"The Medal of Stars?"
Upon hearing these four words, not only were the many new recruits below the stage taken aback, but even most of the instructors on the stage were genuinely surprised!
This is an honor second only to the Star Sea Medal. Even Yuan Gang, the leader of the training camp, only has three. Lin Qiye, a newcomer who hasn't even left the training camp yet, actually received a Star Medal.
However, upon closer reflection, it does seem not entirely incomprehensible.
Putting everything else aside, just the fact that he carried missile fragments for all the new recruits on the bus already guaranteed that Lin Qiye's medal this time would be of a high rank.
It's important to understand that the more than two hundred new recruits in this training camp are the Night Watch reserve force from the entire Great Xia Dynasty. They are the backbone of the future protection of this country. If something happens to these recruits, there will be a gap in the Night Watch's succession, and the nation's defense capabilities will be weakened.
In recent years, the mysterious forces appearing across the country have become increasingly powerful. If the Night Watch's power is disrupted, the damage will not be limited to just one city or region; it will be a major crisis that sweeps across the entire territory!
From this perspective alone, Lin Qiye's actions fulfilled the condition of "quelling a large-scale event that could have caused social unrest.
"As for seriously injuring the [Snake Woman] and cooperating to kill Han Shaoyun, they seem like big things, but from the perspective of the whole country, they are small things. After all, a Medusa agent in the "Pool" realm and a believer in the "Sea" realm cannot cause any big waves."
There's another point that only a very few people can understand.
Since Lin Qiye had direct contact with the people of the Ancient God Church and seriously injured the [Snake Woman], it means that he rejected the Ancient God Church's offer of recruitment and firmly stood on the side of the Night Watch.
The Night's Watch leadership felt it would be unreasonable not to reward a dual-gods' agent for such a firm stance.
What kind of reward should we give? Some money or valuables? Or a promise of a bright future?
Too rustic, too vulgar.
By sheer coincidence, another merit application report for Lin Qiye was submitted, and they naturally tried their best to make this "gift" even more impressive.
Driven by various factors, Lin Qiye's Star Medal couldn't be more reasonable.
"Lin Qiye, come up and receive your medal." Yuan Gang's voice rang out, which brought Lin Qiye back to his senses. He quickly walked onto the martial arts stage.
Yuan Gang walked to Lin Qiye's side and slowly opened the small black box in his hand. In the recess of the dark silk, a deep blue, dazzling medal shone brightly, and in the crystal, it seemed as if a shining star was embedded.
Yuan Gang solemnly picked up the Star Medal and hung it on Lin Qiye's chest.
Lin Qiye took a deep breath and gave Yuan Gang a standard military salute.
Amidst envious and jealous glances from the crowd, Lin Qiye slowly descended the steps and rejoined the group.
Baili Pangpang swallowed hard and gave Lin Qiye a thumbs up:
"Qiye, awesome!!"
After Lin Qiye, the name of the second person to be awarded the medal was announced by Yuan Gang, which exceeded everyone's expectations.
"Shen Qingzhu and with Lin Xi Chen's quick-witted, they timely eliminating the devastating eye of the [Great Wind Disaster], saving half the city from destruction, is awarded the 'Starry Night' Medal."
"Holy crap, you're a sassy guy?" Baili Pangpang's eyes widened.
Lin Xi Chen stood frozen, jaw dropped; she had fully intended to attribute all the credit to Shen Qingzhu, so why was her own name still included?
Everyone turned to look at Shen Qingzhu and Lin Xi Chen, who were completely bewildered. He looked at Yuan Gang on the stage with an expression that said, "Are you kidding me?"
Lin Xi Chen blinked a few times and sighed before giving Shen Qingzhu a thumbs-up—as if to say, "See? I told you to trust me"—and stepping onto the stage first.
After confirming that Yuan Gang was not joking, Shen Qingzhu braced himself and walked step by step onto the martial arts stage.
He himself never expected that he trusted Lin Xi Chen and with a casual snap of his fingers would inexplicably save half of Cangnan.
Completely bewildered after receiving his medals, Shen Qingzhu walked down the steps in a daze, and returned to his unit in a completely different state. He felt like the world had gone mad.
When Yuan Gang gave the order to disperse, everyone rushed off to eat. Deng Wei, Li Jia, and Li Liang, the three followers, immediately surrounded Shen Qingzhu, their eyes filled with admiration!
"Brother Shen! When did you ever save Cangnan City?!"
"Yeah, Brother Shen, didn't you go out to make money? How come you got a medal?"
"Brother Shen is truly my Brother Shen, he's amazing!!"
Surrounded by the three, Shen Qingzhu coughed twice and proudly raised her head.
"Tch, look at you bunch of country bumpkins! It's just a Starlight Medal, right? I'll get a much cooler medal someday!"
"Brother Shen is awesome!"
"Brother Shen is awesome!"
Seeing this, Baili Pangpang grinned, "That arrogant guy is at it again... No, I have to put a stop to his arrogance."
After saying that, Baili Pangpang took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Qiye is the strongest!"
"Qiye is the most handsome!"
"Qiye is awesome!!!"
Upon hearing these words, the people opposite them all turned around and looked at Lin Qiye and his companion with unfriendly expressions.
Lin Qiye rolled his eyes and slapped Baili Pangpang on the back of the head. "Are you a child? Come on, let's go eat."
"Oh..."
...
After the physical training ended, the recruits' training programs became much more varied and diverse.
Tactical guidance, simulation exercises, principles of forbidden ruins, combat practice, and even a complete set of world mythology stories, as well as some explanations of high-risk forbidden ruins that have appeared in the present day.
If the previous six months of physical training were entirely spent outdoors, now 80% of their training program consists of theoretical knowledge that needs to be learned in a classroom.
This gave Lin Qiye the feeling of going to university... or more precisely, going to military academy.
For most people, this is heaven compared to the days when they would collapse from exhaustion on the training field. But there is a small group of people who refuse to learn theoretical knowledge in every cell of their bodies.
"What is the essence of spiritual power?"
On the podium, an instructor wearing black-rimmed glasses slowly began to speak. His gaze swept over everyone in the classroom, finally landing on someone in the last row.
"Shen Qingzhu."
Shen Qingzhu, who was sleeping on the table along with Lin Xi Chen, slowly raised his head and looked at Instructor Gu with a sleepy look.
"What is the essence of spiritual power?"
"I don't know."
"...Go run ten laps."
"Okay!!"
Shen Qingzhu seemed to come alive, rushing out of the classroom like a gust of wind and starting to run laps on the playground with great energy.
Instructor Gu sighed and began selecting a target again, eventually settling on Lin Qiye.
"Lin Qiye, do you know?"
"The essence of mental power is the supernatural power generated by conscious activity under specific circumstances," Lin Qiye said calmly as he stood up.Instructor Gu nodded, a hint of approval in his eyes. "Excellent. I hope everyone understands that theory is just as important as practical combat in the process of dispelling mystery. We must always maintain a learner's attitude, seeking and researching. Only through constant reflection and dialectical thinking can we grasp the truth of the world..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Qiye had a sudden flash of inspiration, as if he had thought of something.
Instructor Gu was about to continue speaking when he realized that Lin Qiye had not yet sat down.
"What are you still standing there for?"
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment, then asked, "Instructor Gu, are you very knowledgeable?"
The instructor chuckled lightly and said arrogantly, "I'm a professor at Tsinghua University. What do you think?"
"Instructor, may I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead and ask," Instructor Gu said, adjusting his glasses.
"Do you think the world we live in right now... is real?