Lunch time in canteen.

A group of trainees of Camp 39 were having their meals, discussing the monthly assessment that would be held tomorrow eagerly.

“I heard that our opponent this time is Camp 40. There are still 39 people on their side. However, including Lin Xun this coward, there are only 24 people in our camp. We will be at an absolute disadvantage only in terms of number of trainees in tomorrow's confrontation.”

Some people sighed and frowned.

“Well, no matter how many people there are, the battle effectiveness plays more. I vaguely remember that Camp 40 does not seem to have any overmatches.”

Some people disdained Camp 40 while some disapproved what the others thought.

“That’s not true. Lei Shinyue, Di Jun, Gong Ming and some others in Camp 40 are not pushovers. I think only Qi Can, Shi Yu and Ning Meng can suppress them in our camps.”

Someone was muttering to himself, as if he knew their own and the enemy’s situation.

Shi Yu was also analyzing on the other side, “Lei Shinyue is the granddaughter of Lei Yaoting, one of the very few overmatches in Tao Insight Realm in the empire, and she has practiced the Lei Family's ancestral martial art - Gang-thunder Swordplay since childhood. Her strength can never be underestimated. If you meet her, you should adopt roundabout tactics to avoid combating directly with her and take the edge off her spirit, and then find a chance to defeat her.”

Next to him, Lee Qiu nodded. This was very important firsthand information that only someone like Shi Yu could get.

Shi Yu continued, “This Di Jun is a badass who is good at using a sword. The power of the Ten-thousand Tune he practiced is incredible, but you don't have to worry too much about it. Only when the Ten-thousand Tune is performed by the powerful practitioners in Sea Spirit Realm, can it exert its real power.”

Lee Qiu remembered Shi’s words quietly. No one knew who would be own opponent in the monthly assessment tomorrow. It was absolutely necessary to make full preparations.

“As for the Gong Ming...” Shi Yu frowned and said, “What this fellow has practiced is the ‘Nine Ghostdoms Body-defence Cudgel (NGBC)’. He not only has amazing physical strength, but also owns long breath and first-class defensive power. It's a real headache to defeat him.”

Lee Qiu seemed to know the Gong Ming as well, and he sneered, “The Gong’s Family in the empire is called the Tumbler’s, which implies that no one in the family can be beaten, but in my opinion, they are like a group conservative turtles hiding in their shells.”

Shi Yu, however, said earnestly, “We should never despise this kind of people. My father once said that the Gong’s Family knew the wisdom of keeping a low profile. Anyone who wants to deal with them can hardly find a chance. Gong Ming is by no means a simple person as an outstanding descendant of the family.”

Lee Qiu became serious suddenly. He had noticed that Shi Yu paid more attention to the Gong Ming instead of Lei Shinyue and Di Jun.

When they were talking, someone nearby shouted out suddenly, “Aha, come and see, everybody! Who is coming? Is this Lin Xun that coward?” The voice was full of tease.

Many of the trainees looked up together, and sure enough, Lin Xun's figure was coming from the distance.

Having not seen him for nearly three weeks, many people almost forgot that there was Lin Xun in the camp. When they saw Lin, the first time the gossip on him came to them.

These rumors were inseparable from words with disdain and humiliation, such as coward and clown.

Many people looked strange and commented at once.

“It's not bad for this fellow to stand out finally.”

“Tut-tut, I think he's forced. The monthly assessment will be held tomorrow. It's impossible for him to avoid it any more!”

“Well, don’t mention this clown. There is no need to expect him to play a role in the monthly assessment tomorrow. He is doomed to be eliminated.”

On the other hand, Shin Wenbin was so excited; he gritted his teeth and said, “This little bastard has finally come out. I'd like to see how badly he will be beaten in tomorrow's monthly assessment!”

Qi Can could not help laughing beside Shin. He was no long regarded Lin Xun as an enemy. In Qi’s opinion, the cowardly clowns like Lin were not worthy of being his enemies at all.

“You're right, Childe Shi. Sure enough, he appears and he will take part in the monthly assessment,” Lee Qiu was thoughtful in the distance.

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“Oh, I'm looking forward to seeing his performance,” Shi Yu said with a thought-provoking smile on his face.

Faced with these comments and eyes, Lin Xun seemed to be totally unconcerned and quickly fixed his eyes on Ning Meng's figure. He went straight to Ning Meng and sat opposite Ning, asking with a slightly surprised look, “Hey, guy, you don’t seem to want to see me?”

At the moment, Ning Meng's face was gloomy and he buried himself in his meal. He did not look at Lin Xun from beginning to end. His performance was somewhat abnormal.

Lin Xun thought about something and laughed; then he stopped saying more. He took his own meal and began to enjoy it.

Lin Xun had a feeling of having separated from the world for ages when he saw the familiar faces and felt the lively atmosphere in the canteen after nearly three-week absence.

Comparatively speaking, he actually preferred the atmosphere in Old Mo's warehouse, where he only needed to focus on cultivation and training and needn’t pay attention to anything else.

Seeing Lin Xun's silence, Ning Meng seemed unable to keep his temper finally. He looked up suddenly and stared at Lin Xun angrily, “You coward should show up shamelessly?”

