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Chapter 154: The Final Large-Scale Mandatory Training Concludes, Zhao Xing is Highly Sought After!
🕑 Added 2024-10-24 07:20:18 +0000 UTC"How can there be a 'Stupidity Technique' in this world? One after another, they're all turning into fools!" Xia Jing muttered, shaking his head as he looked at the group of people holding their heads and drooling stupidly.
"I don't ever want to participate in this mandatory training again. I don't know how much longer I can last."
Cao Shuang was shaking his head vigorously, as if trying to shake out the stupidity from his brain.
"Zhao Xing, if I start acting stupid like these warriors, just knock me out!" Cao Shuang said to Zhao Xing, who was standing beside him.
Xia Jing, displeased, retorted, "What do you mean by that? Are you looking down on us warriors?"
"Yes, I'm looking down on you. What are you going to do about it?!" Cao Shuang angrily responded.
"You want to die, don't you? I'll cut you down right now!" Xia Jing's sword was already halfway out of its sheath.
"Come on then!" Cao Shuang stuck out his neck, taunting him, "Go ahead, cut me! If you don't, you're the son of a dog, Xia Jing!"
"You son of a—!" Xia Jing's sword rang out as he fully unsheathed it, and he swung it toward Cao Shuang's neck.
Clang—a hand blocked the sword in front of Cao Shuang's neck, blood trickling from it as it gripped the blade.
"Brother Xia, calm down," Zhao Xing said as he slowly lifted Xia Jing's sword. Despite the blood flowing from his hand, he moved the sword away from Cao Shuang's neck.
"You really tried to cut me? I’ll fight you to the death!" Cao Shuang immediately erupted in flames—literally—and charged at Xia Jing.
Whack! "Ugh..." Zhao Xing swiftly delivered a precise chop to the back of Cao Shuang's neck, knocking him out cold. The flames he spewed curled in the air, lightly singing Xia Jing's hair before Zhao Xing calmly absorbed them back.
"That bastard dared to burn my hair! Step aside, I’m going to cut him!" Xia Jing, raising his sword again, prepared to strike.
Slap! Zhao Xing slapped him hard on the forehead, shaking Xia Jing's entire consciousness. A golden aura dissipated from Xia Jing’s head. "Are you calm now?"
"Hiss..." Xia Jing winced, regaining his clarity.
Slap! Zhao Xing smacked him again, thinking Xia Jing still hadn't fully recovered.
"Stop! I’m fine now, Zhao! I’m clear-headed!" Xia Jing threw his sword aside, signaling that he was no longer under the spell.
"Alright, let’s discuss our plan." Zhao Xing pointed to a nearby sand table map. "In this joint military exercise, we’re running low on top command officers from our rookie camp."
"We need to quickly gather these remnants and break through. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter if they’re warriors, Shennong, or engineers... no one is going to score well in this training."
Xia Jing rubbed his face as he glanced outside the tent.
Outside, chaos reigned. A group was fighting, another lay on the ground, and a third group was squatting and drooling while playing with ants.
Among the familiar faces of the Four Martial Divisions, Zhang Jie was squatting with no regard for his image, relieving himself. Chen Fang was just watching him without a care. A few people still had their wits about them, but there was a dazed look in their eyes.
Chen Fang, however, was bandaged up and lying on a chair, groaning softly.
This was a large-scale mandatory training exercise simulating combat, taking place near the ‘Heaven Gate Peaks,’ close to Inverted Peak Mountain.
Within the Ten Sun Cave-Heaven, the reserve forces of the Four Divisions—Martial, Shennong, Tiangong Workshop, and the Temple—were jointly participating.
Over 150,000 people from the Four Divisions!
Their opponents? Just 30,000, but these 30,000 were drawn from the nine regular armies of Ten Sun Cave-Heaven.
This mandatory training was a real eye-opener for the recruits.
Fifteen against three in terms of numbers, and the only goal was to break through the encirclement.
But after half a month, even the most elite rookie camp—those like Xia Jing, Zhao Xing, and Cao Shuang—had yet to break through.
Xia Jing’s initial enthusiasm had long since waned.
Who would have thought they'd face such horrors in the past few days?
First came the "Hundred Ghost Night Walk," when the Temple’s priests summoned tens of thousands of mountain ghosts to raid the recruits' camp at night.
Then came seven straight days of bombardment from the barbarians’ Five Elements Catapults.
Five days later, natural disasters hit one after another—floods, earthquakes, scorching heat, insect swarms... the beasts and bugs of Heaven Gate Peaks were all driven toward them.
And in the past few days, the priests cast Stupidity Spells, Reverse Intention Spells, and Taunting Spells on the recruits.
The Taunting Spells caused many recruits to lose their sense of reason and charge madly toward the veteran camps.
The Reverse Intention Spell? Just look at Chen Fang—he was beaten up by Zhang Jie, Hu Bing, and ten other spellbound warriors, and now he lay there groaning.
The Stupidity Spell had been in effect continuously, leaving them all irritable and unable to think clearly.
Just moments ago, Xia Jing had nearly cut down Cao Shuang in a moment of madness.
