The black flames slowly receded, revealing Cao Yuan’s original skin. He held the “Forbidden Scroll” around his neck, and the blood-red color in his eyes gradually disappeared, replaced by intense coughing.

Lin Qiye released the tape in his hand, finally breathing a sigh of relief.

Cao Yuan in his mad devil state was indeed unbelievably strong. If Lin Qiye didn’t have two forbidden artifacts in his hands, plus his divine might that restrained the “Black King’s Annihilation,” this battle might not have been won so easily.

Cao Yuan, shirtless, lay on the ground, gasping heavily. His gaze fell on Lin Qiye, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

“It’s really you…”

“What?”

“There aren’t many people in this world who can suppress the ‘Black King’s Annihilation.’”

“Is that so? If I’m not mistaken, the captain of the Mask team can also do it.”

“It’s different. You can absolve me of my sins.”

“What are you talking about?”

Lin Qiye furrowed his brows, seemingly unable to understand Cao Yuan’s meaning. Cao Yuan just shook his head, got up from the ground, and didn’t say much more.

Instructor Han walked over and carefully observed Lin Qiye for a long time. “Are you injured?”

“No.”

“Hmm.” Instructor Han paused, then gave Lin Qiye a thumbs up. “That move just now was impressive!”

Lin Qiye smiled slightly.

Instructor Han helped Cao Yuan up, and just as Cao Yuan was about to say something, Instructor Han shook his head to stop him.

“You don’t need to say anything. This is all my responsibility. I insisted on having you draw your sword. It’s not your fault.”

Cao Yuan, who had wanted to apologize, was completely blocked from speaking, and could only sigh helplessly, clasping his hands together in front of his chest.

“Not long after, fully armed instructors rushed over in a hurry and frowned slightly when they saw the devastated training ground.

Instructor Han walked up and briefly explained the situation to the instructors, and only then did they relax.

“Instructor Hong, I think… I’m not suitable for teaching.”

Instructor Han pulled Instructor Hong aside, sighed deeply, and spoke softly.

“It’s only your first day on the job, and you want to give up already?” Instructor Hong raised an eyebrow.

“I found that teaching students and fighting enemies myself are completely different… When I’m on a mission, I can take on a group of enemies single-handedly, no matter how dangerous it is, I won’t even furrow my brow. But after just a few minutes of teaching here, I ended up in a sorry state, almost causing a teaching accident.”

Instructor Hong looked at Instructor Han’s frustrated expression and couldn’t help but laugh.

“To be honest, I think you have a special talent for teaching. You drew three people, one is the young master of the Baili family, one is the Seraph’s agent, and one is the most difficult and dangerous among the high-risk individuals… It’s not just drawing a few people, it’s drawing three of the most difficult characters. Your luck is really something!”

“Instructor Hong, don’t make fun of me.” Instructor Han felt a little embarrassed and rubbed his nose.

“To be honest, among us instructors, there may be some who are better than you in close combat, but that’s only in a certain aspect. Unlike you, who are proficient in all eighteen martial arts. At this stage, with this group of rookies, what’s needed is not a specialization in close combat, but to find the most suitable fighting style from all weapons. This requires a teacher who is familiar with all martial arts. We can’t teach that, and I think only you, Han Li, among all the Night Watchmen of the Great Xia, have this ability.”

“But I…”

“Among these rookies, there are only a few who are really troublesome. In fact, having the opportunity to witness the growth of these extraordinary individuals is also a blessing for you and me, isn’t it?” Instructor Hong’s gaze fell in the distance, a slight smile appearing on his lips.

“Aren’t you curious about what kind of scene these extraordinary individuals will create when they leave this training camp?”

Instructor Han was slightly taken aback and subconsciously turned to look at the new recruits. In his mind, the figure of the young man with bandages on his left hand and a knife in his right hand seemed to appear again.

After a moment of silence, he nodded.

“Alright, I’ll give it another try.”

Instructor Hong smiled, patted Instructor Han’s shoulder, and said, “Go on, those rookies are waiting for your training.”

Instructor Han nodded, took a deep breath, and strode towards the training ground.

When Instructor Han returned, the restless new recruits closed their mouths, and the entire training ground quieted down.

Instructor Han’s gaze swept over everyone, then he took a wooden sword from the nearby shelf and walked to the half-broken training platform, continuing his explanation.

“We just talked about that sword technique, although it’s fast and fierce, it still lacks strength…”

…

The entire morning was spent on close combat training. After Instructor Han briefly explained a few sword techniques, he continued to teach double-handed swords, swordsmanship, spear techniques, and even some methods of using hidden weapons.Since it was their first time being trained with cold weapons, the session was primarily a lecture by Instructor Han. Kind-hearted as he was, he let them all sit down to listen, giving the new recruits who had been tormented all morning a chance to rest.

By the time Instructor Han’s throat was parched from talking, it was time for lunch.

When the new recruits arrived at the cafeteria full of anticipation, only to find that lunch was still steamed buns with raw meat, their spirits exploded, and some even threw up on the spot.

However, some sharp-eyed individuals noticed that in addition to the steamed buns and raw meat, there was a small stack of… pickles in front of everyone!

This discovery sent waves of joy through the despairing new recruits.

“Brother Qiye, do you think that old man Sun from the cafeteria has finally found his conscience? He even prepared pickles!” Baili Pangpang, moved, stuffed the pickles into his steamed bun and took a big bite.

“I don’t know, but I do know that this tiny dish of pickles won’t be enough for even a few bites,” Lin Qiye counted the pickles and said with a dark expression.

Just then, a figure quietly moved to their table.

Cao Yuan silently offered his pickles to Lin Qiye, gnawing on his raw meat as he spoke, “Mine’s for you.”

Lin Qiye was taken aback, while Baili Pangpang’s eyes widened, “Bro, that’s pickles! You’re not going to eat them?”

“If Lin Qiye wants to eat, I’ll let him eat.”

“…” Baili Pangpang’s mouth hung open upon hearing this, “Do you know what this is called?”

“What?”

“Being a lickspittle.”

“I’m fine with that.”

“…”

Lin Qiye fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking, “If this is about what happened this morning, you really don’t have to do this. I wasn’t hurt…”

“It’s not about that, Lin Qiye,” Cao Yuan shook his head, looking earnestly into Lin Qiye’s eyes,

“I just… simply want to lick your boots.”

Lin Qiye: …

Baili Pangpang’s body shook, and his view of Cao Yuan changed in an instant!

Damn,

This is a formidable rival!