The black flames slowly receded, revealing his original skin. Cao Yuan clutched the [Sealing Scroll] around his neck with both hands, the blood red in his eyes gradually disappearing, and he began to cough violently.
Lin Qiye loosened his grip on the tape and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Cao Yuan in his berserk state was indeed ridiculously strong. If Lin Qiye hadn't had two forbidden items in hand this time, and if his divine power hadn't had a restraining effect on [Black King Annihilation], he might not have won so easily this time.
Cao Yuan, shirtless, lay on the ground, panting heavily. His gaze fell on Lin Qiye, and a smile appeared on his lips.
"It really was you..."
"What?"
"There aren't many people in this world who can subdue [Black King's Annihilation]."
"Really? If I'm not mistaken, the Masked Captain could also do that."
"It's different; you can cleanse my sins."
"What are you saying?"
Lin Qiye frowned slightly, seemingly unable to understand Cao Yuan's meaning. Cao Yuan simply shook his head, got up from the ground, and didn't say anything more.
Instructor Han walked over and carefully observed Lin Qiye for a long time. "Are you alright?"
"No."
"Hmm." Instructor Han paused, then gave Lin Qiye a thumbs up. "That was a brilliant move!"
Lin Qiye smiled slightly.
Instructor Han reached out and helped Cao Yuan up. Just as Cao Yuan was about to say something, Instructor Han shook his head to stop him.
"You don't need to say anything. The responsibility for this whole thing lies entirely with me. I forced you to draw your sword; it has nothing to do with you."
Cao Yuan, who had intended to apologize, sighed helplessly when his words were completely blocked. He clasped his hands together in front of his chest and bowed slightly.
"Amitabha."
Before long, a group of fully armed instructors rushed over. When they saw the devastated training ground, their brows furrowed slightly.
Instructor Han stepped forward and briefly explained the situation to the other instructors, who were then relieved.
"Instructor Hong, I feel... I'm still not suited for teaching."
Instructor Han pulled Instructor Hong aside, sighed deeply, and spoke softly.
"This is only your first day on the job, and you already want to give up?" Instructor Hong raised an eyebrow.
"I've discovered that teaching students and fighting on the front lines are two completely different things... When I'm on a mission, I can fight a group of enemies single-handedly, and no matter what kind of danger it is, I won't even flinch."
But I came here to teach, and after only a few minutes... I was completely disheveled, and almost caused a teaching accident."
Seeing Instructor Han's sullen expression, Instructor Hong couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"I think you have an exceptional talent for teaching. You picked three people in a row: the young master of the Baili family, the Lucifer's agent, and someone who was extremely high-risk..."
"This wasn't just a draw from a few people; there were a full 240 recruits, and you drew three of the most formidable characters! Your luck is absolutely incredible!"
"Instructor Hong, please don't make fun of me." Instructor Han touched his nose somewhat embarrassedly.
"To be honest, when it comes to close combat, there may be some of us instructors who are better than you, but they are only outstanding in one aspect. Unlike you, who are all-rounders and proficient in all kinds of martial arts, including swords, spears, and halberds."
"At this stage, these rookies don't need specialization in any particular melee combat. What they need is to find the fighting style that best suits them from all the weapons available. This requires a teacher who is familiar with all martial arts to guide them. We can't teach that. In the entire Great Xia Night Watch, I guess only you, Han Li, have that ability."
"But I…"
"Among these new recruits, only a few are truly troublesome. Actually, having the opportunity to witness the growth of these prodigies is a blessing for both of us, isn't it?" Instructor Hong's gaze fell into the distance, a slight smile playing on his lips.
"Aren't you curious about what kind of spectacle these prodigies will create when they leave this training camp?"
Instructor Han was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously turned to look at the new recruits. The image of the boy with a bandage wrapped around his left hand and a sword in his right hand seemed to reappear in his mind.
After a moment of silence, he nodded.
"Okay, I'll try again."Instructor Hong smiled and patted Instructor Han on the shoulder twice.
"Go ahead, those rookies are waiting for you to train them."
Instructor Han nodded, took a deep breath, and strode towards the training field.
Upon seeing Instructor Han return, the previously restless recruits fell silent, and the entire training ground quieted down.
Instructor Han's gaze swept over the crowd, and he took another wooden sword from the shelf next to him. He walked to the training platform, which was missing half of its side, and continued his explanation.
"The sword technique we just discussed, while swift and powerful, still lacks sufficient force..."
...
The entire morning was dedicated to close combat training. After Instructor Han gave a brief explanation of a few sword techniques, he continued with instruction on two-handed swords, swordsmanship, spear techniques, and even the use of some concealed weapons.
Since it was their first time training with cold weapons, the training was mainly conducted by Instructor Han. Instructor Han was kind-hearted and made them all sit down and listen, which finally gave the freshmen, who had been tormented all morning, a break.
By the time Instructor Han's throat was dry from talking, it was lunchtime.
When the freshmen arrived at the cafeteria full of expectations, only to find that lunch was still just plain steamed buns with raw meat, their morale plummeted, and some even vomited.
Some observant people noticed that, in addition to white steamed buns and raw meat, each person also had a small plate of... pickled vegetables in front of them!
This brought ecstasy to the desperate freshmen.
"Brother Qiye, do you think that old man Sun in the cafeteria has had a change of heart? He actually prepared pickled vegetables!" Baili Pangpang was touched and stuffed the pickled vegetables into his white steamed bun, then took a big bite.
"I don't know. All I know is that this is just a small dish of pickled vegetables, not even enough for a few bites," Lin Qiye said with a dark face as he carefully counted the amount of pickled vegetables.
Just then, a figure quietly moved onto their table.
Cao Yuan silently handed his pickled vegetables to Lin Qiye, saying while gnawing on raw meat, "Here, take mine."
Lin Qiye was taken aback, while Baili Pangpang's eyes widened. "Hey bro, this is pickled vegetables! Aren't you going to eat it?"
"If Lin Qiye wants to eat, I'll give it to him."
"..." Upon hearing this, Baili Pangpang's mouth dropped open. "This...do you know what this is called?"
"What?"
"Simp."
"I'd like to."
"..."
Lin Qiye was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "If it's about what happened this morning, there's really no need for this. I'm not injured..."
"No, Lin Qiye." Cao Yuan shook his head, looking intently into Lin Qiye's eyes.
"I just... simply wanted to simp you."
Lin Qiye:...
Lin Xi Chen: HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Baili Pangpang's body trembled, and the look in his eyes as he looked at Cao Yuan instantly changed!
Damn it,
This is a formidable opponent!