"So how do we fight this?" Xia Jing helplessly looked up to the heavens. "The marching tents and military flags can’t protect everyone. We few designated commanders can stay in the headquarters, shielded by the priests’ spells, but once we step outside, we’re affected by these spells too."
Zhao Xing, having bandaged his hand, stepped out and said, "There’s no way around it. We have to find one. The spells do have intervals. Whether it’s the priests or the ghost summoners, these large-scale spells always have a gap."
"Look, Brother Xia," Zhao Xing gestured toward the sand table.
"Heaven Gate Peaks, the distances between the mountains, the weak points in the formations between peaks—all these places have gaps intentionally left for us recruits to break through."
"Mount Welcome, Mount Birthday Blessings, Three Purities Mountain, Jade Curtain Waterfall, Carefree Valley, One Line Sky, Southern Clearing Garden... these forty-six locations are potential exit points."
"We are moving along the path through Mount Birthday Blessings, One Line Sky, and Jade Curtain Waterfall. Based on prior attempts to break through, the spell intervals along this route are as follows: Ghost Summoner’s obstacles begin at the third quarter of Zi hour and end at Mao hour."
"Natural disaster obstacles start at the seventh quarter of Chen hour and end at the third quarter of Shen hour, randomly producing one of eighteen types of disasters. My comrades from the Shennong Division and I can provide early warnings."
"The priest’s three-fold spell cycle starts at the fourth quarter of You hour and ends at the end of Hai hour. The spells rotate with occasional sudden attacks, but there’s still time for us to catch our breath."
"The soldiers stationed at these weak points are intentionally set at a lower combat level. If we can reach the location, we can break through..."
As Zhao Xing explained, Xia Jing’s eyes lit up. "Yes, we can do this! Zhao Xing, you really have the makings of a great general! I never realized how much thought you’d put into this!"
Zhao Xing smiled wryly and shook his head. "Brother Xia, this plan was a joint decision between the nine of us. We’re already in the process of executing the breakout. This is the forty-seventh time I’ve explained it to you."
Xia Jing’s face froze in shock before he finally remembered. "Right! I remember now! Yes, it was you, me, Cao Shuang, Chen Fang, and Zhang Yi who came up with it."
"This is the how-manyth time I’ve been hit by the Forgetfulness Spell? Did I miss any important decisions?"
"I’m not sure," Zhao Xing replied, pulling out a scroll of yellow paper covered in notes. "But Zhang Yi has been keeping records on the Holy Page. You can check."
"Where is he?" Xia Jing asked.
"He’s resting nearby."
"Master Wang and Master Qi are repairing the flying boats," Zhao Xing added. "In one more hour, the people in the camp will start regaining their senses. But we need to act fast and wake them up early, or we’ll lose time for travel and get hit by another large-scale spell, falling into a vicious cycle."
"I understand." Xia Jing glanced at the map. "We’re already at Hukou Pass, close to breaking through. Let’s split up, and if something feels off, let’s regroup quickly."
Xia Jing looked down at the unconscious Cao Shuang, sighing. "If all the high-ranking officers perish, there’s no hope for a breakout. We might not even pass this training."
February 19, 17th Year of the Jingxin Era.
At the Southern Clearing Garden, Heaven Gate Peaks.
Beyond the Southern Clearing Garden lay a barren expanse.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh...
Several damaged flying boats wobbled through the air, veering up, down, left, and right as if drunken men were at the controls.
Whooooomp...
Finally, one of the flying boats couldn't hold on any longer and let out a mournful whine, crashing into the ground. Fortunately, the descent wasn’t too high, and it only kicked up a cloud of dust.
“Cough, cough…”
A hand grasped the broken edge of the flying boat, and soon after, Zhao Xing’s face emerged.
"Damn it, Che Shihai! Do you even know how to fly a boat? Your last name is Che, but the way you fly this thing, my bones feel like they’ve shattered!" Zhao Xing cursed as he extended a hand to pull Che Shihai out from the wreck.
Che Shihai, disheveled and bleeding, protested his innocence. "How is this my fault? How is it?!"
“Boss, you should blame Master Wang! He didn’t fix it properly. No matter how good my flying skills are, it’s useless with a broken boat!”
Crack—a panel from the boat’s hull fell off, as if verifying Che Shihai’s words.
More people started crawling out of the wreckage.
Among them was a half-bald young man, limping his way over with a blacksmith's hammer in hand.
It was Wang Ji, one of the top talents from Tiangong Workshop.
"Che Shihai, don't you dare pin this on me!" Wang Ji shouted as soon as he saw Che Shihai trying to shirk responsibility. "The Swordfish flying boats used by the military are top-grade fourth-tier crafts, with 49,000 formation arrays powering them. They were crushed by the barbarian's Five Elements catapults, and I’m the only one who managed to get it flying again. Who else could have done that?"
"If you don't believe me, go ask around Tiangong Workshop and see who else could have pulled this off!"
"And how come Cao Shuang's boat landed safely while yours crashed? And you still say it’s not your flying skills?!"
Wang Ji, being a straightforward person, exploded in anger. He had barely finished his tirade when he clutched his bleeding scalp, shouting again, "Not to mention, I haven’t even started blaming you for scraping off a chunk of my scalp!"
