After he saw Glutton leave, Rocky returned to the Tiger Whisker Pass.
Once he entered the pass, he suddenly witnessed some older soldiers surrounding a young, strong
and tanned man who appeared to be a new recruit. They looked like they were about to teach him a
lesson. A well-dressed man at the sixth grade of the Spirit Realm stood at the forefront of the squad.
That suggested he was their leader.
However, the young man showed no sign of weakness.
Soon, the soldiers punched and kicked him mercilessly. Those who came to the border battlefield to
join the army were mostly ordinary people who had nowhere to go and couldn't become spirit warriors.
Their last resort was to join the army for survival. Thus, both the oppressors and the oppressed were
present.
"Teach him a good lesson. How dare he accuse me? He'll regret having sealed himself to his demise
after offending me like that!" the obviously arrogant leader, Elliot Wang, exclaimed.
Although he wasn't a spirit warrior, the young man remained motionless as the soldiers continued to
punch him. His face was devoid of emotion.
"He has great potential!" The corner of Rocky's lips curled up as he vanished in the blink of an eye.
Meanwhile, the soldiers who were enjoying beating the young man suddenly felt an invisible force
thrust them a few meters away.
Stunned, they had no idea what just happened. Just as they were about to move forward, they were
met by a figure suddenly appearing from behind the young man they just battered.
"Why are you beating him up?" Rocky asked kindly.
"Who the hell are you? Mind your own business!" Elliot Wang shouted.
"I'm Basil. The newcomer." Rocky announced his self-introduction.
"You're a new recruit as well. But you look like a spirit warrior," Elliot Wang replied hastily.
"Exactly."
"Which team are you from?" Elliot Wang narrowed his eyes at Rocky. The former was unable to detect
the latter's strength, yet the aura Rocky emitted was weak.
"I haven't been assigned to any team yet," Rocky replied.
"Really? You don't even have a backer, yet you dare to meddle in my affairs. A brat as daring as you
ought to get out of here if you don't want to get hurt," Elliot Wang threatened with rage.
"I'm sorry. I've always been quite curious." Rocky smiled.
"Do you have a death wish, brat? Don't you know who he is? He's Commander Wang's nephew," one
of the soldiers informed him.
"Oh, so you're a relative of the commander!" Rocky raised his eyebrows disapprovingly.
"Get out of here! If you piss our leader off, you'll be banned from the Tiger Whisker Pass."
"Really?" A cold light suddenly flashed in Rocky's eyes.
Slap! Slap! Slap!
A series of slaps as loud as firecrackers could be heard. The faces of the soldiers turned blood red. No
one was able to clearly see how he attacked them.
They stared at Rocky with pale faces as if they had just witnessed a ghost. Soon, one of them shouted
to Elliot Wang, "He slapped us. Please revenge us and teach him a lesson!"
Once Elliot Wang realized Rocky's true strength, he didn't dare to make a single reckless move.
However, he didn't want to be looked down upon by all the soldiers present either. He then shouted and
stomped heavily as he threw a great punch with enough momentum to rival that of a raging
thunderbolt.
"This is Master Elliot's trump card—the Raging Thunder Punch! Anyone who gets hit would be left
completely mangled." The soldiers were eagerly expecting Elliot Wang to get back at Rocky on their
behalf.
However, a deafening scream rang out a moment later. Elliot Wang's fist was twisted as if it hit an iron
plate. Finally, he screamed in agony as he rolled on the ground.
"Those who do wicked things are doomed to destruction. What I gave you today was simply a small
punishment." Once Rocky finished speaking, he held up the young man and floated away in the blink of
an eye.
"Are you alright?" The remaining soldiers asked Elliot Wang as they began to surround him.
"I won't let him get away with this!" Elliot Wang exclaimed furiously in pain.
After Rocky took the young man to rest under a locust tree, he checked on his injuries. He discovered
the young man's physique to be different from that of ordinary people. The muscles all over his body
remained quite strong and didn't sustain any injuries at all.
"Sir, thank you so much for helping me back there," the young man said gratefully.
"What's your name?" Rocky asked.
"Maxwell Zhao!" the young man replied.
"Maxwell Zhao? A good name." Rocky couldn't help but laugh. The young man shared the same name
as a famous general in his last life.
"What's wrong?" Maxwell Zhao asked in confusion when he saw Rocky laughing.
"Nothing. When did you join the army?" Rocky didn't bother to explain his sudden laugh and changed
the topic at once.
"I've been here for three months!" Maxwell Zhao replied.
"Are you bullied often?"
"Sometimes..." the injured man faltered.
"Would you want the bullying to stop?" Rocky continued to pry.
"Of course I want it to stop, but there's no way I can defeat them," Maxwell Zhao responded
unconfidently.
"Those soldiers are nothing. If you want, I'll help turn you into a spirit warrior," Rocky offered.
"Really? I tried cultivating before, but I realized I didn't have the talent. Thus, I gave up."
"It doesn't matter if you don't possess a talent. I've got a plan to help you cultivate it, but the catch is
that you'll serve as my test subject." In fact, upon first laying eyes on Maxwell Zhao, Rocky thought that
he would be a suitable test subject for his genetic modification.
Rocky had even tried to modify his genes to restore his divine power. Just as he was about to do so,
his divine power was reactivated. However, he had no intention of giving up on the experiment
because, in his opinion, it wasn't enough to become stronger through cultivation alone. He might have
to use the gene modification as well. Hence, he needed to be prepared.
"What?" Maxwell Zhao obviously didn't understand what Rocky was talking about.
"But don't worry. My experiments are very safe and I'll only modify your genes slightly."
"What is a gene?" The more Maxwell Zhao listened, the more confused he became.
"You don't need to know anything more. Meet and wait for me here tonight at midnight," Rocky
instructed.
"Alright. By the way, can I have your name please?" Maxwell Zhao began to trust Rocky more and
nodded in approval without thinking too much.
"Just call me Basil."
"Basil!"
"Remember, don't be late." Rocky turned around and left.
Upon his return to the residence, he noticed Eunice waiting for him with a troubled look on her face.
"You just arrived. How could you roam around alone?!" Eunice scolded with her arms crossed over her
chest.
"Am I not allowed to wander and get acquainted with my surroundings?" Rocky inquired with a shrug.
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