82: Graduation, vacation, military service

A month passed in a flash.

Graduation day arrived.

Lin Chen packed his belongings, recalled his clone into his body, and left the dormitory he had lived in for four years.

In the future, he might return to the Sixth Academy to take up a position, but for a short time, he probably wouldn't be back.

Sixth Academy Martial Arts Plaza.

The 150,000 graduates of Lin Chen's class all arrived conscientiously, gathering in small groups, waiting for the Sixth Academy's final bestowal.

During his four years in university, Lin Chen was somewhat of a homebody, not knowing many classmates from his year, always alone, and discussing matters with his clone when needed.

The people he knew had already graduated and left the Sixth Academy; those he didn't know, he probably wouldn't have a chance to meet in the future.

At 10 AM, all 150,000 graduates were present.

On the high platform at the center of the plaza, 208 towers stood.

As of now, the Sixth Academy has 208 gods stationed there, including 3 Main Gods, 34 Upper Gods, 101 Mid-level Gods, and 70 Lower Gods.

Once the graduates were in place, the 208 gods, either appearing in their true forms or as avatars, stood on the towers, gazing at the graduates below, who had quietly settled down.

The Sixth Academy's leadership did not come up to give speeches, and no one even hosted the graduation blessing ceremony.

The gods did not waste words; their divine power connected with each other, using the 208 towers as points to form a blessing array that enveloped the Martial Arts Plaza, bestowing blessings upon all graduates.

The blessing ceremony proceeded very quickly.

In just one minute, the Undying Blessing was fixed upon all graduates.

Before the graduates could react, the 208 towers were already empty; the gods had departed.

The end of the blessing ceremony meant that Lin Chen's class had truly graduated, and it also meant that they were no longer students, but rather individuals who had entered society.

“Time really flies; I’ve already graduated,” Lin Chen sighed with some emotion.

He quite liked the atmosphere of the Sixth Academy, mainly because the Sixth Academy was safe enough that his main body could remain still while his clone handled most matters.

There was a two-month holiday between graduating from the Sixth Academy and enlisting for military service.

Lin Chen naturally planned to return to Blue Star during this holiday.

He had to go home eventually, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to return for many more years.

During his four years of university, only after graduation was there a brief two-month holiday; after that came two years of military service and a six-year garrison mission, with no holidays during either period.

The Human Race's life before the age of 30 was already meticulously arranged by the Federation, doing everything possible to provide an excellent cultivation environment for people.

Before age 6, a carefree childhood.

From age 6 to 12, a happy and joyful elementary school life.

From age 12 to 18, a period of hard work and diligent cultivation in junior and senior high school.

From age 18 to 22, a university life of understanding the world and realizing oneself.

From age 22 to 24, military service, a period of defying fate; countless individuals with low potential, as long as they dared to fight and strive, would gain rewards and achieve a higher future.

From age 24 to 30, becoming a local garrison, digesting the accumulations of the previous 24 years, a stable period of settling down.

When Lin Chen came to the Sixth Academy, he took a welcoming spaceship.

When he left the Sixth Academy, Lin Chen still took a welcoming spaceship.

The graduation season and the start of the academic year were only two months apart.

The journey was uneventful, and a week later, Lin Chen's welcoming spaceship landed in the South Continent's capital city on Blue Star.

Stepping off the welcoming spaceship, Lin Chen saw his family waiting to pick him up.

“Chen’er, over here.”

Grandfather Lin Yuan, Grandmother Luo Zhiyuan, uncles and aunts, and a group of younger siblings were holding up a sign, waiting for Lin Chen.

“Grandpa, Grandma, I’m back.”

“It’s good to be back, let’s go home.”

On the Lin family's spaceship, Lin Chen's family members were enjoying themselves.

Lin Chen recounted some of his permissible experiences at the Sixth Academy to his family and brought each family member a gift, mostly precious treasures that were useful for cultivation and exquisitely crafted.

He could be considered to have returned home in glory.

When he left, he was only at the early Sixth Order cultivation level.

Upon his return, he was already at the mid-Tenth Order cultivation level.

Back home, Lin Chen felt very relaxed.

Home was a safe harbor, a place for the mind to rest.

Although Lin Chen's home was small and couldn't provide him with much assistance, it was his emotional anchor, his path of origin, so whether it provided assistance or not was irrelevant.

On the third day after returning home, Lin Chen received an invitation from Zhou Heshan, who had organized a high school reunion.

Lin Chen didn't refuse; it would be nice to have a meal and some drinks.

Classmates who hadn't seen each other for four years had already grown somewhat estranged; everyone had new friends, university experiences had shaped new perspectives, and different cultivation levels led to different topics of conversation.

For example, other classmates in the class were generally at the Sixth or Seventh Order cultivation level, and they had many topics to discuss.

