The undead have descended upon the world? I possess a sword that can cleave the heavens once more!

Hu Lie seemed to have thought of something and quickly tapped a few times on his watch.

On the other side, Old Wei, who was still handling various matters at the quartermaster department, paused and looked down at the watch on his left wrist. The screen lit up, and a message popped up.

After reading the message, he paused slightly, his graying eyebrows twitching slightly, and muttered, "So fast..."

His tone contained surprise, relief, and an indescribable sense of emotion.

Then he tapped his watch, looked up, and gazed into the small room inside the quartermaster's office.

A man in a black trench coat wearing two gold epaulettes walked out, carrying a stack of documents, seemingly processing some kind of supplies list.

A hint of confusion crossed his face: "Old Wei, what's wrong?"

"Keep an eye on things here, I'm going out for a bit."

Old Wei's voice wasn't loud, but his tone left no room for argument. He had already stood up from behind the counter, his gray hair gleaming silver under the light.

Although the man was somewhat puzzled, he nodded nonetheless.

The moment the man nodded, Old Wei's figure slowly vanished from the spot.

The man watched the disappearing figure, shook his head helplessly, then turned and walked into the counter to continue dealing with the unfinished business.

In front of the city wall.

"Tsk tsk, an eighth-level at eighteen, I wouldn't even dare to dream of doing that." Peng Wanli squatted on a rock, his hands covering his head, his expression as if he were enduring some kind of huge shock. "When I was eighteen, I was still worried about breaking through to the fourth level."

"A dragon's and phoenix's bearing, a face as bright as the sun and moon!" Li Feng, hands behind his back, circled Wu You twice, muttering to himself as if appraising a rare treasure. "This appearance, this strength, this aura—what window did God close for him?"

Shen Qing didn't speak, but his gaze remained fixed on Wu You, a faint smile playing on his lips.

He was more composed than Li Feng and Peng Wanli, but the surprise and admiration in his eyes were still undeniable.

Li Feng and the other two surrounded Hu Lie and Wu You, marveling at their feats.

They were joking, but their expressions were incredibly serious.

In Jiuli, strength is everything. The strong are respected everywhere, let alone a promising young powerhouse.

Eighteen years old, awakened for half a year, eighth rank—if Wu You were given a few more years, how far could he develop in Jiuli?

Guardian level? Tenth seat level? Or even the Heavenly Division?

As for those higher levels like Li Yu and Li Zhu, they didn't even dare to dream of it, since those levels were far, far away from them.

At that moment, a figure wearing a black trench coat, with a slender build and gray hair, appeared from a distance, stepping through the air.

His steps were not fast, but each step covered a great distance, taking only a few breaths to get from the distant sky to the city wall.

Upon seeing that figure, Li Feng, Peng Wanli, Shen Qing, and Hu Lie all straightened up, their eyes turning serious.

They quickly stood up straight, their backs ramrod straight, like soldiers being inspected.

When the old man strolled down from the sky and landed steadily on the stone slabs in front of the city wall, Li Feng, Hu Lie, and the other three raised their hands in salute at the same time, their movements perfectly synchronized, even at the same angle.

"Wei Zhenshou." The four voices overlapped, not loud, but very solemn.

Although Hu Lie and the old man had a good relationship and Hu could call him Old Wei in private, Hu still had to address him by his official title in formal settings.

This is the rule of the Jiuli people, and it is also a basic respect.

Wu You also realized what was happening and saluted the old man, saying, "Governor Wei."

Upon seeing this scene, the surrounding trainees quickly stood up straight and saluted in unison.

Thousands of hands rose simultaneously, their voices converging into one: "Guard Wei!"

Seeing this, Old Wei nodded, his gray hair swaying slightly in the wind.

His gaze swept across the crowd and landed directly on Wu You, as if confirming something. His cloudy eyes became unusually bright at that moment.

"Eighth level?" His voice wasn't loud, but everyone heard it clearly.

Wu You nodded.

"Did you eat the rebellious herb?"

Wu You nodded again.

Old Wei nodded, his expression a mixture of relief and approval: "Not bad, it wasn't a waste."

His tone was calm, but those who knew him could hear the satisfaction beneath that calmness.

Old Wei looked at Wu You and pondered for a moment: "He's already at the eighth level..."

