At this moment, only Academician Xu and Professor Liu were left in the test field, continuing to talk about what had happened earlier.

“Old Xu, you’re not honorable. You’ve taken in such a talented disciple but never said a word to me. Aren’t you being too sneaky?” Professor Liu said with some dissatisfaction.

He thought of the words that Wu Mo had uttered when he rejected him previously, and he could not help but sigh in his heart.

“Wu Mo’s really talented. It’s a waste of his talent to follow you, Old Xu.”

“Go away. Stop being sarcastic here. After all, I occupy the highest position in the fifth division, unlike some people who have been stuck in the professor’s evaluation for more than ten years.”

Hearing old Liu say that Wu Mo was wasting his talent with him, Xu Wuyue immediately felt unhappy and added insult to the professor’s injury.

As soon as he said that, Professor Liu’s voice suddenly became a few degrees higher, as though some scars had been reopened.

“Cut the cr*p. Aren’t you just lucky? If it weren’t for Wu Mo, I wouldn’t have bothered to talk about this with you.”

“Alright, alright…”

Xu Wuyue seemingly saw through him and quickly changed the subject.

“My opinion of Wu Mo isn’t much different from yours. He’s just a fresh graduate from the Divine Arms Academy. Yet, he has brought such great results to our fifth Research Department after accepting only one mission. If we nurture him properly in the future, the fifth Research Department might return to its peak sooner than we think.”

Upon hearing this, Professor Liu’s expression relaxed a little.

Nevertheless, he was still a little perturbed about Xu Wuyue exposing his scars, so he snorted.

“Hmph, Wu Mo is a rare talent. He’s a graduate student under your jurisdiction now, so you have to think of a way to keep him. Otherwise, you know the consequences.”

His tone softened at this point.

“To be able to forge the Invisibility Armor on his first mission… With such forging skills and a mind for design, his future is bound to be limitless. Maybe, down the line, he can become a famous master blacksmith or even the southeastern war zone’s hope.”

As he spoke, Professor Liu Mu narrowed his eyes, and a bright light flashed across his face.

It seemed that he was imagining what the future would look like. At some point, the fifth Research Department would terrorize and invade the ten thousand races, going so far as to leave a mark on their DNA!

Xu Wuyue, who was standing nearby with his hands behind his back, heard Liu Mu’s words, and also appeared contemplative.

“The hope of the southeastern war zone?”

His thoughts were all over the place as he muttered to himself.

In the Nine Provinces, the battle between the monsters of the Ten Thousand Races and the people of the country was divided into nine war zones.

The flames of war stretched for several hundred thousand kilometers. To protect the country, the monsters of the Ten Thousand Races, which ate human flesh and blood, were kept outside the borders. Every day, cultivators died because of this.

As the name suggested, the vast Nine Provinces was currently divided into nine regions.

There was one enormous war zone with the largest number of monsters and the same number of experts, as well as four large war zones, and four small war zones.

The enormous war zone occupied the area of several cities, and it was located at the center of the Nine Provinces’ territory.

There were several hundred spatial cracks of various sizes there. The monsters of the Ten Thousand Races that descended from these spatial cracks were strong enough to burn mountains and fill the seas.

Meanwhile, the four large war zones were like four heavenly pillars, and they occupied four directions: east, south, west, and north.

At every moment, the Ten Thousand Races that invaded would attempt to break through the border and kill humans, thus occupying the entire world.

As for the small war zones, they were located at the border of the continent.

The monsters of the Ten Thousand Races that appeared from those spatial cracks were all weak. They mainly carried out riots to scatter the human forces as much as possible and reduce the pressure on the other war zones.

A general and a few high-level cultivators who held the position of lieutenant general led the battle in the enormous war zone which dominated the fate of the Nine Provinces.

On the other hand, the four large war zones in the north, south, east, and west were overseen by a lieutenant general and a few major generals.

The armed forces near the war zones were abundant, and the nearby cities were equipped with research institutes and other facilities, ensuring the stability of the front lines.

Since the four small war zones were closer to the borders, their armed forces were much weaker than the rest.

However, they still had the ability to wipe out all Type 6 and below monsters.

The small war zones comprised the southeastern, southwestern, northeastern, and northwestern war zones. The battles there were led by major generals, and their subordinates were brigadier generals.

Thanks to their presence at the borders and in the war zones, the cities were at peace.

Far behind, the ordinary people led fairly carefree lives despite being poor.

Although cultivators were respected by countless people, they faced extreme danger every day. They would only be able to protect themselves in the small and medium-sized war zones once their strength surpassed six stars.

With that thought, Academician Xu sighed.

As a lieutenant colonel, he was supposed to serve the country. Currently, he was valued by the official leaders, and he was in charge of the fifth Research Department. However, after so many years, he had not been able to nurture blacksmiths who could go to the war zones.

He focused his gaze and raised his head to the blue sky outside the window.

His voice was firm as he said, “Professor Liu, don’t worry. I’ll definitely focus on excavating Wu Mo’s talent, nurturing him properly, and providing him with financial support. After all, Minister Wei instructed me to do so before he left.”

Professor Liu nodded and said with a smile, “Sigh, I’m old too. Now that I’ve met a talented person, I’m rushing to invite him to become my last disciple. The old professor has completely lost face.”

“Hehe, doesn’t this indirectly show that you, Liu Mu, have a unique eye? You should know that when Wu Mo graduated, many well-known organizations invited him to become a research and development manager. In addition, the conditions they offered him were extremely attractive.”

“We’re able to meet Wu Mo now because he gave up many business opportunities and chose the most difficult scientific research work. Over the years, I have seen many talented people, but his moral character still stands out. There has never been a young man who’s been willing to shine for scientific research,” Xu Wuyue said with a sigh.

Then, the two exchanged looks and saw the surprise in each other’s eyes.

Whether Wu Mo became Academician Xu’s disciple or Liu Mu’s disciple, he was still a member of the fifth Research Department. No matter what kind of technological breakthrough he made in the future, the fifth Research Department would be able to return to its peak.

“Talented and virtuous, his future is limitless.”

After he said that, Liu Mu turned around and left the testing grounds.

Academician Xu placed his hands behind his back and slowly paced around Liu Mu.

It occurred to him that Wu Mo’s task was done. With the way Wu Mo was, if Xu Wuyue did not give him a task, he would definitely stay in the internal reference room for the foreseeable future.

“Old Liu, let’s go to the Strategy Department and help Wu Mo apply for a modification project for the Invisibility Armor. The need for its modification is imminent. If we delay this, Minister Wei won’t be satisfied.”