Chapter 182 : Chapter 182
Chapter 182: The Clown Went Trending!
“Ironbone Military Academy has always had a good relationship with us, but its combat strength has grown rather slowly over the past few years.”
“The number of talents it can send to the military district has also been decreasing.”
“Last year, Ironbone Military Academy even added four civilian-oriented programs and cut three combat-focused programs.”
When Tang Meiying reached this point, she also sounded somewhat regretful.
In a High-Martial university, students did not necessarily have to complete all four years.
Starting from their sophomore year, as long as they achieved certain results, they could apply for graduation at any time.
For example, if they earned merit in the Abyss-Suppression Army, they could graduate at any time and formally transfer into the Abyss-Suppression Army for active service.
Of course, they could also continue staying at the academy as part of the Reserve Force.
Everything was measured by individual ability, and the system was highly flexible.
Likewise, if they achieved results in other social fields, they could also graduate. For example, someone who developed a special medicine by discovering the properties of a certain plant might even be recruited directly by a research institute.
Many people entered military academies to borrow the academy’s resources and perspective, grow as quickly as possible, and enter a higher social class.
Even more people entered military academies to use those resources to quickly improve their personal combat strength, enter the Abyss-Suppression Army, and build achievements.
Once a military academy began leaning toward civilian-oriented programs, it truly meant that it had begun going downhill.
Li Mu nodded.
“Contact Ironbone Military Academy and have them mobilize every student above the Fourth Grade.”
“Tell them they’re coming to participate in the military district’s new Mystic Realm. There will definitely be benefits. The sooner, the better!”
Although Tang Meiying was somewhat puzzled, she still accepted the order and left.
Afterward, Li Mu instructed Lin Yue, “Mobilize everyone in the Instructor Department and have them wait for orders at Base One Hall.”
“I’ll notify you in a bit.”
Lin Yue quickly responded, “Understood!” Then she jogged away.
Li Mu looked at the soldiers who had already begun gathering in the plaza.
Then he quickly went downstairs from the Instructor Department.
What came next was repeating the same method.
He would plant the spirit tree under everyone’s watch.
Li Mu intended to use this spirit tree to exchange for influence and merit.
If he secretly planted it, how could he prove that it was his contribution?
Therefore, Li Mu had to plant it in full view of everyone.
As for being targeted by the Liang Family, Li Mu did not take that seriously at all.
Ten minutes later, Li Mu planted the Beckoning Sapling in the empty space in front of the Instructor Department.
Afterward, the spirit tree grew wildly under the gaze of countless people, shooting up to more than two hundred meters tall!
This tree was even larger than the one in Pearl Military District.
That was because when Li Mu used Sweet Dew through the Blessed Field Art, he had moved this sapling alone into the Sweet Dew area.
That one act had increased its growth period by fifty years.
Li Mu had not dared to give Sweet Dew to the other two at the same time, because he still had to keep them in the Blessing Field for a while longer. He was afraid that if they became too old, they would go out of control.
Wanren Military District alone had nearly thirty thousand people, and with the tens of thousands from Ironbone Military Academy that he wanted to draw in and support, he also intended to open it to independent martial artists for a fee.
Only this tree, which had received Sweet Dew, would probably be enough to meet the demand.
And that did not even include the other two military districts.
However, Li Mu first had to observe whether those two military districts behaved themselves. If they did not, then they could roll far away just like Thousand Victories Military Academy.
This time, Li Mu was the first to enter, but unlike last time, he did not come out after staying only a short while.
Instead, he blocked the exit and killed to his heart’s content, earning 150,000 Triumph Points. Only after his True Qi was completely exhausted did he finally withdraw.
This time, Li Mu blocked the exit from the outside rather than from the inside.
Because of that, it did not affect the monsters’ transformation into Exit Stones.
When Li Mu came out, nearly seventy thousand Exit Stones sprayed wildly from the white Teleportation Gate.
The entire military district was shaken!
Wanren Military District was different from Pearl Military District.
Everyone there knew what the Sub-Profound Spirit Tree was!
When it had been in the Liang Family’s hands, the entrance ticket had cost hundreds of thousands, even up to a million, each time.
When the military district had mobilized the soldiers to gather and prepare to participate in a combat Mystic Realm, everyone had been guessing what kind of Mystic Realm it would be.
But when the towering spirit tree rose from the ground, everyone erupted!
“A Sub-Profound Spirit Tree? Is that a Sub-Profound Spirit Tree!?”
“Our military district’s own... Sub-Profound Spirit Tree!?”
“Come on, Old Lu, hit me once... Hiss! Damn it, why did you hit me so hard!?”
“I wanted to confirm it too. My hand hurts. It’s real.”
“Where did it come from?”
“Tiger Marquis Li! The newly appointed Head Instructor of the military district. He basically came to work with a tree in tow!”
“Stop damn chatting! Go over there to the Instructor Department and line up to receive an Exit Stone and a number token, then wait your turn to enter the Mystic Realm! The line has already reached number eighteen thousand!”
At this moment, Base One Hall was so densely packed with people that it made one’s scalp tingle.
People entered from the left and exited from the right.
The patrol teams and inspection teams had all been deployed. They stood on platforms more than a meter high, maintaining order from above until their voices were nearly hoarse from shouting.
Although the crowd was dense, it was still fairly orderly. Everyone was pressed together, collectively inching forward like a single writhing mass.
The staff of the Instructor Department had already taken over every window. More than twenty windows were distributing Exit Stones and number tokens at the same time.
Lin Yue was currently leading people at the hall windows.
Tang Meiying was leading people at the Mystic Realm entrance.