"In that case, you've already passed the preliminary selection. There's no need to waste any more time on training."

His tone was very calm, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

But these words, when they reached the ears of everyone present, stirred up ripples.

"Attending standardized training will only waste your talent. Just grow in the way you like." Old Wei looked at Wu You, his cloudy eyes filled with immense expectation. "From now on, you will be an official member of Jiuli."

"If you need anything, just come to the quartermaster department to find me."

As he spoke, Old Wei took something out of his trench coat pocket and casually tossed it to Wu You.

It was an epaulette with two sword-shaped gold bars—no small wings, no extra decorations, just two simple gold bars, gleaming with a restrained metallic luster under the dark red light.

It was exactly the same as the one on Hu Lie's shoulder; it was the symbol of the "Wanderer" rank in the Jiuli class.

Wu You reached out and caught it; the metal felt cold and heavy.

Upon hearing Elder Wei's words, Li Feng and the other two, along with Hu Lie, all gaped open and exchanged bewildered glances.

It wasn't that I doubted Elder Wei's words; after all, as the tenth-rank garrison commander of this Jiuli stronghold, he was fully qualified to make an exception and transfer Wu You to a formal member.

They were just surprised.

On the second day after Wu You arrived in Jiuli, and on the first day of the preliminary training, he passed the preliminary selection.

Li Feng recalled how he had endured a year of grueling training to barely join Jiuli, and even that was something that those torchbearers who participated in the preliminary training at the same time but were ultimately eliminated could only dream of.

Which of these people isn't a genius among geniuses? Which of them wasn't a top talent selected through rigorous processes by the investigation bureaus of various cities?

Now, some people pass the preliminary selection on the first day of training?

But considering the opponent's strength and talent, it seems quite reasonable.

The trainees were speechless.

Dude, we all participated in the preliminary training on the same day, how come you were directly promoted?

If everyone hadn't witnessed Wu You's strength and understood what was going on, those who didn't know the truth would probably be shocked.

The Jiuli preliminary training program lasts for a year and has an extremely low pass rate. Someone passed on the first day. It would be strange if there were no problems.

Xia Wan and the others stood in the middle of the crowd and silently gave Wu You a thumbs up.

Their faces wore a complex expression—a mixture of envy, admiration, and a strange sense of relief.

Training alongside such a monster is really stressful.

Wang Qi: o_O? Didn't we agree to do it together? Lao Wu, why did you speedrun?

Wu You stared blankly at the cold epaulet in his hand.

The preliminary training had barely begun when it was already over?

Then, Old Wei paused, his gray eyebrows furrowing slightly, as if he was hesitating about something.

After a moment, he finally spoke: "Come to the quartermaster department at 7:30 tonight."

7:30...

Wu You was about to ask a question when Old Wei had already turned and left.

"Remember, 7:30." The old man's voice drifted on the wind, his figure growing smaller and fainter against the dark red sky.

The atmosphere in the square then became lively again.

Hu Lie turned around and looked at Wu You. His expression changed from shock to relief, and then to the pride of an elder looking at a younger person.

His eyes were slightly red, but he quickly concealed it.

"Great!" He patted Wu You on the shoulder, his hand broad and strong. "Although it's impossible for you not to pass with your abilities, it's really unexpected that you passed on the first day."

Li Feng and the others said with a hint of envy, "Sigh, I felt that the year I spent in training was already quite exciting, but I never expected that the preliminary training could be completed in just one day. Congratulations!"

Their tone was joking, but their eyes were sincere.

In Jiuli, no one will deny the achievements of a strong person out of jealousy; instead, they will work harder because of the gap between them.

Wu You, unusually modest, said, "Just lucky, just lucky."

At this moment, Wang Qi squeezed out of the crowd, his expression returning to its usual casual demeanor.

He walked over, placed a heavy hand on Wu You's shoulder, then turned to the still-shocked students and said, "This is my buddy!"

Wu You laughed, raised his hand and punched Wang Qi squarely in the stomach. The force wasn't great, but Wang Qi still bent over in response.

"You seemed to be really enjoying holding back your laughter just now?"

"Cough cough—" Wang Qi coughed twice, deliberately forcing a pained expression on his face, and explained to everyone, "This is how brothers express their friendship, those who know, know."

Everyone laughed.