91: Chapter 91 Remember to come to the awards ceremony

Aside from a small portion of his Qi and blood being consumed, Chen Mo was otherwise unaffected.

The defensive power of this Black Tortoise Armor was quite ferocious; he was now tempted to find a tank and have it fire a shot at him just to test it out.

"Yo, are you lads playing with firecrackers here?"

Old Zhang, whom they hadn't seen in a long time, appeared at the training room entrance leaning on his cane, waving his hand to disperse the smell of gunpowder at his nose as he spoke.

"Old Zhang, why are you wearing gloves in the middle of summer?"

Chen Mo removed the Black Tortoise Armor from his body and walked over to support this war hero.

"You don't understand, do you?"

"This is called style. I'm heading back after visiting my son."

"You lads are definitely going to be first this time; National Martial Arts University is beckoning to you."

Old Zhang wanted to pat Chen Mo on the shoulder, but being hunched over, he tried a couple of times before opting to pat Chen Mo on the butt instead.

"The future of Great Xia belongs to you all. I only came over this time to bid you farewell."

"If you have time, you can come to the sanatorium to keep me company; that place is incredibly boring."

Old Zhang chuckled, took one last look at Chen Mo, and then prepared to turn and leave.

"Wait a moment!"

Chen Mo grabbed Old Zhang by the shoulder, staring intently into his eyes.

"What's wrong?"

Old Zhang tugged at his gloves awkwardly and asked with some confusion.

"It's nothing. Why are you in such a rush to leave, old man?"

"The award ceremony is the day after tomorrow; why don't you stay and watch it?"

"Besides, I've been hospitalized in the medical department for the past few days, and my mouth has gone bland from the lack of flavor. Join me for a meal."

Chen Mo chuckled and grabbed Old Zhang's hand.

"Now that you mention it… I suppose that's true."

Old Zhang nodded, feeling that what Chen Mo said made sense, and he wasn't in such a rush that he couldn't spare another day or two.

"Let's go, let's go. I'll go with you to the Cooking Squad to borrow some chili peppers. I'm craving stir-fried meat with chili peppers right now!"

At the mention of food, Old Zhang was instantly wide awake, and his hunched figure straightened up quite a bit.

"And have the lads in the Cooking Squad slaughter a pig for me; this old man wants to eat braised pork!"

Before long, the group rushed out of the Cooking Squad carrying a slaughtered, large, fat pig.

Leaving only the Cooking Squad leader and the quartermaster looking completely bewildered.

"Let me show you all what this old man is capable of."

The group returned to the hilltop behind the mountain where they had cooked privately before, and Old Zhang took off his gloves to start butchering the large, fat pig.

Looking at those hands, still full of wrinkles and age spots, Chen Mo, who had previously felt some doubts, finally set his mind at ease.

He had noticed the bloodied, mangled palms of the black-robed person when he woke up earlier.

Upon seeing Old Zhang wearing gloves, Chen Mo had immediately begun to suspect that the black-robed person was none other than Old Zhang.

Now, his doubts had vanished into thin air.

Headquarters, underground prison.

"Are you feeling better?"

Commander Shen sat beside the Gray-skirted woman and handed her the peeled orange in his hand.

"Mm, much better. At least I won't die."

The language spoken by the Gray-skirted woman was the official language of Great Xia; it was clear she had a deep understanding of Blue Star.

"To have an Archduke, and a renowned Archduke of Imaginary Numbers at that, peel an orange for me—I am truly honored."

The Gray-skirted woman smiled and ate a piece of the orange in her hand on her own.

"Oranges aren't very good this time of year, so just make do."

Commander Shen stood up and stared at this Abyss Scholar.

In the Abyss, scholars and warriors are two completely different professions.

Much like how it is with the Human Race, Blue Star's scientific researchers, martial artists, and soldiers have different divisions of labor.

They usually have an extremely deep understanding of the legacy of the Abyss, and the Human Race is in desperate need of such talent right now.

"What about my previous proposal?"

