Firmament Sword

Xu Jie, propping up Sui Yan and Little Fatty Liu Feng, approached Xu Luo. The Eldest Prince, Huangfu Chongzhi, also gritted his teeth and shuffled closer.

Xu Jie glanced over at Sun Donghai and said softly, ”I never noticed before, but that guy is a real talent. He’s worth getting to know.”

Huangfu Chongzhi nodded slightly and said, ”The Sun Family has produced several powerful Military Generals in its history. Sun Donghai must have inherited the bloodline of those ancestors. He’s bound to be a fierce general on the battlefield one day.”

Xu Luo nodded, a resolute glint in his eyes. ’I may have been physically frail since I was a child,’ he thought, ’but that... is no reason to give in. I will see this through to the end. I absolutely will!’

Cheers drifted from far ahead. It was the first group; they had already reached the day’s campsite.

Meanwhile, the sun had already sunk halfway down the mountains, and the sky was about to grow dark.

”Alright, you brats, you’re almost at the finish line! In light of your decent performance today, Instructor Zhou has decided to grant everyone half a jin of white rice!” the adjutant, Mo Shang, bellowed. His voice carried for miles, reaching the ears of every single person.

BOOM!

A wild cheer suddenly erupted from the crowd.

Many were so moved that their eyes filled with tears. What a pitiful sight... Even the poorest among these students would never have given plain white rice a second thought before.

But now, hearing that each person would get half a jin of white rice, a flicker of anticipation even crossed the faces of people like Leng Ping. They instinctively swallowed.

Right now, they weren’t just tired—they were starving!

However, the people in the rear didn’t hear Mo Shang’s next words, because they were directed at the group that had already reached the destination.

Looking at the students who had reached the finish line and were now walking slowly to cool down, Mo Shang’s voice turned icy. He said, ”The first group gets nothing!”

”Huh? Why not?”

”This isn’t fair!”

”This is outrageous!”

”We followed the instructor’s training orders precisely and completed them excellently. Why do we get nothing?”

”We object!”

”That’s right, we object!”

Upon hearing they were getting nothing, the students who had already arrived, so tired they felt like they could cough up blood, were filled with righteous indignation. If they weren’t so utterly exhausted, the camp might have erupted in revolt.

”Object? Heh heh, fine. Whoever objects can come fight me first,” Mo Shang said, sneering at the students.

At this moment, Wei Ziting stepped forward. His face showed little indignation; instead, he looked at Mo Shang calmly and asked, ”I would like to know the reason for the instructor’s decision. What did we do wrong to deserve such a punishment?”

The others all shut their mouths, watching Mo Shang furiously. If he couldn’t give them a reasonable explanation, the situation was about to spiral out of control.

”A reason? You have the gall to ask for a reason?” Mo Shang, completely ignoring their feelings, pointed at the other students who were now staggering in, supporting one another. He yelled at the first group, ”If you’re not blind, then turn around and take a good damn look!”

The members of the first group turned their gazes toward the students who had just arrived and those who were about to. Many of them immediately lowered their heads.

What they saw was a scene of many students supporting each other. Some were even being carried on the backs of their stronger classmates.

One of the students carrying another person spat out a mouthful of blood the moment he reached the destination and collapsed, unconscious.

But more people immediately rushed over—some to provide aid, others to set up tents. Although their movements were clumsy and their arms were limp with exhaustion, not a single one of them complained about being tired, and no one abandoned their comrades to rest alone.

”See that? Now do you know why you get nothing?” Mo Shang looked at Wei Ziting and said coolly, ”Back at the academy, you all had your different identities. Maybe you were the children of powerful clans, or young masters from prestigious families, but... here, all of you... have only one identity! And that is a soldier of the Empire! An ordinary soldier, at that!”

”You think they’re stupid for not abandoning their comrades, do you? Well, I think you’re the stupid ones! Today, you can abandon your struggling comrades behind you for your own sake, which means tomorrow, no one will give a damn about you!”

”Selfish, cold-blooded, arrogant... Heh heh, I can’t even be bothered to lecture you. Think about it yourselves! If you’re still like this tomorrow, then I might just put you in your own separate squad! From now on, any suicide missions... ah, no, I mean *messenger* missions, I’ll just give them to you. After all, you run faster than anyone else!”

Mo Shang sneered, not even sparing Wei Ziting’s group another glance. He turned and yelled at the students who were still trickling in, ”None of you are allowed to sit, and you’re definitely not allowed to lie down! Damn it, if you want to live, you’ll walk it off slowly for the next hour! You... what’s your name...”

Mo Shang pointed his finger at the recently arrived Sun Donghai, scratching his head.

”Instructor, my name is Sun Donghai!”

”Right, Sun Donghai, you’re the one. From now on, you are the Captain of this unit! You’ll be in charge of supervising them during tomorrow’s march!” Mo Shang said nonchalantly.

”Sir, I guarantee I will complete the mission!” A flash of excitement shone in the depths of Sun Donghai’s eyes.

The Jianghu and the barracks—his two greatest loves!

