End of the Trip and a Big Decision

As night fell, the temporary campsite of the "Seed Squad" fell silent. After a long day of tension and excitement, all the team members had fallen into a deep sleep, except for the soldier on guard duty.

Lam Minh quietly slipped out of his tent. He moved like a ghost, gliding past the guard without being detected. He had used a bit of qi to create a small illusion, making the guard think it was just a light breeze passing by.

He returned alone to Wolf Fang Canyon, his speed like a flash of lightning. Just a few minutes later, he was standing before the entrance to the Crystal Rhino's cave.

The giant monster was still fast asleep, its snores echoing like rolling thunder. After chasing away the daytime intruders, it had let its guard down.

"Sleeping well, my friend?" Lam Minh whispered, a wicked smile on his lips.

He had no intention of waking it up. To deal with an Early-stage Foundation Establishment creature, he didn't need to waste so much effort. He would finish it in a single blow.

He took the Thuan Thien sword from his storage ring. Under the moonlight, the sword gleamed with a tranquil and deadly green light.

He operated the "Primeval Dragon God Art," pouring all the spiritual energy of a Peak Foundation Establishment cultivator into the sword. His aura was compressed to the extreme, not letting a single wisp escape. This was the refined energy control he had been practicing.

Primeval Dragon God Art – First Form: Dragon's Fang Slash!

He didn't swing the sword. Instead, he condensed all the sword qi into a single point on the tip of the blade, creating an invisible energy drill.

He aimed straight for the fatal weak point that To Quyen had analyzed: the crystal on the monster's head.

He charged forward, without a sound.

Approaching the monster, he leaped up, the tip of his sword pointing straight down.

STAB!

A very faint sound was heard. The tip of Thuan Thien, enhanced by Dragon qi and the power of the Peak Foundation Establishment Realm, easily pierced through the weak energy defense of the sleeping rhino, plunging deep into the crystal.

CRACK...

The crystal, the monster's source of power, developed a crack, then shattered from the inside.

The Crystal Rhino only had time to jolt once, its three eyes flying open in horror and pain, before its consciousness was permanently plunged into darkness. It didn't even have time to let out a single roar.

[Host has eliminated an Early-stage Foundation Establishment Madakaros. Received 4,500 Immortality Points.]

"Easy peasy," Lam Minh muttered, pulling out his sword.

He looked at the monster's giant corpse, his eyes lighting up. He knew the most valuable thing on it wasn't the Immortality Points.

He used the Thuan Thien sword to easily cut through the steel-hard rocky shell and dissected the corpse. Inside, at the position of its heart, was a purple inner core, the size of a fist, radiating a pure energy.

"An inner core of the Foundation Establishment Realm! Good! Good!"

This inner core contained the entire essence of the monster's cultivation. If used for cultivation, its effect would be even better than a low-grade Spirit Stone. He carefully stored it in his storage ring.

But that wasn't all.

He looked up at the shattered crystal on its head. Although it had lost its energy, its fragments were still an extremely rare material that could be used to craft weapons or energy devices.

He collected all the fragments as well.

"A bountiful harvest! Truly a bountiful harvest!" Lam Minh grinned from ear to ear. One night of hunting, and he got points, an inner core, and precious materials.

He was about to leave when his spiritual sense suddenly detected something strange.

Beneath the rhino's corpse, deep underground, there was a very faint, yet incredibly pure, energy fluctuation.

"Hmm?"

Curious, he used his sword to dig through the layer of earth and rock. The deeper he dug, the clearer the energy became.

Finally, at a depth of about two meters, he found a small hollow. And inside that hollow, was a faintly glowing rock formation.

It was a Spirit Stone vein!

A low-grade Spirit Stone vein, but a natural one, completely unmined. This Crystal Rhino had occupied this place, absorbing the spiritual energy radiating from this vein daily to cultivate.

"Even the heavens are helping me!" Lam Minh was overjoyed.

He didn't have the ability to mine an entire vein, but he could take its most essential part. He carefully used his sword to cut out a piece of pure Spirit Stone, the size of a watermelon.

The spiritual energy radiating from this stone was even purer than the inner core from before.

"With this inner core and this Spirit Stone, I can start experimenting with a few things," he thought.

After "cleaning up" the scene and erasing all traces, Lam Minh returned to the campsite, satisfied.

He snuck into his tent as quietly as he had left.

The next day, when the team woke up, no one knew about their captain's night hunt. They only noticed that Lam Minh seemed to be in a very good mood today, whistling as he drove.

"Captain, what's got you so happy?" Quynh Nhu asked.

"Nothing," Lam Minh smiled. "I just dreamed I found a lot of money last night."

The team looked at him and shook their heads. This captain of theirs truly seemed unreliable at all times.

But they didn't know that his "dream" had brought back a huge fortune of cultivation resources, enough for their entire team to take a great leap forward in strength in the near future.

