The quarterly assessment had come to an end. Six hundred students had participated in the assessment but more than half had been eliminated, leaving only 237 students.

In the end, the twelve campgrounds with the highest number of students eliminated were removed and had to be merged with the other eight campgrounds.

Among the eight campgrounds, only the 39th Campground had just twenty-seven students while the other seven campgrounds maintained thirty students.

This also meant that some familiar faces had left Lin Xun’s side, but they were replaced by some unfamiliar faces.

For example, Xin Wenbin had already been eliminated in the last monthly assessment, and Wen Mingxu was eliminated in the quarterly assessment.

In short, Lin Xun, Shi Yu, Ning Meng, Qi Can, Li Qiu, and Mu Lengxin were the only students remaining from the original batch of students in the 39th Campground.

The others that made up the current 39th Campground, such as Gong Ming, Lei Xinyue, Di Jun, and Ye Xiaoqi, originally came from the 40th Campground.

In addition to them, new students had also joined the 39th Campground after the quarterly assessment.

Naturally, those who could pass the quarterly assessment wouldn’t be weak. However, among the new students, one person had the focus of the entire 39th Campground—Li Duxing!

He had already built an impressive reputation for himself during the Blood Kill Camp training sessions and was regarded as on the same level as Bai Lingxi, Zhao Yin, and Zhangsun Hen!

Just like his name, Li Duxing was a loner and was extremely low-profile. He had no friends and was withdrawn and reclusive. But he was undoubtedly very powerful.

Many people were curious about Li Duxing’s background and some had said that he came from the Cloud Tree Li Clan, one of the seven top aristocratic families in Zijing City of the empire.

Others claimed that he was from the Snow Mountain Li Clan in Binglan City, which was known as the snow capital, in the northern part of the empire.

Some even said that Li Duxing’s background was more mysterious and that he was from an ancient country thousands of miles away from the Ziyao Empire.

But regardless of the rumors, Li Duxing’s strength was unquestionable.

A youngster like him, who was always cloaked in a mysterious aura and kept a low profile, naturally increased the vigilance of many students in the 39th Campground when he suddenly joined.

Shi Yu, Ning Meng, and Qi Can, as well as Gong Ming, Lei Xinyue, and Di Jun all felt a hint of pressure when Li Duxing joined their campground.

The addition of another top student meant that their ranking in the 39th Campground would be threatened.

However, Li Duxing’s arrival had helped Lin Xun because it had diverted the attention away from him. He was able to relax for a rare moment after suffering accusations and facing controversy as a result of achieving first place in the quarterly assessment.

……

On the night of the quarterly assessment, Lin Xun sat comfortably as he leaned back on a chair in Old Mo’s warehouse. No one would disturb him in the warehouse. Most importantly, he wouldn’t hear accusations and the disbelieving voices from the outside world.

Lin Xun closed his eyes as he tried to comprehend the profound essence of the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture in his mind.

This aeth power cultivation art could be described in two words: wondrous and overbearing.

It was wondrous in that it was different from other cultivation arts. It wasn’t a cultivation art that tackled cultivation from the inside out, but it mysteriously balanced both the inside and outside.

The most wondrous thing about it was that, according to it, the cultivator’s body could act as a furnace. Their inside could refine their source and temper their foundation, and their outside could absorb the spirits in all directions.

In simple terms, the most unique aspect of this cultivation art was that it incorporated physical cultivation and aeth power cultivation at the same time!

It tempered the body from the outside to the inside.

It tempered qi from the inside to the outside.

Tempering physique and qi were two different ways of cultivation; however, they could complement each other, and many cultivators in the world practiced arts in both tempering physique and tempering qi.

The fact that the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture was a balance between the two was already unbelievable and wondrous.

The reason why it was overbearing was that it had demanding requirements for the cultivators. Cultivators not only were required to have an extremely strong physique but also needed to possess a foundation much stronger than that of ordinary people.

Only then would a cultivator be able to withstand the power acquired from practicing the cultivation art. Otherwise, the cultivator could be in danger of rupturing and dying.

This requirement alone could deter many cultivators from practicing it, but this wasn’t a problem for Lin Xun. He even felt the cultivation art was tailor-made for him.

He could compete with eighth layer True Martial experts in terms of physical strength. Furthermore, his aeth power cultivation base was far superior to those of the ninth layer True Martial Stage cultivators.

“No wonder the rune battle realm—Thousand Heavy Wave Sea has such a huge tempering effect on the body. It turns out that it was in preparation for the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture. If I wasn’t able to pass it, it means that my physique and strength aren’t suitable to practice this cultivation art…”

Realization filled Lin Xun’s eyes. He realized that the Thousand Heavy Wave Sea was arranged in preparation for the cultivation of the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture.

If he couldn’t pass it then he wouldn’t be qualified to practice this cultivation art!

Lin Xun had made up his mind to practice the Mystery Grotto Devour Wilderness Scripture.

instead of the Yuan Holding Art from now on.

