56: Chapter 56 Reporting to the Shattered Realm

When the military training order was issued, Lu Jin only had one hour left to tidy up his God Realm.

In the Black Well residential area, everyone was running about.

Qiao Ye went back to collect the Shield Bear armor plates, Wen Zhao was checking the fire bee hives, and Ning Yanqiu had already gone to the military training reporting office to collect the border map and marching tags.

Just because Zhuixing Academy received priority qualification this time didn't mean they could take their time wandering over.

The rules of the Military Court had always been the same.

When your name is called, get on the vehicle immediately.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan slapped a black iron military tag onto the table, his voice sharp and stern.

"Assemble at the North Field Military Court docking platform in half an hour."

"Only bring what you will need during wartime."

"Don't bother bringing any of those flashy showpieces from the academy tournament."

After he finished speaking, his gaze fell directly on Lu Jin.

"You, report your God Realm status first."

Lu Jin nodded, his divine sense sinking into his Sea of Consciousness.

Gray flames lit up in circles along the edge of his God Realm.

The God Realm light screen in front of him, visible only to himself, also began to float up line by line.

[Current Rank: Apprentice God Realm Controller, Latter Stage Peak]

[Distance to Apprentice Perfection: One step]

[Current God Realm: Furnace Cave Fortress]

[Core Buildings: War Nest Gate, Gray-Vein Smelting Well, Priest Well, Brood Nursery Court]

[Hero Unit 1: Fire-Stealing Prophet · Grey Pupil]

[Hero Unit 2: Wu Fu]

[Current Combat Units: Hard-Shelled Gatekeeper Rat, Burrowing Spear Rat, Fire Oil Thrower, Red-Eyed Rat Swarm]

[Current Logistics Units: Nest-Paste Worker Rat, Spore Nest Breeder]

When this list appeared, even Instructor Gu Pingchuan paused for a moment.

Having watched Lu Jin win all the way here, everyone knew he had grown stronger.

But seeing it all laid out like this still had a different impact.

Apprentice God Realm Controller, Latter Stage Peak.

Compared to when he first entered Zhuixing Academy, Lu Jin was like a completely different person.

The current Lu Jin had pushed his God Realm from a cave settlement to a Furnace Cave Fortress, and he had truly cultivated two main lines of civilization under his feet.

Grey Pupil manages the Priest Well and the Red-Eyed Rat battle ranks.

Wu Fu manages the Brood Nursery Court and wartime reinforcements.

Among the freshmen this year, being able to cultivate even one hero unit was rare.

Lu Jin already had two firmly established in his hands.

If either were missing, the entire God Realm would collapse in a corner.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan's gaze swept over those lines, finally stopping after "Wu Fu," his eyes darkening slightly.

"She hasn't been assigned an official military rank yet."

"But her current position in your God Realm has already surpassed most official military units."

Lu Jin replied steadily.

"I know."

"Grey Pupil handles the battle ranks and Priest line; Wu Fu handles the Brood Nursery and reinforcement line."

"If we really enter a prolonged battle, every round of troops she replenishes for me is more useful than me squeezing out an extra round of divine arts."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan nodded, not asking any deeper questions.

He looked at the light screen and added another sentence.

"You are just one step away from Apprentice Perfection."

"The academy tournament can push someone to the latter stage peak. To squeeze out that final step, you often need to see the real battlefield."

Lu Jin grunted in acknowledgment.

"I understand."

Having fought to this point, everyone could see it clearly.

Lu Jin's strength no longer rested solely on himself.

The set of city, troops, priesthood, and breeding under his feet had all been connected.

Grey Pupil spoke from within the Sea of Consciousness, his voice as calm as if he were reading a pre-battle checklist.

"The Priest Well can fully suppress for three rounds."

"The Red-Eyed Rats can be stabilized at 236; any more than that and they will become restless."

"There are six Gray-Flame Acolytes; it is enough for the short term. But if we encounter a prolonged battle, we are still missing a layer of steady-fire framework."

Wu Fu also followed up by reporting her own tally.

"Half the pool can be opened."

"Twelve Nest-Paste Worker Rats, two Spore Nest Breeders, sixteen Hard-Shelled Gatekeeper Rats, and eighteen Burrowing Spear Rats."

