Chapter 357: Those who haven't seen blood on the moon are not worthy of being called warriors.

"Sizzle—"

Wei Qiang turned off the miniature laser welding gun mounted on the outside of the robotic arm, and casually tore off a roll of high-strength sealing tape with a silver sheen from his tactical belt, wrapping it tightly twice around a tiny crack in the left shoulder armor of the mech.

"Squad, report casualties," he said, panting heavily in the squad channel.

"Number Two, the residual amount of the purified anode fluid is 60%. It was bumped just now, and there is a slight leak in the auxiliary hydraulic cylinder of the left leg, but the pressure reading is still in the green zone, so it does not affect maneuverability." Wang Meng's voice came over, accompanied by a few soft "clicking" sounds as the mecha moved.

"Number three is normal. It's just that the blade is a bit chipped."

"Number four is normal."

The near-vacuum surface of the moon is devoid of wind, birdsong, and insect chirps.

Only the life-sustaining data flashing on the mask screen, and the several meteorite craters in the distance, burned into a glassy state by the extreme Yang True Fire, silently testified to the perilous close combat just now.

"Well done, you're starting to look like a regular army."

With a series of heavy metallic footsteps, Old Ghost emerged from behind a giant rock, piloting his battered, slash-covered mech. He tossed half of an extremely thick, mutated limb into a nearby pile of ash.

"The tactical maneuver went smoothly, and they knew to use heavy firepower to cover their teammates as they drew their swords. The simulation session wasn't in vain."

Old Ghost's one eye swept across the armor, then he walked up to Wei Qiang and tapped the Star Iron Heavy Sword in Wei Qiang's hand with the handle of the armor-piercing hammer.

"But look at your blade."

Wei Qiang looked down and noticed that the brand-new heavy sword, which had been manufactured less than three days ago, had three small chips the size of soybeans on the middle of its blade, and the Extreme Yang Array pattern on it had also dimmed considerably.

"Inside the simulator, the system will automatically correct the spiritual energy loss when you swing your sword. But in the extreme environment of the moon, with its high vacuum and microgravity, every bit of true energy not used on the blade will turn into a backlash of resistance during collisions."

Old Ghost snorted coldly and turned to look at the deep Aitken Basin in the distance.

"The monster's carapace is extremely dense. You're used to gravity-based attacks on Earth, but here, the true fire can't keep up with the kinetic energy. When the blades slam into the carapace, it's no wonder they break. Today we're just taking down a few lone minions. When the Black Gate opens again and the main force pours out, if your swords are dulled and can't cut through the monster's defenses, then your cockpits will be the next ones to be cut open."

Wei Qiang and several new recruits gripped their sword hilts tightly. No one objected; they simply and silently adjusted the mecha's data recorder to the highest frequency band, meticulously recording every single error from the battle just now.

"Fall back. Head back to base to recharge."

Old Ghost waved his hand and led the way toward the camouflage hatch of the underground base. "This is only the first day, rookies. There's a long way to go on the moon."

……

Earth. Kyoto Joint Control Room.

"Bang."

Wang Mingyuan tossed a thick tactical assessment report onto the table, picked up the chipped enamel mug, and took a sip of strong tea.

"The combat data from the first batch of reservists in the Guanghan training area has been released."

Lin Feng adjusted his glasses and tapped his fingers on the keyboard. "The casualty rate is less than one percent. These young men have extremely high tactical skills, and their mechs and formations work together very well. However, their resource attrition rate is a full forty percent higher than that of the veterans."

"That's normal." Wang Mingyuan shook his head dismissively. "The elites raised on Earth have never seen real blood. They exert too much force and don't know how to conserve fuel on the edge of a knife. They'll learn after rolling around in the mud a few more times."

Across the conference table, several Golden Core elders, dressed in the attire of various martial arts schools and serving as honorary advisors to the Defense Force, exchanged glances.

One of the elders, who had a goatee, cleared his throat and said with a hint of flattery, "Now that the first batch of reserves has completed their trials, shouldn't we withdraw them? We have several core disciples with exceptional talent who have already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Condensing the Golden Core requires an extremely large amount of pure spiritual energy. Isn't the Great Sun Spirit-Attracting Array at the Guanghan Base always operating at full power? If we just draw a small batch of the original liquid back to Earth to dilute it, it will be enough to help those few people condense their Golden Cores..."

"Not approved."

Wang Mingyuan interrupted the elder without even looking up.

The goatee elder was taken aback, his brow furrowing slightly: "Professor Wang, Earth desperately needs high-end combat power at the Golden Core stage to maintain its image. We can't rely on sheer firepower forever, can we?"

"High-end combat power?"

Wang Mingyuan finally raised his head, staring sharply at the elder.

