"Star Medal?"
Upon hearing these four words, not only were the many recruits below the stage taken aback, but even most of the instructors on stage were genuinely surprised!
This was an honor second only to the Stellar Sea Medal. Even Yuan Gang, the head of the Training Camp, only had three. Lin Qiye, a rookie who hadn't even left the Training Camp, had actually received a Star Medal?
However, upon reflection, it seemed understandable.
Setting aside everything else, just the act of shielding the entire bus of recruits from missile shrapnel had already determined that the medal Lin Qiye received wouldn't be of a low rank.
One must know that the over two hundred recruits in this Training Camp were from the Night Watchman reserves throughout The Great Xia, the future backbone of the nation's defense. Should anything happen to these recruits, a gap would form in the succession of Night Watchmen, weakening the country's defensive forces.
In recent years, increasingly powerful mysteries had emerged across the country. If a gap occurred in the Night Watchman's strength, the resulting harm would not be limited to just one city or town; it would be a major crisis sweeping across the entire territory!
From this perspective alone, Lin Qiye's actions met the condition of "quelling a major event capable of causing social unrest."
As for severely injuring the Serpent Woman and collaborating to kill Han Shaoyun, these seemed like big deals, but from a national perspective, they were minor. After all, an "Ocean" realm Devotee and a "Pond" realm Medusa Agent couldn't stir up any significant trouble.
There was another point that only a few could discern.
Since Lin Qiye had direct contact with the Ancient God Church and severely injured the Serpent Woman, it meant he had rejected their recruitment and firmly stood on the side of the Night Watchmen.
For a dual-god Agent to so decisively make his stance clear, the Night Watchman's higher-ups felt it would be inappropriate not to reward him.
What kind of reward then? Offer some monetary Forbidden Artifacts? Or promise a bright future?
Too crude, too common.
As it happened, a merit application report for Lin Qiye had been submitted, and they naturally wanted to make this "gift" a bit more splendid.
With all these factors at play, Lin Qiye's Star Medal was as justified as it could be.
"Lin Qiye, come forward to receive your medal," Yuan Gang's voice rang out, snapping Lin Qiye back to reality as he quickly ascended the martial stage.
Yuan Gang approached Lin Qiye, slowly opening the small black case in his hand. Within the dark silk recess, a dazzling deep blue medal shone brilliantly, with a crystal that seemed to encase a twinkling star.
Yuan Gang solemnly lifted the Star Medal and hung it on Lin Qiye's chest.
Lin Qiye took a deep breath and saluted Yuan Gang with a standard military gesture.
Amidst the envious and jealous gazes of the crowd, Lin Qiye slowly descended the steps and rejoined the ranks.
Baili Pangpang swallowed hard and gave Lin Qiye a thumbs-up:
"Qiye, you're awesome!!"
Following Lin Qiye, the second person to be awarded, to everyone's surprise, was announced by Yuan Gang.
"Shen Qingzhu, for timely eliminating the destructive eye of the Great Wind Disaster, saving half a city from destruction, is awarded the 'Gleam' Medal."
"Damn, Shen bro?" Baili Pangpang's eyes widened.
Everyone turned their gaze to Shen Qingzhu, who himself was utterly bewildered. He looked at Yuan Gang on the stage with an expression that said, "You must be joking."
After confirming that Yuan Gang was not kidding, Shen Qingzhu reluctantly made his way to the martial stage, step by step.
He never imagined that a casual snap of his fingers would inexplicably save half of Cangnan City.
Confusedly accepting the honor, he descended the steps and returned to the ranks, feeling like the world had gone mad.
After Yuan Gang dismissed them, everyone hurried off to eat. Deng Wei, Li Jia, and Li Liang, the three sidekicks, immediately surrounded Shen Qingzhu, their eyes filled with admiration.
"Shen bro! When did you save Cangnan City?!"
"Yeah, Shen bro, weren't you out making money? How did you end up with a medal?"
"Shen bro is truly my bro, so awesome!!"
Encircled by the trio, Shen Qingzhu coughed lightly and lifted his head proudly,
"Pfft, look at you guys, acting like you've never seen the world. It's just a Gleam Medal. In the future, I will get even more impressive medals!"
"Shen bro is mighty!"
"Shen bro is awesome!"
Baili Pangpang, witnessing this scene, smirked, "Shen bro is at it again… No, I have to knock down his arrogance a bit."
With that, Baili Pangpang took a deep breath and shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Qiye is the strongest!"
"Qiye is the coolest!"
"Qiye is awesome!!!"
Hearing these words, the group across turned their heads in unison, looking disapprovingly at Lin Qiye and Baili Pangpang.
Lin Qiye rolled his eyes and slapped the back of Baili Pangpang's head, "Are you a child? Let's go, time to eat."
"Oh…"
***
After the physical training was over, the recruits' training programs became much more varied.
Tactical guidance, simulated exercises, Forbidden Ruin principles, combat practice, and even a complete set of world mythology stories, as well as explanations of high-risk Forbidden Ruins that had appeared to date.
If the previous six months of physical training were spent entirely outdoors, then now, 80% of their training involved sitting in a classroom learning theoretical knowledge.
This gave Lin Qiye a feeling of being in college… more precisely, in a military academy.
For most people, compared to the days when they would faint from exhaustion on the training field, the present was simply paradise. However, there was still a small group whose every cell resisted theoretical learning.
"What is the essence of Psychic Power?"
At the podium, an instructor with black-framed glasses slowly began, his gaze sweeping over the classroom before finally resting on someone in the last row.
"Shen Qingzhu."
Shen Qingzhu, who had been sleeping on the desk, lethargically lifted his head, his eyes heavy with sleepiness.
"The essence of Psychic Power, what is it?"
"I have fucking no idea."
"… Go run ten laps."
"Right away!!"
Shen Qingzhu sprang to life, dashing out of the classroom like the wind and energetically began running laps on the field.
The instructor sighed and began to select another target, eventually settling on Lin Qiye.
"Lin Qiye, do you know?"
"The essence of Psychic Power is a supernatural force produced by consciousness under specific conditions," Lin Qiye stood up and calmly stated.
The instructor nodded, a hint of appreciation in his eyes, "Correct. I hope everyone understands that the importance of theory in the eradication of mysteries is just as crucial as actual combat. We must always maintain the attitude of a learner, to seek, to study, and only through continuous reflection and dialectics can we grasp the truth of the world…"
Hearing this, a spark of insight flashed in Lin Qiye's mind, as if he had thought of something.
The instructor was about to continue when he noticed Lin Qiye was still standing.
"Why are you still standing?"
Lin Qiye pondered for a moment, "Instructor Gu, are you very knowledgeable?"
The instructor chuckled proudly, "I am a professor at Huaqing University, what do you think?"
"Then, Instructor Gu, may I ask you a question?"
"Ask away," Instructor Gu adjusted his glasses.
"Do you think… the world we live in… is real?"
Proofreader & Editor: Lotas