"The gray material in the left tank has been washed; it's enough for me to urge another round."

"Also, four Bone-Armor Furnace Guards can be produced."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan and Lu Jin looked up almost simultaneously.

Bone-Armor Furnace Guard.

This was something that had only shown a hint of potential in the first battle of the fortress.

It would only be their turn after the Hard-Shelled Gatekeeper Rats.

To put it simply, it was to compress the hard shell, load-bearing bones, and fire-trough armor plates of the Gatekeeper Rats together, cultivating them into backbone troops capable of standing on the front line, taking heavy hits, and pushing forward with fire.

Lu Jin's eyes narrowed.

"Can you produce them?"

Wu Fu nodded gently.

"Four."

"Any more and it won't be stable."

"Four is enough for military training. If we really fight on the front lines, they can take more punishment than ordinary Gatekeeper Rats."

At this moment, growth had landed on solid ground.

What Lu Jin had gained this time was a new framework capable of holding the front line.

From today on, the hardest layer of the front row in his Furnace Cave Fortress was replaced by Bone-Armor Furnace Guards.

Lu Jin made the decision on the spot.

"Open."

The half-pool of the Brood Nursery vibrated gently in the Sea of Consciousness.

Wu Fu's three strands of nest silk sank into the pool simultaneously, and the layer of washed gray material from the left tank was sent down bit by bit. A white light at the bottom of the pool swelled first, then slowly surged outward.

A few breaths later, four shadows, taller and thicker than the Gatekeeper Rats, pushed out of the pool.

Their shoulders and backs were broader, their chests wrapped in a layer of grayish-black bone plates, and the outer sides of their forearms were pressed with fine fire-trough patterns. When they landed, their footsteps were heavy, like four short walls that could press forward on their own.

[New Unit: Bone-Armor Furnace Guard]

[Quantity: 4]

[Role: Frontal Load-Bearing, Fire-Line Pushing, Doorway Counter-Pushing]

Instructor Gu Pingchuan watched the four newly produced Bone-Armor Furnace Guards, a hint of satisfaction finally appearing in his eyes.

"This looks more like a proper expedition."

But Lu Jin did not stop.

He reached back and pulled that old fire stele fragment from his sleeve.

Under the light of the gray fire, the broken numbers were still clear.

This thing could not be made public now, nor could it be carried around everywhere.

But since it had already filled in the middle section of the coordinates, he couldn't just leave it alone.

Lu Jin looked at Grey Pupil.

"This fragment cannot go into the public warehouse."

"You keep an eye on it separately."

Grey Pupil nodded.

"I'll put it in the lower layer of the Priest Well."

"With the fire suppressing it, no one will be able to touch it."

Wu Fu suddenly raised her eyes and added softly.

"Are we not taking that mass of black paste?"

Lu Jin shook his head.

"No."

"I'll leave half of the gray material for you, and turn the black paste over to the temple. Bringing that thing to the Shattered Realm now will only bring trouble upon ourselves."

This was his current rhythm.

Take what can be used.

Leave what is unstable for now.

Keep the clues, and first survive to walk into the next stage.

The assembly bell outside rang at this moment.

Dong.

Dong.

Dong.

The entire Zhuixing residential area went completely silent.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan only said two words.

"Board."

The North Field Military Court docking platform seemed like another world compared to the lively places in the competition zone.

There were no interview stages.

No popularity rankings.

No crowds of Merchant Alliance signing officials staring at people.

Here, there were only black iron steps, gray transport vehicles, rows of straight-standing Military Court reception soldiers, and an air of cold solemnity that made one want to straighten their back on their own.

Qiao Ye walked to the edge of the platform, looked around, and his voice subconsciously lowered.

"This place... really isn't lively at all."

Wen Zhao hugged the bee hive, the usual sharp energy on his face also receding significantly.

"Even people talking sound like they're whispering."

Ning Yanqiu had already handed over the military tags.

She watched the reception soldier check the numbers, her voice steady.

"In a place like the Military Court, liveliness is useless."

Soon, all four of their military tags were verified.

The reception soldier didn't waste words, just pointed to the black-gray long transport vehicle behind.

"Group B7, board vehicle number three."

