Chapter 166: Chapter 157: Forced Break-In
In front of the old man stood many body refining students dressed in camouflage uniforms, all of them like students, respectful and deferential.
"Why is Elder Song here?" Zhou Leng asked.
"You know Elder Song too? Elder Song is our station’s specially appointed instructor. He hasn’t been here for a long time; it is said he just recovered from his injuries. He has high martial arts skills, a high realm, and is particularly amiable, without any arrogance. Unfortunately, he can’t break through the Blood Transporting Period. Sigh..."
Zhou Leng said, "Just briefly tell me about this place, let’s not disturb Elder Song."
"Okay. The training camp area is composed of four major sections..." Shi Lai began to introduce.
Among the lieutenant camp students in front of Song Juesi, someone was distracted, occasionally glancing at where Zhou Leng was.
After finishing a segment, Song Juesi began to demonstrate the stepping technique to the students. As he turned, he saw Zhou Leng.
After Zhou Leng saved Song Juesi, they never met again.
Now seeing his lifesaver, Song Juesi was overjoyed and said, "Dismissed."
Everyone was baffled, while Song Juesi strode towards Zhou Leng, laughing, "Zhou Leng!"
"Hello, Elder Song." Zhou Leng smiled and approached.
"Ah, I always wanted to visit and thank you for saving my life, but I’ve been tied up." Elder Song shook Zhou Leng’s hand and wouldn’t let go.
The fifty or sixty students behind were puzzled by Song Juesi’s words.
A new lieutenant camp student could save Elder Song’s life?
"Zhou Leng? Sounds familiar..."
"Is he famous?"
"Not very famous, just participated in the Celestial Tier Battlefield, had a good reputation, and then got injured, nothing else much known..."
"I remember this name. He was the top freshman at Ruda once and crippled a sophomore from our Boxing Association in public, even cursing at our West Sea Martial Arts Academy. Several West Sea Martial Arts Academy students mentioned him."
The speaker was a young man in his twenties, with sun-tanned brown skin, looked at Zhou Leng, frowning slightly.
"Wei Xiangqian, you seem to be the vice president of West Sea Martial Arts Academy’s Boxing Association?"
Wei Xiangqian nodded.
"Which year’s top freshman at Ruda was he?"
"This year."
"Wait... is he a freshman?"
Wei Xiangqian suddenly realized, saying, "Yeah, how did he come here?"
"Could it be a namesake?"
"Possible."
"Just a freshman being this strong is unlikely. Among you West Sea Martial Arts Academy freshmen, except for Mountain and River Origin, barely a dozen would reach the early stage of body refining, unlikely to dare enter the Competition Camp."
"Freshman greenhorn, easy to get in, hard to get out."
"Wei Xiangqian, what year are you?"
"Senior."
"You, a senior at West Sea Martial Arts Academy, mid-stage body refining, only met competition standards just half a month ago. Why would a freshman succeed? Probably not the same person."
"Right."
"However, this kid looks tender-skinned indeed very young."
"He might just be passing by. If he’s a new recruit, who’s up for the upcoming assessment?"
"Whether it’s the Zhou Leng you mentioned or not, you folks from West Sea Martial Arts Academy should go."
Many students looked towards a few people from West Sea Martial Arts Academy.
West Sea Martial Arts Academy is the only top ten nationally in Rucheng, deeply rooted, branching out.
Graduates of West Sea Martial Arts Academy are the backbone of various major forces in Rucheng.
Even the Sea Suppression Army and Martial Guard Bureau in Rucheng strive to recruit graduates from West Sea Martial Arts Academy every year.
Students from West Sea Martial Arts Academy indeed possess strength, accustomed to being dominant in Rucheng, harboring some arrogance.
"Wei Xiangqian, give this new recruit a good lesson."
Wei Xiangqian smiled and said, "Sure. Thinking back to when I first came, it was quite a miserable time."
"Haha..."
"Same here, the first month I almost cried at night."
"Remove ’almost.’
"Get lost!"
Over here, Zhou Leng and Song Juesi were still catching up.
Elder Song first asked about Zhou Leng’s situation at that time, then proactively added Zhou Leng’s Martial Faith for easy contact.
"Are you just passing by, or are you here to find someone?" only then did Song Juesi release Zhou Leng’s hand.
Zhou Leng smiled, "I am reporting to the lieutenant camp. Starting today, I’m your student, no, your soldier under you."
Song Juesi was stunned for a moment, took a closer look at Zhou Leng, and asked, "You reached the early stage of body refining?"
"Advanced last week."
Song Juesi’s smile faded significantly, saying, "Were you tricked or instigated by someone? It’s not that I doubt your strength, but the Competition Camp is not the same as the Training Camp. The Training Camp mainly focuses on learning, while the military’s Competition Camp is highly difficult, with brutal fights, losing limbs is common, and several go out horizontally every month, lying down for half a year."
Zhou Leng, knowing Elder Song was concerned about him, honestly said, "After leaving the Celestial Ladder, I went to the Dwarf World again, gained some rewards. Besides, I was sent here by General Chen Shouhu; his judgment can’t be wrong."
Unexpectedly, Song Juesi sighed and said, "If it was General Chen who sent you, it’s even more troublesome. Everyone in the Competition Camp knows, he heightens the difficulty for those he sends. You should be in the Warrant Officer Camp, yet he sends you to the Lieutenant Camp. No, I’ll go find him..."
Zhou Leng reached out to stop, "Elder Song, can’t you let me try? The lieutenant camp isn’t a dragon’s lair, why can’t I come?"
"I’m afraid you’ll get hurt, you..." Song Juesi swallowed his words, not mentioning the matter of being poisoned.
