Liang Gongchi shot Zhao Mu an irritated glare.
"Qingfeng Camp has its own rules," she said coldly. "If trainees want resources, they must exchange for them using academic credits."
She folded her arms and snorted.
"What I gave you earlier was already an exception made because of your master. And now you're still asking for more? Don't push your luck."
Zhao Mu knew she was telling the truth.
If instructors simply handed resources out freely, then none of the trainees would feel pressure to improve themselves. The entire purpose of Qingfeng Camp was to temper soldiers through competition, hardship, and survival.
Still, Liang Gongchi eventually gave him a subtle hint.
"Aren't you participating in the final training exercise tomorrow?" she asked casually. "There might be some decent materials inside."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"That is, if you can kill a Private Rank Strange Beast."
Zhao Mu's eyes instantly lit up.
"Instructor, you know what the final exercise is about?"
Liang Gongchi immediately sneered.
"Don't even think about getting the test answers from me."
She raised a finger.
"I've already said too much."
Zhao Mu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"In other words, the final stage involves fighting Strange Beasts," he muttered. "And there will be Private Rank creatures among them…"
Considering there were more than a hundred trainees participating, powerful beasts appearing in the trial made complete sense.
After all, Qingfeng Camp existed to cultivate soldiers capable of hunting dangerous Strange Beasts in coordinated teams.
Zhao Mu quickly formed a plan in his mind.
"I understand now," he said with a sigh. "Looks like I'll have to gather the materials for making ember remains myself."
Even though the final trial would begin the next morning, Zhao Mu still trained throughout the entire night as usual.
Resting was meaningless to him.
At least, that was how he viewed it.
Compared to sleep, increasing his skill proficiency was far more valuable.
As long as his body could still move, he would continue training.
Late that evening, Zhao Mu finally returned to Dormitory 207.
Surprisingly, the lights were still on.
When he pushed open the door, he found Meng Qiuqiu and Zhuo Yun gathered around Lu Yan, apparently busy with something.
"Come on, Lu Yan!" Meng Qiuqiu encouraged loudly. "Try this treasure again!"
Lu Yan was slumped weakly in a chair with a deathly pale face.
There were even faint bloodstains on the floor nearby.
Meng Qiuqiu carefully placed a pair of sunglasses onto Lu Yan's face while Zhuo Yun stood beside him with a helpless expression.
Zhao Mu instantly understood what they were doing.
They were trying to cure Lu Yan's hemophobia.
The best way to overcome fear was to confront it directly.
And fear of blood was ultimately a psychological problem.
Still, Zhao Mu could not help twitching slightly when he looked at the blood on the ground.
"Where did the blood come from?" he asked suspiciously. "Did you two seriously cut yourselves?"
Zhuo Yun raised his arm helplessly.
Sure enough, several shallow cuts could be seen across his skin.
"We had no choice," he explained bitterly. "People are definitely going to get injured during tomorrow's battle. If he faints every time he sees blood, he won't survive."
Zhao Mu stared at them silently before finally saying:
"You guys are ruthless."
He walked closer and looked at Lu Yan's pale face.
It was obvious the poor guy had suffered quite a bit tonight.
"Did it work?" Zhao Mu asked.
Lu Yan blankly shook his head.
Then his cheeks puffed out, and he immediately started dry heaving.
Meng Qiuqiu and Zhuo Yun exchanged helpless glances.
"What should we do?" Meng Qiuqiu asked anxiously. "How's he supposed to participate tomorrow in this condition?"
"Yeah," Zhuo Yun added. "He's fine with processed meat or dead animals, but once he sees fresh blood during a real hunt, he'll definitely collapse."
Zhao Mu thought quietly for a moment.
Then he finally spoke.
"Get him a darker pair of sunglasses."
The others blinked in confusion.
"And don't let him fight ordinary Strange Beasts tomorrow."
Meng Qiuqiu looked stunned.
"Ordinary Strange Beasts?" he repeated. "What do you mean?"
Zhao Mu calmly replied,
"There'll probably be Private Rank Strange Beasts in the trial tomorrow."
The room instantly became silent.
Even Lu Yan stopped dry heaving for a moment.
Zhao Mu continued casually.
"When that happens, someone at Dou Rank 12 like Lu Yan will become useful."
Meng Qiuqiu's face turned pale.
"Private Rank Strange Beasts? Isn't that way too dangerous?"
Zhao Mu shot him an annoyed look.
His gaze fell onto Meng Qiuqiu's thick fingers, which were covered in gemstone-studded rings.
Every single ring was an ember remain.
And several of them clearly weren't ordinary.
"You have enough ember remains to buy your way through half the trial," Zhao Mu said coldly. "What exactly are you afraid of?"
Meng Qiuqiu immediately protested.
"Hey! Having money doesn't stop me from being scared!"
Zhao Mu was speechless.
After learning more about ember remains from Liang Gongchi, he had already realized that the rings on Meng Qiuqiu's hands were ridiculously valuable.
At least three of them were rank-two ember remains or higher.