However, Lin Chen, Lin Fan, and Oriental Red Sleeve were all at the Tenth Order cultivation level, so they didn't have many topics to discuss with their classmates, hearing mostly compliments without much substance.

Moreover, the three of them were originally a small clique, with a gap between them and other cliques; now, that gap had only widened, and their levels were already different.

If not for their acquaintance, a Seventh Order seeing a Tenth Order would still have to address them as 'Senior'.

In this world, there were ultimately only three realms: Senior, Fellow Daoist, and Ant, though the Federation had laws, so the term 'Ant' could not be used openly.

After the class reunion, Lin Chen arranged a small gathering with Lin Fan and Oriental Red Sleeve.

During their small gathering, they had many topics to discuss.

In casual conversation, they talked about the military service issue.

Graduates of the Sixth Academy had limited choices for military service: only two, the Expeditionary Force and the Border Army.

The Border Army, a garrison force, was required to wage war against alien races that refreshed on the Human Race's borders, destroying enemies step by step, and expanding territory for the Human Race through blood and fire.

The Expeditionary Force, a pioneering force, operated in the vast Human Race borderlands where alien races might not randomly refresh, thus needing to expand outwards and clear visible dangers.

The Border Army and the Expeditionary Force were essentially the same but differed in function and the types of enemies they faced.

The Border Army faced organized alien armies and was strong in group combat, while the Expeditionary Force faced hidden scattered soldiers and various monsters, excelling in single combat.

For example, if the Expeditionary Force encountered organized alien forces with resistance capabilities during their advance, they would set up war fortresses and wait for the Border Army to move in.

And after the Border Army cleared the obstructing alien forces, the Expeditionary Force would take over from the Border Army and continue to expand outwards.

“Xiao Fanzi, Dongfang, have you made your choices?”

“Hongxiu and I have chosen to join the Expeditionary Force, Brother Chen, what about you?”

“Me, I’ll naturally choose the Border Army.”

Neither side was surprised by the other's choice.

Lin Fan and Oriental Red Sleeve were both formidable individuals whose main bodies could venture out for adventures; joining the Expeditionary Force, exploring unknown star systems, while risky, would yield good rewards if their luck wasn't too bad.

Lin Chen wasn't that brave, so he chose to join the Border Army, which had fixed battlefields, engaging in back-and-forth attrition warfare, which would also allow him to leverage his clone's advantage.

Ninety percent of the Sixth Academy's graduates would join the Border Army, and the Border Army especially welcomed graduates from the Sixth Academy for military service.

After all, a suicide squad composed of clones was truly effective.

When clones were deployed, it was like a pack of rabid dogs unleashed.

Sacrificing clones for the enemy's effective strength was a profitable trade no matter how you looked at it.

Relaxed and happy holidays were always short-lived.

In the blink of an eye, a month and a half had passed, with half a month remaining until the end of the holiday.

During the relaxing holiday, Lin Chen had been somewhat lax, not cultivating much, relying entirely on the passive increase in cultivation from the Seven-Colored Dragon Power within his body; however, his cultivation had already reached the late Tenth Order, not far from breaking through to Demigod.

He had no bottleneck to speak of for breaking through to Demigod.

Once his cultivation reached the required level, he would naturally condense the first wisp of divinity and step into the Demigod realm.

However, at this point, Lin Chen had to embark on his journey to the army.

It would take a week just to travel from Blue Star to the border using teleportation arrays, and another four to seven days by warship to reach the Border Army's station.

Therefore, to avoid being late for reporting, Lin Chen had to depart early.

“Chen’er, be careful; the battlefield is merciless, and living is everything; with your talent, staying alive is the greatest contribution.”

“Grandpa, Grandma, I value my life; when the time comes, my main body will hide in a safe area in the rear, and my clones will attack; the Border Army also allows this, so you don't need to worry too much about safety.”

“Chen’er, return safely.”

“I will definitely return safely; the future is so exciting, I wouldn't bear to die.”

Lin Chen stepped onto the teleportation array under the gaze of his family, disappearing from Blue Star.

The Border Army Lin Chen chose to serve in was named the Azure Dragon Legion, part of the Four Sacred Armies.

Legions named after the Four Sacred Beasts and auspicious beasts were all Border Armies.

Legions named after the Four Fierce Beasts and ferocious beasts were all Expeditionary Forces.

The Azure Dragon Legion was located in the Federation's Eastern Frontier and was currently engaged in a war against a race called the God Race; the war had only just erupted less than a year ago, and both sides were still probing each other.

Based on the estimated strength of the God Race, it was estimated that the Azure Dragon Legion would need ten years to completely resolve the God Race, exit the state of war, and return to the rear for recuperation.

Starry sky racial wars covered too vast an area, so their duration was also long; even with the Human Race's strength, they had to advance slowly, otherwise, they were prone to setbacks.