Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

”Are you ever going to shut up?” Han Ruoxi’s voice came first, thick with exhaustion.

”Sun Yang, I’m warning you. If you don’t have a good reason for this in the middle of the night, I’m going to roast you with an arc attack tomorrow and eat you!”

”Hey, don’t be mad! I just can’t sleep and wanted to chat with you guys,” Sun Yang said with a cheerful laugh.

”So, how do you guys think life is treating us? Anything particularly interesting happen at the base that you’ve found memorable?”

”Interesting?” Shen Qiuyue’s cold voice came through.

”No.”

”Come on, milady, you’re no fun at all!” Sun Yang couldn’t help but retort.

”I mean, we’ve been living at this base for several days now. There must be at least one memorable moment!”

”A memorable moment?” Han Ruoxi suddenly chimed in.

”If you’re talking about how you missed a step during training the day before yesterday and face-planted, then yeah, that was pretty memorable!”

”Han Ruoxi, can you please stop bringing up my most embarrassing moments?!” Sun Yang shouted.

”That was an accident! An accident! My foot slipped, you get it?”

”That’s enough!” Li Chang’an’s voice came over the comms, tinged with impatience.

”Sun Yang, since you have so much energy, your training tomorrow is doubled.”

”No, Captain! I was just trying to bond with everyone!” Sun Yang immediately backed down, his tone pleading.

”Everyone’s usually so tired from training. It’s good to relax once in a while!”

”Relaxing is fine, but don’t disturb others’ rest,” Li Chang’an said flatly.

”Dawn is in five hours. Get some sleep.”

Hearing this, the comms went completely silent.

Sun Yang swallowed hard and muttered under his breath.

’The Captain is so iron-fisted, he won’t even let us chat at night...’

The next morning, the Insect Hunter Squad’s daily training began once more.

”Today’s session is different from before!” Li Chang’an stood in the center of the training ground, pointing at a pile of equipment on the floor.

”We’ll be practicing multi-scenario coordinated combat. This equipment will simulate various complex terrains and environments, and you’ll need to complete missions in each scenario.”

”Scenario training? Sounds pretty interesting!” Sun Yang asked, his face full of anticipation as he stretched his body.

”Captain, is there a wall-running scenario this time? I’ve always wanted to try Body Technique training!”

”Yes,” Li Chang’an nodded.

”But whether you get to run on any walls will depend on your performance today.”

”Heh, no problem at all!” Sun Yang puffed out his chest.

”Just watch me, Captain!”

”Alright, enough nonsense,” Li Chang’an said, looking at the other squad members.

”Everyone, according to your assigned roles, enter your respective scenario points. I’ll be monitoring your performance from the control console. Anyone who screws up will have their training doubled!”

”Understood!” everyone answered in unison, then entered the training equipment at their assigned positions.

The first scenario was a simulated jungle battle.

The dense vegetation, complex terrain, and constantly appearing virtual enemies kept everyone on edge.

”Han Ruoxi, enemy on your left! Snipe them!” Li Chang’an’s voice came through their headsets.

”Roger!” Han Ruoxi spun around and released a precise arc of electricity, instantly hitting the target.

”Shen Qiuyue, clear the obstacle ahead! And be quick about it!” Li Chang’an continued to direct.

”Understood!” Shen Qiuyue swung her Dueling Sword, effortlessly cleaving through the dense thicket ahead and opening a path for the squad.

”Sun Yang, what are you doing? Stop charging in blindly!” Li Chang’an’s voice rose a little.

”Captain, I’m drawing their fire!” Sun Yang explained with an aggrieved look, firing his weapon as he spoke.

”Even drawing fire requires tactics!” Li Chang’an said bluntly.

”Charge in recklessly one more time, and you’re running ten kilometers!”

”Understood...” Sun Yang replied dejectedly, reluctantly falling back into formation.

The second scenario was combat in urban ruins.

The skeletons of high-rises, narrow alleyways, and virtual enemies hidden in every corner made squad coordination even more critical.

”Bai Lin, hack the enemy system and provide a map,” Li Chang’an commanded.