Zhao Xing quickly stepped in to diffuse the situation. "Master Wang, calm down."
"If you weren’t here to stop me, I'd have knocked his head in with this hammer!" Wang Ji raged, still nursing his wounded head. "I don’t have much hair left as it is, and now you’ve scraped off another patch!"
“Alright, alright. It’s my bad. I was sloppy, okay?" Che Shihai awkwardly laughed, realizing his mistake. He thought Wang Ji had been on a different boat, but now he couldn’t shift the blame anymore.
"Medic! Where’s Yuan the military medic? Quickly, come take a look at Master Wang!" Zhao Xing raised his voice, using wind magic to amplify his call.
"Stop shouting, I’m right beneath your feet..." came a weak voice from under the sand.
"Huh?" Zhao Xing jumped in surprise, stepping back quickly. Then he saw a head emerging from the sand beneath him.
"Ah, I’m terribly sorry."
“Split Shine Technique, arise!” Zhao Xing pointed his finger, and the body of Yuan Yang, the medic, floated out from the sand.
"I’m speechless," Yuan Yang muttered as he glared at Zhao Xing. "My head was moving the whole time. Didn’t you feel anything was off?"
“Well, Yuan, your head’s as tough as iron. I thought I was standing on a rock.” Zhao Xing smiled apologetically. "Here, let me help you clean up."
Swoosh—a column of water formed in the air and circled around Yuan Yang.
"Clean him up too," Yuan Yang pointed to Wang Ji’s sticky wound. "It's all mixed with sand and dirt, and it's hard to treat."
"No problem."
Zhao Xing quickly used the water spell to wash off Wang Ji’s wound.
Yuan Yang then pulled out a medicinal paste from his kit and slapped it onto Wang Ji’s head.
“All done! Within half a month, you’ll start growing hair again!”
As they were chatting, more flying boats began landing, and soon, people started rushing over.
“Is everyone alright?” Xia Jing approached quickly, looking over Yuan Yang. “Any severe injuries?”
If there were any severe injuries, they would have to call off the joint exercise and have the seriously wounded evacuated. After all, no one was supposed to die in training.
But things like broken bones or cuts weren’t enough to be classified as severe.
“No one needs to withdraw,” Yuan Yang confirmed after scanning the group. "I don’t sense any life-threatening injuries."
In the eyes of military medics, severe injuries stood out like a beacon, given their attunement to the body’s natural life force. Detecting injuries was a core skill for any medic.
"Good." Xia Jing breathed a sigh of relief. "After coming this far, it would be a shame if anyone had to pull out now."
Yes, they had made it this far. Xia Jing and his team had successfully broken through. There were no more enemies in their path; as long as they reached the designated location, they would complete the mandatory training.
"Zhao Xing, should we rest for a while?" Xia Jing asked.
Initially, Xia Jing, as the heir to a noble family, was selected as the commander of their camp, with the others serving as vice commanders. However, after half a month, Zhao Xing’s leadership had increasingly come to the forefront.
By now, Zhao Xing was the de facto commander.
“You’re still the commander. You give the order,” Zhao Xing replied with a smile. He had no interest in competing for authority, especially in such grueling training. "We’re probably the first group to break through. A short rest won’t hurt."
“Alright then.” Xia Jing nodded. "Let’s allow the troops to rest for half an hour. We’ve already passed the Southern Clearing Garden, and in one more quarter of an hour, we’ll finish the special training."
February 19, 17th Year of the Jingxin Era, the third quarter of You hour.
Led by Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Cao Shuang, Wang Ji, Yuan Yang, Zhang Yi, and others, a total of 1,500 troops from the 19th New Recruit Camp successfully completed their breakout mission on the seventeenth day of training.
Based on their performance and various metrics, the 19th Camp, the first to break through, was awarded the highest grade, Jia!
Of those, Zhao Xing, Xia Jing, Wang Ji, Yuan Yang, and 29 others received an even higher distinction, Jia Shang, for their outstanding performance and contributions.
Early March
The new recruit camps began to break through in succession.
March 15 marked the official end of the last large-scale training session in Ten Sun Cave-Heaven.
All the reserve forces from the nine military divisions were set to leave Ten Sun Cave-Heaven in April, heading to their assigned posts. Whether or not they could secure military ranks would depend on their ability to complete their appointed missions.
This time, there would be no safety nets in place.
As for Zhao Xing, who had consistently earned Jia Shang ratings throughout the year’s mandatory training, mastering all seventeen elective courses within the Shenwei Army's Military Shennong division, he quickly became the subject of fierce competition.
Especially after the conclusion of the final large-scale training, no sooner had Zhao Xing returned to the Shennong Division than a string of envoys came knocking.
The first envoy was a familiar face.
"Zhao Xing, I am Helian Lie, the valiant officer from the Lieyang Army. By order of the Marquis, I’ve come to invite you to join our ranks."
"If you’re willing, you may choose any elite battalion within the Lieyang Army. Additionally, the Marquis is prepared to grant you land within the Nine Heavens Prefecture, equivalent to the fief of a third-class earl!"
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