Chapter 150: Congratulations

Two days flashed by in the blink of an eye.
Everyone had a thoroughly good time enjoying themselves in Spring City.
Meanwhile, Xu Han was engaged in intense sparring sessions with Wang Yuan.
This time was different from the special training.
Skills were permitted during the combat.
With his skills unleashed, Wang Yuan's strength surged dramatically, easily putting Xu Han on the defensive.
On the first day, Xu Han was beaten black and blue, his face bruised and swollen.
Fortunately, with Su Li providing healing, he quickly recovered and was full of vigor once more.
After a night of serious reflection and review,
on the second day,
he was barely able to hold a four-sixty split against Wang Yuan.
At his best performance, he could even manage a fifty-fifty tie with Wang Yuan.
And this was still without Xu Han utilizing his various auxiliary skills.
Had he employed his support abilities,
Xu Han was confident he could still edge out Wang Yuan.
This alone was enough to shock Wang Yuan.
Not just Wang Yuan.
Even Liang Xingteng was utterly astounded.
Was this kid a monstrous genius?
His progress was simply too fast.
As for Ye Yuanzheng, he was grinning from ear to ear.
This kid is good.
Extremely good!
Such a display was enough to astound a vast multitude of people.
At the very least, across all universities nationwide, those capable of rivaling Xu Han could be counted on one hand.
Those individuals were all seniors in their third and fourth years.
Yet Xu Han was merely a freshman.

Finally,
the third day arrived.
The secret realm ruins would officially open at exactly twelve o'clock noon today.
Early in the morning,
Xu Han and the others arrived downstairs at the dormitory building.
They saw a massive army of tens of thousands gathered at the training grounds, arrayed in neat, orderly phalanxes with an overwhelming aura of formidable might!
Xu Han and his companions looked at these soldiers in utter bewilderment.
It was Wang Yuan who provided the explanation for them.
"This army is here to protect you."
"Protect us?"
"That's right. We're heading to the secret realm ruins immediately."
"The secret realm ruins are located right near the national border. Once any emergency situation arises, they can take action at a moment's notice."

"As for the other countries, it is the same; they have all mobilized massive armies to reach their borders,"
"to guard against any unexpected occurrences."
Everyone nodded in succession.
The off-road vehicles drove out of the military base and headed toward the direction of Nanyun Town.
Passing through Nanyun Town, they plunged deep into the dense forests.
After driving for about two hours, they finally reached a campsite.
The camp was established amidst the woods, with the surrounding trees cleared away to open up a vast clearing.
Tents stood erected across the open ground, resembling the marching tents of an ancient army.
Personnel bustled back and forth within the camp, everyone wearing grim expressions and practically jogging along, the atmosphere tense and heavy.
Wang Yuan stepped out of the vehicle and said, "Follow me."
The group followed Wang Yuan to the largest tent situated at the center.
Upon entering the tent, everyone was struck dumb by the scene inside.
Rows of electronic display screens were neatly arranged,
broadcasting live feeds of various locations within the camp as well as the surrounding national borders.
Several people wearing headsets were busy operating the equipment in front of the monitors.
Behind the display screens stood a long conference table,
resembling a formal meeting room.
Ye Yuanzheng and Liang Xingteng were already seated at the table,
accompanied by several distinguished-looking middle-aged men standing beside them.
Wang Yuan walked up to them, straightened his posture, saluted crisply, and reported, "Reporting, all personnel are in position!"
Liang Xingteng returned the salute, nodded slightly, and then smiled as he said to Xu Han and the others, "Young friends, let me introduce you."

First, he looked toward a tall, heavy-set man standing beside him.
Standing at two meters tall, he towered over everyone else by a full head.
Across this man's face ran a scar more than ten centimeters long, stretching straight from the corner of his eye to the edge of his mouth,
resembling a centipede crawling across his visage, sending chills down people's spines.
"This is Mr. Jiang Bin, the Lord of Spring City."
The muscles on Jiang Bin's face twitched as he forced out an awkward smile. "Everyone, I've long heard about your performances from General Liang."
"Magnificent! I hope you all deliver an equally stellar performance inside the secret realm ruins!"