"The extremely yang spiritual liquid extracted from the Great Sun Spirit Drawing Array is a strategic military supply that the soldiers of the Guanghan Base painstakingly extracted from the sun while defending the array's core 380,000 kilometers away, enduring the claws of high-dimensional monsters! And now you want to use the rations that the soldiers on the front lines risked their lives to feed a few 'geniuses' on Earth who have never even left an air-raid shelter?"

He stood up, pulled open the drawer behind him, and threw a document stamped with a red seal onto the conference table.

"Times have changed."

Wang Mingyuan pointed heavily at the document. "In the past, your cultivation world valued spiritual root aptitude and the speed of meditation and breathing exercises. But now, Earth is a war machine! Want to apply for resources to break through to the Golden Core stage? Look at the prerequisites yourself!"

The goatee elder swallowed hard and looked down. It was written clearly in black and white:

"All applicants for the Golden Core stage must meet three prerequisites."

"First, the stable service time during the foundation-building period shall not be less than six months."

"Second, they must have combat experience in deep space, high-pressure zones, or yellow zones."

"Third, the three indicators of spiritual stability, meridian pressure resistance, and true essence micro-management have all passed the alliance's unified test."

"Are those golden pills, forcibly obtained through drugs, meant to be used as power banks for higher-dimensional monsters on the moon?"

Wang Mingyuan sneered, his voice as cold and hard as iron.

"If someone hasn't fought with void monsters in a near-vacuum pressure environment, and hasn't seen blood on the moon, even if they've cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage on Earth, they're a fraud! The Defense Force won't accept it, I, Wang Mingyuan, won't accept it, and Earth's resource allocation system certainly won't accept it!"

The elders broke out in a cold sweat, looked at each other, and were speechless for a long time.

……

The next day. New Chang'an City, Third Heavy Industry Military Supplies Exchange Hall.

"Why shouldn't we exchange it? We've already paid three times the amount of spirit stones!"

A young cultivator, dressed in a spotless, flowing robe, pounded on the bulletproof glass of the window, his expression indignant. "I possess a single water spiritual root and have already reached the peak of Foundation Establishment! I only need a bottle of 'Extreme Yang Spiritual Liquid' to aid my breakthrough. Once I form my core, I alone will be worth an entire mecha squadron! You're hogging resources, wasting Earth's potential!"

The logistics staff behind the glass window didn't even lift their eyelids; they simply reached out and tapped on a red notice that had just been posted on the glass.

"Read carefully, this is the Supreme Command's new regulation. Strategic resources are not recognized by spirit stones or spirit roots, only by the Moon-Back Military Merit Badge."

"You—!" The young cultivator was furious, about to unleash the pressure of a peak Foundation Establishment cultivator to forcefully refute the argument.

"Make way, you're blocking the way."

An extremely hoarse voice, filled with deep fatigue, came from behind him.

The young monk turned his head and saw a middle-aged man in ordinary work clothes with a stubble beard walking towards him. The man walked with a limp, his left hand hanging limply in front of his chest. Although he had received medical treatment, he still reeked of burnt and bloody odors.

This was one of the Guanghan veterans who followed Chen Ge back to Earth yesterday for rest and recuperation.

The young cultivator frowned subconsciously, raising his protective true energy to try and block out the unpleasant smell, his tone unfriendly: "Who are you...?"

"roll."

The old soldier's bloodshot eyes swept coldly over the young cultivator.

There was no deliberate release of true essence, nor any fancy display of realm pressure. But with just that one glance, the young cultivator suddenly felt an extremely terrifying, chilling killing intent, as if facing the abyss of the universe, instantly pierce through his protective true essence!

That's the kind of murderous aura that only those who have survived countless battles in a near-vacuum 380,000 kilometers away possess.

The young cultivator's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and he uncontrollably staggered back three or four steps, his back slamming against the waiting chair, leaving him breathless for a long time.

The veteran didn't even glance at him again, dragging his limp to the window, and slammed a metal plaque covered in scratches and black spots onto the table with one hand.

"Two kilometers of defense line in Guanghan, three mid-level Void Realm cultivators slain by hand." The veteran paused, licking his chapped lips. "Change to a bottle of Extreme Yang Spirit Liquid. Also, have the two pounds of braised mutated demon pork I ordered yesterday arrived yet?"

"Here it is! Freshly cooked! Here you go, old squad leader!" The logistics personnel immediately stood up straight and handed a canister of explosion-proof chemicals and a steaming insulated box out the window with extremely respectful hands.

The hall was filled with disciples of various schools who had stayed on Earth and so-called "geniuses".

At this moment, they stared intently at the old soldier's battered yet upright back, then looked at the "Peak Foundation Establishment Genius" slumped on the ground, and the entire arena fell silent.