60 Who wants to be a Genius? (1/2)
Having made a decision as to what he was going to do, Xue Wei did not waste any more time and went towards the body of youngsters.
As soon as he reached them, he calmly stood in line and observed his surroundings. More and more youngsters appeared and stood on the field in front of the tent camp.
No one spoke to one another; there was complete silence. The only sound that could be heard was the rustling of clothes when the nervous experts shifted their weight from one foot to another as they waited for their turn to be integrated into the army and be told what division they would be placed within.
The day turned to dusk, and the sun started setting, but youngsters were still arriving from all over the Heping Kingdom.
When the sun had completely set, more than two hundred thousand young men and women had gathered in the field, and it was filled to the bursting point.
Xue Wei waited patiently like everyone else. He squinted his eyes as he looked at the many other youngsters surrounding him. There were so many different people waiting for the army camp to open. Some were wearing fine clothes, others were wearing rags, but all of them were cultivators of varying strength.
As the sun set, the stream of youngsters that were arriving slowly died out and everyone seemed to have made it in time for the beginning of their army career, but no one came out to fetch them.
The hours ticked by slowly. The night was passing slowly, but no one dared to speak with each other, as everyone was patiently waiting for the army commanders to come out and greet them.
Soon it was dawn, and the sun once more rose in the sky. It was not before now that there was some sort of movement in the tent camp that they were standing in front of.
A group of two hundred men stepped forward, and in front of them was a small stout man.
Although he was small, no one dared look down on him; he had a menacing air around him that was filled with killing intent, and a long scar on his face made him look sinister.
The man was treated very respectfully by the others, and Xue Wei could instantly determine that he was the commander.
Xue Wei looked straight at him. His eyes were clear and filled with curiosity as to what would happen now, while the majority of the youngsters around him had lowered their heads, unable to look him in the eyes directly.
”Welcome to the Recruitment Camp!” the stout man called out. ”I am Commander Chen, I have been leading this Recruitment Camp for the last twenty years and have seen heaven-sent geniuses every single year.”
”My job is not to pamper you! My job is to turn you into a killing machine that will be able to kill Primordial Beasts in the future!”
”The majority of you will not survive the decade you are in the army, but those who do are often those that have disregarded everything and done all their best in the Recruitment Camp. Follow our rules, and you will have a bigger chance of survival. Follow our training schedule, and you will understand how to fight!”
”Depending on your progress, you will be able to claim better benefits, and everyone is ranked in the group depending on their layer, and their fighting prowess.”
”Right now, all of you will be checked by my captains. They will check your bone structure to ensure that you are as old as you claim. After that, you will be placed in a group of others with the same layer of strength as yourself.”
”You are allowed to challenge those one layer above you, but beware – the challenge is deadly!”
”Still, if you have faith in your strength, then it is worth it! The reward is more resources and thus bigger chances at survival!”
”Now get in line!”
Everyone did exactly as they were told, and now voices could be heard from within the group of youngsters. Everyone was excited.
”Xue Wei, do you think that we should challenge the rank above ours?” Shen Mu asked fervently. He had a gleam in his eyes and a rosy color on his cheeks, but Xue Wei shook his head.
”I am going to attempt it, but I would not suggest you do to so,” he said honestly. ”I have my special physique to save me, but you do not have anything like that. You heard the Commander; the trial is deadly. It is not worth it to risk your life against such odds to join the genius camp.”
Shen Mu's enthusiasm lowered a bit as he thought about it, and Luo Zhirou had latched onto his sleeves, her eyes displaying worry. She did not want him to risk his life to join the genius camp.
”We will be here for a year,” Xue Wei continued, ”In a year, the two of you will make it to the Earth Warrior rank for sure, and then you too can join the Genius Camp. And even do so without risking your lives,” Xue Wei persuaded, and Shen Mu seemed to have understood that he was correct as he nodded his head.
The two hundred captains were standing in a line, and the youngsters were heading towards each of these captains. The bones on their arms were checked, and their rank was examined.
After this, each person was moved to a specific location depending on their rank, and then they all just started chatting with one another.
Xue Wei was rather far behind in the line of people, and it was not before the sun stood high in the sky that it was Xue Wei's turn to be examined.
”Name,” The captain asked curtly. Xue Wei answered politely, and then he was asked about his age, about his rank, and then the man grabbed his arm.