“Who told you I was a coward?” Lin Xun laughed.

Lin Xun was not ashamed absolutely; on the contrary, he kept his countenance. The disappointment and anger accumulated in Ning Meng’s heart erupted completely when Ning saw Lin’s reaction. “You even deny it! Who fuck doesn't know that you're afraid of being knocked out and serve as a handy man of a spiritual tattooist? How could I have made friends with people like you? You are an incurable coward!”

His voice was quite loud, which attracted the attention of many trainees nearby. But when seeing this scene, Qi Can, Shin Wenbin, Wen Mingxiu and other trainees in the same group could not help but rejoice in Lin’s misfortune.

The relationship between Ning Meng and Lin Xun was quite good in the past, but now Ning became completely angry because of Lin Xun's cowardice. It made them despise Lin Xun more. What was called “desertion by friends and allies”? That was it!

Lin Xun was in a trance. He did not foresee Ning Meng would be so angry. He said earnestly after a while, “As a friend, I just want to tell you that all the rumors you heard are not true.”

“Not true?”

Ning Meng was stunned, but his face was still gloomy, “But why didn't you tell me? I had exchanged my points for ten bottles of Condensate Pills at that time for you. Who fuck knew that you had gone without saying goodbye? You should be given a thousand cuts!”

Lin Xun felt warm and finally realized that the reason why Ning Meng was so angry. Ning really regarded Lin as a friend and if he was like other people, he would not be so angry with Lin.

“I'll tell you all after the monthly assessment,” Lin Xun said earnestly after thinking about it.

Ning Meng frowned, “Why do I have to wait until then?”

Lin Xun suddenly laughed and his eyes swept around intentionally. He lowered his voice and said, “Because I have to give vent to my anger first!”

At the end of his words, his voice had taken on a tinge of coldness.

He couldn't ignore the irony and disdain. He would not swallow all insults and humiliations silently any more.

Ning Meng was shocked and looked at Lin Xun for a moment before he said in a muffled voice, “Then I'll wait for you to give me an explanation.”

Lin Xun nodded with a smile.

But to Lin's surprise, the chance he had been waiting for to give vent to his anger came soon.

...

After lunch, most of the trainees from other camps had left and stopped training.

Because if they were injured in training at this time, the injuries would let them be left at a disadvantage in tomorrow’s monthly assessment.

But the trainees of Camp 39 did not relax and was directly brought into the fighting field by Young Ke as usual. She planned to keep training them.

Many people did not understand. They felt that Young Ke was too harsh in training. What was the meaning of training at this time since tomorrow would be the day of monthly assessment?

Young Ke used only one sentence to make everyone speechless, “The training of Bloodthirsty Camp will continue for one year, which means that there will be twelve monthly assessments in all. Tomorrow’s assessment is only the first one, so do you think it is necessary to be so nervous?”

Everyone had nothing to say.

However, it was inevitable to feel depressed. Their opponent tomorrow is Camp 40. In terms of number of trainees, Camp 39 was already at a disadvantage. If they didn't pay high attention to the assessment, they might be all washed up.

But Young Ke's next sentence swept away their depressions, “I have specially prepared Black Jade Snow-melting Cream for you and I won’t let you take the assessment with injuries tomorrow.”

They found that their Drillmaster Young Ke observed proper restraint and was not blindly harsh in fact, although she seemed cold-blooded.

When entering the fighting field, many trainees were excited. This was training before the real battle. Who dared to do so in other camps?

Young men had higher self-esteem and were especially concerned about face-saving. They really liked such unconventional tricks; if they won therefore, they would feel honored.

Shin Wenbin was especially excited at this moment. He got psyched up and had been praying in his mind that he could be drawn against Lin Xun by lot. It would be great if he could give Lin a good beating before the monthly assessment and gave vent to his anger at first.

Maybe God favored Shin. When Shin Wenbin drew for his opponent, he was incredibly lucky to have got his wish. Lin Xun was drawn to play Shin Wenbin!

“Aha,” Shin Wenbin burst out laughing with complacence and confidence; that was God’s blessing!

When Qi Can and others learned this, they couldn't help appearing strange. Lin Xun was really unlucky. He had hidden for three weeks without showing up. As a result, he had to fight against Shin Wenbin as soon as he appeared.

They knew very well that Shin Wenbin just broke through to the ninth level of Martial Realm last week. His combat effectiveness had undergone a new transformation, and became higher than before.

While Lin Xun gave up training as early as three weeks ago and went to work for a spiritual tattooist. How could he possibly defeat Shin Wenbin?

Unfortunately, they did not know how Lin Xun spent these three weeks. Otherwise, they would regret for their thoughts and opinions at this time.

“Has Shin Wenbin become a silly?” Lin Xun laughed lightly.

“Care less about others, couldn’t you?” Ning Meng was worried about Lin Xun.

Likewise, he thought Lin Xun had been just doing odd jobs and neglecting his practice in the past three weeks. How could Lin Xun have the power to withstand Shin Wenbin who had just reached the ninth level of Martial Realm?

“Silly or not. We won't know it until the fight ends.” At this time, Shi Yu passed Lin Xun and he said with a low laugh abruptly.