"Here’s the deal, give me three days. After three days, if you think I can’t make it, we can go confront General Chen together, okay?"
Song Juesi smiled helplessly and said, "Alright. I’m aware of your skill level. These kids might have a chance to surpass you, but to seriously injure you, they are far from capable. However, since you’ve entered the Lieutenant Camp, I must treat everyone equally, so be mentally prepared."
"Don’t worry, Elder Song. I’m here to learn and grow," Zhou Leng replied.
Song Juesi nodded and said, "Are you planning to endure for a while or break through head-on?"
Zhou Leng answered, "I want to participate in the mid-term examination in a month and attempt a breakthrough. If I can’t make it, I’ll stay here and endure patiently."
"You kid, truly bold with skills to match. There are less than ten days left before the mid-term exam... But young people should have some daring spirit. Alright, I won’t delay you any further. Get familiar with the camp areas, then take the assessment, and send me your assessment results. I’ll evaluate your overall level," Song Juesi said.
"Okay. Sorry to trouble you, elder."
"Hey, there’s nothing troublesome about it. If you have any issues here in the future, come directly to me. As long as I can help, I won’t turn you down," Song Juesi said.
Zhou Leng bid farewell to Song Juesi and followed Shi Lai to learn about the other camp areas.
After familiarizing himself with all the camp areas, Shi Lai spoke as they walked.
"Once the new recruits enter, there will be an assessment on the same day, and then based on the results, they will be assigned to different stages."
"The Lieutenant Camp consists of five stages, and generally, new recruits do not enter any stage immediately. It usually takes a long time to compete for the fifth stage."
"The number of people per stage is limited, and the higher the stage, the more the resources and rewards, so the competition is fierce."
"Some people, after securing the first stage, deliberately leave just before the deadline to compete for the resources of the Competition Camp."
"Since you are the lifesaver of Elder Song, I’ll tell you a few unspoken things."
"For example, during the new recruit assessment, they usually send some veterans to participate and suppress the newcomers’ sharpness, so be prepared."
Zhou Leng nodded and said, "Thank you, I’ll be mentally prepared. Besides, winning and losing is normal."
"It’s good you think so. In the coming month, you must also prepare yourself. New recruits typically endure some hardships."
"I understand." Zhou Leng knew that in such a place, there would surely be conflicts, more or less instigated from above.
Even the Martial Arts Hall instructors hoped to see friction between school students, and such conflicts in a military competition camp would undoubtedly be more intense.
The Martial Mansion emphasizes harmony, but the Demon City Army fights against alien races, and harmony doesn’t forge a good blade.
Shi Lai checked the time and said, "The usual assessment for new recruits is at nine o’clock, so I’ve scheduled it for you at this time. Add me on Martial Faith, and I’ll pull you into the group."
Zhou Leng added Shi Lai as a friend and was then pulled into the "Rucheng Staircase Lieutenant Competition Camp."
"I’ll take you to collect some necessities..."
Zhou Leng followed Shi Lai into the logistics camp area to collect a set of daily supplies and a War Merit Token.
The War Merit Token records past war merits and functions similarly to a student ID. All activities require this War Merit Token.
Arranging accommodation, Shi Lai then took Zhou Leng to the assessment camp area and introduced everything one by one.
The assessment, much like in the Martial Arts Hall, mimicked the military assessment.
There were many similarities, but the difficulty here was higher, and the demonized equipment was better.
After introducing all the assessments, the time neared nine o’clock.
A group of senior students entered the assessment area, laughing and joking.
More than a dozen people began warming up while others stood chatting on the side.
Shi Lai brought Zhou Leng to the first assessment point, receiving a voice call midway.
The caller was the third brother.
Li Linhan’s third son, Li Yuanhe.
Before the college entrance exam, he gave Zhou Leng three Qi Nourishing Pills.
The two grew up together; during elementary school, whenever they encountered bullies, they would look for the big brother or third brother to resolve it.
"Hey, third brother," Zhou Leng said.
"Didn’t you see me?" a familiar voice came through.
"Huh?" Zhou Leng looked around but didn’t see Li Yuanhe.
"I’m also in the Lieutenant Camp group; I’m an instructor."
"Why are you in the Lieutenant Camp? I’m preparing for the assessment," Zhou Leng said.
"You’ve really made something of yourself, entering the Lieutenant Camp quietly. My dad says you’re progressing rapidly, and I was happy for you. Now I see, you’re not just progressing rapidly; you’re advancing like lightning. I glanced over your registration data; you’ve leapt to the Body Refinement stage within half a year, surpassing my achievements back in the day."
"I made it to the Celestial Ladder, just lucky," Zhou Leng had gotten used to using the Celestial Ladder as a cover.
"Celestial Ladder... just go through the normal assessment first. Once I finish up here, I’ll come find you, and we can chat in person."
"Alright."
Zhou Leng recalled what Li Linhan had mentioned before, estimating that Li Yuanhe had reached a critical point, pulled back from the front lines to seek opportunities to advance to the Innate stage in the rear.
Shi Lai said, "Please warm up first. You will have your first assessment shortly."
Zhou Leng nodded, first circulating his Qi blood, then jogging, followed by running fast to gradually get his body warmed up.
Soon, Wei Xiangqian and others approached.
Someone called out with a smile, "Hey man, are you Zhou Leng from the first year of Martial Arts Academy?"
Zhou Leng slowed down, looking at a crowd of forty to fifty and nodded, "Yes, that’s me."
"Not the same name?"
"In the main campus of Martial Arts Academy, I’m the only one named Zhou Leng," he replied.
"You’re in the first year of Body Refinement?"
Zhou Leng nodded.
"Wow..."
All the students’ eyes changed.
They were all in Body Refinement, yet even the youngest talent among them was a second-year student.