From the start of this week, a tall, well-featured, yet grim-faced man replaced Zhang Jing and stood at the podium. Several burly men carried in a few heavy, rectangular metal cabinets, and when they opened the lids, hundreds of various firearms were displayed inside!
The man coldly said, “You may call me Shadow,” and that was the end of his introduction.
Immediately, Shadow walked over to the gun cabinet, pulled out two pistols that looked almost identical, and held them up for the children to see.
Upon closer inspection, the two pistols had distinct differences. One was polished to a mirror-like finish from barrel to grip, while the other was adorned with intricate patterns.
“This is the famous Eagle series, standard issue for the Empire’s frontier army, known for its immense power.” The man said, and then he directly aimed the mirror-polished pistol at the classroom wall and fired.
The deafening roar left everyone’s ears ringing, and a large, bowl-sized hole appeared in the wall, revealing the damaged underlying material and supports.
Qian Ye was astounded! If the wall could be damaged like this, a shot to a person would likely create a massive wound. A hit to the limbs would likely result in a direct severing.
“Is it powerful? Of course not!” Shadow’s chilling voice rang out.
The other pistol glowed as the patterns on its body suddenly lit up. There was only the sound of the hammer striking and the heavy object cutting through the air, and then a burst of blue light shot from the barrel, hitting the wall with a tremendous boom!
A powerful shockwave mixed with countless debris flew towards the children, forcing them to duck their heads.
When Qian Ye lowered his arms that had been shielding his face, he was stunned to see a large hole in the thick bluestone and metal support wall, through which the outside scenery could be seen!
This blue light was so incredibly powerful!
Shadow raised the still glowing pistol and said, “This is a gun driven by primordial force, its power far surpassing ordinary gunpowder weapons. Even a low-level primordial force gun can rival a machine gun. It is because of such guns that we repelled those damned dark bastards in the Dawn War, laying the foundation for today’s Empire!”
Next, Shadow went into detail about the principles behind primordial force firearms.
Although primordial force firearms resemble traditional gunpowder weapons in appearance, their principles are entirely different. Where gunpowder and pellets would be, there is an energy compression device. The user must inject their own primordial force, condense it into a primordial bullet, and then fire it at the right moment.
With the varying capacities of the energy devices and materials, the power of primordial force firearms can differ greatly. Some even possess powerful special abilities. Such guns can be considered among the renowned.
Among the renowned, there are even more renowned ones.
There are ten legendary guns in the world, each of extraordinary power. Legend has it that possessing any one of these ten guns would grant the ability to change the continent’s fate!
For centuries, countless open and secret battles have occurred around these ten legendary guns, and many talented individuals have fallen in their pursuit. Yet, people still vie for them relentlessly.
To date, three of the ten legendary guns are in the hands of humans, five are in the hands of the dark races, and two are missing.
From the distribution of these ten legendary guns, one can see the power balance among the three major factions: Dawn, Eternal Night, and the Neutrals, in the world of the strong.
This was perhaps the most focused class the children had ever attended in the training camp. Even the children from prominent families with some foundation were enthralled.
Shadow reached out and activated a teaching board, displaying a 3D image. It was an ancient and ornate pistol.
The pistol resembled an old flintlock, with a silver-white, ruyi-shaped hammer standing behind the barrel. The barrel and grip were gold-plated, engraved with intricate patterns. On the body of the gun, there was a conspicuous blood-red flower, with its petals extending in all directions.
Unconsciously, Shadow straightened his body, his face solemn and even showing signs of fervor, and he said, “This is one of the ten legendary guns in the hands of humans, and also the first true legendary gun owned by the Empire: the Manjushage, also known as the Higanbana.”
Qian Ye repeated the name Manjushage several times, feeling a sense of indescribable mystery and beauty, and he etched it deeply in his heart.
A child dared to ask, “Does it, does it have special abilities too?”
“Excellent question!” Shadow was now completely ignited, his face alight with fervor, “The Manjushage, in legends before human written records, grew by the Styx River deep in the void. Whenever a life perishes, a small flower blooms by the river. It! Can ignite the primordial force of the world, illuminating the star path to the Styx, that is the legendary ultimate skill, ‘Forgetful River’!”
From this week onwards, Qian Ye’s schedule included three new courses related to primordial force firearms: Energy Fluid Mechanics, Gun Disassembly and Repair, and Shooting.
Qian Ye ranked in the top five in these three courses, and his overall ranking improved significantly, entering the top fifty. When the rankings were announced on the weekend, he was in forty-ninth place.
Forty-nine and fifty-one may only be two places apart, but they are worlds apart. Qian Ye understood that after the fiftieth place, it was the elimination zone. Those eliminated from the training camp faced only one fate: death.
Monday arrived quickly, and Qian Ye entered the training room with a surprisingly excited mood. Indeed, Black Slave had placed two pieces of “Red Blood Bloom” in the incense burner!
