War God Palace

"Teacher Li, there is one more thing..." Feng Qingmo hesitated for a moment before recounting his encounter with the two mercenary War Gods.

Li Ping's expression turned grave as he pondered, "Given the personalities of those two, especially since they are both Intermediate War Gods, simply abandoning the corpse of a Golden-Veined Cloud Leopard is not like them at all... They must have had ulterior motives!"

"Perhaps they felt they couldn't secure the kill?" Feng Qingmo also found it strange. He had felt Shenliukov preparing to strike at the time, but unexpectedly, Wang Xiangying had pulled him away.

"With their strength as Intermediate War Gods, even if they couldn't keep you, they should have been able to force you to retreat. That way, not only the Golden-Veined Cloud Leopard but even that Fire-Kirin Three-Trident Pig would have fallen into their hands. As mercenaries, they risk their lives for money; how could they easily give up billions right in front of them?"

"Don't worry about this matter anymore. I will report it and have the higher-ups look into it," Li Ping said, unable to make sense of it, and waved him off. "You may go back now..."

"Thank you, Teacher Li," Feng Qingmo picked up the metal box and gestured to Li Ping. "Goodbye!"

Li Ping had already sat down to prepare his report and waved his hand without looking up.

Carrying the metal box, Feng Qingmo returned to his residence.

He entered the underground training room and locked the door securely.

He opened the latches of the metal box, inside which lay a deep blue helmet.

With a faint smile, he sat cross-legged, picked up the helmet, set a ten-meter safety detection radius, and put it on.

In a serene, oversized room, Feng Qingmo appeared, dressed in a simple white robe.

"Virtual space is still the best; my vision works perfectly here..."

He wandered around the room. In the space of over a thousand square meters, a bed, swimming pool, desk, dining table, and training area were neatly divided into various zones. "Just as described in the original records..."

"Welcome, War God Feng Qingmo," an electronic voice rang out, though its source was impossible to pinpoint.

"This is your private room within the War God Palace. No one can enter your room except for you yourself..."

"On your desk, there is a copy of the War God Palace Regulations. Please read these regulations first. I wish you a pleasant time in the War God Palace!"

Feng Qingmo walked over and opened the War God Palace Regulations; it contained only a single page.

"Welcome to the War God Palace..."

"The War God Palace features many functions such as the 'Mall', 'Auction Hall', 'Arena Plaza', and 'Trial Tower', waiting for you to discover them yourself!"

"Convenient enough. There is a Trial Tower in the War God Palace, so I won't have to go to the Central Building of the training camp in the future..." He walked to the wardrobe, picked out a dark cyan casual outfit, and pushed the door open to step out.

Perhaps because it was daytime, there were few War Gods in the War God Palace, and the corridor was completely empty.

He walked to the end of the corridor to the spiral staircase leading to the first-floor lobby. Standing there and looking down, he saw thousands of sofa chairs scattered across the ten-thousand-square-meter hall. At a glance, only a few hundred people were sitting in small groups, drinking and chatting.

On one wall of the lobby hung a massive display screen showing a number--3455.

He descended the stairs. When Feng Qingmo stepped off the last stair and onto the floor of the first-floor lobby:

Clap!

The entire first-floor lobby suddenly dimmed. The previously soft, comfortable light turned murky, and the faint, soothing music vanished instantly.

Clang!

Following a crisp sound that seemed to make one's soul tremble, enthusiastic and joyful music immediately erupted, echoing throughout the hall.

The hundreds of War Gods who had been chatting and drinking all turned their heads to look.

A faint beam of light shone down upon Feng Qingmo.

"The War God Palace welcomes a new War God. His name is--Feng Qingmo!"

A grand, god-like voice resonated. Simultaneously, a three-dimensional virtual projection appeared above the lobby, displaying several lines of stereoscopic text.

Name: Feng Qingmo Nationality: Huaxia Level: War God Level (Elementary)

"The total number of War Gods in human society has increased by one, reaching 3456!"

At the same time, the number '3455' on the massive display screen on the lobby wall flickered and changed to '3456'. The beam of light vanished, and the enthusiastic music began to fade until it disappeared.

A figure walked toward him.

"Li Ping sent me a message earlier saying he gave you the consciousness sensor, so I came over to wait for you..." Guan Chenglong's gaze lingered on his bright eyes for a moment before he led him toward his previous seat.

"Teacher Guan!" Feng Qingmo bowed slightly to show respect before following him toward the sofa.

The other hundreds of War Gods in the hall, seeing Guan Chenglong step forward, withdrew their gazes, but private messages had already been sent out—the Huaxia military had gained another Elementary War God.

"Sit. Since this is your first time in the War God Palace, tell me what you'd like to eat; my treat!" Guan Chenglong said generously, handing him the menu from the table.

"How could I let Teacher Guan pay? It must be my treat!" Feng Qingmo would not be so presumptuous. Regardless, Guan Chenglong was his direct teacher at the training camp, and he had come to the War God Palace specifically to wait for him today; it was a favor, large or small.

Though Guan Chenglong remarked, "How much money could you possibly have made?", he was quite pleased inside.

Fortunately, there were only two of them. They spent millions of points on delicacies and fine wines that were impossible to find in reality, chatting as they ate.

"You are the most worry-free student I have ever taught," Guan Chenglong sipped his wine, his eyes squinting in enjoyment at the mellow taste. "It's only been a few months? I'm afraid I might not even be your match anymore..."

"I still have a long way to go!" Feng Qingmo said with a smile.

"Do you know what I admire most about you?" Guan Chenglong asked and answered himself, "You are always so clear-headed! That is a very good thing..."

He looked into Feng Qingmo's bright eyes and asked curiously, "How does it feel to have normal vision? Can you get used to it when you return to reality?"

"It feels good, of course," Feng Qingmo nodded, "and I'm quite used to it by now. It has been twenty years, after all..."

"Haha, that's true," Guan Chenglong picked up a piece of meat with his chopsticks, chewed it, and said vaguely, "I heard that once your mental core fully transforms into mental power, your vision will be restored?"

"Mm, that is what Dr. Long said at the time, so it should be correct..."

"Speaking of Dr. Long," a trace of a sigh appeared on Guan Chenglong's face, "those of us here could be said to have watched her grow up. Her father was a War God and her mother was a high-level War General; they both sacrificed themselves in a beast tide when she was nine years old..."

Feng Qingmo could not help but be stunned; he had not expected that genius scholar to be an orphan.

"She displayed extraordinary learning talent from a young age and was an extremely intelligent girl," Guan Chenglong said with a look of reminiscence, "Many difficult problems were solved with ease once they reached her hands..."

"Our country recently updated a batch of laser cannons with higher power and lower energy consumption, which were the work of Dr. Long, as well as the simulated gravity rooms in our training camp..."

"Actually, these are not her main areas of research. Her primary focus has always been biotechnology, with the goal of finding a way to curb the beast tides or a means to exterminate monsters on a large scale... Old Huo, that is Huo Haitian, was a teammate of her parents in the same squad, and he later took on the responsibility of protecting her..."

He downed the wine in his glass in one gulp, stood up, and said, "Since the Great Nirvana period, there have been too many such stories. Forget it, let's not talk about it anymore. I will take you to tour other parts of the War God Palace..."