Chapter 181: The Azure Dragon Merit Badge, University Admissions

So, basic training?

Li Yanming was also stunned for several seconds.

He now understood why the Green Caterpillar dared to match the Mountain-Hugging Bamboo Bear in strength during the Qihang Cup.

The way this Green Caterpillar was trained resembled the strongest ant among insects.

Its relaxed little steps clearly showed it wasn’t trying hard.

Zhou Xing glanced over the basic training items and was choked for words.

“Sii-noo sii-noo!”

The Green Caterpillar nudged its head toward the room, then flipped to the second page of the paper.

On it was a collection of four-panel, black-and-white comics, with lines of small text beside each. It watched with great interest while exercising in complete ease.

Wang Che had been training behind closed doors for the past couple of days.

He created detailed training plans for each of them and prepared the daily story installments in advance. To make the stories more immersive, he added a series of four-panel pictures. This was intended to keep the Green Caterpillar entertained during its basic training sessions.

Though it lacked the flavor of Wang Che’s personal storytelling, the Green Caterpillar adapted quickly.

It began its disciplined yet enjoyable basic training.

“Alright…”

Zhou Xing and Li Yanming walked into the room.

They found Wang Che sitting further inside, the Myriad Treasure Dao Palace floating beside him.

He seemed to be cultivating and sensing his Martial Soul.

“I’ve seen a model of this Martial Soul sent by Central…” Zhou Xing stopped in his tracks. “Seeing it in person now, it truly holds more grandeur than any model. The Martial Soul Research Headquarters in the War Zone has tentatively classified this palace as a Wonder Construct.”

“Wonder Constructs have diverse effects, but according to studies by many professors and scholars, the most popular theory is this: each layer of the palace likely contains a separate space, but its specific functions are unknown. Due to its extraordinary nature, fully manifesting it is incredibly difficult.”

Zhou Xing explained.

“So, this means his Martial Soul won’t offer much support in the early stages?” Li Yanming asked.

“Essentially, yes. But by the late stages, it would be unrivaled,” Zhou Xing nodded. “The development will just be very slow. All Wonder Constructs are like this. They carry the weight of history and civilization. Manifesting them completely requires tremendous Soul Power and Spiritual Power as foundation.”

“It’s a shame. Because this construct is excessively complex, the Martial Soul Research Headquarters spent over half a month trying to specifically develop a Soul Guiding Art for cultivating it. They couldn’t even begin to make progress.” Zhou Xing sighed softly. “They originally planned to offer this as a reward, ahem, cough…”

“I know about this. That Zhao He is a piece of work, joyful yet sorrowful. How could such a formidable Martial Soul remain completely unfathomable?”

Li Yanming waited quietly.

Before long, Wang Che opened his eyes and looked at them.

He had sensed their arrival earlier but had been thoroughly inspecting the interior space within the first layer of the Myriad Treasure Dao Palace.

This time, in the upper levels of the Floating Forest, right before challenging the Illusion Guard Beast, Wang Che had managed to find some valuable items while passing through.

He’d seized the opportunity to cultivate his Hundred-Tempered Soul Force and enhance his Divine Sense.

“Officer Li, Researcher Zhou… you’re here?”

Wang Che stood up, greeting them with a smile.

“Indeed. The Floating Forest incident has been perfectly resolved. We came to deliver the news to you, our major hero.”

Zhou Xing walked over with a smile, holding several documents. He recounted the events of the past few days.

Upon hearing this, Wang Che was quite surprised. He hadn’t anticipated that Heavenly Kings from other War Zones had even arrived.

The scene back then must have been quite interesting.

“At that moment, all three Heavenly Kings from our War Zone felt immense relief… and praised you,” Zhou Xing laughed heartily. “Seeing Heavenly Kings from other War Zones get their comeuppance is rather entertaining for experts at their level.”

“That’s unfortunate. I wish I could have seen it,” Wang Che said.

“Let’s get down to business,” Zhou Xing exchanged a glance with Li Yanming.

Li Yanming flipped his palm, revealing a medal made of an unknown material. On the front were engraved the characters “Donghua”, and on the back was the image of an exceptionally majestic Soul Pet—a Dragon-type Soul Pet.

Wang Che, like anyone from the Donghua War Zone, immediately recognized it.

It was the ancestral dragon of the Ancient Era of the Donghua War Zone: the Emperor Azure Dragon.

During the Fallen Ancient Era, the Emperor Azure Dragon fought against invading forces from another world and perished in battle over the lands of the Donghua Ancient Kingdom. Its sacrifice ensured the survival of the last vestiges of the human lineage.

After the Donghua War Zone was established, it became honored as the Nation’s Soul Beast—a symbol.

Of course, this species of Dragon Clan has long gone extinct.

Its unique bloodline was never passed down, vanishing into the river of history.

To feature such a Nation’s Soul Beast as a totem awarded as a medal…

This was the Azure Dragon Merit Badge—the true highest honor within the Donghua War Zone, rivaled only by the title of Heavenly King.

“You are the fifty-eighth individual in the Donghua War Zone to receive the Azure Dragon Merit Badge.”

Zhou Xing declared solemnly. “Originally, such an honor should be announced across the entire War Zone from the highest assembly hall in War Zone Central, conferred simultaneously by all three Heavenly Kings. But considering your status as a student, it will be awarded discreetly to avoid causing unnecessary commotion.”

This made sense. Publicly awarding the badge would immediately alert other War Zones to the strange happenings within the Floating Forest.

It might lead to unwarranted attention towards Wang Che, disrupting his life and potentially bringing danger…

So, what exactly were the benefits of the Azure Dragon Merit Badge?