With nearly tenfold sharper senses, Qian Ye felt the primordial force resonate like a symphony. As the Conquest Art flowed, the primordial force within him surged, like waves crashing against the shore, one after another! In the past, without the Red Blood Bloom, the primordial force would wane and fall back at this point.
Without this special incense, Qian Ye’s process of sensing and drawing in primordial force was extremely slow, accumulating bit by bit, guiding, and then building momentum for the next wave.
Now, with the double portion of “Red Blood Bloom,” Qian Ye’s absorption of primordial force greatly increased. The primordial force continuously flowed into him, pushing the waves higher and higher.
Finally, the primordial force reached its peak, and Qian Ye heard a loud, resonant tide, as the primordial force receded like a wave.
The first primordial wave was complete!
Before the first wave had fully receded, it collided with the newly formed primordial force, creating a new surge. The second wave was even higher and more powerful than the first. Just as it was about to reach its peak, it fell short due to insufficient primordial force.
The long toll of a bell woke Qian Ye, signaling the end of the training session.
The most difficult part of the Conquest Art is forming the first primordial wave. Subsequent waves form much faster. During the flow of primordial waves, a strong suction force is generated, drawing in more primordial force from the surroundings.
Without the help of the double portion of “Red Blood Bloom,” it would have taken Qian Ye at least two more weeks to form the first wave. Then, it would have been risky to complete the full nine waves within the three-month deadline set by Zhang Jing.
In the following weeks, Qian Ye’s training proceeded smoothly. By the time he was a month away from Zhang Jing’s deadline, he could already draw the fifth wave. The progress of the Conquest Art became faster and faster, and Qian Ye estimated that he would form the complete nine waves in just another half month.
Though most of the time in the training camp, everyone kept to themselves, rumors spread frequently. Just as the third month of practicing the Conquest Art began, a child beside Qian Ye had already completed the nine waves! And it was said that, among the entire batch in the Yellow Springs Training Camp, the most talented individual had already begun to ignite their first psionic node!
The boy, named Xu Lang, was reportedly from a noble family in the Empire and had top-tier talent!
Hearing these rumors, Qian Ye couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste in his young heart. From the moment he could remember, the scar on his chest had always been there. The training camp life constantly reminded him of its presence. Without this scar, he would also have been a top-tier talent.
Every time the Conquest Art was activated and the primordial force surged, it would become particularly sluggish in the scarred area, so Qian Ye had to accumulate more primordial force to guide the complete waves.
Qian Ye didn’t know who inflicted the scar. He was less than three years old when he got it!
This was fate, and Qian Ye had no choice but to accept it.
The training continued, and in the third month, a new knowledge course was added: Principles of Machinery.
It was a comprehensive subject, encompassing mathematics, physics, and many other fields. This allowed one to understand the operation of the enormous machines that changed the world.
The first generation of machinery was the blackstone-fueled steam engine. After successfully miniaturizing, the first-generation steam engines remained active on all continents. They had many advantages, such as stability and strong power, but the biggest advantage was their affordability.
Affordable to produce and maintain, with blackstone being abundant and steel reserves plentiful, even after thousands of years, the steam engine remained the most suitable choice in most cases.
The new knowledge course quickly boosted Qian Ye’s ranking, and he even broke into the top twenty, with hopes of reaching the top ten.
The exam at the end of the third month arrived, and Qian Ye had already completed the primordial tides two weeks prior, passing with ease. Among the same batch of trainees, three failed to meet the requirements and were brutally whipped by Zhang Jing until severely injured, then dragged away.
No one had died in the past three months, long enough for the children to almost forget that this was the Yellow Springs Training Camp, notorious for its extreme cruelty in selection and elimination!
At the beginning of the fourth month, a new course was added: Combat.
From that moment on, the easy days of training ended. The combat classes usually started with instructor guidance, followed by practice sparring among the trainees.
During the first week, most returned with bruises and swelling, but Qian Ye was especially injured.
During sparring, the trainees attacked with all their might, showing no mercy. Among the top-ranked students, Qian Ye was the weakest physically, naturally receiving special attention.
If Qian Ye could be incapacitated, there would be one less competitor for the “Red Blood Bloom.”
This was the Yellow Springs Training Camp, not a gentle noble school.
On the weekend, when the rankings were announced, Qian Ye’s position plummeted, dropping to forty-eighth, barely holding onto the top fifty.
After viewing the rankings, it was time for the children to sleep.
As Qian Ye entered the dormitory, the door suddenly closed behind him, and several shadows pounced, firmly grabbing him. An arm clamped around Qian Ye’s throat, squeezing tightly, leaving him unable to breathe or make a sound.
This was the combat technique they had just learned, and it was now being used on Qian Ye.
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