, "Because I only trust you."
Liu Weiguo's old eyes blurred slightly; to receive these words from Bu Yanhuan, his life had been worth it.
They had fought side by side in the Demon Sealing War, experiencing blood and fire, life and death.
Such a life-and-death bond was the strongest.
Even though they hadn't seen each other for ten years, this trust remained unchanged.
He nodded, "Alright, I'll investigate. But regarding this kid named Zhao Mu, don't expect me to give him any special treatment."
When he said this, he sternly stated, "Military rules are military rules! Our Qingfeng Camp only cultivates outstanding talents. If he has no talent, even if he's your disciple, I won't give him special treatment!"
"Hahaha! You old man, you're still as stubborn as ever!"
Bu Yanhuan looked towards the Xiuyun Mountain Trial Ground opposite, a gentle, doting smile on her face.
"However, this child won't disappoint you. Believe me, he will become the most outstanding soldier in Qingfeng Camp's history!"
...After more than three hours of intense fighting, a temporary quiet descended upon the Trial Ground.
A group of eighteen-year-old youths, battling in the summer mountain forest with temperatures approaching 40°C, also showed signs of fatigue.
Since Qingfeng Camp hadn't informed them of the Martial Trial's content beforehand, no one had the opportunity to prepare drinking water or food.
Carrying weapons, they had to be wary of others while also thinking about how to seize more number tags.
Mosquitoes and flying insects buzzed and flew around in the forest, landing on them and starting to bite.
Fearing that making noise would attract attention, the Trial Participants dared not swat them, only enduring the discomfort to try and shoo them away, but this method was completely ineffective.
All of this made them incredibly exhausted.
Zhao Mu, however, was at ease atop the tree canopy, showing no signs of discomfort.
Before leaving the cafeteria, out of habit, he had brought a bottle of water and stuffed a few biscuits into his pocket. These were enough for his day's consumption.
His highest record was spending three days and three nights in the Blood Bone Mountain, drinking only water and subsisting on wild grass.
Bu Yanhuan had called it a'summer camp' at the time, to let Zhao Mu adapt to the harsh battlefield in advance.
So today on Xiuyun Mountain, Zhao Mu only felt that this place was infinitely more comfortable than the beast-infested environment of Blood Bone Mountain; how could he possibly not endure it?
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)