Only in places like these did Sun Donghai feel like he had value!

His family’s previous opposition had been a major headache for him, but today, he had finally gotten his chance.

’Just watch. I, Sun Donghai, will one day become a general just like General Xu Ji—beloved by all and victorious in every battle!’

Sun Donghai swore this to himself. If Xu Luo had heard it, he probably would have understood why Sun Donghai had been constantly showing him goodwill.

Mo Shang then walked up to the newly arrived Xu Luo. He looked at him standing there, his eyes bloodshot and his face pale, and grinned. ”Ha, I didn’t think you’d be able to hang in there, but you actually made it! Impressive, kid!”

Xu Luo was being held up by Huangfu Chongzhi and barely had the strength to lift his head. He managed a wry smile. ”Instructor, please don’t make fun of me. With my constitution, I’m just dragging everyone down right now...”

”Heh, you’ve got a pretty clear understanding of yourself. That’s good!” Mo Shang grinned widely. ”However, starting tomorrow, you... right, what was your name again?”

”Er... My name is Xu Luo.”

”You’re Xu Luo?” Mo Shang had never known who his superior was paying special attention to. Hearing the name now, he was taken aback for a moment.

Xu Luo gave a wry smile. ”Has my great name... already reached the army’s ears?”

”HAHAHAHAHA!” Mo Shang roared with laughter. ”The person I admire most is Grand General Xu Ji. My previous impression of you wasn’t great, but it seems the rumors were wrong. You’re not bad! Starting tomorrow, you are the Vice-Captain of this unit. How about it, kid? You got the confidence?”

”What?” Xu Luo was stunned.

The others were also stunned, looking at Mo Shang in confusion.

Li Tie’s face flushed red. He had just been harshly reprimanded, and now he had to watch this physically frail guy become the Vice-Captain. The indignation and anger in his heart were plain to see.

Lin Chi’s expression was also dark as he sneered internally: ’Just another bootlicker. I thought the army was a pure place, but to think... it’s just as dirty!’

”Instructor, you can’t be joking, right? Me, a Vice-Captain...” Xu Luo said with a wry smile, thinking, ’In my current state, it’ll be a miracle if I can command anyone’s respect!’

”This is the army. Why would I joke?” Mo Shang’s face grew stern as he spoke with utter seriousness. ”Your suggestion today—to practice footwork without using True Essence—can drastically improve leg strength in a short time. That’s a major contribution! If you had that kid Sun Donghai’s constitution, I’d have made you Captain directly!

Starting tomorrow, every student in this unit will do it this way! This is mandatory! If anyone disobeys, you have the right to discipline them!”

Only then did Xu Luo understand. It was his offhand remark that had piqued the interest of Devil Instructor Zhou.

Wei Ziting remained expressionless. He turned and slowly walked away, his hands clenched into tight fists. He swore in his heart: ’Xu Luo, you won! But I will never let this go!’

”Alright, that’s settled. Now, the quartermaster will distribute the white rice. Line up to receive yours. As for those who aren’t getting any, you can figure out dinner for yourselves!” Mo Shang chuckled. ”After all, you’re all so strong. Using your True Essence to hunt should be a piece of cake, right?”

”Haha, congrats, congrats.” Little Fatty Liu Feng limped over, smiling as he spoke.

Sun Donghai also walked over and extended his hand. ”Xu Luo, congratulations. I hope we can work closely together and fight side-by-side in the future!”

Xu Luo extended his own hand and shook Sun Donghai’s, nodding. ”Definitely!”

Leng Ping slowly walked over from the side. He nodded at Xu Luo and Sun Donghai, then said, ”You two beat me to it today, but I’ll be competing with you for the Captain and Vice-Captain positions from now on!”

Sun Donghai laughed heartily. ”Welcome! I’m not afraid of a challenge!”

Zhao Mo also came over and looked at Xu Luo. ”Your method is excellent. Thank you!”

Wang Ziweng moved his heavy body over with some difficulty and grinned at Xu Luo. ”Young Master Xu, your method put me through hell, but it’s really effective! Thanks!”

More and more students came before Xu Luo, thanking him with sincere expressions.

This change was completely unexpected for Xu Luo. He smiled a little shyly and responded to each of them in turn.

But in his heart, he was shouting: ’Dad... Mom! Your son is finally no longer the useless weakling that everyone laughs at!’

Huangfu Chongzhi, Xu Jie, and their other brothers all stood there with happy expressions on their faces.

Xu Jie watched Xu Luo, who was surrounded by the crowd, and said softly, ”Boss, we need to work harder, too. Otherwise, we’re really going to be outshone by our third brother here. Who knew he was building up this much prestige so quietly!”

Huangfu Chongzhi said softly, ”I’m sure our third brother has put in a lot of effort to get to this day.”

”Let’s go! Anyone who can still move, come hunting with me!” Sun Donghai shouted, and many people walked over to him.

Then, Sun Donghai looked at Xu Luo. ”How about it? Want to come?”

Xu Luo smiled and said, ”Together!”