Chapter 2: The Mysterious Black Pearl (Part 2)

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  Back on the Starry Forest Path, the more Zhou Weiqing thought about it, the angrier he became. Although he had narrowly escaped with his life, his impression of his fiancée had already hit rock bottom. If not for that strange black pearl, he would probably have lost his little life in the Starry Forest.

  "Empress Yao, you just wait, one day I'll make you regret this." Zhou Weiqing said viciously, he had never hated someone so much before. Even those who mocked him would not dare to openly provoke him like this, and yet Empress Yao had actually resorted to such ruthless measures over a mere misunderstanding. Zhou Weiqing was someone who remembered grudges very well.

  As he watched, they were almost at the Heaven's Bow City. Zhou Weiqing's emotions gradually calmed down. He was now wearing only a outer robe, with nothing inside, fortunately, there were still dozens of gold coins in the money bag in his outer robe pocket. His father had been extremely strict with him, and he had very little pocket money.

  "Go home?" Zhou Weiqing stopped in his tracks, a thoughtful expression flowing into his eyes. "No way, absolutely can't go back like this. That little minx, Empress Tiwu, will definitely go cry to her father about me peeking at her while she was bathing. If that gets to the old man's ears, it won't be just a meal of stir-fried bamboo shoots and meat that can solve the problem. I might not die, but I'll probably lose a layer of skin." Just thinking about his father's stern gaze made Zhou Weiqing shudder again. From young to old, he had been beaten too many times. If he was just a little bit naughty, his father would give him a good thrashing. This time, if he found out that he had peeked at the princess while she was bathing, it would be impossible to wash clean no matter what. For the sake of his own safety, he absolutely couldn't go back like this.

  But what can he do if he doesn't go back? Zhou Weiqing was in a dilemma, with only a dozen or so gold coins on him. Although he had a sturdy build, he was actually just a thirteen-year-old kid who didn't have any special skills. Even if he ran away from home, he probably wouldn't be able to hold out for more than a few days. He couldn't just starve to death outside, could he?

  For a moment, Zhou Weiqing couldn't help but look worried, and although he was extremely unwilling in his heart, he had no choice but to continue moving forward, step by step towards the direction of the Tian Gong City city gate.

  "Huh, why are there so many people up ahead?" Just as the city gate was within sight, Zhou Weiqing suddenly discovered that on one side of the city gate, a large crowd had gathered, with at least several hundred people, and surrounding them were soldiers standing guard.

  What's going on? Driven by curiosity, he walked up quickly. Fortunately, the crowd wasn't too dense, and after squeezing a few times, he reached the front of the crowd.

  In front of the crowd was a row of long tables, with an open space around them, where many people were gathered. Behind the long tables, a royal proclamation was posted, with the four large characters "Recruitment Notice" written at the top. Below it was written: To protect the imperial border, Tian Gong City is currently recruiting 3,000 soldiers. Recruitment scope: Males, physically healthy and without disabilities, aged between 16 and 26 years old. Those with great strength and those with a high level of martial arts skills will be given priority. Only when there is a country can there be a home; it is for the country that one joins the army to defend the family and the nation, only then can one show their true worth as a man.

  The level of heavenly power referred to here is actually the first and second levels. If the heavenly power can be cultivated to the third level of heavenly essence, and the life pearl awakens, then there is no need to join the army, and one can directly enter a military academy or a jade master's college for further study, which would have boundless prospects.

  Generally speaking, if a Royal Pearl Master's innate pearl has not awakened by the age of 16, then it is likely that their Heavenly Power will never reach the third level in their lifetime, and their innate pearl will remain dormant forever. And yet, what they are recruiting here are obviously just ordinary soldiers.

  Recruit soldiers? Seeing this notice, Zhou Weiqing's heart moved slightly. Ah, if he became a soldier, wouldn't that mean he wouldn't have to go back home? He would have food to eat and military pay, who knows, maybe he could even make a name for himself in the army, and not be called a waste by his old man anymore. Haha, heaven is helping me indeed.

  This kid is still young after all, and at the moment of excitement, he didn't consider whether being a soldier would be hard or not. At this age, his personality is most prone to impulsiveness, let alone being called useless every day, and his father was so strict, he had long been unwilling to stay at home.

  Having made up his mind, Zhou Weiqing squeezed to the front and asked a veteran in charge of recruitment behind the table: "Brother, I want to sign up, I want to sign up."

  At this time, although hundreds of people gathered to watch, the actual number of recruits was not many. Tian Gong City is the capital of the Tian Gong Empire, and the civilians living here are much richer than those in other places. The Tian Gong Empire is a small country with constant conflicts with several surrounding countries, so being a soldier is not an insurance policy. As long as they have a way out, the people of Tian Gong City generally will not choose to let their children become soldiers, let alone the children of nobles.

  The ones responsible for recruiting, sitting behind the desk, were all veterans and at least held the rank of squad leader. There were twenty people in total. The one facing Zhou Weiqing looked to be over thirty years old, with a tall and sturdy build, but his face had a lazy expression. Anyone who had been in the army for a long time could tell that this guy was a typical "army oiler".

  "Hey kid, do you want to be a soldier?" Suddenly someone signed up, making the young squad leader extremely excited. After all, there were more than 20 people here, and this kid who signed up chose his side, giving him a lot of face.

  "Yes! I want to be a soldier." Zhou Weiqing said firmly. Looking at these team leaders wearing armor and sitting in a majestic posture, he became even more determined to become a soldier.

  The squad leader of the little oil lamp nodded and said: "Alright, what kind of soldier do you want to be?"

  "Huh?" Although Zhou Weiqing's father was the biggest head of the Tian Bow Empire army, he was clueless about military matters and asked weakly: "What's different?"

  "Of course, there are differences. Although the treatment of ordinary soldiers is the same, different troops have different test items. For example, this light infantry, first tested is endurance, on the battlefield, they are always the busiest people, constantly running back and forth. So, endurance is very important, you can run, the possibility of survival on the battlefield is greater, right? And most troops also developed from light infantry. When new recruits join the army, the vast majority start as infantry. Of course, there are also some other primary troops, such as logistics soldiers, grass-cutting soldiers, and fire-head soldiers. However, these are the most useless, they will never make a name for themselves." The squad leader said with disdain, curling his lip.

  As soon as he heard the words "survive on the battlefield", Zhou Weiqing's previous enthusiasm suddenly dissipated a lot. Ah, being a soldier means going to the battlefield, and if he didn't have any skills, it would be worthless to become cannon fodder on the battlefield!

  "Uh, Officer, this... or should I think about it some more?" Fear of death is a natural human instinct, and Zhou Weiqing, who appeared to be sixteen or seventeen years old on the surface but was actually only thirteen.

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  Please don't forget to vote tomorrow, and there will be an update tomorrow afternoon. From now on, there will be at least two updates every day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, with a third update added occasionally. Here, I would also like to thank the fourth ally of "Crossing into the World of Cultivation" for their support. At the same time, I would like to thank all book friends who have been supporting "Heavenly Jewels".