Nearing 11 a.m., the four-member squad finally arrived at the western suburbs of Jinchuan City, coming to the feet of the Divine Sculpture·Desert Drum.

"Tsk tsk~" Chang Ying couldn't help but marvel in admiration.

Ever since disembarking from the vehicle, she had been gazing up incessantly at the enormous Divine Sculpture, unable to take her eyes off it.

Six-class God·Desert Drum!

The form of this Stone Sculpture was that of a robust man.

He stood bare-chested, his long hair tied behind his head, wielding a drumstick in hand, with a giant war drum placed before him.

His facial contours were somewhat indistinct, yet the strong aura of valiance he emanated was palpably genuine!

"I really want to fight," Chang Ying muttered softly, clenching her battle-axe.

At her side, Lu Ran couldn't help but make a strange face.

What Chang Ying had said was true; mere sight of such a Divine Sculpture could stir anyone's emotions surging with fervor!

And what puzzled Lu Ran was, didn't the big girl worship it?

Deng Yutang and Tian Tian beside them weren't Desert Drum believers, but they still performed the proper courtesies.

Deng Tian's pair both placed their hands together, bowing in greeting.

"You are students, right? High school or university?" A female voice reached their ears.

The group looked over to see a soldier sister approaching.

"We're high school seniors this year," Chang Ying responded immediately.

The female soldier walked closer, looking up at Chang Ying and internally nodding in approval.

As the saying goes: Bigger bodies mean greater strength!

Some talents really are a gift from your parents, and others can only envy it.

"Recently, there have been disturbances inside the Demon Cave; we do not recommend high school students enter for training," the female soldier said.

"Ah..." Chang Ying's face fell, "We've come all the way from Rain Alley City!"

"Rain Alley City?"

"Wu Lie River Province," Lu Ran said.

Rain Alley City didn't have much fame, so when traveling, it was better to mention the name of the province.

All of a sudden, Chang Ying asked, "Since we're not allowed to train, then how did our shuttle bus make it into the military camp?"

The female soldier turned and asked, "What are your ranks?"

Chang Ying immediately pointed at Lu Ran, "He's Stream Realm Third Rank! The three of us are Stream Realm Second Rank, about to ascend to the next."

Deng Yutang quickly joined in, "That's right, that's right! Any minute now!"

"Your strength seems decent," the soldier mused for a moment before continuing, "What kind of believers are you?"

As everyone introduced themselves, the female soldier felt a bit stunned.

She even took a few more glances at Lu Ran.

The strongest and highest-ranked individual of the team was actually a Nine-class God·Immortal Sheep believer?

Typically, the higher your natural talent, the more likely you are to catch the attention of higher-ranked deities.

This ...?

The female soldier was confused.

Even more regrettable to her was that the girl with the most explosive physical talent was actually a believer in spirits?

Although the rank of the Spirit Sign deity was indeed high, being a lofty Four-class God,

The believers of Spirit Sign...

This team's roster was truly baffling!

To put it nicely: A group of kind folks and gamblers banded together!

To put it bluntly: Cowardly sheep and gambling dogs mixing and scrabbling around?

This... can they even fight?

The initially unnoticed Deng Tian duo turned out to be the backbone of the team?

For a moment, the female soldier felt sympathy for the two Sword Lotus believers and Immortal Sheep believers.

"Our strength is not bad," Lu Ran noticed the soldier's hesitation, "Later, when we register, you can check our believers' points."

Believer points couldn't be faked.

As high school students, their points came from a single source - school exams.

In other words, they hadn't muddled through by "volunteering" or other such activities.

"That's right!" Chang Ying slapped her chest, "Ever since becoming believers, our team has always been first!"

Tian Tian: "..."

Deng Yutang: "..."

Yes, this team had always been at the top of the list, but what did that have to do with her?

"Hmm," the female soldier, while still full of questions, did not believe the girl was lying.

After all, once registered, the soldiers would check their student information and everything would be verified.

"Ma'am, what has happened in the Demon Cave?" Lu Ran inquired.

The female soldier explained, "Since the fifteenth, the Black Lamp Clan has become unusually active.

We are short-handed and unable to take good care of groups of trainees like you."

On hearing this, Lu Ran instantly perked up.

What did that mean?

No instructors accompanying the team?

Wouldn't this mean he was going to have the time of his life?

"Ma'am, we can take care of ourselves!" Lu Ran declared immediately.

The female soldier nodded, "If you insist on entering the Demon Cave for training, you must strictly abide by the rules and only operate within the designated area, absolutely not crossing any boundaries."

"No problem!" Chen Ying quickly responded.

Ever since she saw the Six-class God·Desert Drum statue, her blood had been boiling, and she couldn't wait to swing at something.

Just as she had said in the vehicle before - my axe is very thirsty!

"Come on, let's register first." The female soldier turned to leave, and the group promptly followed.

As they entered the building, Lu Ran also noticed the difference.

The reception staff inside the hall were relatively few, and the human troops stationed there were indeed short-handed.

At a counter, several students handed over their ID cards and student IDs one by one.

The female soldier stood behind her colleague, eyes fixed on the computer screen, and in just a few seconds, she frowned slightly.

