Chapter 94: Xuan Kong Squad, Military Merit Quota

After merely resting for a short while, Lu Qingshan had already received dozens of invitation messages.

Among these messages were some from alien powerful squads, and some from human powerful squads...

Some invited him to join their team, others simply wanted to befriend him, and there were even two squads that wanted to invite him to serve as their squad leader...

"I didn't expect a Marquis-level powerhouse to be so popular in the Foreign Battlefield!" Lu Qingshan thought silently.

Back in the day when he first opened the Foreign Battlefield, where had he enjoyed such treatment as now?

After glancing briefly through the message information, Lu Qingshan quickly selected an Immortal Spirit squad named 'Xuan Kong Squad' from among the many teams.

Xuan Kong Squad had a total of seven members, including three Marquis Immortals, and the squad leader, Captain Xuan Konghou, was even a High Marquis.

Such a powerful Immortal Spirit squad, even placed on the Flame Sacrifice Continent where powerful experts were as numerous as clouds, could be considered quite famous.

At this moment, Xuan Kong Squad was resting in the No. 026 Barracks Base; after receiving Lu Qingshan's reply, they quickly arranged a meeting time with him.

After receiving the reply from Xuan Kong Squad's leader, Captain Xuan Konghou, Lu Qingshan quickly left his residence and walked towards the restaurant where they had agreed to meet.

This restaurant was specifically serving Immortal Spirits; inside were arranged over ten thousand tables and chairs, but the Immortal Spirits resting in the Barracks Base were not too many, and even fewer came to the restaurant to enjoy food, so at this time there were only a scattered few hundred people inside the restaurant.

Arriving at the restaurant entrance, Lu Qingshan looked around and quickly saw someone at a dining table waving at him.

Seeing this, Lu Qingshan quickly walked up to this person.

He saw the other party wearing a black battle armor, his face covered entirely with green scales, and a sharp spike growing on his forehead, as if capable of piercing the sky; at the same time, the other party emitted an aura like a deep abyss and vast sea. This was indeed the leader of Xuan Kong Squad, a High Marquis powerhouse, Captain Xuan Konghou.

Seeing Lu Qingshan appear, Captain Xuan Konghou quickly stood up and greeted him enthusiastically: "Hello, I am the leader of Xuan Kong Squad, with the title 'Xuan Kong'. You must be 'Lei Bao'!"

"Greetings, Captain Xuan Konghou!" Lu Qingshan nodded slightly in response.

"Hahaha!"

Captain Xuan Konghou laughed heartily, then looked at Lu Qingshan and said: "Lei Bao, I heard you want to join an Immortal Spirit squad active on the Flame Sacrifice Continent?"

"Yes!" Lu Qingshan nodded again in response.

"Then what do you think of our Xuan Kong Squad?"

Captain Xuan Konghou said with a smile: "There are many Immortal Spirit squads of our human race currently active on the Flame Sacrifice Continent, but excluding those led by Hei Fengwang Immortals, the strength of our Xuan Kong Squad can definitely rank in the top ten. If you are willing to join our Xuan Kong Squad, it will definitely be easier to obtain military merit in the future, and at the same time, you will have a higher probability of surviving when encountering danger..."

"I indeed intend to join Xuan Kong Squad!"

Lu Qingshan said with a smile: "However, before this, I have something I would like to ask Captain Xuan Konghou!"

"No problem, Lei Bao, ask whatever questions you have!"

Seeing that Lu Qingshan intended to join, Captain Xuan Konghou could not help but show a hint of a smile on his face, then said with a laugh: "As long as I know, I will definitely tell you everything!"

"Actually, it's not a big matter!"

Lu Qingshan said with a smile: "I heard that many squads, after returning to the Barracks Base, often stay in the Barracks Base for a very long time. I wonder how long Xuan Kong Squad stays in the Barracks Base each time?"

"That is not a fixed time!"

Captain Xuan Konghou thought briefly and answered directly: "Each time our Xuan Kong Squad returns to the Barracks Base, it is mainly to handle war trophies and replenish supplies; occasionally we also rest for a short while, but it will never exceed one year!"

After hearing Captain Xuan Konghou's answer, Lu Qingshan immediately said: "Captain Xuan Konghou, I am willing to join Xuan Kong Squad. In the future, please give me your guidance!"

"This..." After hearing Lu Qingshan's answer, Captain Xuan Konghou could not help but be slightly stunned.

He did not expect that Lu Qingshan, having merely asked a question about the rest time in the Barracks Base, immediately agreed to Xuan Kong Squad's recruitment.

But what he did not know was that Lu Qingshan cared precisely about the rest time.

