The old man placed his hands on the lectern, about to sit down, but stood up again to look at Qian Jin: “...Very well, if you can recite the files and famous battles of two hundred great generals, I can petition the principal for another batch of supplies ranked fourth on the Hundred Battles List for you, granting you double the resources.”

A wave of sharp intakes of breath immediately swept through the classroom. Reciting the files of two hundred famous generals, even ranging from ancient times to the present, would be difficult enough; to also name their decisive battles—this was setting an impossible standard.

“You... you mean it?” Qian Jin cautiously sought confirmation from the old man, “You truly have the final say?”

“Ha!” The old man let out a hearty, full-throated laugh, his large palm drumming against his chest with a resounding thump: “When I, Nanmen Xiangrong, speak, can it be taken back?”

The surrounding students nodded one after another. This old man, they had heard, was a general who had once served on the battlefield. No one knew why he had come here to teach, but even the principal, known for his fiery temper towards teachers, treated this teacher, Nanmen Xiangrong, with considerable respect.

“Nanmen Xiangrong?” Qian Jin’s mouth dropped open into an ‘O’ shape: “Seven hundred men holding back twenty thousand Samael demons for fifteen days. Five thousand men conducting a night raid on the Mammon demons, ultimately annihilating four thousand enemies, suffering two thousand casualties themselves, and returning victorious—and further manipulating the Jemael demons into fighting amongst themselves in the dark for thirty-five minutes—the cunning general Nanmen Xiangrong?”

Hiss! A string of gasps echoed through the classroom. The students stared blankly at the lecturer’s podium. Teacher Nanmen Xiangrong, whose previous demeanor had been calm and proud, now showed clear signs of agitation on his face.

That intense? The students exchanged glances, seeing disbelief reflected in each other's eyes. Such a fearsome general was actually here teaching?

The hands Nanmen Xiangrong rested on the desk trembled slightly. Red flushed across his wrinkled face, and his breathing grew rapid. His eyes, full of astonishment, fixed on Qian Jin: “Who are you? How do you know so much about me?”

Qian Jin froze on the spot. What did this mean? All this information came from a memoir written by an ancestor in the Qian family. Such battle records should be known by students at the War Academy, even if the common people of the Zhence Dynasty didn't recognize him. Why did these classmates seem oblivious, and why was the teacher so agitated?

“I read it in a memoir.”

“A memoir?” Nanmen Xiangrong’s brow furrowed so deeply one could crush a fly alive: “Who dares to record my name? That person has considerable nerve.”

Qian Jin pursed his lips. He’d seen this name in more than one memoir. Even those Qian family bloodline warriors, whose eyes were set too high on their foreheads, had recorded the name Nanmen Xiangrong. That alone proved how exceptional this ordinary warrior was.

“Nanmen Xiangrong should count as a great general, right?” Qian Jin looked at the teacher, whose emotions were gradually calming down on the podium. “If he counts, I still need one hundred and ninety-nine more.”

Nanmen Xiangrong paused in thought, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out somewhat as a smile spread: “He counts! You still need one hundred and ninety-nine.”

“Bei Likunying,” Qian Jin spoke fluently: “Heralded alongside Nanmen Xiangrong as the Twin Stars of the North and South. One thousand nine hundred men infiltrated deep into demon territory, attacking three grain convoys within ten days... successfully delaying the movement of the main demon forces, a monumental contribution. Six thousand men... burned five thousand Asmodeus demons...”

Nanmen Xiangrong stared blankly at Qian Jin. A layer of mist blurred his small eyes; his recently calmed emotions flared up again. Kunying...

Qian Jin rapidly recounted the names of general after general. Ninety percent of the students in the class were stunned into silence. How sharp was this young man’s mind? Could he truly list two hundred great generals?

As he spoke, Qian Jin simply closed his eyes. More famous generals surfaced in his mind, forcing him to select slightly, choosing those better known to the public. He secretly admired the mysterious potion from Teacher Oulala—the memory elixir. After drinking too much of it, one could not only memorize new things seen but also recall past memories. Everything he had ever seen could be recalled, even things from when he was two or three years old that should have long been forgotten.

Two hundred great generals, two hundred great generals! Nanmen Xiangrong gazed at Qian Jin dazedly. Where had this little monster sprung from? If he had almost no personal combat strength, it would be understandable that all his energy was focused on war command and memorization. But he was clearly a warrior pursuing personal strength.

At such a young age, without the power of bloodline awakening, he could still defeat Wei Buhuan, whose ferocity was notorious and who ranked forty on the Hundred Battles List. To suggest he wasn't a warrior chasing personal strength would make no one believe it.

