Chapter 32
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 32: Hongshan Military Camp
Yun Ye was somewhat surprised. Did Zhu Zhaohong also put on a battle robe? What was going on?
“Yang Shi, this is your companion, who will join the Black Armored Army together with you. You might need to get to know each other in advance; otherwise…”
Shen An didn’t continue, redirecting his focus back to making talismans.
His words clearly indicated that Yun Ye should pledge loyalty to Zhu Zhaohong.
Zhu Zhaohong said, “Junior brother, do you know that there is a limit to the number of people in the Black Armored Army? The total is fifty. Once it exceeds that, those with the lowest strength rankings will be downgraded to the Spiritual Law team.”
“Without a doubt, the Black Armored Army is generally dominated by the noble families. After all, achieving a Major Achievement in the Qi Cultivation Technique is exceedingly easy for them, and they can join at any time.”
“Right now, we have four people who will join the Black Armored Army. Who do you think will be the one to get downgraded in the end?”
“Haha…”
The two companions following Zhu Zhaohong exchanged knowing smiles.
Even if the Black Armored Army had already reached the full fifty members, the three of them would not be at risk of being downgraded. That’s the privilege of noble families!
But Yun Ye, being just a commoner, could not be assured of such a guarantee and had to rely solely on his strength.
Competing with the cultivation families based on strength was not a funny joke.
At the Awakening Hall, Yun Ye was classified as one of the lower-tier talents, placed in the C-class hall.
Above that were the A and B-class halls, with talents clearly superior to Yun Ye.
Members of noble families stood even higher than those in the A and B halls and could directly join the Black Armored Army.
Even Yun Ye managed to break through to a Major Achievement with the Imagining Method; noble family members, with superior resources, techniques, and talents, naturally had no reason not to reach Major Achievement as well.
They didn’t even need to go to the Awakening Hall; they could achieve Major Achievement from home, having plenty of time to study Spiritual Law.
Competing for a position against these individuals was virtually impossible, even if Yun Ye mastered the ultimate spirit energy.
But since “things depend on people,” there was always a need to give it a try.
The atmosphere remained tense for a short while, but heavy footsteps approached, breaking the stalemate.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
A man in black armor entered the hall with a cold expression, stepping into the Awakening Hall one step at a time.
Before even coming into contact, Yun Ye already felt an incredible sense of pressure.
Killing intent?
Murderous aura?
It was an indescribable presence that made Yun Ye feel uneasy. He sensed that if a fight broke out, even if their physical capabilities were equal, he would be killed in a single exchange.
“Are you four the newcomers? Shen An, I’ll take these people away.”
The man in black armor scanned everyone present and spoke.
“I didn’t expect the Captain of the Spiritual Law team to come personally.”
Shen An did not look up.
The black-armored man waved his hand and turned around, saying, “You four, come along.”
Yun Ye didn’t say anything and silently followed behind.
Zhu Zhaohong and the others lagged a bit, exchanging shocked glances.
The Black Armored Army was organized into teams, with five teams in total, each led by a Captain whose strength was considered the best in Baishi Town.
Yun Wen, the Captain, personally coming to escort them was completely unexpected for Zhu Zhaohong.
“My name is Yun Wen, Captain of Team Three in the Black Armored Army. You will join my team and follow my orders. I dislike trouble the most and cannot stand questions, so you four need to behave; otherwise…”
Yun Wen sneered a few times, leaving plenty of room for the four to imagine the consequences.
Yun Ye wasn’t quite sure how much weight Yun Wen’s words carried, but Zhu Zhaohong and the others definitely restrained themselves, remaining silent.
Although the Black Armored Army was dominated by noble families, there was still competition among the families.
Since Yun Wen was not a member of the Zhu family, Zhu Zhaohong naturally stayed quiet.
…
The four followed Yun Wen out of Baishi Town, heading west.
Before long, they entered a sparsely populated dense forest.