After all, Lu Qingshan's purpose for coming to the Foreign Battlefield was to temper himself through combat; if the elite squad he joined rested in the Barracks Base for too long, it would undoubtedly waste his time.

And Xuan Kong Squad's rest time in the Barracks Base each time would not exceed one year, which already counted as an elite squad that relatively liked combat; for Lu Qingshan at this time, it was just right.

As for other matters, he did not care too much.

"Haha..." After being slightly stunned, Captain Xuan Konghou quickly reacted, then said with a smile: "Lei Bao, welcome to join our Xuan Kong Squad!"

Immediately, Captain Xuan Konghou personally poured a cup of fruit wine for Lu Qingshan, and at the same time instructed the service personnel to start serving dishes, then continued speaking to Lu Qingshan: "Let us drink and chat as we go; just now I also need to introduce the other members of our Xuan Kong Squad to you!"

After saying this, Captain Xuan Konghou quickly transmitted a voice to another place: "You all, come over here!"

Lu Qingshan had just received the wine cup from Captain Xuan Konghou's hand when he quickly saw six figures of various appearances walking briskly towards him and Captain Xuan Konghou from not far away.

These people were either tall and burly, or had cold faces, or were charming and enchanting...

Waves of powerful law fluctuations spread out, even affecting the surrounding space slightly.

Among these six figures, there were powerful experts from the Bull-Headed Race who were tall and burly; there were also powerful experts from the Ape Race with sturdy bodies covered in golden fur...

After these six powerful experts walked up to Lu Qingshan and the other two, they quickly pulled out chairs and sat down respectively.

Eight people gathered together.

"Let me introduce you."

Captain Xuan Konghou pointed at Lu Qingshan and introduced with a smile: "This is the newcomer who just joined our Xuan Kong Squad, 'Lei Bao', with the strength of a Low Marquis."

"Low Marquis?"

An Ape Race powerful expert over two meters tall, covered in golden fur, said in surprise: "Captain, I didn't expect your speed to be so fast; you actually managed to recruit this newcomer that other squads wanted to pull over so quickly!"

Captain Xuan Konghou did not answer the other party immediately, but directly introduced to Lu Qingshan: "Lei Bao, the one who just spoke is the vice-captain of our Xuan Kong Squad, Giant Ape, with the title 'Tie Xue Hou'! Don't look at him being only a Low Marquis; when he was at the Domain Master level, he was a core member of the Universal Mercenary Alliance, and his current strength is not weak compared to mine at all!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan could not help but be slightly startled in his heart.

"I didn't expect that merely joining a squad casually would lead to encountering a core member of the Universal Mercenary Alliance!"

Lu Qingshan thought silently: "However, judging by Tie Xue Hou's strength, he should have been a member of the Glory Secret Realm of the Universal Mercenary Alliance when he was at the Domain Master level!"

Among the five supreme powers of the human race, the Virtual Universe Company faction and the Giant Axe Martial Arena faction are supreme; the Universe Peak Genius Battle and the Expert Battle are alternately hosted by these two major powers.

And although the other three peak powers do not have the qualification to host the Genius Battle and the Expert Battle, they instead pay more attention to cultivating their geniuses, so the geniuses in their Core Secret Realm are only slightly weaker than the Original Secret Realm of the Virtual Universe Company and the Giant Axe Secret Realm of the Giant Axe Martial Arena!

And what corresponds to the Original Secret Realm within the Universal Mercenary Alliance is the Glory Secret Realm!

Before the Sun-Eroding King Alvis, the other peerless genius who appeared once every ten million eras, Rosa, was from the Glory Secret Realm; unfortunately, in the end, he still perished under the assassination of the aliens!

And just at this moment, Tie Xue Hou also quickly spoke up.

"Captain, you are really exaggerating! If we really fight, I cannot hold out for long in your hands!"

After saying this, Tie Xue Hou quickly turned to Lu Qingshan and welcomed him: "Lei Bao, welcome to join our Xuan Kong squad!"

"Thank you!" Lu Qingshan smiled and replied in the same manner.

"Lei Bao, let me introduce the other members of the team to you!" Captain Xuan Konghou continued.

He then quickly pointed to another Immortal of the Minotaur lineage standing over six meters tall: "Marquis Jingtao Hou 'Wifred'. Marquis Jingtao is also at the initial Hei Fengwang level, but his importance within the team is no less than mine! Do not be fooled by his current height of only six meters; this is the result of a secret technique!"

"Once combat erupts, Marquis Jingtao will immediately transform into a giant over sixty meters tall! Due to his massive physique, Marquis Jingtao possesses an astonishing reserve of divine power. Even many large alien races find it difficult to compare with Marquis Jingtao in total divine power! Whenever our squad encounters danger, it is often Marquis Jingtao who burns his Immortal divine power to hold off the enemy, allowing us to retreat calmly!"