...

After the bountiful "night hunt," the "Seed Squad" continued its survey mission for a few more days.

With Lam Minh's invisible "protection," the trip went quite smoothly. The team encountered a few more packs of Qi Refining-level monsters, but with their growing experience and coordination, they were able to handle them on their own without much difficulty.

Lam Minh still maintained his role as the "lazy captain." He only stood and observed, occasionally "accidentally" giving some advice or creating small "lucky breaks." He wanted his teammates to grow through real battles, not to rely on him.

When the mission was completed, they returned to Thang Long Fortress with joy and pride. They had proven their abilities, proven that they were not "greenhouse flowers." Ly Thien Ba and Diep Chi, in particular, had gained a great deal of confidence.

Lam Minh submitted the mission report and the collected samples (excluding, of course, the "spoils of war" he had kept for himself). His report was highly praised, not only for completing the mission successfully, but also for his detailed analysis of the team members' combat capabilities and potential. The more General Khang saw, the more he felt that this kid had the makings of a brilliant leader, not just a mere warrior.

After returning to Sai Gon City, the team was given some time to rest. Lam Minh, however, dived headfirst into researching the things he had acquired.

He used the Spirit Stone block and the Foundation Establishment inner core to set up a simple "Spirit Gathering Array" in his room. The spiritual energy in the room became many times denser than outside. He not only used it to cultivate for himself but also "accidentally" let his whole family benefit. Mrs. Mai and Mr. Lam Dao felt unusually healthy lately, and their minor illnesses were gone. His little sister An An became even smarter, learning things with great ease.

He also shared a small portion of the Spirit Stone and the fragments of the Rhino Crystal with his team members, guiding them on how to use them to strengthen their weapons and bodies. The "Seed Squad" was quietly growing stronger.

Meanwhile, a major event was unfolding in the world.

After many "talks" and "persuasions" (and perhaps some threats) with the senior leaders of the ASEAN bloc, Lac Long Quan officially announced a shocking decision:

The establishment of an Independent Military Cultivation School - named the LAC HONG ACADEMY.

The academy would be directly under the Supreme Command but would have complete autonomy over its training programs and admissions. Its sole purpose: To train the first generation of cultivator-warriors for humanity, people who could fight on par with the Madakaros.

The academy's location was set in a vast, isolated valley in the Central Highlands, which Lac Long Quan himself had terraformed with his divine abilities, turning it into a place rich with spiritual energy.

This news, when announced, created a real earthquake. Millions of youths across the 11 ASEAN nations, who had grown up in war, who had idolized the "Silver-Haired War God" and "Second Lieutenant Asura" Lam Minh, were fired up.

They saw a new path, a new hope to change their destiny. No longer having to rely on guns and bullets, they could become strong with their own bodies.

Enrollment points were set up across the bloc. Within a week, the number of applicants exceeded three million. An unbelievable number.

While the whole world was in a frenzy, the "insider" Lam Minh was having a very "tense" conversation with his "uncle."

"What? You want me to be the Headmaster?" Lam Minh yelled through the special communication line. "Are you kidding? I'm only 17, I haven't even graduated from high school. How can I be a headmaster?"

"Who says you need to graduate to be a headmaster?" Lac Long Quan's voice was nonchalant. "You're the most experienced person in 'cultivation' and 'teaching' in this entire bunch of humans. If you don't do it, who will?"

"But... but I don't have time! I still have to 'level up'... I mean, go on missions, go on explorations!" Lam Minh protested. "If I'm stuck in one place managing a school with millions of students, what will become of me?"

"Don't worry," Lac Long Quan said. "I'm not asking you to do everything. You just need to accept the title. As for management, just leave it to your little disciples. That bookworm girl can be the vice-headmaster for academics. That pink-haired loli girl can be the head of discipline. That Awakened kid can be the chief training instructor. It's perfect."

Lam Minh almost fainted. This uncle of his had already arranged everything.

"No! I won't do it!" he said firmly. "You made this mess, you clean it up. If I become the headmaster, I'll probably sell the whole school for bubble tea money."

"Is that so?" Lac Long Quan sneered. "If you don't do it, I'll tell the whole world that I, the 'Silver-Haired War God,' am actually the distant uncle of a kid named Lam Minh. Let's see if you can still 'level up' in peace then."

"You... you dare to threaten me?" Lam Minh's blood boiled.

"That's right. What about it?"

The back-and-forth over responsibility was fierce. In the end, under Lac Long Quan's blatant "threats," Lam Minh had no choice but to swallow the bitter pill and accept the title of "Youngest Honorary Headmaster in Human History."

He sighed and looked out the window.

A busy future filled with comical situations awaited him. He had a feeling that being a headmaster would be more tiring than fighting a Nascent Soul cultivator.