Chương 171: War God — Chapter 171 - Spatial Equipment, Mustard Sash

The Qiongwu Preliminary Trial was over. Since it was only a preliminary trial, there were no official rankings. More like an open audition. But every martial artist who participated understood one thing. A single Third Realm Martial Artist had shattered every record across all three stages. Future Qiongwu Preliminary Trials would struggle to see anything like it again. Flag capture at Thousand-Jun Cliff. Target shooting in the Illusory Space Chamber.

And finally, the will-tempering manifested in the Battle Soul Arena. Wang Xian had set a new record in every single stage. After it ended, naturally came the rewards. Qiongyun Island, the large square outside. Wang Xian counted. About 100 people had passed the Qiongwu Preliminary Trial. Having this many pass in one session was already quite good. The Qiongwu Preliminary Trial ran every year, and not just in Bahai, Tiannan, and Western Shu.

The sub-military districts in Dragon Nation's other major regions held similar trials too.

'All future reserve forces for the Alien Star Battlefield.' Wang Xian nodded to himself. After waiting in the square for a short while, an old man with a full head of white hair strode over.

"My name is Xiong Kuohai. First, congratulations to everyone for passing the Qiongwu Preliminary Trial." Xiong Kuohai's gaze swept over the roughly 100 martial artists like a hawk's. Aside from three foreign martial artists, only Wang Xian wasn't military personnel.

"The Qiongwu Intermediate Trial will be held three years from now."

"At that time, martial artists from across Dragon Nation who passed the preliminary trial will gather for higher-intensity assessments."

"By then, the faster ones among you should have Fifth Realm strength."

"I hope you'll perform well when the time comes." A trace of a smile crossed Xiong Kuohai's stern face.

"Now, regarding rewards. You'll all receive the opportunity to enter the 'Star Marrow Pool' here for immersion cultivation."

"The Star Marrow Essence Liquid in the pool can temper your bodies and strengthen your genes."

"It comes with a certain amount of pain. But you've all passed the trial. I believe this bit of pain is nothing to you."

"Time limit is three days."

"Furthermore, based on your trial performance, each of you has earned Battle Merit."

"You can use it on Qiongyun Island to exchange for Secret Skills, martial techniques, combat gear, various materials, and so on."

"Or you can spend Battle Merit to retake the three trials here on Qiongyun Island to temper yourselves." That last sentence made many martial artists' eyes light up. The three trials were extremely difficult to pass, true. But they offered real, tangible improvement. The trial environments alone had considerable maintenance costs, so they couldn't stay open all the time.

If they could exchange Battle Merit to retake the trials, they could not only temper themselves but also refresh their results and break through their limits. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. How could they pass that up? Quite a few martial artists felt that if they retook the three trials, they could achieve better results.

"Alright, everyone go prepare. Change into the specially made soft suits, then follow me to the Star Marrow Pool beneath the island for immersion cultivation."

"Wang Xian, step out. Come with me." Xiong Kuohai's gaze settled on Wang Xian. Wang Xian stepped out of formation and followed.

"Chief, this is..." In the crowd, Big Sister's brow furrowed slightly.

"Probably wants to ask about the Z-rank beast. Don't worry," Chu Xiao said beside her.

"I think so too. Let's go change first." Close friend Xia Yu pulled Big Sister along.

"This Star Marrow Essence Liquid is supposedly refined from Star Marrow Stones and Essence Liquid extracted from extremely rare meteorite mineral veins!"

"It's a strategic-level national resource that can optimize our genes and strengthen our overall physical quality."

"This kind of cultivation opportunity is truly rare!" Big Sister thought for a moment, nodded, and went with the others to change. On the other side, Xiong Kuohai brought Wang Xian to the command room. The screen still showed footage of Wang Xian in the Battle Soul Arena. But the phantom image of that giant beast remained blurry. Completely unable to fully manifest.

"Don't be afraid. I brought you here simply to ask: when did you come into contact with a Z-rank beast?" Xiong Kuohai pointed to a seat. A Third Realm Martial Artist encountering a Z-rank beast? One touch and you're gone. He was extremely curious how the kid had managed it. Wang Xian smiled. He'd been prepared for this. He didn't plan to mention the Star-Devouring Calamity Lord yet. Too troublesome to explain.

