59: Chapter 59 Military Court Roll Call

No one in the stone chamber dared to interrupt.

Lu Jin first withdrew his hand from the Fire Stele before speaking.

"No one told me."

"I dissected an Old Military Court Beacon from the stomach of that Great Night Hyena last night. This morning, it matched with the fragment of the Old Fire Stele I had in my hand, so I followed the trail here."

Instructor Han Tiecheng stared at him for two breaths.

"Where did the fragment come from?"

Lu Jin didn't beat around the bush.

"It was salvaged from that contamination sample after the Military Training quota battle."

When this was said, the coldness in Instructor Han Tiecheng's eyes deepened.

However, he didn't continue to press the issue here, simply raising his hand to beckon.

The Black-Armored Recorder behind him immediately stepped forward.

Instructor Han Tiecheng looked at the still-glowing coordinate Fire Stele, his tone very grave.

"Seal the stele."

"From now on, the public record here will only state 'Old Military Court coordinate Fire Stele unearthed'."

"As for the lines of text on the back of the stele, whoever heard them, keep it buried in your gut. Whoever dares to leak it, I will personally record it in their black file. Did you hear me?"

The stone chamber became even quieter.

The deputy team leader from Beiyue Academy's expression changed twice, but in the end, he lowered his head.

Only then did Instructor Han Tiecheng turn and glance at him.

"Your team, record a merit for assisting in the defense."

"But I am also noting the incident where you tried to snatch the stele."

"When you see a high-value point during military training, stabilize the situation first before debating who touched it first. If you can't even distinguish this, don't bother competing for anything later; go back and learn how not to ruin things."

The Beiyue Academy deputy's lips tightened, but in the end, he replied.

"Understood."

Instructor Han Tiecheng ignored him further and directly pointed at Lu Jin and Ning Yanqiu.

"You two, come with me."

"Everyone else, seal the site, collect the stele, and clean up the corpses."

By the time the sky had completely brightened, the lights in the forward command tent were still on.

There were few people in the tent.

Instructor Han Tiecheng sat at the head, with the Black-Armored Recorder standing beside him.

On the other side was Instructor Gu Pingchuan, who had just been summoned.

Upon entering the tent, Instructor Gu Pingchuan's first glance was at Lu Jin, then Ning Yanqiu; confirming that both were still standing, his expression relaxed slightly.

But when he saw the Old Military Court Beacon and the rubbings of the stele inscription on the table, his brows furrowed again.

Instructor Han Tiecheng didn't beat around the bush and immediately got to the point.

"During the night defense, the third rear line of Zhuixing Academy earned an A-grade."

"After dawn, Lu Jin followed the old beacon and led a team to dig up a coordinate Fire Stele buried under the Dead Gully mouth."

"The Fire Stele signaled, attracting a wave of native beast tides, which also dragged that Beiyue Academy group into the fray. In the end, the stele was secured, and the text was fully read."

"That's the gist of the whole thing."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan looked at the rubbing, pondered for a moment, and then asked.

"Did you see the latter half of the back of the stele?"

Instructor Han Tiecheng glanced at him.

"Don't ask about that right now."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan was rebuffed but didn't continue, merely pulling back his words slightly.

"Then let me rephrase."

"How do you plan to arrange things now that you've called them into the forward command tent?"

Instructor Han Tiecheng pushed the rubbing to the center of the table, his finger tapping the two lines of names and old designations on it.

"I intend to list Lu Jin and Ning Yanqiu on the Military Court Special Observation List."

The tent went silent for half a breath.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan frowned first.

Lu Jin and Ning Yanqiu were also looking at Instructor Han Tiecheng, neither interrupting.

Instructor Han Tiecheng stated his meaning directly.

"The Special Observation List, to put it plainly, is the Military Court singling people out for monitoring."

"Merits are recorded separately, permissions are opened separately, and tasks are assigned separately."

"There are pros and cons. Resources are half a tier higher than others, but the work is also half a tier tougher. If you can carry it, the Military Court will push you toward the path of a real battlefield. If you can't, you'll fall faster than anyone else."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan didn't hold back this time and directly raised an objection.

"Lu Jin just entered the Broken Realm on the first day, and he is still at the peak of the late stage of Apprentice God Realm Controller."

"Ning Yanqiu is also only in the front rank of the late Apprentice stage, not yet reaching Apprentice Perfection."

"The two of them are the most important main pillars of this year's Zhuixing Academy cohort. It's too hasty to put them on such a list now."

Instructor Han Tiecheng listened, his tone unchanged.

"Your academy looks at how valuable they are."

"I look at whether they can fight."

"Last night, with the rear camp line in such chaos, I know who held the wall, who kept the fire line, and who among a pile of freshmen first saw the entire camp line as a single unit."

As he spoke, his gaze fell first on Ning Yanqiu.

"You, Mirror Frost Crow Court, front rank of the late Apprentice God Realm Controller stage."

"Last night, your initial positioning report was accurate; this morning, you didn't retreat when examining the stele, and even when the beast tide slammed into your face, your Mirror didn't waver."

