On the day that the war zone assessment would come to an end, rain fell on Demon Cloud Ridge.
Incessant rain lashed the area but still couldn’t wash away the thick blood on the ground. The smoke from the flames of war reached an unprecedentedly tragic state that day.
Every Blood Kill Camp student participating in the assessment was in their final fight.
Outside Demon Cloud Ridge, a group of Blood Kill Camp instructors had already arrived in the empire's Black Wind Army camp. They quietly waited as they peered at the misty Demon Cloud Ridge bathed in rain.
“How many people have been eliminated so far?” asked Dong Lu. He had an unusually burly figure like a mountain.
“117 people. More than half of them were forced into a desperate situation and chose to make a breakthrough in desperation. As a result, they were eliminated. The rest sent out a rescue signal and were eliminated.” Song Ling reported after a quick calculation. “The only thing that is uncertain at the moment is how many students died in Demon Cloud Ridge.”
Dong Lu frowned, sighing, “The loss is quite huge.”
Song Ling thought for a moment and said, “The performance of this year’s Blood Kill Camp students is already pretty good. At least, it’s a lot better than our year.”
Song Ling, a senior colonel of the Black Wind Army, had also participated in the training of Blood Kill Camp!
Dong Lu suddenly asked, “How many students from the 39th Campground did we lose?”Song Ling said, “At present, seventeen people have been eliminated, and it isn’t certain how many of the remaining ten people have died.”
Dong Lu frowned. A total of 237 students from the eight camps had come to participate in the war zone assessment. The elimination rate in the 39th Campground was a little high given that seventeen people had already been eliminated.
The situation in the other seven camps wouldn’t be much different.
“It looks like no more than fifty students can return to the camp to continue the training,” sighed Dong Lu.
Song Ling snorted coldly, “The result is already very remarkable. In the past, only around twenty-three students returned from the war zone assessment!”
Dong Lu smiled. “You’re right.”
“Speaking of which, someone surprised me this time.” Song Ling suddenly remembered something.
“Who?”
“Lin Xun.”
Song Ling briefly described the bloody battle that happened on the volcano a few days ago, and then he exclaimed, “Based on what I saw, Lin Xun isn’t weaker than Bai Lingxi, Zhao Yin, Li Duxing or Zhangsun Hen.”
Dong Lu’s lips curved strangely as he chuckled out loud. “Turns out to be him.”
“What, have you also noticed that he’s very special?” Song Ling asked.
“Well, he really is special. On the first day of the Blood Kill Camp training, he was ranked at the bottom in terms of cultivation level and almost no one thought much about him.”
Dong Lu’s eyes were looking into the distance, seeming to be deep in thought as memories flooded back. “But over time, he has shown extraordinary potential. Every time the others looked down on him, he always proved himself with his strength and stunned everyone.”
“What’s rare is that he is always unpredictable. He seems low-profile and harmless, but in fact, his heart is as tough as iron. Many people in Blood Kill Camp have lost to him.”
“I once heard Chief Xu’s evaluation of him. He said that he has god-like intelligence and is incredibly shrewd. He is very complicated and difficult to figure out so it’s difficult to know what kind of achievements he will have in the future.” Dong Lu sounded emotional.
“Chief Xu actually has such a good evaluation of that boy?” Song Ling exclaimed in surprise. In his view, Xu Sanqi never talked any nonsense.
“That isn’t pure praise.” Dong Lu took a deep look at Song Ling. “You also know that unpredictable people are unruly and difficult to control.”
Song Ling was silent for a long moment before he nodded.
Commotion broke out from afar. Many soldiers in the camp couldn’t help but gasp in exclamation.
Dong Lu and Song Ling were both taken aback. They lifted their heads and saw an ethereal figure speeding towards the camp in the misty rain.
She wore a white dress and her black hair trailed over her shoulders, flowing down to her waist. Her stunning face was elegant and pure. As she walked through the misty rain, she resembled a fairy in a painting. Her entire body gave off an ethereal and otherworldly aura, and her presence drew everyone’s attention.
Bai Lingxi!
She was the first student to return from the war zone assessment!
“The fact that she returned first from the assessment shows that she is extremely confident in the amount of military merits she has obtained. She possesses the innate talent of Eternal Shining Stars and will most likely take first place in the battlefield assessment.” Song Ling said ruminatively.
Dong Lu replied, “She is indeed remarkable. I heard that she will be admitted to the empire’s Qingluo Academy once the Blood Kill Camp training is over.”
Song Ling’s expression looked a little complicated as he said, “She is a girl blessed by heaven. Her cultivation path is destined to be different from other cultivators in the empire.”
After Bai Lingxi returned, she waited quietly.
There was less than an hour left until the end of the assessment and once the assessment ended, the students’ military merit would be assessed and their score would be determined.
Before long, another figure was coming from the distance. It was tall and slim and had a majestic gait. His fierce eyes were dazzling and he exuded a haughty aura. It was Zhao Yin.
Zhao Yin’s arrival attracted quite a few surprised gazes. The people’s reaction brought a faint, imperceptible smile to his lips.