Hearing this, Lu Qingshan could not help but pause slightly in surprise.

According to the information Lu Qingshan had gathered, Marquis Jingtao Hou should belong to the 'Red Vein Clan' of the Minotaur lineage!

Although the Red Vein Clan is naturally massive in size, a typical peak Domain Master is only about ten meters tall, and they cannot grow further upon breaking through to Immortal.

Yet Marquis Jingtao Hou's ability to reach a height of over sixty meters is quite rare even among the Red Vein Clan; perhaps he possesses some other opportunity on his person.

If calculated strictly, even if Lu Qingshan combined all the divine power of his three avatars, he might not be able to match Marquis Jingtao Hou!

Of course, Lu Qingshan's Endless Divine Sea avatar is currently in the early stage of expansion; given enough time, surpassing Marquis Jingtao Hou in divine power reserves would naturally be a trivial matter!

On the other side, after hearing Captain Xuan Konghou's introduction, Marquis Jingtao Hou also showed a simple, honest smile towards Lu Qingshan.

Lu Qingshan nodded and smiled in return.

"Giant Elephant, a martial artist of extremely terrifying strength, a High Military Master!"

Captain Xuan Konghou looked at a towering figure over five meters tall, with a long dragon tail behind him, two curved horns on his forehead, and a diamond-shaped crystal mark at his Marquis Meixin, and introduced: "Before you joined, Giant Elephant's strength ranked fourth in our Xuan Kong squad. He has even fought alien Immortals at the initial Hei Fengwang level many times without defeat!"

Lu Qingshan looked at the other party and quickly recognized that this Giant Elephant came from a quite famous race within the human clan, the Yan Boluo Clan!

"Lei Bao, welcome to join us!" The Yan Boluo Clan member 'Giant Elephant' nodded slightly towards Lu Qingshan.

"Thank you!" Lu Qingshan nodded slightly in reply.

"Nightmare, an extremely talented illusionist, a High Military Master!"

Captain Xuan Konghou looked at a stunningly beautiful woman and sighed: "Nightmare comes from the Chi Mei Clan, one of the races within our human clan best suited for the illusionist path. Among Immortal Divine Spirits at the Military Master level, very few can withstand Nightmare's illusions. Even some Hei Fengwang Immortals with relatively weak wills might be affected!"

As soon as Captain Xuan Konghou finished the introduction, the stunningly beautiful woman draped in light white gauze with two fluffy tails behind her quickly looked at Lu Qingshan and said: "Lei Bao, welcome to join our Xuan Kong squad!"

"Thank you!" Lu Qingshan nodded to the other party in the same manner.

In fact, with Lu Qingshan's current willpower strength, he would also be very suitable for the illusionist path.

However, illusionists are not common even in the Outer Battlefield, and it is quite troublesome to refine oneself through illusions. Therefore, Lu Qingshan had not cultivated any soul attack methods; he only cultivated a soul defense method and a secret technique capable of enslaving others' souls!

"Leng Xin, a powerful mentalist, a High Military Master!"

Captain Xuan Konghou continued the introduction: "His attacks are incredibly sharp. During combat, he cooperates with Nightmare and can even simultaneously hold off three or four alien Immortals!"

Leng Xin was a cold young man wearing silver battle armor, appearing as if he would not welcome strangers. After noticing Lu Qingshan's gaze, he merely nodded slightly.

"Actually, Leng Xin just looks relatively cold on the outside!"

Vice-Captain Tie Xue Hou explained with a smile from the side: "Once you get to know each other better in the future, you will discover he is actually very easy to get along with!"

"Shadow, a quite formidable mentalist, a High Military Master!"

Captain Xuan Konghou pointed to the last person and introduced very seriously: "Shadow's teacher is a peak Hei Fengwang alchemist within our human clan, so we have the opportunity to purchase some precious potions at normal prices! You must know, those precious potions rarely circulate in the universe. Even if they do circulate, their prices carry a premium of two or three tenths!"

"Although we rarely use those precious potions during normal combat, once we encounter powerful enemies and need to fight for our lives, those potions will undoubtedly play a crucial role!"

"A peak Hei Fengwang alchemist?"

After hearing Captain Xuan Konghou's introduction, Lu Qingshan could not help but pause slightly in surprise.

You must know, an alchemist's strength relies more on the potions they brew. A peak Hei Fengwang alchemist would likely be capable of brewing potions with strong killing power against Hei Fengwang Immortals.

Given enough resources and time, even eliminating an entire army single-handedly would be a relatively easy task for them!

