Chapter 346

"Hm?"

Not only Wang Hong from Baoxiong Martial Arts Gym was stunned, even Qin Zheng himself was surprised.

Based on Xu Jingming's previous attitude, he had prepared for a prolonged struggle.

But he never expected the other side to agree so readily.

Surprised yet delighted, Qin Zheng immediately led Xu Jingming over to the Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym team and smiled:

"Let me introduce you—they're all trainees from the Talent Training Camp: Lin Hui, Xia Lan..."

Under Qin Zheng's introduction, Xu Jingming shook hands with every member of the Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym team.

This included Xia Lan, the one with the space-type ability.

"Su Chen, I look forward to seeing you at the Talent Training Camp headquarters."

Xia Lan, dressed in a sleek silver-white combat suit with a beautiful face, wore a faint smile.

She lightly shook hands with Xu Jingming, then released him—her demeanor was very friendly.

In fact, not just her—Lin Hui and the others also treated him well.

After all, with the strength Xu Jingming had shown, the entrance assessment was merely a formality.

His entry into the Talent Training Camp was a certainty.

Given his demonstrated potential, he might even join the camp's top tier before long.

No one would be foolish enough to make an enemy of someone like him.

"This guy actually made it into Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym," Lu Heng muttered nearby, his tone tinged with envy.

It wasn't jealousy over Xu Jingming entering the Talent Training Camp—he was envious that Xu Jingming had touched Xia Lan's hand.

"Thanks for the good wishes."

On the other side, after politely returning Xia Lan's smile, Xu Jingming stepped aside and waited quietly for the assessment to end.

Time ticked away second by second.

Soon, the ancient-script countdown in the sky reached its final moment.

Remaining assessment time: 0 days, 0 hours, 0 minutes, 0 seconds!

"The sixty-day assessment has ended. Congratulations to all outstanding soldiers for completing the trial! The main base is now open for you!"

The instant the countdown hit zero, a majestic voice suddenly erupted from the base ahead.

Whoosh—

The alloy gate, over ten meters high and more than twenty meters wide, slowly opened.

The ability users waiting outside surged forward and entered.

"The main base is open—let's go in!"

Under Qin Zheng's lead, Xu Jingming followed the Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym team into the main base.

"This is the main base of the ancient civilization's ruins? It really does feel like science fiction."

"Indeed—I can spot traces of modern technology in many of the objects here."

The vast majority of ability users present had never entered an ancient civilization ruin before.

Upon entering, they all looked around curiously—even Xu Jingming was no exception.

Previously, he had imagined the ruins might be a thoroughly dilapidated place.

But now, it was the complete opposite.

The entire base hall showed no sign of decay—instead, it was spotlessly clean.

Even the walls and ceiling glowed with bright lights, and neatly exposed black cables ran along them.

It felt as if he had stepped into the cockpit of a spaceship.

"Congratulations to all soldiers who completed the trial! Step forward now to claim your rewards!"

From the ceiling, virtual beams projected downward, converging at the front of the hall into a glowing sphere.

Simultaneously, ten circular pedestals, each about fifty centimeters in diameter and large enough to hold one person, suddenly rose from the floor.

"In groups of ten, toss your assessment crystal into the pedestal, then step onto it to claim your reward."

A mechanical electronic voice echoed from the glowing sphere, translated by Eva into Xu Jingming's ears.

"Finally, it's time to claim rewards!"

"Move! Get moving!"

"Haha, I hope I get a good reward!"

"..."

As soon as the words ended, ten people stepped forward from the crowd.

They tossed their assessment crystals into the pedestals, then stepped onto them.

Immediately, pale blue virtual beams shot out from the pedestals.

Scanning their entire bodies, a series of mechanical prompts followed:

"Soldier #1, submitted 124 assessment crystals, talent: average, comprehensive evaluation: average, reward: one A-grade cultivation resource."

"Soldier #2, submitted 345 assessment crystals, talent: average, comprehensive evaluation: average, reward: one A-grade combat technique."

"Soldier #3, submitted..."

"..."

Each of the ten who stepped forward received their evaluation and reward.

Notably, every single one received only an "average" evaluation.

"According to records, the evaluation tiers for Civilization Ruin #9 are: Average, Rare, and Extraordinary."

"You possess an SS-grade ability—you should get an 'Extraordinary' evaluation soon."

Eva's voice echoed in Xu Jingming's ear.

At the same time, another crisp voice directly appeared in his mind:

"Master, with fifty thousand assessment crystals and your SS-grade ability, you'll definitely get an 'Extraordinary' evaluation."

This was Sakuragi Rin's voice—since signing the reverse contract with her.

Even within the spirit realm, Sakuragi Rin could perceive the outside world through Xu Jingming and communicate via mental energy.

'Extraordinary evaluation... that means at least an SS-grade resource.' Xu Jingming thought silently.

Average evaluation: A-grade resource. Rare evaluation: S-grade resource. Extraordinary evaluation: SS-grade resource.

This was the pattern established by past ability users entering Ruin #9.

Of course, Extraordinary evaluations were exceedingly rare—since the discovery of Ruin #9, they had occurred only a handful of times...

After the first group claimed their rewards, the next group stepped forward.

Most of these ability users still received only average evaluations; rare ones were scarce.

Soon, nearly half the ability users had claimed their rewards.

Most who received rewards wore smiles.

Only the members of Tianyu Daochang remained solemn.

They kept glancing toward the main base's entrance, as if waiting for someone.

This unusual scene naturally drew whispers from other ability users.

"What's wrong with Tianyu Daochang? They seem off."

"You don't know? Their holy maiden—the one with the S-grade ability, Sakuragi Rin—went missing over ten days ago!"

"Missing? No wonder we didn't see her here."

"Tsk tsk—missing this long? She's probably dead. She was quite pretty too."

"..."

S-grade ability users were extremely rare.

Especially in a small country like Sakura Nation, where the population wasn't large—such a talent emerged only once every decade or more!

If she grew strong, she might even lead Sakura Nation out of its current predicament.

Thus, Sakuragi Rin's importance to Tianyu Daochang—and to Sakura Nation itself—was immense.

So when news of her disappearance spread, many ability users were shocked.

Yet they dared whisper only in hushed tones, fearing bad luck.

"An S-grade ability user gone like this—what a pity."

Even some from Lei Ting Martial Arts Gym couldn't help sighing.

From a human perspective, the death of any S-grade ability user was an enormous loss.

Xu Jingming, listening to the murmurs around him, wore a subtly strange expression.

Who could know that the Sakuragi Rin everyone was mourning was currently with him—and had already become his servant?