Although Meng Qiuqiu couldn't fully utilize their true power at his current level, they were still more than enough to save his life in dangerous situations.
Rich people really were infuriating.
Zhao Mu silently ground his teeth.
The next morning, all the trainees gathered at the training grounds.
Today's atmosphere was completely different from before.
Everyone had arrived fully armed.
Armor.
Helmets.
Weapons.
Ember remains.
The trainees carried every piece of equipment they could manage.
This was their first true combat exercise.
And unlike normal training, the enemies this time would be Strange Beasts—creatures that would show absolutely no mercy.
Naturally, everyone felt nervous.
Compared to the others, Zhao Mu looked almost pitifully under-equipped.
The training weapons provided by Qingfeng Camp were all blunt and unsuitable for real combat.
At the moment, the only decent weapon Zhao Mu possessed was the silver sword he had taken from Jin Xiangcheng.
In fact, Jin Xiangcheng had come looking for him the previous night, shamelessly trying to beg for the sword back.
Unfortunately for him, Zhao Mu refused immediately.
What a joke.
The combat trial rewards were extremely valuable, and the silver sword would become one of Zhao Mu's greatest trump cards.
As for ember remains…
He could not use them recklessly.
Their spiritual power consumption was simply too high.
Among the members of Dormitory 207, there was another person who looked just as miserable as Zhao Mu.
Lu Yan.
He arrived wearing nothing but a standard training uniform.
That was it.
No armor.
No weapon.
No equipment.
He looked utterly lost standing among the heavily armed trainees.
Zhao Mu honestly could not understand it.
Lu Yan possessed an A-Rank Awakening Talent.
Even if his family background was ordinary, they should have done everything possible to support him.
But Lu Yan gave off the feeling of a child abandoned by his family.
Zhao Mu secretly suspected that Lu Yan probably came from a broken household.
Still, out of politeness, he never asked about it.
Compared to them, Zhuo Yun looked much more normal.
Today, he finally brought out the long spear he had been carrying since entering Qingfeng Camp.
The silver spear gleamed brilliantly beneath the sunlight.
Near the spearhead hung a green tassel that swayed gently in the wind.
Zhuo Yun carefully held the weapon as if it were a treasured heirloom.
"This spear is called Dragon Gall," he explained proudly.
"It belonged to my grandfather."
His eyes shone with admiration.
"He used it to fight on the battlefield and kill countless Strange Beasts and Dark Race warriors."
Meanwhile, Meng Qiuqiu looked exactly like what he was—
A rich young master.
He didn't even bother carrying a traditional weapon.
Because every piece of equipment on his body was an ember remain.
Defensive ember remains.
Support ember remains.
Protective ember remains.
He was practically covered in treasures from head to toe.
Even though Zhao Mu had never seen most of them in action, he could already imagine how absurdly powerful they must be.
Zhao Mu glanced toward Shao Han and Mo Guanguan nearby.
To his surprise, neither of them carried conventional weapons either.
That meant there was only one explanation.
They were also relying on ember remains.
Rich people really deserved to be hated.
Zhao Mu sighed inwardly once again.
Not long afterward, the instructors finally arrived.
Under their leadership, the trainees marched toward the area behind the back mountain.
Qingfeng Camp occupied an enormous region deep within the wilderness.
Mountains surrounded the entire camp.
Within those mountains was a special area specifically used for breeding Strange Beasts.
Low-rank Strange Beasts were raised there for training purposes, combat exercises, and various experiments.
Before entering the actual combat zone, however, Instructor Xie Yingxue led everyone into a massive armory chamber.
The moment the heavy doors opened—
Everyone's eyes widened.
Weapons.
Countless weapons filled the room.
Swords, spears, sabers, axes, hammers, bows, and shields were neatly arranged in rows.
And unlike the dull training equipment from before, every single weapon here possessed sharp killing edges.
These were real combat weapons.
All forged from B-grade alloy.
Compared to ordinary metal weapons, B-grade alloy weapons possessed vastly greater durability and destructive power.
If an ordinary kitchen knife collided with one of these weapons, the kitchen knife would shatter instantly.
To combat powerful Strange Beasts, the Empire had invested enormous resources into military weapon development.
In the outside black market, a single B-grade alloy weapon could easily sell for over one hundred thousand Xuanfeng coins.
Many trainees stared at the armory with burning eyes.
Instructor Xie Yingxue calmly introduced the equipment.
"On your left," she said, "are the combat weapons prepared for this trial."
"You may freely choose whichever weapon best suits your fighting style."
Then she pointed toward the opposite side of the chamber.
"And on your right are the combat uniforms specially designed for Qingfeng Camp soldiers."
Several black packages were neatly stacked there.
"These are Rank-One combat uniforms," Xie Yingxue explained.
"As for higher-ranked equipment…"
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"You'll only qualify for those after advancing to higher-level military camps."
The trainees immediately became excited.
This was no longer simple training.
This was the beginning of true combat.
And for the first time since entering Qingfeng Camp, they finally felt like real soldiers preparing to step onto a battlefield.
Advance Chapters avilable on patreon (Obito_uchiha)