"It started at the Dragon Calamity Bone Tomb relic." Wang Xian slowly recounted in detail what had happened at the Dragon Calamity Bone Tomb.

"That's how it went. Fighting alongside Senior Yan, I helped defeat the dragon head remnants of that Cloud Demon Dragon. Although it was a B-rank beast, before Senior Yang Tianchan killed it, it was a genuine Z-rank beast."

"Coming into contact with Z-rank beast remnants and even fighting it, I think that could be the reason?" After listening, Xiong Kuohai suddenly understood.

"So that's it. No wonder the Z-rank beast manifested so blurrily. It was because of the remnants!"

"The Cloud Demon Dragon was a Z-rank beast from the previous era. After Senior Yang Tianchan killed it, the corpse vanished. Our Dragon Nation never had the chance to collect it for research and data analysis." That made sense now.

"Not bad, not bad." Xiong Kuohai laughed heartily.

"Study well, young man. By my calculation, you'll graduate from university right around the time of the Qiongwu Intermediate Trial."

"Perfect timing!"

"Also, you seized the Dragon Flag this time."

"Our military has an extra reward." Xiong Kuohai took out a box, opened it, and handed it to Wang Xian.

"This is a 'Mustard Sash.'" Inside the box lay a silver-white jade sash. It looked quite unique. Wang Xian's eyes went wide.

"Spatial-type combat gear?"

"You have some knowledge." Xiong Kuohai looked somewhat surprised.

"Do you have connections in our military, kid? Or know some state-level master smelters? You even recognize this?" Wang Xian laughed.

"Actually, I'm also a smelter. Though I've only been learning for half a year..." The Mustard Sash was spatial equipment. It could store large amounts of resources and weapons inside. In this era, it was exceedingly rare combat gear. True national-level strategic equipment. Several decades later, after the 'Void Crystal Mineral Veins' on the Alien Star Battlefield were excavated, materials achieved certain breakthroughs. Only then could this equipment be mass-produced.

It gradually became widespread among martial artists. But that was the future. Now, due to material scarcity, spatial equipment of this level was nearly impossible to refine. Wang Xian figured some smelters must have spent countless hours researching, experimenting with various material combinations, especially space-related materials, slowly figuring out how to refine it. The manufacturing cost was astronomical. Even rarer than combat gear without level restrictions.

"Since you know a bit about it, I won't explain further." Xiong Kuohai said.

"There are only a few per batch. Our Southern Three War District got two or three. You seized the Dragon Flag this time, which brought honor to our Southern Three War District."

"So this is your reward." He paused. Xiong Kuohai let out a long sigh.

"I haven't seen the Dragon Flag flying over Thousand-Jun Cliff in a very long time..."

"To be honest, this equipment may not help your combat power much."

"Also, it's a bit troublesome to use."

"The kind that looks decent but is just average in practice."

"Mm, if you don't want it, I'll think of something else..." Before he finished speaking, Wang Xian snatched the box.

"Thank you, Chief!"

"..." Others might not know how useful this thing was right now. But he knew all too well. Forget everything else. When entering relics, killing beasts, collecting materials in the future, he wouldn't need to lug around a storage pack. As for being difficult to use? That was a minor issue. Being able to use this thing at the current stage was incredibly convenient.

"..." Xiong Kuohai. Kid knows his goods.

"Also, I won't be issuing your Battle Merit to you." Xiong Kuohai said.

"For the next while, you're planning to cultivate in Qiongyun Island's Illusory Space Chamber, right?"

"The Chief is wise." Wang Xian nodded. As expected of the Chief. Seems he noticed I'm cultivating a Secret Skill. Wang Xian did indeed plan to spend the next period using the spatial targets in the Illusory Space Chamber to cultivate the Flying Star Piercing Void Secret Skill. Until he felt his cultivation was complete. That mere 30 minutes of training was far from enough.

"Alright, go change clothes then head to the Star Marrow Pool for cultivation."

"The Star Marrow Essence Liquid is also of great help to those of you walking the Old Martial Arts path." ➤ Next: True Spirit Bloodline, Beast Bloodline