However, he couldn't help but narrow his eyes and sigh helplessly when he saw Bai Lingxi’s graceful and beautiful figure. He came to stand next to Bai Lingxi and said, “Unexpectedly, I’m still not as good as you.”
Bai Lingxi’s expression was as still as water. “The time you return doesn’t affect your final score or ranking.”
Zhao Yin smiled brightly and said, “You don’t have to be so modest. I have a hunch that you wouldn’t return early if you didn’t have absolute confidence in your military merits.”
Bai Lingxi peered at Demon Cloud Ridge in the distance, seemingly reluctant to discuss the topic anymore.
“That’s—”
“Li Duxing! How did he become like this?”
Suddenly, an uproar broke out, causing Bai Lingxi and Zhao Yin to shift their gazes to the distance, where a thin figure was slowly approaching their direction. His hair was disheveled, his clothes in rags and his abdomen, chest and legs were dripping with blood.
From afar, he resembled a wounded lone wolf returning from the battlefield.
Bai Lingxi and Zhao Yin narrowed their eyes. Li Duxing had a mysterious background and there had been many rumors about him, though no one had been able to confirm the accuracy of those rumors.
Regardless of the rumors, Bai Lingxi and Zhao Yin only saw a very small number of people as competitors in Blood Kill Camp, and Li Duxing was one of them.
Seeing him return riddled with wounds, discomposed and looking lonely, the two didn’t dare to underestimate him.
“Li Duxing is fanatical about swords and always travels alone. He can only be described as someone who couldn’t live without being crazy,” remarked Dong Lu.
Song Ling exclaimed in surprise, “You know the boy well?”
Dong Lu shook his head. “All the instructors in Blood Kill Camp think the same. Don’t you think he is very similar to Xiao Pifu?”
Song Ling’s pupils shrank. Xiao Pifu!
He cast his mind back to the ruler who had shocked the world hundreds of years ago with his sword. He remembered how he broke into the Darkness Kingdom single-handedly and massacred thirteen Great Magi.
Xiao Pifu!
A legendary sword ruler!
His glorious deeds had been admired by countless cultivators in the history of the empire.
“Every person has their own path. Li Duxing is still young. Even if he has the same temperament and style as Xiao Pifu, it’s difficult to say whether he would possess strength as terrifying as Xiao Pifu in the future,” said Song Ling thoughtfully.
Dong Lu smiled, unable to deny it.
After Li Duxing returned, students then came back one after another, including Zhangsun Hen, Gong Ming, Shi Yu and Ning Meng…
In just half an hour, more than 30 students had gathered in the camp.
The fact that these students could safely return in the assessment without being eliminated already proved how strong they were.
“Why haven’t we seen Lin Xun return yet?” Song Ling scrunched his brows.
“Wait a moment, the assessment isn’t over yet, right?”
Dong Lu’s heart pounded with worry. There could only be two reasons that Lin Xun hadn’t returned. Either he was still fighting at the risk of his life in the little time left because he lacked enough military merit or that he had encountered danger and was already dead!
On the other side, Shi Yu and Ning Meng were quarreling over the bet.
“Little White Face, hurry up and prepare one thousand gold coins. I will definitely win!”
“Idiot, you will cry when they start to calculate the military merits. You will realize how stupid you sound now!”
“Haha, then I’ll wait to see if your military merits will make me cry!”
Shi Yu suddenly raised his eyebrows and said, “Where’s Lin Xun?”
Ning Meng was taken aback. He glanced around and muttered, “He wouldn’t be eliminated already right?”
Shi Yu sneered, “Don’t worry, Lin Xun is much stronger than you. If you haven’t been eliminated, how would he be eliminated?”
“There’s only ten minutes left till the end of the assessment. Why isn’t he here yet?” Shi Yu mumbled with a deep frown.
Ning Meng also lost interest in quarreling with Shi Yu.
Another dozen students returned one after another. But there was still no sign of Lin Xun. It made both Shi Yu and Ning Meng scrunch their faces in worry.
“You seem to be waiting for someone.”
In the nearby area, Zhao Yin sharply noticed that Bai Lingxi was glancing at Demon Cloud Ridge from time to time as though she was waiting for something.
“I’m just thinking that Lin Xun shouldn’t be eliminated already given his strength.” Bai Lingxi said casually.
“Lin Xun?”
Zhao Yin exclaimed. He sounded dumbfounded. “It turns out to be him. I heard that you will challenge him when he reaches the ninth layer True Martial Stage. I’m very curious about why you want to do that.”
Bai Lingxi said indifferently. “You wouldn’t understand.”
A malicious look imperceptibly flashed across Zhao Yin’s eyes. “Regardless, he still hasn’t returned. I wonder if he encountered danger…”
Before he finished, he noticed that Bai Lingxi suddenly turned her head and she fixed her clear and beautiful eyes in a certain direction. Almost at the same time, a clamor rang out.
“Lin Xun has returned!”
“That guy is really tenacious. He hasn’t been eliminated.”
“Haha, but he likely didn’t return until now because he’s worried about the amount of military merits he has obtained.“
Amidst the discussion, Lin Xun’s elegant and straight figure emerged in the misty rain.