"As a scholar, your thirst for knowledge is endless."

"Join my Great Xia Research Institute for fifteen years, and I can let you return."

"Fifteen years is a long time for a martial artist, but for an Abyss Scholar like you with a lifespan of over a thousand years, it shouldn't be much, right?"

The Gray-skirted woman put down the sour orange in her hand and looked up at the sturdy Commander Shen.

"You want me to betray my own race?"

"Or rather, do you really dare to use a traitor like me?"

Commander Shen did not speak, only looking at her indifferently.

"You were coerced by me; strictly speaking, it doesn't count as betrayal, just yielding to the circumstances."

The Gray-skirted woman let out a snicker, her laughter filled with madness and morbidity.

"Fine, I can be a dog for you humans. I swear by my position as a scholar: as long as it is a question I answer, it will be the most correct and accurate information in my mind."

"It's just that…"

Commander Shen suppressed the excitement in his heart and looked at the Gray-skirted woman with a calm gaze, wondering what conditions she might propose.

"Can you really withstand the pressure from the Council of Venerables?"

"If the Council of Venerables finds out I am not dead, they will keep trying to rescue me."

Commander Shen stared straight at the Gray-skirted woman for a good while before finally laughing out loud.

"The Council of Venerables?"

"If it weren't for the agreement with the Archduke of the Abyss, do you think I couldn't kill them all by myself!"

This statement was quite arrogant; to wipe out the Council of Venerables with the strength of one person was something few people in the Abyss would dare to say.

"Stay with peace of mind; I will arrange everything for you."

"But there is one prerequisite."

"If I find out you have deceived or harmed our people, I will use the most cruel means to torture you to death."

"Of course, I have already sworn by my position as a scholar."

The Gray-skirted woman stood up and reached out her hand toward Commander Shen.

"Level 3 Relic Scholar, Gongshan Lili, very pleased to serve you, Archduke of Imaginary Numbers."

Commander Shen was stunned, then smiled and shook her hand.

"Shen Feizhou, Commander-in-Chief of the Great Xia Luofeng Fortress, Eighth-Grade Martial King, very pleased to cooperate with you, Scholar Lili."

"Tomorrow, I will arrange the fastest flight to send you to Yanjing; I am looking forward to your performance."

No one knew what happened in the underground prison except for these two.

The National Joint Examination was also nearing its end, and the candidates, who had been incredibly nervous, gradually relaxed.

Compared to the previous years' quota of only one hundred guaranteed admission spots, National Martial Arts University had increased the quota to one hundred and twenty this year.

In other words, as long as a team made it into the top twenty of the National Joint Examination, they would be guaranteed entry into this martial arts university, which was the most formidable in all of Great Xia, and even all of Blue Star.

Other martial arts academies could only be called martial institutes; in all of Great Xia, there was only this one institution that could be called a martial arts university.

Everyone knew that at National Martial Arts University, geniuses walked everywhere, monsters were rampant, and all sorts of heaven-defying talents were gathered within.

There were even super Ascetic Martial Artists who lacked talent but still managed to survive and stay there; any one of them could be plucked out and serve as the star student of a martial institute.

Yet even such existences could only be considered ordinary at National Martial Arts University.

Of course, only the top nineteen teams had relaxed; the twentieth and twenty-first were still grinding furiously.

The gap between the two teams was only twelve points, the kind that could be overtaken with just a single low-level mission.

"Hiccup~"

Chen Mo let out a burp; he hadn't been full for a long time.

During his time in the hospital, he had relied on medication to replenish his energy every day, which made Chen Mo's stomach burn with acid constantly.

"It's getting late; everyone hurry back and get some rest."

"The final results will be announced the day after tomorrow; Old Zhang, remember to come."

Chen Mo waved at Old Zhang and got up to return to the cadre building.

"Mm, I'll definitely come."

Swallowing the last mouthful of rice wine, Old Zhang, his face somewhat flushed, stood up unsteadily.

Lin Ye and Shen Zhou beside him immediately supported the old man and brought him back to the family quarters.