The tall girl she had initially favored had 74 believer points.

How to describe these points? Barely passable, you could say.

If it were anyone else, that would be quite good, considering these students had only been believers for under four months.

The problem was, Chang Ying had just been boasting as if it was an earth-shattering achievement!

What the female soldier didn't know was that Chang Ying's 74 points were thanks to Rain Alley City having undergone two special events.

The school didn't rank students twice in a row; as long as you survived, you were first on both lists!

In other words, Chang Ying had made a tremendous leap in points thanks to two special events, gaining a total of 40 points!

"Not bad," the soldier gave a nod of affirmation.

Then, the soldiers looked at Tian Tian and Deng Yutang's points, which were 86 and 88, respectively.

Tian Tian joined the team later; when Lu Ran's team was first placed, she was in Ma Tianchuan's team, which won second place in the group.

Seeing these two's points, the female soldier nodded in approval.

Don't think that 74 points compared to 86 or 88 points isn't much of a gap.

The school's assessments always had a safety net, to make sure most students could graduate smoothly.

That means, a student's points couldn't fall too low.

But exceeding others? Gaining just 1 more point was quite difficult!

Tian Tian and Deng Yutang were prime examples.

Their scores were seemingly only two points apart, but in reality, this was the difference between first and second place in the group.

"Huh?" the female soldier suddenly uttered in perplexity, her expression extremely surprised!

Even the soldier operating the computer widened her eyes.

The Nine-level God·Immortal Sheep believer, Lu Ran... had 132 believer points?

132 points?!

Were these points... fake?

Where did they all come from?

Today was the nineteenth day of the ninth lunar month, which meant that Lu Ran could have participated in a maximum of three city-defense missions.

Because students were not allowed to join the city defenses on the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month.

Even if Lu Ran had been first on both lists every time, he would have only gotten 60 points at most!

And the homework assigned by the school each month had fixed, guaranteed points.

If others had 70 or 80 points, that would be considered pretty good, but you shot up to 132 points?

I just said that the points of fellow believer students couldn't be too low or too high, but this...

The female soldier looked at Lu Ran, "Did you repeat a grade?"

Lu Ran: ???

In Da Xia Country, which high school allowed believer students to repeat a year?

Are these points so unbelievable?

Mixing more with the Moon Gazers wouldn't allow this?

"Our team leader is amazing!"

Chang Ying chuckled and stepped forward, wrapping an arm around Lu Ran's shoulder: "Even on the fifteenth of July, he didn't miss his patrol duties."

Lu Ran: "..."

The last time Deng Yutang had to deal with a plastic bag, Lu Ran was still holding a grudge.

And now another quick talker, Chang Ying?

The female soldier looked doubtful, "You participated in the city-defense on the fifteenth of July, or a patrol?"

Lu Ran slowly began to speak, but Chang Ying blurted out, "It was an extra test from the Divine People Bureau!"

Lu Ran: "..."

Damn!

From now on, do I have to fight even to pull out a plastic bag?

Chang Ying continued, "We were still sophomores then!

In our Rain Alley City, our team leader was the first student in history to be extra tested during his sophomore year."

The two soldiers looked at each other in disbelief.

If it were just the points, they would naturally consider the student a genius among geniuses!

But the fact that "Immortal Sheep Believer" was written next to Lu Ran's name on his information card was very strange!

Lu Ran turned his head to look at Chang Ying, with a rare hint of reproach in his eyes.

"Alright, alright, I won't talk anymore, okay?" Chang Ying got it wrong, assuming that Lu Ran didn't want to be too ostentatious.

She muttered under her breath, "Really now, you're so mighty, why be so low-profile?

If it were me, I would've soared to the skies long ago~"

Hearing these words, Lu Ran nearly spat blood!

Is it that I want to stay low-profile?

A table full of savory dishes, with braised pork and spicy boiled fish, soup and all, you take them all away.

You won't even let me pack it by hand!

Seeing Lu Ran remain silent, Deng Yutang aptly said, "We will abide by the rules and only train within the designated area."

"Alright." The female soldier's gaze swept over them once more, reassessing the team, "Follow me."

"Ah, there, there, don't be mad, I won't talk next time!"

Chang Ying coaxed and acted coy, pushing Lu Ran to follow the soldier's pace.

Tian Tian gaped in disbelief, feeling overwhelmed.

Such words should come from a petite girl, right?

You, as a big woman, doesn't find that jarring?

People's first impressions are indeed deep-seated and hard to change in a short time.

Recalling her first day stepping into high school, the little Tian Tian was indeed shocked by the sight of Chang Ying.

"Tian Tian?" Just as Chang Ying turned her head and saw the dazed girl, she called out, "Don't just stand there, come!"

"Oh." Tian Tian hurriedly caught up.

"Hurry up." Chang Ying waited for a moment and reached out for the girl.

As the large hand approached, Tian Tian got startled!

Immersed in her emotions, she blurted out instinctively, "Don't, don't eat me!"

Chang Ying: ???

...

I'm asking for some monthly tickets.

There will be three updates today, 12.18.22.

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