Nearly a hundred people instinctively formed a fan shape around Shi Chun, naturally wanting to communicate and get acquainted, as they would be risking their lives together soon, and they didn't even know the name of their leader.

The list of competing leaders had actually been made public before, and they had gathered in front of the announcement to check it, but only the names of those who successfully participated were made public; those who didn't participate but were directly appointed as leaders, like Shi Chun, were not included.

This decision was entirely based on Commander Manxi's judgment. He felt that some people had the strength to be captains without requiring a trial. That was his prerogative, whether it was to exclude unexpected elements or to use good steel on the blade; how he arranged the army was not to be interfered with by outsiders.

It was a list of over two thousand people. Few participants would waste time counting the names of more than two thousand people, nor would anyone remember all the names on the list.

Below their feet, a stone-embedded "3000" serial number was on the ground.

Before they found their team positions, they had no idea who was in the same team.

Purely out of confidentiality needs, to prevent the deployment situation of the entire team from being leaked prematurely. The consequences of leaking are quite severe; if the opponent knows the position of your team's main forces, they might gather their troops to attack upon your debut.

No choice, with so many people participating in the war, who knows if there are any informants developed into spies for other teams. With this arrangement, even if there are spies, they can't understand the situation; at most, they can only figure out the personnel of their small team in relatively short time.

Of course, Manxi, the command core of these battle teams, holds knowledge of the personnel situation of each team. After all, the division situation of all personnel resulted from their deliberation; they certainly know the details, but have adopted stringent confidentiality measures.

Shi Chun, the Centurion himself, had only just received the details of his team's personnel. The detailed list was inside the Centurion Token in his hand, and internal examination through spell invocation could reveal it.

Before Shi Chun and others arrived, the three thousand squad members had already familiarized themselves with one another and finally awaited the captain.

But after they eagerly gathered around, they found that the Centurion seemed a bit aloof, somewhat oblivious and unwilling to deal with them.

Shi Chun, still in a mental haze, ignored the teammates before him, slightly raised his chin, and continued staring at the distant pavilion.

The Mingshan Sect folks didn't understand Shi Chun's intentions either, seeing his attitude, they didn't rush to interact with their current teammates.

Wu Jinliang sized up the eighty-some odd people in front of him, discovering they were a diverse assortment, with about seven or eight women, and the rest were men, varying in age, some looking young and others quite mature. It's unclear how many were prisoners and how many were unsuspectingly dragged in.

After noticing Shi Chun's abnormal state, unlike the others, Wu Jinliang nudged Shi Chun, "Master, everyone is waiting for you."

This call of 'Master' immediately made the first-arrived eighty-some people understand how to address this leader.

One taking the lead directly sets the pattern for future addressing style.

Only then did Shi Chun come back to his senses, his gaze slowly sweeping over the diverse crowd before him.

An old man stepped forward proactively, pointed to the name on his chest tag, cupped his hands and said, "I am Old Chai Wenwu, may I know how to address you, Master?"

Everyone's armor neckline had a two-finger-wide tag on each side, which could be used for finer fastening when needed; the old man had 'Chai Wenwu' engraved on one side and 'Heaven 3000' on the other, clearly freshly carved for identification purposes.

The Mingshan Sect folks looked at the nearby team members and found that it wasn't just their side doing this — it seemed that each team was doing this.

Shi Chun did not answer directly; he pondered while exchanging a stare with the old man for a while, then swept his glance over everyone and slightly nodded to greet them, saying, "I am Wang Ping."

Upon hearing this, the Mingshan Sect folks were secretly startled, thinking what madness, why use an alias?

Wu Jinliang's shock was even more evident; damn, going in meant finding a chance to hide in the Netherworld, so why bother with an alias? He sharply sensed something amiss.

He then cupped his hands towards everyone and said, "I am Gao He."

The Mingshan Sect folks looked at each other in confusion but quickly realized the Centurion Token is in the Master's hands, and others cannot see the list of names.

Wu Hong was the first to follow, cupping his hands to everyone and said, "I am Wu Jiang."

Chen Wuji cupped his hands and said, "I am Chen Ji."

Fang Zicheng imitated the same and cupped his hands, saying, "I am Fang Cheng."

Xiao Sheng cupped his hands and said, "I am Xiao Mu."

Hao Ji cupped his hands and said, "I am Tian Ji."

Tong Mingshan, looking like an eminent silver-haired lush-browed figure, slightly nodded and said, "Tong Shan."

Shen Moming cupped his hands and said, "I am Shen Ming."

An Wuzhi cupped his hands and said, "I am An Youzhi."

Zhu Xiangxin slightly nodded and said, "Xiangxin."

Everyone's comprehension was strong; one by one, they followed suit without needing to be taught. Mulan Qingqing naturally went along with them, hesitated slightly, then nodded, saying, "Mulan."

Both Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang turned to look at everyone, neither anticipating the influence of the example being so powerful, nor expecting everyone to follow and use aliases; does this feel like collective fraud? Is this appropriate? Then both simultaneously glanced at Han Bao.

Han Bao didn't know what kind of people he was going to team up with beforehand, so he only knew that Shi Chun used an alias. It was only when they introduced themselves and he learned all the names were fake that he blandly said, "Han Bao."