"For someone like this, continuing to train in the ordinary clearing squad is too slow."

Subsequently, he looked at Lu Jin.

"You, Furnace Cave Fortress, peak of the late Apprentice God Realm Controller stage, only that one layer of paper away from Apprentice Perfection."

"You can hold a camp, dig up a stele following an old beacon in the Broken Realm, and can mold several groups of people into a single line in the jaws of a beast tide."

"Someone like you is already ready to see a real battlefield."

When these words fell, even Instructor Gu Pingchuan fell silent for two breaths.

For the first time, Instructor Han Tiecheng raised Lu Jin's level toward the "real battlefield."

For a freshman who had just entered military training, this statement carried enough weight.

Instructor Gu Pingchuan slowly exhaled, but still said what needed to be said.

"Instructor Han Tiecheng, it's not that I can't bear to let them go."

"But you also know that there is a line separating students from real soldiers. If you push them forward now, once they step over that line, no one will ever treat them as ordinary students again."

Instructor Han Tiecheng nodded.

"That's true."

"That's why I called them in today—to lay out the path and let them choose for themselves."

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

"I can put you on the list."

"Whether you join or not is up to you."

"If you join, future training, tasks, and merit evaluations will all be based on the Military Court's strict standards. Even if your academy wants to protect you, they can only do so halfway."

"If you don't join, you follow the original military training track. It's safer and slower, and you can still go back to climb the rankings, join the academy team, and secure resources later."

Now, everyone in the tent turned their gaze to Lu Jin.

Because everyone knew that for him, this choice wasn't just about a training route.

It also involved the thread regarding his father.

Lu Jin glanced at the rubbing on the table, his gaze resting on the three characters "Observer Lu Chenyuan" for two breaths, before looking up.

"I have a question."

Instructor Han Tiecheng nodded.

"Go ahead."

Lu Jin's voice was steady.

"If I join this list, can I take on tasks like today's—involving old steles, old archives, and old rift zones?"

Instructor Han Tiecheng looked at him and replied directly.

"You'll be able to touch even more."

"But the prerequisite is that you must first prove you can handle it. The Military Court won't just throw your life away because you want to investigate someone."

After hearing this, Lu Jin didn't ask anything else.

He gently pressed down on the rubbing, his voice not loud, but resolute.

"Then I'm in."

"If I really want to continue investigating my father's trail, I cannot avoid this path."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan looked at him, his eyes complex for a moment, but in the end, he only asked one question.

"Have you thought it through?"

Lu Jin nodded.

"I've thought it through."

"I will continue down the academy's path, but I won't let go of this Military Court line either."

Instructor Han Tiecheng didn't react, his gaze turning to Ning Yanqiu.

"What about you?"

Ning Yanqiu stood straight and replied crisply.

"I'm in."

"I was there for the camp last night and the stele this morning. Now, if you ask me to retreat to the ordinary clearing squad—having seen what's in front, yet not being allowed to touch what's behind—I can't get past that myself."

She paused, then clarified her words further.

"Also, Lu Jin and I have coordinated well in these two instances."

"If future tough missions reach the point where positioning, suppression, and stele examination are needed, splitting us up will only make accidents more likely."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan listened and didn't try to dissuade them further.

Because this point was spot on.

From the joint training platform to the camp defense last night and the stele defense this morning, the rhythm between these two had already locked in tightly.

Instructor Han Tiecheng finally nodded.

"Very well."

"Since you've accepted this yourselves, don't complain later about the Military Court's workload."

He raised his hand, signaling the recorder to open the black book.

As the pages opened, a dark silver fire pattern was pressed inside.

The recorder lifted the pen, his voice low and steady.

"Zhuixing Divine Academy, Lu Jin."

"Peak of the late Apprentice God Realm Controller stage, God Realm Furnace Cave Fortress."

"First night of military training camp defense A-grade, next morning stele opening and point defense, listed in the Military Court Special Observation List."

"Zhuixing Divine Academy, Ning Yanqiu."

"Front rank of the late Apprentice God Realm Controller stage, Mirror Frost Crow Court route."

"First night of military training camp defense assistant control, next morning stele examination and text reading, listed in the Military Court Special Observation List."

When the last stroke in the black book fell, Lu Jin could clearly feel that the weight of his Broken Realm military training was completely different from when he first entered.

From this moment on, the Military Court looked at him as someone being sent to the front lines.

Instructor Han Tiecheng closed the black book, then picked up two thin black-sealed briefings from the edge of the table and tossed them directly in front of Lu Jin and Ning Yanqiu.

"Don't think that being on the list is receiving an award."

"The real work only starts now."

"Prepare before noon, and follow me to the forward command outer tent in the afternoon to receive your mission."

Instructor Gu Pingchuan first lowered his head to look at the cover of the briefing, his brows immediately furrowing tightly.

Lu Jin also reached out and flipped the briefing over.

In the center of the cover was a line of black text.

Special Mission Briefing.

Target Location: No. 7 Rift Zone on the outskirts of the Royal Court Ruins.