The Yuan Holding Art put a great emphasis on tranquility and calmness and had a mellow style. Previously, Lin Xun could only practice this gentle art because he was weak and frail, but he was completely different now. The result wouldn’t be as great if he were to continue to practice the Yuan Holding Art.

“Hey, guys, I’m back!”

Suddenly, a peal of charming and soft laughter resounded, and Xiaoman’s graceful and slender figure energetically rushed into the warehouse.

She was in high spirits and her beautiful and sexy face was glowing. An unconcealable brilliant smile bloomed on her full red lips, making her look indescribably beautiful.

“Come, little handsome guy, kiss me!”

Xiaoman rushed over to Lin Xun and cupped his face in her soft and smooth hands. Before Lin Xun could react, she had already pressed her red lips firmly on his face.

Lin Xun froze. Is this considered a forced kiss?

Before he could react, Xiaoman had already let go of his hands and her watery, bright eyes stared intently at Lin Xun. She giggled, “You did a beautiful job this time. I, your Big Sister, am very happy. This is your reward!”

“Big Sister, I want a reward too!” Old Mo had rushed over at some unknown time and had opened his arms wide as he stared lustfully at Xiaoman.

“Get lost. I want to vomit when I see your old face.” Xiaoman snapped and lashed out with a kick. Old Mo screamed in agony as he was sent flying.

“So unfair!” Old Mo grumbled.

Only then did Lin Xun awake from his daze and exclaimed. “Big Sister, you must have profited a lot from the bet since you’re so happy.”

Xiaoman snapped her fingers. “So smart! ! Not only did I gain face, but I also won a total of 49,000 points!”

Before Lin Xun could speak, Old Mo said strangely, “That much? Then does that mean you will be able to leave the Blood Kill Camp soon?”

Xiaoman nodded. Then, her face suddenly grew overcast as though she remembered something. “However, I won’t be leaving just yet.”

Her spirits fell and she hurried away without saying anything.

“Old Mo, what do the points have to do with leaving?” Lin Xun couldn’t help asking.

Old Mo pondered for a moment and said vaguely, “You just need to know that instructors can regain their freedom when they earn enough points and they won’t have to assume the responsibilities and obligations from the empire any more.”

Lin Xun nodded, but he knew that the matter wasn’t as simple as Old Mo had told him.

However, what surprised Lin Xun was that Xiaoke had unexpectedly shown up at the warehouse not long after Xiaoman left.

It’s already late at night, what is Xiaoke doing here?

In the past, Xiaoke would never go there unless it was absolutely necessary to avoid bumping into Xiaoman.

“Tomorrow, at noon, the Blood Kill Camp will reward the top ten students in the quarterly assessment. Instructor Xu Sanqi will take you guys somewhere.”

Xiaoke directly stated her purpose in coming but a strange expression came to her eyes when she looked at Lin Xun.

Lin Xun nodded while wondering what sort of reward he would get for ranking first.

“Old Mo, come with me. Chief Xu is looking for you.” Xiaoke said to Old Mo.

“What is it about?” Old Mo looked bewildered and couldn’t understand the situation.

“Just come with me.”

Xiaoke didn’t explain, and before she left, she went to stand in front of Lin Xun and stared at him with her clear and indifferent eyes. “Don’t you feel disgusting?”

Lin Xun was startled. "Instructor, what did I do?”

Xiaoke turned around and didn’t explain.

Only Old Mo seemed to notice something and he strode over to Lin Xun with a creepy face. He sneered, “Indeed very disgusting!”

He swaggered off and left Lin Xun standing there with a blank and perplexed look. Disgusting? What does she mean?

He inadvertently glanced at the smooth, shiny copper pillar beside him. Understanding dawned on his face and he smiled bitterly when he saw his reflection on the surface of the copper pillar.

It turned out that Xiaoman’s kiss had left a striking red lip mark on his face.

“Is this considered an undeserved catastrophe?”

Lin Xun wiped away the lip mark on his face and helplessly sat down on a chair. Why would Xu Sanqi summon Old Mo over in the middle of the night?

Could it be related to the Flying Star Crossbow?

Lin Xun fell into deep thought. From the moment he had decided to help Old Mo to transform the aeth engine of the Violet Hero Battleship, he already knew that his knowledge in the art of runes would draw the attention of others.

This was exactly what he wanted because he wanted to prove himself. Furthermore, he could obtain more benefits from the Kill Blood Camp.

In truth, Lin Xun had indeed gained a lot of benefits these days. He was able to enjoy an endless supply of Lengning pills every day and he also received guidance from Xiaoman. Xiaoke had also personally trained him for a period.

In the entire Blood Kill Camp, only Lin Xun had received such special treatments.

However, Lin Xun was worried that the attention he had received would bring him unnecessary trouble in the long run.

For example, he was unsure why Xu Sanqi summoned Old Mo and whether or not it would affect him.