Chapter 738: New Recruits
Translator: Henyee Editor: Henyee
To enter the barracks, one first and foremost had to prove that they did indeed have Spiritual Ocean Tier cultivation. Those who had yet to reach this cultivation level would not even have the opportunity to undergo the test.
There were a total of four people. The oldest was an old man who looked to be in his sixties, with Spiritual Infant Tier cultivation, followed by a bulky middle-aged man, who had similarly reached the Spiritual Infant Tier. Then there was a young man who looked to be close to thirty years old, though his cultivation level was a bit weaker as he had only reached the Flower Blossom Tier, and the last was a beautiful young girl, similarly in the Flower Blossom Tier.
Compared to the others who were only in the Spiritual Ocean and the Spiritual Pedestal Tier, the four of them naturally appeared like swans amongst a flock of chickens, standing out against the norm.
Ling Han cultivated an ancient technique, so his cultivation level was not apparent. Zhu Xuan Er, on the other hand, was similarly obvious with her cultivation in the Flower Blossom Tier. Thankfully, she had disguised herself somewhat; although she was still very beautiful, she was not as fatally exquisite as she had been before. Otherwise, the people here would go into a frenzy for her.
Those that had achieved the requirement entered into the barracks. Ling Han slightly extended his aura and naturally entered as well. Hu Niu, meanwhile, was temporarily settled at the resting area, where she sat cross-legged together with Rabbit and began feasting merrily.
A middle-aged man walked out. He was in the Spiritual Infant Tier, his whole figure exuding a harsh, severe air; he had obviously experienced an unknown number of cruel battles. A mere look from him was enough to cause one’s heart to shiver and legs to weaken.
“Our Purple Moon Army has no desire for trash!” he began. “I am Xiao Yong Nian, your military instructor. You all have two months to convince me why I should agree to allow you to become soldiers!
“The door to the barracks lies there, and those who do not qualify… I will immediately throw them out!
“Tell me, are you all trash?”
Everyone felt enraged. Although there were not many elites of the Flower Blossom Tier, the others were at least in the Spiritual Ocean and the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. If even they were considered trash, then there was really no limit to the height of the standards required.
“No!” everyone shouted, seemingly all at the same time.
“Very good, I hope that you all aren’t trash as well, because the thing I hate the most is trash!” Xiao Yong Nian’s eyes swept over the crowd. “There is a total of 533 people here, but as far as I can see, only 50 people would be able to pass at most. From now onwards, I will use the strictest methods to train all of you. In my eyes, there is no difference between men and women, nor is there any difference between the elderly or youths. The only difference is: those who qualify and those who do not. Those who do not want to undergo the training, get out of here immediately!”
This time, those who had been thinking of leaving had their pride provoked. If they left now, wouldn’t they then become trash?
Not one person moved a single step.
“Very good, none of you want to be trash. However, it is not you who determine whether you’re trash or not, but me!” Xiao Yong Nian sneered. “As a soldier, the most important thing is to obey commands. Even if a burning mountain lies in front of you, if you are ordered to advance, then you must not retreat!
“Now, use the Horse Stance!”
Horse Stance?
That was a bit too elementary, right? Who amongst them had not advanced from the Body Refining Tier? Who had not practiced the Horse Stance and stood on stumps before?
The majority stood in the Horse Stance, but there were still a few that showed obvious disdain.
“Get lost!” Xiao Yong Nian immediately apprehended those few, and with a few tosses, xiu, xiu, xiu , these people were sent flying out of the main entrance, where they fell pitifully.
Everyone felt their hearts freeze. This was actually an elite in the Spiritual Infant Tier!
Teng, teng, teng , ten soldiers matched out of the barracks. They were only in the Spiritual Pedestal Tier. They were pushing a small cart, on which there lay multiple talisman papers.
“Do you think the Horse Stance is simple?” Xiao Yong Nian bared his teeth in a grin. With a wave of his hand, those ten soldiers immediately circled round to the back of the masses, and began sticking paper talismans on their backs.
“So heavy!” those that had had talismans stuck onto their backs exclaimed. There were even a few that dropped on their backsides.
“This is a Weight Talisman; different people will have different Spiritual Talismans attached. I guarantee that it is within the capacity you all can withstand,” Xiao Yong Nian announced coldly. “All of you, get back to your feet and stand back in the Horse Stance position. Within three breaths, if anyone’s posture is still not up to standard, I will throw him out!”
Those that had fallen onto the ground hurriedly got onto their feet. Some managed to get firmly into the Horse Stance, but there were some that once again flopped onto the ground. Three breaths later, Xiao Yong Nian indeed began to cast people out again, throwing those that did not meet the standards out of the barracks.
Ling Han saw this and nodded internally. A cultivator was individually very strong, but to become a soldier, mere individual battle prowess was useless.
If the Purple Moon Empire was unable to defeat the five great sects, or failed to split open the skies, then he would have to take on this mission. Thus, he began to be interested in commanding and training troops. Learning secretly from the Purple Moon Empire was undoubtedly the best means available.
In terms of ability, he obviously dominated over Xiao Yong Nian, yet still behaved seriously and obediently, not putting on any airs because of his superior ability.
Everyone had a Spiritual Talisman attached respectively. Because Ling Han only showed cultivation of the Flower Blossom Tier, and no one here was capable of identifying his true ability, a Spiritual Talisman of Flower Blossom level was naturally slapped onto him. It was as if a mosquito had landed on him; what effect would such miniscule weight have on him?
However, even if he had had a Spiritual Talisman on the level of Spiritual infant Tier stuck onto him, it also would have been all right. With his terrifyingly powerful physique, at most, it would have been like an egg’s weight had been added on.
But others did not have this kind of physique, and so had to stimulate their Origin Power to resist the weight.
This was not something as simple as delivering a palm strike or throwing a punch; one had to continuously resist, and this would greatly exhaust one’s reserves of Origin Power. Furthermore, most cultivators did not cultivate Body Arts. It was fine if they had to stand in the Horse Stance for two to four hours, but as time passed, even if they were not short on Origin Power, their bodies would still feel weary.
And what caused their hair to stand on ends was the fact that they had to maintain the Horse Stance for a whole day and night!
In the meantime, they could not rest, eat, nor drink. In merely half a day’s time, 17 people could not last, and were subsequently thrown out of the barracks. And when the day ended, a total of 49 people had been cast out.
It had only been a day, and about a tenth of the participants had been disqualified.
Ling Han was learning. In martial arts and alchemy, he was a genius, but in commanding and training troops, he was still a blank piece of paper, endlessly soaking in experience. Actually, establishing his own nation was still extremely beneficial as power of the nation could greatly increase his battle prowess and speed up the rate of his cultivation. Although he was advancing very quickly at the moment, that was because he had walked this path once before in his last life. But once he stepped into the Immortal Realm, even if he was unprecedentedly talented and a genius, he would definitely no longer be able to maintain this rate of advancement.
I’ll let Fatty Ma hold the fort first. If he can no longer manage, then I’ll step up. However, even after we reach the Immortal Realm, I will still have to consider establishing my own country and speed up the rate of my cultivation.
In the Immortal Realm, it would naturally be even more difficult to establish one’s own country, because everyone knew the benefits of establishing one’s own country. As a result, parties with even the slightest bit of power would be fighting tooth and nail to establish their own nations. The competition would be incredibly fierce.