”Hacking now, one moment,” Bai Lin calmly operated the equipment. A moment later, a map was projected before everyone’s eyes.

”Done. Enemy positions have been marked.”

”Excellent,” Li Chang’an continued commanding.

”Han Ruoxi and Shen Qiuyue, provide cover. Sun Yang, advance with me. The objective is to eliminate the enemy command center!”

”Roger!” The team moved swiftly according to his orders.

Amidst the ruins, the squad’s coordination grew more and more seamless.

Han Ruoxi’s Electric Energy attacks were unerringly precise, and Shen Qiuyue’s Swordsmanship was decisive and sharp. Although Sun Yang was still a bit reckless at times, he gradually found his rhythm under Li Chang’an’s command.

The scenario training lasted for a full three hours. By the end, everyone was too exhausted to even stand up straight.

”Today’s performance showed improvement, but it’s still not enough,” Li Chang’an said, standing before the squad with his arms crossed.

”Especially you, Sun Yang. Your impulsiveness is still a major problem. During the next training session, I’ll be supervising you personally.”

”Captain, I’m already trying my best...” Sun Yang said with a helpless expression.

”Your best isn’t good enough,” Li Chang’an glanced at him.

”Talk to me again when the number of times you act impulsively drops to zero.”

”Alright...” Sun Yang scratched his head and muttered quietly.

’This Captain’s standards are way too high!’

”Alright, that’s all for today,” Li Chang’an waved his hand.

”Everyone, go get some rest. We have a tactical debriefing this afternoon.”

”Another tactical debriefing...” Han Ruoxi looked like she was about to have a breakdown.

”Captain, can’t you let us rest? Just for one day! Please!”

”The enemy won’t wait for you to rest,” Li Chang’an replied coolly.

”Dismissed!”

The members of the Insect Hunter Squad grumbled as they dragged their exhausted bodies off the training ground.

The afternoon’s tactical debriefing proceeded as scheduled, with the Insect Hunter Squad gathered in the operations room.

In the room was a massive holographic projector. The central projection displayed a replay of their morning training session, with red dots representing enemies and blue dots representing themselves.

”This is the replay of today’s jungle combat scenario.” Li Chang’an stood beside the projection, tracing the path of a blue dot with his finger.

”Let’s take a look at where the problems were.”

”Captain, doesn’t this look pretty normal?” Sun Yang scratched his head.

”We go where the enemy is. Nothing wrong with that!”

”Nothing wrong with that?” Li Chang’an looked at him coldly.

”Look closely. When you charged to this position, the rear support couldn’t keep up at all. If the simulated enemy’s firepower hadn’t been set to low, you’d be a corpse right now!”

”Uh... yeah, that was my bad,” Sun Yang scratched his head, smiling sheepishly.

”I’ll definitely be more careful next time and won’t charge so fast!”

”The problem isn’t just you,” Li Chang’an continued.

”Han Ruoxi, your Arc Attacks are precise, but you rely too much on wide-area coverage. In narrow terrain, that kind of attack can cause friendly fire. Understand?”

”I was trying my best to control it!” Han Ruoxi protested immediately.

”Besides, I always give a warning before I discharge. Who told them to stand so close?”

”A warning isn’t enough,” Li Chang’an pointed out mercilessly.

”Your attacks should be focused on precision, not on forcing your teammates to dodge. Practice more. Practice until you don’t need to give warnings.”

”Fine...” Han Ruoxi lowered her head reluctantly.

”Shen Qiuyue.” Li Chang’an turned to her.

”Your Swordsmanship is consistently precise, but your movements today were a bit sluggish. Especially during rapid movement, your swing speed slowed down noticeably. Was it because your stamina couldn’t keep up, or was there another reason?”

”It was probably because this morning’s training consumed too much stamina,” Shen Qiuyue answered calmly, but her expression was clearly unconvinced.

”However, I’ll adjust my condition and won’t let it happen again.”

”I hope so,” Li Chang’an nodded, then looked toward Bai Lin.

”And finally, Bai Lin. Your tech support was decent, but I noticed your reaction speed still has room for improvement.”