Lu Qingshan looked at the last Immortal in a black robe with a faint smile on his face and nodded in greeting with a smile as well.

Captain Xuan Konghou, Tie Xue Hou, Marquis Jingtao Hou, Giant Elephant, Nightmare, Leng Xin, and Shadow—these seven people were all the members of the Xuan Kong squad. The weakest among them were High Military Masters, and everyone possessed powerful trump cards; they could indeed be considered elites.

Of course, the Xuan Kong squad had already roamed the Outer Battlefield for over one hundred thousand years. During that time, three teammates had perished, so those who successfully survived naturally possessed even greater strength.

Just then, a curious voice sounded.

"Lei Bao."

Nightmare put down the wine glass in her hand and then asked softly: "You have just arrived in the Outer Battlefield and already possess the strength of an initial Hei Fengwang. I wonder what military merit quota the army assigned to you?"

Hearing Nightmare's words, the rest of the Xuan Kong squad all turned to look at Lu Qingshan, their expressions ranging from scrutiny to curiosity...

"My military merit quota?"

Lu Qingshan smiled inwardly; he knew the Xuan Kong squad members also wanted to understand his strength.

After all, he had not yet fought alongside the Xuan Kong squad members. The only way to judge his strength was the military merit quota issued by the army system!

Fortunately, Lu Qingshan had chosen to retire when he previously left the Outer Battlefield, so upon joining this time, he also received a new military merit quota.

Thinking of this, Lu Qingshan immediately spoke out: "My military merit quota is ten trillion."

"Ten trillion?" Nightmare's face was full of surprise, and her purple eyes examined Lu Qingshan with great curiosity, as if trying to see right through him completely.

As for the others, they all wore expressions of surprise at this moment!

"Damn, assigned a ten trillion military merit quota just upon arriving in the Outer Battlefield? That is truly incredible!"

"Oh my god, a ten trillion military merit quota; how long would it take to complete that smoothly?"

"It is truly unimaginable that such a high military merit quota would appear on a new recruit at the initial Hei Fengwang level!"

"It seems our squad has truly recruited a rare expert this time."

"Back then in our squad, only Tie Xue's military merit quota reached ten trillion!"

"Lei Bao, could you also be a prince from the core layer of one of the five major powers who just broke through to Immortal?"

At this moment, the members of the Xuan Kong squad began to discuss among themselves.

After hearing everyone's words, Lu Qingshan merely smiled slightly.

As the saying goes, 'The capable are given more work'; the stronger one is, the higher the military merit quota they will be assigned upon entering the Outer Battlefield!

When a new recruit enters the Outer Battlefield, the military merit quota assigned to them can, to a certain extent, indicate their strength.

Under normal circumstances, a Realm Lord's battle merit quota ranges from one billion to ten billion; a low-rank Immortal Lord's quota is roughly between ten billion and one hundred billion; a high-rank Immortal Lord's quota lies between one hundred billion and one trillion; and a Marquis of the First Rank's quota is from one trillion to ten trillion…

Lu Qingshan's battle merit quota reached the absolute limit of a First Rank Marquis Immortal, which sufficiently demonstrates that his strength ranks among the very top among the First Rank Marquis powerhouses of the Outland Battlefield!

In fact, this is perfectly correct!

Lu Qingshan had never previously breached the Sixteenth Level of the Heavenly Bridge, but the Heavenly Bridge primarily tests one's comprehension of primordial laws, so the bonuses from amplitude techniques and combat techniques are not particularly high.

Moreover, those who attempt the Heavenly Bridge are all prodigies within the Virtual Universe Corporation—who doesn't possess some special methods?

But Lu Qingshan had created a top-tier technique, which is already quite impressive among Marquis Immortals; furthermore, his "Lei Ting Illusory Body" had already been cultivated to the Second Level, increasing his bodily amplitude to fourfold.

This places him solidly in the upper-mid tier among First Rank Marquis Immortals in the core circles of the Five Great Powers, and naturally makes him among the absolute top among the First Rank Marquis powerhouses of the Outland Battlefield!

After all, most powerhouses on the Outland Battlefield come from countless tribes across the boundless universe; perhaps powerful tribes led by Cosmic Masters fare better, but for ordinary tribes like the Jinjiao Tribe in the original story—led by only a dozen or so Cosmic Revered Ones—what kind of foundation could they possibly have?

Once the prodigies of the Five Great Human Tribes arrive on the Outland Battlefield, they naturally overwhelm their similarly ranked opponents lacking such foundations in both technique and equipment!

Likewise, members of the Wang Zu and Imperial Clan of the Meng Yao Zu, as well as prodigies from the other several peak powers, naturally gain advantages over their peers upon arriving on the Outland Battlefield.

(End of Chapter)