Dark Moon Era

In the meeting room, Thuja was looking at the new warriors in surprise. It was the first time for a conclusion meeting to have such a relaxed atmosphere instead of the usual tense and heavy one.

However, it was not the time to find out what caused the change in atmosphere, because the end of the devil training would mean that the new warriors had to face the real First Reserved Camp.

Therefore, all the mentors, including the director of the First Reserved Camp and the vice-captain of the Purple Moon Warriors, Alan, were in the small meeting room.

These men were total strangers to the new warriors.

The invigilators of the first and second exams, Lionel and Yang Kong, were also present.

Everyone knew that Lionel’s hands had been crushed by Su Yao. The young warriors were a little surprised about him holding his position as an instructor after the incident and they started to worry about Tang Ling.

Lionel was sitting at the front of the meeting room next to Yang Kong. He wore the same purple instructor uniform but with an extra pair of black gloves. Judging from his tiny actions, his hands seemed to be less nimble.

Nonetheless, he did not show any grudges or negative emotions, and neither did he pay extra attention to Tang Ling.

Likewise, Tang Ling did not feel nervous about Lionel’s presence.

“It seems like you guys are different from the rest,” said Alan, the director, after everyone was present. There was no opening speech or whatsoever. He was straightforward and simple as if he was greeting them.

The young warriors were unfamiliar with Alan, and the black mask on his face undoubtedly increased the distance between them. One could not judge his true thoughts based on his reaction or looks.

People would unconsciously feel tense in front of him, but Alan, on the other hand, felt more relaxed than ever. He even put his feet on the table and spoke casually, “The last time I hosted a conclusion meeting, those little fellas were nervous. Now that I’ve mentioned it, the ones before the last were all held in a tense atmosphere. Why the tension? It’s only an exam. An exam is necessary at every path of learning, am I right? Still, I sort of understood their feelings.” Alan then straightened his body. Albeit his emotions being veiled, his tone was a lot heavier.

“The training in the past month was to transform you from normal humans to real warriors. It was to set the base for you to become a real Purple Moon Warrior and we in Safety Sector No. 17 are willing to pay the cost. Did you not notice that other than the regular food supply, there were many other resources invested in you? That included a medium nutrition paste every day and free recovery medicine whenever you are hurt. We even arranged a professional masseuse for you. If it wasn’t for all the accumulated resources, none of you could’ve achieved the improvement today.”

Alan was being very straightforward and honest. He was not exaggerating at all.

Sufficient food supply, level 2 drinking water, medium nutrition paste that could quickly replenish their stamina and boost the absorption of nutrition, and all types of recovery medicine that could heal bruises, internal and external injuries had been supplied to the new warriors for free in the past month.

It was safe to consider if it were not for the resources and the support they provided, no matter how outstanding one’s talent was, no one could have survived the one-month training. The body could not bear the physical burden, let alone break the limit and surpass commoners.

“That’s why I am curious why you guys are so relaxed. Do you think your improvement has been that great?” Alan slowly stood up and pressed his hands on the table, his burning gaze scanning over all the new warriors. He was displeased about how light the atmosphere was.

It seemed like Tang Ling’s earlier words were much more convincing and the young warriors did not fail the resources invested in them. At least, every one of them gave their best, so why the tension and nervousness?

Alan coldly grunted and looked at Thuja beside him.

Thuja cleared his throat and said calmly, “These reserved warriors gave their best in the training. They have surpassed the previous years, and I believe they’ll show decent results.”

“Is that the reason why they are so relaxed? Fine, in this era, it’s all about an equivalent exchange, not unconditional giving. I feel that in terms of resources invested, they have also surpassed the previous years, so there should be new challenges for them at the test tomorrow.” Alan was not agitated by Thuja’s support of the young warriors. Instead, he used it as an excuse to launch his request.

“It’s against the rules.” Thuja frowned. The resources invested in them were definitely higher than the previous years, but it was because of the hard work they poured in hence the higher consumption. Should that be the reason for raising the difficulty of the test?

The passing standard for the upcoming test was not low by any means. There was a disqualification rate of around 30%. It already reached the limit of a common human without any types of cultivation, yet the difficulty was to be raised further, so how high would the disqualification rate be this time?

Even though the new warriors this year were really outstanding and showed results better than the previous batches, they had never truly cultivated themselves, so it was impossible to widen the gap by too much.

Alan obviously would not change his mind just because of Thuja’s objection. He simply said, “The First Reserved Camp has always maintained a certain percentage of disqualification. That’s why everyone who has walked out of this camp is elite, the best of the best. Moreover, isn’t the current situation good enough? The era won’t adapt to the sector on its own. We can only adapt to the era in order to make it through.”

“But…” Thuja tried to argue, but Alan’s patience was worn out. He waved his hand to stop the argument.

Lionel smiled and conceded, “I agree.”

Since the current situation was mentioned, a trace of worry appeared in between Yang Kong’s brows. Considering the test results of the new warriors, they were really a lot better than the previous years, so they should be given more pressure, hence he too agreed with Alan’s suggestion.

Including Thuja, there were a total of five instructors. Since two of them had stated their stand, the others were willing to join the majority.

After all, Thuja was the general instructor for the new recruits and was in charge of their training, so the other instructors barely had any relationship with the new warriors.

A strange decision about changing the rule was then decided.

They really do as they please , Tang Ling thought. He was not worried about passing himself. He just felt like he was in someone’s crosshairs.

After the so-called conclusion meeting discussed the change in rules, there was basically nothing important left to go over.

They just went over the arrangements for those who would pass the upcoming test and those who would fail.

After all that, the meeting ended.

******

At night, the sealed training camp became completely silent.

The change of rules at the last minute raised new worries in the young warriors’ hearts, but the fatigue accumulated from their training was not something they could simply endure.

Therefore, no one lost any sleep because of their worries.

Tang Ling was sound asleep as usual. Under his pillow was the high nutrition paste that was given out that day. After a quick discussion with his companions, everyone decided to take the nutrition paste before the test tomorrow so that they could perform better.

However, right at that moment, a figure quietly snuck into the silent tent.

He stood beside Tang Ling’s mattress and carefully took the high nutrition paste out from under the pillow before he covered Tang Ling’s mouth and carried him out of the tent quietly on his shoulder.