“Hoo...” Qian Jin let out a long breath, settling back into his seat, looking at Nanmen Xiangrong with a slight smile. He had just listed the files of two hundred and ten great generals.

Nanmen Xiangrong looked thoughtfully at Qian Jin. This kid’s memory was truly astonishing! Since he hadn't awakened his bloodline power, he wouldn't reach his peak in personal combat power later on. It seemed he needed to find a way to lure him onto the path of war command.

Excellent memory, while not the sole quality for becoming a great general, at least meant he could be trained as a War Staff Officer, capable of immediately recalling various battle cases to provide data for the commanding general.

Such a position offered far more promise than that of ordinary warriors pursuing personal strength!

Nanmen Xiangrong suddenly nodded heavily. Yes! He needed to interact more with this boy after class to see if he had more talent in command. If he did, he would immediately seek out the principal to discuss transferring Qian Jin to the Command Department for training and observation.

“Stand up!”

The entire class of students rose in unison, bowing to the old man standing at the podium. Qian Jin was compelled to stand again, then quietly returned to his seat like everyone else.

Qian Jin was slightly confused. He had heard that even lecturers at the High-Level War Academy brought teaching materials to class. Why didn't this old man have any? Today was supposed to be Military Psychology.

Clatter... Clatter... In the quiet classroom, a continuous series of rattling sounds arose, like hundreds or thousands of small pebbles dropping onto desks, producing crisp impact sounds.

Qian Jin watched as his classmates all pulled out square wooden boards from beneath their desks. These boards were etched with intersecting lines forming strange little grids. At the back of these grids sat various small pieces, each carved not only with a name but also with different numbers.

What was this? A kind of game? Qian Jin looked doubtfully at the game boards and pieces in everyone’s hands. He had read many classics; he knew the popular games in the Zhence Dynasty, and even those popular among the demons, yet he had never seen a game as bizarre as this.

Qian Jin retrieved an identical board and a canister of various pieces from under his desk, along with an instruction manual.

The names on the manual referred to various military structures within the army, and the numbers represented a certain combat strength. When these pieces were arranged together in a specific formation, the numbers on the pieces would change.

If the troop types were appropriately matched and appeared on suitable terrain on the board, the numbers would climb higher and higher. If the pairing was wrong, or if they appeared on unfavorable terrain, or if they were surrounded, the numbers would decrease.

Magic artifacts? Qian Jin turned the board and pieces over, discovering strange magical inscriptions that only an Inscription Master could decipher.

Truly worthy of the High-Level War Academy! Qian Jin clicked his tongue. Even if these materials were assembled, they might not consume the magic core of a low-grade magical beast in a hundred years, but they were still quite laborious to create.

Bang!

The old man pulled out a massive game board from beneath the lectern. This board was easily five times larger than the one Qian Jin held.

“You rookies,” the old man adjusted his sleeve and stretched his neck repeatedly, “Watch me annihilate all your forces today!”

A beam of light shot out from the large board. This light instantly split into countless other beams, connecting with all the small boards in the classroom, forming a strange, crisscrossing spiderweb pattern that linked all the smaller boards together.

Qian Jin noticed that some warrior students held over a dozen pieces, while others held only a few dozen. His own board, after inputting the number from his Warrior Student ID onto a small numeric keypad protruding from the board, revealed only four pieces that truly lit up and were usable.

Forty logistics transport units! Qian Jin saw the four pieces in his hand and almost burst out laughing in wry amusement. What good were these transport units?

Dense clusters of strangely colored light dots began to appear on the board. Among them were light dots the same color as the four pieces in Qian Jin’s hand, flashing near the rear of the formations.

“This is...” Qian Jin quickly flipped through the manual. This was not just a wargame simulation unique to the Conquest Academy. Students and teachers played the roles of the Lucifer Dynasty and the Zhence Dynasty armies, competing against each other.

Points were awarded based on the results of successive battles, leading to promotions or demotions in military rank. As the military rank changed, the number of troops available for deployment increased.

This wargame tested not only the students' command ability but also their ability to cooperate. Many retainer warriors would voluntarily move close to their masters for small-scale group battles to enhance combat effectiveness.

Qian Jin soon realized that he knew no one in the academy, and he only had four squads of logistics transport troops. What good was that?

Hollert watched Qian Jin, who was studying the game seriously, with a cold sneer. He placed his fifteen pieces onto the board, and soon nearly a hundred more light dots converged from different positions.

“Only four transport squads,” Lilizago chuckled while looking at the four light dots belonging to Qian Jin: “Later, we’ll find people to block his path forward, keeping him permanently at the very rear of the entire battlefield, ensuring he receives no combat strength bonus points whatsoever. Give him no chance to score or participate in the familiarization of combat. This way, he will fail this course during the final examination...”