"After boarding, no leaving your seats, no private fighting, and no releasing divine sense outside the Sea of Consciousness."

"Violating the order will result in a black record."

Qiao Ye's mouth twitched, not daring to make any more wisecracks.

By the time Lu Jin and his group boarded, there were already many people sitting inside.

Not just Zhuixing.

Cangting, Beiyue Academy, Xuanhe Academy, and other academy teams that had obtained qualifications from other competition zones were also there.

At a glance, those who were able to board were basically not ordinary people.

Some had birds with full chain armor perched on their shoulders.

Some had heavy beasts like sheet metal lying by their feet.

There was also a youth in a deep green short robe sitting motionless, but behind him floated three water wheels as thin as blades; one look and you knew he wasn't someone to be trifled with.

At this moment, the oppression brought by power levels was very obvious.

This Zhuixing group was already considered front-row in B7.

But in the entire military training vehicle, Apprentice God Realm Controller, Latter Stage Peak was only just standing on the threshold, and there were several who were close to Apprentice Perfection.

Qiao Ye swept his gaze around and spoke in a hushed voice.

"That chain-armored bird on the front left, I've seen it on the division tournament report; it's the vice-captain of Beiyue Academy, Latter Stage Peak."

"The one in the back with the water wheels is even tougher; looking at his aura, he's almost full, at least on the edge of Apprentice Perfection."

Ning Yanqiu gave a soft grunt of acknowledgment.

"Many people here are just one real pressure away from pushing their rank another half-step forward."

Ning Yanqiu reminded them in a low voice as soon as she sat down.

"Don't judge people based on the competition zone popularity rankings."

"Most of the people who can sit here are those their respective academies are preparing to send to the Military Court."

She paused and made the point clearer.

"Military training records are border service records."

"If you survive and complete the mission, your name will be recorded in the border service file. After you return to the academy, your training path and academy team position will change accordingly."

Lu Jin nodded.

He hadn't intended to overestimate himself at this time anyway.

Boarding the vehicle proved one thing.

He had already obtained the ticket to move forward.

But a ticket was just a ticket.

Once you actually enter the door, you still have to fight all over again.

The transport vehicle didn't take long to start moving.

The main city of the competition zone outside the window receded bit by bit, soon leaving only a few faint lights. Further back, there were no more buildings outside, only gray transport lanes specially cleared by the Military Court.

No one in the vehicle was chatting.

At most, there were only a few hushed exchanges.

This silence continued until the vehicle stopped.

When the vehicle door opened, the wind that hit their faces had a different smell.

Cold.

Dry.

And a faint, old smell of blood and rust.

When Lu Jin got off the vehicle, the first thing he saw was a rift.

The rift looked as if the entire land had been forcibly split open, so wide that the end could not be seen. On both sides of the rift were blackened stone layers and broken slopes, with rows of simple iron platforms, sentry towers, and bonfires set up on the slopes. Further away, one could see sections of old walls buried in the ground and half-collapsed Military Court stone tablets.

This was the Shattered Realm.

The border Shattered Realm.

A small-scale planar battlefield that had truly been fought over, burned, and where dead people had been buried.

The biggest difference from the academy tournament maps was that there was no "design sense" here.

It was rotten in a very real way.

The soil in the distance was turned black.

The stone layers nearby had broken edges.

Even when the wind blew through the old flagpoles half-buried in the ground, it made a dull sound.

Qiao Ye frowned as soon as he got off the vehicle.

"This place is completely different from the tournament maps."

Wen Zhao also stopped joking.

"It's too empty."

"So empty that it feels like something could crawl out from somewhere at any moment."

Instructor Han Tiecheng walked down from the high platform at this moment.

He wasn't wearing the robes of an instructor, but a worn-in dark gray military uniform, with his jacket half-open, revealing old scratches on the black armor beneath. When he walked over, the surrounding Military Court reception soldiers all automatically stood at attention, and no one dared to even breathe loudly.

He stopped in front of all the newly qualified students and swept a glance over them.

This glance weighed down on them, and even those few people in the vehicle who were on the edge of Apprentice Perfection subconsciously tensed their shoulders.

The first sentence Instructor Han Tiecheng spoke severed the connection between the academy tournament and this place.

"From now on, get rid of that league-tournament mindset in your heads."

