# 112
Chapter 112: Attack
“Sudden?” Baili Pangpang scratched his head. “I’d call it a nice surprise. Besides, what’s wrong with a holiday? Don’t overthink it.”
Lin Qiye was silent for a moment, then nodded. “I hope I’m just overthinking…”
Back in the dorm, Lin Qiye packed lightly—there wasn’t much to take. Daily necessities were already waiting at Hongying’s place; that was the perk of living close to home. In the end he only slung a small backpack over his shoulder and headed for the training ground. Baili Pangpang was even more extreme: empty-handed, not a single item.
“You’re leaving like that?” Cao Yuan asked, dragging his suitcase, eyes wide.
“Yep.”
“Clothes? Toiletries?”
“I’ll just have someone buy me more.”
“…”
Damn rich people.
When the recruits reached the field, several coaches were already idling, and beside them lay stacks of long black cases.
Lin Qiye’s eyes narrowed the instant he saw them. He knew what those cases held, and most recruits could guess.
“This holiday… won’t be simple,” Cao Yuan muttered, brow furrowed.
Instructor Hong stood with hands behind his back and barked:
“For this leave, every one of you takes a Starblade! Use it only if absolutely necessary! Even then, stay out of public sight—no panicking the civilians! Understood?!”
“Understood!”
“Collect your blades!”
They formed a neat line, each lifting a black case, then boarded in order; the whole process flowed like clockwork.
Lin Qiye hugged his case, spirit sense sweeping inside, and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Cao Yuan leaned forward from the seat behind.
“No name etched on the blade—it’s a standard-issue loaner we have to return.”
“Obviously,” Cao Yuan said. “Only after graduation do we get personal blades, cloaks and Coats of Arms. Ours are still being forged.”
Baili Pangpang tapped his case. “Decent steel, but compared to a relic it’s lacking.”
“…Shut up.”
When every seat was taken, the coaches rumbled out of camp. The moment they crossed the perimeter, everyone felt a sudden lightness, as if a crushing weight had vanished; minds turned crystal-clear.
In that instant something inside seemed to snap, cool clarity washing from skull to toes, rinsing every pore.
Lin Qiye shuddered; never had he felt so lucid.
“This… I broke through!”
“Me too!”
“What the—? Same here!”
“Hell yeah! I finally hit the Pool realm! Hahaha!”
“…”
It wasn’t just Lin Qiye—every recruit leaving camp experienced the same leap.
Instructor Hong stood at the front, grinning. “Thought we used that precious relic just to suppress your Forbidden Ruins? While your abilities were sealed, so was your mental-energy flow! Five whole months of pressure—now released—makes your spirit rebound and smash straight through the Pool threshold! Consider it a parting gift for surviving five months of hell!”
The coach erupted in cheers.
Lin Qiye sensed his spirit flow—capacity and recovery speed far beyond the “Candle” realm. He had truly stepped from “a candle” to “a pool.”
While most savored the breakthrough, Baili Pangpang rubbed his big forehead, bewildered.
“You broke through too?”
“Mm.”
“Tch… I can’t sense realms, just feel lighter.”
“That means your spirit still got a major boost,” Cao Yuan said. “Even without a Forbidden Ruin, the energy’s real. Stronger spirit, stronger relic output later.”
“Sigh, how I envy you guys with abilities…”
“…Say that again while hugging your relics and looking at your bank account.”
“Can’t compare—relics are external, not truly mine—”
Before he could finish, someone jabbed a finger at the window.
“Holy crap! What are those?!”
Silence fell; every head snapped to the sky.
Five objects tore through blue heavens, white contrails streaking behind, diving straight at them.
“That’s—” Lin Qiye’s pupils shrank.
“Missiles!!! Missiles!!! Everyone down—grab something!” Instructor Hong roared from the front.
Whoosh—!!!
Five warheads ripped through the air. Three skimmed overhead and slammed into the camp behind!
The instant they hit, blinding fire blossomed.
BOOM—!!!
Thunderous explosions, flames raging like mad dragons, black smoke billowing into a towering mushroom cloud.
Half a second later a shock-wave slammed the coach, rocking it violently.
Lin Qiye clung to the seat frame and glanced back: amid the inferno, a faint golden glimmer flickered.
Then the remaining two missiles struck—one obliterated the military checkpoint they’d just passed; the other plunged straight toward the convoy.
Lin Qiye’s eyes widened. Instructor Hong leapt up, about to act—when a spear wreathed in rose-red flames streaked from afar!
Too fast for eyes to track, it drew a crimson line across the sky and speared the missile mid-air.
BOOM—!!!!