Long Yuxue continued to speak as they walked, "The base troop here is changed once a month. Our army has a total of ten battalions under its command, every battalion has about one thousand five hundred men. This is the combat unit. Our Secret Service is considered a combat support unit, so we're not counted. The remaining staff members are part of the support and research crews which make up about ten thousand people in total. Our total strength has always been between twenty-five and thirty thousand. A new recruit like you is also a reserve officer if you were to join the combat unit."

"We've accumulated thousands of years worth of experience to allow us to reduce our fatalities compared to those days. Generally, a new recruit will go through one year of reserve duty after one month of special training. Only the new recruits that pass the reserve duty are allowed to truly join the frontline battlefield. Your situation is slightly special. You're transferred to the Secret Service because of your exceptional abilities, but this means you need to familiarize yourself with combat against abyssal creatures."

Both of them passed through three more guarded checkpoints before they finally entered the actual abyssal passage.

The lighting in front was no longer the same. It appeared as if a faint glow was penetrating through the passage.

"This is the light from the other side of the abyssal passage. We are in a Grade C passage, so I don't think we'll encounter abyssal creatures that are too powerful. You should be able to handle that. Confronting the real creature is not the same as fighting them during the test. Have you ever been in a battle with a real soul beast? I don't think so, right? Perhaps you have participated in some competition? However, do remember that it's a life and death situation when you're fighting an abyssal creature. You're absolutely not allowed to act mercifully. Moreover, you must always deliver a crushing blow. This is not a drill."

Even though Tang Wulin had indeed been well-endowed by nature, he had also made himself very powerful as well. In Long Xuyue's point of view, many geniuses like him could not adapt upon arriving at the Blood God Army because life in the continent had always been peaceful. There were no opportunities for soul masters to truly engage in real battles. On the other hand, it was a war between mankind and abyssal creatures here, and it was not a joke. Thus, she reminded Tang Wulin repeatedly, so he would take this seriously and not be arrogant. An arrogant person would usually end up dead quickly.

Tang Wulin did not elaborate much, just nodding in agreement.

They continued forward for another kilometer. According to Tang Wulin's calculations, they had already walked for about seven to eight kilometers upon entering this place. Peculiar energy was fluctuating inside the abyssal passage as if the passage was a spatial plane instead of being made of solid rock and soil. This could also be the reason why the abyssal plane could not connect to other places.

It was as if the abyssal plane used a tube to pierce through space into the world of the Douluo Continent, and the abyssal creatures could only crawl into the world through this tube.

Now that the main tube was already sealed, they could only search for other branches and figure out a way to enter before attempting to open up the main tube.

"Prepare to fight!" Long Yuxue shouted in a deep voice, and with a flash of light, a soul weapon appeared in her mecha's hand.

It appeared to be a large firearm over two-meters long, with a slender body. The gun barrel was especially long, but it was still slightly finer than the quick-firing gun barrel which Tang Wulin repaired the other day. Tang Wulin sensed that the energy fluctuation hidden inside the weapon was so terrifying such that even he felt threatened despite his powerful defense.

Long Yuxue's mannerism changed at once when she was holding the soul firearm. She was no longer icy cold as before. Her aura had completely disappeared and even the sense of danger radiating from her firearm vanished soon after. It was as if her entire person had melded into the air.

Yet, she was plainly standing there before his eyes. Tang Wulin could not help admiring her ability to conceal her aura.

The whole time, Tang Wulin had not actually learned about Long Xuyue's abilities. He could vaguely sense that her cultivation base was around five-rings.

Tang Wulin came from Shrek Academy, and he could always outdo his opponent. Hence, he had assumed that Long Yuxue's fighting capabilities could never possibly triumph over his.

Yet, at that exact moment, he began to have doubts when he saw Long Yuxue standing there with the soul firearm in her hand. Long Yuxue should be more powerful than he had imagined, and she could certainly achieve the rank of major by relying on her power.

Long Yuxue's speed increased soon after she procured her weapon. She touched the ground with the tips of her toes as she moved forward swiftly without making any noise.

There was a place similar to a node at every alternate section of the abyssal passage, while the tomb-like location was most favorable for battles.

Long Yuxue suddenly stopped after crossing another node. She took a glance at the instrument in her hand and then made a hand gesture signaling Tang Wulin to hush.

The back of her soul firearm was placed on top of the minimecha's shoulder while her hands supported the weapon. She stood firmly on the ground while her aura faded even more, till it felt like even her breathing had stopped. She stood there just like a statue.

All of a sudden, Long Yuxue moved. Her body turned ever so slightly while the firearm in her hands instantly shot out a stream of gray light.

The beam moved at a speed that could not be captured by one's naked eyes. Even Tang Wulin's Purple Demon Eyes could only see indistinctly that there was a gray shadow that vanished as soon as it flashed.

The flash was gone, and Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment. A piercing cry suddenly came out from the distance. A creature that was grey-black all over stood up in the darkness.

Tang Wulin could see that it was similar to a lizard. It was completely grey-black with curved hook-like spines growing out from its body. One of its eyes was already blinded from the shot. Its body twisted a few times as it shrieked before it transformed into a puff of grey smog that dissipated into the air. The grey smog shot straight toward the inside of the abyssal cave.

It was an abyssal creature. Tang Wulin's body moved in a flash and he shielded himself in front of Long Yuxue. The wings on his back closed as he retracted his battle armor and brought out his Golden Dragon Spear.

"Be careful." Long Yuxue's icy cold voice was heard in his ears.

"Don't worry!" Tang Wulin pointed his Golden Dragon Spear ahead as he dashed forth in great strides.

It seemed like there were more species of abyssal creatures than he had imagined. He had never seen the species earlier before either. However, he could tell that it was an abyssal creature skilled in concealing itself known as the Devour Lizard through his classes with Long Yuxue. The creature survived by devouring the life force of other creatures.

It came from a big clan of abyssal creatures. The powerhouses of this clan could achieve the rank of Mo Mei's species. Moreover, they came in great numbers with uneven ranks. They had very high defense, but their weakness was their eyes.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!" Meanwhile, a few figures scurried in their direction like lightning. They were a few more Devour Lizards as this species lived in groups. The lizard at the vanguard was killed so the companions behind would come charging forward.

The Golden Dragon Spear in Tang Wulin's hands shook as thousands of energy spears filled the entire cave. The Devour Lizards were all enshrouded within their radiance.

"Poof, poof, poof!" The Devour Lizards were gradually pierced by the Golden Dragon Spear one after another with a series of soft thuds. One could only see streams of gray smog after the Golden Dragon Spear penetrated the Devour Lizards' bodies due to the high speed. This time, the smog did not manage to flee but were sucked into the Golden Dragon Spear and infused into Tang Wulin's body.

To his surprise, he was absorbing pure energy after it was filtered by the Golden Dragon Spear.

Tang Wulin squinted his eyes as he immediately came to a realization. After these abyssal creatures were killed, most of the energy from its body would be taken back by the abyss. Thus, the abyss was capable of being reborn again even after so many of the abyssal creatures were killed. At the same time, he had already proven that he could truly absorb the abyssal creatures' energy through his Golden Dragon Spear by engaging in a real-life battle.

The energy from these Devour Lizards was so minuscule that its effects on him were negligible, but it was still beneficial for him to slowly accumulate it anyhow. Many a little makes a mickle, so it was still better than nothing.