The new recruit training camp was about to begin.
All the esteemed guardians from the major families had arrived at the observation room.
Qian Du Mountain was vast, and Lin Weidong, in his pursuit of providing the new recruits with more rigorous training, had designated the entire mountain as the training ground.
Furthermore, numerous drones hovered in the sky, constantly monitoring the movements of the trainees.
Zhou Yu and Jiang Zhuliu sat in the center, their attention fixed on the large screen.
He observed that the new recruit teams, divided into over twenty small squads, were entering the dense jungle in groups of three or five.
"This year's new recruit training is vastly different from previous years. The entire Qian Du Mountain is the training ground. Elder Lin is putting on such a grand display, could it be that he intends for the disciples of our families to shed blood and sweat?"
"In my opinion, last year's training was too easy and yielded no significant results. That's why Elder Lin has specifically devised so many projects."
"We're all familiar with the basic projects, but we're unsure what hidden projects Elder Lin hasn't explicitly mentioned."
"Since they are hidden projects, they naturally need an element of mystery. We can only wait and see."
Several family guardians voiced their opinions.
They held a sense of anticipation for the mysterious projects that Lin Weidong had alluded to beforehand.
After all, outside the temporary base, more than ten armed transport vehicles were already gathered.
Those vehicles were all loaded with elite forces from various regions of the Dragon Country.
While they were unsure of the specific purposes of these elite soldiers, Lin Weidong's actions undoubtedly indicated careful preparation.
"Everyone, just you wait and see. This training camp will not disappoint you," Lin Weidong declared with full confidence.
The training projects he had meticulously designed would all be implemented.
At that time, these family guardians would naturally understand.
The special forces soldiers wielding firearms would surely show these young martial artists what true wilderness survival was all about!
"Brother Zhou, Uncle Lin's expression is quite provoking. Do you think he's secretly planned something big to make these family disciples look foolish?" Jiang Zhuliu whispered to Zhou Yu.
Initially, he hadn't intended to attend the observation, but he couldn't refuse Jiang Kui's insistence.
Lin Weidong hadn't said much either.
Strictly speaking, Jiang Zhuliu was not eligible to observe the training.
The family guardians present were all aware of this fact, but they were all sensible individuals and had largely accepted it.
There was no other way.
Jiang Zhuliu and Jiang Kui hailed from the Leng family in Imperial City.
The five top-tier families were like five insurmountable mountains, stifling the breath of these first-tier families.
"How would I know? He didn't tell me either," Zhou Yu replied.
What he said was true.
Lin Weidong had indeed not revealed anything.
"He didn't even tell you? That's unlikely," Jiang Zhuliu frowned.
Lin Weidong valued Zhou Yu so highly, yet he hadn't disclosed the mysterious training projects in advance?
"Alright, we'll find out by watching. Why are you so bothered?"
Zhou Yu pouted and ignored him.
...
Near the mountainside of Qian Du Mountain.
Dong Sanbao, accompanied by a few followers, climbed upwards towards the highest peak of the target mountain.
The temporary training base was constructed below the mountainside of Qian Du Mountain, approximately eight hundred meters below the highest peak in terms of altitude.
However, the actual distance was several thousand meters upwards.
Even though Qian Du Mountain wasn't exceptionally high in altitude, its base was immense.
"Young Master Dong, we don't have maps or communication equipment, and we don't know if there will be jackals or tigers in this mountain. If we encounter danger, what should we do?" a follower beside him asked, his voice laced with worry.
Their team consisted of five people, all body-refining martial artists, so the strenuous task of climbing was well within their capabilities.
However, they lacked wilderness survival experience. If any problems arose, they would be at the mercy of fate.
"If we were given maps and communication equipment, what would be the point of this training? Elder Lin had already explained before we came that this training is extraordinary, and in the future, the intensity will only increase. What else do you have to complain about?" Dong Sanbao said displeasedly.
The four individuals beside him were all handpicked by him.
Yet, they had not gone far before someone began to 'shake the morale.'
This was not a good sign.
"Young Master Dong is right," the man replied with an awkward smile, no longer daring to utter another word.
Concurrently.
Sun Yi and his group of five were not faring any better.
After climbing for a while, one of their teammates was stung by a swarm of wasps, his face covered in welts.
Body-refining martial artists were being chased by wasps all over the mountain.
Such scenes, transmitted to the large screen in the observation room back at the base, caused the family guardians to burst into laughter.
Of course, Yang Ye, the guardian of the Sun family, could only watch on a separate small screen in another tent.
It was fortunate he wasn't here.
Otherwise, it would have been awkward for everyone to laugh too loudly...
"Brother Zhou, hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Look at these fools. The wasp nest was directly above their heads, yet they still kicked that tree. They're practically inviting death," Jiang Zhuliu exclaimed, his demeanor the most exaggerated. He had even crossed his legs.
Anyone who didn't know better would think he was here to watch a comedy show.
"Keep it down. It's fortunate that Guardian Yang isn't here. If you continue like this when other family disciples make a fool of themselves later, their guardians might not be pleased," Zhou Yu kindly advised.
Jiang Zhuliu wasn't a bad person.
Coupled with the relationship between Lin Weidong and Jiang Kui, Zhou Yu felt it wouldn't hurt to offer some well-intentioned advice.
Moreover, there was an inexplicable feeling of unease that Zhou Yu experienced whenever he heard the name Long Lingxiao.
He found it very puzzling.
He had never met the guy, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of hostility.
It wasn't the other party's hostility, but his own!
Zhou Yu harbored animosity towards Long Lingxiao!
It was very strange!
But as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
Jiang Zhuliu was Long Lingxiao's enemy!
It was clear that Zhou Yu viewing this fellow as a friend might make things smoother in the future.
The last time he saw his junior sister, she had secretly divined for Zhou Yu behind their master's back. The divination indicated a sinister omen from the direction of Imperial City, an inauspicious sign that Zhou Yu should avoid.
Recalling this incident now, Zhou Yu speculated, could his junior sister's prediction have been accurate?
Perhaps the so-called great ominous sign in Imperial City was related to the Long family?
"My junior sister's skills are mediocre, and her divination skills are as inconsistent as catching fish for three days and drying nets for two. For her to be able to predict correctly for me, a sow would be able to climb a tree."
Zhou Yu shook his head, dismissing these strange thoughts.
Jiang Zhuliu was unconcerned. He scoffed, "Which of these first-tier family guardians wouldn't detour around me? With Uncle Jiang here, they wouldn't even dare to look me in the eye. You're still not happy?"
"Carefulness leads to a safe journey. If you're too arrogant, they might ambush you on a dark road, and you wouldn't even know how you ended up in the hospital," Zhou Yu said with a shrug.
Jiang Zhuliu was, after all, inexperienced and unaware of the cunning of people.
"They wouldn't dare!"
"They naturally wouldn't dare to go too far, but knocking you out and then handing you over to some wealthy older woman with a sturdy build is still possible."
"You seem to know so much. Have you experienced it yourself?"
"I've experienced... my foot! Believe it or not!"
Ungrateful wretch, refusing kindness.
Zhou Yu fell silent.
At this moment, on the large screen, Sun Yi's group of five coincidentally encountered a new predicament.