Next, Liang Xingteng looked at a young man in a suit standing next to Jiang Bin.
This young man wore gold-rimmed glasses, and his gaze carried a condescending air of superiority as he looked at others.
"This is Mr. Ni Wei, secretary to the Governor of the Southern Frontier General Prefecture."
A look of astonishment flashed across the faces of Xu Han and the others.
They had not expected that even the Southern Frontier General Prefecture would dispatch someone for this matter,
which demonstrated just how crucial these secret realm ruins were.
Ni Wei adjusted his glasses, his gaze sweeping back and forth over Xu Han and the others with a slight frown.
"General Liang, these individuals are so young—are they reliable?"
Veins bulged on Zhu Junjie's forehead as he moved to speak, but Xu Han grabbed him by the arm just in time.
Xu Han gave him a look, signaling him to hold his tongue.
After all, the other party was a representative of the Southern Frontier General Prefecture.
Even if he was merely a secretary, he currently represented the Southern Frontier General Prefecture itself.
Such status meant even City Lord Jiang Bin had to treat him with courtesy and respect,
let alone a few students like themselves.
Gritting his teeth, Zhu Junjie swallowed his anger.

Jiang Bin's mouth twitched, maintaining his smile as he said, "Secretary Ni, rest assured."
"These individuals are elite students from Dragon Kingdom University."
"Moreover, they have undergone special training under Wang Yuan, the Deputy Commander of the City Garrison Army. Their strength is unquestionably sound."
Ni Wei frowned still. "Sound is best."
"His Excellency the Governor attaches great importance to the item within the secret realm ruins; not the slightest mishap will be tolerated."
"If you fail to retrieve the item, both of you will have to be replaced."
The complexions of Jiang Bin and Liang Xingteng instantly turned unsightly.
Towards this young secretary,
they felt immense displeasure in their hearts, yet they had no grounds to refute him.
Sitting nearby, Ye Yuanzheng chuckled and asked, "Are these words spoken personally by the Governor?"
Ni Wei frowned. "No."
Ye Yuanzheng feigned a look of sudden realization. "Oh? Then I must congratulate you."
Everyone present was stunned.
Congratulate him for what?
Ni Wei asked quizzically, "Congratulate me on what?"
Ye Yuanzheng said with a beaming smile, "Naturally, I congratulate you on your impending promotion to Governor."
"Even the Governor himself lacks the authority to arbitrarily strip them of their positions, yet a mere secretary opens his mouth and talks about replacing people."
"Your authority is truly immense."
"Perhaps one day I'll have a chat with Nan Yuansi. When he steps down as Governor, he can come to Dragon Kingdom University and I'll arrange a deanship for him. I imagine he would be quite pleased."
Ni Wei's complexion instantly turned ashen.
With a cold snort, he said nothing more.
As the President of Dragon Kingdom University, his status was several notches higher than the governors of the various prefectures.
Even Governor Nan Yuansi had to treat Ye Yuanzheng with utmost courtesy when they met,
let alone a mere secretary.
Feeling humiliated, Ni Wei took his bodyguards and left the command post to inspect the perimeter outside.
Liang Xingteng and Jiang Bin cast grateful glances toward Ye Yuanzheng.
"Thanks to you speaking up just now, otherwise that fellow would have continued acting so arrogantly."
Ye Yuanzheng waved a hand dismissively. "A trivial matter."
"A mere secretary, yet he really thinks he's Nan Yuansi!"
"Next time I see that fellow Nan Yuansi, I'll need to have a talk with him about keeping his eyes open when promoting people."
"If he remains so blind next time, I wouldn't mind helping him clean house."
Everyone was left utterly speechless.
Only Ye Yuanzheng would dare speak of the Governor of the Southern Frontier General Prefecture in such a manner.