It was a piece of silvery-white metal.
Embedded on its surface was a relief of a pure white giant bird.
The bird looked extremely imposing—somewhat like an eagle, yet its proportions were different. Compared to an eagle, it was larger, far more robust, and carried an overwhelming sense of majesty.
This was a soul beast known as the Snow God Condor, said to be the guardian deity of snow-covered mountains. However, its numbers were exceedingly rare.
As for military matters, Gu You didn't really understand them very well. But his purpose for coming here was simple—to integrate himself into this place and, relying on his own abilities, gradually take control of it.
And the name of this army was—
The Blood God Legion.
Yes, Blood God.
This legion was not even listed under the Federation's official military structure. It was a completely special existence. And yet, it was also the most powerful army of all.
They guarded a little-known secret realm somewhere on the continent.
Anyone qualified to enlist here was a true elite. And those with the authority to recommend soldiers to this place came from only a handful of sources:
Shrek Academy, Tang Sect, War God Hall, Spirit Transmission Pagoda, as well as several ancient soul master clans with extremely long histories.
There were no weaklings here—because the weak simply could not survive.
Service here also lasted far longer than in ordinary armies. At minimum, five years. But more often than not, people stayed for over ten years.
After inspecting Gu You's letter of recommendation, the soldier suddenly stood at attention and saluted him.
The salute was different from that of ordinary Federation soldiers. He clenched his right fist and forcefully struck his own chest.
Gu You understood the saying "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." He immediately tried to imitate the motion and pound his chest as well—
But the soldier grabbed his arm.
"You don't have the qualifications yet. Come with me."
With that, the soldier strode toward the distant military camp.
The soldier led Gu You into the camp area. The snow nearby had clearly been cleared away, finally allowing them to step onto solid ground instead of trudging through deep snow.
The soldier shook the snow off his body and quickly entered the camp.
Upon stepping inside, the feeling immediately changed.
Everything here was impeccably orderly. Aside from the surrounding sea of white snow, it looked little different from a normal military camp.
Yet Gu You noticed something unusual—
There were very few people.
He couldn't even see any patrolling soldiers.
Gu You didn't ask.
To truly understand a place, it was better to observe and listen for oneself. Talking too much was pointless. Moreover, judging from the tone of the soldier guiding him, the soldiers here were extremely proud—perhaps even exclusionary.
Gu You knew very well that in such a situation, the best course of action was not to talk nonsense, but to display strength and integrate as quickly as possible.
The soldier brought Gu You to the front of a building, pressed his palm against a certain spot, and a beam of light scanned over his body. The metal door in front of them opened.
"Follow me."
As Gu You entered the building, a wave of warm air rushed toward him, as though his entire body was being gently ironed—an indescribably comfortable sensation. Even the oxygen in the air seemed richer.
The soldier glanced back at him, then removed his helmet.
Revealed was a woman with long brown hair, appearing around twenty-five or twenty-six years old. She was tall and wore thick military attire.
Her expression was icy cold.
"Come with me. Let me remind you—starting now, you must begin preparing yourself. Whether you can stay here will be decided within the next three days."
"Haha, I'll definitely be able to stay," Gu You said with a smile.
The female soldier glanced at the thin clothing he was wearing.
"Arrogance is always the path to death."
After saying that, she immediately turned and walked deeper inside.
What the hell?
Gu You's eyes widened.
Why did that sentence sound so familiar?
The path to death?
This female soldier must've read Tang San's Quotations Collection.
Continuing to follow her, Gu You's expression soon began to change.
All around him were various instruments and devices—many of which he couldn't even recognize.
After passing through a corridor, the female soldier led him into a room.
Inside, Gu You finally saw a second person.
It was another female soldier, appearing to be in her forties. On her shoulder was the insignia of a lieutenant—one bar, two stars.
"Lieutenant, this is a new arrival. Arrange his assessment."
The young female soldier's expression remained as cold as ever.
"Yes, Major."
The middle-aged female officer immediately stood up and saluted her with the same chest-striking military salute.
Major?
So the one who brought him in wasn't an ordinary soldier at all—but a major?
Gu You had a decent understanding of military ranks. What surprised him was that this woman was so young, yet already a major—while the lieutenant was clearly much older.
After nodding slightly to the lieutenant, the young officer turned and left.
Gu You watched her retreating figure with some curiosity.
What was her name again in the original work?
"Kid, don't be surprised. Major Xing Luo is always like this when executing missions—meticulous and strict. You also don't need to be surprised by our ranks. In the Blood God Legion, only strength and merit matter. Age is irrelevant."
The lieutenant stood up and continued:
"I'm a civilian officer. My husband serves here, so I came along as a military dependent. If you can pass the assessment, you'll eventually understand the rules of this place."
Then she added, "Come with me. It's been quite a while since a newcomer arrived. Handsome young man, I must remind you—no matter where you're from or what your background is, never be arrogant."
"The Blood God Legion is not an ordinary army. Everyone recommended here is a chosen genius. But in the end, fewer than one-third manage to stay."
Gu You asked, "Do we start the assessment right away? No registration?"
"No need," the lieutenant replied. "You've already proven your identity to be brought here. And before you complete the assessment, registration would be meaningless anyway."
"As for why we begin immediately—it's very simple. The enemy will never tell you when they're going to appear."
She led Gu You out of the room and into a place resembling a warehouse.
"You may choose any weapon here. Remember—during the assessment, your soul power will be completely unusable."
"You'll only be able to rely on your body and the weapons here. So choose something you're proficient with."
Inside the warehouse, weapons of all kinds were on display.
Many were modern soul-guided weapons—ray guns, soul cannons, and various portable single-soldier combat weapons.
Out of all these weapons, Gu You could recognize only about one-third.
Every weapon he recognized, he knew how to use.
But upon closer inspection—
(End of Chapter)