"No one is going to call a timeout for you here."

As these eight words fell, the entire docking platform seemed to grow even colder.

No one spoke.

Because everyone understood.

If the academy tournament went bad, there was arbitration white light, instructors, and medical staff.

The Shattered Realm military training did not.

If you are truly one step too slow, people will truly die.

Instructor Han Tiecheng continued, his tone still as hard as before.

"You lot, being able to ride the vehicle in, shows you are all somewhat decent in your academies."

"But once you're here, being 'decent' is useless."

"I only look at three things."

"Whether you can follow orders."

"Whether you can withstand pressure."

"If people really die, whether you can still continue to move forward and do your job."

"And one more thing, you all better remember this clearly."

"The records of this military training will be directly filed into each academy's official training dossier."

"If you withstand it, your future path will change."

"If you can't, your name will stop here."

When he said this, his gaze fell on Lu Jin for the first time.

It only paused for half a breath.

But it was enough to make many people nearby look over as well.

Clearly, Instructor Han Tiecheng had already seen the competition zone qualification battles and that Red-Eyed Rat Tide.

Lu Jin did not shift his gaze, nor did he lower his head.

After Instructor Han Tiecheng finished this look, he just said indifferently.

"Zhuixing group, stand in the third position of the back row."

"Stay with the camp tonight."

"Tomorrow we will assign tasks."

Once the order was given, no one dared to be slow.

The four people from Zhuixing immediately walked toward the third camp position in the back row.

The camp position was very simple.

Short walls on four sides, a bonfire in the inner circle, an iron stake with old Military Court patterns standing in the middle, and a few rough military crates and a pile of unorganized old chains, rotten wooden boards, and stone nails stacked on the side.

One look at this place and you knew it was a real, no-nonsense camp position.

People had to live here, and they had to stand guard here at night.

As soon as Lu Jin stood still, his divine sense probed downward first.

The ground layer wasn't deep.

Passable.

The waste pit on the right could be used as a fire pit.

There was an old drainage ditch behind the short wall on the left, enough for the rat swarm to hide in for a layer.

Twenty steps further out, there were three early-warning bonfires.

As soon as the fire went out, things would be right in front of their faces.

Ning Yanqiu looked around following his gaze and asked in a low voice.

"Are you already looking at how to stand guard tonight?"

Lu Jin replied calmly.

"This place won't give us a night where we only live and don't fight."

Ning Yanqiu nodded gently after hearing this.

"I think so too."

Qiao Ye put the military crate on the ground and couldn't help but curse in a low voice.

"We just got here and they want us to stand guard; the Military Court really doesn't give us any breathing room."

Wen Zhao had already opened the bee hive halfway and chimed in.

"It's useless to curse now."

"First, pick out the things we can use tonight."

Lu Jin didn't speak again, just sank his divine sense into his Sea of Consciousness.

The Furnace Cave Fortress was very stable in the depths of his Sea of Consciousness.

Grey Pupil was guarding the Priest Well.

Wu Fu was standing by the half-pool.

The four Bone-Armor Furnace Guards had just joined the ranks and were standing in the first row behind the gate.

This was the solid foundation he had in his hands now.

Apprentice God Realm Controller, Latter Stage Peak.

Only a layer of paper away from Apprentice Perfection.

Furnace Cave Fortress.

Fire-Stealing Prophet Grey Pupil.

Hero Unit Wu Fu and the Brood Nursery Court behind her.

The Bone-Armor Furnace Guards had just formed ranks.

These things were enough to fight his way to the front row of the competition zone when placed in the academy.

But upon arriving at the Shattered Realm, Lu Jin became even clearer about one thing.

This was just the border entrance.

If he wanted to continue moving forward and keep following his father's path, every subsequent step had to be taken in this kind of real place.

If he could really hold this camp line tonight, he would be one step closer to Apprentice Perfection.

The sunset color sank bit by bit.

The three early-warning bonfires outside the camp were also lit one by one by the Military Court personnel.

Once the fire was lit, the blackened slopes around them looked a little more like a place where living people could stand.

But just as the last bit of daylight was extinguished, those three bonfires in the outermost circle suddenly lowered by a head all at once.

The next breath.

They were all extinguished.