Eight hundred years of wind and rain have passed, and countless heroes have turned to dust!

The brutal scenes of the ancient battlefield were no longer visible in Yanming Valley. The landscape had changed beyond recognition. The North Slope Iron Bone Tomb had undergone several large-scale renovations, and even parts of the terrain had been altered.

Mountains and rivers may change their face, but the human spirit is indestructible!

For eight hundred years, offerings have been made here without end. Many Grandmasters and Martial Saints have come to pay their respects, and the scent of incense from the North Slope Iron Bone Tomb has perpetually filled the air, reaching to the heavens.

At the entrance to Yanming Valley stood a colossal sword of black iron, buried halfway in the ground at an angle. The sword was over ten meters tall, reforged from the broken blades left behind by the Warriors of old. The great deeds of the seven thousand soldiers of the Iron Bone Army were inscribed upon it, and the blade came to be known as the Broken Sword Monument.

Upon entering the valley, a section of the mountain wall to the right had been chiseled flat. A giant bronze wall was embedded there, engraved with the names and birth dates of the seven thousand soldiers. It was originally a stone wall, but it could not withstand the erosion of wind and rain. It was later replaced with the bronze wall, which is now professionally maintained so that the offerings may continue uninterrupted!

Yu Fei and his group took turns paying their respects and offering incense. The solemn and dignified atmosphere of the tomb affected everyone who came here.

Full of reverence, they placed their incense sticks into the giant censer in front of the tomb, engraving the conviction to protect their home and country in their hearts.

Knowing the valor and passion of their ancestors, how could this generation dare to idly enjoy their peace!

The educational significance of the trip to the North Slope Iron Bone Tomb was profound. Young people are the most impressionable, their worldviews not yet fully formed. Many students on site were moved to tears. It was as if they could hear the heroic Warriors of old shouting and roaring in their ears, facing death without fear for the sake of protecting their home and country.

At that moment, Yu Fei thought of that group of the loveliest and bravest people from his past life’s memories. They too had shed their blood and laid down their lives for their home and country, disregarding life and death in the darkest of times, refusing to rest until their mission was accomplished!

The emotions from two different times and places converged once more, and tears streamed down Yu Fei’s face.

At this moment, he finally made up his mind. He would get into Shenhan University. It was one of only three military academies among the "Big Seven," and it was the best of the best!

...

Beigouya Village was in a remote location with poor transportation. In recent years, the last few families had moved away, turning it into a deserted village.

A home has life when people are in it, and people bring life to a home!

No matter how dilapidated a house is, as long as someone lives in it, it will still have a breath of life;

Conversely, no matter how bright and clean a house is, if no one lives in it, it will fall into ruin in a very short time, overgrown with weeds and with peeling walls.

Thus, houses have a life of their own. The houses in Beigouya Village were already dead and could no longer be called homes.

「The second day of the fourth month. Dusk.」

The desolate Beigouya Village received some uninvited guests. They moved quickly and were well-trained, subconsciously covering their tracks as they went.

Before long, they arrived in front of a courtyard house whose main structure was still relatively intact.

"Mr. Liang, I scouted this place out ahead of time. Everyone from the village moved away and hasn’t been back in years. The family that owned this house in front of us has been gone for over five years.

I set up surveillance nearby, so we’ll get an early warning if anything happens!"

Cheng YuanYu, wearing sunglasses, reached out and twisted off the rusty iron lock, then kicked open the rusted iron gate!

BANG... CRASH!

The tremendous noise echoed through the silence, startling a large flock of birds into flight!

The iron gate, unable to withstand the heavy blow, responded with a cloud of dust!

COUGH... COUGH...

Di Yunliang waved a hand in front of his nose and stared viciously at Cheng YuanYu.

"You motherfucker, are you trying to get us killed? How many times have I told you we need to be low-key? Do you understand what fucking low-key means?"

Cheng YuanYu took off his sunglasses, breathed on them, then grabbed Guangzai’s T-shirt to wipe off the dust.

Guangzai looked very different from two months ago. His cheekbones were prominent, and he had lost a lot of weight. He stood hand-in-hand with Miss Lanhua, looking like a couple deeply in love.

Seeing Cheng YuanYu humiliate him like this, he instinctively wanted to step forward and argue, but Miss Lanhua stopped him. Just as he was about to speak, his lips were covered by a warm, gentle kiss that made him forget all about the dispute. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Cheng YuanYu paid no mind to Guangzai’s petty feelings and continued speaking:

"There’s no one here, Mr. Liang! I checked! ...Er, wait, that’s not right. There are four carefully selected offerings inside!"

Di Yunliang’s brow furrowed.

"Offerings? Where did they come from?"

Cheng YuanYu gave a simple, honest smile.

"The next county over. I took them from another crew. Dog-eat-dog. No one will be able to trace it back to us!"

Hearing this, Di Yunliang showed a satisfied expression. Mr. Cheng had always been meticulous in his work.

"Mm, not bad. Have a smoke!"

He took out a pack of Qinghu cigarettes and passed one to each of them.

The group of eight entered one by one. Mrs. Li was the last one in, carefully closing the iron gate behind them.

But because of the damage Cheng YuanYu had done to the gate, its main structure was bent. It made a harsh creaking sound as it was closed and couldn’t be shut completely.

The main living room inside had been cleaned in advance. Aside from the lingering smell of rot from the old furniture, the room was very tidy. Clearly, this was all Mrs. Li’s doing.

She was the only one among them who would do such things.

Di Yunliang sat sprawled on an old locust wood chair. More than half of its yellow paint had peeled off—a style of rural decor from thirty years ago.

The concrete floor of the living room had been cleared, and a circular array about three meters in diameter was carved into it. The pattern was irregular, and looking at it closely made one feel nauseous and dizzy.

Guangzai was drawn to the array inscribed on the floor. After staring at it for a few moments, he felt dizzy and his vision swam. He almost threw up!

Miss Lanhua immediately began to pat his back comfortingly. She spoke softly into his ear, her breath warm and sweet,

"Sweetie, you haven’t been baptized by the Sect yet. Don’t look at it too long, okay~?"

Listening to Miss Lanhua’s gentle voice, Guangzai seemed to feel a little better.

To be honest, ever since that night, he didn’t know how he had ended up mixed up with Miss Lanhua.

During this time, Miss Lanhua had been incredibly gentle in her words and actions, a million times better than any girlfriend he could have imagined. After that night, Guangzai had briefly considered secretly reporting Di Yunliang and the others. He thought that if he provided a tip, he might be able to survive, since he hadn’t been baptized.

But Miss Lanhua was just too good to him; he couldn’t bear to leave her! He even felt that he and Miss Lanhua could live happily ever after.

To repay Miss Lanhua, and also to save his own life, Guangzai had used every means at his disposal to consolidate the local flesh trade in the shortest time possible. Throughout this process, Miss Lanhua, worried he would overwork himself, helped him a great deal. Now, he was arguably the big boss of that industry in Tianning County, and Miss Lanhua was his secretary.

Now, seeing this array, Guangzai understood that he had no way out. After the baptism, he would be a full-fledged cultist.

The Security Bureau would try unbaptized criminals from the Illuminati according to their crimes. But if one had been baptized, they operated on a "catch one, kill one" basis. They would be executed on the spot, wherever they were caught. No survivors were needed.