Chapter 232: Chapter 232: Authority Upgrade
Just as Chu Qingyun sat up, a golden light gathered within the multicolored sphere floating above the stone bed. It quickly condensed into a gold medal, which then separated from the sphere.
Seeing the gold medal that had separated, everyone present, including Zhang Nian, was stunned motionless.
The appearance of the gold medal meant that Chu Qingyun... he had passed the trial!
To pass the Difficult Level trial on his very first attempt!
This was something that had never happened before in the entire history of the Great Xia Dragon Guard in Lianshan County!
After floating for a moment, the gold medal dissolved back into golden light and merged into the sphere.
Everything looked exactly as it had before Chu Qingyun went in.
Looking at the utterly shocked people in the room, Chu Qingyun secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and breathed a long, internal sigh of relief.
Back in the Illusion Realm, in the center of the square, at the critical moment when the last sliver of space began to collapse, Chu Qingyun had managed to grab the gold medal just before the space was completely destroyed.
"H-Holy crap, he actually passed! On his first trial... he passed!"
"Unbelievable! Could it be he didn’t make a single wrong choice? But the time doesn’t add up... Don’t tell me he forced his way through with sheer strength!?"
"This... As expected of a genius valued by the Lord Military Commander himself!"
After the people from the Merit Assessment Office came to their senses, they couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement one after another.
Their leader also couldn’t help but shake his head and click his tongue. "Tsk, tsk. The Lord Military Commander’s judgment is truly beyond ours. This kid... his future is limitless..."
At the side, Zhang Nian suddenly burst out laughing. "Hahaha, excellent! Chu Qingyun, you truly didn’t disappoint the Lord Military Commander! Come, I’ll take you to upgrade your authority level!"
"Old Dong, we’re leaving now!"
Beaming, Zhang Nian bid farewell to the head of the Merit Assessment Office and left with Chu Qingyun.
Earlier, the people from the Merit Assessment Office had questioned the Celestial Wind Army Master’s judgment. Although their reasoning was sound, as a Guard General of the Celestial Wind Army and a direct subordinate of the Celestial Wind Army Master, Zhang Nian had felt somewhat displeased.
Fortunately, Chu Qingyun had lived up to expectations, actually managing to pass the Difficult Level trial in a single attempt.
Seeing the utterly shocked expressions on the faces of the people from the Merit Assessment Office, Zhang Nian felt a great sense of satisfaction. His approval of Chu Qingyun naturally soared to one hundred percent!
Before leaving, Chu Qingyun glanced guiltily at the sphere of light on the stone bed. He didn’t say anything unnecessary and followed Zhang Nian out.
Meanwhile, inside his Qi Sea, a small, rectangular Light Card, the same color as the sphere of light, was floating quietly not far from his Devouring Martial Soul.
One must understand that his other Martial Souls, such as the Shadow Martial Soul, the Ten-star Vine Martial Soul, and the Iron Wall Martial Soul, were all forced by the Devouring Martial Soul to cower far away at the very edges of his Qi Sea.
Yet this Light Card was actually able to remain right next to the Devouring Martial Soul.
This showed that this object was by no means ordinary!
However, Chu Qingyun’s only worry now was whether taking the Light Card from the Illusion Realm would cause problems with future trials.
’I already have a plan, though. Even if someone asks, I’ll just play dumb and claim I don’t know anything...’
On the way, Zhang Nian told Chu Qingyun about his own identity and mission.
Although Chu Qingyun could only be considered a Gold Medal Captain for now, Zhang Nian treated him as a complete equal, with no intention of regarding him as a subordinate.
Not to mention, just the fact that he was so highly regarded by the Celestial Wind Army Master, who had personally made him a promise, was enough to make Chu Qingyun’s status no less than that of an ordinary Guard General.
Besides, with the talent and strength to pass the Difficult Level trial in a single attempt, breaking through to the Martial Spirit realm was almost a certainty. Chu Qingyun’s future achievements would be at least at the Guard General level, and even reaching Grand Commander wasn’t out of the question.
Within the Great Xia Dragon Guard, a Military Lord possessed extremely high power and authority.
With the Celestial Wind Army Master having smoothed the way for him, Chu Qingyun encountered no obstacles or difficulties in raising the authority level on his token to the Army Guardian Level.
After his own task was completed, Zhang Nian revealed a smile of relief.
"Brother Chu, it’s still early. Do you want to come with me to watch the Four Races Martial Arts Competition of the Four Great Clans? Their standards are nothing special, but watching our Celestial Wind Army captains crush the geniuses of the Four Races is quite amusing."
Zhang Nian said with a smile.
Chu Qingyun smiled and said, "Brother Zhang, I’ll have to pass. I have some urgent business to take care of at the exchange office."
Zhang Nian laughed. "I understand, I understand. If I were the one who got Grand Commander-level authority, I wouldn’t be able to resist going to see what treasures are on the next level up either. In that case, I’ll go by myself."
After Zhang Nian left, Chu Qingyun also headed to the exchange office.
There were also rewards for passing the Illusion Realm trial assessment.
One thousand Military Merits for the Ordinary Level, three thousand for the General Level, and five thousand for the Difficult Level.
Since Chu Qingyun had passed the Difficult Level in one go, it was equivalent to passing all three levels. Before leaving the Merit Assessment Office, he had received the full sum of nine thousand Military Merits!
Adding the one thousand-plus Military Merits remaining on his token, he now had over ten thousand Military Merits again. Naturally, he wanted to buy Thunderlight Stones to cultivate his Thunder Light Sword Qi.
But aside from that, there was something even more important.
When he only had Captain Level authority, he could see the treasures sold in the Military Guard District, but there were no elixirs among them.
But now, with Army Guardian Level authority, he could see the treasures that could be purchased with Grand Commander-level authority. He wanted to see if the One Yang Pill was for sale among them.
When he arrived at the exchange office again, many people inside recognized Chu Qingyun.
"Captain Chu is back at the exchange office. Did you get another large sum of Military Merits?" a person came forward to greet him, speaking with a smile.
After the last time Chu Qingyun and Xia He caused a huge scene at the exchange office, the people here had all become much more restrained and no longer dared to bully others casually.
Towards Chu Qingyun, they were especially respectful and didn’t dare to be the least bit impudent.
’He beat Liu Cangyi and his five companions to a pulp yet received no punishment at all. I heard he’s even favored by a Grand Commander. This isn’t someone we can afford to provoke.’
Chu Qingyun nodded and said, "I was lucky. I got another ten thousand-plus Military Merits."
The man’s eye immediately started to twitch.
’Holy hell, another ten thousand-plus Military Merits! You’ve only been here for a few days, how many "ten thousand-plus Military Merits" have you gotten already? Have Military Merits been devalued or something...?’
"Uh, Captain Chu, the Captain District is this way. Where you’re headed is the Military Guard District..."
The man had been following Chu Qingyun, and when he saw him walking towards the Military Guard District, he couldn’t help but carefully remind him.
Chu Qingyun smiled and said, "I know. The Military Guard District is exactly where I’m going."