As the two of them looked at this unprecedented grand occasion that had never appeared in Wanren Military District before, they even felt as though they were dreaming.
Just what kind of divine being was Li Mu, descended into the mortal world?
Before, they had only heard of his deeds. Now that they were seeing the real thing, it somehow seemed even more unreal.
He had come alone to an unfamiliar city, beaten up Thousand Victories Military Academy, and stomped all over the Lu Family in both business and politics.
He had obtained several thousand portions of high-grade spiritual liquid, and now he had casually planted a Spirit Tree Mystic Realm that could allow tens of thousands of people to train at the same time!
By now, nearly ten thousand soldiers had already entered the Spirit Tree Mystic Realm.
Amid the clamor of Wanren Military District, a large group of people wearing black uniforms with silver emblems arrived.
It was Ironbone Military Academy.
Ironbone Military Academy had brought nearly twenty thousand people this time.
Walking at the front, the Principal and Vice Principal of Ironbone Military Academy moved with hurried steps. Behind them, the students also marched with their heads held high, looking as if they were ready to face death without hesitation.
It was as if they were going to the battlefield.
Deputy Commander-in-Chief An Xing and Li Mu were waiting beside Base Ten Hall.
Upon seeing An Xing, Ironbone Military Academy’s Principal, Liu Wandong, quickly brought the academy leaders forward and gave a standard salute.
“Deputy Commander-in-Chief An! Is there an emergency mission?”
An Xing smiled in confusion and asked, “Who said there was an emergency mission?”
Liu Wandong froze and said, “Deputy Instructor Tang Meiying from the Instructor Department called me and told me to bring every student above the Fourth Grade to the military district to participate in a Mystic Realm!”
An Xing and Li Mu could not help exchanging a smile.
Strictly speaking, Tang Meiying had not passed on the wrong message, because when Li Mu told her to notify them, she had not known what kind of Mystic Realm it was either.
Liu Wandong had misunderstood and thought that some Mystic Realm outbreak needed to be suppressed, so he had brought all available combat strength to support them as quickly as possible.
An Xing patted Liu Wandong on the arm and smiled.
“Brother Liu! Relax. There is indeed a Mystic Realm, but it’s a good thing.”
“Come, let me solemnly introduce him to you. This is our military district’s newly appointed Head Instructor, Li Mu, Tiger Marquis Li!”
An Xing reached out and pointed at Li Mu.
Everyone from Ironbone Military Academy exclaimed in surprise at the same time. Liu Wandong’s eyes widened even more, and he asked in disbelief, “This is Tiger Marquis Li, the Overall Commander of the Tiger Roar Army!?”
“Principal Liu, I hope you’ll take care of me.”
Li Mu smiled and took the initiative to extend his hand.
The fact that Liu Wandong had brought all of his combat forces to support them so quickly just because of one phone call from Tang Meiying, believing that a Mystic Realm needed to be suppressed, showed that he had indeed lived up to Ironbone Military Academy’s motto.
Hot blood warms iron bones! In the deep Abyss, no cold is felt!
Just hearing that motto made it sound righteous enough to glow.
Liu Wandong quickly reached out and clasped Li Mu’s hand tightly.
His angular face held a pair of deep-set eyes, and they were filled with curiosity and appreciation toward Li Mu.
“Compared with Tiger Marquis Li, I, Liu Wandong, have truly lived these past decades in vain!”
“Principal Liu, you praise me too much. During the days since I arrived, I’ve often heard Deputy Commander-in-Chief An speak highly of Ironbone Military Academy.”
“This is the first operational test of the Sub-Profound Spirit Tree, and we specially invited Ironbone Military Academy to participate.”
“In the future, we must maintain close contact.”
Li Mu felt that An Xing had been right. Changing the name really was laughable. Whether they changed it or not was meaningless.
So he simply stopped changing it and continued calling it the Sub-Profound Spirit Tree.
“The Sub-Profound Spirit Tree!?”
Liu Wandong and the others all asked in shock.
They all knew about the Liang Family’s Sub-Profound Spirit Tree very well. They had not expected Wanren Military District to have one too.
And they had even invited Ironbone Military Academy over to participate in the test. What kind of boldness was this?
If they used the Liang Family’s pricing, with an entrance ticket of eight hundred thousand per person, how much would it cost for twenty thousand people?
Wait!
What was the point of calculating the damn money?
This was already beyond something that could be measured with money!
An Xing, meanwhile, was somewhat surprised. He had not expected that despite Li Mu’s young age and domineering way of doing things, Li Mu also had such a considerate side.
When had An Xing ever mentioned a single word about Ironbone Military Academy to him?
Li Mu’s extra sentence made Liu Wandong remember An Xing’s goodwill, and in turn, An Xing had to remember Li Mu’s goodwill.
Moreover, it did not diminish Liu Wandong’s gratitude toward Li Mu at all.
The rare thing about this was that Li Mu did not need to do it at all.
For a moment, An Xing was suddenly somewhat moved.
Such a huge disturbance in the military district was impossible to conceal.
A giant tree two to three hundred meters tall had risen from inside the military district, and it was even emitting a soft white glow.
It would be difficult not to see it.
Independent martial artists coming and going through the Teleportation Area soon brought the news into Linyuan City.
After fermenting for several hours, two trending topics rose onto Linyuan City’s media trending rankings almost one after another.
[Thousand Victories Military Academy Designates Red Horse and Spirit Dragon Military Districts as Friendly Exchange Military Districts!]
[A Sky-Blotting Sub-Profound Spirit Tree Appears Inside Wanren Military District! Ironbone Military Academy Invited to Wanren Military District in Full Force!]