Wang Che was familiar with it—practically everyone in the Donghua War Zone knew of it.

It was the highest honor achievable by ordinary citizens.

And yet, those who received it were anything but ordinary.

Its fundamental role was to grant recipients and their families unparalleled social privileges.

Consider this alone: Wang Che’s parents could voluntarily apply for immediate retirement without ever needing to work again.

The monthly pension provided by the War Zone would ensure they lived comfortably, free from worries over food or clothing, enjoying a lifetime of peaceful retirement.

“Primarily because you aren’t a Professional Soul Contractor,” Li Yanming added. “Within Soul Contracting society, numerous merit systems exist. Since you aren’t registered as a Professional Soul Contractor, you are ineligible for their merit badges—even the lowest-ranked ones, which could grant you cultivation resources.”

“However, possessing the Azure Dragon Merit Badge grants you first-priority selection privileges for admission into any top-tier university, even the most prestigious ones. In essence, what you wish to study, what you need—as long as it doesn’t contravene the school’s rules—will be met readily.”

“The catch is that, because this is a discreet award, you’ll need to present the badge to prove you possess it.”

“Moreover, in special circumstances, you may use this emblem to mobilize a designated number of city guard units and specialized Professional Soul Contractors from any provincial or municipal enforcement team anywhere in the Donghua War Zone.”

“You possess significantly higher priority access to information and visitation rights concerning any battle guild, Soul Pet Research Base, major research departments throughout the War Zone.”

“Honestly… it comes with quite a few benefits. Plenty of privileges.”

Li Yanming gazed at the medal with unconcealed envy.

Only a few dozen people had even received this honor within the entire Donghua War Zone.

While it was the highest civilian honor achievable—

falling short of some merits exclusive to Soul Master circles—

the special advantages it granted in everyday life were undeniably substantial.

In reality, all those who received this medal… could access such privileges.

They simply never needed to use them.

For them, it was purely a matter of pride.

Those privileges were not important at all.

For Wang Che, this thing was naturally not important either.

It just meant that it could indeed play a role at critical moments.

Wang Che still showed some of the excitement expected of a student at the right time, then calmly accepted it.

“Besides, the Xiyue Continent and War Zone Central are giving you a reward of five million in funds. You can buy whatever resources you need yourself.”

Five million was not a small amount.

Wang Che felt this reward was quite good.

Money was the most practical.

It could buy many resources in modern times.

“By the way, this is the honorary certificate from the Ninth Department of the Soul Land Research and Investigation Bureau, as well as the small black booklet for honorary researchers.”

Zhou Xing took out a delicate file from his pocket and handed it to Wang Che, “There are many Wild Soul Lands out there. If you want to enter other regions in the future, especially some of the more special Soul Earth Relics, you won’t need special applications. Consider this an extra reward from our Ninth Department. Of course, if we encounter difficult situations in the future, we hope you can lend a hand.”

Wang Che nodded.

These two came to deliver rewards.

This was actually a good thing; generally, entering Soul Earth Relics required an application.

Whether it was academies, companies, or private individuals, etc.

If someone entered without permission, they would bear the consequences, regardless of life or death.

For those who applied, the external guard forces stationed there would provide some rescue assistance if you were in danger.

“Do you have any other questions?” Li Yanming said.

“I have one question.” Wang Che thought for a moment.

“Go ahead.”

“Where is the Super Illusion Dragon?” Wang Che asked directly.

It was a request from the Empty God Dragon.

The Super Illusion Dragon was the closest to it and had the best relationship.

He needed to locate it first.

However, information about such Soul Beasts that entered the Soul Land back then was sealed.

Like the Empty God Dragon in the Floating Forest, ordinary Soul Pact Masters didn’t know about it.

The guard soldiers outside the border earlier only knew that danger was coming.

But they had no idea about the Empty God Dragon.

Those who knew about the Empty God Dragon were mostly of high rank.

“Why are you asking this?” Li Yanming and Zhou Xing were startled.

This was real War Zone classified information.

You could enter the Soul Land, but knowing what Soul Beasts were hidden inside was basically impossible.

And it was also impossible to meet them.

“The Empty God Dragon told me… ahem… it asked me to visit when I have time to check if it’s still there and how it’s doing.” Wang Che didn’t hide it, “If you have a Heavenly King willing to go, I wouldn’t need to make the trip.”

“Since the Empty God Dragon asked you, it should be you who goes. Besides, even if a Heavenly King wanted to meet this one… it wouldn’t be possible without its permission.” Zhou Xing shook his head, “The Super Illusion Dragon is in the Soul Land of the Northern River Region. It’s actually not very close to the Xiyue Continent… After the Fallen Ancient Era, the earth’s crust shifted, and due to the war, over thousands of years, the Northern River Region’s area changed greatly, and it’s separated from the Xiyue Continent by another region. The Super Illusion Dragon is in the Illusory Light Island Soul Land of the Northern River Region. However, that place is very dangerous.”

“Without at least level twenty Soul Power Cultivation, it’s not recommended to go even to the outer illusion islands. To meet the Super Illusion Dragon, you would need two or three teams of Soul Pact Masters above level seventy for protection; otherwise, you couldn’t even reach the entrance.”

“And that place hasn’t been very peaceful lately…”

Wang Che nodded slightly; knowing the specific location was enough.

He would visit when he had the chance later.

As for whether he could meet the Super Illusion Dragon, it would depend on fate.

“By the way, which academy are you planning to attend?” Li Yanming asked, “Don’t tell me you haven’t decided yet?”

“I’ve decided.” Wang Che nodded.