Here, visibility was narrow, and it was unclear what might be hidden inside; Yun Ye had to stay vigilant to avoid ambushes from monsters.
However, there was no doubt that this was an essential path to the Spirit Land, already cleared many times before.
After walking for about an hour, they hadn’t encountered any danger.
That was until they passed the ruins of a village.
“Roar! Roar!”
Three undead beings, drawn by the scent of the living, charged out to attack them.
Undead beings were corpses that had reanimated due to resentment after a human’s death. They were invulnerable to blades, incredibly swift, and had a tendency to suck blood to regain their strengths, making them exceptionally difficult opponents for ordinary people, with often one able to cause great casualties in a village.
But for cultivators, undead beings were merely the lowest level of monsters, easily dispatched with a flick of a finger without much effort.
As the three charging undead drew close, Zhu Zhaohong shot out three fireballs. Each fireball was only the size of a ping pong ball, but upon hitting the undead, it instantly exploded, engulfing the creatures whole.
In just a few seconds, the three zombies, formidable and invulnerable in the eyes of mortals, turned to ash.
For Zhu Zhaohong, eliminating a few ordinary monsters was nothing out of the ordinary, creating no ripples at all.
Only Yun Ye glanced a few times at the village ruins, feeling a sense of familiarity.
(If I remember correctly, I think this is the only village in this location.)
(The village that Wang Yao mentioned, near Hongshan…)
That village had perished a few years ago.
The official story was that the entire village, several hundred people, had been killed by monsters, with no survivors.
Yun Ye looked into the distance, feeling it was laughable.
If Hongshan didn’t have a Spirit Land, the village’s demise could indeed have been caused by monsters.
But Hongshan had a Spirit Land, and even the base of the Black Armored Army was located in Hongshan, which had been cleaned of monsters countless times.
In such circumstances, a village at the foot of the mountain being annihilated by monsters and leaving not a single survivor…
This situation was too deep.
…
After passing the ruins of the village, they quickly arrived at Hongshan.
The entire mountain was covered with a spirit tree known as the fire fruit tree, whose leaves were as red as flames. From a distance, the whole mountain seemed to be engulfed in fire, a truly beautiful sight.
And various other extraordinary plants were also thriving throughout, nourished by the spirit soil of Hongshan.
Following the built steps upward, a somewhat chaotic cluster of buildings gradually came into view.
The base of the Black Armored Army had arrived!
“This is the area for Team Three. You will each take an identity token to enter; each person gets one room, and once you confirm it, you cannot change it… Let’s cut to the chase; go confirm your rooms immediately and return within the time of a stick of incense!”
The four immediately took action.
This was a complex of buildings with too many rooms; finding a good one was not easy.
But as cultivators, Yun Ye’s criteria for selection were straightforward: he would choose wherever the spirit energy was abundant.
It was a process of moving inward.
The deeper they went, the more abundant the spirit energy became.
Zhu Zhaohong and the others were already aware of this, without even needing to think, and they headed straight for the innermost part.
This made Yun Ye lag behind slightly; by the time he arrived, the three best rooms had already been taken. He had to settle for a secondary room and quickly returned after dropping off his belongings.
Yun Wen was situated in the center area of Team Three, which had a flower bed, a towering fire fruit tree, and several stone tables and chairs.
When Yun Ye and the others returned, Yun Wen was sitting imposingly on a stone chair, resting his hands on his sword, and said, “In the Hongshan military camp, survival of the fittest is the rule. Now that you’re here, the rules must be made clear.”
“There are five teams in the Black Armored Army, totaling fifty members, all elites among elites. If newcomers want to join the Black Armored Army, you must first have the strength to defeat the veterans. The difficulty? Haha…”
“I can only say you all are lucky; this time, my team has two vacancies, and half of you can stay without having to defeat a veteran.”
At this point, Yun Wen suddenly sneered, “Of course, that’s just theoretically speaking; it’s also possible that in the end, none of you can stay!”