Once everyone finished introducing themselves, Old Chai immediately approached Shi Chun, reaching out to adjust Shi Chun's collar. "Master, let me help you with this."

Alright, Shi Chun let him carve the characters.

Other enthusiastic folks also stepped forward to help the rest of the Mingshan Sect carve characters. They were about to fight side by side, forging camaraderie ahead of time. They even knew to rub in some color to make the characters stand out more.

It was a form of getting acquainted, really.

What left Shi Chun and Wu Jinliang speechless was that even after getting acquainted, the Mingshan Sect group continued using aliases, and when chatting with others, they even used fake sect names.

In a way, it wasn't completely fake; they were just using the names of the sects they were originally expelled from.

The issue was, they also claimed their identities as prisoners joining the battle.

This group not only could speak candidly about the details of their own sects, locations, and such without a hitch, but they could also discuss prison life as if they'd just been released, making it all sound so authentic.

Xiao Sheng was the one leading this act, and Shi Chun couldn't help but glance at Wu Jinliang several times, feeling that Xiao Sheng had clearly changed. Who knows what he had learned from Wu Jinliang over the past twenty years to now lie with a straight face.

Mulan Qingqing remained very silent, hardly interacting with anyone who asked questions. She hadn't figured out how to fabricate a suitable identity yet. After all, the others' fabrications were so complete, no matter how they were questioned, they could round it off perfectly, making it seem real.

She deeply felt she was falling behind, probably from staying in the large sects too long, lacking experience, and clearly less adept at adapting compared to others.

Han Bao, who had been by her side the whole time, had a demeanor that warded off strangers, unwilling to talk to anyone, but couldn't help slowly observing the Mingshan Sect group. He was a bit surprised, not expecting most of the people he came with were essentially ex-convicts, able to speak about prison life with such familiarity, it didn't seem made up.

He knew about Shi Chun, who had just come out of Life Prison as well.

What kind of people were these, that Mulan Jin would set her daughter up with such a mess of individuals? Besides, they reported their cultivation was not that impressive.

But thinking about it, he could understand. When Mulan Jin pulled him out, she did mention it was hard to find suitable people.

Some tried to probe Shi Chun's cultivation level, but Shi Chun, knowing propriety, evaded it modestly.

It's not about propriety, but more about managing people wisely. As the Centurion, he needed to uphold some prestige, avoiding a situation where people scatter just after meeting.

Seeing everyone genuinely interested in the Centurion's cultivation, Wu Jinliang, sharp as he was, quickly pulled Shi Chun aside to talk privately. Once a bit away, he whispered in Shi Chun's ear, "You seem distracted, what's going on?"

Shi Chun glanced at the distant buildings and also whispered quietly in his ear, "When I went into the building with Mulan Jin, I saw our teacher."

Wu Jinliang naturally knew who the 'our teacher' meant. Upon hearing this, he was shocked and looked over there, then curiously asked, "What identity does she have outside? How could she be in such a heavily guarded place in the Heavenly Court?"

"Don't know..." Shi Chun quietly explained the rough situation and then reluctantly said, "There's no time for us to go looking now. We can only inquire after we're out."

Wu Jinliang sighed, "And there's an attendant... I knew the teacher was extraordinary, but I didn't expect her to be with the Heavenly Court..." His tone paused, then questioned, "To appear there at this time, should she be with the Heavenly Court?"

Shi Chun: "Don't know, maybe passing through for something, but since there's some interaction with the Heavenly Court, someone there surely knows. It shouldn't be hard to inquire."

Wu Jinliang's eyes suddenly gleamed, "If the teacher is someone important, do you think if we find her, she'll look after us in the future?"

Hearing this, Shi Chun slightly lowered his head, becoming silent.

Seeing him like this, Wu Jinliang hesitated, "Do you mean she won't care for us?"

Shi Chun thought for a moment, then said softly, "Perhaps our names aren't well-known; could she not know we're out yet?"

This got Wu Jinliang into silence too. He instantly understood the underlying meaning—if their names weren't renowned enough, then they might not matter. But if they were, and she'd heard of them, as a figure of importance, wouldn't it be easy to meet her? Especially when they'd nearly brushed past each other. Or perhaps, after leaving Life Prison, the teacher simply looked down on them, not wanting to bother?

Either way, it seemed to point to one thing—they weren't qualified enough.

"Maybe she really hasn't heard of us..." Wu Jinliang muttered, his mood seemingly taking a sudden dip.

Truly marvelous things and people should meet the aesthetic standards of most. It wouldn't be just Shi Chun who thought it beautiful; Wu Jinliang liked it too, only people's awareness of their likes and dislikes varied in degree.

He pondered for a moment, then muttered again, "Why not, we take a shot this time too..."

Shi Chun: "It's different from before; this time is too dangerous."

Wu Jinliang muttered with his head down, "Then why are you still using an alias..."

Now, he realized why the other used an alias.

Shi Chun pondered and said, "We can't discern the depth of the various parties, let's see how things unfold first. If we can make a decent stand, then let's do it grandly. If not... being underestimated is a minor issue. If the teacher truly disregards us, why drag so many bros to their deaths? It's not worth it..."

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