The gray-yellow clouds were even more gloomy than the day before, yet at noon they revealed a trace of pale sunlight.
In the mist-covered Nanze Lake, Autumn Dusk Island floated like a leaf on the water's surface.
From the sky above the western side of Autumn Dusk Island, the military camp square resembled a giant chessboard, with a dense mass of new recruits neatly arranged in formations.
Along the edge of the training ground, a squad of new recruits, panting with white steam, finally arrived to form a horizontal formation of 5x10, filling in the last square on the chessboard.
The dense formations were orderly, and within the grid-like gaps, military judges holding pious infusion rods and veteran captains moved back and forth, inspecting their stances.
The assessment had just ended, yet they still had to hold their posture despite their fatigue.
Even though the weather was so cold, fine beads of sweat still trickled down the soldiers' foreheads, glistening faintly.
